ggs, maize, jaguar-steak,
roast duck, alligator-ragout, and chocolate, was prepared outside the
Indian hut. The hut itself was unusually clean, Tiger being a peculiar
and eccentric savage, who seemed to have been born, as the saying is, in
advance of his generation. He was a noted man among his brethren, not
only for strength and prowess, but for strange ideas and practices,
especially for his total disregard of public opinion.

In respect of cleanliness, his hut differed from the huts of all other
men of his tribe. It was built of sun-dried mud. The furniture
consisted of two beds, or heaps of leaves and skins, and several rude
vessels of clay. The walls were decorated with bows, arrows,
blow-pipes, lances, game-bags, fishing-lines, and other articles of the
chase, as well as with miniature weapons and appliances of a similar
kind, varying its size according to the ages of the little Tigers.
Besides these, there hung from the rafters--if we may so name the sticks
that stretched overhead--several network hammocks and unfinished
garments, the handiwork of Mrs Tiger.

That lady herself was a fat and by no means uncomely young woman, simply
clothed in a white tunic, fastened at the waist with a belt--the arms
and neck being bare. Her black hair was cut straight across the
forehead, an extremely ugly but simple mode of freeing the face from
interference, which we might say is peculiar to all savage nations had
not the highly civilised English of the present day adopted it, thus
proving the truth of the proverb that "extremes meet"! The rest of her
hair was gathered into one long heavy plait, which hung down behind.
Altogether, Madame Tiger was clean and pleasant looking--for a savage.
This is more than could be said of her progeny, which swarmed about the
place in undisguised contempt of cleanliness or propriety.

Stepping into the hut after kindling the fire outside, Quashy proceeded
to make himself at home by sitting down on a bundle.

The bundle spurted out a yell, wriggled violently, and proved itself to
be a boy!

Jumping up in haste, Quashy discommoded a tame parrot on the rafters,
which, with a horrible shriek in the Indian tongue, descended on his
head and grasped his hair, while a tame monkey made faces at him and a
tame turtle waddled out of his way.

Having thus as it were established his footing in the family, the negro
removed the parrot to his perch, receiving a powerful bite of gratitude
in the