196 ANIMISM AND FOLK-LORE OF GUIANA INDIANS Ieth. ANN. 30 



to pick the fruit as it fell to the ground. At other times he would shoot little birds 

 for him, so much that feathered game soon got to be very scarce in the immediate 

 neighborhood, and herein began the trouble. The sick man never liked his brother to 

 be out of sight and would always bo calling him back, even before he had an opportu- 

 nity of letting fly his arrow. At last the latter became exasperated at being continually 

 called back before even taking a shot, and yet was afraid of running away because 

 his brother had threatened to kill him should he ever dare to go out of his sight: he 

 only waited his chance and it was not long in coming. One day he said: "Brother! 

 Don't shout out for me just now, because my arrow has stuck up in a tree which I 

 must go climb. It will be some time before I can possibly return." All this how- 

 ever was a lie, an excuse under cover of which he considered he could get away in 

 safety. The sick man waited and waited in his hammock and at last holloa'd; but 

 no brother came. Again and again he holloa'd, he shouted, and he screamed; still 

 no brother came. He slipped out of his hammock and started in pursuit; to his 

 astonishment he found that with his bone points he could travel a great deal faster 

 than he could before on his feet. Thus walking and running, running and walking, 

 along his brother's tracks, he started a deer. Mistaking the trail of the latter for that 

 of his brother, he followed the creature and, soon getting within reach, threw himself 

 upon it and pinned it with his bone points to the ground. And as he stuck it here 

 and there, he excused himself by saying, "I am sorry, Brother, to have killed 

 you, but it is your own fault; you tried to run away and leave me." On turning 

 over the carcass, he noticed the animal's black mouth. "Ah! That has got stained 

 from the bullet-tree fruit." But on looking at the fore-legs he noticed something 

 strange. "Eh? Let me count the fingers — fjne, two, three. Now, how many have 

 I? — One, two, three — four! five!! Let me look at the foot now. It has toes — one, 

 two, three. I'll count mine now. One, two, three — four! five!!" And thus he 

 pondered and finally concluded that the creature he had just slain could not possibly 

 be his brother (Sect. 26). He thereupon returned to his banab, where he laid himself 

 in his hammock. 



128. In the meantime the fugitive reached home and told the others: "Something 

 has happened to my lirother. We can not be friends with him any more. We must 

 kill him." So, leading the way, the others followed him into the bush where they 

 surrounded the banab under which the elder brother was resting. They were afraid 

 to attack him where he was, because of the skilful way he could use his bone-points 

 as si^ears: their idea was to tempt him out into the open, where he would have to 

 use these bones of his as feet, so they would be enabled to attack him with impimity. 

 Thus, by sending a swift-flying bird to hover around his hammock, he would be sure 

 to try to pin it in his customary fashion, and of course missing his aim, would jump 

 out of his hammock in pursuit. With this design in \aew, they sent him a little 

 huku-huku (hummingbird), which flew here, there, and in all directions around his 

 hammock; but it was not swift enough, and after many trials he succeeded in spearing 

 it. So they sent him hura (Sciurus sesluans), the little squirrel (Arawak, shimo- 

 ok6ri), which is much swifter in its movements than the huku-huku. He had a 

 good many chances, but every time it passed and repassed his hammock, the bone- 

 point missed its mark, and thus the little creature decoyed him out onto the open, 

 closer and closer to the ring of people around. And when he got quite near, they 

 fell upon and destroyed him. 



139. Should unforeseen circumstances, however, force one into 

 close quarters witli Bush Spirits, various procedures may be adopted 

 to get rid of them. Warraus and Makusis took measures to exorcise 

 evil spirits from the dancing-ground. Schomburgk describes how 

 this was effected by the former tribe: Proceeding slowly to the 

 spot chosen, with clanging Thevetia seeds, the Hoho-liit, or Master 



