342
Martinique
Sketches.
good chance, she strikes him dead with her claws. But if you are fond of your cat you will let her run no risks, as the bite of a large centipede might have very bad results for your pet. Its quickness of movement demands all the quickness of even the cat for self-defence. . . . I know of men who have proved themselves able to seize a fer-de-lance by the tail, whirl it round and round, and then flip it as you would crack a whip,—whereupon the terrible head flies off ; but I never heard of any one in Martinique daring to handle a living centipede. There are superstitions concerning the creature which have a good effect in diminishing his tribe. If you kill a centipede, you are sure to receive money soon ; and even if you dream of killing one it is good-luck. Consequently, people are glad of any chance to kill centipedes,—usually taking a heavy stone or some iron utensil for the work,—a wooden stick is not a good weapon. There is always a little excitement when a bête-ni-piê (as the centipede is termed in the patois) exposes itself to death ; and you may often hear those who kill it uttering a sort of litany of abuse with every blow, as if addressing a human e n e m y : — " Q u i t t é moin tchouê ou, maudi!— quitté
moin
tchoué
ou, scélérat!—quitté
moin
tchouê
ou,
Sa-
etc. (Let me kill you, accursed ! scoundrel ! Satan ! abomination !) The patois term for the centipede is not a mere corruption of the French bête-à-mille-pattes. Among a population of slaves, unable to read or write,* there were only the vaguest conceptions of numerical values ; and the French term bête-à-mille-pattes was not one which could appeal to negro imagination. The slaves themselves invented an equally vivid name, bête-anni-piê (the tan!—quitté
moin
tchouê
ou, abonocio
!"
* A c c o r d i n g to the M a r t i n i q u e " A n n u a i r e " f o r 1887, there w e r e even t h e n , o u t of a total p o p u l a t i o n of 1 7 3 , 1 8 2 , n o less than 125,366 u n a b l e to read a n d write.