50 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



hoporas'-^- and kuohoos.\ While he Avas thus engaged he saw a bird, a 

 pigeon (kereru) drinking water; then he went and got some New Zealand 

 flax leaves, and made snares, and laid them cunningly, and soon caught a 

 large number of pigeons, insomuch that he had them in heaps ! He then 

 returned to their place of abode, and told his sister to get proper baskets 

 woven to bring home the spoils ; saying that he had caught a great number 

 of fine birds. On hearing this his sister Avas delighted, and when the pro- 

 per baskets were finished, they went together to the place to gather up the 

 birds. On arriving at the spot, there were the dead birds lying in heaps, 

 looking so nice and tempting, that his sister was again dehghted, and 

 danced for joy, singing in her dance this new song, — "Even so, hanging 

 out is thy tongue ; snared securely upon his very perch, set for killing ! 

 Good, good, very good !" They turned to and collected all the birds which 

 had been killed, and which lay in heaps before her, until they had filled 170 

 baskets with them. These were all caught by that one stream, and the 

 name of that stream was Pouturu. And their death was cunningly effected 

 thus : the food of the pigeon is the red toromirol drupe, and there, just 

 above the water, on a cliffy spot, were plenty of red pebbles ; now the birds 

 thought that those red pebbles were toromiro fruits, and so they came 

 together at that spot in great numbers to eat those red pebbles, and when 

 their throats got subsequently dry, through swallowing so many of those 

 pebbles, they rushed to drink and were caught in the snares set by 

 Pukoroauahi. (The names of that peculiar kind of snare are parekaxiae, and 

 also te vhakoau.) Having gathered up their birds they proceeded to carry 

 them oft' on their backs to their residence, and worked hard all that day 

 until evening ; at which time the husband, returning from the woods to his 

 home, saw the big pile of baskets of birds. Immediately he began to be 

 angry with his wife, deemiug those birds had been stolen, or surreptitiously 

 killed, by his brother-in-law. At length his wife said to her husband, 

 " Now, if thou wilt not believe me, come along and let us go together, and 

 see the place where they were snared." So, in the early morning, they 

 went thither together, and reached the water, and there he saw the red 

 pebbles, and the snares, and all the rest of it. Then he knew well that 

 they were not stolen birds from any preserves, and he became overwhelmed 

 with shame. They went back to their home, and the young man said to 

 his sister, " Kindle a separate (tapH=iahooed) fire to roast the birds for my 

 brother-in-laAv ; also, another common cooking fire to roast some for 

 thyself." So she did so, she roasted the birds for her husband, and when 



* Anthornis vielanura. f Frost hemadera novcs-seelandice. 



I Podocarpiis ferruginea. 



