{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_48828/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_48828","id":"gutenberg_48828","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48828","summary":null,"tags":["Anansi (Legendary character)","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Folklore -- Africa, West","Tales -- Africa, West"],"text":"CUNNIE RABBIT, MR. SPIDER AND THE OTHER BEEF\n\n[Illustration: A GHOST STORY.\n\n     [_See Chap. XI._]\n]\n\n\n\n\n  CUNNIE RABBIT, MR. SPIDER\n  AND THE OTHER BEEF\n\n  WEST AFRICAN FOLK TALES\n\n\n  BY\n  FLORENCE M. CRONISE\n  AND\n  HENRY W. WARD\n\n  _ILLUSTRATIONS BY GERALD SICHEL_\n\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n\n  LONDON\n  SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & CO. LIM.\n  NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON & CO.\n  1903\n\n\n\n\n     _Printed by The Motley Press, 18, Eldon Street, E.C._\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nThis little volume is sent forth with many misgivings. It claims\nneither literary excellence nor an entrancing theme, but professes\nfidelity to truth, and a desire to call attention to certain quaint and\ninteresting phases of the inner life of a much misunderstood race.\n\nIn the compilation of these folk-lore tales, the one aim has been to\nmake them accessible to English readers, and at the same time to retain\nas much as possible of their native grace and quaintness.\n\nTo accomplish this aim, the stories have been told in the dialect used\nby the people in their intercourse with the English, and an attempt has\nbeen made to embody the tales in a native setting with local atmosphere\nand colour. In addition it has seemed necessary to make a rather\ncopious use of footnotes and explanations.\n\nMuch care has been exercised not to modify the spirit and real content\nof the stories. The plots and the clever little inventions are wholly\nnative. It has seemed advisable to select only a few of the more\nreadable stories, in the hope that they may win the sympathy of the\ngeneral reader, rather than to attempt an extended collection that\nwould discourage all but special students of folk-lore.\n\nThe stories themselves possess much intrinsic merit; if they fail to\nenlist the reader, the fault must be ascribed to the compilers.\n\nThe sole credit for discovering and collecting the stories is due to\nMiss Cronise; the arrangements of the stories here presented, and their\nsetting, have been largely the work of Mr. Ward.\n\nThe authors are under many obligations to Mr. Alfred Sumner, a native\nAfrican now in this country at college, whose intimate acquaintance\nwith the life and customs of his people proved most helpful; also\nto Rev. D. F. Wilberforce, a native missionary, who has long been\ninterested in the oral literature of his country, and in consequence\nhas been able to give us suggestions of unusual value. To Miss Minnie\nEaton of Moyamba Mission, and to other friends, who spared no pains\nto place desired information within our reach, and especially to the\nMission boys and girls in Africa whose sympathetic interest made this\ncollection a possibility, the gratitude of the authors is due.\n\n     FLORENCE M. CRONISE.\n     HENRY W. WARD.\n\n\n\n\n CONTENTS\n\n\n  CHAPTER                                          PAGE\n\n        INTRODUCTION                                  1\n\n     I. WHEN THE NIGHT HAS COME                      37\n          MR. SPIDER WINS A WIFE.\n\n    II. WITH THE SPIRITS OF THE WOOD                 50\n          GORO, THE WONDERFUL WRESTLER.\n          MR. SPIDER A CLEVER TRADER.\n          MR. TURTLE MAKES A RIDING-HORSE OF MR.\n            LEOPARD.\n\n   III. A BACK-YARD KITCHEN                          77\n          CUNNING RABBIT AND HIS WELL.\n          GOATS OF THE WOOD AND OF THE TOWN.\n\n    IV. EVENING ON THE WATER                         96\n          SPIDER DISCOVERS THE WAX GIRL.\n          MR. CHAMELEON IS TRANSFORMED INTO A\n            BOAT.\n          SPIDER, ELEPHAN' EN PAWPAWT\u00c1MUS.\n\n     V. A PURRO INITIATION                          124\n          CUNNING RABBIT BECOMES A KING.\n          MR. SPIDER INITIATES THE FOWLS.\n\n    VI. THE BURNING OF THE FARM                     147\n          SPIDER TRIES TO BRUSH THE DEVIL'S FARM.\n          THE DEVIL TURNS PIGEON.\n\n   VII. MAMMY MAMENAH AND HER FRIENDS               165\n          A STONE THAT WORE A BEARD.\n          THE GIRL WHO PLAITED THE DEVIL'S BEARD.\n          \"MARRY THE DEVIL, THERE'S THE DEVIL\n            TO PAY.\"\n\n  VIII. CHILDREN OF NATURE                          188\n          THE THREE TWINS.\n          WHICH TWIN RESTORED HIS FATHER TO\n            LIFE.\n          WHICH ONE WAS MOST GREEDY.\n          MR. SPIDER CREATES A FRIGHTFUL TORNADO.\n          MR. LEOPARD SHOWS HIS HAND.\n          MR. LEOPARD FOOLS THE OTHER ANIMALS.\n          A CASE OF TIT FOR TAT.\n          DR. SPIDER'S FATAL PRESCRIPTIONS.\n          MR. SPIDER \"PULLS\" A SUPPLY OF MEAT.\n\n    IX. AN AFTERNOON IN THE BARREH                  240\n          THE DANCING BIRD.\n          THE WICKED IS TAKEN IN HIS OWN SNARE.\n          AN OLD MAN TURNS ELEPHANT.\n          THE MAN WHO COULD NOT KEEP SECRETS.\n\n     X. KONAH TURNS STORY-TELLER                    264\n          THE DEVIL'S MAGIC EGGS.\n          TOOTHACHE ENTAILED.\n          WHY MR. SPIDER'S WAIST IS SMALL.\n\n    XI. WHILE THE BIRDS DID NOT COME                281\n          MR. SPIDER SECURES A POWERFUL WITCH\n            MEDICINE.\n          MR. SPIDER GETS INTO TROUBLE AGAIN.\n          A GHOST STORY.\n\n   XII. A HARVEST HOME IN TEMNE-LAND                298\n          WATCH-POT AND GREEDY.\n          THE ORIGIN OF THE AXE.\n\n  XIII. KONAH HAS A WONDERFUL DAY                   317\n          THE NEW VERSION OF EVE AND THE APPLE.\n\n\n\n\nCUNNIE RABBIT\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\n\nThe collection of folk-lore tales, from which the stories contained in\nthe present volume have been selected, was made by Miss Cronise while\na teacher in the mission school at Rotifunk, Protectorate of Sierra\nLeone, West Africa; a mission under the control of the Woman's Board of\nthe United Brethren Church.\n\nThe stories were collected without the remotest thought of offering\nthem for publication. The first motive was a desire to enter more\nintimately into the life and mental habits of the people whom she was\nto instruct. This motive was soon reinforced by the attractiveness of\nthe stories themselves, and by the fascinating manner in which they\nwere told.\n\nThe tales were gathered from the mission children, most of whom\nhad been brought from native homes farther inland, and from adult\nemployees of the mission who had been long enough in contact with these\nwhite people to be found worthy of entire confidence, and to give their\nconfidence in return.\n\nNotwithstanding the many touches of English influence noticeable in\nthe stories, it is believed that the ones here presented are, in all\nessentials, characteristically native. The same stories were heard\nfrom different persons, under different circumstances, and with every\nevidence of their being the spontaneous outflow of traditional lore.\nSometimes a tale already heard in detail from an adult, would be told\nin mere outline by some child fresh from a hut of the forest.\n\nA year or more had been spent among these people before it was\ndiscovered that they possessed a distinct oral literature, and\nconsiderably more time passed before any attempt was made to collect\nand record it.\n\nMissionaries had been in this section for fifty years, but being wholly\nabsorbed in more serious concerns, they were either unaware of this\nnative literature, or more probably looked upon it as a part of the\nheathen superstition which they felt called upon to obliterate.\n\nNo one at all familiar with folk-lore, will need to be told of the\npeculiar difficulties experienced in making the present collection.\nNatives are instinctively suspicious of foreigners, and uneasy in their\npresence, and not only must this natural barrier be broken down, but\nthere must spring up mutual understanding and sympathy, and outward\nenvironments must be congenial before there can be any satisfactory\nstory-telling. The collection was made as opportunity offered, after\nother duties were performed. Various devices had to be resorted to, the\ncommonest being to offer some attractive little inducement to a child\nof the mission or adjacent town. The child, curled up on the floor,\nor perched on any convenient object, would at once evince the most\nsympathetic interest, and then it would be a simple matter to draw out\nstories heard in the native wilds. By rapid writing, so abbreviated as\nto approach shorthand, the narratives were taken down literally, word\nfor word. Then again, familiarity made it possible to sit near a group\nof children gathered in the evening for talk and laughter, and there to\noverhear the conundrums they propounded, and the stories they related\nto one another. Sometimes an adult could be induced to relate stories\nfor an evening. One such story was a portion of a loosely connected\nnarrative, the whole of which would occupy the evenings of an entire\nweek.\n\nTwo years of patient endeavor brought to light one hundred and\ntwenty-five distinct stories. There was positive assurance of\nunnumbered more being current among the people, and evidence was\noccasionally found of the existence of another class of stories, such\nas the missionary would not care to hear or to record.\n\nIt may be, then, that while the fables here given truthfully reflect\nthe life of the people, they do not reflect the whole life, but only\nthe better, purer part.\n\nStrangely enough, during all the years that the English have been\nin possession of West Africa, no one has taken the pains to collect\nany considerable part of the oral literature that is particularly\nabundant there. So far as we have been able to learn, practically\nnothing has been done in all the Sierra Leone region, toward collecting\nand publishing this great body of traditional literature. Schlenker\nincluded seven tales in his \"Temne Traditions\" published in 1861, and\nan occasional \"Nancy Story\" has appeared in Sierra Leone newspapers,\nbut no serious effort has been made toward a collection; and yet\nperhaps no region of Africa is richer in native literature.\n\nHow completely this literature envelops the life of the people, may be\ninferred from the fact that the youngest children in the mission were\nfound to possess the salient features of many stories, which they must\nhave acquired before being taken from their people.\n\nThese stories seem to be the chief source of entertainment, not only of\nthe young, but of the adult as well. The children of all races are fond\nof fables and fairy-tales, and the black man in his native state is\nalways a child.\n\nWhatever the distant origin of these legends and fables, it is plain\nthat they now serve as a pleasing diversion for leisure hours, and\ngratify the natural hunger of the human mind for representations of\nits own desires as realized, without being hampered by literal fact.\nThey fill even a larger place in the mental and ideal life of these\nunlettered people, than the great mass of fictitious literature does\namong more cultured races. There are many close parallels between\nthis native literature and fiction as it is found among civilized\npeoples. Both allow a delightful freedom to the genius of the\nstory-teller--though the imagination of the African is representative\nrather than creative,--both please by depicting some form of ideal\nachievement, both make frequent appeals to the humorous and pathetic in\nexperience, and both furnish entertainment for hours of idleness, or\noffer the soul an ideal refuge from life's hard and stern realities.\n\nAmong the Africans, story-telling is mainly a pastime. It flourishes\nonly under congenial environments and favoring conditions. These are\nabundant leisure, a company of sympathizing listeners, and freedom from\nexcitement.\n\nStory-telling most often springs spontaneously from the chat, when\na number of persons are together with nothing particular to do;\nsometimes, however, time and place are appointed. Stories may be told\nwhenever circumstances are favorable, but as conditions are most\ninviting when darkness is in possession of the outer world, most of the\nstory-telling takes place at night. If the moon shines, its light is\nsufficient; should the night be dark or chill, fires are kindled, and\nin the flickering light of these, picturesque groups of natives may\nbe seen, brought together by some impulse which they do not stop to\nquestion. Before the group breaks up, stories are quite likely to be\nstarted, and naturally one will draw out another, each furnishing the\ninspiration and the excuse for the next. The social instinct of the\nnegro is very strong, and it leads him to seek the companionship of his\nfellows as often as possible. Crowded together in village communities,\nwith few and irregular demands upon their time, and with instinctive\nhospitality and friendliness, the black tribes cultivate without\nconscious effort, their native traditions and fanciful literature. Any\none may relate these tales, either as one is suggested to his mind,\nor on request of some one present; yet in many communities, there\nare persons so well versed in these common myths and legends, and so\ngifted in rehearsing them, that they are looked upon as the village\nstory-tellers, and are expected to do most of the reciting. If the\npeople know that a person so gifted is among them, they go and beg him\nfor a story, offering him some present--perhaps tobacco, kola nuts,\ncowry shells, which are used as currency, or some other small article.\nThen they build a great fire and sit around it while the story is told.\n\nWe have it also on good native authority, that there are occasionally\nprofessionals who make their living by going from village to village,\nand exchanging for food and shelter, stories interspersed with songs.\nMany of these African troubadours display remarkable dramatic power.\nVoice, eyes, face, hands, head, and indeed the whole person aid in\ngiving force to the words.\n\nThe reader will greatly enhance his pleasure in the perusal of the\nfollowing tales, if he will give his own imagination full play, and\nwill supply what the narrator added by the manner of his delivery.\n\nRiddles and story-telling are not infrequently continued throughout\nthe entire night, and in connection with an unusual occasion, such as\nthe funeral ceremonies of some distinguished person, or the marriage\nfestivities of a similar personage. They may be protracted for several\nnights.\n\nMany little songs, or rather choruses, occur in the stories. These\nare rendered in a kind of chanting measure, a weird melody, usually\naccompanied by a rhythmical clapping of the hands. They are invariably\nshort, usually in the minor key, and, in the longer stories, are\nrepeated at intervals, seemingly to give variety and animation to the\nnarrative. It makes a peculiar impression upon the distant listener to\nhear these periodical choruses break forth suddenly on the night air,\nand just as suddenly cease.\n\nThe songs are invariably given in the native language, and the crude\nattempt at translation given by the narrator, fails utterly to\nreproduce their musical qualities.\n\nNegro folk-lore, whether in Africa or America, consists largely of\nanimal stories, in which human qualities and characteristics are\nascribed to the various animals. In the Temne legends, the Spider, the\nCunning Rabbit, the Deer, the Leopard, the Turtle, the Elephant, the\nLizard, the Chameleon, the Cat and the Hawk appear very frequently,\nwhile many other animals, birds and insects are introduced. It appears\nto be assumed, throughout the stories, that there was a time when\nall animals dwelt together in a single community, until some of the\nanimals began to prey upon the others, thus scattering them over the\nface of the earth, creating enmities, and destroying the power to\nunderstand one another. The communities were organized with king and\nheadmen, and had houses and farms, occupations and wants, like the men\nof later times.\n\nSeveral accounts are given of how the animals came to be dispersed. The\none contained in this collection, of Mister Spider and his powerful\nwitch medicine, is evidently, in part at least, a late invention. It\nrepresents Spider in his usual r\u00f4le of devising some cunning scheme\nfor securing a supply of food for himself and family. In this instance\nhe procures a gun and ammunition, and announces that he has secured a\nmedicine to kill off the witches that infest the town; and thus, under\npretence of rendering the community a valuable service, he begins to\nkill and to devour the animals one by one. They finally take alarm, and\nflee to different parts of the earth.\n\nAnother story, bearing the marks of greater antiquity, represents the\nanimals as living together in peace and harmony, until the Leopard\ndevelops a taste for fresh meat, and begins to prey upon the other\nanimals. They hold a council, and finally decide to take the only\nboat in existence, and to remove to an island of the sea, leaving Mr.\nLeopard alone on the mainland. Every day some one is left to guard the\nboat, while the others are away procuring food. Once, while the Deer\nis left on guard, Leopard comes to the shore, and in a disguised voice\ncalls for the boat to be brought across. Mr. Deer, always represented\nin these stories as being extremely stupid, is deceived, and rows the\nboat across. Of course Mr. Leopard devours the unfortunate Deer, seizes\nthe boat and plans a general feast when the animals return to the\nvillage at night. To save themselves, they scatter in every direction,\nand thus animals become dispersed over the earth.\n\nHereafter the animals appear to have had dealings with each other, more\nor less, but were never again united, although there is mention of\ntheir gathering for special purposes on several occasions.\n\nThe stories frequently assume to account for the peculiar traits or\nphysical characteristics of the various animals; as, for instance, why\nthe Deer coughs, why the Leopard is spotted, why the Spider is flat\nand why his waist is small, why the Elephant's tusks protrude, and why\nthe Turtle's shell is rough and scarred.\n\nCertain definite qualities and characteristics are ascribed to\nparticular animals, and to these they hold consistently through all\nthe stories. The Deer is always stupid and helpless; the Elephant\nenormously strong but lacking in mental acuteness; the Cunning Rabbit\nintelligent and lovable; and the Spider shrewd, designing, selfish, and\nsometimes vindictive and cruel.\n\nIt is noticeable that the weak and helpless creatures are made to\nprevail against the strong and mighty, not by any use of force, but by\ncleverness and cunning. Thus Mr. Spider defeats both the Elephant and\nthe Hippopotamus in a pulling match, by the clever ruse of challenging\nthem, in turn, to a trial of strength, proposing to draw the Elephant\nfrom the shore to the water, and the Hippopotamus from the water to\nthe shore. The Spider procures a rope so long that neither antagonist\ncan see the other. At the appointed time he ties one end of it to the\nElephant, and says that when he is ready to begin the contest, he will\ngive the signal by shaking the rope; then going to the water's edge, he\nties the other end to the Hippopotamus, giving the same instructions.\nFinally, going to the middle of the rope, he gives the signal, and the\nstruggle begins, while Mr. Spider enjoys the sport from behind a tree,\nto which place of safety he has had the good judgment to retreat.\n\nAs the two monsters are so equally matched in strength, the struggle\ncontinues, with advantage to neither, until both are completely\nexhausted and fall down dead. Mr. Spider, viewing the results of his\ncleverness, soliloquises: \"Yo' pass me fo' 'trong, but aintee I pass\nyo' fo' sense?\"\n\nThe victims of this cunning supply food to Mr. Spider and his family\nthroughout the famine, and that indeed was the Spider's purpose in\nthe ruse. The story throws in the gratuitous information that the\nSpider cast into the water such portions of the carcasses as were not\ndesirable for food, and from these pieces came fish, the first of their\nkind.\n\nMental superiority counts for more than mere brute force, even where\nthere is a direct trial of strength, as in the story of \"Cunning\nRabbit and his Well.\" The other animals come to wrestle with Cunning\nRabbit for the privilege of taking water from his well, but on account\nof his \"sense,\" Cunning Rabbit is always victor, even to hurling the\nElephant into the air, although the latter tried to hold himself down\nby wrapping his trunk around a tree.\n\nSometimes a necromantic spell is called in to aid the weaker, as in the\ncase of Goro, the Wrestler, in which the song of incantation chanted by\nthe mother, enables the child to prevail.\n\nIt satisfies the ethical sense of all people, to represent helpless\ninnocence as finally triumphant over the selfish power of might.\nPerhaps the black race has more than usual reason for representing in\nits imaginative literature, that cunning, craft and cleverness are\nthe qualities most to be admired and cultivated. It has always been\nan oppressed people, defenceless in the contest with wild beasts,\nwithout adequate resources in the struggle with nature, and helpless\nagainst the cruelties of their more aggressive fellowmen. Little wonder\nthat they exalt cunning, deception and craft. If there is a dash of\nviciousness in these, all the better. It is only poetic retribution.\nConsequently the African is taught dissimulation as a fine art, and\ncunning as the most worthy of accomplishments.\n\nThe Spider appears to be the national hero, the impersonation of\nthe genius of the race. To him are ascribed the qualities most\ncharacteristic of the people, or those most to be desired: cunning,\nsleeplessness, almost immortality, an unlimited capacity for eating,\nand an equal genius for procuring the necessary supplies. He possesses\na charmed life, and escapes from all intrigue. He is a tireless weaver,\nand has spun the thread of his personality into all the warp and woof\nof the national life. With him the adults associate most of their\ntraditions, while the children love him, and push him tenderly aside if\nhe chances to come in their way. He is inclined to be lazy, and refuses\nto lift even the lightest burden if it is in the nature of work; if it\nis something to eat, he can carry the carcass of an elephant with the\ngreatest ease.\n\nThe Spider occupies the same place in the folk-lore of West Africa, as\ndoes Brer Rabbit in the tales of the southern negro, and as Annancy\nholds among the negroes of the West Indies, or Hlakanyana among the\nKaffirs of South Africa. A comparative study of these several heroes\nand the literature gathered about them, would be extremely interesting\nand profitable, but would carry us beyond the bounds set for this\nintroduction.\n\nMr. Harris, in his introduction to \"Nights With Uncle Remus,\" has\npointed out the essential identity of Brer Rabbit and Hlakanyana. There\nis perhaps a closer parallel between the Spider of the Temne tales,\nand Annancy, the hero of the West Indian stories. A comparison of Mr.\nSpider and Brer Rabbit reveals many similarities and some differences,\nthe latter due no doubt to the mellowing influence of contact with a\nfiner civilization, an influence that has softened the character of\nthe transplanted negro, and wrought the same change in the hero of his\nstories. Both are exceedingly clever, and equal to any emergency. Brer\nRabbit, however, is inoffensive in his mischief, and very properly\ngets out of every scrape without serious consequences. If ever he gets\nothers into trouble, it is to save himself, or to settle an old score.\nMr. Spider's cunning has at times a touch of viciousness in it. It\nsometimes overreaches itself, and brings Mr. Spider to grief, though\nnever to destruction.\n\nCunning Rabbit rivals Mr. Spider in shrewdness and wit, and in the\nreverence and esteem given him by the people. In pure intelligence and\nin amiability of disposition he is without a peer. He is uniformly\npronounced \"King of de beef fo' wise, oh!\" He and Mr. Spider are\nusually on amicable terms, but when their interests clash there is a\nnotable contest of wits. The natives say: \"Two cunnie meet up, de one\ncunnie, de odder cunnie,\" but Cunning Rabbit always has a shade the\nbetter of it in the end.\n\nWe have found it very difficult to identify this little creature,\ncalled by the natives \"Cunnie Rabbit.\" It is evidently not a rabbit\nat all, but the water deerlet or chevrotain, noted for its nimbleness\nand cunning. It is about eighteen inches long, slender and graceful\nin form, with a soft fawn-colored skin, and the daintiest of legs and\nfeet. The little creature is very difficult to secure. Its shyness,\nfleetness and cunning have led the natives to invest it with a sort of\nveneration.\n\nA fragment of skeleton submitted to Dr. F. W. True, Head Curator\nDepartment of Biology, Smithsonian Institution, was pronounced to\nbelong to Hyomoschus Aquaticus, an animal peculiar to West Africa.\n\nIt would be the merest conjecture to surmise that this water deerlet,\nthe Cunning Rabbit of African folk-lore, may be the ancestor of Brer\nRabbit, as the negroes of the South portray him, and yet there is a\nshadow of evidence for such belief. The negroes might have transferred\nthe qualities of their Cunning Rabbit to the American hare, because of\nthe similarity of their popular names. It certainly requires a very\nfriendly eye to see in the hare all the mental acumen accredited by the\nnegroes to Brer Rabbit.\n\nTo students of comparative folk-lore, these little stories will furnish\nmuch food for reflection. They probably come as nearly fresh from the\nhearts of a primitive people, and are as little modified by outside\ninfluences, as any collection made in recent times.\n\nTo the oft-repeated question as to how the story was learned, and\nwhence it came, the uniform answer was: \"Oh, please, Missus, f'om\n_f-a-r_ up country,\" with a much prolonged emphasis on the \"far,\" and\nan intonation that expressed wonder at such a question's being asked,\nas all such stories must come from the infinitely remote in space and\ntime.\n\nIt will be observed that very many of the stories in this collection\nare almost identical with a number of the tales in the \"Uncle Remus\"\nseries, and with a few in the \"Annancy Stories,\" to say nothing of\nlikenesses found in the folk-lore of the American Indians, and the very\nnatural similarity between these tales and those current among the\nnegroes of other portions of Africa.\n\nThe \"Tar Baby\" story, which seems to be in the oral literature of\nall African tribes, and a standard among the folk-lore tales of all\npeoples, appears here as the \"Wax Girl.\"\n\nThe incidents leading up to the encounter of Mr. Spider with the Wax\nGirl, differ from the preliminaries in the story of Brer Rabbit and the\nTar Baby, but the encounter itself is the same in both. The outcome\nalso differs in the two stories, but in each is entirely consistent\nwith the story as a whole. Brer Rabbit has been guilty of no offence\nthat deserves punishment, so he suffers only temporary humiliation,\nand finally regains simultaneously his freedom and his prestige, by\ninducing Mr. Fox to fling him into the brier patch. Mr. Spider, on\nthe other hand, has practised gross deception, and has appropriated\nto his own use what should have been shared with others, so he very\nappropriately receives as punishment an unmerciful flogging at the\nhands of the outraged community.\n\nMr. Spider's feat of strength in his contest with the Elephant and the\nHippopotamus, already referred to, is a variant of the same contest\nbetween Mr. Terrapin and Mr. Bear.\n\nThe Temne story of the Turtle making a riding-horse of Mr. Leopard,\nfinds its parallel in Brer Rabbit's riding Brer Fox, as told by \"Uncle\nRemus,\" and in the \"Annancy Stories,\" by Pamela Colman Smith, where\nAnnancy rides the Tiger.\n\nIn one instance Mr. Leopard feigns death, and when the other animals\ngather around to wail for him, he seizes and devours them. This is much\nlike Mr. Wildcat's attempt to secure the wild turkey by the same ruse.\n\nIt must suffice to have mentioned a few variants only, although there\nare many more of the same nature. If anything further were needed\nto prove that the folk-tales of the American negroes were brought\nwith them from Africa, the striking parallels in the tales of the two\ncountries ought to supply the proof.\n\nThe magic nuts, or eggs, or other articles, which appear in the\nfolk-lore of most races, and which on being opened let out, at one\ntime a profusion of all things desired--riches, fine houses, servants\netc., and at other times, reptiles, insects, and cruel monsters, are\nalso found among these tales. The story of the devil's magic eggs is a\nrepresentative of this class. In another story the bangah-nuts take the\nplace of the eggs.\n\nThere are also traces of the \"half thing\" conception. In one story a\nman's possessions consisted of half things of various kinds, a half\npot, a half bowl, everything half. A bird that possessed magic power,\nbefriended the poor man, and transformed the \"bush\" into a village\nfilled with riches, to be his on condition of never disturbing the\nbird's egg. The condition is finally violated, and the man, made\nutterly destitute, learns that half a thing is better than none. In\nthe story contained in this collection, in which a young girl marries\na devil, it will be noted that the devil in taking human form, was\ncompelled to supply his hideous deficiency by borrowing half a head,\none foot, one hand, everything half; and after his successful wooing,\nwhen he approached his own home, with his bride, all the half things\nthat he had borrowed fell off one by one, until finally \"all t'ing nah\nheen skin bin lef half.\"\n\nIn all the stories we possess, there is only one mention of the\ndivining mirror. It is employed by a lover, and startles him by\nrevealing his loved one lying dead.\n\nIt may aid the reader to appreciate these fables from Temne-Land, if a\nfew paragraphs of this introduction be given to a brief discussion of\nthe peculiar beliefs, customs, and environments of the people who have\nformulated the stories, and who repeat them with never-dying interest.\n\nIf we could get a true and complete picture of the black man's\nmental and moral world from his view point, we should be able to\nconfer a measureless boon upon all those who must deal with him; but\nunfortunately we have no such good gift to offer. The negro character\nis so perverse and enigmatical that it defies satisfactory analysis.\n\nThe stories themselves will furnish the best kind of information on\nthese points, and to the serious student, this perhaps will be their\nchief value. However a summary of a few of the facts available will\nnot be amiss. What is said, though applicable directly to the Temnes,\nwill be true in a general sense of all the surrounding tribes, and\nin a limited way of all the race. As a people, the Temnes are filled\nexceedingly with innate pride and natural dignity, and love to be\nnoticed and honored. They are fond of riches as they understand them,\nand are shrewd traders. Their wealth consists of wives, slaves, cows,\nand goats, and these they value in the order named. Mentally they are\nbright and quick-witted, though only as concerns the reproductive\npowers of the mind; for independent thinking they have little capacity.\nThe memory powers are especially strong and persistent. The black man\nkeeps in his head records that a white man would be compelled to write\nin a book.\n\nThe native African has few ambitions beyond the satisfying of his\nappetites, and the gratification of his sensual desires. Contentment\nwith his lot is the bane of his life, so far as any hope of improvement\nis concerned, and yet these stories reveal glimmerings of better\nthings, and a capacity to formulate ideals. It is not an easy matter to\nknow the impulses that lie deep within the breast of any people,--the\ncentral life impulses, out of which flow all desires and motives, and\nall standards of happiness. It is still more difficult to get at this\ncentral impulse in an uncivilized people, because heathenism renders\nthe soul-life of its adherents extremely difficult to understand.\n\nThe literature of a people is the best revelation of its soul-life,\nespecially of the ideals it would consciously or unconsciously set up.\nIt is in this fact that such collections as the one here offered, find\ntheir greatest worth.\n\nThe inner life of the African is so completely under the control of\nhis superstitious beliefs, that to comprehend it adequately, one must\nunderstand all the hideous network of superstitions that envelop the\nwhole life of the people.\n\nMr. Alfred Sumner, an educated native, has kindly furnished us the\nfollowing facts concerning this phase of the life of his people.\n\n\"All the people believe in signs and omens, good and bad; every\noccurrence that is a little beyond the ordinary, or seems a little\nstrange, must receive some interpretation from the natives. In fact,\noccurrences that are not beyond the natural, so long as they do not\nhappen every day, are the sign of something. The withering of a tree,\nthe falling of a fence, the stumbling against something in the road,\nthe ringing of the ear, the dancing of the eyelid, the itching palm,\ntwo babies laughing at each other; these and many more things that\ntime would fail us to mention, mean something to the native; tokens of\ngood, warnings of calamity near. The cry of the witch bird, and the\n\"cluck, cluck, cluck\" of the boa-constrictor, mean the certain death\nof someone. If one should be killed by lightning on the road, persons\npassing the spot from that time on, must pluck a leaf or a small\nbranch and throw it there to avert the same death. Some parts of a\nroad have been entirely abandoned and new paths made on this account.\nOne dare not sew his cloth while it is on his body, lest a relative\nof his die. There are many more, to us silly superstitions, in which\nthe natives fully believe. To them they are signs and wonders. Some\nare easy to interpret, others must come under the prophetic eye of the\n\"country-fashion\" man--a man who interprets signs and wonders either by\nspiritual means, or on sand, or with stones. All sorts of charms are\nmade and worn. Various articles are used in their composition--such\nas oil, leaves, beads, hair, finger-nails, toe-nails etc. Most of the\ncharms the women put on in Africa, are merely small bits of paper with\nMohammedan writing, wrapped in a piece of soft leather. They are either\nto ward off evil, or to bring about luck, according to the writing\non the paper. All the \"Sebbehs\"--that is, the flat, regularly formed\ncharms--are made in this way. Not all of the charms are to be seen\nby everybody; some are very private, and must be worn next the skin.\nThe \"hoodoos\" and \"fetiches\" are of more importance than the ordinary\ncharms, and their composition is more complex, consisting of leaves,\nbarks, roots, horns and bones, either of man or beast, or of both, all\ncarefully placed in a country-pot made of clay, and kept from every eye\nsave that of the owners and perhaps near relatives. These fetiches may\nserve as gods, and are believed to have the power to return evil for\nevil to any one who may harm their owners. What is called \"gree-gree\"\nis a fetich that is employed by its owner to revenge any wrong received\nby him. The \"He-ge-de\" is considered to have the power of self-motion,\nand of attacking in a death-combat the one to whom it is sent. These\ncharms may be used by any one, irrespective of rank or age; but some of\nthem are very costly, and only the rich can afford them. The leopard's\nteeth are considered very great and valuable ornaments--pearls of great\nprice; and natives are loth to sell them. They may well be called their\ndiamonds, as they not infrequently calculate their wealth by the number\nof leopard's teeth owned.