regarding the natural history and the natives of Surinam, appeared in the year 1796. In one of the plates we find an illustration of a warclub, at one end of which is inserted what seems to be a stone. Teenstra, in his work on the agriculture of Surinam, which appeared in 1835, also mentions the war-club with the stone insert; and to-day we occasionally hear tales in which reference is made to the stone axe in its true capacity. The following Carib legend may serve as an example:

The "bad spirits" (Joleka), in trying to surpass God (Tamusi), who was busy creating the animals, created Monkey (Meku); but when they blew into it the breath of life, they blew it upside down. Then God made Man. The "bad spirits" ridiculed Man because of the smoothness of his skin and absence of any tail. But Man saw Monkey in a tree, and shot him with an arrow and killed him. Monkey, whose tail was curled around a branch, did not fall to the ground, but remained hanging in the tree. Then Man sharpened a stone into an axe, with which he cut down the tree. He rubbed two sticks together to produce fire, roasted Monkey, and ate him.

We mention these things as indicating that the true nature of the stone axes must have been more generally known to the natives in comparatively recent times; and that the curious notions respecting these relics, whether introduced from elsewhere or whether arising independently in this locality, may be considered as reasonably modern, at least in Surinam.

Many are preserved by the Indians, Negroes, and Mulattoes as curiosities, or as amulets and charms. They ascribe to these stones mysterious properties, and for this reason can seldom be induced to part with them. The writers experienced not a little difficulty in procuring the specimens of their collection. The same difficulty has been experienced by other collectors in purchasing objects of this nature from the natives, not only in Surinam, but also in other parts. of South America and the West Indies.

The Indians use the smoother specimens for polishing the clay in the manufacture of pottery. Workers in the bush sometimes use them as whetstones, for which purpose they are considered exceptionally good. The notched specimens are sometimes attached to a cord, and, used in this manner, are regarded as formidable weapons.

The widespread belief that these objects drop from the clouds during thunder-storms is also prevalent here, but opinions vary as to the number supposed to fall with each clap of thunder. Some say one large and exactly twelve smaller ones. Others say one large or else from seven to twelve smaller ones. Still others say one large in addition to from seven to twelve smaller ones. Then again it is 1 M. D. Teenstra, De Landbouw in de Kolonie Suriname (Groningen, 1835).

said that the number depends entirely upon the size: if very large, there is only one; if small, the number is seven; for intermediate sizes the number varies accordingly. As a reason for believing that more than one fall, it is argued that a number of these thunder-stones are sometimes found within a comparatively small radius.

The color of the thunder-stone is said to correspond to that of the cloud from which it falls. If the storm is violent and the sky very dark, the thunder-stone will be dark; if the storm is less violent and the sky grayer, the thunder-stone will be of paler hue. And so the darkest are considered the most powerful, and strike deepest into the earth. It is held that the very darkest thunder-stones strike so hard and penetrate so deeply, that it requires seven years for them to work up gradually to the surface; while the paler specimens enter the earth to a depth of a few feet only, or may be found upon the surface still glowing hot from the lightning. In this connection, it may be said that the specimens vary greatly in color and shades, from gray, buff, bluish, and reddish, to nearly black, depending not only upon the character of the stone and exposure to weather, but to a great extent upon the nature of the soil in which they have been buried for a long period of time.

A Negro told us that he was standing in his field at Lelydrop, in the Para district, when a thunder-storm came up. Suddenly there came a heavy stroke of lightning, which struck an enormous locusttree near him. The tree was split in two and uprooted, and came down with a terrible crash, leaving a big hole in the ground where the roots had been. In describing it, the man said that the hole was so big that it saved him the trouble of digging a water-hole or well (watra-oro). Exposed upon the bottom of this hole, he said, was a tremendous thunder-stone, which was still white-hot, and which, upon cooling, had the color of gray marble.

One day, after a thunder-storm, a little boy brought to one of the writers an ordinary big field-stone which he could hardly lift. He said that his mother had sent him with it, saying that it had fallen from the sky during the storm, and that when she picked it up it was still warm. He also said that his mother expected much money for it, because it was such a big stone.

