This was the way he did it. He
made holes in the ground with a hoe in one hand, and in the other
hand he held a roasted cob of corn, which he kept chewing from time
to time. His wife followed him, dropping a grain into each hole and
filling in the soil with her feet. It would have made a good picture
under the heading of "Agriculture in the Tropics"! Vic told me that
they got four crops a year, so one can hardly wonder at their taking
things easily. A rough bamboo fence separated the maize from a copse
of bamboo jungle and forest, in which I was one day collecting with
Vic, when I attempted to jump over a very low part of the fence. Vic,
however, called out to me to stop, and it was lucky he did so, as
otherwise the consequences would have been terrible for me. Just
hidden by a few thin creepers, there had been arranged there a very
neat little pig-trap, consisting of a dozen or more sharp bamboo
spears firmly planted in the ground, and leaning at a slight angle
towards the fence. Except for Vic's timely warning I should have been
stuck through and through, as the bamboo points would stand a heavy
weight without breaking, and if I had escaped being killed, I should
certainly have been crippled for life.
Pages:
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102