\"\n\nIt is thus seen that the natives are born, reared, and die in nameless\nterror of unseen powers that teem in woods, fields and towns. Their\nspirits are legion. A few of these are believed to be good, the\nmajority bad, exceedingly bad. It is the greater part of their\nexistence to circumvent the evil spirits, and to win the favor of the\ngood. The tiniest babe is decorated with strings, shells, or bits of\nwood, supposed to possess the power to ward off evils which mother-arms\ncannot avert. Those of maturer years, even down to old age, often\nsacrifice to conciliate they know not what.\n\nSickness is believed to be caused by a witch. If one is seized with\nserious illness, a witch-doctor is called in to exorcise the evil\nspirit; failing in thus obtaining relief, the next resort is to\nincantations and ordeals, to discover who is guilty of bewitching the\nafflicted one, some individual being held guilty of bringing on the\nmalady.\n\nThe power of the witch-doctor is considered absolute, and woe to the\nunfortunate one that falls under his ill-will. He is believed to\npossess the power of double vision, and to be able to see spirits,\nand to know their doings. Never is the power and efficiency of his\nincantations doubted. His exorbitant fees are paid with a cheerfulness\nthat would quite astound a Christian doctor. A curse pronounced in\nthe name of a witch-medicine is supposed to be relentless towards the\none against whom it is directed. The following is a good example of a\nnative curse.\n\n\"Oh, thou medicine, the person who stole this my rice, cloth, lamp,\nfruit, bed, or pot, I give this person into your hands. If you leave\nthis person you leave your fowl (used in sacrifice). I swear the\nperson's lungs, heart and liver. If the person goes to work, let him\ncut himself, and if he goes to war let him be killed; everything he\ndoes, let evil come upon him.\"\n\nThe \"Country-fashion\" man, also, is supposed to possess the power\nof double vision, but of a slightly different kind. He can see the\nmysterious occult powers that operate beyond the reach of ordinary\nvision. He is therefore prophet and seer, the interpreter of signs and\nomens, and various mysterious occurrences.\n\nIn the social relations of the people, a loose caste system prevails,\nbased chiefly upon might. The chief exacts obedience and service from\nall beneath him. Men make servants of women, and of other weaker men.\nIn a polygamous household, the head wife regards the other wives as her\ninferiors and servants, while each wife makes practical slaves of her\nown children. The older children in turn exact service of the younger.\nHe is poor indeed, who cannot find another weaker than himself to do\nhis bidding. Society is a pyramid with the weakest at the bottom, and\nthe strongest at the top.\n\nIt remains to make the necessary explanations of the dialect of the\nstories, and with that this introduction must close.\n\nThe general reader may feel like protesting against the use of a\ndialect that presents so many difficulties, and the philologist will\nobject to the form employed, as being too much influenced by English\nassociations to represent the dialect of the people in its native\npurity.\n\nTo both classes of readers our apology may seem weak and inadequate.\nIn the first place, the stories would lose much of their vitality and\nforce if the flavor of the peculiar mental qualities of the people who\ntell them should be lost by an attempt at translation. The ideal means\nof expression would be the vigorous and picturesque native tongue, did\nit not exclude all but the initiated from sharing the stories. The next\nbest thing is to allow the native mind to express itself in its own\nadaptation of a foreign language.\n\nAs to the form the dialect has been allowed to take, it may be said\nthat it differs from that used by the people in daily conversation,\nonly as formal English differs from the colloquial. There is a little\nnearer approach to subordination of clauses than is found in ordinary\nconversation, and a larger per cent of English words is employed,\nas might be expected from those who have had some training in that\nlanguage. This necessarily involves an inconsistency, inasmuch as\nthe stories are represented as being told by natives in their native\nenvironment; but as the whole undertaking has presented peculiar\ndifficulties, some degree of allowance may be expected.\n\nThe dialect is that of the Temne people, and is essentially the\ndialect of Sierra Leone, from which it was derived. Each new tribe,\nin learning the dialect, modified it slightly, so that, although it\nis perfectly intelligible to all the tribes using it, an attempt to\nrepresent the words phonetically, reveals many differences. Wherever\nthe pronunciation of common words, such as \"make,\" \"take,\" \"come\" etc.,\nvery closely approximates the English usage, we have not hesitated to\ngive the correct English form.\n\nThe whole dialect is a hopeless jumble of English and African words.\nIt is very much condensed, almost stenographic in its brevity, and\nrequires the aid of voice and gesture to round it out to like-life\nfulness. This requirement, the native temperament, being emotional and\npicturesque, meets to perfection. These accessories the imagination of\nthe reader must supply, if he is to receive the keenest pleasure from\nthe perusal of the stories.\n\nWith the native, a common device of expression is the repetition of the\nemphatic word or phrase, or else its very much prolonged utterance.\nThe word \"Sot\u00e1y\"--accent on the last syllable--when used in the sense\nof \"a long time,\" is prolonged until the very utterance conveys the\nimpression desired. Naturally, the vocabulary is very meager. There\nare no words to express shades of meaning. Every thing that in any\nway pleases the eye is \"fine.\" Every thing that pleases the taste,\neither literally or figuratively, is \"sweet.\" Rice is \"sweet,\" pepper\nis \"sweet,\" and fighting is \"sweet.\" Gender is ignored. \"He\" stands\nfor \"he,\" \"she,\" or \"it,\" indiscriminately. \"Me Mammy he go bring\nyo' him son Mary, to-morrow.\" Idea of number is rudimentary. \"He\" is\nuniformly singular, and \"dem\" is usually plural. \"Um\" occurs often\nin the objective singular, but the variation in number appears to\nbe purely accidental. \"Dey\" is rarely used for the pronoun \"they,\"\nalthough to avoid confusion it has been allowed to appear quite\nfrequently in the stories. \"Dem\" and \"den\" are used interchangeably\nfor \"they,\" and since there is no distinction in case, they may also\nbe used for them. \"Den\" is seldom used for \"then,\" but is usually a\npronoun. The reader will need to exercise special care on this point.\nFor the adverb \"there,\" the natives invariably use \"deh.\" There is a\npeculiar use of an auxiliary that will need careful notice. Its sound\nis between that of \"dey\" and \"duh;\" the latter has been chosen. \"He duh\ncome\" means \"He is coming,\" or \"He comes,\" in the historical present.\nHowever, laws of language are trampled on with utmost unconcern. \"Go\"\nis used occasionally as a sign of the future. \"He go come\" meaning \"he\nwill come,\" and \"he go go,\" \"he will go.\" Certain words are repeated\nto form a single expression, as \"so-so,\" meaning \"merely,\" \"nothing\nbut.\" \"San'-san'\" is sand, and \"bug-a-bug\" is the white ant. Idiomatic\nexpressions occur frequently, and unless mastered at once, may prove\nconfusing; once understood, they are very expressive. \"He no tay\"\nmeans \"it does not stay,\" that is, Time does not linger, or, It is\nbut a short time. \"Pass\" is used in all comparisons, in the sense of\nsurpass, excel, exceed, etc.; as--\"Spider pass Elephan' fo' sense,\"\n\"I pass yo' fo' 'trong.\" \"Pull\" is employed in the peculiar sense of\n\"produce,\" \"devise,\" \"create,\" as: \"He pull one big holler,\" \"He pull\ndis sense,\" \"God pull de people,\" referring to the creation of Adam\nand Eve. \"No mo'\" is an expression frequently found, and although no\nsingle English expression can cover the meaning in all of its uses, it\nsignifies \"only that and nothing more.\" \"He de one man no mo'\" means\n\"only he and no one else.\" \"So-so san'-san' no mo',\" \"entirely sand,\nnothing more.\"\n\nBut of these expressions there are not many, so the difficulty in\nmastering them will not be great. It has often been difficult to find a\nspelling that represents correctly the sound desired. The natives never\nsay \"house,\" but always \"ho'se,\" giving \"s\" its sibilant sound. With\nthe further aid of the vocabulary printed at the end of the volume,\nthere should be little difficulty in reading the stories.\n\nIt may be said in conclusion, that no one can be more conscious of the\nfragmentary nature of the literature presented in this volume, or of\nthe faulty manner of its presentation, than are the authors themselves.\n\n     F. M. C.\n     H. W. W.\n\n  _Toledo, Iowa._\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I\n\nWHEN THE NIGHT HAS COME\n\n\nThe African day was lingering for a brief moment in a tropical\ntwilight, as if reluctant to give over a world of natural beauty to\nthe impenetrable darkness of a moonless, forest night. The mud huts of\nthe native village, with their conical, palm-thatched roofs, showed in\nthe fading twilight like great shocks of harvested grain in a little\nfield fenced in by a high hedge of trees. Narrow foot-paths--the only\nsuggestion of streets--wound irregularly through the village, and in\nthese, children, innocently nude, were romping, and chasing each other\nwith all the noisy delight of that care-free age. Men and women, led by\ntheir inclination to gossip, or by an instinctive shrinking from the\ngathering darkness, were unconsciously drifting into groups about fires\nthat had been kindled here and there in the irregular open spaces.\nOther light the village had none, and the little fires seemed only to\nexaggerate the thick curtain of gloom that was now drawing around the\nplace. The countless invisible and mysterious forces that control the\ndestiny of the unfortunate black man, seemed to be taking on bodily\nshapes, and to be stealing forth under cover of the night to work their\nspells through forest and earth and air. Out of the stilly darkness\ncame myriad voices of the night--familiar ones from within the village,\nthe explosive chant and monotonous beat of the drum that accompanied a\nweird tribal dance, or the shouts of irrepressible childhood still at\nplay, or more often the hum of conversation that told of the sway of\ngossip, or the fascination of myth and story. Anon came the awesome,\nhalf-terrifying voices from the outer night--the uncanny insect chorus,\nor the distant call of wild beasts, speaking to one another a language\nthat seemed full of meaning, but which the human ear had lost the power\nto understand.\n\nTo-night the voices possessed a peculiar fascination for the group\ngathered around Sobah's fire. Coarse banter and desultory gossip had\nceased to interest; the spirit of the night was upon them, and the\nvoices from the darkness seemed to address them personally, and to\nassert the kinship of all creatures. It scarcely needed the accumulated\ntraditions of untold generations to convince these listeners that\ntheir ancestors had once possessed the ability to comprehend their\nfellow-creatures, and so had dwelt on terms of equality and friendship\nwith them. As it was, Sobah and his friends did not trouble themselves\nabout beliefs, but in imagination passed easily and naturally into that\nrealm where all creatures spoke a common language, and possessed common\nneeds and attributes.\n\nFor some time Sobah had been sitting in silence, wholly absorbed in his\nown mental processes. Suddenly an inspiration seemed to stir him. He\ntossed back his head, his eyes began to sparkle, and his face to glow\nwith the anticipated delight of the story that had come to him from the\ndepths of his capacious memory. These significant preliminaries were\nquickly noted. \"He duh get story,\" was the warning exclamation passed\naround the group. Every eye was at once riveted upon Sobah's face, and\nevery countenance took on a look of eager expectancy.\n\nKonah, a bright-eyed, ebony-hued beauty of thirteen years, who all her\nlife had seemed to possess the supernatural power of being present\nunnoted whenever anything new or marvellous was to be seen or heard,\ncame up just at this moment, led by unerring instinct, and settled down\nunobserved in the shadow, ready to absorb every word.\n\nCasting a dignified glance around the company, to assure himself that\nall were properly attentive, Sobah proceeded to relate the wonderful\nexploits of Mr. Spider, in meeting the requirements of his prospective\nmother-in-law.\n\n\nMR. SPIDER WINS A WIFE\n\n\"One ooman get girl pickin (pickaninny). Dis girl done do fo' married,\nbut no man no deh (there) wey (who) able fo' married um, because de\nmammy no 'gree. Well, Spider come, he say he go married de girl, en de\nmammy answer um, say:\n\n\"'Yo' mus' fus' do dis t'ree t'ing; bring Lion teet' wey fresh wid\nblood 'pon um, en sass-wood palm-wine, en bowman'\" (boa-constrictor).\n\nHere the story was interrupted by a chorus of \"Eh! eh's!\" and other\nexclamations of wonder at the impossibility of each of the three\nconditions imposed.\n\n\"Lion 'trong too much,\" protested Dogbah, who was sadly wanting in the\nimaginative quality, and demanded hard, prosaic fact, \"Spider no able\nfo' get heen teet' fresh wid blood 'pon um.\"\n\nGondomah, who was of a rather silent and thoughtful turn, said\nmeditatively, as if speaking to himself:\n\n\"Palm-tree no get banana, sass-wood no get palm-wine.\" It was his way\nof asserting the impossibility of securing palm-wine from the poisonous\nsass-wood.\n\n\"Spider leelee (little) too much fo' bring big, big bowman,\" was the\nverdict of Oleemah, and yet his tone contradicted his words.\n\nSobah silenced the interruptions with the pertinent question: \"Aintee\nSpider pass all fo' cunnie? He able fo' do um.\" Then he proceeded:\n\n\"Spider say he go try fo' all dem t'ing fo' get de girl. He go inside\none big forest wey (where) all de beef (animals) duh (do) pass. He make\nleelee fiah by de road. De part wey de smoke duh go he make good bench,\nso de beef kin sit down. He say: Make dem come wa'm fiah,[1] de cole\ntoo much, because nar (it is) rainy season. He say make dem no come\ntogedder, make dem come one one. He kare (carried) one hammer, heaby\none, wey he fo' hole wid two han'. He hide um. Well, den beef all duh\ncome. De' one he no wan' he no hit um, he jus' duh coax, make dem go\nget de big beef fo' come. Well, w'en den beef all done come, w'en dey\nduh wa'm fiah, dey go call Lion fo' say: 'Eh! Spider one good man, dis\nmake he duh make good fiah fo' we en we cumpin (companions).'\n\n[1] Wa'm fiah, _i.e._ warm themselves by the fire.\n\n\"Well, one day Lion come, en Spider he make de smoke good fashion; put\nplenty leaf deh. W'en Lion come he say:\n\n\"'Fren', I sorry fo' dah cole wey ketch yo'. Kahbo (welcome)! All day I\nduh make good fiah fo' yo'.'\n\n\"Well, he go wipe de bench good fashion, he say, make Lion sit down fo'\nwa'm fiah. De Lion sit down. Spider take mo' leaf, raw one, fo' make\nsmoke come out _plenty_. Dis yeah big smoke go 'pon Lion; he shut he\nyi, he duh open he teet', he duh wa'm hese'f; he no know say Spider\nduh watch um fo' hit um wid hammer 'pon heen teet'. Spider take de\nhammer soffle (softly), he hit Lion _one_ tem, no mo', but dah hit wey\nhe _hit_ um! Lion he pull one big, big holler tay (until) all de groun'\nduh shake. He spit heen teet' out 'pon de groun', he run!\"\n\nSobah had been telling his story with voice, countenance, hands and\nsuggestive motions of his whole body, and as the climax approached,\nhis impressiveness increased. The hearers were shaking with suppressed\nmirth, and when they saw the result of Spider's cunning, and Lion\nbeating an ignominious retreat, leaving his teeth behind him, they\ncould restrain the inevitable outburst of laughter no longer. Some of\nthe more excitable threw themselves upon the ground in an ecstasy of\ndelight. Konah had become so identified with her favorite, Mr. Spider,\nand was so pleased with his success, that she forgot her own art of\ncunning, and crept boldly out of the shadow.\n\nSobah chuckled contentedly, while the outburst was expending itself,\nthen went on.\n\n\"Spider hese'f run, he mean say de Lion go grip um. W'en he see Lion no\nduh follow, he turn back, he take de teet', he kare um go to de ooman,\nhe say:\n\n\"'Look me, I done bring dah raw lion teet' wid de blood.'\"\n\n\"De ooman say: 'All ret, but he lef' mo' t'ing fo' do. Go bring dah\nsass-wood palm-wine.'\n\n\"Spider come out, he take heen ax, he sharp um, \"Wahtah, wootah!\nwahtah, wootah!\"[2] He fine one sass-wood 'tick (tree), he klim 'pon\num, he dig hole, he come down. He go buy country-pot, big pot, he tie\nbig rope 'pon um, make um 'trong; ef he no 'trong bimeby de pot go fa'\ndown, he broke, because palm-wine go full um. W'en he done hang um he\nno sleep all net, he go 'roun' to den people all, he tief (steals)\nplenty palm-wine, he trow um 'way (empties it) inside de pot wey hang\nto dah dry sass-wood 'tick, en he full dis pot wid de people yown\npalm-wine[3] sotay he t'row 'way' nah groun'. He duh rub palm-wine\ninside de hole, en 'pon de 'tick all. He tell one man say:\n\n\"'Make yo' follow me, look ef de palm-wine run.'\"\n\n[2] These words represent the sound made by sharpening the axe.\n\n[3] Sot\u00e1y he trow 'way nah groun', _i.e._ until it overflows upon the\nground.\n\n[Illustration: \"Spider take the hammer soffle.\"\n\n  [_See p. 43, line 3._]\n]\n\nThis bit of shrewdness on the part of Mr. Spider, Sobah unfolded with\nintensest appreciation in tone and gesture, and was rewarded at this\npoint with grunts of satisfaction and approval from the listeners, and\nwith exclamations of unbounded admiration for the clever little hero\nwho could both steal and deceive without detection. As soon as the\nsilence told him they were ready for more, he proceeded.\n\n\"W'en dey go, dey meet de pot full. Spider tell heen cumpin fo' take\num down, en dey two dey tote um sotay (until) dey reach de ole ooman.\nSpider pin (place) um down 'pon de groun', he say:\n\n\"'Mammy, look dah sass-wood palm-wine!'\n\n\"De ooman ax de man: 'Nar true?'\n\n\"He say: 'Yes, nar me see um wid me yown yi.'\n\n\"Well de ooman say:\n\n\"'Odder t'ing lef' yet fo' do befo' I gie yo' me pickin. Go bring live\nBowman.'\n\n\"Spider go nah puttah-puttah,[4] he look sotay (until) he jus' meet\nBowman, he say:\n\n\"'Fren', how do?'\n\n[4] Puttah-puttah, _i.e._ black mud deposited upon the banks of rivers\nor pools.\n\n\"Bowman answer um: 'Tankee!'\n\n\"Spider kare one long 'tick, big one, he say:\n\n\"'One day me bin say Bowman long pass dis 'tick, but me cumpin done\ndeny, dey say: \"No, he no kin pass um fo' long.\" Make yo' lie down 'pon\nde 'tick fo' try ef yo' pass de 'tick fo' long, or de 'tick pass yo'.'\n\n\"Well, Bowman lie down; Spider take leelee rope, he begin fo' tie\nBowman to heen neck, he say:\n\n\"'Nar play I duh play.[5] No make palaver, nar so I go tie yo' fo' make\nyo' no ben' ben' any place, fo' make yo' lie 'traight 'pon dis 'tick.'\n\n[5] _i.e._, It is play; I am playing; I am merely playing.\n\n\"Bowman 'gree; he lie down soffle. Spider no tie um 'trong, he jus' tie\num leelee tay he reach de tail side. He go back to de head, he draw de\nrope tight, he say:\n\n\"'Aintee I bin tell yo' nar play I duh play? I kare yo' fo' go to dem\nplenty people, fo' make den no deny me agin.'\n\n\"W'en Spider finish fo' tie um, Bowman no get 'trenk (strength),[6]\nbetty no dey agin fo' um. Spider tote um, he go gie um to dah mammy,\nhe mudder-in-law. W'en de ooman see Spider done bring Bowman, he call\nplenty people, dey talk de palaver, dey say Spider do well, make de\nmammy gie um de girl fo' married, en he gie um. Nar so Spider do fo' he\nwef.\"\n\n[6] _i.e._, There was no chance for improvement. It was a hopeless case.\n\nCold type does scant justice to the sympathetic tone and expressive\nmovements with which the story was told, or to the low chuckling laugh\nwith which its finer points were enforced.\n\nGratified by the pleasure his story had given, Sobah was content to\nrest for the present, and after listening respectfully for some time to\nhis less gifted companions, left the group and disappeared within his\nhut.\n\nAs the inclination seized them, the others strolled away into the\ndarkness. Careful Mammy Mamenah covered the fire, and soon the night\nwas given over to the undisputed possession of spirits and other\ncreatures of darkness.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II\n\nWITH THE SPIRITS OF THE WOOD\n\n\nWhen one morning, not long after the story of Mr. Spider's successful\ncourting, Sobah felt the hunter instinct strong upon him, he left the\nwork of the little rice farm to Mammy Mamenah and some pickaninnies,\ntook his trusted hunting-spear and sought the forest depths. He was a\nknowing hunter, artful and sure, and as familiar with the ways of the\ndenizens of the woods as with the habits of his village neighbors.\n\nBut through all the morning hours his skill and cunning proved of\nno avail. He sought the well-known haunts of the desired prey, and\nlay patiently in wait, or followed a fresh trail, with every faculty\nalert. All in vain, for the spirits of the forest seemed in league\nagainst him. Always some unseen presence would give warning of his\napproach, or bewitch his aim. Tired out at last, and full of nameless\ndread, he threw himself down at the foot of a monkey-apple tree to\nthink out the mystery. The cough of a deer from a neighboring thicket\nseemed to taunt his ill-success. A monkey swung down from a limb over\nhis head, and chattered threateningly. A heavy body seemed to fall\nthrough the branches of a tree just behind him, and yet, as he turned,\nno object falling was visible. Starting up with the cry, \"Now debble\ndat!\" Sobah reached instinctively for the charm he always wore on his\nperson as a safeguard against danger and an assurance of success. To\nhis consternation he discovered that it was not in its accustomed\nplace. The cause of his former ill-luck was now explained. This charm\ncontained a potent medicine brought from afar, and had been consecrated\nas his personal guardian and helper. Greatly wrought up now at finding\nhimself in this devil-haunted region without a charm so powerful,\nhe made his way from the woods and to his hut with eager haste. To\nhis great relief he found the precious little article hanging where\nhe had carelessly left it. Much reassured when this object of his\nsuperstitious trust was again dangling from his neck, he started out\nonce more, and in a new direction, bent on retrieving his lost prestige\nas a hunter. Sustained by that feeling of confidence which is half\nof success in any undertaking, he, keen-eyed and alert, followed the\npath along the river. Sagaciously hiding in a covert that overlooked a\nlittle path leading down to the water's edge, he awaited developments.\nA little later his quick ear detected the lightest possible step\napproaching along the path; then a pair of intelligent eyes peeped\naround a tuft of rushes, and soon there appeared the most graceful\nlittle body Nature ever made, incased in a glossy coat of softest\nsatin, and supported by the daintiest of feet. Even in repose the\nlittle creature suggested the very poetry of motion, and looked as if\nthe working of a slight spell would transform it wholly into spirit and\nlet it fly away.\n\nSobah's heart had been nurtured in savagery, yet it almost stayed the\nhand from striking.\n\n\"Cunnie Rabbit,\" he muttered to himself, for so the natives call this\ndeerlet, \"I go get yo' now.\"\n\nSurely the charm was working, for there the shy creature stood, and\nmoved not until the well-directed spear from the hunter's hand laid it\nlow.\n\nWhile Sobah was gloating over his prize, a company of men from the\nvillage came along. After effusive congratulations, they tied Cunnie\nRabbit upon a pole, covered the body with a white cloth, and eight men\ntook up the burden and staggered along toward the village with it, as\nif the load were all they could possibly carry. \"Eight man tote um,\"\nMamenah explained later to the inquisitive Konah, \"dem duh make as ef\nhe heaby. Dey say he nar (is) king of de beas' fo' wise oh; not fo'\nstout, but fo' sense.\"\n\nThe stew that accompanied the usual boiled rice at that evening meal,\nwas delicious enough to please a more fastidious palate.\n\nWith appetite richly satisfied for once, and in great good humor with\nhimself and the world, Sobah was in a more genial mood than usual,\nwhen, later, a company of neighbors gathered around him. They had just\ncome in from their little farms, and, remembering similar occasions,\nand knowing that if the hunter had been successful in the chase, his\ntongue would be \"sweet\" for story-telling, each man carried on his\nback a bundle of wood. Throwing it in a heap suggestive of a fire, they\nremarked: \"Lookee de wood fo' de fiah,\" thus making a covert request\nfor a story, and paying the story-teller a delicate compliment. Sobah\nfelt the beauty of this indirect appeal, and was much pleased by it,\nbut there was no need for haste, so he allowed the talk to run on\nvarious topics before he made a formal response to the desire of his\nfriends.\n\nAll chatted freely of the experiences of the day. A bit of war news\nfrom \"up country\" had drifted in, and was heard with relish. Most of\nall the behavior of the various animals Sobah had met that day, and the\nsupposed connection between the little charm and that behavior, held\nawed attention. Out of this talk concerning the human-like actions of\ncertain animals, grew, naturally, references to the animals that appear\nwith human attributes in the many fireside tales so dear to the hearts\nof the people.\n\nSobah was recognized as the story-teller of the village, and so when\nmention was made of the deer that coughed, Oleemah proposed that Sobah\nshould tell them the story of how the deer acquired such a habit,\nadding diplomatically, \"Yo' pass we all fo' pull story good fashion.\"\n\nThe story-teller was already in a gracious frame of mind, and, pleased\nwith this last tribute to his art, lost no time in responding with a\nlegend of Creation's early dawn.\n\n\nGORO, THE WONDERFUL WRESTLER.\n\n\"One tem all dem beef (animals) dey gadder to one place, all dem beef\ndis wuld, but de head of dem all, dat now one ooman en he pickin\n(pickaninny). De pickin name Goro. One net big rain fa' down, he out\nall de fiah. Now de mawnin' cole, all dem beef dey trimble, dey cole\ntoo much. No fiah no deh fo' make demse'f wa'm. Dey see one leelee\nplace deh wey smoke duh come out. Dey sen' Deer, dem say:\n\n\"'Go bring fiah fo' we, over yandah to dat place.'\n\n\"Deer go, he meet de ooman en he pickin wey duh sit down close de fiah.\nDey try wa'm demse'f by de fiah. W'en Deer reach he tell de ooman\n'Mawnin'; he say: \"I come beg fiah.\"\n\n\"De ooman say, 'I nebber greedy (begrudge) pusson fiah, but I get one\nlaw heah. Pusson wey wan' fiah mus' fet (fight) wid me pickin, mus'\nbeat um. Yo' see de leelee girl? One place outside dah do', he nar (is)\nde fet place, he rub, he smooth. Go fet me pickin; ef yo' beat um yo'\ntake de fiah.'\n\n\"De Deer he look de pickin foolish nah heen[7] yi, he say:\n\n\"'Mammy, yo' wan' make I kill yo' pickin?'\n\n[7] \"Heen\" refers to Deer. The proposal to wrestle with the little\nchild appeared foolish in the Deer's estimation.\n\n\"De ooman say: 'Nebber min', kill um, de fault not yo' yown.'\n\n\"Deer say: 'All ret.'\n\n\"De pickin come, dey two grip, dey begin fo' fet, de ooman begin fo'\nsing; he duh sing fo' he pickin, he no duh sing fo' de Deer. He sing:\n\n    \"'Goro, Goro,\n    Fet like how yo' bin fet ebery day,\n    Tay (until) all de groun' duh shake.'\"\n\nAs if in sympathy with the rhythm of the song, Sobah's whole body began\nto sway back and forth, his voice rose and fell in musical cadences,\nand his hands began to clap in time to the movement of the song.\nAll the listeners took up the rhythmic swaying of the body and the\nmeasured clapping of the hands, and as soon as they caught the words,\njoined heartily in the chant. Not satisfied with the first result,\nSobah led off with a repetition. This time there was no occasion for\ndissatisfaction, and the story proceeded with increasing animation.\n\n[Illustration: The Deer after fighting with Goro.\n\n  [_See p. 56._]\n]\n\n\"Goro fet, he fet. He hase (raised) de Deer up; de Deer go take one\nyeah up befo' he come down. W'en he fa' down he get cough. Some tem ef\nyo' deh nah (in) bush en Deer cough, yo' go say, 'Nar (is) pusson.'\"\n\n\"Dat nar true,\" broke in Dogbah eagerly, a spark of understanding\nfalling on his dull mind. \"Mese'f bin hearee um cough to-day nah bush.\nDah fa' wey he bin fa' long tem make he cough so,\" and he shook with\nlaughter, as if Mr. Deer's hard fall were highly amusing.\n\nSobah, taking up the interrupted thread of the narrative, said: \"Well,\nDeer go home widout no fiah.\"\n\n\"Elephan' he say: 'I go go, I jus' wrap me mout' 'pon dis girl I twis'\num, I hase (raise) um up, I wop um down, I take de fiah.' Well he begin\nroot dem big, big 'tick wid he teet' fo' show how he 'trong; he say:\n'Nar _so_ I go meet de girl.'\n\n\"Well, w'en Elephan' go, he tell de ooman how do, he meet de fiah, he\nwan' take um. De ooman say: 'All ret,' he say: 'Look me pickin. Go\nfet.' De pickin begin, de ooman sing de same sing w'en dey grip fo' fet.\n\n    \"'Goro, Goro,\n    Fet lek how yo' bin fet ebery day,\n    Tay all de groun' duh shake.'\"\n\nThis time the apt imitators caught up the refrain at once, and gave\nit with great zest. \"Soon,\" continued Sobah, after a momentary pause,\n\"de girl he hase de Elephan' up, he sen' um up; but since de Elephan'\nstout he no able, he jus' sen' um up as far as one week. De one week\nfinish, de Elephan' come down. W'en he fa' down 'pon de groun' he hurt\nhe teet', en he teet' swell. Dat make Elephan' he teeth big.\"\n\nAt this point Sobah struck an attitude suggestive of the Elephant's\nstate of general dilapidation. His face took on a look of mingled\npain and disgust, and this in turn was succeeded by a smile of\nself-approbation, and ended in a peculiar chuckling laugh that carried\ninfectious mirth to all the circle of listeners.\n\n[Illustration: The Elephant after the fight with the Goro.\n\n  [_See p. 59._]\n]\n\nSettling back once more to his usual air of serious dignity, Sobah\ncontinued his recital.\n\n\"Elephan' he go back, he no kare any fiah.\n\n\"Well, Lepped come, he tell de ooman say: 'I come fo' fiah.'\n\n\"De ooman say, 'All ret,' he say, 'Look me pickin, he go fet yo.'\n\n\"Dey begin fo' fet, Goro en Lepped. Dey fet en fet. De girl he hase\n(raise) de Lepped up; he sen' um, he go, he take t'ree mont'; he come\ndown, he fa' down 'pon 'tone, he cut hese'f, de blood sprinkle all 'pon\num. Dat make de Lepped he spot, spot.\"\n\nThis explanation of the Leopard's spots, seemed reasonable enough to\nthese simple-minded people, who ask only that some cause out of the\nordinary should account for ordinary things. Dogbah was about to offer\na comment again, but before his slow wits could formulate his words,\nthe story-teller had plunged into the next sentence.\n\n\"De Lepped he go widout no fiah. De beef, w'en dey see um, dey say:\n\n\"'Eh! We no get no fiah to-day.'\n\n\"Now Puss he get up, he say: 'I go go.'\n\n\"Dem beef dey laugh um, dey say: 'All ret.' Dey say: 'Yo' see all dem\nbig beef? Dey go, dey no able fo' bring fiah. Yo' say yo' duh go? All\nret, go try.'\n\n\"De Cat he go, he say: 'Mammy, I come fo' fiah.'\n\n\"De ooman say: 'All ret, go try wid me pickin.'\n\n\"De Cat go, de ooman begin fo' sing. De girl he jus' take de Cat wid\none han', he hebe (raise) um up, he go take one yeah en ha'f befo' he\ncome down. He fa' hard, he begin fo' cry 'Meouw! meouw!' Dat make Puss\nduh cry anytem, net or day tem he duh cry. He go home widout no fiah.\n\n\"Now Spider go, he say, 'Mammy, I come fo' fiah.'\n\n\"De ooman say: 'All ret, oonah (you) go fet wid me pickin.' De ooman he\nno even se'f sing. Dah girl take Spider wid one fingah, he hebe (raise)\num up fo' two yeah.\"\n\nA murmur of dissent caused the story-teller to pause and cast a look\nof inquiry around the company. It was evident that the ardent admirers\nof crafty little Mr. Spider could not bear to have him disposed of so\neasily. But Sobah checked the rising protest by a commanding gesture,\nand a look that seemed to say: \"I am sorry, but I must tell the story\njust as it is.\" When the silence assured him of a hearing, he continued.\n\n\"W'en Spider come he fa' down, he broke he foot. Dat make Spider duh\ncrawl now; dat make he walker wid four foot, sometem six. Long tem[8]\nhe walker wid two foot 'traight lek pusson. Spider go home widout no\nfiah.\n\n[8] \"Long tem\" is usually, as in this case, the equivalent of a long\ntime ago. The remote past, rather than duration, is intended.\n\n\"Cunnie Rabbit he go, he say: 'Mammy, I come fo' fiah.'\n\n\"De ooman say: 'All ret, go to dah pickin, fet wid um.'\n\n\"W'en dey fet, de girl come hebe (raise) um up, he take six mont.' De\nt'ing wey make he no go far, he get too much sense.\"\n\nThis was uttered with peculiar emphasis, and was answered by a\nprolonged \"Y-a-h-oh; y-a-h-oh!\" of assent that indicated a keen\nappreciation of Cunnie Rabbit's superior mental qualities. The next\nsentence was almost equally satisfactory, and regained for the story\nwhat favor it had lost by the humiliation of Mr. Spider.\n\n\"W'en Cunnie Rabbit come down he fa' down, he get up one tem (at once),\nhe begin fo' run, he _run_. Dat make tay (until) to-day he hard fo'\nketch. He kin run fas' pass all dem beef.\n\n\"All de odder beef duh go, dey no able fo' beat de pickin. Conk (snail)\nhe get up, he go, he walker 'bout slow, slow. W'en he tell dem beef: 'I\ngo go fo' fiah,' Cunnie Rabbit take um en hebe (threw) um nah (out) de\ndo'. He fa' down, he hurt hese'f, he get blood 'pon um. De blood mark,\nmark um, but he say: 'Nebber min', I go go.'\n\n[Illustration: De Conk.]\n\n\"He go, he tell de ooman, 'How do;' he say, 'Mammy I come fo' fiah, en\nI mus' kare dis fiah go home.'\n\n\"De ooman say: 'All ret; look de place wey fo' fet wid me pickin.\n\n\"De Conk do lek he duh walk 'roun de place slow, slow; but he duh get\nslipple (slippery) spit, he duh rub all de place. W'en he done finis'\nfo' rub, he say: 'Come fet now.'\n\n\"De girl come, he duh boas', he no know de cunnie wey de Conk bin pull\nfo' beat um. Den grip fo' fet, he en de Conk. De Conk he hase (raise)\nde girl up, he go fo' five yeah. De ooman no see he pickin, he duh cry.\nConk take de fiah, he go home. Dey cook, dey yeat, dey gladee. Dey done\nfinis' fo' cook en yeat befo' de girl fa' down. W'en de ooman see how\nde Conk hebe (raise) he pickin up, he begin fo' cry. Nar (It is) de\nooman bring cry nah (into) de wuld.\n\n\"Story come, story go.\"\n\nThis well-known form of ending was followed by a long silence. The\nnight was already far advanced, but the black man is a creature of the\nnight. Deeper than the color of his skin lies his kinship with the\ndarkness, however much he may dread the powers of evil that creep forth\nas soon as the day is gone.\n\nAt last the silence was broken by Gondomah, a man of modest bearing,\nwho, though seldom essaying the r\u00f4le of a story-teller, could not yet\nbe reconciled to the place assigned to Spider in the last story. Half\nto himself he said: \"Spider nar smart man, nobody no go pass um.\"\nThen, emboldened by the sound of his own voice, and by the encouraging\nsilence, he proceeded in the fewest possible words to relate how.\n\n\nMR. SPIDER SOLD A VERY FINE DOG.\n\n\"One tem Spider say he go go far up country fo' buy plenty cow. Early\nmawnin', fus' fowl crow, he grap (got up), he walker tay (until) de\nsun middle de sky. He done tire. W'en he reach to one big, _big_\ngrass-fiel' he go lay down. He close to one lion, but he no know. Dey\nall two, dey duh sleep. Well, soon de Foulah people dey bring plenty\ncow wey dem duh kare down fo' go sell. De Foulah people dey no sabbee\nlion, dey nebber see um yet. W'en dey meet dis lion heah de one man say:\n\n\"'Eh, lookee! Wey t'ing dat?'\n\n\"Odder one say: 'He big dog, aintee?'