It is said that lightning cannot strike where they are kept, and for this reason many are preserved in the houses of the credulous. C. J. Hering relates the following anecdote:

"A young man from the civilized class informed me that his mother possessed a thunder-stone, which she kept over the lintel of her front door; 1 Hymenæa courbaril Linn.

2 C. J. Hering, "De Oudheden van Suriname," in Catalogus der Nederlandsche West-Indische Tentoonstelling te Haarlem, 1899 (Amsterdam, 1899).

his mother attached great value to the object, and would not part with it for anything, because she believed that the stone gave protection to her house against lightning. He did not dare to turn the stone over to me, because he feared his mother's displeasure. I advised him to wait until there was a violent thunder-storm, and then to take away the stone. He did this; and when the storm had passed, his mother told him that she owed the preservation of her house, and everything that was in it, to the thunderstone which she had placed over the door, and which had now disappeared. The young man was thus free from the suspicion of having taken the stone."

A friend of the writers once saw a big stone axe on the ground, under the spout of a water-conductor. When he stooped to pick it up, an old woman who occupied the house stopped him; she objected to his taking the stone, because, she explained, it protected her house against lightning. But she could not have valued this protection very highly, for after some bartering she parted with it for one gulden.1

Some people say that the masons who built the foundation-walls of the Lutheran Church at Paramaribo placed under each of the four walls seven stone axes, presumably as a precaution against lightning. These notions are not confined to the genuine primitive implements, but may be applied to any unusual stone object. Thus one day a Negro brought us a common European paper-weight, which was made of stone, and which had the form of a book. He said seriously that it was not an ordinary thunder-stone, but one that had been thrown down by God; he said it was a "God's book" (Gado-boekoe). We have been told that during a thunder-storm a thunder-stone will become restless, and will tremble and shake in an uncanny manner. The perspiration will stand out upon it, and the whole surface will become moist, although the stone may be kept in a perfectly dry place. These actions on the part of the thunder-stone should clearly demonstrate its supernatural origin.2

But the real test to determine the genuineness is to wind a string firmly around the middle of the object, and then apply a flame to it. If the string does not burn, the object is a true thunder-stone of the best quality; if the string burns partially, the object is a thunder-stone of poorer quality; if the string burns rapidly and completely, the object is of earthly origin.

Occasionally a stone axe is found embedded in a full-grown tree, where it had probably been placed by an Indian long ago, when the tree was a sapling. This was done in the process of natural hafting. One specimen in the writers' collection was found thus embedded in

1 Forty cents in United States money.

2 It is not difficult to conceive the source of this notion. A sharp thunder-clap, causing the windows to rattle and the walls to shake, would very likely affect the equilibrium of one of these objects lying on its convex surface upon a vibrating shelf, and the moisture in the atmosphere would probably condense upon the cold surface of the stone.

the trunk of a locust-tree near Lelydorp. Two others, both of the "winged" type, were found in hollow trees in the Boven Saramacca (Upper Saramacca) district. Incidents like these serve only to fan the flames of superstition in regard to a supernatural origin.

A study of the names of stone axes in the Negro and Indian languages of Surinam will serve to show how far the words reflect a belief in the celestial origin of these objects, or to what extent they indicate a knowledge of their proper function.

The Negroes call them onweri-ston ("thunder-stone"), from the Dutch onweer ("thunder") and English "stone." They have no other names for these objects, and the majority believe in them implicitly as true thunderbolts.

The Arawaks call them (a)kurakali-siba ("thunder-stone"). The Arawak word for axe is balu or baro. We have never heard this word used in combination with the word for "thunder" to describe these objects. Since these Indians must at some time have had a more appropriate word for the stone axe, it is obvious that they have apparently ceased to regard these objects as tools or weapons.

The Kalinias (Caribs) call them jepipa (from epia, "to part;" epiaka, "to chop, to cleave;" epiakoto, "to cut apart"), hence this name reflects a knowledge of their true nature; but they also refer to them more fancifully as konomeru-jerembo1 or konomeru-jeri ("thunder-axes" or "thunder-teeth"), revealing the same notion in regard to a celestial origin.

