376 ANIMISM AND FOLK-LOKE OF GUIANA INDIANS [etii. ann. 30 



fore let go tlie timber and turned around to pick up all their game and provisions. 

 But these had all disappeared. And so had Konehu! 



358. On another occasion Konehu was again hungry, but the people all about knew 

 what a tricky man he was, and refused to give him anything to eat, unless he paid 

 or worked for it. He had nothing to give, so he had to work. He asked for food at 

 a certain house, and the house-master told him to poimd some rice. He pounded 

 away until late'in the afternoon, The master came to see how much rice had been 

 cleaned, but was astonished to find so small an amount resulting from the large 

 quantity that had been handed over in the morning. The master gave Konehu the 

 same quantity to pound next day, and in the afternoon there was again a marked 

 shortage, so he became very angry and sent Konehu away. That very night, Konehu 

 cooked rice for supper. Instead of a solid heavy-wood pounder, he had used a hollow- 

 bamboo one, and the more he pounded the rice with it, the quicker it became filled.^ 



359. An exploit next takes place wherein our friend Konehu fools a fellow-traveler 

 over some kokerite seeds ( Maximiliana regia). He was sitting on a rock one day 

 eating kokerite nuts. Holding them in close proximity to his crutch, he was breaking 

 them on the hard surface with a stone. Wliile eating the kernels, a traveler passed, 

 and the latter was invited to taste them. He ate with great gusto, and asked Konehu 

 what they were.- "Eheu, edo testiculos meos. Quare nonne edes tuoes," inquit. 

 Itaque hostes, testiculos sues prehena, lapide pulsa\'it, atque tanto mode se vul- 

 neravit ut morietur. 



360. One day Konehu met a man carrjong two quakes of yams. The yams looked 

 just splendid, and Konehu, not having any of his own, determined on pcssessing him- 

 self of them. "Those are fine yams," he said, "what are you going to do with them?" 

 On learning that they were being taken up the river for sale at the next settlement, 

 Konehu said that he knew of another settlement where such beautiful yams would 

 fetch a far higher price, and that if they were handed over to his care he, Konehu, 

 would negotiate the business to the better advantage just for friendsliip's sake. Once 

 they were in his possession, however, Konehu said good-by to the stranger, and brought 

 them home for his wife to cook. All that he had said about selling them at a big 

 price was a lie. Soon after the very same man whom he had cheated came up to the 

 house and threatened to kill him. But Konehu managed to talk "sweet-mouth" 

 and soothed his anger by telling liim that if he waited a while, he would give him 

 some nice pepper-pot. Going into that portion of the logie which was screened off 

 for the women-folk, he told his wife to shriek and scream as if he were killing her. 

 She did what she was bid. Konehu lirought out some pepper-pot, which he placed 

 before the stranger. The man tasted and was enchanted with it. "That is a fine 

 pepper-pot. What did you make it from? " he says. "Just out of my wife's breast,'' 

 replied Konehu. "Didn't you hear her yell when I cut it off?" The foolish man 

 went back to his own home, and seizing his wife, gashed her breast to pieces, but the 

 result was that she bled to death, and he recognized only too late that he had again 

 been tricked. 



361. The way in which Konehu managed to get the advantage of everybody soon 

 spread abroad. Among others, it reached the ear of a head-man at one of the settle- 

 ments. This man had a big field and several wives: he was indeed a rich man. He 

 prided lumself on being very clever and knowing everything: he knew all about the 

 history of his tribe, and by looking at a certain star he could tell the proper time 

 to visit the coast when the crabs were "on the march." In fact, he knew he was 

 shrewder than Konehu, and publicly said so. Now, Konehu heard of this, and 



' Although Father Gumilla, upward of two centuries ago, speaks of indigenous rice growing iu.xuriantly 

 on the Orinoco, thus. far 1 have not met with any records of its having been cultivated by the Indians 

 previous to the Conquest. — W. E. R. 



2 The Arawaks on the Essecjuibo have the same story. 