\n\n\"Den 'tan' up wid wonder. Dey no see Spider fo' long tem, because he\nleelee so. W'en dey fus' meet up nah grass-fiel' Spider bin hearee um,\nhe come out heen sleep. He hearee how dey say dat de lion one big dog.\nW'en he look de plenty cow he t'ink: 'How I go do fo' get dem cow? I\nmus' get um.'\n\n\"He grap (got up), he tell dem Foulah man 'How do.' Dey answer um\n'tankee.' Dey ax um say:\n\n\"'Daddy, now dis dog heah, yo' get um?'\n\n[Illustration: Mr. Spider sells a very fine dog.\n\n  [_See p. 66._]\n]\n\n\"Spider say: 'Yes, nar me yown dog dat.'\n\n\"De Foulah man wan' fo' buy um, dey talk de palaver, dey bargain fo'\ngie um all de cow fo' buy dis dog. Spider say: 'All ret, but no wake\ndis dog yeah, oh! because he done use me too much.[9] Bimeby w'en yo'\nwake um, he go follow me, he no 'gree fo' follow oonah (you). W'en I\ndone go far 'way, den oonah mus' wake um.'\"\n\n[9] \"Done use me too much,\" _i.e._ He is too accustomed to me.\n\nBy this time Gondomah was warming to his theme, and surprised even\nhimself with his unwonted eloquence. The listeners, ever ready to see a\nrich point, had for some time been quivering with intense appreciation\nof Spider's rascally shrewdness, and just here gave expression to\ntheir delight in a fit of uncontrollable laughter, and exclamations of\napproval.\n\nGondomah, elated beyond measure, paused long enough to regain his\ncomposure, and then went on.\n\n\"So den people dey gie Spider all de cow. Dey wait tay (until) he done\nget far 'way, dey begin fo' call de dog. Jus' de Lion wake he open he\nyi, he 'tretch hese'f, he raise he tail, take um put um 'pon he back.\nHe jus' grip one of de Foulah people, he kill um; de odder all run go.\nSpider he done get de cow.\n\n\"So ef Spider tell yo' say he go do anyt'ing, no deny.[10]\n\n[10] \"No deny,\" _i.e._ Do not doubt his ability.\n\nSobah, a little jealous of the attention that had been paid to this\nupstart story-teller, had been searching in the vast storehouse of\nhis memory for a fitting tale with which to bring himself again into\nfavorable notice. The one which came to his mind caused a broad smile\nto spread over his face, and a chuckle of satisfaction to rise in his\nthroat. Oleemah, noticing these signs of pleasure, and suspecting that\nthey foreshadowed a good story, asked encouragingly:\n\n\"Wey t'ing make yo' gladee so? Do, yah? tell we.\"\n\nNot needing further urging, Sobah launched into his narrative with much\nanimation.\n\n\nMR. TURTLE MAKES A RIDING-HORSE OF MR. LEOPARD.\n\n\"One day Trorkey (Turtle) bin walker close to Lepped he ho'se (house),\nen he see de ooman lepped 'tan' up nah de do'-(door) mout'. He tell um\nsay:\n\n\"'How do, Mammy? How yo' kin 'tan'?'\n\n\"De Mammy answer um: 'Tankee, I well leelee bit, how yo'se'f, Daddy? I\nno bin see yo' long tem.'\n\n\"Trorkey answer um: 'I no so well, Mammy; dis de hour w'en feber duh\nwalker all 'bout, en me skin all duh hurt. I duh go to de bush fo' pull\nmed'cin', fo' make leelee tea. Which side Mr. Lepped to-day?'\n\n\"He wef answer: 'He done go walker; I duh wait um jus' now. Yo' no bin\nsee um nah road?'\n\n\"Trorkey say: 'No, I no bin see um. I sorry he done go, because ef he\nhere I go ride um lek hoss.'\n\n\"Lepped he wef deny, he say:\n\n\"'No, yo' won' do um, yo' no go able ride me man lek hoss.'\n\n\"Den Trorkey go home. W'en Lepped come nah ho'se he wef tell um say:\n\n\"'Trorkey bin pass heah to-day, he say he go ride yo' lek hoss.'\n\n\"Well, den de man lepped vex, he run go to Trorkey, he go ax um ef he\nbin say he go ride um lek hoss. Trorkey deny, he say:\n\n\"'I no say so.'\n\n\"Den Lepped say: 'All ret. Come, we go ax me wef.'\n\n\"Den de Trorkey say: 'I no able fo' walk. De sick too 'trong 'pon me.'\n\n\"Dat de cunnie he duh do.\n\n\"De Lepped say: 'Come, I go tote yo', I go ax me wef.'\n\n\"Den de Trorkey say: 'Gie me one leelee rope, make I tie um 'roun yo'\nmout', make I hole um, so w'en I duh shake, shake, make I no fa' down.'\n\n\"En de Lepped gie um de rope.\n\n\"Well, de Trorkey say: 'Gie me one leelee 'tick, make I go flog dem\nfly, make I go dribe dem w'en dey duh follow we.'\n\nThis bit of apparently artless guile on the part of Mr. Turtle,\nthreatened to convulse the audience, but interest in the development of\nthe story had become so intense as to check the rising tide of mirth\nfor the present, while the story-teller went on with growing enthusiasm.\n\n\"Well, de Lepped gie um de 'tick.'\n\n\"Den Trorkey he say, 'Come go now.'\n\n\"Well, w'en de Lepped done kare Trorkey go, Trorkey duh joomp, he duh\nflog de Lepped, he duh make lek pusson wey duh ride hoss.'\n\n[Illustration: Mr. Turtle makes a riding-horse of Mr. Leopard.\n\n  [_See p. 72._]\n]\n\nSobah described this little episode with inimitable drollery in tone\nand manner, and ended the 'wey duh ride hoss', with a peculiar nasal\nexplosion that served to emphasize the humor of the situation. The\nresult was instantaneous, and convulsive laughter continued many\nminutes, breaking out afresh every time anyone would remark: 'Aintee he\nflog um good fashion?' When the laughter had subsided sufficiently, the\nstory proceeded:\n\n\"W'en dey go meet Lepped he wef nah road, de ooman laugh en say:\n\n\"'Oh! Nar true wey dis Trorkey bin talk, say he go ride me man lek\nhoss, so nar true.'\n\n\"W'en Lepped reach, he hebe Trorkey down, den he tell he wef, he say:\n\n\"I done bring Trorkey come, fo' de word he duh talk, say he go ride me\nlek hoss.'\n\n\"He wef say: 'Wey t'ing Trorkey do so? He no ride yo' lek hoss'? en de\nooman laugh agin.\n\n\"Now Lepped see Trorkey bin make he fool; he ketch Trorkey, he tie um\n'pon one big 'tick, he flog um sotay (until) he back all cut, cut. Dat\nmake sotay to-day de mark all lef 'pon Trorkey he back.\"\n\nThere was more laughter at the retribution that overtook Mr. Turtle,\nand then the talk drifted to personal matters.\n\nFinally, as if led by some common impulse, the company began to\ndisperse, some to the solid comfort of a hard mud bed, and some to\nconsort with the hideous spirits of darkness and the night.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III\n\nA BACK-YARD KITCHEN\n\n\nSobah had gone with his boat on a trading trip to Freetown, but he was\na thoughtful husband and father, and had left a generous supply of rice\nand dried fish.\n\nMammy Mamenah and Konah were leisurely preparing their evening meal,\nfor once alone. No, not entirely alone, for in their kitchen, which\nwas also the back-yard, was gathered just at this time a strangely\nassorted group of creatures more or less intimately connected with the\nhousehold. By mutual consent, some precedence of rights seemed to be\ngranted to the two human beings, but they did not seem to be inclined\nto exercise their rights to any oppressive degree. In dress and bearing\nthey were almost as simple and blissfully unconscious as the other\ncreatures that shared their back-yard space with them. Konah's sole\nattire was a string of beads fastened around her waist, while Mammy\nMamenah had the conventional piece of cloth, three feet wide, wrapped\naround her body, tucked deftly beneath her arms, and extending to\nher knees. Chickens roamed over the place with the air of rightful\nownership. Goats nibbled the bits of grass that grew around the edge of\nthe bare spot, and climbed over or peered into anything that appealed\nto their curiosity. A monkey, limited in his activities by the length\nof string fastened around his slender body, was going through various\nevolutions in the endeavor to reach the tail feathers of a parrot that\nwas shrilly scolding at a mangy little dog. The furnishings of the\nkitchen were few and simple in the extreme. The stove consisted of\nthree stones so arranged as to support a pot of rice, and at the same\ntime to allow a fire to be kindled beneath. A large pot for the rice, a\nsmaller one for the stew, some calabashes and a large mortar and pestle\nfor pounding the rice, completed the outfit. The rice had been set to\nboil, and Mammy Mamenah had nothing to do but wait for it to cook.\nShe had seated herself upon one end of a small log, the other end of\nwhich was in the fire. Konah had squatted upon the ground in front of\nher mother, and by artful and suggestive questions was endeavoring to\ndraw out a story about some of her animal friends. A heathen mother\ndoes not concern herself about the pleasure of her child, and takes no\ntrouble for the child's happiness, unless there is some amusement in it\nfor herself, but Konah was the third child, the two older ones having\ndied of small-pox, and on that account was treated more nearly with\nindulgence than were other children. A spirit of comradeship, almost of\naffection, had grown up between this black mother and her story-loving\nchild. The many hours they had passed together had tended to deepen the\nfeeling of fellowship and sympathy.\n\nFinally Konah put her desire in the form of a direct entreaty, 'Mammy,\ndo yah (please) pull story.'\n\nIn response Mammy Mamenah drew the child's head down upon her lap, and,\nloosening the kinky wool, proceeded to replait it in innumerable little\nbraids that caused the jet-black hair on the shapely head to stand out\nin regular rows like the ridges of a cantaloupe.\n\n\"'Yo' lek story too much,' she said reprovingly; then, repenting almost\nimmediately, added: 'Wey t'ing yo' wan'?'\n\nThe question was unnecessary, for the child's very pronounced\npreference for Cunning Rabbit, above all the creatures of her fairy\nworld, was well known to her mother. So in a low crooning voice she\nbegan the story of\n\n\nCUNNING RABBIT AND HIS WELL.\n\n\"Long tem, Cunnie Rabbit en all dem beef bin gadder. Den meet up to one\nplace fo' talk palaver, because de country dry too much. Dey no get one\ngrain (drop) wattah sotay (until) all man wan' fo' die. Dey all get\nword fo' talk, f'om de big beef to de small, but nobody no able fo'\nfine sense fo' pull dem f'om dis yeah big trouble. Cunnie Rabbit he no\nbin say notting, he jus' listen wey dem beef talk; he t'ink say: 'Wey\nting I go do fo' get wattah?'\n\n\"Bimeby he grap (get up), he go home, he begin fo' dig well. He dig, he\ndig, he _dig_. De wattah come plenty. He drink sotay (until) he done\nsatisfy.\n\n[Illustration: Cunning Rabbit and his well.\n\n  [_See p. 80._]\n]\n\n\"Now dem beef hearee dat Cunnie Rabbit get well. Spider he grap fo' go\nwalker to Cunnie Rabbit. He say:\n\n\"'Fren', we no get one grain wattah fo' drink, we go die. Make yo' gie\nwe.\n\n\"Cunnie Rabbit tell um, he say:\n\n\"'De pusson wey wan' make me gie um wattah, make he come fet me.'\n\n\"Spider say: 'All ret.'\n\n\"Now Spider en Cunnie Rabbit dey fet. Cunnie Rabbit hase (raise) Spider\nup to dah sky. He come down, he lay down flat. He grap (get up), he\nhase Cunnie Rabbit up. Cunnie Rabbit go to de sky; he blow one horn\nwey (which) he hole nah (in) he han'. W'en he blow um dark come, w'en\nhe blow um agin, do' clean.[11] He fa' down, he grip de wuld, VIP! He\nhan' long, dey go inside de groun'. Cunnie Rabbit get up back, he hase\nSpider up. One rainy season, one dry season he stay 'pon top de sky.\nW'en he come down, w'en he too fa' down 'pon de groun', he say: 'Ee!\nEe! Ee! Fren', I no able agin. Den he shake Cunnie Rabbit he han'; he\nsay: 'Oonah (you) 'trong man.'\"\n\n[11] When into the darkness of a mud hut the first rays of dawn\npenetrate sufficiently to afford from within a clear-cut outline of the\ndoor-way, the time is designated by \"do' clean.\"\n\nTo the recital of this very extraordinary combat between two very\nunusual people, Konah had been listening so intently that her restless\nlimbs forgot to move, and her breathing was partly suspended. A\nmovement of relief at this point in the narrative, and a long sigh\nof satisfaction at the sensible outcome of the contest, showed that\nher sympathy with the characters of the story was warm and real.\nShe shifted her position, stooped to pull a chigger from one of her\nlittle black toes, then curled her head down on the other side for the\ncomfortable enjoyment of the tale, which was continued while the tiny\nbraids took form under the mother's deft fingers. The resumption of the\nstory was delayed just a little; for two children, Konah's playmates,\ncatching the echo of a story through the open door of the hut, came to\nshare the pleasure. Mamenah, finding more amusement in entertaining a\nlarger audience, proceeded with greater energy.\n\n\"Dem beef all come, dey try, dey no able. Elephan' come, he say:\n\n\"'Wey de man wey say he de mos' 'trong? Make he come one tem, make we\nfet, so I go take wattah. I too t'irst.'\n\n\"Cunnie Rabbit come, he boas', he say: 'Nar (it is) _me_ dis.'\n\n\"Elephan' take he long mout', he wrap Cunnie Rabbit, he wrap um 'trong.\nHe fling um, turn, turn um, he hebe um up, so he jam to de sky. De\nsweat wey he bin sweat, dat nar de hair 'pon heen skin. Cunnie Rabbit\ncome, he 'tan' up, he hase de Elephan' up.\"\n\n\"Cunnie Rabbit wey leelee so,\" chuckled Konah, unable to restrain her\nsatisfaction at the prowess of her hero, but the interruption was\nunnoted.\n\n\"Elephan' heen long mout' come nah groun', he wrap den 'tick fo' hole\nhese'f, he broke um w'en he go up. He say: 'Cunnie Rabbit wey leelee\nso, nar _he_ do me so?'\n\n\"He hole Cunnie Rabbit wid heen long mout' agin, he drag um, he make\nbig noise 'pon de groun' w'en he drag um. He pin Cunnie Rabbit down;\nden (they) fet, den fet, den fet. De place wey den fet he big pass\n(bigger than) dis town, he double um four tem fo' big. Dey fet tay\n(till) fiah ketch dah place. Dah one wey box he cumpin, fiah ketch; dah\nodder one wey box he cumpin, fiah ketch. De place he bu'n clean, so-so\nsan'-san' (sand) lef' no mo'.\"[12]\n\n[12] \"So-so san'-san' lef' no mo',\" _i.e._ merely sand was left, nothing\nmore. The fire kindled by the terrible combat had consumed everything\ncombustible. This is a characteristic African hyperbole. See also the\nmuch exaggerated statement of the space covered by the combat, and\nof the size of the cup that each animal was required to empty at one\ndraught.\n\nHere the narrator's voice, momentarily pitched to a higher key,\nexclaimed: \"Make yo' dribe dem goat, dey do rascal trick;\" and the\nchild, only less nimble than the goats, drove with an 'Ah! hey!' an\ninquisitive one from dangerous proximity to the greens, made ready to\nbe put into the stew. The animal retreated to a short distance, with\nan air that indicated contemplated return at the first opportunity,\nwhile Konah turned a calabash over the greens, pushed the log further\ninto the fire, and sat down to pick into bits the dried fish, so that\nher mother might be left to do uninterrupted justice to the marvellous\ncontest of \"dem beef.\"\n\n\"Well, dem beef dey all duh try, dey no know how fo' do. Dey all go\nmake bargain. All dem beef dey pull (bring) plenty clo'es, so plenty\ndey done full dis town heah, dey full Freetown. En dis yeah clo'es\ndey gie um all to Cunnie Rabbit. Dey say: '_Do_;[13] ef yo' no gie we\nwattah we go die.'\n\n[13] \"Do,\" often accompanied by a low cringing inclination of the body\nand clasped hands, is a very strong form of entreaty.\n\n\"Cunnie Rabbit say: 'All ret. Make all man take one one cup wattah\ndrink.'\n\n\"But de bargain _dis_. Ef de pusson no done _all_, he fo' take one\npiece clot' en gie um to Cunnie Rabbit, en say: 'Dis nar fo' de wattah\nweh I wais.' De cup he cover dis whole town, he cover 'Merica, he cover\nEnglan', he cover Freetown fo' big oh!\"[14]\n\n[14] The use of America and England, in the comparison, comes from\nthe vaguest possible conception of those countries, derived in this\ninstance, it may be supposed, from information picked up by Sobah\nduring his visits to Freetown. The series, America, England and\nFreetown, is intended to form a climax.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe sparkling eyes and white teeth of the little listeners indicated\ntheir appreciation of this enormous conception, but they were too eager\nfor the story to interrupt.\n\n\"Now Elephan' say: 'Make me fus' drink.'\n\n\"He take de cup, he full um nah well. He put heen long mout inside so,\nhe draw de wattah; he draw um, he draw um, he draw um sotay he done\num. Lepped say: 'Make me come try.' Dey full de cup, Lepped he drink,\nhe drink, he _drink_ sotay (until) he done de wattah. De beef all\ndrink, dey all done um. Den leelee beef dey done de wattah inside de\nbig cup. Dey all no able fo' go agin. Fo' walker go home dem no able,\nbut den able fo' grap (get up to) cook. Dey cook big, big, _big_ ress\n(rice). De pot fo' cook de ress--Lie man say de pot big lek dis whole\ntown heah, Grimah all, Moshengo all. Well, me wey no duh lie, I no lie\n_anyt'ing_, I jus' put leelee salt fo' make he sweet, I say he big lek\nall Temne country, all white man country, double all two, I put half\n'pon um agin en mo' town, so de pot big.\"\n\nThis climax elicited from Konah an explosive little exclamation. She\ncracked together the tips of her fingers, rolled over on the ground,\nthen righting herself, asked:\n\n\"Mammy, how yo' t'ink say dey go able done dah _big_ ress?\"\n\nVery contemptuous, very subduing was the voice in reply:\n\n\"Aintee yo' know say long tem (long time ago) dem beef able anyt'ing?\"\nThen resuming the crooning tone: \"Dey yeat dah ress, goat all, cow all,\nfowl, sheep, all dem elephan', dey yeat dah ress.\n\n\"One big, big wattah spread 'pon dem all, dey all no know which side he\ncome out. De ashes f'om de fiah he spread 'pon dem beef all. Well, dey\nall swim, dey all go to dem yown home. One tem beef all bin white, but\nsince w'en de ashes bin deh 'pon dem long tem, some kin (can be) red,\nsome kin brown, some black, some spot-spot.\"\n\nMammy Mamenah's tale was told, and she turned now to her fish and\ngreens, her pepper, palm-oil and pea-nuts, to prove herself as able to\nmake a palatable stew for the rice now cooked, as she was to tell a\nstory.\n\nAs these articles were being placed in the pot, the children looked\non with swelling anticipations of a feast sufficient to satisfy the\nmost extravagant demands of their keen appetites, as of course the\nopenhearted hospitality characteristic of the country, would keep the\nlittle visitors to share the rice and stew.\n\n\"Make yo' put plenty peppy, Mammy,\" urged Konah, with an eagerness that\nbetrayed her weakness for that fiery condiment.\n\n\"Shut mout'\", replied the woman, with much more gruffness than she\nfelt, but nevertheless she put in a generous supply of the little red\nfire-balls.\n\nSoon the stew was over the fire, and once more they all sat down to\nwait. Konah, with her dreamy mind full of the story she had just\nheard, and her eyes full of the new light of dawning intelligence,\nsat watching the goats that were frisking and playing about the yard.\nIt began to break in dimly upon her mind that all those antics might\nhave meaning apart from the present, and might spring from some dim\nremembrance of experiences from the long ago, when the animals belonged\nto a higher order of beings.\n\nJust then one of the goats dropped to its knees and began to rub its\nneck along the grass.\n\n\"Ah, Mammy!\" exclaimed the little girl excitedly, \"yo' see dah goat?\nW'ey t'ing dat he do?\"\n\n\"He 'member how he bin swim, long tem,\" answered the woman somewhat\nindifferently. \"Not to kratch he duh kratch,[15] but to swim he duh\nswim long tem, w'en de ocean come 'pon de beef all.\"\n\n[15] This is a characteristic circumlocution. It means that the goat is\nnot scratching, but is swimming, as he did a long time ago.\n\nAnother goat, some distance away, was chewing its cud with much energy\nand determination. The process attracted the children, one of whom\nraised a question as to its meaning.\n\n\"Yo' no know dat?\" replied Mamenah, this time with growing interest.\n\"Dat nar de ress wey dey yeat long tem. He no done yet; goat, cow, dey\nduh yeat all tem, even net tem, day tem, dey yeat dah ress.\"\n\nA frisky kid was playfully kicking up its heels, and anon leaping into\nthe air.\n\n\"Wey t'ing make he do dat?\" asked Konah, laughing gleefully at the\nantics of the kid.\n\nThe woman, now thoroughly in sympathy with the children's questions,\nlaunched into a series of explanations without waiting for further\ninquiries.\n\n\"W'en de goat bin come out de wattah wid swim, so he bin dry hese'f, he\nbin wipe de wattah f'om he skin, he bin kick en kick. Lookee! Yo' see\ndah goat wey duh 'tan' up yandah, duh shake heen yase (ears) so? Dat de\ncole wey bin 'pon um long tem, duh make he yase trimble tay now.\"\n\n\"Eh! hey! Yo' see how dah goat duh lay down _so_, heen head 'pon 'tick?\n_So_ he bin do fo' blow (breathe) w'en he done tire fo' swim.\"\n\n\"Ah! I duh watch dem. Hey! Yo' see dem turn dem tail so?\"\n\nThe goat was wriggling its tail so that it looked not unlike a paddle\nin rapid motion. \"Dat nar paddle wey duh he'p um fo' pull; he bin turn\num fas' fas' w'en he inside de wattah.\"\n\nTwo goats were standing on their hind legs, playing, and two others\nwere engaged in a mock fight. These man\u0153uvres needed explanation, and\nMammy Manenah went on after a momentary pause. \"W'en de goat wan' tell\nCunnie Rabbit 'How do,' dah tem w'en he go beg wattah, _so_ he bin\n'tan' up fus' tem. W'en dey fet dey 'member say how dey fet long tem\nwid Cunnie Rabbit. Dat make dem try agin.\"\n\nBy this time two of the animals were solemnly touching noses, and\nseemed to be discussing some grave matter. To an inquiry of the\nchildren as to the meaning of this behavior, the reply came: \"Oh dat?\nNar bargain dem make long tem fo' get wattah.\"\n\nA plaintive little bleat brought out the explanation: \"Long tem, w'en\none leelee goat bin go beg de wattah, Cunnie Rabbit say: 'Make yo' call\nyo' Mammy, make he come;' den de pickin say: 'Mah! mah!' Dat make de\nleelee goat say 'Mah mah,' tay (till) to-day.\"\n\nThen reminded of another characteristic goat trait, she continued\nearnestly:\n\n\"Aintee yo' see w'en one goat kin run, all start wid run fo' follow um?\nCunnie Rabbit bin sen' one say: 'Make dem call all, make dem come drink\nwattah f'om dah big cup.' Now 'member dey duh 'member.\n\n\"Dey gladee w'en pusson call um fo' yeat, dey run. Dey 'member w'en\nCunnie Rabbit say: 'Who no come fo' yeat dah ress, he go meet um done.\"\n\nA goat that had been making a tour of inspection around the yard, was\njust now peering inquisitively over the edge of a large barrel, an\nunusual acquisition from Sobah's last trading trip to Freetown.\n\n\"Oh dah goat deh?\" This in reply to a look of inquiry from the\nchildren. \"Long tem he go peep inside well, w'en he no get one grain\nwattah. He duh peep inside Cunnie Rabbit heen well.\"\n\n\"Goat no 'fraid pusson?\"--this after an interval of silence--\"Oh! Yo\nknow fo' wey t'ing dey no go 'fraid pusson? I tell yo' 'bout um. Spider\nmake dem lek pusson,\" and with that she drifted off naturally into an\naccount of Mr. Spider and the goats, and incidentally showed why some\ngoats are tame, and others wild.\n\n\nGOATS OF THE WOOD AND OF THE TOWN.\n\n\"Spider he bin pusson, long tem, he no bin 'tan' lek[16] to-day; he\ndone turn odder kine of t'ing now. Dah tem he get big, big, big cassada\n(cassava) fa'm. He say: Make dem goat all come tell um 'How do.' Den he\ngo root cassada, he root cassada; he pile um high, he jam de sky fo'\nhigh. He tell dem goat, he say: 'Who wan' go nah town, make he go nah\ntown; who wan' go nah bush, make he go nah bush. Now he shabe (divided)\nde cassada. All dem wey say dey wan' go nah town, he gie um four, four\nstick cassada;[17] he say: 'Aintee me pusson? Yo' mus' lek pusson.'\n\n[16] \"He no bin 'tan' lek,\" _i.e._ Did not stand like, did not appear\nas he does.\n\n[17] \"He gie um four, four,\" _i.e._ He gave four to each.\n\n\"Dey say: 'All ret.'\n\n\"De one wey (who) wan' go nah bush, he gie dem two, two 'tick. Dat make\nsotay (till) now, dem bush-goat no lek pusson, dey say dey wan' be\ninside bush.\"\n\nA cow that had been grazing just behind the fence, came up now and\nlooked over into the yard, at the same time switching her tail in a\nvigorous attempt to dislodge a large fly that had settled upon her\nback. Konah noticed this interesting performance, and glad of the\nopportunity to seek further explanations, aroused her mother from the\nreverie into which she had fallen, with the question:\n\n\"Yo' see de cow wey 'tan' up yandah? Wey t'ing do he bin make heen tail\nso, knock um behine heen back?\"\n\nThe efforts of the cow now became almost frantic, much to the delight\nof the children. Mamenah explained:\n\n\"W'en dey bin swim, long tem, he tie one big, big cassada to heen tail\nfo' cham (chew). Wen he wan' fo' cham um, he turn um, knock um 'pon\nheen back, so he kin turn cham um. So yo' kin see cow 'tan' up, knock\nheen tail behine back. Not to fly he duh dribe, dat cassada he bin\n'member, long tem.\"\n\nAfter this last explanation, there was silence for some minutes, until\nthe children, returning from the land of dreams to that of reality,\nbecame aware that they were exceedingly hungry. The rice had sometime\nsince been removed from the fire and beneath its grass-woven cover had\nsteamed until now the stew was ready to pour over it. Konah ran to the\nbrook, and returned with a calabash of water, and the little company\ncrouched upon the ground to enjoy what to them was a succulent repast.\nBalls of rice of considerable size were squeezed up, and by a deft\nmotion of the hand were transferred to the mouth, until the appetites\nwere thoroughly appeased. Finally even Konah cared for nought else but\nto throw herself listlessly back against a tree that stood near, and,\nlolling out her tongue, she fanned it with a shred from a banana leaf\nto quench the fire of the coveted cayenne. It was hot, nevertheless\nthe torture was delicious. Sweet, very sweet is \"peppy\" to an African\npalate, and how much is enough is a problem dependent largely upon the\nsupply.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\nEVENING ON THE WATER\n\n\nSobah was a born trader, in this respect exemplifying one of the\nstrongest propensities of his tribe. He had frequently made trading\ntrips \"up country,\" and had sometimes taken a boat-load of produce even\nto the markets of Freetown. To-day the spirit of commerce possessed\nhim again. Securing a crew of six to man his boat, he passed the day\nin collecting his stores and stowing them away on board. Hampers of\nrice, palm-oil, pepper, kola-nuts, country cloths, rubber and ivory,\nthe latter secured in barter from an \"up country\" chief, comprised the\ncargo. A white fowl was placed in the bow of the boat, in the belief\nthat its presence would ensure a prosperous voyage.\n\nLate in the afternoon, as the full tide was about to ebb, the boat\npushed out into the current, and the six sturdy boatmen settled\nthemselves for an all-night row to the mouth of the river. Soon their\noars were swinging in perfect time, and the weird melody of the native\nboating-song seemed to bind boat, tide, swaying bodies and plying oars\ninto one inseparable harmony of sound and motion.\n\nIf the souls of these children of Nature had been as responsive to\nsights of beauty and loveliness as they were to rhythmical motion and\nsound, they would have thrilled with admiration and delight at the\npanorama brought to view by a sudden turn in the river. Great mangrove\ntrees, leaning over to whisper to their neighbors on the other shore,\nintertwined their huge branches in a lofty archway over the stream.\nThickets of shrubbery filled all the intervening spaces, and tumbled\nover the river bank. Tropical vines, wild, entangled, luxuriant,\ntrailed over all and hung in graceful festoons of green from the\nbranches of the trees. Banked along the water's edge were masses of\ncalla-like lilies, interspersed with ferns. Out of the mass of verdure\non the river bank, peeped the bright crimson leaves that, crowning the\nends of the branches, served as flowers on a shrub whose other foliage\nwas of the deepest green. Near by another shrub displayed a whorl of\nleaves like unto the foliage in shape and form, but creamy white,\narranged around the tiniest suggestion of a flower. Birds of bright\nplumage flitted here and there among the trees, monkeys chattered and\nscolded in the leafy depths, and snakes suspended their sinuous bodies\nfrom tall canes, or were coiled upon beds of moss. Alligators lay\nbasking lazily in the evening sun.\n\nLooking down the river from the bend, the stream seemed to be one\ncontinuous avenue of green, with occasional touches of color. Save\nfor the sinister suggestion from the presence of the snakes and the\nalligators, the spot might have been a bit of fairy-land so quiet\nand so isolated that it seemed no human being had ever invaded its\nsanctity. It was a place to cause the cultured heart to go out in\nreverence to meet the spirit of the Infinite.\n\nBut our scantily clad boatmen had no eye for all this beauty, no\nsoul to vibrate in unison with the sacred scene. On the other hand,\ntheir hearts were filled with dread and superstitious fears. To their\nbeclouded minds the place seemed haunted by unseen spirits of evil. An\nalligator slipped with a little splash into the water and disappeared\nfrom sight. The sun now sinking in the west, cast ominous shadows amid\nthe thickening foliage. The hearts of the boatmen were filled with a\nnameless dread, their song died entirely away, and, dropping a piece\nof silver into the water to propitiate the spirit of the river, they\nraised their oars lest the sound of rowing should disturb the genius of\nthe place, and floated with the tide in almost breathless silence until\nthe boat reached the broader waters beyond. Then breathing more freely,\nthey began to row again, gently at first, but with gradually increased\nspeed until the oars were in full swing to the echo of the boating-song.\n\nThe first streaks of day found them at the bar-mouth, but a strong gale\nfrom the sea made it impossible to proceed, and they were compelled to\nanchor for an indefinite period. Tired out with the night's rowing, the\nmen doubled up in positions of varying discomfort, and slept soundly\nfor many hours. Aroused at last, they kindled a fire in the box of\ngravel in the bow of the boat, cooked a bountiful supply of rice and\nfish, and, gathering around the great rice-pot, they proceeded to stow\naway the food in such quantities as only a black man's stomach can\ncontain.\n\nAll through the remainder of the day the gale continued with but slight\nabatement. It was plain that the night also must be spent at anchor\nbefore the voyage could be resumed. The evening meal was a repetition\nof that of the morning, quantity not excepted, and after it was over\nthey entertained themselves in their own peculiar way. Full stomachs\nbrought on an amiable frame of mind, and the gathering shades of\nevening developed a feeling of sociability and loosened the tongues\nof the men. The hour was auspicious for story-telling. The physical\nman was at ease, there was time and to spare, and the gathering night\ndrove the mind in upon itself. Under such circumstances stories were\ninevitable, and needed only some suggestion to set them going. Dogbah's\ncapacity for rice, shown a little before at their evening meal, was the\noccasion of a rather coarse jest, at which all the men, including the\nvictim, laughed heartily.\n\nThat reminded Sobah of the same propensity in Mr. Spider, the\nimpersonation of most of the black man's virtues, and many of his\nvices. With a merry twinkle in his eye, and a suggestive shrug of his\nshoulders, Sobah shifted to a more commanding position, preparatory to\nbeginning his story.\n\nThe men, accustomed to receive half their communications through signs\nmore or less occult, understood at once what was coming, and put\nthemselves into listening attitudes. The story was full of life and\nmovement, and was entered into with much spirit by both narrator and\nlisteners.\n\n\nSPIDER DISCOVERS THE WAX GIRL.\n\n\"Spider bin get fa'm wey (where) be bin lib wid heen wef en heen pickin\n(pickaninnies). Dis yeah fa'm bin big, oh! en de ress plenty, but wey\n(since) Spider nebber satisfy fo' yeat, he greedy (begrudged) heen wef\nen heen pickin all. He make one plan fo' heself fo' make dem lef he one\n(alone) nah fa'm.[18]\n\n[18] To better insure their safety against invading tribes, the people\nlive in villages, often mud-walled, and go at day-break to their farms,\nwhere a hut, or a thatched roof supported by poles, serves as temporary\nabode and shelter. In order to indulge undisturbed his inordinate\nappetite, Spider plans to be left alone at night upon his farm, when\nthe other members of the household return to the village.\n\n\"He tell he wef, say: 'Dah tem w'en I go die, yo' mus' bury me close me\nfa'm-ho'se.'\n\n[Illustration: Mr. Spider pretends to die.]\n\n\"Aftah he done tell heen wef dat, he no' tay agin,[19] Spider he bin\nsick, he head duh hurt um fo' true, true. He no able fo' yeat anyt'ing\nagin. He say dah sick 'trong 'pon um. Jus' t'ree no mo (merely), well,\nSpider he die. He wef en heen pickin' dey cry fo' um, en dem people\nall. Dey bury um close de fa'm-ho'se lek how he bin say. Well, net\ntem he wef take all he pickin, he go nah town, but sun tem dey wuk\nnah fa'm. W'en dey wan' fo' go back nah town, dey bin lef clean ress\nplenty, den bin lef fis' en palm-ile, en peppy, en all t'ing fo' cook.\n\n[19] \"He no 'tay agin,\" _i.e._, It did not stay, was a short time.\n\n\"W'en dey done go, Spider get up soffle f'om he grabe, he go inside\nfa'm-ho'se, he go take pot, he was' um, he put um nah fiah, he cook\nplenty ress; he go look, he take fis', he take 'nuff fo' hese'f. Well,\nhe kin yeat dat all net sotay fus' fowl crow. Jus' w'en fowl crow,\nSpider go back nah he grabe. He go lay down deh soffle. Dem people dey\ncome now. W'en dey wan' cook dey go look den ress, dey meet only leelee\nbit. Dem no know who take um. Well, Spider do dis trick ebery net fo'\none week. W'en den people go home, Spider bin come out f'om he grabe.\nDem people heah dey no know how fo' do. Well, one pusson tell um say:\n\n\"'Make yo' mus' go to de country-fashion man. W'en he look de groun' he\ntell yo' wey t'ing kin do dat.[20]\n\n[20] The country-fashion man is a sort of African seer, who seats\nhimself upon the ground, spreads a white cloth in front of him, throws\nupon it small stones and bits of various things, and in some way from\nthese makes his predictions, fumbling in an apparently aimless way,\nand muttering to himself, or to the spirits of darkness with which he\nclaims to be in communion. This is about as much as the uninitiated and\ncurious can learn in regard to \"Looking the ground.\"\n\n\"Den go to dat country-fashion man. Wen he look de groun' he tell dem,\nsay, ef den wan' fo' ketch dah pusson wey (who) do dah trick, dem fo'\nget big wax,[21] make um lek young girl, en dis girl heah dey mus' put\nnah one co'ner inside de ho'se. So dey duh do all. Well, Spider no\nknow anyt'ing happen. Wen de people done go, he come out soffle, lek\nwey he do de odder tem. He get de big, big pot, he was' um, put um nah\nfiah. He go take ress, he go cook de ress; den he take de pot, he pin\n(placed) um down 'pon de groun' close de fiah. He take odder leelee\npot, he go look ef den get fis'; he fine leelee bit. He cook de fis'\ngood fashion, make soup wid um. He pin de soup down close de ress. He\ngo take de plate now, he was' um, but he no get 'tick-'poon[22] fo'\ndish up. He take 'tick wid fiah 'pon um fo' go look 'poon. Well, w'en\nhe take de fiah-'tick, he see dis wax 'tan' up one side. He say: 'Eh!\neh! Yo' bin heah so all de tem, en make me trouble fo' cook ress all,\nsotay I done cook de soup? Yo' no come se'f fo' he'p me?'\n\n[21] The wax referred to exudes from a tree called by the natives\n\"chockooh.\" It is very tenacious.\n\n[22] \"'Tick-'poon\" _i.e._ a stick used as a substitute for a spoon.\n\n[Illustration: \"De Country-fashion Man look de groun'.\"\n\n  [_See p. 103._]\n]\n\n\"De t'ing no talk.\n\n[Illustration: The Wax Girl.]\n\n\"'Well, now I done finish, go make yo' dish up de ress, make we yeat.'\n\n\"But w'en de t'ing no answer, Spider say:\n\n\"'How yo' kin do? I duh talk, yo' no hearee wey t'ing I duh say? I\n_say_, yo' mus' go pull dah ress, make we yeat.'\n\n\"W'en de t'ing no duh talk, Spider hole um wid he han'. 'Jus he hole\num, now he han' fash'n (stuck fast), he say:\n\n\"'Because I no hole yo' wid all two han', dat make yo' duh hole me\ntight?'