CHAP. XX. 
THE WATER SPIRIT. 
177 
Spirit. For days and nights this girl never slept; her 
ravings were most fearful, and all her incoherent speech 
was to or about the Water Spirit, and what she had 
seen in the fairy-like palaces under the water. I sent 
for a doctor, and all sorts of European appliances and 
medicines were resorted to. Still she remained in the 
same sad state; and all we could get from the wise 
women was ‘They knew it! they knew it!’ ‘Knew what? ’ 
I exclaimed ; and it came out that the Water Spirit must 
be propitiated. They say a wilful man must have his 
way; but I think a wilful woman must have hers, or 
rather the whole lot of women at the post. Have it 
they would, and have it they did, for the spirit was in 
due course of time propitiated by atonement, and the 
beautiful Venus was restored to her senses. 
On the third day after the spirit had possessed the 
maiden I observed that the goats and sheep were not 
turned out as usual to pasture. These belonged to the 
old native soldiers, who, particularly at outposts, were 
allowed to convert their savings into ‘ stock,’ to sustain 
their families. After much discussion and deliberation 
a lamb without blemish was selected to be sacrificed to 
the Water Spirit, which was done by the patriarch of 
the whole assembly. A procession was formed, and the 
lamb led to the river, where it was sacrificed on the 
rocks and its blood sprinkled over the running current. 
Then the lamb was cut up and the choice pieces 
N 
