462 



GUNNAK LaNDTMAN. 



B. {Continued from no. 413 B). The canoe which had previously beeii a snakc drifted to 

 låsa and was found by the people ihere. They went in it to catch crabs in Mibu. At first the emply 

 canoe sank into the water and came up again, but when the people were returning in it to läsa it went 

 down definiteiy, and everybody perished. (Ibia, Ipisia). 



C. (Continued from no. 413 A). The snake changed into a canoe and was found by the 

 üi'biri people who went in it to an Island called Morigi to catch crabs. The snake canoe caused all 

 the people to get drowned; „Ihat snake they been kill him he pay back." said the narrator. 

 (Epére, Ipisia). 



THE SNAKE AND THE HUNTER WHO WANTED WHITE FEATHERS. 



420. The Gebåro people were preparing a great madla dance, and the men were all 

 eagerly hunting certain white birds to get feathers for their head-dresses. A certain young man 

 who had only one white feather went to a friend and a.sked him, „You can lend me white pigeon 

 (bird)? I no got, that's all 1 got one." The other man answered him, „You been make garden 

 all time, you no look round white pigeon. Whafs the matter you no shoot first time?" The 

 young fellow went from man to man, but no one gave him any white feathers (abbrev.). Finally 

 growing tired he returned home. „He no give you? he no lend you some white pigeon?-' his 

 wife asked him. „No, I ask all people; all people no want give me." 



The man seized his bow and four arrows and ran to the bush to find some white birds 

 by himself. He saw a large tree in which many white birds were sitting. Taking his bow and 

 arrows with him he climbed up the tree and when he was sufficiently near he shot two birds 

 and after a while another two. He was just about to shoot a fifth bird when he fel! into a hole 

 in the tree which he had not noticed. There was a large snake in the hole, and he fel! right 

 on to it, and the reptile coiled itself up round his body so that he could not move. „My fault I 

 come here," he said to the tree. He could hear the soimd of drums in a distance and said. „You 

 fellow make him that dance. \'i)U fellcw no lend me some white pigeon, that's why I come 

 here." The snake did not kill him but kept him in the tree. 



At dawn when „pigeon he make nice (noise), fowl he sing out," the snake uncoiled 

 itself, releasing tbe man and went out to look for spoil. When the reptile was gone the man 

 crouched down to sleep, and presently his elbow went through the wood which was \ery decayed. 

 In a short time he had made an opening sufficiently large to enable him to get out. „Good job 

 that snake no kill me, I come out, I man now!" he cried. He returned home but did not teil 

 anybody what had happened to him, and taking a „half-canoi" (ef. p. 9) he paddled away till he 

 came to Pisiami, not far from the Bamu ri\'er. There he was received by a friend of his but 

 he did not teil him either, „1 rOn away, snake he catch me." His friend brought him on shore 

 and cooked food for him. When they had finished their meal the Pisiämi man said, „^'ou go 

 sleep along corner, plenty puripuri-man (sorcerers) here," and he laid himself down neai'er 

 to the door. 



On returning to the tree the snake found that the man was missing and set out in pursuit. 

 It was night when it entered the men's house at Gebåro where the intnates were all asleep. But 



Tom. \LVli. 