\n\n\"W'en he hole um wid he odder han', he han' fash'n agin en he say:\n\n\"'Eh! eh! Lef me now! Ef yo' no wan' pull (bring) dah ress tell me,\nmake me go pull um fo' mese'f. Yo' t'ink say nar (it is) play I duh\nplay? Fo' dat yo' kin do so? He look lek say yo' wan' make me kick yo'.'\n\n\"He kick um; he foot fash'n, he say:\n\n\"'Yo' make so I go kick yo' wid dis me odder foot jus' now.'\n\n\"W'en he take de odder foot, kick um, dat fash'n agin. He say:\n\n\"'Eh! eh! Ef yo' no lef me I go box yo' wid me head.'\n\n\"Den he butt um, en he head fash'n 'pon de wax.\n\n\"'Ef yo' no lef me, I go conk (strike) yo' jus' now wid me chest.'\n\n\"He conk um, he chest fash'n. W'en Spider he fine how he fash'n all, he\nbegin fo' talk soffle, he beg, he _beg_, he say:\n\n\"'Lef me now, do yah. Soon do' go clean.'\n\n\"W'en he beg, de t'ing no duh talk: jus' 'tan' up deh. Spider fet, he\nfet, he _fet_ t-a-y (till) do' go clean; he no come out. De mo' he duh\nfet de mo' he duh fash'n. He wef come out town, he come meet Spider, he\nsay:\n\n\"'Ah! Fren', nar _so_ yo' bin do all de tem? Aintee yo' say yo' duh die\nfo' make yo' take all de ress? Well, mese'f I no go lef yo' come out\nf'om dah place. Yo' fo' 'tan' up deh (there).'\n\n\"Spider 'tan' up dey tay (till) all de people to de town come meet um;\ndem beat um _fine_.\"\n\n\"Well, fus' tem Spider bin roun' lek pusson, but he fash'n so 'pon\ndah wax w'en den people all duh beat um, dat make he flat tay (till)\nto-day. Dis now de punishment he duh get. Story done.\"\n\nThe narrative of Mr. Spider's successive disasters with the Wax Girl\nmoved forward with accelerated energy. Now and then came a brief pause\nto allow the story-teller to reinforce voice and tone with a fitting\ngesture, or to give vent to that peculiar, deep-throated chuckle which\nwas his only outward evidence of inward delight. The eyes of the\nlisteners danced and sparkled. They mimicked Spider's successive blows\nas the speaker illustrated them, and swayed to and fro, or shook with\nconvulsions that threatened every minute to become uncontrollable.\nThe last statements were uttered hurriedly, as if to give the pent up\nstorm of laughter a chance to escape before it should work serious\nconsequences. With the words \"Story done,\" the men gave way to\nunrestrained and unrestrainable hilarity.\n\n\"He conk um, he conk um, he conk um,\" repeated Oleemah, in a voice\nchoked with mirth, trying by the repetition to experience again all the\ndelicious humor of the situation.\n\n\"He han' fash'n, he foot fash'n, he head fash'n, he chest fash'n,\"\nremarked Gondomah, while his whole frame shook with merriment, and the\nremark started a new fit of laughter.\n\nLong after the noisy outburst had ceased, the comments continued\nconcerning Mr. Spider's propensity for trickery, and his notorious\ncapacity for \"yeat.\"\n\nIt was not long before the tales were going again regarding some of Mr.\nSpider's numberless exploits. This time Oleemah was the story-teller.\nHe had been sitting unusually silent for some time, but now, lifting\nhis head and sniffing the air significantly, he remarked:\n\n\"One tem Cappen Spider, he en Lizzad make boat of Chameleon.\"\n\nHere he paused, as if there were nothing more to say, but the men,\nscenting a story, urged him to go on. After a decent show of\nreluctance, he proceeded to tell how\n\n\nMR. CHAMELEON IS TRANSFORMED INTO A BOAT.\n\n\"One tem Spider, Lizzad en Chameleon, dem t'ree beef bin meet up 'pon\nde road. Dey wan' go nah Freetown, but none no get boat fo' kare dem.\nSo now dey go talk to dense'f who go be de boat. Well, dey come fine\nsay, Chameleon, he go be de boat, because he favor boat. He han' nar de\nrow-lock, heen tail wey fo' place de rudder, heen head nar de bow, de\ninside part fo' put de load. Chameleon 'gree. W'en dey ready fo' start,\nChameleon say: 'Make I turn over; w'en I lay down flat, make yo' sit\ndown 'pon me.'\n\n\"Spider say: 'All ret.'\n\n\"W'en he en Lizzad done klim 'pon dis boat-Chameleon, Chameleon say:\n'Make Lizzad take dem hoe (oars).'\"\n\nHere Dogbah, who was rather slow of comprehension, interrupted with a\nquestion as to how Lizard was to use oars without row-locks.\n\nOleemah cast a disapproving glance at the questioner, then\ngood-naturedly went on to explain what seemed to him self-evident.\nHolding up two fingers and a thumb as nearly in the shape of\nChameleon's hand as possible, he said:\n\n\"Aintee yo' know Chameleon get two fingah en one t'umb so?\" Lizzad put\nde hoe between um; he begin fo' pull, en dey begin fo' go. Spider nar\nde cappen; Lizzad dey take fo' boatman, because he kin pull wid he four\nfoot.\n\n\"W'en dey go dey meet one place wey de stone plenty; Cappen Spider wey\nduh steer, he make de boat go agin de stone. So he duh do all tem, he\njus' duh jam Chameleon 'pon dem stone. Chameleon done tire, he say: 'We\nno reach yet?'\n\n\"Spider say: 'We no half, yet.'\n\n\"Now he duh steer close one big, big rock, en de same tem Lizzad duh\npull _hard_. Chameleon he back broosh 'pon stone, en he say: 'Wee-ee!\nFren', I no lek dah trick wey yo' do me to-day.'\n\n\"Spider make lek he sorry, he say: 'Fren', hush yah!'[23]\n\n[23] \"Hush yah,\" or \"as-yah,\" is the strongest expression of sympathy\nin the Sierra Leone dialect.\n\n\"So Chameleon lay down agin. Lizzad pull, he pull, he pull, he pull, he\npull so-t-a-y (till) Chameleon ax um, he say: 'Wey t'ing do de place\nfar so?'[24]\n\n[24] \"Wey t'ing do de place far so?\" _i.e._, Why is the place so far?\n\n[Illustration: Mr. Chameleon transformed into a boat.\n\n  [_See p. 111._]\n]\n\n\"Spider say: 'He no far agin; we go reach jus' now.'\n\n\"W'en dey go long tem, dey begin fo' see de town. Chameleon ax um agin,\nhe say: 'Fren', we no reach yet?'\n\n\"Spider say: 'Look de town yandah.'\n\n\"Chameleon say: 'I no ax yo' fo' dat; I say, Ef we done reach dey?'\n\n\"Spider say: 'No, look de town yandah agin.'\n\n\"Chameleon say: 'Fren, I no lek dah trick. Tell me one tem ef we done\nreach dey.'\n\n\"Spider tell de same word agin, en Chameleon vex, he say 'I _mus'_ come\nout jus' now under yo', make all man swim fo' hese'f.'\n\n\"Spider beg, he beg sotay (till) Chameleon say: 'All ret.'\n\n\"Den dey go agin, go reach de place, en Chameleon say: 'We done reach?'\n\n\"Spider say: 'Yes.'\n\n\"Chameleon ax: 'Ef make I turn over?'\n\n\"Spider say: 'No, come make yo' go to de sho' mo' leelee bit.' W'en\ndey reach to de sho,' Spider say: 'Turn over now, we done ketch\nFreetown.'\n\n\"Dis tem Chameleon get one foot en one han', en leelee nose, because\nSpider 'deed bin jam um 'pon dem stone. Dat make Chameleon walker slow\ntay to-day.\"[25]\n\n[25] To an African mind, everything in the least unusual needs to be\naccounted for. Consequently some solution, however fanciful, must be\noffered for the slow locomotion of such a pompous appearing character\nin the native stories as the Chameleon. Raising one foot after the\nother slowly, very slowly, he puts it down with a meditative precision\nthat leads the people to ascribe to him these words: \"I duh walker,\nmash (take) one step, den odder step. Ef I walker hard I go sink de\ngroun', de groun' go bus', he too sof', en bimeby de wuld go broke. Dat\nmake I duh walker soffle, so I no fa' down.\"\n\nOleemah leaned back against the side of the boat, and gave himself up\nto a train of memories that had been awakened by the story just ended.\nThe men, less meditative, renewed their enjoyment by various comments\non Spider and his guileful ways.\n\n\"Aintee now dat rascal trick wey Spider do heen boat Chameleon?\" asked\nDogbah, and his broad grin showed that Spider's rascality was not\nlooked upon with any great disfavor. \"Dat rascal trick\" recalled the\ntime when Spider was worsted in his encounter with the Wax Girl, and\nagain the men shook with merry laughter.\n\nSobah, feeling a little hurt by some of the rude jests at Spider's\nexpense, had been turning over the leaves of his memory in search of\nsome exploit of that little hero, more than usually clever, in order\nto offset the somewhat inglorious part he had played in the two other\ntales.\n\n\"Well, Spider he 'trong man,\" he finally retorted to the slighting\ncomment of Dogbah.\n\nChallenged for proof of his assertion, Sobah began to relate Mr.\nSpider's marvellous achievement in a trial of strength with Elephant\nand Hippopotamus.\n\n\nSPIDER, ELEPHAN' EN PAWPAWT\u00c1MUS.\n\n\"Hangry tem (famine) done ketch dis Africa.[26] All dem beef no get no\nyeat, de country dry too much. Well, Spider he en Elephan' meet up one\nday. Spider tell Elephan', 'How do.' Elephan' answer um, 'Tankee,' en\nhe say:\n\n\"'Fren', how yo' do fo'get yeat? Mese'f no get notting, de country dry\ntoo much.'\n\n[26] Native lack of management, and shiftlessness in providing for\nthe future by planting a sufficient amount of rice, cause, for the\ngreat mass of the people, an annual scarcity of food just preceding\nthe season of ingathering. Add to this the frequent wars, and the\noccasional devastations by locusts, and the explanation is afforded for\nthe famines so frequently mentioned in the oral literature concerning\nthe animals, the pathetic sharers in the suffering of their human\nfriends.\n\n\"Spider hese'f done po'; hangry duh ketch um _bad_, but wey (since) he\ncunnie, he answer Elephan', he say:\n\n\"'Nar true de place dry, but I t'ink I go soon be able fo' fine yeat\nfo' mese'f en me famble.'\n\n\"Den de Elephan' say: 'Ef yo' fine de place, make yo' come tell me.'\n\n\"Spider say: 'All ret, I 'gree. I kin sorry w'en I look yo' skin, how\nhe leelee so. He no big lek fus' tem; bimeby he no go big pass me yown.\nYo' no look lek yo' get 'trenk too much; I t'ink say I able fo' draw\nyo' f'om de sho' to de wattah.'\n\n\"Elephan' no know say Spider duh pull cunnie, en hese'f de one Spider\nwan' fo' kill. He answer: 'All ret,' he say: 'Mese'f kin draw yo' f'om\ndah wattah to dah lan'.'\n\n\"Spider say: 'All ret,' he say he go fine big rope.[27] He go, he duh\nwalker inside bush tay he meet rope big lek pusson head, he duh kare\num go to de wattah. He 'tan' up close de sho' tay (till) he meet up\nwid Pawpawt\u00e1mus, he tell um, say: 'I kin draw yo' f'om de wattah to de\nlan'.'\n\n[27] The native rope is a vine that grows in the jungle, and which is\nsufficiently strong to serve the purposes of a rope. Fastened to a\nlarge stone it even holds a boat at anchor.\n\n\"Pawpawt\u00e1mus say: 'Wey t'ing dat yo' duh talk? Yo' leelee too much, I\njus' make me fingah _so_, I kin draw yo'.'\n\n[Illustration: Mr. Spider challenges Pawpawt\u00e1mus.]\n\n\"Spider say: 'All ret, which tem we go try de fet?'\n\n\"Pawpawt\u00e1mus answer um, say: 'To-morrow mawnin' make we come try.'\n\n\"Spider 'gree, he say: 'Dah tem I ready, I go gie yo' de rope.'\n\n\"Den he lef, he go tell Elephan' de same word: 'Wen I ready I go gie\nyo' de rope.'\n\n\"De two beef no know say dat dey two go draw each odder. So Spider\nbring de rope, he go tie de one end 'pon Elephan', de odder 'pon\nPawpawt\u00e1mus. He tell all two, he say:\n\n\"'Yo' mus' ready; I go draw yo' now.'\n\n\"So Spider hese'f go middle de rope, he begin fo' draw de rope to one\nside en de odder side fo' gie signal. Den he turn behine one big 'tick;\nhe 'tan' up deh, fo' see wey t'ing go be. Dem two big beef begin fo'\npull. Dey draw each odder sotay (until) dey no able; dey done tire fo'\ndraw. De two equal, de one no pass he cumpin (companion) fo' 'trong.\nDey draw sotay (until) dey all two die.\"\n\nNo mere words can convey an adequate impression of the realism\nand power that Sobah's portrayal gave to this mighty struggle. In\nunconscious response to the growing intensity of the theme he had risen\nto his feet, and now became so completely absorbed in the struggle he\nwas depicting, that tone, look, and straining muscle seemed to reflect\nevery phase of the terrible combat, until with the tiring out of the\ncontestants, he too sank back upon his seat as if exhausted.\n\nIt was an effective bit of unstudied eloquence. The long pause that\nfollowed was necessary to allow the tension of feeling to sink again to\nthe level of the remainder of the story. Then the narrator went on in a\nmore subdued vein.\n\n\"Spider done satisfy. He look de beef, he say: 'Yo' pass me fo' 'trong,\nbut aintee I pass yo' fo' sense?'\n\n\"Well, he go, he take dem two, he drag dem nah sho'.\"\n\nThis was a rather surprising feat even for Mr. Spider, and Sobah\nglanced out of the corner of his eye to see how it was being received.\nThe look on several faces seemed to indicate that credulity was being\ntested too far. The momentary pause gave Oleemah a chance to protest:\n\"Ah! Daddy, Yo' t'ink say Spider, wey leelee so, able fo' drag dem big,\nbig beef?\"\n\n\"Aintee yo' know dat Spider able fo' tote yeat?\" Sobah replied. \"Ef\nyeat big lek Elephan' he go tote um. I no care ef anyt'ing fo' yeat how\nhe big, he kin hase (raise) um go, but he lazy fo' wuk. Ef yo' gie um\nleelee wuk fo' do, he no able.\" Then he resumed his narrative.\n\n\"Spider shabe (divided) de beef all; he call plenty people fo' tote um,\nkare um go nah he ho'se. He pay um only leelee bit 'pon dah Elephan'.\nSpider en he famble lib 'pon de two beef sotay de hangry tem done.\n\n\"Well, dah tern fis' no bin nah de whole wuld. W'en Spider shabe de\nbeef, all de piece he no wan', he t'row 'way nah de wattah; den turn\nfis'. Nar so Spider make fis' all come nah de wattah.\"\n\nThis novel account of the \"living creatures that the waters brought\nforth abundantly,\" did not seem incredible to that simple-minded crew.\nThe water about their boat was alive with fish at the very moment, and\nif Spider did not make them, who did?\n\nHobahky, in whose nostrils the odor of fish-stew was a sweet savor, put\nhis feelings into: \"Aintee Spider good man fo' make dem fis' all come\nfo' we?\"\n\nOleemah was inclined to give most credit to Spider for the clever ruse\nby which he secured food for himself and family during the famine.\n\nMeanwhile the wind had abated, and was shifting to a more favorable\nquarter. The clouds that had obscured the moon in the earlier evening,\nhad cleared away, and now the moon was shining full and bright. Sobah's\nexperienced eye had been taking in the situation, and after a full\nsurvey he decided that, after all, the voyage might safely be resumed.\n\nAccordingly they set up their little mast, spread the sail, and were\nsoon scudding away in the direction of Freetown, leaving thoughts of\nSpider to less strenuous hours.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V\n\nA PURRO INITIATION\n\n\nA short time after Sobah's return from his trading trip, occurred the\ninitiatory mysteries of the Purro secret society. Nearly all the male\npopulation of the village had gone to the \"devil-bush,\" or lodge of the\nsociety, to take part in the mystic ceremonies. A place had been hewn\nout of the dense forest, and across the front next to the village, was\na barricade of bamboo fifteen feet high, with a single small opening\ncovered by matting. Cabalistic symbols marked the presence of the Purro\ndevil; and a long yellow snake, the guardian of the Purro society, was\ncoiled up on the limb of a tree just inside the entrance. None but the\ninitiated and the candidates dared to go within. Down in the village\nthe women and children spoke with bated breath, and seldom ventured\noutside their huts. From the devil-bush came the dread rumble of the\nspecially constructed drum, and the still more horrible call of the\nPurro devil. The air was full of dread, and awe, and mystery. Konah\nnestled close to her mother, not venturing even to ask questions. All\nat once the loud blare of some terrible instrument, heard from the edge\nof the village, and followed by the most hideous cry that ever came\nfrom human throats, told that the Purro devil was marching abroad,\nseeking new subjects for initiation. Konah and her mother, with some\nwomen and children who happened to be visiting them at the time, ran\nto the small inner room of their hut, and hid their faces against the\ndark wall. The uninitiated men who happened to be in the way, turned\naside and buried their faces in their hands, that they might not look\nupon the dread Purro devil and his followers. On they came, the devil\nblowing his awful-sounding instrument, and the Purro boys uttering\ntheir terror-inspiring cry. The procession wound through the crooked\nstreets, and passed on to the neighboring village. After the hideous\nnoises died away, the women and children crept timidly out of hiding.\nThe sun had gone behind the western forest, and Mamenah, Konah, and\ntheir visitors, came out to the front piazza, Mamenah seating herself\nin the hammock and the others upon the low mud wall.\n\n[Illustration: The Purro Devil.\n\n  [_See p. 124._]\n]\n\nKonah's mind was full of Purro mysteries, but here was something\nwhich she dared not investigate personally. Her questions brought no\nsatisfactory response, so she sat and pondered. Mammy Mamenah, wishing\nto entertain her friends, and at the same time to shake off her own\nuncanny feeling, finally asked:\n\n\"Yo' know dah trick wey Cunnie Rabbit pull (played), fo' blow all dem\nhorn?\"\n\nThey had not heard the story, but were at once ready to listen to it.\nAt the first question, Konah was all eagerness and animation. Any\nstory was delightful to her quick imagination, but the name of \"Cunnie\nRabbit\" was a seductive charm beyond her power to resist.\n\n\"Oh Mammy, tell 'bout um,\" she ventured to request, and her voice was\nfull of pleased anticipation.\n\nLeisurely swinging in the hammock, Mamenah crooned her story in a tone\nmore than usually subdued, for the echo of the Purro call was still\nfresh in her memory.\n\n\nCUNNING RABBIT BECOMES A KING.\n\n\"All dem beef en Cunnie Rabbit bin meet up to one place. Now dey pull\n(removed) all dem horn, en put um 'pon de groun'. Any (every) beef pull\nhe yown.\"\n\n\"How dem beef able fo' pull dem horn?\" asked one of the children in a\ntone of incredulity.\n\n\"Dah tem wey de story bin tell 'bout, dem beef able fo' do anyt'ing;\ndey able fo' pull dem horn, dey able fo' take um agin. Well, dah tem,\ndey pull dem horn all. One grain (single) pusson no lef' se'f wey (who)\nget horn, en dey say:\n\n\"'De pusson wey blow all dis yeah horn one (by) one, widout he no lef\nfo' blow, dis one we go take fo' king.'\n\n\"So Spider grap (get up), he blow de horn long, long tem, but bimeby he\ntire, he no done um, now he lef fo' blow.\n\n\"Elephan' grap, he say wey he big so, he go blow _all_.\n\n\"Cunnie Rabbit he say: 'Yo' duh story, yo' no able fo' do dis t'ing.\nYo' see Spider wey duh pass yo' fo' cunnie, he no done dem; nar (is it)\nyo' go done dem?'\n\n\"Elephan' say: 'All ret, I go begin one tem (at once).'\n\n\"He blow sotay (till) he done part of dem plenty horn, but he no able\nfo' finis'; he lef fo' (left off) blow. Well, now all de odder beef duh\ntry, dey all no able. Cunnie Rabbit grap (get up) en begin fo' blow,\nbut wey (since) he cunnie, w'en he bin wan' lef (leave off), he bin\npull one trick. Yo' know w'en dem Purro boy bin come nah town, to-day,\nw'en de debble bin talk en dey no wan' make people hearee, well, he\nmake dem holler sotay he lef fo' talk, sometem 'bout t'ree minute.\n\n\"Well, Cunnie Rabbit, w'en he done tire, he look, he listen; he make\nlek pusson wey duh hearee somet'ing. Den he holler dis one big holler.\nDe odder beef mean say de Purro boy duh come. Dey 'tan' up en holler\none big, big holler tay all de groun' duh shake. Dey no take notice\ndat Cunnie Rabbit lef fo' blow. Well, w'en dey all stop fo' holler,\nhe begin back fo' blow. W'en he done tire agin, he duh pull dis same\nsense; so he do t'ree tem, fo' make he get leelee tem fo' rest. Well,\nnar so he done all dem horn, en de beef take um fo' de king.\"\n\n[Illustration: Cunnie Rabbit pretends to blow all the horns.\n\n  [_See p. 130._]\n]\n\nKonah was entirely satisfied with the success of her cunning little\nfavorite, and for several minutes gave vent to a delighted chuckle.\nPresently the thought of Mr. Spider and his cleverness came into the\nmind of one of the women, and turning to Mamenah she asked for a story\nabout him.\n\n\"I no able fo' 'member odder story,\" answered the woman doubtfully. The\nothers, however, were not to be denied, so Mamenah began to stir the\ncobwebs of her memory to see if she could discover Mr. Spider and some\nof his doings. Her mind was still full of secret society initiations,\nand that probably was the reason why this particular experience of Mr.\nSpider was brought to the surface. Konah saw that a story was coming,\nso she came and curled up on a mat close to the hammock. The moon just\nthen peeped over the tops of the trees, and shone full on the eager\nlittle upturned face waiting for the story to begin.\n\n\nMR. SPIDER INITIATES THE FOWLS.\n\n\"One tem fowl bin gadder all togedder.\" There was a tone of solemnity\nin the woman's voice when she made this simple introduction to her\ntale, a note which showed that her thoughts were more serious than if\nfowls were the only beings concerned. The child felt the change of tone\nat once, but merely leaned a little nearer, and listened more intently.\nIn the same serious tone the story went on.\n\n[Illustration: \"One tem fowl bin gadder all togedder.\"\n\n  [_See p. 133._]\n]\n\n\"Dey say dey wan' put Bundo,[28] but dey no get nobody fo' put dem\nBundo. W'en dey duh talk dis word so, Spider come, he meet dem duh\ntalk. He say, he go put de Bundo. He go to de town, he tell de chief he\nwan' to put all fowl Bundo. Now de chief say: 'All ret.'\n\n[28] \"Put Bundo\" signifies to initiate into the mysteries of the Bundo,\na powerful secret organization for women.\n\n\"Spider tell de chief fo' sen' plenty man fo' buil' one big, big ho'se.\nWell, w'en dey done buil' dis ho'se heah, Spider say to de fowl:\n\n\"'To-morrow so, now make yo' se'f ready, oonah (you) all.'\n\n\"Now he go sharp he knef, Wahtah, wootah! wahtah, wootah! De fowl dey\ntoo plenty; dey get one town fo' demse'f, soso fowl (only fowls). Now\nSpider he sharp he knef good fashion, he come tell de fowl, he say:\n\n\"'Oonah go make de fench 'roun de ho'se, so nobody see de Bundo.'\n\n\"Well, w'en dey finis' buil' dis fench wid palm 'roun de ho'se, he tell\nde chief, say:\n\n\"'I wan' one big, big pot; I wan' plenty ress (rice) fo' de Bundo fo'\nyeat.'[29]\n\n[29] The initiation lasts for several weeks, during which period the\ncandidates are not allowed to mingle with the people of the town. A\nsupply of food is therefore necessary, and it is this supply that\nSpider asks the chief to provide.\n\n\"W'en de chief done gie um all dis, Spider say:\n\n\"'I wan' plenty palm-ile, twelve jug[30] palm-ile.'\n\n[30] The native jug for storing palm-oil, is a joint of bamboo, stopped\nup at both ends, or a gourd.\n\n\"Well, w'en de chief done gie um all dis, he ax Spider, say:\n\n\"'Wey t'ing yo' wan' agin? Talk, make I gie yo'.'\n\n\"Now Spider say: 'I wan' make de fowl gadder one place, make dem go\ninside de ho'se.'\n\n\"De chief say: 'Dis net heah I go sen' word.'\n\n\"Befo' de net done fa' down good fashion, w'en de place dark leelee\nbit, de chief heen (his) messenger walker all 'bout wid dis de chief\nheen command.[31] He tell de fowl all, make dem mus' gadder mawnin'\nearly, make dem go inside de ho'se wey dey done buil' fo' um, make\nnobody no lef de town fo' go odder place.\n\n[31] The customary way for the chief to issue a proclamation is to send\na town crier around, after the people have gathered in the town for the\nnight.\n\n\"Nah (in the) mawnin' early, all dem fowl meet up one place; dey go\ninside de big, big ho'se, en Spider hese'f go inside. Ebery mawnin'\nSpider kill 'bout one t'ousan', he put um inside pot.\"\n\nKonah's quick wit had anticipated Spider's selfish designs, but a\nthousand fowls for breakfast seemed such an enormous amount even for\nhis notorious appetite, that she laughed outright at the absurdity of\nit.\n\nThe cunning scheme of Mr. Spider, hidden under a cloak of disinterested\nservice, appealed more strongly to the woman, so she went on with a\ntouch of irony in her voice:\n\n\"Nar dis de Bundo he duh put. He duh yeat all dem fowl him one (alone),\nhe done um. Only leelee one wey duh hatch he lef.\n\n\"Nar de chief ax um, say: 'Which side yo' duh pull de Bundo?'[32]\n\n[32] \"Pull de Bundo\" signifies a public display just after initiation,\na procession with songs and dances. For this purpose special and\nnumerous ornaments, and gaudy but scant covering are worn on the\npartially nude bodies, which are tattooed and greased until they shine.\n\nBy the query: \"Which side yo' duh pull de Bundo,\" the chief implies\nthat the preparatory rites over which Spider has been supposed to\npreside are at an end, and a statement should be made as to the place\nwhere the new members are to be introduced to the public.\n\n\"Spider tell de chief de place, den he say:\n\n\"'I wan' make yo' buy plenty dress fo' dem. Which tem yo' go buy de\ndress? Because I wan' pull de Bundo one tem, make I go.'\n\n\"Now the chief gie um all dem t'ing fo' dress dem; hankercher, bead,\nall t'ing wey kin tie nah han' nah foot, all t'ing de chief gie um.\n\n\"Well, w'en Spider done yeat de fowl, he pack de bone all one place.\nNow he tell de chief, he say:\n\n\"'To-morrow, w'en de sun middle de sky, I go pull de Bundo.'\n\n\"Well, dah net he gadder he pickin all, he say, make dem ready fo' go\ndis net.\n\n\"Well, all t'ing wey de chief gie Spider fo' de Bundo, he tie um in\nbundle, in mat; he gie um to he pickin (pickaninnies) fo' tote (carry);\nhe lock de do' tight.[33] Now he tell de pickin, say:\n\n\"'Dis net yeah, make we come go, make we go walker all net; bimeby de\nchief go ketch we, go flog we.'\n\n[33] \"Lock\" means merely \"close,\" as no stronger method for securing a\ndoor is known than bracing a stick against it. Sometimes a door is only\na suspended mat.\n\n\"Dey walker _all net_. Well, w'en do' clean, dey hide nah bush. Spider\nknow dat Lepped inside dis bush, en Spider hese'f he 'fraid. Well, w'en\nde sun middle de sky, dat de tem fo' pull de Bundo, en plenty people\nduh gadder. Dey no see Spider nah de ho'se, so dey try fo' open de do'.\nFus' dey no able; dey try long tem befo' dey open dis yeah do'. Now\ndey see dis great t'ing wey Spider done do. He pack de bone one side,\nhe pack de fedder one side. Now de chief say make dem go ketch Spider.\nHe sen' plenty pusson aftah um. Well, nar de Lepped holler inside bush,\nen Spider 'fraid bad; hese'f duh holler because 'fraid duh ketch um.\nW'en dem people hearee how Spider holler, dey know which side he duh\nhide, en dey go ketch um. W'en dey done ketch um, w'en dey done bring\num nah de road, dey get de pickin all, but Spider he loss f'om dem\nhan'. He go to one Mory[34] man, he tell um say:\n\n\"Make sebby (charm) fo' me, fo' make me joomp lek monkey.'\n\n\"De Mory man answer, he say:\n\n\"'Yo' mus' gie me one fine present fus'.'\n\n[34] The Mory men, or Mohammedans, travel over the country, gaining\na living by working on the credulity of the superstitious folk. They\nmanufacture \"sebbys\" or charms, of which the most common are bits of\nArabic writing, usually taken from the Koran, and enclosed in black\nleather of square or oblong shape, measuring an inch or two. These\ncharms are worn around neck, wrists or ankles.\n\nNatives will sacrifice almost any other possession to procure such\ncharms. Their awed faith in the potency of charms and fetiches is one\nof the most dumbly pathetic facts in African life.\n\n\"Now Spider tief plenty clot' en bead f'om de t'ing wey de chief gie\num fo' pull Bundo. He gie um to de Mory man. Now de man make sebby, he\ntie um 'pon Spider. He tie one 'pon heen foot, he tie one 'pon de odder\nfoot; one 'pon de han', one 'pon de odder han'. W'en he finis' he say:\n\n\"'Go show yo'se'f to de chief.'\n\n\"Well, w'en de chief see Spider, he tell de people, say:\n\n\"'Make all man mus' ketch Spider.'\n\n\"Dey dribe um, dey dribe um sotay (till) dey reach nah bush. Spider\njoomp nah 'tick, he joomp nah odder 'tick lek monkey. He bin get one\nsebby (charm) inside he han'. Dis he no fo' wop down. Ef he fo' get\nen wop um down, dat go make he lose he power fo' joomp lek monkey do,\nen de people dey go ketch um. _All day_ dem people dribe um. W'en net\ncome dey turn back, go nah town. Dey say dey done try all dem bes' fo'\nketch Spider. Dey wan' ketch um, dey no able, because he duh joomp lek\nmonkey. Nobody no able ketch monkey nah tree.\n\n\"Now all man duh hang head (think) fo' sabbee (know) wey t'ing dey go\ndo fo' ketch Spider. At las' dey grap (get up), dey go to dis same\nMory man wey Spider bin go to. He de bes' Mory man nah de wuld. W'en\ndey meet dis man, dey tell um all t'ing. Now de man say: 'Because oonah\nwan' ketch um, make oonah mus' gie me big, big present befo' I go gie\nyo' sebby (charm) fo' ketch Spider.'\n\n\"Now dey go get de present. He pass de one wey Spider gie, _far_ 'way.\nDey gie um to de man, en de man say:\n\n\"'Go ketch one black monkey, come bring me, but make he black fo' true.'\n\n\"Well, dey go make trap, dey go ketch dis black monkey heah, but he\nno die. Dey go gie um to de man. Now dis Mory man he make _one_ sebby\n(charm), same wid Spider yown; he tie um 'pon dis monkey heen neck. He\ngie um good whip, fine one; de whip get six rope. He gie dis monkey\nsebben man, sebben 'trong man fo' wait tay he ketch Spider, so dey kin\ngo tie um, bring um come to de chief. Five man no able hole um; because\nhe get de five sebby, he get five man 'trenk.\n\n\"Well, now dis monkey hese'f grap, he go fo' ketch Spider. Spider se'f\ngrap. He duh joomp, duh joomp, duh joomp sotay he t'ink dis black\nmonkey yeah he no able fo' ketch um; dat make he no joomp lek wey\nhe duh joomp befo'. Den de monkey he meet up wid um, he gie Spider\none cut. Nar so dey do, dey joomp all day. De black monkey he follow\nbehine Spider, he duh flog Spider ef he no joomp quick. Well, Spider\nhe make hase (haste) agin; he joomp, he joomp, he joomp. Bimeby he go\nnah one rock place. De sebby (charm) wey he hole nah he han', de one\nwey he no fo' wop down, he take um, lay um 'pon de 'tone weh he sit\ndown. He done lef dis monkey far distance, because he get five sebby;\nde monkey he only get one, so Spider joomp mo' pass monkey. He t'ink\nfo' say de monkey no meet um agin. He go nah one fa'm, he root cassada\n(cassava), he sit down 'pon rock, he yeat de cassada. Well, dis black\nmonkey come up wid um. Spider no know; he duh yeat. Now de monkey flog\nSpider, he duh flog um. But Spider bin lef de sebby wey he get to he\nhan', de sebby bin fa' down, so he no get 'trenk fo' joomp. He 'trenk\ninside de sebby. Now de monkey hole Spider sotay (till) de people reach\nde place. Spider look de sebby (charm) 'pon Monkey heen neck, he wan'\ntake um. W'en he jog um fo' try pull um, Monkey no 'gree. Now dey tie\nSpider, dey kare um go to de chief. De chief put um nah prison, he deh\nfour day, dey no duh gie um yeat. Well, Spider en Cunnie Rabbit bin\nfren; de one cunnie, de odder cunnie. Two cunnie meet up, dey two 'gree\ntogedder. W'en net come so, Cunnie Rabbit go tief Spider nah prison. He\nget magic, he able go inside place wey (which) lock.\n\n[Illustration: The Black Monkey starts after Mr. Spider.\n\n  [_See p. 141._]\n]\n\n\"Mawnin', w'en dey go nah prison, dey no see Spider inside. Spider he\nfree, he done go home back.\n\n\"So nar Spider bring tief long tem nah de wuld. He bin begin tief, so\nnow we all duh tief.\"\n\nAnother of Mamenah's neighbors came in just here, with an interesting\nbit of news, and story-telling was at an end for this evening.\n\nKonah still sat curled up on the mat, with her woolly head bent low,\nand her mind far away in fancy-land. Finally she crept inside the hut\nto her hard mud cot, and soon was flying before a black spectre that\nin the guise of a monkey kept pursuing her. Again she travelled a path\nwith heaps of feathers on one side, and piles of bones on the other.\nFinally she lost the power to move, and felt herself bound and carried\naway to prison, and then in helpless loneliness she sobbed aloud. In\nthe midst of her distress a kindly voice spoke: \"Look me, I yo' fren',\nI go he'p yo' come out prison,\" and Cunning Rabbit stood beside her.\nWith that her heart gave a bound of joy and relief, the troubled dreams\nfled, and sound sleep held her until the light of a new day drove away\nall the spectres of the night.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI\n\nTHE BURNING OF THE FARM\n\n\nThe day \"fo' bu'n fa'm\" had come. The thick underbrush of three or\nfour years' growth had been laboriously chopped down by men and boys\nsome weeks before and left in a tangled mass all over the little farm\nto become tinder for the flames under the burning sun of the long dry\nseason now drawing to a close. Sobah had already postponed burning\nfor several days longer than was necessary, for he had inherited the\nprocrastinating tendency of his race, whose unwritten motto seems to\nbe: \"Do nothing to-morrow that can be put off until the day after\nto-morrow.\" This morning the sky was clear, and there was no excuse for\nfurther delay. Sobah, Mamenah and Konah started for the little piece of\nground which had been allotted to them by the chief that year, going by\nthe footpath which led from the village to the farm over the hill, a\nmile away. They had gone scarcely a third of the distance when Konah,\nwho was running carelessly in advance, stumbled over an obstruction\nthat happened to be lying in the road. This was a bad sign, and nothing\nwould avert the evil consequences but a return to the village, and a\nroundabout journey by another road. So they plodded back, and started\nonce more by the longer way. Here a new difficulty presented itself.\nJust beyond the brook the path led beneath a tree under which a man had\nbeen killed by lightning some months before, and superstition invested\nthe spot with special terrors. Sobah, however, knew the counter-charm,\nand plucking a leaf from a near-by shrub, cast it upon the place and\npassed on with an easy mind. Mammy Mamenah and Konah followed with the\nsame precaution. The farm was reached without any other unfavorable\nsigns. Some of Sobah's neighbors, earlier arrived, were engaged in\nburning an adjoining farm, and the air was heavy with the smoke and\nflying cinders. Fagots from the fire furnished torches by which Sobah's\nfive-acre tract of dry brush was soon transformed into a lake of fire.\nThe flames writhed and tossed angrily, like some great monster rushing\nto devour its prey. Konah was sure some devil was the animating power,\nand the uncanny movements of the fiery arms filled even the older ones\nwith a feeling of awe and dread. It did not take the flames long to do\ntheir work in that dry fuel, and hardly had they died away when flocks\nof birds began to circle around the place, waiting for the fire to\ncool sufficiently for them to descend and enjoy their feast of roasted\nsnails. Satisfied with their morning's work, Sobah, Mamenah, Konah, and\nthe neighbors who had joined them in completing their labor, went to\ntheir farm-house to rest during the heat of the day, then to return to\nthe village in the cool of the evening.\n\nAn hour's quiet repose made Konah's active nature eager for\nentertaining occupation. She climbed upon a large stone that lay at\nthe shady side of the farm-house, and sat with one foot drawn up under\nher and the other dangling beside the stone, looking meditatively out\nover the blackness and smoke that told where the fire fiend had roared\nand revelled with resistless fury a little while before. The feeling\nstill had possession of her that there was something more than natural\nin the way the fire had raged, and to her mind the supernatural was to\nbe accounted for by multitudinous devil and witch influences. With her\nmind full of such thoughts, she was delighted to hear one of the men\nputting to Sobah the very questions that were crowding her own mind.\n\"Oh, debble any place,\" he explained in reply. \"He deh nah cotton-tree,\nhe deh nah bush, he deh nah wattah, he deh nah groun'. He able fo' turn\nanyt'ing; he turn stone, he turn tree, he turn pigeon, he turn pusson.\nPusson kin buil' debble-ho'se, put med'cin' inside wey dribe debble way\nf'om fa'm, en wey make he get good heart fo' um. Ef he get good heart,\nhe no go do um bad. Notting no able fo' do um bad.