ROTH] OMEXS, CHARMS, TALISMANS 287 



your father. Let us see what he intends doing." So with her children she followed 

 the two men. and came upon them just as her brother was trying to throw over the 

 body. "No! don't do that, brother," she said: "Since you have killed him, you 

 must take the body back to his house and bury it there." He did what he was told: 

 took the body home, and started felling a tree in wliich to bury it. In the meantime 

 the woman senther children to fetch the deceased's brother and his old mother, at the 

 same time sending them a message that they must not be vexed. The mother and 

 brother came, and as they drew near they saw the murderer finish scooping out the 

 trunk and take it to thehoii.se, where he commenced digging the grave. The brother 

 was vexed, but his mother said: "Don't trouble the man: we will see first of all what 

 the widow intends to do. The latter, holding a cutlass in her hand, was watching 

 the murderer dig; she told him to hurry and finish his task quickly. When the 

 grave was finished, he put the coffin in. and then the corpse, which was properly dressed 

 with paint and ornaments, and with which were placed knife, fish-hooks, and other 

 things.' As he was filling up the grave with earth, his hands all bleeding from the 

 wounds the deceased had given him. his sister stnick him from behind on his neck 

 with her cutlass. After standing awhile, he dropped dead and a new grave was dug 

 for him, alongside of the other. They put him into this bare as he was, without dresser 

 ornaments, or any of his belongings; this was because they had no pity or sorrow for 

 him. The mother and brother of the dead man returned to the old woman's home that 

 very same day. They prevailed on the \vidow much against her will to come with 

 them and bring the children, ^^^len they reached home the brother took charge of 

 the widow, placed her in his hammock, and turning to his first wife said, ' 'I am going 

 to take this woman: she can make children: you cannot make them." But the two 

 children that she had already did not like staying in their new home, and regularly 

 every morning, after they had had something to eat, they would hurry off to their 

 father's grave and would not return until late. On the third da\ of their visit to the 

 grave they met a Hebu, Viut the children did not recognize him. He said to them : "If 

 you want your father you must pick a leal of a certain tree [which he mentioned] and 

 rub it over the grave, when he will appear to you. ' ' But we don 't know the leaf, ' ' they 

 replied: so the little man gathered some of the leaves for them. He told them to 

 rub the leaves over the ground where the body was buried, directly they reached 

 there on the following morning, and then to come again at mid-day, when their father 

 would bo present. They did exacth' as they had been told next morning, and when 

 they retunied at mid-day they siw their father st'ated on a bench. They approached. 

 He said, '"Fetch me water to drink." After he had drunk, he said, "\\'here is yoiu" 

 mother?'" and when he learned that she was at their grandmother's he told them to 

 go and fetch her. Now as soon as they reached their mother and told her all these 

 things, she exclaimed, ' 'How can this be? How can your father send for me when 

 he is dead?' ' Thus it was, she would not believe all this at first, but when the boys 

 pleaded, ' 'Come, Mother! It is all true! ' ' she went. The boys ^vished her to bring 

 her hammock along, but she refused. ' '\Miat is the use of it?' ' she said; for she did 

 not believe as yet what they told her. However, .she did go, and sure enough when 

 she reached the place, she recognized the very man, her husband, seated there on the 

 bench right in front of her. The first thin^ he asked her was, ' 'Where is your brother? ' ' 

 to which she replied, "\\'hy! I killed him, and buried him beside you." "Well,'' 

 came the husband's answer, 'you will never see him. again." Now although her 

 husband was very weak with all that he had suffered and passed through, she nursed 

 .him carefully and brought him back to health, so that within a week he was quite 

 himself again. 



1 It is visual among tlie Warraus. some six days or so after a deatli. to prepare a small quantity of drink, 

 to cut the wife's hair, and make a bundle of the deceased's remaining belongings, which are then buried 

 separately. 



