30 Transactions, — Miscellaneous. 



will not move, nor do anything, remaining as if deaf to my commands." 

 On hearing this, Houmea went herself to fetch the water ; and when she 

 was gone forth, Uta began to say his spell ; and this was it : — 



"Be the water absorbed (sunk into the earth), be the water decreased, 



be the water dried up ; proceed onwards, Hou,* proceed onwards ; away, away, 

 up to the very head of the streamlet, to the distant hill-country." 

 And so it came to pass, for, as Houmea went onwards, the water also 

 retreated before her, going out of sight, sinking into the earth, and drying 

 up. Then Uta said to his two children that they should all go away 

 together ; so the children went on to the sandy beach where their father's 

 big canoe was. Then Uta taught and showed (by gestures) to the village, 

 to the houses, to the clumps of trees growing near, to the privy, and to the 

 brow on the hill {o7- place of look-out), that when Houmea should return and 

 seek and call out the names of those three who were now leaving, they 

 (the fixed residents) should all respectively answer to her calling,! and that 

 not one of them was to remain silent ; and so he ended his indications 

 (showing-forth by gestures) to them. Then he, also, went to the sandy 

 beach, and dragged down the canoe to the sea, and when she was fairly 

 afloat, they all got on board and hoisted the sail, and away fled their canoe 

 before the wind ! away, away, to a very far-off distance indeed. 



About this time it was that Houmea returned to the village, and not 

 finding her husband and children, she went about calling them loudly, saying, 

 " sir, sir, wherever can you all be ; thou and our children ? " Then 

 the response came forth from the privy ; the response came also forth from 

 the houses, from the clumps of trees and shrubs, and from the crest of the 

 hill. At last her heart failed her and became weak, and she began to pant 

 and to cry. Then she went up onto the top of the hill and looked out 

 towards the sea, and looking long and closely she saw the canoe far off, as 

 a mere speck on the horizon. Then she walked to the low sandy tidal- 

 bank and entered into a shag,| and went away out to sea floating upon the 

 ripple of the tide. The two children in the canoe kept looking towards the 

 land, and by-and-bye they, through their sharp look-out, saw Houmea coming 

 on after them. On seeing her they cried to their father, " sir, sir, 

 here verily is the demon (atua) coming hither ! " At this time their father 

 was asleep. He, awaking from sleep, said to them, " (my) dear children, 

 whatever shall I do, lest (I) be destroyed by that demon, swallowed down 

 alive into her big stomach ? " The two children rejoined, " Lo ! we two 



* Abbreviated and familiar for Houmea. 



t By way of echo. Note how careful the narrator is here,— Uta does not teach them 

 by words, but by significant gestures, etc. 



\ Gracuhis varius. 