\"\n\nThis to Konah's mind, bound in the universal network of superstition,\nwas undisputed fact. Had she not in each transit to and from the farm,\npassed a tiny devil-house, placed on the outskirts of her home village?\nThis presented itself now to her mind's eye: Four sticks driven into\nthe ground, supporting a frame three feet square, roofed with bamboo,\nand enclosed on three sides. The fourth, left open, revealing a devil\nin the form of a small stone, a little food near by, the skull of some\nsmall animal, a bottle, a little horn, and some mysterious medicine\ntied in a very dirty rag.\n\nThe child had never questioned very deeply the significance of each\narticle, taking the whole by faith as one accepts the religion of\nhis ancestors, but her developing mind now longed to interrogate her\nfather, who, she was sure, must be able to explain everything. This,\nhowever, she dared not do, for it was not a child's place to presume;\nneither did she care to incur a testy command to be silent, or to\nrun away and do some work. The reproof she would not so much have\nminded, being used to it; but idleness was even sweeter than appeased\ncuriosity. So she absent-mindedly picked little pieces from the stone\non which she was sitting, and wondered, until presently Sobah, feeling\nthat he had explained matters sufficiently for any reasonable purpose,\nhad given himself over to the train of thoughts which his talk had set\nin motion, and was ready to tell a story in which Spider and \"debble\"\nwere concerned. There was no announcement of the fact, yet by some\noccult means everyone knew that the proper time had arrived, and quite\nspontaneously turned to listen. A glance at the faces of his audience\nwas all the encouragement the most exacting story-teller could require,\nand Sobah was really fond of being the mouthpiece for the yarns that\nSpider spun. The tale embodied some of the unseen powers that they had\nbeen discussing a few minutes before.\n\n\nSPIDER TRIES TO \"BRUSH\" THE DEVIL'S FARM.\n\n\"One tem Spider he go to 'trange lan'. Well, w'en he reach deh, he go\nto de king. De king nar he lan'lord. W'en tem reach fo' brush fa'm, he\nax de king fo' one piece lan' wey de people nebber brush. Dey say one\nbig debble get de lan', en no man no venture fo' go deh. Spider ax de\nking fo' dis same spot, he say he wan' fo' brush deh. De king he tell\num, he say:\n\n\"'Nobody wey brush deh kin bring de ress (rice) nah town, he no go even\nyeat de ress.'\n\n\"Spider say: 'Me go yeat um; I go brush deh, en I go yeat de ress.'\n\n\"De king say: 'Well, all ret;' he say. 'Try yo' bes'.'\n\n\"Spider he bring cutlass,[35] he go early in de mawnin' fo' go commence\nbrush befo' de sun hot. W'en he go he jus' duh chop one 'tick, den he\nhearee de debble ax:\n\n\"'Who chop dah 'tick?'\n\n[35] The cutlass is the general purpose tool used for cutting away\nunderbrush, for harvesting, and even for the felling of forest trees.\n\n[Illustration: \"De pot begin fo' run f'om Spider.\"\n\n  [_See p. 157._]\n]\n\n\"Spider say hese'f duh chop dah 'tick.\n\n\"Den de debble say: 'By to-morrow yo' go meet I done brush all dis bush\nheah.' He tell Spider make he no brush, because he go brush fo' um.\n\n\"Spider go fo' drink wattah nah de fa'm-ho'se. Befo' he come back he\nmeet de bush already brush. He run go nah town, he tell de king, he say:\n\n\"'I done finis' brush de fa'm wey yo' gie me.'\n\n\"De king answer, he say: 'All ret.'\n\n\"Befo' one week tem, de place all done dry fo' burn. Nex' day w'en de\nsun all done hot, Spider he go, he set de fiah, he holler, he say:\n'Hey! hey! hey!' He do dat fo' make de debble go hear um, so de debble\ngo ax lek how he duh do befo'. Den de debble ax, he ax: 'Who dat duh\nbu'n fa'm?'\n\n\"Spider answer um lek he bin do befo'.\n\n\"Den de debble say: 'Go sit down, I go bu'n um jus' now fo' yo'.'\n\n\"Soon w'en Spider go look, he see de fa'm done bu'n all, he swep' clean.\n\n\"Spider go tell de king, he say: 'I done bu'n me fa'm.'\n\n\"De king say: 'All ret.'\n\n\"He tell de king, he say: 'Buy ress fo' me.'\n\n\"De king gie um few hamper ress. Spider make hoe; long, long one. Nah\nmawnin' tem he get up, he take de ress, he go nah fa'm early, befo' do'\nclean. W'en he reach to he fa'm, he put down he bly (basket), he take\nhe han', he dip de ress wid um, he hebe (scatter) um, schar-r-r!\n\n\"Now de debble ax um, he say: 'Who hebe de ress?' He say: 'I go hebe de\nress, make de pusson no humbug,[36] I go hebe de ress jus' now.'\n\n[36] \"Humbug\" in the Sierra Leone dialect always means \"trouble\", and\ncontains no suggestion of trickery. The thought here is: Let the person\ngive himself no trouble.\n\n\"But de Spider he no see de debble, he jus' duh see de wuk done, en\njus' duh hear de voice, but he no duh see nobody. W'en he 'tay leelee\nbit, Spider he see ress all 'pon de groun'. Spider take de hoe, he\nscrape de groun', har-r-r!\n\n\"W'en de debble he hear, he say: 'Who duh dig de groun' fo' cover de\nress?'\n\n\"He say: 'Go home;' he say: 'To-morrow mawnin' yo' go meet I finis' de\nplace.'\n\n\"Spider go, he tell de king, he say 'I finis' plant me ress.'\n\n\"De king say: 'All ret.'\n\n\"Spider go back agin to de fa'm, he meet de ress already done grow,\ndone high, he meet de grass begin fo' grow middle de ress. He go fo'\nroot de grass f'om dah ress; he root one de grass; he root um _hard_,\nso de debble kin hear. De debble he ax: 'Who root de grass?' He say:\n'Befo' evenin' tem de pusson go meet I root all de grass.'\n\n\"Spider go to de fa'm-ho'se wey he sit down. Evenin' tem he come out to\nde fa'm, he walk all 'bout, he see de fa'm clean. De ress he _fine_!\n\n\"Bimeby de tem reach fo' de ress fo' begin bear, de ress done bear all;\ndem bird dey duh come fo' yeat de ress. Spider w'en he meet de bird, he\nholler, 'Shoo! shoo!' Dem bird dey all get up, dey fly.\n\n\"Den de debble ax um, he say: 'Who duh dribe dem bird?' He say: 'De\npusson no need fo' dribe de bird, I go dribe dem f'om de ress.'\n\n\"De debble he dribe dem bird ebery day f'om de ress, tay de ress all\ndone ripe fo' cut. De fus' day Spider go cut some. Yo' know de fus' day\npusson kin cut leelee fo' yeat, dat all. [37]W'en he go cut de ress,\nhe go parch um, dry um to de pot; he beat um. He done beat de ress all,\nhe begin fo' cook, he put big ress nah fiah fo' cook um, he cook all.\nAftah he put de pot nah fiah, en de wattah in de pot done w'am nuff, he\nput de ress inside de pot. Jus' de ress done, he take de pot, pin um\ndown close de fiah. Spider he go huntin', he kill bush beef, he cook\num. Aftah de soup finis', he pull um f'om de fiah, he go was' dem dish\nfo' come take up. Spider come fo' touch de pot wey get de ress. De\npot begin fo' run f'om Spider. Spider run aftah de pot, he duh _run_,\nduh _run_, duh _run_, duh _run_! Spider done tire, he stop fo' run,\nhe 'tan' up; de pot se'f 'tan' up. W'en Spider 'tan' up, de pot stop\nfo' run. W'en he see dat de pot stop fo' run, well, him begin fo' run,\nfo' go take de pot quick. W'en Spider reach close de pot, de pot begin\n'gain fo' run. Spider en de pot duh run sotay (till) Spider he tire;\nhe lef en go back nah fa'm-ho'se, he go sit down. He stay leelee bit,\nhe see dah empty pot come back inside de fa'm-ho'se en 'tan' up. Spider\nno know how fo' do; he sorry, he wan' fo' cry. He say: 'But nebber\nmin', I tink odder sense wey I go do bimeby, evenin' tem.'\n\n[37] The following account of how Mr. Spider cooks his rice before he\ngoes to capture the animal from which he makes the stew for the rice,\nis an exaggerated illustration of the African tendency to allow each\nhour to provide for its need. The custom, however, is to cook the rice,\nset it aside to steam under a grass-woven cover, until the stew is\nmade, and finally to wash the calabashes, _i. e._ gourds which serve as\nbowls for food and water. Usually eating from the pot dispenses with\nthe last part of the ceremony.\n\n\"He stay hungry all day. Evenin' tem he cook de ress; he no even wait\nfo' de ress fo' finis' cook, he make big cottah,[38] he put um 'pon he\nhead; he take de pot, he hase um up, put um 'pon he head; he tie de pot\nall wid rag 'roun' he head, fash'n um so he no able fo' loose. He start\nwid run fo' go nah town. De ress duh boil de same tem dat he duh run.\nJus' he wan' fo' reach de town, de pot slip 'way f'om um. He begin fo'\nrun aftah de pot, en de pot duh run tay Spider give up, he done tire.\nW'en he stay leelee bit, he see de empty pot agin. Spider, because he\nno get ress, he 'bliged fo' go pick de leelee young cassada; he cook,\nhe yeat um.\n\n[38] A circular pad worn upon the head when \"toting\" a hammock or other\nburden.\n\n\"De nex' day, de same; he get de same trouble tay he gie up de fa'm\naltogedder, en go home.\n\n\"De king ax um, he say: 'Spider, how he 'tan'? Dat word wey I bin tell\nyo', dat nar (is it) story?'\n\n\"He answer um, he say: 'No, nar true word dat yo' bin talk, but nebber\nmin'.'\n\n\"De king ax um, he say: 'Dah ress, yo' bin cut all?'\n\n\"He say: 'Yes, I done cut all de ress, he deh 'pon top de fa'm-ho'se\nwey I pile um.'\n\n\"De king he say: 'Yo' see 'trong head (obstinacy) no good, yo' labor\nfo' notting.'\n\n\"Spider he bin get 'trong head, dat make he bin see all dis trouble.\"\n\nKonah followed the story through with intense interest, too absorbed\nto ask questions, even if she had dared. A rice pot that could perform\nsuch feats, was an entrancing object to her imagination. So delighted\nwas she with the magical powers that were manifest in the story, that\nshe forgot to hear the moral of the tale regarding obstinacy and\nself-will. Sobah, however, was so impressed with the application of the\nstory, that he plunged into the recital of another tale teaching the\nsame moral, and with a much more tragic outcome.\n\n\nTHE DEVIL TURNS PIGEON\n\n\"One big debble ho'se bin close by one town. Dem debble wey bin deh,\ndem bad. Dey say: 'Make nobody no fo' set trap inside de bush.' So one\n'tranger come to de town. All man tell um say: 'No fo' set trap inside\ndah bush (forest),' but he deny; he make 'tronger head, he say he mus'\nset trap deh. So he go make trap. W'en he set dis trap inside de bush,\nsoon one pigeon go inside de trap. Dis bird nar debble wey bin turn\nbird en go inside de trap. De bird begin cry, he say: 'Daddy, come\nloose me.'\n\n\"So de 'tranger go loose de pigeon, he put um one side. De pigeon cry\nagin, he say: 'Daddy, kare me go nah ho'se. (De pigeon duh say so).'\n\n\"So de man take de pigeon, he kare um go nah ho'se.\n\n\"De pigeon cry: 'Daddy, kill me one tem.'\n\n\"W'en de man done kill um, he say: 'Daddy, pull de fedder 'pon me.'\n\n\"W'en de man done pull de fedder, de pigeon say: 'Clean me.'\n\n\"W'en he done clean um, de pigeon say: 'Put pot nah fiah.'\n\n[Illustration: The Devil turns Pigeon.\n\n  [_See p. 160._]\n]\n\n\"W'en he done put de pot, de pigeon say: 'Cut, cut me.'\n\n\"W'en de man done cut um, he say: 'Put me nah pot, cook me one tem.'\n\n\"Den de man cook um.\n\n\"Now de pigeon say: 'Daddy, put salt,' en he put salt. He say put\npeppy, en he put peppy. So de pigeon say: 'Tase de salt, ef he go do\nnah de soup.' Now de pigeon say de soup done. W'en he done cole, de\npigeon say: 'Pull me, make yo' yeat me.' Well, w'en de man yeat um he\nlef half. De pigeon say: 'Yeat me all.' He yeat all.\n\n\"Evenin' tem de man go nah bush agin. Jus' he reach nah bush, he open\nhe mout' fo' talk. Jus' he open um de bird fly f'om he mout' go 'way,\nen hese'f fa' down, he die. W'en de people look fo' um all inside de\nbush, dey no see um, de debble done kare um go.\n\n\"So deny no good. Ef pusson tell yo' say: 'No do dis t'ing, yo' no mus'\nmake 'tronger head.\"\n\nThe dreadful consequences that might be expected to follow upon a\nheadstrong course, Sobah set off with solemn look and awed tone; then\nshaking his head warningly, he concluded with the proverb: \"Ef yo'\nwan' yeat out de debble he yown bowl, make yo' get 'poon wid long\nhandle.\"\n\nThe story echoed a feeling of universal childhood, the undefined dread\nof some mysterious visitation upon disobedience and kindred sins that\nfinds expression in the goblin stories of all tongues.\n\nKonah felt it keenly, being impressed as much by the solemn manner of\nthe recital, as by the matter of the story.\n\nThe older ones too, being but grown up children, were filled with much\nof the same vague awe, but years had dulled the keenness of their\nspiritual sensibilities. After some desultory talk on less serious\nmatters, the men stretched out on the floor of the hut, and were soon\nasleep.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII\n\nMAMMY MAMENAH AND HER FRIENDS\n\n\nOne evening, about a week after the burning of the farm, a little\ncompany of women and children, in varying degrees of undress, was\ngathered in the larger room of Mamenah's hut. A fire had been kindled\nin the middle of the earthen floor; for the first showers, forerunners\nof the coming rainy season, had fallen. The children amused themselves\nas inclination led them, with sports ranging from gentle kitten-like\nromps, to a genuine fight, with biting, scratching, and hair-pulling\naccompaniments.\n\nThere was evident among the women, a feeling of abundant leisure, and\nof relaxation from responsibility. The \"planting\" of the rice had been\ncompleted. The seed had been scattered over the lately burned ground,\nhad been rudely scratched in with a very primitive hoe, and was now\nawaiting germination under the moisture of the oncoming rains, and the\nwarmth of occasional sunshine.\n\nSo the women felt free to spend the hours in gossip, and in the\ntelling of tales. They chatted about personal matters, about the rice\njust planted, and then about the precautions taken to ward off evil\ninfluences, and to secure favorable conditions for their crops.\n\nMammy Mamenah told what a tempting bowl of rice she had prepared and\noffered to the spirit that dwelt in the big cotton tree near the corner\nof the farm, in order to enlist his kindly offices in guarding the rice\nfield.\n\nMammy Yamah had set up a stick at the edge of her farm, and placed on\ntop of it a bit of medicine wrapped in a leaf, which she had secured\nfor an exorbitant fee from a medicine man. She was sure that anyone\ndaring to molest would fall in spasms and die. Each had some specific\nwith which to avert harm, or to secure favor.\n\nMammy Magbindee had a bit of news that made Konah's eyes dilate with\nwonder. It had been told in the village that very day by a person who\nhad it from one who saw the mound, and of course it was true. Besides\nsuch occurrences had often been known before, and could not be doubted.\nA rich man had died in an adjoining town a few years before, and had\nbeen fittingly buried. Just now the grave had been accidentally opened,\nand strange to relate, it was found that gold had grown out of the ears\nof the man, and kept on growing until it filled the whole grave. But of\ncourse gold grows this way, for gold is in the world, and if it does\nnot grow, where does it come from? Freaks of Nature can have but one\ncause, the presence of some \"devil,\" and this thought reminded Mammy\nMamenah of an old legend regarding another marvel of nature, which she\nproceeded to relate much to the delight of the whole company.\n\n\nA STONE THAT WORE A BEARD.\n\n\"One day Spider go fo' set trap inside one big bush (forest). He meet\none big stone wey duh get plenty bear'-bear'.[39] Dis not to true\nstone, he nar one debble wey bin turn stone.\"\n\n[39] Beard.\n\nA prolonged \"Y-a-h-oh!\" of assent from the women squatted about on\nthe floor, accompanied by the swaying of bodies, and the exclamation\nfrom some one: \"Nar true word yo' duh talk,\" showed how heartily they\nbelieved in the power of their devils to assume any form they willed,\nin order to carry out their purposes. It was a sympathetic audience\nthat followed the remainder of the story. The children were listening\nopen-eyed in silent eagerness. Mamenah went on impressively.\n\n[Illustration: The Stone with the Beard.\n\n  [_See p. 167._]\n]\n\n\"Ef pusson say de stone get bear'-bear' (beard), he go fa' down de same\nplace close de stone, he go wan' die. So one day, w'en Spider go set\ntrap to dis place, he meet de stone. Now he say: 'L-a-w-cus! Dah stone\nget plenty bear'-bear'.' So he fa' down de same place. He no able fo'\ngrap (get up) all day. W'en at las' he betty leelee bit, he go home.\n\n\"Spider wan' fo' make cunnie fo' yeat he cumpin (companion), en he come\nfin' out say dis plan go be fine fo' get um. So one day he go to Deer,\nhe tell um, say:\n\n\"'Fren, come go follow me, I go look me trap.'\n\n\"Deer say: 'All ret.'\n\n\"All two dey walker half way, den Spider say:\n\n\"'Deer, make yo' go befo', I go show yo' de road; de road nar dis.'\n\n\"W'en dey done reach close de stone, Spider 'tan' up, he wait. Deer go,\nhim too big fool, him say: 'L-a-w-cus! Look dah stone, he get plenty\nbear'-bear'.'\n\n\"Nar so he fa' down deh, he wan' die. Spider make hase come cut he\nt'roat, he kare um go, he en he pickin en he wef. Dey yeat de Deer all.\n\n\"De odder tem he go call Feleentambo (gazelle), he say: 'Fren', come\ngo follow me, I go set me trap.'\n\n\"So w'en dey duh go, he 'tan' up one side, he tell Feleentambo make he\ngo befo'. W'en Feleentambo go he see de stone, he no keep he mout', he\nsay: 'Dah stone get plenty bear'-bear'.' So he fa' down deh. Spider\nrun, he cut he t'roat.\n\n\"Nar so he do _all_ dem odder beef. At las' he go call Cunnie Rabbit,\nhe say: 'Fren', come go follow me to me trap.'\n\n\"Well, dey go. W'en dey reach close de stone, Spider 'tan' up, he say:\n'Fren', pass befo', look de trap ef he ketch.'\n\n\"Cunnie Rabbit go befo', he go see de stone heah, but he silence.\nSpider wait, he wait fo' hearee ef he go talk, but he no talk. So he\ncall Cunnie Rabbit, he say: 'Wey t'ing yo' see?'\n\n\"Cunnie Rabbit say: 'I no see anyt'ing.'\n\n\"Spider tell um, say: 'Yo' no see yandah to dat stone?'\n\n\"Cunnie Rabbit say: 'Wey t'ing?'\n\n\"Spider put he han' to he chin, he say: 'Yo' daddy no get so?'\n\n\"But Cunnie Rabbit get sense, he no talk, so Spider tell Cunnie Rabbit:\n'Make yo' mus' say \"Stone get pl----\"\n\n\"Cunnie Rabbit hese'f say: 'Stone get pl----'\n\n\"Spider vex, he say: 'Ah, me fren', yo' stupid! Make yo' mus' say: 'Dah\nstone get plenty b--'\n\n\"Well Cunnie Rabbit say: 'Dah stone get plenty b--'\n\n\"Spider say: 'Ah, me fren', yo' no kin say de stone get plenty\nbear'-bear'?'\n\n\"So Cunnie Rabbit hese'f say so, en dey all two fa' down de same place.\nDey wan' fo' die, dey no able fo' grap (get up). Nar deh, Trorkey go\nmeet dem. Well, because Cunnie Rabbit bin good pusson, Trorkey he hase\n(raise) um up, en Cunnie Rabbit go 'way. Trorkey say: 'I bin go lif'\nyo', Spider, but bimeby yo' go lie 'pon me; yo' go say yo' fine Trorkey\nfa' down so heah, en yo' se'f bin he'p um.'\n\n\"Spider say: 'No, I no go do so.' He beg Trorkey sotay (till) Trorkey\nhe'p um, he hase um up.\n\n\"F'om dat day Cunnie Rabbit get sense. Spider hese'f no able um,[40] he\npass all odder beef.\"\n\n[40] \"No able um\", _i. e._ Was not able to surpass him.\n\nA delighted little exclamation from Konah greeted this praise of her\nCunnie Rabbit. For several minutes after the close of the narrative,\nthere was an indistinguishable jabber of voices, all eager to add some\n\"debble story\", if possible more exciting than the one just told.\n\nFinally Mammy Magbindee gained the right of way, and her story was:\n\n\nTHE GIRL THAT PLAITED THE DEVIL'S BEARD.\n\n\"One tem debble bin sit down to de road-side. Any pusson wey bin go nah\ndat road, de debble bin yeat um. Well, one day, one girl say:\n\n\"'I go kill to-day dis debble heah.'\n\n\"W'en he go he meet de debble, he duh sleep close de road-side. De\ndebble get long bear'-bear' (beard). De girl go soffle, he hole de\nbear'-bear', he duh plant (plait) um. Den he draw de debble go nah\ntown. He draw um, he draw um tay de people inside de town hearee wey de\ngirl duh draw um, en wey de debble duh sing:\n\n    \"Tittie (sissy) duh kare me bear'-bear',\n     Tittie duh kare me bear'-bear'.'\n\n\"W'en de people hearee um, den go he'p de girl fo' draw. Dey go put de\ndebble nah big road en kill um. W'en dey done kill um, dey wan' 'plit\num, but somet'ing no bin deh fo' take. One leelee prophet bird[41] come\nnah bush, he say:\n\n\"'Oonah mus' take dah leelee sharp t'ing nah bush (thorn), oonah kin\n'plit um.'\n\n[41] The prophet bird is about the size of a hummingbird. It utters\nnotes which are believed to indicate danger or success, especially when\nheard at the beginning of a journey, or just preceding the beginning of\nsome task. The sounds from the tiny throat are sufficient to reverse\nthe best laid plans, or to establish greater confidence in them.\n\n[Illustration: \"De debble, he duh sleep close the road-side.\"\n\n  [_See p. 172._]\n]\n\n\"Now dem people take dah bird, dey fling um far 'way, but he come agin\nback, he say:\n\n\"'Oonah take dah leelee sharp t'ing nah bush, 'plit um.'\n\n\"Dey fling um agin, but de bird come back agin en sing de same sing.\nDah tem wey make t'ree, dem people say:\n\n\"'Make we try ef de t'ing true wey de bird bin talk; ef so, we go make\num fine present.'\n\n\"Den dey go take de sharp t'ing. W'en dey jus' touch de debble heen\nbody so, he 'plit. Wen he 'plit, all den people come out; dey no bin\ndie, dey bin make fa'm inside de debble; dey bin bu'n fa'm, make\nho'se, dey duh cook, dey duh yeat. W'en he done 'plit, all man come\nout, plenty people come out.\"\n\nNeither story-teller nor listeners realized that there was anything\npreposterous in such a being as the one here described. On the other\nhand, the gasps and groans that greeted each startling revelation,\ncontained not a tinge of incredulity, but only a kind of reverence\nfor this supernatural capacity so in accord with their conception of\nspirits and devils.\n\nThe several steps leading up to the climax, were rolled off in rapid\nsuccession; \"W'en dey touch heen body so, he 'plit, w'en he 'plit\nall dem people come out, dey no bin die, dey bin make fa'm inside de\ndebble, dey bin bu'n fa'm, buil' ho'se, dey duh cook en yeat; plenty\npeople come out,\" yet each was rounded off with such peculiar emphasis\nof tone and gesture, that it came with a distinct impression of its\nown, only heightened by the cumulative effect of succeeding revelations.\n\nA pause of several minutes was necessary before the story could proceed.\n\n\"Well, one ole granny, w'en he come out, he say:\n\n\"'I fo'get me leelee pot, en me pickin, en me med'cin'.'\n\n\"Dem people say: 'No go agin inside dis debble heah!'\n\n\"He answer um back, say: 'I mus' go.'\n\n\"W'en he go inside, now de t'ing shut.\n\n\"Dis tem de bird done fly go, den done present[42] um money en plenty\nfine t'ing. Dey try fo' 'plit de debble agin, lek how dey bin do fus'\ntem, but dey no able, because de bird bin _make_ um open de fus' tem.\nWey t'ing fo' do? Dey try all kin' of sharp t'ing nah dis wuld, but den\nno able. Dey go bury de debble so.\n\n[42] The accent falls upon the first syllable of the verb, the\npronunciation being the same as that of the noun.\n\n\"Dat make 'tronger head no good. Ef pusson tell yo' say, make yo' no\nmus' do anyt'ing, no do um.\"\n\nOthers were eager to relate stories to match the ones already given,\nbut quite naturally and woman-like, the one all were most ready to\nhear was the one that smacked of romance, and promised to recount the\nuncanny courtship and marriage of a beautiful young girl and the devil.\nIt was Yamah, the youngest woman present, who told the story, and\nshe told it with an earnestness that might have sprung from personal\nexperience.\n\n\nMARRY THE DEVIL, THERE'S THE DEVIL TO PAY.\n\n\"Now one day, one mammy get girl pickin (pickaninny). Dis pickin he too\nfine. Dem rich people en eberybody go ax fo' um fo' married, but he no\n'gree. One rich man he deh down, down, _down_ (south), he get plenty\nhoss, plenty people, plenty goat, en plenty t'ing wey I no able fo'\ntalk. Dis man come fo' see de girl he people, so he go get de girl, but\nw'en de people tell dis girl, he no 'gree. De mammy bin tell de girl,\nsay:\n\n\"'Anybody yo' see wey (whom) yo' lek, anyt'ing wey (which) yo' see I\ngo kill um fo' present um. But de girl no see, anybody wey (whom) he\n(she) lek.\n\n[Illustration: Marry the Devil, the Devil to pay.]\n\n\"One day dah big, big, big, big debble, nah dah big, big bush, he\nhearee dis news, fo' say nobody no able fo' get dis girl heah, en\ndis debble he say: 'Nar me go married dis girl.' He grap, he go fix\nhese'f good fashion lek pusson. Aintee yo' know say debble he able make\nhese'f fine? He able fo' make hese'f fine pass anybody nah dis wuld.\nHe put on all de bes' clot' wey he kin get fo' len' (borrow). He len'\nhalf side[43] head, half side body, all t'ing half side. So w'en dis\ndebble finis' fix hese'f good fashion, he call he hammock en four man\nfo' tote (carry) um. He tell one man wey he lef' nah ho'se say: 'I duh\ngo married,' en he start fo' come see dis girl heah. W'en he come, he\nreach nah de town wey de girl bin deh. De girl duh 'tan' up close de\nwindah, he duh look de road. W'en he see dis man yeah duh come, he tell\nhe mammy, say: 'I done see pusson wey I lek, nar he go marry me.'\n\n[43] For explanation of \"half side,\" see Introduction, page 21.\n\n\"W'en de debble come close de ho'se, de girl go meet um, he bring um\ncome inside.\n\n\"De debble say: 'I come fo' marry to yo'.' De girl say: 'All ret.'\n\n\"Now de girl go tell he mammy, he say: 'Mammy, dah cow wan' die.'\n\n\"Now de mammy say: 'Kill um fo' yo' man.'\n\n\"Now de girl say: 'Mammy, dem fowl dey sick.'\n\n\"De mammy say: 'Kill um fo' yo' man. Anyt'ing yo' wan', take um.'\n\n\"Dis girl yeah, w'en he go cook de beef en de fowl, wid ress en plenty\nodder t'ing, he go gie um to de man nah heen ho'se.[44] But dis debble\nyeah, he nebber yeat ress oh, he jus' duh yeat pusson, he nebber yeat\nodder t'ing. W'en dis girl bin kare dis yeat nah debble heen ho'se,\nw'en dah girl done go, de debble dig nah fireside, he put all dis ress\ninside dah hole, he cover um. Bimeby de girl come, he t'ink say de man\njus' yeat leelee bit, he ax um, say:\n\n\"Wey t'ing yo' no duh yeat fo'?'\n\n[44] The man's house signifies the hut assigned to him by the chief on\nhis arrival in the town. This custom supplies the lack of hotels.\n\n\"De debble say: 'I done yeat plenty.' But dis girl he (she) no know dis\nnar debble, oh!\n\n\"Well, dis girl heah, he get one brudder wey sick wid craw-craw;\ncraw-craw[45] 'pon heen skin all. Dis boy wan' go tell dis debble 'How\ndo'. W'en he go, dis debble holler 'pon um. De boy 'fraid, he go sit\ndown.\n\n[45] Craw-craw is a very prevalent skin disease, a species of itch not\nvery contagious.\n\n\"Well, dis debble wan' pass go home. De girl say he no go lef, he mus'\ngo wid de man. Heen people dey no 'gree make he go yet, but he say he\nmus' go now, so dey say: 'All ret.'\n\n\"Dey gie um all t'ing fo' make um go. Dis same day dey lef de town fo'\ngo home. W'en dey go, dis boy wey (who) sick wan' fo' follow um. He say\nhe mus' follow he sister, but de debble no 'gree, he say because de\npickin too waw-waw (ugly).\n\n\"So w'en dey go, dah pickin duh follow um leelee (at a distance). Well,\ndey walker all day. W'en de debble turn, he see dis pickin yeah, he\nketch um, he flog um, he say: 'No go follow we!'\n\n\"So de pickin go hide behine leelee bit, en de two pusson dey duh go.\nSoon de debble duck heen han' nah heen pocket,[46] he pull\none white kola,[47] he open um; he gie de girl half, hese'f take half.\n\n[46]When the men choose to clothe themselves further than with the\ncustomary loin cloth, they wear a long loose gown of hand-spun and\nwoven cloth. Often this has a large pocket sewed on the front.\n\n[47] The kola is eaten to still the pangs of hunger, and because an\nappetite for it is easily acquired. Then its intense bitterness becomes\nsweet. The white kolas are slightly preferred to the pink, either being\ngiven as a token of friendship and hospitality.\n\n\"De pickin come meet dem agin. W'en de man wan' flog de pickin de ooman\nsay: 'Fren', no flog um, make he follow we.' 'Den de pickin follow\nleelee, leelee. Well dey walker all day. W'en dey go, dis debble heen\none side head come out, fa' down. Well dis girl yeah say: 'Fren', look,\nyo' head fa' down.'\n\n\"Well, de debble pull one sing:\n\n    'Lef um deh (there), lef um deh, Berkinee;\n     Lef um deh, oh Berkinee.'\"\n\nThe song, a weird chant in the minor key, had a slow swinging movement,\nand the whole company beat time with hand-claps, bringing the right\nhand down slowly upon the left, and swinging the body in unison.\nThe song was given as a chorus, and served to quicken feeling and\nto intensify the interest of the story. When it was ended, Yamah\nproceeded:\n\n\"Dey go sotay (till) de one foot fa' down. De girl call um back, he\nsay: 'Fren', yo' foot fa' down.'\n\n\"Den de debble pull de same sing:\n\n    'Lef um deh, lef um deh, Berkinee;\n     Lef um deh, oh Berkinee.'\n\n\"Aftah he done finis' sing, dey go sotay (till) all t'ing nah heen skin\nlef half. Dey reach evenin' tem nah (to) de man heen place, en dey come\nsee dis leelee brudder. Den cook, den yeat.\n\n\"Well, de net, w'en dis heen (his) wef done sleep, dis debble grap fo'\nkill um, fo' yeat um. He take one big, big knef, he duh sharp um. But\ndis pickin yeah, he no sleep, he jus' duh make lek pusson duh make nah\nnet (snore). W'en de debble finis' fo' sharp he knef, de pickin cry:\n'W-e-y-ee! Me craw-craw duh kratch me oh?'\n\n\"Den de debble come to um, he say: 'Pickin, yo' no sleep yet?'\n\n\"De pickin duh say: 'No, sah, me craw-craw duh hurt me, en me nebber\nsleep 'pon bed. I ken lay down 'pon pile country clo'es.'[48]\n\n[48] One country cloth is thought to be sufficient bed for anyone. The\nevident purpose of the little boy in asking for a \"pile\" of clothes is\nto give the devil a task requiring much time, in order to delay his\ndesigns against the young woman.\n\n\"De debble go bring plenty country clo'es, he make fine bed fo' um. He\nput de pickin deh, make um sleep, so he kin yeat dis ooman. But dis\nooman duh sleep oh! He duh sleep, he no know anyt'ing wey duh go on.\n\n\"Well, de man mean say de pickin done sleep, en he take he knef, he duh\nsharp, sharp um, make he come broke de ooman he head. He say: 'Fo' yeat\npusson, he good, he sweet, en dis ooman he fat.'\n\n\"But dat pickin no sleep oh! He cough en de debble say: 'Pickin, yo' no\nsleep yet?'\n\n\"De pickin say: 'No, sah, hangry done ketch me.'\n\n\"De pickin know say dis man wan' yeat dah ooman, so he duh try make\nhe mus' get some way fo' sabe um (save her); dah make he duh talk all\nlight t'ing yeah. W'en dah debble gie um yeat, he go put de pickin\nagin nah de bed, make he lay down sleep. De tem nar middle net. Well,\ndis man yeah, w'en he done sit down long tem, he mean say de pickin\ndone sleep. He take he knef agin, he sharp um. Now de pickin duh\nkratch, kratch he skin. De debble hebe he knef down quick, he go ax de\npickin: 'Wey t'ing make yo' no sleep yet? Wey t'ing dey kin do fo' yo'\ncraw-craw w'en yo' bin deh to yo' Mammy?'\n\n\"De pickin say: 'Dey kin take fis'-net, go take wattah nah wattah-side\nfo' was' um. I wan' was', but I nebber was' wid wattah wey dey bin get\nnah bowl, excep' de wattah fus' inside fis'-net, befo' dey turn um nah\nde bowl.'\n\n\"So de debble he grap (get up), he go nah wattah-side, he kare fis'-net\nen bowl. W'en he duh duck de fis'-net inside wattah so, en he hase de\nfis'-net, de wattah all lef back. Because he wan' hurry yeat de ooman,\nhe stupid; he no wait t'ink he no able get wattah wid fis'-net. De\npickin bin ax dis t'ing wey hard fo' do, fo' make leelee chance fo'\nsabe de ooman. He wake de ooman, he say: 'Yo' no know dat debble wan'\nkill yo' dis net yeah? Nar lie I tell um, say he mus' get wattah wid\nfis'-net befo' I kin was'. He done go. Grap (get up), make we come go;\nef no so, ef he meet yo', he go kill yo'.'\n\n\"Dis boy yeah en dis ooman dey start, dey walker hard dah net. Well,\ndah debble, w'en he no able get dis wattah, he come nah ho'se, he meet\nde ooman en de pickin done go. So he run go follow dem. He walker sotay\nhe wan' go meet dem, but dis pickin hearee de debble duh come behine,\nhe say: 'Come hide!' So dey hide. De debble go sotay he wan' reach nah\ntown, but he no meet dem, so he come back. Dis ooman en de pickin pass,\ngo home.\n\n\"De girl tell him people all t'ing wey he see, he say: 'Trongah yase\n(ears)[49] no good. Ef I bin hearee oonah (you) w'en yo' bin say make I\nno go wid dis man, I no fo' see all dis trouble yeah'.\n\n[49] \"Trongah yase,\" _i.e._, \"strong ears,\" wilful disregard of advice.\n\n\"So now he make _so_. Ef yo' wan' go any place, ef any pickin wan'\nfollow yo', no deny. Sometem (perhaps) dis pickin yeah go sabe yo' f'om\nbig, big trouble.\"\n\nBy the time this story was ended, most of the children were asleep, but\nKonah's insatiable hungering after the strange and mysterious, kept her\nwide awake. Some of the women, too, were beginning to feel the drowsy\neffects of the night, and especially of the close, smoke-laden air\nwithin the over-crowded little room.\n\nMagbindee went to the door, and seeing the moon just then peeping\nthrough a rift in the clouds, rudely awoke her sleeping child, and\nstarted with it to her own hut.\n\nOthers followed her example, and soon Sobah's hut was left to stillness\nand to dreams.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII\n\nCHILDREN OF NATURE\n\n\nNature is very human in many of her moods. She has her periods of\nfeverish energy and impetuous application, then her periods of gentle\noutpouring and watchful tenderness, and again her periods of apparent\nidleness and indifference. In Temne-land these moods succeed each\nother with a regularity and certainty that is quite pronounced. The\ndry season just ended, was the period of repose and idleness. Nature\nhad been taking her vacation. The currents of life stood still, and\nvegetation sank into a partially dormant state. Nature, resting, seemed\nforgetful of her human children. Day after day, week after week it had\nbeen the same,--sunshine, profuse, clear, steadfast and pitiless; air\nquiet and calm and listless.\n\nThen came signs of waking up. The winds arose gradually, becoming more\nand more intense, with dashes of rain. Then a tornado swept through\nvillages and jungles, accompanied by terrific lightning and thunder.\nNature is wide awake now, and has begun work with a haste and energy\nthat seem intended to atone for the long idleness.\n\nThe life currents have started to flow again. Already the steady\nrains are falling, and for weeks and weeks they will fall; soaking\neverything, flooding the lowland districts, and bringing out everywhere\nan incredibly varied and luxuriant vegetation.\n\nThen months hence there will come a rift in the clouds, the sun will\npeep through upon the water-soaked earth and teeming vegetation, and\nthe work of undoing will begin.\n\nBut this is anticipation.\n\nThe rainy season is on now in earnest. The rice farms need no attention\nat present, and other occupations are hindered by the rains. Nature is\nalso shaping the destiny of her children.\n\nThese simple Temne people, freed in a measure from the requirements of\ntheir ordinary occupations, respond the more readily to impulses that\narise from social and intellectual instincts.\n\nLed by the dumb craving of their natures, they have set an evening\nfor a social gathering at the home of Sobah. The chief attraction,\nas everybody knows, will be story-telling, but there is to be no\nstiff formality. Everything will be spontaneous, and subject to the\ninspiration of the moment.\n\nAs the appointed evening comes on, the clouds thicken, and the rain has\nbecome a downpour. But what does that matter? There is little danger\nof injuring clothing,--if such an article is in evidence, and as to\ndiscomfort,--well, the street at this moment is full of youngsters who\nrevel in the mud and water as if that were the acme of earthly bliss.\n\nThe older people are following an impulse only a little higher, as they\nstalk, heedless of rain, to Sobah's hut. A good fire is burning in the\nmiddle of the room, for the night will be dark and chill. With many a\n\"How do\", many a \"Tankee\" and many a touching of the inside fingertips,\nin conventional hand-shake, the greetings of the hour are passed.\nOleemah has brought with him Soree, his kinsman from a distant village.