C. H. de Goeje says that the Trios (Caribs) inhabiting the southeastern part of Surinam call the axe yepipa 2 or pohpu, and that the Ojanas refer to them as potpu.3 The names pohpu and potpu are probably derived from putu, the heavy club of rectangular crosssection with sharp edges; the ends are larger than the middle, and near one end was formerly embedded a stone celt. The word for "stone" is topu: hence putu-topu, or simply potpu ("club-stone"). If this derivation is correct, then both names, yepipa and potpu, seem to indicate a knowledge of the true nature of the stone axe.

4

The Kalinias say that Thunder (Konomeru) holds the thunder

1 Konomeru-jerembo, konomeru-jerumbo, or simply jerembo, jerumbo, erembo, erumbo. The word for "tooth" is jeri. The ending mbo signifies the "being" or "essence," thus literally the "essence" of the tooth. As long as the tooth is in the mouth, it is jeri; when removed from the mouth, it is jerembo. It is then the essence of the tooth, and, according to the Kalinias, shall again become jeri when the eternal time-cycle completes itself. But the word for the primitive "axe" is also jerembo, on account of its obvious analogy to a tooth; and we wonder if the first implement of this nature was not made in imitation of the human tooth. The steel axe is called wui-wui.

C. H. de Goeje, Études Linguistiques Caraibes (Amsterdam, 1909).

C. H. de Goeje, Bijdragen tot de Ethnographie der Surinaamsche Indianen (Intern. Archiv für Ethnographie, Suppl. to vol. xvii, 1906).

4 From kono (= "rain") and meru (= "mark"): hence kono-meru (= "mark or indication of rain").

axes (konomeru-jerembo) between his teeth. But they do not always have in mind the common stone axe; for some say that the thunderaxes are transparent, and that when they strike the ground, they form tubes "resembling blowpipes." 1

The writers have in their possession a small pencil drawing made by a Carib Indian, representing the thunder-axe. It is a small rectangle, measuring 17 mm. by 7 mm., the entire area of which is pencilled in. The rectangle rests upon one of its long sides. The two lower corners are slightly curved to a radius of approximately 3 mm., while the two upper corners are perfectly square. If the figure were not so wide, it could easily be conceived to represent a square-butted blade of the notched type, but the notches are missing. It is possible that the Indian who drew it had in mind the common stone celt; but, if so, why did he round those particular corners and leave the others square? Another pencil drawing, made by a Carib Indian, represents Thunder himself. The outline bears unmistakable resemblance to a stone implement of the "winged" type, and there is no doubt that it was intended as such. The figure is entirely pencilled in, and measures 17 mm. from butt to edge, and 14 mm. over the wings. The proportions are good.

A more elaborate drawing of the thunder-axe was made by the Carib magician (pujai) Saka2 of the Para district. He explained that it was the symbolic representation of the "feathered" thunderstone. The main part of this drawing is readily recognized as an axe-blade of the notched type. The drawing of the blade measures 24 mm. from butt to edge, and 22 mm. across the face. The cutting edge of the blade is surmounted by a "feather-crown" represented by a curved line drawn parallel to and lying about 3 mm. outside the blade proper, from about the middle of one side passing around the edge to the middle of the other side. Over this portion a number of radial lines are shown extending from the outline of the blade to and slightly beyond the outer line. Extending outward from the middle. of the edge are three parallel lines about 5 mm. apart. The middle one of the three is 20 mm. long, while the two outside are only 13 mm. each. Saka explained that the thunder-axe consists of three parts

1 Our informant may have had reference to the fulgurites or "lightning-tubes" produced when lightning strikes in the loose sand. These remarkable sand-tubes are sometimes as much as 5 cm. in diameter, and may attain considerable depth. The vitrified sand along the sides of the tubes may have been responsible for the notion of the transparent konomeru-jerembo. The Negroes are familiar with these lightning-tubes, and believe that they are made by ordinary thunder-stones. One man, on being asked what his reason was for thinking so, said that he had found thunder-stones very near such tubes.

* Saka is the secret name of this Kalinia medicine-man. His pujai name is Alitialowa; his travelling name is Alinsi; his ordinary name is Joseph.

VOL. XXX. NO. 116.—17.