94 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



his other hand, with the same result ; then he kicks with his feet, 

 and, finally, butts with his head, until he is completely fixed to 

 the tar-baby. As will be readily seen, this is evidently a variant 

 of the following Gold Coast tale : 



SPIDER AND THE FARMER. 



There was a famine in Spider's country, and Spider had noth- 

 ing to eat. Now Spider had a son, named Kwaku Tyom, and 

 Spider's son used to go to a farm not far away and steal 

 cassava. And every day when he brought home the cassava, his 

 father would ask him, " Where dost thou get this cassava ?" But 

 Spider's son always made answer that he could not tell him, for 

 if he, Spider, were to go there, some harm might befall him. 

 Spider said, "Oh! my son, did I not beget thee, and yet thou 

 thinkest thyself to be more clever than I ? Show me the place, 

 and I will be careful that no one sees me." But Spider's son still 

 refused to show Spider. 



Now, whenever Spider's son went to the farm to dig cassava, 

 he used to carry a bag, which he filled with cassava, and so 

 brought home ; and Spider played his son Kwaku Tyom a trick, 

 for, when night fell, and Spider's son had laid himself down and 

 was sleeping, Spider put wood ashes into the bag and made a hole 

 in the bottom thereof. 



Next morning Spider's son arose, and slung the bag around 

 his neck, and set forth to go to the farm ; and as he walked, the 

 ashes fell through the hole in the bag and marked the path. Then 

 Spider came after his son and saw the road, but he did not go to 

 the farm that day ; he returned home and said nothing. In the 

 evening Spider's son returned home and brought cassava. 



Next morning Spider arose early and followed the track of the 

 ashes to go to the farm ; and when he reached the place he saw a 

 something there made of crossed sticks, standing in the midst of 

 the farm, and there were snail ^shells hanging thereon, which the 

 breeze rattled.* 



When Spider saw this he was afraid. He saluted the some- 

 thing, and said, " Good morning, sir " ; but the something made 

 him no answer. Then Spider became vexed, and he said, " Oh ! 

 oh ! dost thou want to shake me by the hand before thou answer- 

 est me ? " He put out his hand to the something, and his hand 

 became fixed to the sticks so that he could not draw it back. 



* What we should call a scarecrow, but on the Gold Coast such things scare people 

 rather than birds, for they are meant to protect crops from thieves, and are believed to 

 possess a latent power, derived from some god, to entrap or bring misfortune upon any one 

 who interferes with what is under their guardianship. The snail shells here mentioned are 

 those of the large edible snail of West Africa. 