\nSoree and Sobah are old acquaintances and warm friends, and not having\nseen each other for months are effusive in their greetings.\n\nWith many grunts and exclamations of pleasure they rush at each other\nand, swinging the outstretched arm in a semicircle, smite the open\npalms together in heartiest good-fellowship.\n\n\"Eh, fren, how do, I gladee fo' see yo' fo' true, true,\" said Sobah\nwarmly. \"How yo' kin 'tan'?\"\n\n\"I well, tankee,\" answered Soree, with deep satisfaction, \"en I gladee\ntoo much fo' come tell yo' how do. Yo' look lek say de ress bin plenty\nsince de las' tem we bin meet up; yo' get skin big pass (surpass) me\nyown.\"\n\nEach member of the company was allowed to seat himself as best he\ncould, on the mud bed, on the floor, on anything. There was no need for\nhaste, no record of time was kept.\n\nSoree, as the guest from abroad, was questioned eagerly for news of his\ncountry and people, particularly of the war-boys, and he in turn was\nquite as interested in the gossip of the village.\n\nSobah had just related an incident from one of his trading expeditions,\nin which he had been imposed upon as to the quality of the articles\nbargained for, and in conclusion summed up his observation of human\nnature in the proverb: \"Fis'erman nebber say he fish rotten.\"\n\nAfter Sobah's bit of reminiscence, there was a silence broken only by\nthe noise of the children, who were amusing themselves in their own\npeculiar way. An atmosphere of ease and endless leisure enveloped the\nplace.\n\nFinally an inspiration came to Mammy Yamah, who was \"picking\" cotton,\nand she said:\n\n\"One man bin deh (there), since w'en he born tay to-day, he hair white.\nYo' sabbee (know) dat?\" The conundrum was familiar and easy, and one\nof the smaller boys, who happened to be listening, answered at once:\n\"Cotton\".\n\nThere was a general stir among the pickaninnies, for here was something\nwithin their mental grasp, and they left the dog to sleep undisturbed,\nand ceased to play with the tame little ground-squirrel which Gengah\nhad brought, partly to exhibit to the other children, but chiefly\nbecause he and the squirrel had become boon companions. The minds were\nall intent as Soree propounded this riddle:\n\n\"One ole man he inside ho'se, but he bear'-bear' (beard) come out nah\ndo' (door).\"\n\nThere was a puzzled silence until Oleemah, who sat nearest the door,\nand whose eyes were filled with the smoke that sought exit from the\nsmouldering fire, started up with kindling face and exclaimed: \"Eh,\nhey! Ladder wey (which) pusson no duh klim.\"\n\nThis second conundrum, familiar to some present, and requiring the same\nword for solution as the preceding, was uttered in so triumphant a tone\nthat a chorus of voices called out the double reply: \"Smoke,\" and the\nfew who were less rapid in thought echoed the word with equal gusto.\n\nNow came Mammy Mamenah with the following:\n\n\"De king he get ho'se, do'-mout' (door-mouth) no deh, windah no deh,\nbut pusson duh talk inside.\"\n\nThis no one could guess, and Mammy was obliged to point to a hen\nsitting on a nest at one end of the mud bed and say wisely: \"Dat pusson\nduh sabbee; one week tem he go hearee de talk.\"\n\nThe patient brooder looked around as if to corroborate the woman's\ntestimony, and as if thinking of the baby peeps that would announce\nher long vigil ended, and more active work begun.\n\nThis broad hint made the solution of the conundrum easy for most of\nthe company, but Dogbah was still in the dark, as no one had named\nthe answer specifically. Finally, unwilling to relinquish the point,\nalthough he was sure to bring ridicule upon himself, he asked: \"Well,\nwey t'ing dat?\"[50]\n\n[50] \"Wey t'ing dat?\" _i.e._ What (thing) is that?\n\n\"Yo' stupid too much,\" replied Oleemah sarcastically. \"Yo' no know dat\negg no get do'-mout', no get windah, but pusson duh talk inside?\"\n\nOf course there was a loud laugh at Dogbah's expense, but he could\nconsole himself with knowing the solution of a very good conundrum.\n\nAnother pause followed, and then a young man who had spent several\nmonths in Freetown, had this to propose:\n\n\"Dey sew dress fo' one girl; he no deh, but w'en he reach, de dress\njus' fit um.\"\n\nMany laughable guesses were made, and occasioned no end of merriment.\nAfter the vain efforts ceased to amuse, the propounder explained that\nthe dress was a fish-net. When once the comparison was clear, it was\nhighly appreciated.\n\nGratified by the prestige his knowledge of town customs gave, the young\nman propounded another conundrum that proved almost as puzzling as his\nfirst one. It was this:\n\n\"One big ho'se bin deh, he get one post, no mo' (more).\"\n\nThe problem seemed easy enough, but its solution proved to be a very\ndifficult matter. Every conceivable likeness to a house with one post\nwas offered, but still the Freetown sojourner showed his white teeth in\na broad grin, and shook his head.\n\nKonah had been taking lively interest in all the guessing, but thus far\nhad not been able to give any correct answer except the ones already\nfamiliar to her. This time her active wits were working with unusual\nrapidity. The important part of a native house is the roof. Many of the\nfarm-houses, Konah knew, consisted entirely of a thatch supported by\nposts. A short time before, she had seen the chief on a state occasion,\nbeneath a large white cotton shelter with gay stripes, and--presto! she\nhad the answer, for that house had but a single post. \"Umbrella,\" she\nanswered triumphantly, but still there was a look of perplexity on\nmost of the faces, for the country article was made of bamboo, and was\nworn upon the head like a hat. However, as soon as reference was made\nto the one which the chief had, the matter was plain, and the conundrum\nwas recognized as a good one to try on the uninstructed at the first\nopportunity.\n\nMammy Mamenah was making a mat out of palm fibre variously colored,\nbut her mind had been as active as her fingers, and now she held the\ninterest riveted upon her by:\n\n\"One man get t'ree slave; ef one gone, two no able fo' work.\"\n\nThe three fire-stones for the support of the rice-pot were not far off,\nand the sight of them suggested the solution to another woman, who\nthen, reminded of her afternoon's task of broom-making, said:\n\n\"One man get plenty slave, he tie dem 'pon one rope, he hang dem up.\"\n\nThe children had all been used to gathering coarse, stiff grass,\narranging it symmetrically, and tying it at the larger end, to form\na broom, so they felt that the mental gymnastics had reached a point\nwhere they could participate. They had curled up in one corner of the\nroom, to avoid the sharp tones, and the cuffs on the head that would\nfollow if they disturbed their elders. Over the spot where they sat,\nthe thatch was performing an expected part of its function, leaking,\nand perhaps the falling drops suggested: \"Water hang.\"\n\nThe adults were slow in answering, but the shining black Foday very\nproudly responded, \"Dat nar orange.\"\n\n\"Water 'tan' up, water grow,\" suggested by the previous answer, and\npropounded by Konah, was at once declared to be sugar-cane; for while\nthe conundrums were new to some, they were current, and many knew their\nsolutions.\n\n\"Two man bin close togedder, but dey nebber see each odder,\" was\noffered by the young man from Freetown, who thought that he was giving\nthese rustics another puzzle, but he was much chagrined when \"Two yi,\"\ncame in a lusty chorus from the boys' corner, followed by a shout of\nderisive laughter. The answer \"Two yi,\" suggested the next conundrum:\n\"Two man wid ribber middle dem,\" and likewise suggested the response:\n\"Two yi en nose,\" which came promptly.\n\n\"Me daddy buil' ho'se, soso (entirely) windah,\" was a good description\nof a fish-net which they had this very day seen woven by a man in the\nbarri,[51] and consequently the answer was not long delayed.\n\n[51] See footnote page 240.\n\n\"One t'ing, yo' walk 'pon um, but he nebber move.\" There was a moment\nof thought, broken by Konah's words: \"Dat nar de groun'; but ef we tell\nChameleon he no go believe we, because he t'ink say he one big pusson,\nhe able fo' bus' de groun', broke um; dat make he duh mas' (tread) um\nsoffle w'en he walker. Chameleon, wey leelee so!\"\n\nSobah now introduced a slight change in the mental bill of fare.\n\n\"Hill,\" he announced, when there was a pause in the talk that\nthreatened to be prolonged.\n\nThe interest of the company had begun to lag, but was quickened at once\nby this announcement. A hill requires effort in the ascent, and the\nterm as used by Sobah was readily understood to signify a short story\npresenting a mental problem for solution, and leaving the question\nopen for the hearers to exercise their ingenuity, and was a sort of\nchallenge to find the solution.\n\n\"How?\" was shouted back by the listeners, demanding to have the story\nwith its proposition stated.\n\n\nTHE THREE TWINS.\n\n\"Hill!\"\n\n\"How?\"\n\n\"T'ree twin bin deh, two boy en one girl. One day den two boy go\nhuntin', but de place wey dey go huntin' bin hilly place, so den lef'\nbehine de hill. One twin look t'rou' de hill, en see one hog behine de\nhill; so he shoot t'rou' de hill, en de shot kill de hog. De odder twin\nhe go t'rou' de place wey de big shot go, en he take de hog en kare um\ngo home. W'en dey reach nah ho'se, den meet den sister done finis' cook\nde heart of de hog, de liver en de lung, befo' den reach home wid de\nhog.\n\n[Illustration: The Three Twins.]\n\n\"Now _yo'_ fo' talk which one of dese t'ree twin do de big t'ing pass\n(surpass) all.\"\n\nA lively argument followed this story, and it was evident that there\nwas a difference of opinion. However, the majority seemed to think \"de\ngirl do de big t'ing pass all.\"\n\n\nWHICH TWIN RESTORED HIS FATHER TO LIFE?\n\nSoree, between whom and Sobah was springing up a good-natured rivalry,\nnow offered a twin story that was one better--in number at least--than\nSobah's.\n\n\"Hill!\" he announced.\n\n\"How?\" was the response.\n\nThis indicates that all were ready to listen, so Soree related the\nfollowing:\n\n\"Dis man heah he get four son, dey all twin. De fadder bin huntin' man.\nW'en he (his) pickin (pickaninnies) leelee he go huntin'; since dat\nhe no come back. De wef he (her) heart trouble um, because he no know\nwey t'ing become of he man. W'en den four boy no done full grown, dey\nsized boy no mo' (merely), dey ax dem mammy 'bout dem daddy en de mammy\nanswer: 'He bin go huntin'; me no know wey t'ing bin come of um.'\n\n[Illustration: Which twin restored his father to life?\n\n  [_See p. 200._]\n]\n\n\"So de las' boy, de one wey (who) make four, he say: 'I go surely know\nwey t'ing become of me faddah, I mus' fine um.'\n\n\"De odder one say: 'Ef yo' fine um, I kin manage fo' make faddah; ef\nyo' pick (collect) all de bone I kin join um.' De odder one say 'I kin\ngie body'; de odder one say: 'I go gie um life.' But dey no tell de\nmudder w'en dey duh talk 'bout dis t'ing, dey jus' ax um which road den\ndaddy bin take w'en he wan' fo' go hunt. De mammy say: 'Dis back road.'\n\n\"Dem four boy dey grap (get up), dey go. Well, dey cut de way t'rough\nde bush, dey wandah, dey wandah far 'way nah de bush. De las' one he\nsee one leelee road, he hole um wid all heen bruddah, he 'tan' up\nbefo'. W'en dey go, dey go, dey go, dey meet one ribber. Jus' dey reach\ndeh de las' one see heen fadder gun, en he meet heen dry head (skull).\nNow de odder t'ree boy jus' duh come, en de las' one tell um say: 'I\nfinis' me yown part.'\n\n\"Well, de one wey bin say he go join de bone, he dibe bottom de\nwattah, he meet all dem bone, he bring um all 'pon top de lan', join\ndem all lek pusson, en he say: 'Look, me finis' me yown part.'\n\n\"De odder one he mix mud, he plaster um 'pon all de body, make de hair\nall. He take palm-leaf, he duck um inside de puttah-put,[52] he fash'n,\nfash'n um 'pon de mud. De blackness he duh shine, he fine de man. W'en\nhe finis' he tell de odder twin, he say; 'Me done me yown part.'\n\n[52] See footnote page 47.\n\n\"De one wey pass all fo' ole (old), he get one leelee horn wey kin\nprotec' de life, kin bring life back. One country-fashion man make de\nhorn, but not fo' dis purpose, he make um w'en de four twin leelee, fo'\nprotec' dem, so nobody no go kill de baby. So dis boy go to de fadder\nto he nose, he put de horn deh, he blow inside de horn. De fadder\nsneeze, he grap, he take heen gun, he go home. Heen wef bin cry, he\nt'ink say somet'ing happen to heen pickin, dey all done die, because\nsince early mornin' dey bin go 'way tay late nah evenin'. Jus' he look\nhe see he man come nah road. De cry turn to laugh, great joy.\n\n\"Well, now dem four boy yeah, which one make dem get fadder?\"\n\nSoree allowed the argument to run on for a time, and noticing with deep\nsatisfaction that opinions were hopelessly divided, closed the matter\nby saying with a touch of triumph in his tone: 'Nar dis de question dey\nduh argue tay (till) to-day. Yo' no able um.'\n\nSobah felt that his first story had not won him as much credit as he\ndeserved, and so was constrained to offer another.\n\n\nWHICH ONE WAS MOST GREEDY?\n\n\"T'ree man bin deh. Dey go far up country wey dey nar 'tranger to de\nking en de people. Dey all t'ree greedy too much, en because 'Tuckmah'\nmean say greedy pusson, pusson wey get sweet-mout', dis make all man\nduh call de one Tuckmahkodinay, de odder Tuckmahfongkah, en de las'\none Tuckmahtontoun. W'en dey reach net tem to one big town, den go to\nde king heen (his) ho'se. Dey tell de king 'How do?' dey say: 'We nar\n'tranger, we duh come out far country, make we sit down dis net to yo'\ntown.'\n\n\"De king ax um plenty question: which side dey come out; how de ress\n'tan', ef he plenty; ef dey bin see war boy w'en dey pass. Dey tell de\nking all t'ing wey dey bin see, en he gladee fo' de word wey dey talk;\nhe gie dem one cow. Fo' few day dey sit down to dis king him town.\nSoon one mawnin' dey dribe de cow befo', dey walker tay dey reach to\none leelee fa'm-ho'se; nobody no deh. Tuckmahkodinay he say: 'Make we\nkill de cow, make we yeat um.' Dey go inside ho'se, dey fine cutlass,\nen calabas', en pot, en all t'ing fo' cook, but pusson no deh. One man\ntake de cutlass fo' cut de cow he t'roat, fo' kill um. Tuckmahkodinay\nsay: 'Bimeby de blood go was', I go hang me mout' underneat', make me\nketch de blood.'\n\n\"De one wey hole de cutlass mistake, he cut off he cumpin (companion)\nhim (his) head. He sorry, but wey t'ing fo' do? Nar (there are) de two\nman lef'. Dey cook de beef all. W'en dey finis' cook Tuckmahtontoun\ntell Tuckmahfongkah, he say: 'Go get wattah, make we yeat.'\n\n\"Deep well bin deh, he no far off, so Tuckmahfongkah say: 'Bimeby\nTuckmahtontoun go yeat all de beef w'en I turn me back, make I mus'\nwalk wid me back' (backwards).\n\n\"So he duh do, but befo' he kin t'ink say he reach to de well, he fa'\nover inside, he die. Tuckmahtontoun he see say he cumpin no come back,\nhe say: 'Wey t'ing do Tuckmahfongkah, he no duh make hase come wid\nde wattah, make we yeat. I t'ink I betty go mese'f.' He go, he meet\nTuckmahfongkah done die. Hese'f de one man lef'. He take de calabas',\nhe full um, he hase (raise) um put um 'pon he head, he turn back come\nagin to wey he done cook. Befo' he reach close he see Fileentambo\n(Gazelle), he holler: 'Oh yah! Dah beef duh t'ief me sweet yeat (meat)\nwey I done cook. Ah, m-o-nay! I duh get trouble to-day.'\n\n[Illustration: Tuckmahfongkah fals down the well.]\n\n\"He put down de wattah, he run, he call: 'Hah, hah!'\n\n\"Jus' de beef hearee dis he turn quick, he see de man, he scare; he\nwan' fo' run, he foot slip, go inside de boilin' pot. He pull um quick,\nhe run, he run. De man say de beef done kare all de sweetness, he\ngreedy um de leelee bit wey he kare 'pon he foot, so he run aftah um,\nhe run, sotay (till) he ketch um. W'en he wan' fo' lick de Fileentambo\nheen foot, dah foot wey bin inside de pot, Fileentambo he kick de man,\nbus' (burst) he t'roat. Tuckmahtontoun fa' down one tem, he die.\n\n\"Dem t'ree pusson deh, which one get sweet-mout' pass? Oonah (you) fo'\njudge.\"\n\nSobah was satisfied that his hill was a difficult one to climb; and,\nwithout waiting to hear the opinions that might be advanced, he turned\nhis attention to replenishing the fire which had burned low.\n\nThe rain continued steadily outside, and a generous share of it found\nits way through the thatch. Darkness, thick and impenetrable, enveloped\nthe hut. Inside, the fire, now blazing afresh, lit up the dusky faces\nand cast weird shadows upon the blackened mud walls. The air was thick\nwith smoke and reeking with odors, but no one heeded that. These\nwere big, overgrown children, bent on an entire night's amusement\nand entertainment in the most refined form they knew; and, like all\nchildren, they must enjoy their game in spite of discomforts, perhaps\neven enjoy it the more because of the discomforts.\n\nSoree felt that he was expected to furnish the next story, but some\ndelicate inner sense told him that they had had enough mental nuts to\ncrack, and so he considerately turned to stories of a more fanciful and\nentertaining type.\n\n\"Yo' know dah story 'bout Mr. Spider en Mr. Lepped?\" he asked to gain\ntime to collect his thoughts. They had heard similar stories, but were\njust as eager to hear this one. After scratching his head thoughtfully\na few minutes, Soree cleared his throat as a signal that he was ready\nto begin.\n\n\nMR. SPIDER CREATES A FRIGHTFUL TORNADO.\n\n\"Now Spider, he en Lepped bin fren' one tem; dey sit down togedder\n(live) to one ole fa'm-ho'se. W'en dey go hunt, dey no see any beef.\n_So_ dey do tay till hangry ketch um _bad_. Now Lepped say: 'Come go,\nSpider, come make we go yeat we (our) pickaninny.'\n\n[Illustration: Mr. Spider creates a frightful tornado\n\n  [_See p. 209._]\n]\n\n\"Spider say: 'Yes, nar true, but make we yeat yo' yown fus', because\nyo' fus' talk.' Lepped 'gree. Bimeby dey done yeat Lepped he pickin\nall, en him wef; but not to one day dey yeat all. One day dey kill\none, odder day dey kill one tay (till) all finis'. Turn done come fo'\nyeat Spider yown. Spider say: 'To-morrow make we meet to one odder\nfa'm-ho'se, bottom one big 'tick (tree) yondah.'\n\n\"Lepped say: 'All ret.'\n\n\"Now Spider lef Lepped, he go home, he go cut plenty long palm-branch,\nbig long palm-branch. He tie um, make big bunch. He shabe (divide)\nde bunch one one to he (his) pickin en he (his) wef. Well, Spider go\nmawnin' to de place, he meet Lepped deh. All two duh sit down talk. Dey\nhearee noise. Spider heen wef Nahker en de pickin duh drag dem palm\nleaf 'pon de groun' fo' make Lepped t'ink say tornado go come. W'en\nSpider en Lepped hearee dis yeah big noise, Spider grap (get up), he\nknock he foot 'pon de groun', he say:\n\n\"'Mr. Lepped, yo' able fo' sit down? Big breeze duh come, he go sweep\nwe 'way. De place wey he go lef we, now deh we go die, we no go see\nnone o' we famble agin.' He say: 'Mr. Lepped, do fren' tie me quick,\nbefo' dis breeze yeah reach. Make he no kare me go.'\n\n\"Lepped say: 'No;' he say: 'Fren', yo' fus' tie me.'\n\n\"Spider say: 'No, fren', yo' fus' tie me.'\n\n\"Lepped say: 'No, yo' fus'.'\n\n\"Spider get up, he say: 'Well, I 'gree, because dis storm heah wan'\nbig, big people, he go kare yo' up fus' ef I no tie yo'.'\n\n\"He kare um to dah big plum tree, he say: ''Tan' up 'traight, no shake,\n'tan' up soffle.'\n\n\"Lepped he 'tan' up close de 'tick. Spider go cut rope. Long tem Spider\nbin huntin' fo' flog Lepped, but he no able um, so now he pull dis\ncunnie. All dis tem dey hearee de breeze duh come. Lepped say: 'Make\nhase, de breeze duh come.'\n\n\"Spider bring de rope, he begin fo' tie Lepped f'om he toe 'roun' de\n'tick, tay he reach to he neck, 'roun', 'roun', 'roun' de 'tick. W'en\nhe finis' Lepped no kin move, he no able fo' shake he body. Spider\nlaugh, he say: 'I bin do yo' fool.' He tell he pickin, he say: 'Me\npickin, oonah (you) hebe de whip, oonah (you) come, we done ketch de\nbrah (brother).'\n\n\"Him pickin dey klim 'pon de 'tick, dey yeat de plum, dey hebe (throw)\nde seed 'pon Lepped he head. Aftah dey done yeat dey come down, dey\nbegin conk (strike) Mr. Lepped, dey _conk_ um, dey say: 'Yo' nar (are)\ndog, yo' kin yeat people. Come yeat we of yo' able.'\n\n\"Lepped look dem wid bad yi, but he no know how fo' do.\n\n\"Spider tell Lepped, say: 'Aintee (is it not) so any day yo' kin hole\nme, yo' flog me?' Now he go broke whip, he say: 'Mese'f I go flog yo'\nto-day.'\n\n\"Spider bring de whip come, he flog Lepped, he flog um, he flog um.\nLepped he say: 'Do yah!' He beg long, long tem. Spider no 'gree, he\nflog um sotay (till) he tire, den he go home.\"\n\nLoud laughter and explosive ejaculations followed the close of the\nstory, and showed how thoroughly Spider's successful trick was\nappreciated. Soree himself laughed heartily, and added: \"Spider he\nsmart man fo' true, true. Nobody nebber go ketch up wid Spider.\"\n\nThis last remark was directed at Sobah; and he, taking it as a\nchallenge, proceeded to relate a story in which matters were somewhat\nevened up between Leopard and Spider.\n\n\nMR. LEOPARD SHOWS HIS HAND.\n\nAs if to make the retribution appear in the light of poetic justice,\nSobah devised a connecting link between this story and the one just\ntold.\n\n[Illustration: Mr. Leopard shows his hand.]\n\n\"W'en dey reach home,\" he said, referring to the time Spider flogged\nLeopard so unmercifully, \"Spider go cut one big calabas' (gourd), he\ndig one leelee hole inside um, nuff fo' hese'f to pass. He put um deh\nto de co'ner of he ho'se.\n\n\"Well, w'en one week done pass, dem bug-a-bug (white ants) dey come\nyeat all dem rope, en Lepped go home. He no get 'trenk because he no\nbin yeat anyt'ing fo' one week. He go try sotay (till) he ketch leelee\nbeef, befo' he get 'trenk fo' ketch big beef. De day wey make t'ree,\nhe get leelee 'trenk, he hole de road, he walker slow, slow, fo' go to\nSpider heen ho'se.\n\n\"Nahker he duh cook. Den all hearee step. One leelee pickin, wid name\nKokany, wey (which) mean go watch, he go look, he say: 'Mammy, 'tranger\nduh come; hide de ress (rice) nah bottom bed.'\n\n\"Nahker come out, he peep, he say: 'Spider, we die to-day, Lepped duh\ncome.'\n\n\"Spider call he pickin, he say: 'Ef yo' lef' behine, en yo' get big\ntrouble, de fault to oonah (you).'\n\n\"Dey all duh follow um, go inside de gourd wey (which) 'tan' up nah de\nco'ner de ho'se. De place wey dey pass go inside bin up. W'en dey all\ndone go inside, Spider roll de t'ing over, de mout' he nah de groun'.'\n\n\"Lepped come, he meet big pot ress 'tan' up nah de fiah, en one big pot\nsoup 'tan' up 'pon de groun'. De beef wey dey cook, nar bush-hog. Den\nt'ing all done ready was' fo' take up de yeat. Lepped he sit down, he\nlaugh fus'. Now he take up all dah ress, he take dah soup, he turn dah\nsoup all 'pon de ress, he yeat _all_, he no lef one grain. Spider wan'\ncry, he deh inside dah hole.\"\n\nThis was more than Dogbah could stand. \"No talk mo',\" he cried\nimpulsively, \"Yo' make mese'f wan' cry fo' yeat dah ress en dah\nbush-hog,\" and he drew in a long breath that seemed to typify the\nlonging of his soul.\n\n\"Ah! Yo greedy (begrudge) pusson too much,\" Sobah answered sternly, but\ndeigned no further reply.\n\n\"Well, aftah Lepped done yeat, he go outside de fa'm-ho'se, he smell\nall 'roun', but he no smell Spider. He go inside, he come smell smell.\nHe look, he bootoo (stooped over), he peep, he see one leelee gourd\nyandah, he go smell deh, he smell ole Mr. Spider. He take he foot, he\nkrape de gourd, he turn um over. All de spider dey scatter, dey so\nplenty he no know which one fo' ketch. All go f'om um, dey all go\ninside bush yandah. Bottom one big tree dey go sit down. W'en Lepped\nbin yeat dah beef, he hebe (throw) de bone nah groun'. W'en Spider duh\nrun go, he kare one leelee ole bone wey Lepped t'row 'way. He hole\nde bone, he sit bottom one big 'tick, he en he wef en he pickin. Den\ncome Mr. Lepped, he take swing (sling), he put stone deh, he twis' um\n'roun', he sen' um, he knock Bucknaykuhnunt, de mos' large pickin. De\npickin say: 'W-a-y-ee!'\n\n\"Spider say: 'Ah! No holler! Shut mout' one tem. Bimeby Lepped go come\nketch we. Take dah bone, make yo' suck um.'\n\n\"De pickin no talk, he take de bone, he hole um, but he no suck um, he\ntoo sick fo' suck um. Lepped sen' odder stone, he knock odder pickin.\nSo he duh do tay he knock de pickin all. Now de same word Spider duh\ntell ebery tem to de pickin, but de bone he _one_ no mo'. W'en stone\nknock one of he pickin, Spider take de bone f'om de fus', he gie to de\nodder one wey las' get de trouble. Now Lepped sen' one stone, he size\npass (beyond) de fus', he sen' um go knock he wef Nahker nah jaw-bone.\nHe wef say: 'W-y-ee! Me mammy to-day.' (He mean say he mammy kin feel\nfo' um pass odder pusson, he wan' see um).\n\n\"Spider say: 'Oh, wef! lef' fo' holler, shut mout' one tem. Bimeby\nLepped go ketch we. Take de bone, make yo' suck um.'\n\n\"At las' Mr. Lepped take stone big lek dis town, put um inside de\nswing. He sen' um go knock Mr. Spider nah he forehead. Spider cry:\n'W-a-y-ee! Trouble, trouble! Me mammy to-day!'\n\n\"He wef say: 'Ah! Spider, lef fo' holler, shut mout' one tem, bimeby\nLepped go ketch we. Look de bone fo' suck.\"\n\n\"Spider say: 'Yo' craze? Aftah pusson knock yo' cumpin (companion) yo'\nno tell um hush-yah?[53] Yo' say make yo' come suck bone. Nar tem dis\nfo' suck bone?'\n\n[53] See footnote page 100.\n\n\"Spider holler tay Lepped come ketch dem. Now he flog dem all. Nahker\nen de pickin dey die, but Spider run go odder country.\n\n\"Pusson nebber kill Spider w'en dey flog um; dey make he go so he kin\nfeel pain, so he kin 'member wey t'ing he do.\n\n\"Tay to-day, Spider he en Lepped no to fren' agin.\"\n\nSo matters were equalized, and justice satisfied, but the story-tellers\nwere not willing to let Mr. Leopard off.\n\nGondomah's face showed that he was repressing a desire to speak, and,\nnoticing this, Sobah condescendingly urged him to proceed.\n\nThus encouraged Gondomah began, rather timidly at first, to recount the\nruse of Mr. Leopard by which he secured food in time of famine.\n\n\nMR. LEOPARD FOOLS THE OTHER ANIMALS.\n\n\"Now two animal get dis play, dah Lepped en all dem beef. All dem beef\nbin meet up fo' make play one evenin' tem w'en dem moon duh shine. Dey\ngadder 'roun de place, dey tie fench, dey buil' leelee ho'se inside de\nfench. De nex' evenin' tem dey play, dey beat de drum, dey dance all.\nNow ole Mr. Lepped, hangry duh ketch um, so he come do cunnie. Because\nhe wan' fo' ketch dem beef fo' make he yeat dem, he lay down, he lay\ndown flat; he no die, he do cunnie, he shut he yi, he make altogedder\nlek die.\n\n\"One of Lepped he pickin he come out play. W'en he run inside ho'se he\nlook heen daddy, he 'fraid fo' true, he come close um leelee bit, he ax\num, say:\n\n\"'Daddy, wey t'ing do yo'?'\n\n[Illustration: Mr. Leopard fools the other animals.\n\n  [_See p. 219._]\n]\n\n\"He no get answer; he pull one big cry, he run tell de odder pickin\nsay:\n\n\"'Eh! M-o-nay! We daddy done die, we no get daddy to-day.'\n\n\"Dey all duh cry, duh cry; dey run wid cry to all dem beef fo' say:\n\n\"'We daddy done die, make yo' mus' come cry fo' um.'\n\n\"Well, all dem beef dey come 'roun' um, dey sorry, dey gadder fo' cry\nfo' Lepped wey (which) die. Dey begin fo' make noise, dey cry lek fo'\ndie pusson. Fus' Cunnie Rabbit come, he look Lepped, he look um long\ntem, he say:\n\n\"'Dis yeah beef he no die, he jus' duh do cunnie.'\n\n\"So he grap (get up), he go sit down yandah fo' run one tem, he say:\n\n\"'Die pusson nebber blow (breathe).'\n\n\"Well, Lepped jus' duh blow leelee, leelee, w'en dem beef no take\nnotice.\n\n\"W'en Cunnie Rabbit say die pusson nebber blow, dem beef say:\n\n\"'Cunnie Rabbit, yo' nar fool!'\n\n\"He answer um, say: 'All ret, I fool.'\n\n\"Den he go sit down to de las' part yandah, so he kin fus' run go w'en\nLepped go grap (get up) fo' ketch dem beef. Well, dem beef wey say\nCunnie Rabbit fool, dey come sit down close Lepped, dey all duh cry,\nduh cry.\n\n\"Bimeby Lepped grap fo' ketch, en all dem beef wey bin hearee wey\nCunnie Rabbit talk, dey all run.\n\n\"Well, dem beef wey say Cunnie Rabbit fool, Lepped ketch um all.\n\n\"'Pon dem beef Lepped en he pickin lib tay (till) hangry tem done.\"\n\nGondomah gained confidence as the story proceeded, and was soon\nspeaking with a freedom and earnestness that would have done even Sobah\ncredit. Mr. Leopard had found a new champion, and was growing in favor\nwith an emotional audience, that was ready to applaud any form of\ncunning that proved successful. Konah, however, was much gratified to\nnote that \"Cunnie Rabbit\" had not been deceived.\n\n\nA CASE OF \"TIT FOR TAT.\"\n\nIn the interval that followed Gondomah's story, a little diversion\noccurred. Two of the boys had been tantalizing each other, and matters\nhad reached such a pitch that one spoke slightingly of the other's\n\"daddy,\" and the other retorted by making a loud sucking noise through\nhis teeth, an insult no Temne lad would allow to go unpunished,\ntherefore a fight ensued.\n\n\"Yo' curse me daddy, I conk (strike) yo',\" and the blow came promptly.\n\n[Illustration: A case of Tit for Tat.\n\n  [_See p. 222._]\n]\n\n\"Yo' suck teet' 'pon me?\" and the counter blow was equally prompt. The\nbattle promised to be prolonged to an extent that would interfere with\nthe story-telling, so a man near by sent the boys flying to opposite\ncorners of the room.\n\nWhen quiet reigned once more, Sobah began the story he was preparing to\nrelate when the fight started.\n\n\"Now Spider he get he village, but he no sleep deh, he sleep nah he\nfa'm-ho'se. One day he go set trap, he ketch dah Lepped he pickin\n(pickaninny), en he come yeat um. De Lepped no bin deh w'en Spider kare\nde pickin go. W'en Lepped come, he cry nah de bush fo' he pickin. Now\nde same tem, Spider call he cumpin (companion), 'Come go play, come go\nplay.' W'en de Lepped hearee um he lef fo' cry, he silence, he come\nclose de fa'm-ho'se. De Spider no know Lepped deh, he jus' duh talk,\nsay: 'We yeat fine t'ing, to-day, de t'ing mark, mark. He favor dah\npusson wey duh cry nah bush yandah; dah pusson heen pickin we yeat.'\n\n\"De Lepped done hearee um, but Spider no know. He duh talk tay de t'ing\ncome close um. Jus' he see um he run, he go inside de fa'm-ho'se, he de\nonly one deh inside. Now he make fiah, he take dem pot, dem kettle, en\nall dem t'ing wey (which) pusson get inside ho'se, dem t'ing wey duh\nsoun'. He beat dem all fo' make big noise: he holler fo' make de Lepped\ngo say: 'Dey _plenty_ inside de fa'm-ho'se. Now Spider heen wef en heen\nt'ree pickin come open de do' fo' come inside. Dis de tem de Lepped\nfollow come inside. W'en 'fraid ketch Spider en he famble dey all klim,\ndey lef' de Lepped sit down nah groun'. W'en he done 'tay leelee bit,\none pickin wey (who) pass dem all fo' young, he say he done tire fo'\nhang. Now de daddy say: 'Fa' down make Lepped yeat yo'.'\n\n\"Now he fa' down, en de Lepped yeat um.\n\n\"Now de nex' one say, hese'f done tire.\n\n\"Daddy Spider say: 'Fa' down, now,' en he fa' down, en de Lepped yeat\num.\n\n\"Now de odder pickin say he done tire, but dah pickin ole pass de odder\ntwo, he 'trong leelee bit; dah make Spider say: 'Change yo' han'.'\n\n\"Now he change he han' fo' some tem, den he say: 'I done tire,' en he\nfa' down, en Lepped yeat um.\n\n\"At las' de wef Nahker, he say he done tire, en Spider say: 'Yo' wey\nbig so? Fa' down, now, yo' go get de trouble.'\n\n\"Nahker fa' down, Lepped yeat um. Spider he one lef' hang. W'en he\ndone tire he take leelee condah (bark) wey bin deh 'pon dah 'tick wey\nSpider hang, he hebe (throw) um to dah Lepped down. Now de Lepped grip\nde condah, he mean say he hole Spider. W'en he duh fet wid de condah\n(bark) Spider come down soffle, he run, he go hide. Pusson nebber able\nketch Spider, because he cunnie.\"\n\nMr. Spider's ability to get himself out of the most serious difficulty,\nwas fast bringing him back to the position of popular favorite. It was\nnot at all to his discredit that he did not risk his life to save his\nwife and children. Soree, who had been biding his time, seized the\nfavorable opportunity to complete the supremacy of Mr. Spider, and\nwithout preliminaries plunged into his story.\n\n\nDR. SPIDER'S FATAL PRESCRIPTIONS.\n\n\"One tem Lepped get t'ree pickin, en heen pickin dey sick, so he duh\nwalker all 'roun' de country fo' look fo' doctah. Den Spider grap (get\nup), he tell Lepped say, he say: 'Now me one big, big doctah. Ef yo'\ngie me yo' pickin, I go make dem all well.'\n\n[Illustration: Dr. Spider's fatal prescriptions.\n\n  [_See p. 226._]\n]\n\n\"So Lepped call de pickin, en he gie um to Spider wid fine present.\nSpider take de pickin, en he kare um inside one fench wey he build,\nfo' doctah um. He tell Lepped say, he say: 'Make nobody no come inside\nheah, en yo'se'f no mus' come inside heah.'\n\n\"So Spider dig one long hole f'om he yown home to dah place wey he duh\ndoctah dem pickin. W'en he done kare dem pickin inside, he run t'rou'\ndis hole, en he go to heen ho'se. He call he yown pickin, he say, make\ndem bring pot, en ress, en palm-ile, en salt, en peppy. So w'en heen\npickin done bring all dis, Spider grip Lepped heen pickin, en he kill\ndem. He make de pickin cook plenty ress, en he yeat dem all, he en him\npickin, but he tell him pickin, make dem no yeat dem bone.\n\n\"So aftah one moon, Spider go out to Lepped, he say: 'I ready fo' pull\nyo' pickin now, dey done well. But w'en I duh pull dem pickin, I go tie\nrope 'pon dem, make yo'se'f draw dem out.'\n\n\"So Spider hese'f he go pass t'rou' dis hole heah, he go nah he yown\nhome. Den he gie signal to Lepped fo' make he draw he pickin out; but\nw'en Lepped draw, he see soso (merely) bone, en he fa' down yandah fo'\ncry.\n\n\"W'en do' clean, Lepped take hese'f, he put hese'f inside one hamper,\nen he put coal[54] 'pon hese'f, en he call heen servant, en he tell\nheen servant, say: 'Tie me good fashion wid dis cord, en kare me to\nSpider, en tell um, say: 'Now me sen' coal fo' um,' fo' Spider was a\nblacksmit' at dis tem now.\n\n[54] The coal referred to is charcoal. The natives know nothing of the\nnatural product.\n\n\"So heen servant take de hamper, en he kare um go to Spider, en he tell\num say: 'Daddy Lepped say: \"Make I bring dis coal fo' yo'.\"'\n\n\"But Spider look de coal, he see Lepped lay down bottom, he tell he\nservant say: 'All ret.'\n\n\"So Spider take one iron, he put um nah fiah, en de iron red hot. He\nsay: 'Make I try dis coal, ef now good coal dis.'\n\n\"So he take dis iron, en he chook um t'rou' dis hamper. Den Lepped\nholler, en he kill Lepped deh, en make big dinnah fo' hese'f en he\npickin.\"\n\nThere was again a note of triumph in Soree's voice as he recited these\ntragic events, for certainly as Mr. Leopard had been disposed of,\nSobah could not produce him alive again in order to make another story.\n\nIt was far past midnight, and there were signs of weariness on the part\nof the younger members, but there was no thought of breaking up the\ngathering. In fact they had been enjoying themselves so genuinely, that\nthey were scarcely aware of the passage of time.\n\nSobah arose, placed fresh wood on the fire, causing it to emit a heavy\nsmoke; then squatting down again on the floor he began to relate\nanother of Mr. Spider's many exploits.\n\n\nMR. SPIDER \"PULLS\" A SUPPLY OF BEEF.\n\n\"De Frog he leelee beef. One tem he duh go walker. He meet one cow wey\nbelong to de king. Well, dis cow, pusson kin kare um ebery mawnin' fo'\ngo yeat, tie um nah one place (pasture). Well, ef yo' meet dis cow, en\nyo' say: 'Cow open!' he kin open he mout', he kin swallow yo'.\n\n\"Well, ebery mawnin' de Frog kin go wid leelee knef en bucket, he tell\nde cow: 'Open!' De cow kin open he mout', de Frog joomp inside, en\nde cow swallow um. De cow fat, en de Frog nebber hurt de cow w'en he\ncut dis plenty fat, but he no fo' cut one place, de heart; even ef de\nfat plenty deh, he no fo' cut um. Ef he cut um de cow fa' down de same\nplace, he die. Aintee de life deh to de heart? Aftah de Frog done cut\nde fat, he come back to de mout', he say: 'Cow open!' De cow open he\nmout', de Frog come out, he go home, he cook. Aftah he finis' cook,\nhe call Spider come yeat. Aftah dey done yeat, w'en Spider feel de\nsweetness, he say:\n\n\"'W-y-ee, fren'! Which side yo' go get dis beef yeah?'