﻿KOOKIES OR LUN'CTAS. 189 



convey undiscovered to his own liouse his neigh- 

 boar's property, it cannot afterwards be claimed ; 

 nor, if detected in the act, is he otherwise punished 

 than by exposiire to the ridicule of the Parah, and 

 beino- obliged to restore what he niav have laid hold 

 of. 



This must tend to encourage the practice of 

 thieving, which, no doubt, is considered in such 

 liigh estimation, because tlie same sagacity and ad- 

 dress, necessary to give success to the thief, qualifies 

 the warrior, in an eminent degree, to steal unper- 

 ceived upon and surprize his enemy, and thus ensures 

 him victory. So thought the ancient warriors of 

 Sparta, who, like the Kookies of the present day, 

 held in estimation the rhan who could steal with 

 superior expertness. 



The Kcokies, like all savage people, are of a most 

 vindictive disposition; blood must always be shed 

 for blood ; if a tiger even kills any of them, near a 

 Parah, tlie whole tribe is up in arms, and goes in 

 pursuit of the animal ; when, if he is killed, the 

 family of the deceased gives a feast of his flesh, in 

 revenge of his having killed their relation. And 

 si'iould the tribe fail to destroy the tiger, in this first 

 general pursuit of him, the family of the deceased 

 must still continue the chace ; for until they have 

 killed either tliis, or some other tiger, and have 

 given a feast of his flesh, they are in disgrace in the 

 Parah, and not associated with by the rest of the 

 inhabitants, l\\ like manner, if a tiger destroys one 

 of a hunting party, or of a party of Ararriors on an 

 hostile excursion, neither the one nor the other 

 (whatever their success may have been) can return 

 to the Parah, without being disgraced unless they 

 kiil the tiger. A more striking instance still of this 

 revengeful spirit of retaliation is, that if a man 

 should happen to be killed by an accidental fall from 

 a tree, all bis relations assemble, and cut it down ; 

 and however large it may be^ they reduce it to 



cliips. 



