Boriil HEROES 127 



by impaling him, but so rough was he in his methods, that the weapon transfixed 

 the whole body even piercing the unfortunate Ilebu's head. The Hebu cursed Koro- 

 romanna for ha^^ng killed him, and tlireatened that the other Spirits would avenge 

 his death; he then disappeared. 



23. Our hero, becoming a bit anxious on his own account, and, recognizing by the 

 gradually increasing hullaballoo in the trees that swarms of Hebus were approaching 

 the scene of the outrage, now climbed the manicole tree sheltering his banab, leaving 

 the baboon's corpse inside. The Spirits then entered the banab, and belie\nng the 

 dead animal to be Kororomanna, began hitting it with their sticks, and with each blow, 

 there came Boom! Our friend uj) the tree, whence he could watch their every move- 

 ment, and their siirpri.se at the acoustic results of the flogging, could not refrain from 

 cracking a smile, which goon gave way to a hearty laugh. The Spirits, unfortunately 

 for him, heard it, and looking at the dead baboon, said, "This can not be the person 

 who is laughing at us. " They looked all around, but could sec nothing, until one of 

 them stood on his head, and peeped up into the tree.' And there, sure enough, he 

 saw Kororomanna laughing at them. All the others then put themselves in the same 

 posture around the tree, and had a good look at him. The question they next had to 

 decide was how to catch him. This they concluded could most easily be managed 

 by hewing down the tree. They accordingly started \\-ith their axes on the trunk, but 

 since the implements were but water-turtle shells, it was not long before they broke.- 

 They then sent for their knives, but as these were merely the seed-pods of the buari 

 tree, they also soon broke.^ The Ilebus then sent for a rope, but what they called a 

 rope was really a snake. At any rate, as the serpent made its way farther and farther 

 up the tree, and finally came within reach, Kororomanna cut its head off; the animal 

 fell to the ground again, and the Hebus cried "Our rope has burst. " Another con- 

 sultation was held, and it was decided that one of their number should climb the tree, 

 seize the man, and throw him down, and that those below might be ready to receive 

 him when dLslodged, the Hebu was to shout out, when throwing him down, the follow- 

 ing signal : Tura-buna-nc mahara-ko na-lai.* The biggest of the Spirits being chosen to 

 carry the project into execution, he started on his climb, but head dow nward of course, 

 so as to be able to see where he was going. Kororomanna, however, was on the alert, 

 and, waiting for him, killed him in the .same peculiar manner as that in which he had 

 despatched the other Spirit just a little while before; more than this, ha\4ng heard 

 them fix upon the preconcerted signal, he hurled the dead Spirit's body down with the 

 cry of Tura-buna-se mahara-ko na-kai! The Hebus below were quite prepared, and aa 

 soon as the body fell to the ground, clubbed it to pieces. Kororomanna then slipped 

 down and helped in the dissolution. "Wait a bit," he said to the Spiiits; "I am 

 just going in the bush, but will soon return. " It was not very long, however, before 

 the Spirits saw that they had Vjeen tricked, and yelled with rage on finding that they 

 had really destroyed one of themselves; they hunted high and low for their man, but 

 with approaching daylight were reluctantly compelled to give up the chase. 



23. In the meantime, Kororomanna had no sooner got out of their sight than he 

 started running at topmost speed, and finally found shelter in a hollow tree. Here 

 he discovered a woman (she was not old either), so he told her that he would remain 

 with her till "the day cleaned " (t. «., till dawn broke). But she said, "No! No! my 



' The Hebus of the Wairaus are believed to possess eye-brows so prominent that it is possible for them 

 to look directly upward only when in this upside-down position. (Sect. 99.1 



'' On the Amazons, before the advent of Europeans, we have Acuna's authority for stating that all the 

 tools which the Indians employed for making their canoes, huts, etc., were axes and hatchets matle of 

 tortoise-shell { Ac, 90) . 



» The seed-pod in question is about 10 in. long, much flattened, hard-shelled, with a ciu'ved surface, so 

 that when the halves are split asunder, each bears a somewhat fanciful resemblance to a cutlass. 



« The first word is in Spirit language, i. e., not understood by the Warraus, who tell me that it is nothing 

 more than a watch-word; the second means "to kill with the arm;" the third indicates "to fall down." — 

 W.E.R. 