\n\n[Illustration: Mr. Spider \"pulls\" a supply of beef.\n\n  [_See p. 231._]\n]\n\n\"De Frog say: 'I bin go tell yo', but w'en yo' fine anyt'ing sweet fo'\nyeat, yo' nebber slack fo' go aftah de same t'ing. Yo' nebber say,\n\"Make I wait,\" so ef I tell yo', yo' go kill pusson cow, en I no able\nde palaver. I know yo', yo' get big yi.'\n\n\"Spider say: 'No, fren', I no go do so.'\n\n\"Well, de Frog tell um say. 'All ret, mus' come to-morrow mawnin',\nearly in de mawnin'.'\n\n\"Spider say: 'All ret.' He no sleep; middle de net he get up, he go to\nde Frog heen do', he say:\n\n\"'Brah, (Brother,) day done broke.'\n\n\"De frog come out, he say: 'No, day no broke, do' no clean; wait leelee\nbit mo'.'\n\n\"Spider go lay down fo' few minute, den he get up, he too eager. He go\nto de Frog heen do'-mout', he make noise lek fowl kin make w'en day\nwan' break: 'Kokooriko-o-o!' Den he knock. 'Kong, kong!' He say: 'Brah,\nday done broke.'\n\n\"De Frog say: 'Ah, no! Yo' see yo' yown trick; not yet.'\n\n\"Spider go fo' few minute, he come ag'in, he holler lek one bird. Day\nkin done begin fo' break, yo' see leelee clear befo' dis bird make\nnoise: 'Dew, dew, dew, dew!'\n\n\"Spider say: 'Brah, day done broke.'\n\n\"De Frog come out, he say: 'Lef me! Now so yo' trick 'tan.' He say: 'Ef\nyo' humbug me again, I no go kare yo', I go me one (alone).'\n\n\"Well, Spider go lay down soffle tay (till) day done broke. Now de frog\ngo call um. W'en Spider come he take he bly (basket), he follow de\nFrog. Dey jus' go tief de grease. Ef de king know, now great trouble\ncome 'pon dem, dey no get permission fo' do dis t'ing. W'en dey done go\ninside, dey begin fo' cut.\n\n\"De Frog he tell Spider, he say: 'Yo' see dah place deh?'--he mean de\nheart--'I no care ef plenty rich palm-ile deh, no venture fo' cut deh.\nDe minute yo' touch deh wid knef, de Cow go die.'\n\n\"Spider say: 'All ret.' Spider full heen bly, den Frog full heen bowl,\ndey go. But w'en dey wan' fo' come out, dey fo' say to de Cow: 'Open.'\nW'en dey reach home, de Frog tell Spider: 'To-morrow no come, make we\nslack fo' to-morrow.'\n\n\"Spider say: 'All ret'; he go home. He en he wef en he pickin dey cook\nall, dey yeat all.\n\n\"Well, aftah dey done yeat, Spider go, he plant (plait) plenty bly, two\ntem as big as de fus'. Mawnin' early he get up, he gie all heen pickin\ndem bly, he say: 'Come, oh, go.'\n\n\"De Frog bin tell um not to go to-morrow, but he no hearee; he go, he\nsay: 'Cow open!' De Cow stupid, he open, he swallow Spider wid all heen\npickin. Dey cut, dey full all de bly, dey go home, dey cook, dey yeat.\nDis Frog he no know say Spider bin go deh. Ebery mawnin' now so Spider\nduh do. W'en dey cut de grease one day, de nex' mawnin' dey meet mo'\ncome, but he nebber plenty lek de fus'. One tem Spider no kare none of\nheen pickin, he one, no mo', go. He see plenty big, big grease, big,\nbig fat deh to de heart. He no believe de word Frog bin talk, he get\ntoo big yi. He cut de heart. Jus' he cut um de Cow fa' down one tem.\nSpider come, he say: 'Cow open.' Cow no able open, because he done\ndie. Spider he no know how fo' do. Pusson come evenin' tem fo' de Cow.\nDen meet he done die, den 'plit um, dey call de pickin, den gie um de\ninside part fo' was'. Dey kare um nah wattah-side, dey was' de heart,\nde inside part all. Because Spider leelee, dey no see w'en he joomp\n'pon top de bridge. He call, he tell de pickin, say:\n\n\"'Look how oonah (you) hebe (throw) dirty 'pon me w'en yo' duh was'\ndeh.'\n\n\"Dem pickin begin fo' beg um, dey say: 'Daddy, do yah, do yah! No do we\nnot'ing, we no know, we mistake.'\n\n\"Spider say: 'I no 'gree.'\n\n\"He go nah town to de king, he go lay dis complain'. W'en he done tell\nde king all how de pickin do um, de king cut de cow he foot, all de\nbigness of he foot,[55] he wan' gie um to Spider.\n\n[55] \"De bigness of he foot,\" _i. e._ leg. In the dialect the foot and\nhand may include the leg and arm, there being no distinctive terms for\neach.\n\n\"Spider say: 'I no wan' dis foolish t'ing yeah.'\n\n\"Dem cut de han', dem lay um 'pon de foot. Spider no 'gree. Las' dey\ntake de head, lay um 'pon top. Spider kin 'trong fo' yeat, he lazy fo'\nwuk. I no care ef anyt'ing fo' yeat how he big, he kin take um, but ef\nyo' gie um one grain ress fo' tote (carry), he no able um, he heaby.\nBut how de yeat may big, ef _cow_ yo' gie um, he go hase um go. Spider\ntake all dis beef, he tote (carry) um go. W'en he reach middle de road,\nhe see 'tranger duh come, he call quick fo' he'p. He 'krape de groun'\nleelee bit, he dig one hole, en he set de cow him head inside de hole;\nbut he no put all, so dat ef pusson draw um, he no go be hard fo' pull\num deh. He tie rope to de horn, en he do lek say he duh draw. So w'en\nhe duh do dis, he see dah people duh come yandah wid plenty cow. W'en\ndey reach close um, he tell um, say:\n\n\"'Oonah come, oonah come quick! De king heen cow wan' fo' go inside\nhole.'\n\n\"He put heen han' 'pon de head, he do lek he duh draw, he say:\n\n\"'Come, he'p me; make we pull de king heen cow f'om dis hole.'\n\n\"So de 'tranger all come, dey begin fo' go take de rope, en w'en dey\ndraw, de cow head bin lef' nah dem han'. Spider make lek he vex 'pon\num, he say:\n\n\"'Yo, oh! Oonah done cut off de cow heen head. All ret, oonah take um,\noonah bring odder cow. Ef de king hear jus' now dat oonah kill de cow\n(because nar de king life oonah take 'way so), de treatment oonah go\nget f'om de king, I no able fo' 'spress um.'\n\n\"Dis cow wey Spider done kill bin sacred cow, now he 'tan' fo' de life\nof de king. Ef anybody kill de cow, now de king life he cut off. Dey\ndone pull sacrifice to dis cow.\n\n\"Dem 'tranger den 'fraid fo' true. Dey gie Spider one big cow, dey yown\ncow wey dey bin bring. Spider say:\n\n\"'Now dis one cow oonah gie fo' dis sacred cow? I no wan'.'\n\n\"Dem people no know how fo' do, den duh trimble wid fear. Now, dey take\nodder large cow, dey gie Spider all two; he refuse. He get big yi, he\nsay he no wan', he jus' only wan' fo' go 'port dem to de king. Dem\npeople beg, dey ketch odder cow agin, dey gie Spider de t'ree cow. He\nsay: 'All ret, oonah go.'\n\n\"W'en dey done go, Spider take all heen plenty beef, he go. He done\nrich by heen cunnie.\"\n\nSoree was trying hard to recall a suitable story to follow the one just\nended, but at that very moment a fowl began to crow. \"Dah fowl craze,\"\nexclaimed Oleemah, thinking it impossible that morning was at hand,\nand with that he arose and thrust his head out of the window.\n\n\"Nar true word dah fowl duh talk,\" he admitted, as he saw the first\nsigns of approaching dawn. The clouds had thinned, the rain had almost\nceased, and in consequence the dense darkness was breaking away.\n\nReminded by these signs that life is not all fiction, Oleemah turned\nto the door and strode away to his hut. His movements broke the spell\nthat had so long held the company, and soon all had scattered to their\nseveral huts, feeling that the night had been well spent.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX\n\nAN AFTERNOON IN THE BARREH[56]\n\n[56] A barreh is a public meeting-place. A town has one or more,\naccording to the population. It consists of a mud floor surrounded by a\nwall two or three feet high, and covered by a projecting grass or palm\nthatch. It is absolutely devoid of furnishings, unless there may be a\nhammock, or one or two bamboo stools, occasionally a crude chair, made\nof peculiarly forked sticks.\n\nIt was some weeks after the night gathering at Sobah's house. A man,\nthe most skilful weaver in the village, was seated at his simple loom,\nwhich had been set up in the barreh, and was busily engaged weaving\ncountry cloth.\n\nThe rain had been but light recently, and this afternoon Nature seemed\nundecided whether to smile or to weep. Sunshine and shower engaged in\nplayful rivalry, but each seemed equally pleased for the other to win.\nThe air was conducive to idleness, and the barreh was an ideal spot for\nloafing. When Sobah reached the place he found a dozen men and women,\nand fully as many children, assembled. A few women brought work to busy\ntheir fingers, cotton to spin, and fish-nets to weave, but most were\ncontent to allow the hour to provide for itself.\n\nOf course Konah was there, for her instinct told her that such a time\nand place would bring something worth hearing.\n\nSobah was seated in a hammock, and had unconsciously taken a position\nso that the others were grouped around him. The situation was\nsuggestive, and Oleemah, noticing it, requested a story. As he was\nwarmly seconded by others, Sobah not unwillingly complied.\n\n\nTHE DANCING BIRD.\n\n\"Well, I tell yo' story 'bout one man en one boy,\" he said after a\nlittle reflection. \"Dis man bin huntin' man. One day he go huntin', en\nhe ketch one fine beef, young beef, en he bring um home. Dis huntin'\nman he get plenty pickin. Ef he gie one boy de beef, all de odder go\nvex; so he gie dis beef to dem all, fo' make dem play wid um. De beef\nno die. Dey mine um[57] sotay (till) he begin use dem. Now one po' boy\nbin lib close to dis huntin' man heen ho'se. He en he mammy dey no get\npusson fo' make fa'm fo' dem, en dis huntin' man heen pickin all, dey\nnebber 'gree fo' make dis po' boy play wid de beef wey dey get; en de\nman hese'f no 'gree. W'en dey go nah fa'm de po' boy take de beef, he\nplay wid um all day. W'en de man en heen pickin wan' come home f'om de\nfa'm, he put um back. Nar so he duh do any day.\n\n[57] \"Dey mine um sotay he begin use dem,\" _i.e._ The boys cared for\nthe animal until it became accustomed to them.\n\n\"One day, w'en he take dis beef, de beef he die nah he han'. He done\n'fraid, he lef de beef, he run go home.\n\n\"Now dem people come back. W'en dey open de place, dey meet de beef\ndone die.\n\n\"Now dey ax de boy, dey say: 'Who kill dis beef heah?'\n\n\"Fus' de boy no wan' fo' answer. Now dey begin fo' knock um, dey knock\num tay (till) he say _he_ kill de beef.\n\n\"Now de man say: 'Yo' mus' surely gie back odder beef fo' dis one wey\nyo' bin kill.'\n\n\"De boy beg _so-t-a-y_, but de man no 'gree. De boy take he cutlass,\nhe go set trap. Any day he go, but not'ing no ketch. Any day w'en he\ncome, de huntin' man _mus'_ beat um fo' dat beef.\n\n[Illustration: The Dancing Bird.\n\n  [_See p. 241._]\n]\n\n\"Now de mammy beg, he beg good fashion, but de man no 'gree fo' lef de\npalaver, he say de pickin _mus'_ gie um dah beef.\n\n\"De mammy say: 'Well, take me pickin one tem (at once), de t'ing yo'\nwan' fo' do, make yo' do um one tem, make I see.'\n\n\"Mawnin' de boy set trap, but all day he no ketch. He come home evenin'\ntem. W'en he come home he cry, he say: 'Because dey go come beat me.'\nDem pusson dey come home. Sometem de boy bin go hide under he mammy\nbed. Nar so dey bin do any day, dey bin beat um any day. Now one day de\nboy cry, he come out under rain, he go set trap, en he ketch dis beef\nyeah. He gladee, he gladee bad, fo' wey he get um. Now he bring um, he\ngie um to dis bad man.\n\n\"One day de boy go walker, he go close one big, big wattah; de wattah\n'roun'. Now he go meet dah fine, fine bird wey kin sing, kin dance.\nHe 'tan' lek canary, but not to canary. Alligator bin deh inside de\nwattah. W'en dah boy see dah plenty bird over de wattah, he see dey\nduh dance, dey duh sing, he wan ketch one, make he sing fo' um. W'en he\ntry fo' cross, now he fa' down nah de wattah, en alligator come yandah\nfo' yeat um. Now he swim, he make hase, en he cross; he go ketch one of\ndah bird heah. Now he cross over back, now he come home. W'en he reach\nto he ho'se, he put de bird down 'pon de flo'. De bird sing, he dance.\nNow plenty people come fo' look dis bird wey duh sing, weh duh dance.\nEf anybody wan' look um, he bring one piece clot' sotay dis po' mammy\nrich. Anybody, dah chief, dah king, dey kin come look dis bird how he\nkin dance; dey bring present to dis boy. Dis boy keep dis bird inside\nbly (basket). Now he go to de fa'm wid he mammy. Well, dis bad huntin'\nman, he go pull dis pickin heen bird, he put um down inside de ho'se,\nen de bird begin fo' sing, he begin fo' dance. W'en de man see de boy\nduh come yandah, he take de bird back quick. De boy come say: 'Who bin\npull dis bird heah?' De man nebber answer. Now de boy say: 'All ret,'\nen he lef fo' talk.\n\n\"Plenty people come, dey say dey come look dis bird wey kin dance. Dey\nbring plenty present fo' gie dis boy heah. Now he pull de bird, de bird\ndance, he sing. Dis ooman he rich, he get plenty. Now de pickin put de\nbird inside bly agin, en he go to de fa'm wid he mammy. De man pull de\nbird agin, he look um. W'en he put de bird down he dance leelee bit,\nden he say:\n\n\"'Ef yo' wan' make me dance fine, make yo' kare me nah yard. Dah dance\nwey I go dance, he go pass all fo' fine.'\n\n\"De man he t'ink say dis nar true. He take de bird, kare um go nah\nyard; he put um down; de bird fly go. He bin 'deed make dis man fool.\"\n\nBoth Sobah's tone and the drift of the story indicated that a rich\nclimax was approaching, and many were shaking already with anticipated\npleasure; so the story was interrupted here until the pent-up delight\nhad been set free.\n\n\"Now de boy come home. W'en he go look inside de place, he no see de\nbird, he ax he mammy. He mammy say he no know. Now he ax de man, en dis\none say he no know. Now one ole ooman say, 'Dah huntin' man take de\nbird,' he say. 'W'en dem people come fo' look de bird, he bin pull um,\nbin put um nah yard, en de bird fly, he go.'\n\n\"Now de boy go to de man, he say: 'I wan' me bird jus' now, to-day.'\n\n\"De man wan' talk de boy, but he say: 'No talk, I go burn yo' ho'se jus\nnow.'\n\n\"De man he nebber sleep, he nebber sit down all day; he walker all day\nclose de ribber, make trap fo' ketch bird. Now one day he fine de same\nwattah, wey de boy bin ketch dis bird. Now he see dem plenty bird wey\nduh sing, wey duh dance. W'en he wan' go ketch de bird he fa' down nah\nde wattah so, en alligator ketch um, he yeat um.\n\n\"Dat make he no good fo' do leelee pickin bad. Ef pusson do leelee\npickin t'ing wey (which) bad, trouble go ketch um wey (which) go pass\nhe yown.\"\n\nKindness towards children is not a part of the Temne social code,\ngenerally, at least not a conscious part; but Sobah was the unconscious\nembodiment of many of the better characteristics of his people, and\npersonal experience had made him more than usually considerate and\ngentle. So he felt that this story contained a serious message, and he\nwas the chosen mouthpiece.\n\n\"Now dat bin true word,\" he added, looking reprovingly around the\ncompany. \"Any pusson wey (who) do leelee pickin bad, trouble go ketch\num wey (which) go pass him yown.\"\n\nAfter repeating this impressive warning, Sobah sat long in deep\nreflection. He was recalling another story, wherein the would-be evil\ndoer received a just retribution. As soon as he felt moved to speak, he\nbegan his tale.\n\n\nTHE WICKED IS TAKEN IN HIS OWN SNARE.\n\n\"Dis 'tory 'bout one boy, he name Pass-all-king-fo'-wise. De boy heen\n(his) fadder bin king. Well, de fadder get so many wef dat he no\nbin notice w'en one wef bin loss f'om um, bin go hide nah (in) one\nfa'm-ho'se. He (she) lib heah tay (till) all he (her) mate (associate\nwives') pickin done grow big. Well, one day dese pickin yeah come, dey\nbrush fa'm. It happen dey begin fo' brush near de same ole fa'm-ho'se\nwey (where) dis ooman duh hide. He (she) shame fo' see he mate pickin\nall done grow up big, en he yown pickin leelee no mo'. So he (she) run\nwid he pickin, come out agin f'om dis fa'm-ho'se, he go far 'way, he\nmeet big bug-a-bug (ant) hill, he klim 'pon top, he sit down, he say:\n\n\"'Oh, I wis' me pickin done 'trong fo' brush lek dis one heah.'\n\n[Illustration: The Wicked is taken in his own Snare.\n\n  [_See p. 249._]\n]\n\n\"Now de bug-a-bug hill he talk to um, he say: 'Even ef yo' pickin no\n'trong nuff fo' brush, I go gie um sense en riches all two.'\n\n\"So de ooman say, he say: 'All ret.'\n\n\"At once de ooman he see he baby he grow big man, he rich, he get stone\nho'se wid plenty servant, he get santegay (counsellor).\n\n\"W'en de king hear say he wef get fine son, he rich, well, de king sen'\none messenger fo' bring um. Dis messenger he bad man, he wicked; so he\ntell de king, he say: 'Dis yo' son heah he go take de country f'om yo',\nef yo' no kill um.'\n\n\"De king say: 'Which punishment yo' go gie um? Gie um special trial,\nspecial work fo' do. Ef he no able do um, well, we go kill um.'\n\n\"One 'tick (tree) bin deh, he high, en de fruit he sweet, but nobody\nno dare fo' go up pick um. He get dem antch (ants) wey able fo' sting,\ndey poison. So de king he messenger say: 'Make de boy mus' pick all dis\nyeah fruit.'\n\n\"De king he 'gree, he sen' call he pickin. W'en he come, de king say:\n'Look dah 'tick yandah. Ef yo' kin klim dis 'tick, ef to-morrow mawnin'\nI meet all dis fruit heah he pick, en deh (there) to one heap bottom de\n'tick, I no go kill yo'.'\n\n\"De boy say: 'All ret.'\n\n\"He go, he tell dis bug-a-bug hill. De bug-a-bug hill tell all dem\nantch fo' go pick. Dey pick, dey pick tay (till) middle de net. All de\nfruit dey gadder to one place. Now mawnin' de king meet de fruit all\npick. He no talk, he sen' de boy go home.\n\n\"Dis bad man he come agin, he tell de king, he say: 'King, yo' bin buy\none cow, de cow done multiply, multiply. Ef dey put dem inside place\nwey dey buil' fo' dem, dey pass one hundred plenty. De boy mus' show de\nfus' cow wey yo' buy; ef no, he go die.'\n\n\"All dis he jus' duh do fo' try kill de boy.\n\n\"So de king call he son, he tell um. De boy say: 'All ret, I go come\nw'en de sun middle de sky; make dem no open de cowfiel'.'\n\n\"So de king 'gree. Well, de boy go, he tell de bug-a-bug hill. Well, de\nbug-a-bug hill see one butterfly, he tell um he mus' do wuk fo' um. So\nde butterfly tell de boy, he say: 'To-morrow, w'en yo' meet all dem cow\nform in row, now de cow wey yo' see I fly 'roun' en sit down 'pon, now\ndis de fus' cow wey de king get.'\n\n\"To-morrow de very hour, de boy go. Dem people dey form dem cow, put de\nfus' cow wey de king buy nah middle dem cow all. W'en de boy 'tan' up,\nhe look de cow fo' moment, he look, he see de butterfly jus' sit down\n'pon de cow, he say: 'Ah! Hey! Look de cow middle yandah.'\n\n\"All de people wonder fo' see how de boy wise.\n\n\"Evenin' tem dis bad man come agin, he no satisfy. He tell de king, he\nsay: 'Make dem dig hole _deep_, make dem put plenty knef, plenty broke\nbottle all 'roun' de top, all 'roun' de inside; so so knef, so so broke\nbottle, down, down. Make dem spread mat 'pon top de hole, jus' cover de\nhole; make dem set chair deh.'\n\n\"De king 'gree. Den sen' de same messenger fo' go call de boy. W'en de\nboy come, dey say dey wan' talk palaver, make he go sit down to dah\nchair yandah.\n\n\"Well, de boy he go near, he 'tan' up, he tell de king, say:\n\n\"'I nebber sit down place excep' I take 'tick, chook de place.'\n\n\"De king no know how fo' do, he puzzle. He no lek say no, he no lek say\nyes, so he 'gree. De boy go take long 'tick, de 'tick he heaby. He beat\nwid um inside de place, de chair fa' down inside hole. De boy no sit\ndown deh, he go home.\n\n\"Now de same bad man he come agin to de king, he tell um say: 'Dis now\nde las' chance wey kin kill yo' son, he no go get out of dis.'\n\n\"So de king say: 'All ret.'\n\n\"Dey sen' fo' de boy, he distant 'bout some few mile, he come. Dey\nspread mat 'pon de groun', dey tell um say dey wan' fo' crown um king.\nWell, de boy bin come wid one of he servant. Dey tell de boy fo' lie\ndown 'pon de mat, dey go wrap um, tie um so he no able fo' loose\nhese'f; dey lay heaby, heaby stone 'pon um, dey go hebe (throw) um nah\nwattah, dey go lef um t'ree day. Dey tell um say, now _so_ dey kin do\nfo' crown king.\n\n\"Well, dis servant wey bin follow de boy, ef he reach 'tranger place,\nef he fo'get anyt'ing, w'en he ready fo' go fo' um, all dem people\ndemse'f kin fo'get somet'ing, dey all kin grap (get up) fo' go fine de\nt'ing. Well, jus' dey done tie he mastah, en dey ready fo' go hebe um\nnah dis deep wattah, de servant say: 'Oh, I fo'get somet'ing one mile\noff.'\n\n\"Well, all dem people dey grap, (get up) dey all fo'get somet'ing, dey\ngo. De king se'f he grap, he go. Dey all jus' 'tan' lek crazy.\n\n\"Well, w'en dey done go, dis boy heah he call one leelee pickin. De\npickin come, he loose all de rope, en de boy come out. He put heaby,\nheaby stone inside de mat, he tie um tight lek wey de people bin tie\num. Well, he go, he go 'way home.\n\n\"Now de servant he know say he mastah done go, so he come back, en all\ndem people come. Dey hase (raise) de mat up, dey t'ink say dat de boy\ninside, dey go hebe um nah de deep.\n\n\"T'ree day dey duh hear drum over to de boy he town, dey hear drum en\ndance. W'en de t'ree day finis', de boy come to de town, he wear crown,\nhe sit down 'pon hoss, plenty people duh follow um; dey too sit down\n'pon hoss, dey rejoice. W'en de boy reach to de town wey he fadder bin,\nhe gadder all dem people; he say he wan' fo' come tell dem de t'ing wey\nhe see w'en he die.\n\n\"But dem people no know, dey t'ink say nar (it is) true.\n\n\"He tell dem say, w'en he die, aftah dey bin hebe (throw) um nah\nwattah, he meet de pusson wey crown um king, en dis pusson tell um,\nsay: 'W'en yo' go back, make dey mus' crown de same way dis messenger.'\nDat nar de one wey bin try fo' fine all dis trouble fo' de king heen\nson.\n\n\"Dis man yeah, w'en he heah dat, he try fo' run 'way, fo' 'scape, but\ndey ketch um, dey tie um inside mat, wrap um so he no able fo' loose.\nDey lay heaby stone 'pon um, dey go sink um; now he die.\n\n\"Dat make he (it is) no good fo' t'ink fo' do bad to yo' cumpin\n(companion) w'en he innocent.\"\n\nDogbah had been restless throughout these stories. They pointed too\ndefinite a moral to suit him, and he suspected they had a personal\napplication to some of his own failings.\n\nTo change the drift of thought to something more remote, he offered\nto tell a story he had heard a short time before, while in a distant\nvillage.\n\n\nAN OLD MAN TURNS ELEPHANT.\n\n\"Some people deh far up, up Mende country. Dey bin ole too much, dey\nsick, en all de odder people done tire fo' mine um; dey say dey trouble\ntoo much. Now because dis yeah ole pusson no able any mo' fo' do\nnot'ing, dem cumpin (companions) bin kare um nah (into) bush; dey bin\nbrush one place, dey bin buil' one leelee ho'se 'pon top um. But not\ntoo good ho'se dey bin buil', dey jus' buil' bamboo roof fo' cover dis\nyeah ole pusson. Dey bin take four mottah,[58] dey put de ole pusson\nheen one han' inside one mottah, de odder han' inside odder mottah; one\nfoot dey put inside de mottah wey make t'ree, en de odder foot inside\nde las' mottah. De mottah-pencil (pestle) dey bin put to heen mout' fo'\nturn elephan' long, long mout'. Dey take two fannah, dey tie um 'pon he\nyase (ears). Well, so dey bin lef um; dey go 'way, aftah dey done buil'\nde ho'se.\n\n[58] The mortar and pestle are used in all homes for beating rice. The\nfanners are flat woven trays, on which the rice, after it is pounded,\nis shaken to remove the chaff.\n\n\"Sometem ef pusson go agin fo' look, dey nebber see um. Well, he done\nturn elephan'. De foot nar de mottah.\"\n\n\"Nar (is) dat fo' true, true?\" asked Konah eagerly, for the\ntransformation appealed strongly to her imagination.\n\n\"Dem people say nar true,\" answered Dogbah, hedging. \"Me daddy cousin\nsister-in-law husban' done see um.\"\n\n\"Man kin turn elephan',\" asserted Mammy Yamah decisively. \"One tem two\ngirl go nah bush fo' broke wood. Dey hearee monkey wey duh sing one\nsong. One girl hese'f sing de song, he turn elephan'. De odder girl\nscare, he (she) run go home; he tell dem people all. Dem people beg um\nsotay (till) he sing de song; he turn elephan'.\"\n\n[Illustration: An Old Man turns Elephant.\n\n  [_See p. 256._]\n]\n\nSobah listened to Mammy Yamah's excited testimony, and then with an air\nof condescension said: \"I tell yo' one story.\"\n\n\nTHE MAN WHO COULD NOT KEEP SECRETS.\n\nAll were ready enough to listen, so the story proceeded:\n\n\"One huntin' man bin shoot de elephan' plenty, he bin kill um, but\nElephan' kin turn anyt'ing, he kin turn pusson, beef, (animal)\nanyt'ing. So one day Elephan' he turn one fine girl, en he come to dis\nhuntin' man yeah. W'en de man see dis fine girl, he drive heen wef, he\nsay: 'Yo' mus' go nah kitchen, go cook.' He no wan' make heen wef hear\nw'en he en dis girl duh talk.\n\n[Illustration: The Man who could not keep Secrets.\n\n  [_See p. 258._]\n]\n\n\"De girl come ax de man, say: 'How yo' kin manage fo' kill de Elephan'?'\n\n\"De man answer, say: 'Look dah gun, he en de bow en arrow wey bin\nnah co'ner. I take um; I load um, w'en I see de Elephan' I shoot um,\n_ding_!'\n\n\"Well, de ooman say: 'Ef yo' no get de Elephan'?'\n\n\"Den de man say: 'I kin turn to dry 'tick (dead tree), make de Elephan'\nno see me.'\n\n\"Den de girl say: 'But ef de Elephan' mas' (smash) de dry 'tick?'\n\n\"Den he tell um say, he kin turn bug-a-bug (ant) hill.\n\n\"Den de ooman say: 'Well, ef de Elephan' mas', mas' de bug-a-bug hill?\nWey t'ing yo' go do nex'?'\n\n\"Well, de wef come nah co'ner, he duh listen w'en dis man tell all him\nsecret. Jus' he wan' tell de girl de las' fing lef', den de wef holler\n'pon um, say:\n\n\"'Yo'! Yo' tell all de word inside yo'?'\n\n\"So he no tell de las' t'ing.\n\n\"Den dis ooman go, he turn Elephan' agin.\n\n\"De nex' day de man grap (get up), he say he go hunt; he meet dis same\nooman done turn Elephan', 'tan' up inside de bush. So he fire. He miss\nde Elephan', so he turn dry 'tick, lek how he kin do make Elephan' no\nsee um. De Elephan' come mas' de dry 'tick, so he turn bug-a-bug hill.\nDe Elephan' he mas' de bug-a-bug hill. Well, now de las' t'ing lef' wey\nde man no bin talk. He grap, he go fa' down inside wattah, he turn dat\nt'ing wey turn fas', fas' 'pon top de wattah. He loss f'om Elephan',\nbut he bin broke, broke all he bone w'en de Elephan' mas' um. F'om dah\ntem he no come home fo' two day, so heen people go fine um, dey tote\n(carry) um, bring um nah town. F'om dah tem he no able go huntin' tay\n(till) he die.\n\n\"So ef ooman come to yo', no tell um all de word wey yo' get inside yo'\nheart; sometem now debble go turn ooman, sometem now Elephan' turn\nooman, sometem now snake; yo' no know.\n\n\"En no man no fo' do bad to heen wef, because widout heen wef, he bin\ntell de las' t'ing wey fo' do, make Elephan' no kill um.\"\n\n\"Well,\" said Sobah, after finishing his story, and noticing that the\nshowers had entirely ceased, \"sun duh shine,\" and with that he arose\nand walked away with the air of one who knows that he has acquitted\nhimself with credit in the eyes of his fellowmen.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X\n\nKONAH TURNS STORY-TELLER\n\n\nThe next time there was story-telling in Konah's presence, she\nunwittingly became the chief actor. It came about in this wise. A pack\nof children, tired of romping, had collected under the projecting roof\nat the front of Konah's house. Sprawled around in all possible places,\nand in all conceivable attitudes, they gave their imagination loose\nreins, and seemed to be trying to outdo one another in the extravagance\nof their fancies. It was the hour of deep twilight, and the air seemed\nto palpitate with an invisible life. Mystery and magic seemed but\nharmonies of the hour.\n\n\"Ah, hey!\" said Konah excitedly, her eyes dancing and her face glowing\nwith animation, \"I get one fine story.\"\n\n\"Pull um!\" came in hearty chorus from all around. This is what she\ntold.\n\n\nTHE DEVIL'S MAGIC EGGS.\n\n\"Dis story 'bout two mate (two wives of one husband). De one he die,\nhe lef he pickin to he mate. Dis ooman no lek um, he hate um, he cruel\nto um. De pickin get wattah, he beat ress (rice), he broke wood, he\ndo eberyt'ing, but w'en he done do all dis, de ooman bin flog um. He\nyown pickin he no wuk, he no duh do not'ing. So dey do tay (till) de\ntwo pickin sick wid yaws. Now de ooman sorry fo' he yown pickin, he no\nscrub um good; de odder pickin he scrub good, he scrub um wid hatred,\nbut he make de yaws done quick. Now he tire fo' mine dis pickin, he\nwan' make de debble yeat um.\n\n\"One day w'en de pickin go nah de kitchen, he mistake, he t'row 'way\n(dropped) de ress-'tick nah groun'. So de ooman slap um, he curse,\ncurse um all. De pickin beg, he beg, he say: 'Oh, Mammy, no do me so.'\n\n\"De ooman answer: 'No call me mammy, me not to yo' mammy, yo' mammy\ndone die wid witch. I no bin sen' um fo' make he go witch, make he mus'\ndie.' _So_ dis wicked ooman duh curse de pickin. Den he tell um, say,\nhe mus' go was' dis 'tick nah de debble heen place, far place. Man mus'\ntake one day fo' reach deh (there) en come back, en leelee pickin no\nable fo' walker quick lek man. So dis girl he get up, he start, he take\nde ress-'tick fo' go was' um to dah place wey dah debble bin. W'en de\npickin walker 'pon de road, he meet den hoe handle wey bin tie up in\nbundle; dey get sense fo' talk, dey know one odder. De pickin meet dem\nhandle, dey duh walker, dey ax um: 'Yo'! pickin, which way yo' duh go?'\n\n\"He tell um all, say: 'Now me mammy sen' me fo' was' dah ress-'tick.'\n\n\"W'en he go agin, he meet one man wey jus' get one grain (single) yi.\nHe ax um, he say: 'Tittie (sissy), which way yo' duh go?'\n\n\"De pickin say: 'Me mammy sen' me fo' was' dis ress-'tick.'\n\n\"De man show um which way fo' pass. He go tay (till) he reach to de\nbig debble him place. De debble he get so many yi. He get broad head,\nmiddle he get bald head. So de debble call um, he say: 'Tittie heah,\ncome feel me louse.'[59]\n\n[59] A common sight among the natives is a little child busily engaged\nin picking the lice from the woolly head of some older person.\nSometimes the child's place is taken by the pet monkey. If the monkey\nfails to find the object of his search, he loses his temper, and\nexpresses his feelings in strong language, and in boxing the person's\nhead.\n\n[Illustration: The Devil's Magic Eggs.\n\n  [_See p. 265._]\n]\n\n\"So de pickin come feel, feel de debble heen louse. De debble get so\nmany yi dat ef de pickin do anyt'ing at all fo' play trick, he kin see,\nbut de pickin no do anyt'ing bad; so de debble take de ress-'tick, he\nwas' um clean, he wrap um wid one silk hankercher, he gie um. Now he\ntell um say:\n\n\"'Go back nah co'ner, take four egg.'\n\n\"He duh try dis girl fo' see if he hones'. Plenty big egg bin deh, but\nde pickin jus' take four; now small, small one he take, he no take de\nbig one. So de debble tell um say:\n\n\"'W'en yo' go leelee far yo' mus' bus' one egg, w'en yo' go agin yo'\nbus' de odder, tay (till) yo' bus' de t'ree, but de las' one yo' bus'\num de place wey yo' wan' buil' ho'se.'\n\n\"So w'en dis girl go leelee far, he bus' one egg. Now plenty servant\nen hammock come out fo' kare um go, en plenty box full of clot' en any\nkind of bead.\n\n\"W'en he go agin he bus' de odder one, wey make two; he see officer en\nsodjer all come out fo' guard um. W'en he go agin he bus' de one wey\nmake t'ree, en behole gold, silver en diamond, en all dem good, good\nstone, en servant fo' tote (carry) dem. Now de las' egg lef'. W'en he\ngo to one part town wey he wan' fo' buil' ho'se, he bus' de las' egg.\nPlenty big ho'se come out; fine buildin' en big wall 'roun' dem, en\ngoat, en cow. He go inside, he en he sodjer en he servant all. Dem drum\nen different, different music all duh play fo' um now.\"\n\nOf course the interest was intense, while these marvels were being\nrelated. Little outbursts of wonder and delight greeted each new\nrevelation, but when, to crown all, there was music of all kinds\nthe children could restrain themselves no longer, but leaped up and\nperformed an impromptu dance.\n\nThis, however, was over in an incredibly short time, and the story was\nallowed to proceed.\n\n\"De debble done tell dis girl one t'ing fo' do, fo' make heen mudder\ncome out of de grabe (grave) back. He bin say: 'Bimeby w'en yo' go,\nyo' mus' pick ress plenty. W'en yo' done beat um yo' soak um, take de\nmottah en de mottah-pencil to yo' mammy heen grabe, make yo' beat de\nress 'pon top de grabe. Wen yo' duh beat so, yo' mus' sing.'\n\n\"De pickin do all t'ing lek de debble bin tell um. W'en he duh beat, he\nduh sing.\"\n\nAt the first mention of \"he duh sing\", all hands came into position\nto beat time, and as soon as Konah set the measure, all joined in the\nrhythmical hand-clapping,\n\n    \"Mammy, turn to de wuld back.\n    Anyt'ing weh I do, w'en I do um,\n    De mammy nebber tankee me.\n    He bin jus' flog me, flog me.\n    Aftah he flog me done, he say,\n    Make I mus' tell um tankee.\n    Mammy, come back, come back,\n    I duh trouble too much.\n    Me mammy come back,\n    I done tire of dis mammy.\"\n\nThey easily found a musical note in these lines, however impossible it\nmay appear to any but an African ear. It was a peculiar, quavering,\nminor strain, full of pathetic pleading.\n\nWhen the song was ended, the story took its regular course.\n\n\"De girl beat, he sing, tay (till) de grabe begin crack, begin open. He\nsing steady. De grabe 'plit mo', en de mudder head come out. De girl\ncry, he say: 'Mammy, come back nah wuld.'\n\n\"He wan' go grip he mammy, make he draw um come out nah de hole, but de\ndebble bin tell um, say: 'Ef yo' see yo' mammy come out, no draw um; ef\nyo' draw, he cut middle, en he no come out agin!'\n\n\"So de girl no go, he gie de mammy tem, he jus' duh beat, he duh sing\n\n    'Mammy, turn to de wuld back.'\n\n\"Now de grabe 'plit mo', en de mammy done pull all heen han'. De pickin\nwan' agin fo' go take heen mammy han', but he no do um, he 'member how\nde debble bin say: 'Girl, girl, gie yo' mammy tem, he go come nah wuld\nback agin.' He sing steady:\n\n    'Mammy, mammy, sorry fo' me,\n    I duh trouble.\n    Come back nah wuld,\n    Come back.'\n\n\"By dis tem de mammy done pull all heen skin, he foot lef'. Now he pull\nhe foot, one foot; de one lef'. De pickin beat, he beat, he beat. Now\nde mammy all come out. De girl go hole he mudder, take um go inside de\nho'se dey get, but befo' he do dis, he bin take dis ress-'tick, he sen'\num to he step-mudder, wey bin make um go to de debble place fo' was' de\n'tick.\n\n\"Well, de step-mudder, w'en he see all de money, en all de fine style,\nen all de plenty, plenty t'ing wey dis he mate (her associate wife's)\npickin get, he do careless, he t'row 'way dis 'tick-'poon 'pon de\ngroun', he tell he yown pickin, he say: 'Make yo' mus' go was' um.'\n\n\"But he yown pickin he no train up, he no 'fraid anyt'ing, he no\nrespec' anyt'ing wey he see. So w'en he duh go nah road, he meet de\nhoe-handle 'tan' up nah road, dey say: 'Tittie (sister), how do?'\n\n\"De girl duh vex, he say: 'Make I pass. I nebber see t'ing lek dat,\nnebber see hoe-handle wey (which) duh talk.'\n\n\"Dem 'tick heah bin de debble, wey turn hese'f to different t'ing.\n\n\"De pickin go tay (till) he meet de one man wid one yi'. De man say:\n'Tittie, how do?'\n\n\"De girl vex, he say: 'I nebber see pusson get one yi' middle heen\nhead.' He say: 'Make I pass, I duh go was' me mammy he ress-'tick; no\ntell me how do.'\n\n\"De pickin duh talk bad all to dis man. He go tay he meet de daddy\nhese'f, se'f, se'f, wey get de wattah side. So de debble call um fo'\ntry um, he say: 'Tittie, come feel me louse.'\n\n\"De pickin no know say de debble get plenty yi', so w'en he duh feel\ndis debble he louse, he see de bald head, he make as ef he wan' fo'\nconk (strike) um.\"\n\nKonah gave this little scene with realistic mimicry, and naturally\nprovoked a shout of laughter. As soon as it seemed safe, Konah added:\n'He no mean do um, he jus' make trick.'\n\n\"De debble he see um, he say: 'All ret', but he no talk. He was' de\n'tick-'poon, he no wrap um. W'en he see dis girl nar bad girl, he duh\ntry um agin, he say: 'Now yo' take four egg.'\n\n\"So w'en de pickin go to de co'ner, he see dem big, big, big egg, he\ntake um. He get big yi. De debble tell um, say: 'Wen yo' go far leelee\nbit, yo' mus' bus' de one; w'en yo' go far agin, yo' mus' bus' odder\none; w'en yo' go agin, yo' bus' odder; w'en yo' reach to yo' mudder\nheen ho'se, de las' one yo' bus'.'