Rice — Hazcaiian Legends 47 



THE BIRD MAN 



A LEGEND OF KAUAI 



Lahi, or Lauhaka, as he is sometimes called, lived in Wainiha valley. 

 From childhood he had refused to eat any food but the meat of birds. As 

 he grew older the meat of small birds would not satisfy him, and so his 

 uncle. Kanealohi, the Slow-Man, took him to the top of Kilohana, where 

 the inva'u nested. These uwa'u were about the size of chickens. They 

 were gray-feathered, with white breasts, with beaks like those of sea-gulls. 

 Daylight blinded them, and though they were great fishers, they always 

 returned to their nests in the mountains before dawn. Their name comes 

 from the sound of their call or croak, "Uwa'u." While they were in the 

 mountains, the uncle and boy made birds' nests, so that the iizva'u would 

 be well cared for. 



While they were living there, a giant came who tore the nests and 

 tried to kill the men. The boy planned to get rid of their tormentor, and 

 explained his plan to his uncle in these words, "I sEall dig a long hole 

 in the mountain. You crawl into it, dragging with you, by its tail, a bird. 

 When the giant reaches for the bird, you draw it a little further in. When 

 the giant is thus caught in the hole I shall kill him." The plan was carried 

 out, and the giant was put to death. 



But, in the meantime, the king had heard that the boy and his uncle 

 \\-ere destroying the nests of the uzva'ii. So there was more trouble in 

 store for them, for he had gathered together four hundred soldiers to do 

 battle with the two bird-catchers on Kilohana. 



Now Lahi and his uncle had moved to the head of a very narrow valley 

 through which flowed a small stream. If anyone stepped into this stream 

 at any place in its course, the water at the source would ripple. In this 

 way a warning of the coming of friend or foe was always given, and if 

 they were eating birds, the boy would call, "Tear the bird, Kanealohi, the 

 water is rippling." 



One day, as they were roasting birds, the boy saw the water rippling, 

 and called out his warning. The uncle at first replied that no one was 

 coming, but looking again, he saw the dark shadows in the water. Then, 

 in a few minutes, they saw the king and his four hundred men advancing. 

 In despair, Kanealohi cast himself over the cliff, but, as he was falling, 

 the boy caught him and put him behind him out of sight. 



The pass was so narrow that only one man could ascend at a time. 

 And so the boy killed the soldiers, one by one, as they attempted to come 

 up, until the four hundred were thrown over the cliff. The last one to 