\n\n\"So w'en he go leelee far f'om de debble, he bus' one. Now de honey\n(bees) come out, dey sting um, dey sting um, dey sting um. W'en dey\ntire dey lef um. He go agin, he bus' de one wey make two. Dem snake dey\ncome wrap um all nah (on) he foot, nah he han', nah he neck, nah he\nwais' all; he no know how fo' do agin. W'en dey done hole um long tem,\nnow dey lef um. W'en he go leelee bit mo', he bus' odder one. So so big\nman come out, dey get big whip, dey flog um, dey flog um, dey flog um\ntay dey tire; so dey go. He mammy duh look nah road, he anxious. W'en\nhe pickin come, he see he face all swell. W'en he reach to he mammy\nheen ho'se, he bus' de las' egg. Now fiah get out, burn de ho'se, burn\nhe mammy en hese'f.\"\n\nThis part of the story was quite as effective as that had been where\nthe other child broke the magic eggs, but the interest, though equally\nintense, was of a different nature. Never had story heartier reception,\nor better rendering. Simple young hearts, naturally emotional and\nresponsive, were enchanted by the fairy-tale; and Konah, all a-tremble\nwith excitement, threw all the ardor of her fresh young soul into the\ntelling.\n\nAfter the exclamations had quieted sufficiently, she added\nimpressively, and with serious gravity:\n\n\"Now dis story learn we fo' no do bad to pickin wey no get mammy or\ndaddy.\"\n\nOther children were anxious to share in the story-telling; and a little\ngirl, seizing the first favorable opportunity, repeated an impossible\ntale which she had once heard.\n\n\nTOOTHACHE ENTAILED.\n\n\"Now one boy bin go nah bush fo' cut stick. Well, one ooman bin nah\nwuld wey get long teet'. Dem people wey (who) duh story, dey say de\nteet' come out f'om heah, dey reach to Freetown. Well, me wey (who) no\nduh story, I say dey reach to de end of dis Africa.\n\n\"Well, de boy go meet dese teet' heah, he say: 'Dis nar long 'tick.' He\nbegin fo' cut um. De ooman duh holler. De boy hase (raise) he cutlass\nup, he knock dis 'tick agin--b-o-o-m-katay! De ooman duh holler: 'Me\nteet' oh, dat nar me teet'!'\n\n[Illustration: Toothache.\n\n  [_See p. 276._]\n]\n\n\"De boy no duh hearee; he cut, he cut. De ooman still duh holler: 'Now\nme teet', oh! now me teet'!'\n\n\"De boy duh cut, he no hearee, he jus' duh cut, en de ooman duh cry.\nNow he reach close de ooman, en he hearee wey de ooman duh cry: 'Now me\nteet', oh! now me teet!'\n\n\"Now hese'f talk to de ooman, he say: 'Mammy, make I cut um done, he\ntoo long.'\n\n\"De ooman say: 'But I no go bear, yo' go hurt me too much.'\n\n\"De boy say, 'Well, me no duh hearee agin, I duh cut um, I duh finis'\num.'\n\n\"He cut um tay (till) he reach close de ooman, now; de ooman jus' kin\nreach de boy, he han' kin grip um. Well, de boy say: 'All ret, I duh\nlef now. But he no lef, he jus' duh wait leelee bit tay de ooman done\nforget how he suffer. He go agin, he cut de teet' tay he cut um short\ninside de mout'. Teet' no bin in de wuld. Nar dat ooman bring teet' nah\nwuld, en de boy bin cut um, scatter um, he gie all man teet'. Story\ndone.\"\n\nThe story-teller this time was not gifted, and so the story failed to\nmake much of an impression. In the lull that followed, Konah asked:\n\"Yo' know wey t'ing make Spider him middle leelee so?\"\n\nThey did not know, but were ready to be informed, and Konah was just as\nready to tell them. She had heard the explanation from Sobah, only a\nfew days before; so, with the consciousness of having something new to\nimpart, she related this very plausible occurrence.\n\n\nWHY MR. SPIDER'S WAIST IS SMALL.\n\n\"One tem one king make big dinnah in all him town, en tell all dem beef\nfo' come yeat. Wen Spider hearee all dis, he greedy too much, he wan'\nyeat in all dem town yeah, but he no know nah which town dey go cook\nfus'. So he call all heen pickin, en tell dem 'bout de big dinnah.\nDey all glad fo' hearee. Den he take plenty rope, en go wid all heen\npickin sotay (till) he reach to de middle of de road; de place wey all\ndem cross-road meet, wey go to all dem town. He 'tan' up deh. He tie\nall den rope nah heen middle, en he gie all de end to heen pickin, en\ntell dem fo' go to all dem town fo' watch. He say de place wey dey cook\nfus', de pickin mus' draw de rope, so he kin come yeat. But de people\ndone cook nah all dem town de same tem. So w'en dey begin fo' cook,\ndem pickin begin fo' pull de rope 'tronger de same tem; dey draw all\ntogedder, en so dey draw long tem. Now because all de pickin get 'trenk\nequal, Spider no go _any_ town, he jus' 'tan' up wey de rope meet nah\nde middle. He no get not'ing fo' yeat dis whole day. De pickin duh\ndraw Spider sotay he middle small, en now dat bin make Spider wais'\nleelee tay (till) to-day.\"\n\n[Illustration: Why Mr. Spider's waist is small.\n\n  [_See p. 279._]\n]\n\nJust as the story ended, a shrill voice called from another hut, and\nseveral \"pickins\" scudded away to perform the required service. The\nspell of enchantment was broken by the rude interruption, and could not\nbe conjured back that evening. Not till dreams came, did Konah find\nherself again in fairy-land.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI\n\nWHILE THE BIRDS DID NOT COME\n\n\nA few weeks later, near the close of the rainy season, Konah and her\nmother were at the farm, guarding the ripening rice from the ravages\nof birds and other marauders. Two look-out towers, each about six feet\nhigh, stood on commanding elevations near each end of the field. From\nthe tops of these towers the women kept watch, frightening away the\nbirds with stones, and slings, and metal rattles. It was now early\nafternoon, and the birds were taking a rest until time for their\nevening repast. Konah's longing for companionship led her to abandon\nher tower, and go over to the one occupied by her mother, who must have\nsympathized with the child's feelings, for she did not scold, or drive\nher back to the neglected duty, but allowed her to settle down and\nindulge her propensity for dreaming.\n\nKonah's natural love for the magical, marvellous and romantic, had been\nintensified by the experiences of the preceding weeks and months, until\nit had become a controlling passion, so, thinking this a favorable\nopportunity, she teased her mother for stories, until that good-natured\nsoul was forced to comply.\n\nThe first story was all the more pleasing to the girl because it\nrelated to her prime favorites, Mr. Spider and Cunning Rabbit. In her\nown peculiar crooning tone, Mammy Mamenah told her tale.\n\n\nMR. SPIDER SECURES A POWERFUL WITCH MEDICINE.\n\n\"Well, Spider bin to heen facki (village), he en Cunnie Rabbit. One\nday dey go to Freetown. Spider buy gun en powder. Well, dah tem all\ndem beef dey no know 'bout gun en powder. Dey all bin lib nah town lek\npusson; dey lib inside ho'se, all beef (animals) get heen (their) yown.\nDen ho'se wey dey get, den plenty. Well, w'en Spider come nah evenin'\ntem, he holler loud, he say he get witch med'cin' fo kill dem people\nwey get witch. He say: 'Nobody fo' come out all dis net, because de\nmed'cin' go walk all 'bout dis town', he say: 'I no bizzen, oh, ef he\ngo kill anybody.'[60]\n\n[60] 'It will not be my fault if anybody is killed.'\n\n\"All dem people den 'gree, den say: 'Oh, Daddy, make dat t'ing wey\nyo' talk true, make de witch people finis' nah dis town, because dey\nplenty, oh!'\n\n\"So Spider, w'en net come, he load he gun, he ram um. W'en all de\ntown silence he come out, he bootoo (crouched) nah Deer he do'-mout',\nbecause Deer he stupid pass (beyond) all beef. Spider done ready wid\nhe gun. Well, Deer open de do' fo' come outside, Spider shoot he gun,\n'b-o-o-m!' De noise he loud; Deer fa' down, he done die. Spider he run,\nhe go inside ho'se, he lock de do', he holler, he say:\n\n\"'Hay-ee, hay-ee! Oonah (you) see wey I bin tell yo' 'bout de witch wey\nbin inside dis town? Mr. Deer hese'f get witch.'\n\n\"W'en de beef all hearee de big, big noise, dey t'ink say dis med'cin'\nwey Spider bring duh fet wid witch. Den say: 'How Spider bin know? He\ndeh inside ho'se, he do' lock; dah med'cin' get power fo' true, make he\nkare 'way dem witch all.'\n\n[Illustration: Mr. Spider secures a powerful Witch Medicine.\n\n  [_See p. 282._]\n]\n\n\"Spider go tote (carry) him big, big beef, wey he kill, he kare um go\nnah ho'se, he cook um. De pot--de pusson wey bin lie, he say he big lek\ndis town Rotifunk, but me wey nebber lie, I put leelee salt make he\nsweet, I say he big lek Freetown, Temne country, Mende country. Spider\nhe cook all de beef. He, he wef en he pickin yeat um all de same net.\nDe nex' net Spider come out agin, he go to Mr. Elephan', he go watch\nto de do' wid he gun; he put two-tem as much inside he gun as wey he\nbin put yesterday. Aintee yo' know Elephan' big?\n\n\"So w'en Elephan' jus' peep, he wan' fo' come out, now Mr. Spider he\nlay um, he shoot, gbe-gbe-e-n!! Elephan' fa' down, he done die. Spider\nhe run go inside ho'se, he holler agin, he say de same word lek how he\nbin say 'bout Mr. Deer. He take de beef, he go cook um. Fo' two day,\nto-morrow en nex' to-morrow, nobody no hear any witch, oh! because\nElephan' he big. Now dis bin hangry tem, so make Spider pull dis cunnie\n'bout witch. He go nex' tem to Mr. Lepped, he say:\n\n\"'Dah fat fellay!'(Because he kin yeat plenty animal, he rich, he skin\nfull plenty palm-ile.[61]) 'Dah fellay deh, I go kare um to-morrow.'\n\n[61] \"Palm-ile\" is the general term meaning fat or oil of any kind.\n\n\"He go sit down close Lepped he do'-mout', he cock he gun, he ready.\nW'en Lepped go come out nah net, Spider lay um, he shoot um de same, he\nrun go nah ho'se, he talk de same word lek befo'. So Spider do sot-a-y\n(till) dem beef dey lef few, no mo'. Well, so he bin kill dem beef\nebery net, ebery net. One mawnin' he go to de fa'm. Mr. Cunnie Rabbit\ncome now, he see dat Spider he absen', so he go inside he ho'se, he\nsay: 'Make I go see de med'cin' wey Spider get fo' kill all we people;'\nhe _say_, 'Nar witch pusson he duh kill.' He peep, he see gun, he look\none side, he see bag hang wid powder inside, en all t'ing, he kare um\ngo home to he yown ho'se.\n\n\"W'en Spider come home, he look, he no see anyt'ing, he say: 'Ah,\nm-o-nay! Mese'f done los'.'\n\n\"Evenin' tem Spider lay down, but he no able fo' sleep. He grap (get\nup), he go open de do', he run out. Well, Cunnie Rabbit done ready\nfo' shoot, but too much eagerness, he miss Spider; de gun shoot odder\nway. Spider holler, he say: 'What pusson shoot deh so?' Cunnie Rabbit\nanswer, he say:\n\n\"'Yo' say yo' duh drive 'way witch, en behole yo' bin shoot all we\npeople.'\n\n\"Spider say: 'Ah, shut mout' one tem! Make we be one word, we two be\ncumpin (companions).' So de Cunnie Rabbit he 'gree.\n\n\"W'en dem beef dey see de witch med'cin' wan' fo' kill dem all, dey\nall scatter, go nah bush. So Spider make dem beef no duh lib nah town,\ndey all duh scatter nah bush tay to-day.\"\n\nThis story only whetted Konah's appetite, and so she insisted on\nhearing another one at once.\n\n\"Ah, yo' humbug too much,\" protested Mamenah, but at the same time she\nbegan to search her memory for another story. Finally she said: \"Well,\nI tell yo' 'bout Spider en de ole ooman.\"\n\n\nMR. SPIDER GETS INTO TROUBLE AGAIN.\n\n\"One ole ooman get one sheep. Because dis ooman ole, he no able fo'\nwalker, so he say he go gie de sheep to any pusson wey go tote (carry)\num. So de news go all 'roun de country. People come, dey look de ooman\ngood fashion, but de heart no gie dem fo' take de wuk. So w'en Spider\nhear dat, he go to de place, he ax de ooman fo' de wuk. De ooman he\ntell um all t'ing, en Spider he 'gree fo' take de job. He take de sheep\nf'om de ooman, he kill um, he yeat um, he say he go tote (carry) de\nooman any way wey de ooman wan' fo' go. But Spider he no know say\ndat sometem de ooman he han' long, sometem he short, same way wid he\nfoot. He able fo' make dem any way wey he lek. W'en he han' long good\nfashion, he 'tan' lek one ole palm-tree fo' long; same way wid he foot.\nSo w'en Spider done kill dis sheep, w'en he done yeat um, de ooman tell\num say:\n\n\"'I wan' fo' go nah one odder town, make yo' come tote me.'\n\n[Illustration: Mr. Spider gets into Trouble again.\n\n  [_See p. 287._]\n]\n\n\"W'en Spider hase (raise) de ooman, put um 'pon he back, de ooman make\nall he han' en he foot long, he wrap Spider two, t'ree tem, four tem.\nSpider no know how fo' do agin, en he no able fo' run 'way; de ooman\ndone hole um so he no able fo' lef um. But Spider he cunnie, he nebber\nlef nah (in) trouble. W'en dey done go far nah road, he ax de ooman, he\nsay:\n\n\"'Wey t'ing yo' 'fraid pass (beyond) all t'ing dis wuld?'\n\n\"De ooman say: 'De t'ing I 'fraid pass all, bin dem Manekky,[62] dem\ncut-nose people.'\n\n[62] The Manekky society is a secret organization for murdering the\ninfirm and the incurable.\n\n\"So w'en dey go nah road, w'en he tote de ooman, he hearee den woodcock\nwey duh talk: 'Wah, wah, wah!', so he say:\n\n\"'Look, Mammy, dem Manekky people duh come.'\n\n\"De ooman 'fraid _bad_, he say: 'Kare me go, hide me! Make dem pass\nbefo' we go.'\n\n\"So Spider he lef' de road, he tote de ooman inside de bush, he kare um\nbottom one big 'tick (foot of a tree). Now de ooman come down f'om he\nback. Spider tell de ooman, say:\n\n\"'Make I go look ef dey done pass.'\n\n\"So w'en Spider go, he no go to de ooman agin, he jus' laugh de ooman,\nhe go. He no come agin bottom de 'tick fo' look de ooman.\n\n\"W'en 'bout eight moon done pass, Spider en he fren' wey he wan' make\nhe wef, dey duh walker nah de same road. Spider wan' fo' do trick fo'\nmake dis girl laugh, he say:\n\n\"'Wait me nah road, I go come.'\n\n\"So he go to dis place wey he lef' dis ooman; de ooman done die long\ntem. W'en he wan' bootoo (stoop over) fo' make he take de ooman he dry\nhead (skull), fo' make he go scare he fren', de dry head jus' joomp\none tem, he fashin 'pon he nose. Well, he try fo' pull dis dry head\n'pon top he nose, but he no able. De girl wey lef' nah road, he call\num t-a-y, but Spider shame fo' come wey de girl kin look um. W'en he\ntry, try agin long tem fo' pull de dry head, he no able, so he come out\nnah de road wid de dry head 'pon top he nose. W'en de ooman see um, he\n'fraid bad. F'om dat tem he say he no wan' Spider agin.\n\n\"Spider try fo' pull dis t'ing 'pon top he nose, he no wan' kare um\ngo nah town; he shame, bimeby people go see um, but de dry head too\n'trong, Spider mus' kare um go nah town. He go to de blacksmit', en de\nblacksmit' go take hot iron, he pull de dry head 'pon top he nose.\n\n\"So ef yo' wan' take any wuk f'om pusson, yo' mus' look de pusson\n_good_, en make yo' know de wuk wey yo' wan' do, ef yo' able fo' do um.\nBimeby ef yo' begin do de wuk, yo' lefum, yo' wan' do rascal trick, yo'\nget trouble lek Spider.\"\n\nAs Mamenah finished the story, a flock of over zealous birds swooped\ndown upon the rice-field, intent upon securing an early evening meal,\nbut the woman, keeping a vigilant eye in that direction, started up\nwith the cry:\n\n\"Eh! lookee, see dem bird. Come make we dribe um.\"\n\nMuch shouting, shaking of rattles and hurling of stones soon frightened\naway the birds. Mamenah grumbled on for some time about the troublesome\npillagers, but Konah fell to dreaming about Mr. Spider and the\ndifficulty resulting from the cruel trick he played on the old woman.\nThere was something uncanny and suggestive of spirits in the way the\nskull had behaved. Suddenly, and as if the light of a new truth had\ndawned upon her, the child asked:\n\n\"Mammy, yo' t'ink say nar true word dey bin talk w'en dey say die\npusson kin walker nah wuld?\"\n\nMamenah looked thoughtfully into the little girl's face before making\nany reply. Finally she said:\n\n\"Die man kin walker, kin dance, kin do all t'ing lek pusson. Some tem\nhe kin come, kin go, kin make noise, but no man no able fo' see um.\"\n\nKonah was deeply interested in a being that could make itself visible\nor invisible at pleasure, and accordingly pushed her questions further.\n\nMamenah, like a wise teacher, chose to answer all by relating a story\nin point.\n\n\nA GHOST STORY.\n\n\"One tem one country bin deh. Dem people wey get dis country, dey lek\nfo' dance Wongko (Purro devil dance). Well, odder people f'om odder\ncountry kin come dance wid um. Well, dem people wey come out f'om de\nodder country fo' dance, dey all get fren' (sweethearts), so w'en dey\nwan' fo' go back to den place, den fren' kin follow um leelee way, go\nlef den nah road. So dey bin do all de tem. But one ooman bin deh, he\nlek he fren' too much.\n\n\"One day w'en den 'tranger come dance nah de town, w'en dey go back,\nall man (every one) go lef he fren' nah road. W'en dey duh go, one dog\ngo wid dem nah road. Dey done go leelee far, den some of dem young man,\ndem tell den fren' 'Goodbye', dem say:\n\n\"'We go meet nex' moon.'\n\n\"Some of dem ooman go back, but some tell den fren', say:\n\n\"'Any way wey yo' go nah wuld, we all go _go_; ef now yo' die, we all\ngo die.'\n\n\"Well, w'en dey go far agin, dey reach to one big, big valley. Now all\nden man dey tell den fren' wey bin say dey go die wid um, dey say:\n\n\"'Oonah go back. W'en de nex' moon kin white, we go come agin.'\n\n\"So dey all go back. But one no go, he say he mus' follow sotay he\nreach dah place wey he fren' bin lib. De dog deh wid de ooman. Dah man\ntell de ooman, he say: 'Go back!'\n\n\"De ooman say: 'No!'\n\n\"De man say: 'I lek yo' too much, lef nah town. W'en I come back I go\ncome to yo', but no follow me to dah place wey we duh go.'\n\n\"Dah ooman say: 'I go _go_!'\n\n\"Well, dis ooman no know say dis man nar (is) die pusson, oh! W'en dey\nkin get dance nah town, den die pusson all, dey kin come out den grabe\n(grave), dey come dance wid dem people, but dem people nebber know\nquick fo' say dey bin die pusson. But w'en dey know, dey tell all de\nooman, dey say:\n\n\"'W'en pusson come out far country, come dance, oonah no mus' go wid\num; sometem bimeby dey die pusson, yo' no know.'\n\n\"Dis girl too, dey bin tell um, say: 'Die pusson kin come out de grabe\nfo' dance, so no get fren' wey come out far 'way.'\n\n\"But de ooman he get 'tronger yase,[63] en he get dis heah die pusson\nfo' fren'.\n\n[63] \"'Tronger yase\" _i.e._, strong ears, obstinacy.\n\n\"W'en dey done go sotay (far) den odder die pusson done los', den gone\nto de grabe, but de one man lef'. He en dis girl den go to heen town,\nbut de ooman no know say dis die man town. W'en dey go, dey reach nah\nnet, but den jus' meet one ho'se nah de place. Well, de girl see de\nplace white, no mo', because soso (merely) die pusson wey get white\nclo'es bin deh. Well, de man done los' f'om he han', en dis ooman he\ndey inside de one ho'se. Den die pusson jus' come curse um, suck teet'\n'pon um, no mo', but de ooman done 'fraid, he no get nobody. He see\nwhite clo'es, no mo'; den come suck teet', den los' agin; he hearee\num, he no see pusson. But oonah no know dog get witch yi? He duh see\nden die people heah, he begin fo' holler 'pon dem fo' make dem go back.\nWell, dis dog yeah he turn pusson, he ax de ooman, he say:\n\n\"'Ef I pull yo' f'om dis trouble yeah, ef yo' go home, yo' cook fo' yo'\nfren', en I go tief all de ress en de fis'--ef yo' call me _dog_ yo' go\ndie.'\n\n\"He no wan' de girl call um dog, because he done turn pusson.\n\n\"De girl 'gree, he say: 'Come go, kare me back.'\n\n\"De dog done turn dog agin, so he able fo' holler 'pon dem die pusson.\nHe 'tan' up befo', w'en dem die pusson come, he holler 'pon dem, en dem\ngo back. Well, w'en dis girl en dis dog go far nah road, dey no know de\ncountry, den meet one big, big wattah, den no know how fo' cross um, en\nde dog say: 'Come, lay down 'pon me back.'\n\n\"So de girl lay down, en de dog cross um over dah big, big wattah.\nW'en dey done cross de ooman tell de dog 'Tankee, tankee.' Long tem he\ntankee um.\n\n\"Well, den de dog say: 'I 'gree fo' de tankee, but yo' no mus' call me\nname dog, oh! w'en yo' go to de town, oh! but yo' fo' gie me odder\nfine name lek pusson.'\n\n\"He no wan' turn pusson w'en he reach de town, because de people go ax\nde girl: 'Which side de dog done go, wey bin follow yo'?'\n\n\"Well, dah dog kare de ooman sotay (till) dey done reach nah home. De\nooman tell he people all dah trouble wey he see, he say:\n\n\"'Dah t'ing wey follow we two, so, he sabe (save) me;' but he no call\nhe name dog. Well, dis girl people kin do dis dog good. No matter fo'\nde people ef dey call um dog, but only de girl no mus' call um dog.\nWell one day dah ooman cook fine sweet ress fo' he fren', not fo' de\ndie pusson, but odder fren' in de town. W'en he done cook um, w'en he\ngo call he fren' fo' come yeat dah ress, w'en he come back he meet dah\nt'ing done yeat um. He no talk anyt'ing, he go cook odder ress, he gie\nhe fren'. Well, dah dog duh yeat de ress wey de girl cook, all de tem.\nOne day he done vex 'pon de dog. He cook one fine ress wid fat beef fo'\nhe good fren' nah de town. Well, w'en he go call he fren', he meet dah\ndog done yeat dah sweet, sweet ress, en he lay down close de bowl wey\nhe done yeat. Dah ooman vex, he say:\n\n\"'Dah dog tief me ress all de tem, look how he come tief me ress wey I\ncook fo' me fren'.'\n\n\"Wen de girl call um dog, de dog look um, en de girl fa' down, he die.\nStory done.\"\n\nAfter a brief silence, Mamenah said: \"Make yo' go back, now, dem bird\ngo come agin.\"\n\nWithout a further word, the two watchers turned again to their duties,\nthe woman thinking of rice-pots and fish, and the child of white\nshadowy forms that come and go through an invisible village.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII\n\nA HARVEST HOME IN TEMNE-LAND\n\n\nThe rice is now ripe for the harvest. Sobah has engaged the services\nof a half dozen sturdy men to aid in gathering the crop. Neighbors and\nfriends, many of them women, have assembled to take part in celebrating\nthe occasion, for rice harvest is a time of much ceremony and rejoicing.\n\nThe work is about to begin. The men are lined up at the end of the\nfield, each with a sharp knife in his hand. Behind them stand two\nlarge boys with drums, and along the side of the field are gathered\nthe neighbors, ready to do their part. The drums begin to beat, and\nthe knives of the men to fly rapidly, cutting off the heads of the\nrice, while a peculiar swinging of the body keeps time to the music.\nAcross the field the procession moves, the drums following close after\nthe harvesters, and keeping up a continual beating, often rapid and\nwork-inspiring. The men are dressed in special harvest garb for the\noccasion. On their heads are bright colored caps trimmed up in gorgeous\nstyle, while one is of coarse black hair in tiniest braids deftly\njoined. Around the loins a small piece of cloth is wound. Fastened to\narms, legs, and bodies are strings, from which dangle ornaments that\nquiver in the air, as the bodies sway in time to the music. The men\ncontinually keep up a harvest song, while the women join in, clapping\ntheir hands in unison with the movement.\n\nThus the harvest is gathered to the sound of music and the song of\nrejoicing.\n\nAbout five o'clock the work of the day is ended. The men retire to the\nfarm-house to a bountiful feast of boiled rice and fowl-stew prepared\nby Mamenah, with the aid of other women. After their appetites were\nfully satisfied, the men gathered in a group at the foot of a great\ntree, to await the rising of the moon before returning to the village.\nAll were in the best of spirits, and there was much good-natured\nchaffing and jesting. Sobah, who was well pleased with the day's\nresults, knowing the fondness of the men for the stories he could tell\nso delightfully, said finally:\n\n\"Yo' do well, to-day; I go tell yo' story, now.\"\n\nIt was a generous offer, and the men were not slow in accepting it.\n\n\nWATCH-POT AND GREEDY.\n\nIt was his desire to please the men, that led Sobah to choose this\nparticular story. They could appreciate to the full every new move\nin the contest of wits, and expressed this appreciation by peals of\nlaughter and boisterous exclamations. Sobah himself preserved a show of\ndecorum, only giving way now and then to a pleased chuckle over some\nparticularly clever trick. The story, minus the tone, facial expression\nand gestures was as follows:\n\n\"Well, one man bin east, one bin wes'. De one wey bin east he greedy,\nde one wey bin wes' he duh Watch-pot.[64] Now de greedy one he hear\n'bout de one wey duh Watch-pot, en he say: 'No matter how dis man kin\nWatch-pot, he no go yeat me yown yeat.' Now Watch-pot he hear 'bout\nhow dis man greedy, no 'tranger ever yeat to um, nobody ever yeat heen\nyeat. Now he say: 'I mus' yeat he ress.' So one day he say he go go to\nde east to de greedy man. Well, w'en he wan' go he buy clo'es,[65] all\nkind of clo'es; he get box, he put de clo'es in de box. He take all\nt'ing wey de carpenter need, en sawyer all; nail, tool, en all t'ing.\nDen he get up, he start off, he go. He go far to de east wey de greedy\nman bin nah heen fa'm-ho'se. De day w'en he go reach, de greedy man\ndone hear say he come, he no far 'way 'pon de road. De same day now,\ndis greedy man heah, he kill big bush-hog, he' jus' shabe (divide) de\nmeat middle part, he wef cook plenty, nearly all, he cook half wid de\nress. Well, jus' he cook so, dey see dis Watch-pot man he tell 'How\ndo', he say, 'Brudder, how do?'\n\n[64] Watch-pot is the usual expression for a protracted call, the chief\naim of which is to remain until the next meal is prepared and served.\nSuch a stay has an air of deliberation about it, something like taking\none's knitting and remaining for tea.\n\n[65] The \"clo'es\" were pieces of cloth for the customary present, which\nthe stranger offers as indirect payment for the hospitality he expects\nto receive.\n\n[Illustration: Watch-Pot and Greedy.\n\n  [_See p. 300._]\n]\n\n\"Dis heah man he say: 'How do, sit down, now.'\n\n\"So de 'tranger sit down, he open he box, he pull one piece clo'es, he\ntell dis man heah, 'How do', wid de clo'es. He ax, he say: 'Wey yo'\nname?'\n\n\"He answer um, say: 'Me name Greedy; wey yo' yown name?'\n\n\"Dat one answer: 'Me name Watch-pot, I come tell yo' How do.' Because I\nbin heah 'bout yo', I come tell yo' How do.'\n\n\"De greedy man say: 'All ret, go nah town now, I go meet yo' deh\nbimeby.'\n\n\"De Watch-pot say: 'How I go do? I no know anybody nah de town 'cept\nyo'. Make I wait evenin' tem, make we two go togedder.'\n\n\"Dey sit down _all day_. De ress sit down close de fire side.\n\n\"De man he call he wef, he tell um, he say: 'Dis man heah no go yeat\ndis ress.'\n\n\"Den leelee pickin dey duh cry, hangry ketch dem. Dey all sit down dey\ntay (till) young evenin' tem. Well, de man he call he wef nah (from)\nde room; dem pickin dey cry, he no know how fo' do agin. So he tell he\nwef, he say: 'I go lay down, I say I sick. W'en he stay leelee bit, I\ndo lek I die. Den make yo' go tell de people in de town say I done die.\nBimeby so, jus' de man go', I go grap, (get up) we go yeat de ress.'\n\n\"Well, de man he lay down, he say he sick. Leelee bit, no mo', now de\ndaddy he die, but not to _true_ die.\n\n\"Well, now de ooman he go tell de man, he say:\n\n\"'Daddy, how we go do now? Yo' jus' come tell yo' brudder how do\nto-day, en look; he done die. Go now, tell de people wey in de town say\nhe done die.'\n\n\"De man say: 'Ee, ee! Yo' wey bin ooman, aintee yo' nar ooman, aintee\nyo' fo' come out wid holler?[66] Go nah de town, tell dem people all.\nMe, wey man, make me lef close me brudder; lef me fo' mine um tay yo'\ncome.'\n\n[66] As soon as a death is reported, the people gather around the\ncorpse, and, prone upon the ground, indulge in the wildest lamentations\nand cries. This duty is especially incumbent upon the women, and their\nwailing and grovelling, accompanied by writhings and contortions of the\nbody, must be something like the death-wail of the lost.\n\n\"Den de ooman say: 'Well, who go was' um?'\n\n\"De man say: 'I go was' um, he now me brudder, I no 'fraid um.'\n\n\"Den de man go was' um all. De ooman say: 'Go nah town, make yo' buy\nwhite clo'es.'\n\n\"De man say: 'Wait me.' He open he box, he pull de white clo'es.\n\n\"De ooman he say: \"W'en me man die, he say make me make[67] coffin fo'\num. Make yo' go buy boa'd.'\n\n[67] Coffins are unknown to native life. The dead are wrapped in white\ncloth and grass woven mamats and laid in shallow graves.\n\n\"De man say: 'Make yo' get up f'om dah 'tick wey yo' sit down 'pon.'\nHe put one bench heah, he put one yandah, he take de 'tick, he put um\n'pon top, he open he box, he take he saw, he saw all de 'tick, he make\nboa'd. Den he nail de coffin all.\n\n\"De ooman duh watch, he duh t'ink: 'Wey t'ing I go do now fo' sabe\n(save) me man?' He say: 'Me man say, w'en he die, make dem make windah\nto he head, fo' pull he neck, come out.'\n\n\"De man make all.\n\n\"De ooman say: 'Well, make we wait nah mawnin' now, befo' we bury de\nman.'\n\n\"Dis tem dark done come, en still de ress 'tan' up close de fire side.\nDe ooman say: 'Well, how we go do fo' wood fo' make fiah?'\n\n\"De man say: 'Dem piece, piece boa'd, heah.'\n\n\"He come out do'-mout', he pick, pick all dem 'tick, he make big fiah\nall net, make big fiah tay do' clean. W'en do' clean, de wef say:\n\n\"'Make yo' dig hole, make we go bury me man nah bush _yandah_.'\n\n\"He jus' wan' make de 'tranger go, fo' make dem lef yeat de ress.\n\n\"Den de man say: 'Ee! Me brudder wey get dis fa'm, yo' wan' go bury\num inside de bush deh?' He say: 'Now inside dis fa'm-ho'se I go bury\num.[68] W'en I done, I go fix de flo' so pusson no know se'f, eh!'\n\n[68] The place of burial for a baby, especially if it be the first,\nis usually a refuse heap, the belief being that if the child is too\ndeeply mourned and honored, the parents will have no more offspring.\nA second child is buried nearer the house; while the most honorable\ninterment given an older person, is within the house. The \"bush\" and\nthe road-side, receive the majority of the dead.\n\n\"Well, de ooman say: 'Make yo' come out en go behine de ho'se, I wan'\nfo' tell me man goodbye.'\n\n\"W'en he done go, de wef tell de man, he say: 'Dis yeah 'tranger go\nbury yo' heah fo' yo' yown yeat. Make yo' get up, make we yeat de ress.'\n\n\"De man say: 'Lef fo' talk; me ress he no go yeat um. Make yo' hide de\nhoe, make he go nah town fo' fine hoe fo' come dig me grabe.'\n\n\"De ooman say: 'All ret.'\n\n\"Now de man come inside back. De ooman go hide de hoe, but de man no\nsee w'en he hide um. De ooman say: 'We no get hoe, how we go manage?\nMake yo' go nah town fo' get hoe, fo' come dig de grabe.'\n\n\"De man he say: 'Wait me.' He open he box, he pull dem digger wid\nshovel; he _dig_, he _dig_, he _dig_; de hole he deep. He go inside\nhole, de hole cover um all. De man he cunnie lek rabbit. He go inside,\nhe come out quick. W'en he come out he put de coffin, he say: 'Make yo'\ntell um goodbye; ef yo' done, I go put um inside de coffin.'\n\n\"De ooman say: 'Go back behine de ho'se, I wan' fo' talk to um.'\n\n\"Well, de man he come out, but he no go far 'way, jus' 'roun' de ho'se.\nDe ooman say: 'Get up, dis man go bury yo', get up!'\n\n\"De ress duh 'tan' up, de pickin duh cry, but not fo' den daddy; dey\nduh cry fo' de ress, because de hangry duh ketch dem. W'en de ooman\ntell he man make he get up, ef not, de 'tranger go bury um, he say:\n'Lef me, make he bury me, but he no yeat me ress.'\n\n\"De Watch-pot man come inside, he take de Greedy man, he put um inside\ncoffin, but he neck lef', because window bin lef' wey de head come out.\nW'en he put de coffin inside de hole 'traight-way, de ooman say: 'No\nput um 'traight, make he 'tan' up.'\n\n\"Now de man take de coffin, he turn um over fo' make de head down. De\nooman say: 'No, put um make de head up.'\n\n\"So de man put de head up. W'en he done put de coffin, he begin fo'\ncover um wid de dirty (earth); he cover all 'roun', de neck lef', no\nmo'; he cover all 'roun' to de coffin. Now de ooman tell de man, he\nsay: 'Come out, make me tell me man goodbye fo' de las' tem now.'\n\n\"Watch-pot come out, de ooman tell he man, say: 'Come out, dis man go\nbury yo', eh!'\n\n\"He answer he wef, say: 'Lef me, make he bury me, he no go yeat me\nress.'\n\n\"Well, now de man come fo' cover de half part wey lef', no mo'; he know\nsay ef he jus' cover um, de man go come out de grave w'en he done go.\nDe las' shovel lef' now. Well he dip de dirty hard fo' make he cut de\nman inside de hole, fo' make he kill um. De die man open he yi leelee\nw'en he see wey t'ing he cumpin wan' fo' do. He say yo' betty pull me;\nbut me ress, yo' no go yeat um, ef nar fo' dat yo' do dis t'ing.'\n\n\"So de man pull um. De greedy man heen wef say: 'Take up de ress, make\nwe yeat um all. Den he tell de Watch-pot man, say: 'Go gie me dat\ncalabas' wey 'tan' up yandah.'\n\n\"De place far leelee bit, en befo' de man come back wid de calabas'\nso, Greedy tell he wef fo' take de ress, hese'f take de soup, en dey\nrun inside de bush. Behole w'en dey run, dey fo'get de calabas' en de\n'tick-'poon fo' dish up de ress. Den Watch-pot take de 'tick-'poon en\nde calabas', he run aftah dem; he go, he meet dem, he see dey go behine\none big 'tick. Jus' dey done sit down deh, now de ooman say: 'Look, we\nno get calabas' en 'poon fo' take up, eh!'\n\n\"Jus' now de Watch-pot come, he say: 'Aintee dis de 'tick en de\ncalabas' wey yo' fo'get? I done bring um.'\n\n\"De ooman say: 'Fetch um.' De man say: 'Make yo' come yeat.' He no know\nhow fo' do agin, but he vex when he talk so.\n\n\"De Watch-pot man come, dey yeat all de ress. W'en dey finis' fo' yeat,\nde Watch-pot man say: 'Tankee, tankee de pusson wey cook de ress.'\n\n\"De man done vex, he say: 'Me no cook um.'\n\n\"Den de man say: 'Well, tankee de pusson wey soak de ress.'\n\n\"De Greedy man say: 'Me no soak um.'\n\n\"De Watch-pot man say: 'Well, tankee de man wey brush de fa'm, plant\num.'\n\n\"De Greedy man answer um: 'Yo' no get bizzen deh, I no plant um.'\n\n\"Watch-pot say: 'Well, how yo' bin do?'\n\n\"He answer um: 'I no know, no ax me not'ing.'\n\n\"Den de Watch-pot man say: 'Well, goodbye.'\n\n\"Greedy answer um, say: 'Ef yo' lek, yo' no go; ef yo' lek yo' go', I\nno get bizzen deh.'\n\n\"So Watch-pot take all he t'ing, he go _pong_!\n\n\"Now dem two pusson deh, which one pass fo' cunnie?\"\n\nThe delight of the men over the narrative of Watch-pot and Greedy was\nso genuine and keen, that Sobah quite readily consented to tell another\nstory. While trying to think of something appropriate, his eye fell\nupon an axe that was leaning against a post of the farm-house. The axe\nitself was a novelty in that part of the country, a result of one of\nSobah's trips to the coast.\n\n\"Yo' see dah axe yandah?\" he asked, pointing to the article in\nquestion. \"Yo' no know which side he come out? Well, I tell yo' 'bout\num.\"\n\n[Illustration: The Origin of the Axe.\n\n  [_See p. 313._]\n]\n\n\nTHE ORIGIN OF THE AXE.\n\n\"Now one boy en one girl bin deh. De boy kin stone plenty bird, he\nkill one. De girl go take de bird wey de boy get, he yeat um. Den de\nboy cry fo' de bird, en de girl take one corn, he gi\u0113 um. De boy go\nput de corn nah groun, en de bug-a-bug (ants) yeat um. Den he cry 'pon\nde bug-a-bug, de bug-a-bug make one country-pot, gie um. He take de\ncountry-pot, he go get wattah, en de wattah take de country-pot 'way\nf'om he han'. So he cry 'pon de wattah, en de wattah gie um fis'. He go\nput de fis' 'pon de sho', en de 'awk kare um go. He call de 'awk name,\nen de 'awk take one he wing, he gie um. W'en he put de wing 'pon 'tick,\nde breeze come take um, en he cry 'pon de breeze, he sing:\n\n\"'Dah breeze take me wing, eh!'\"\n\nWith the first line of the song, the story-teller's voice fell into a\nchanting movement, and he began beating time with hand and foot. The\nmovement was contagious, and soon every hand was clapping noisily.\n\n    \"'Dah breeze take me wing, eh!\n    De wing wey de 'awk done gie me;\n    'Awk done yeat me fis', eh!\n    Dah fis' wey wattah gie me;\n    Wattah take me pot, eh!\n    Dah pot wey de bug-a-bug gie me;\n    Bug-a-bug yeat me corn, eh!\n    De corn wey dah girl bin gie me;\n    Girl yeat me bird, eh!\n    Wey _mese'f_ bin ketch um.'\n\n\"Now de breeze go pick plenty fruit fo' de boy, en de babboo (baboon)\ntake de fruit, yeat um. He cry 'pon de babboo, en de babboo take axe,\nhe gie um. De boy kare de axe go nah town; de chief take um f'om he\nhan'. W'en de chief take um f'om he han', he cry 'pon de chief, he say:\n\n\"'Me poor boy, I suffer! I ketch one bird, girl yeat um. W'en I tell\num, he gie me one corn. I take um, put um down en bug-a-bug yeat um.\nI cry 'pon dah bug-a-bug, bug-a-bug gie me one country-pot. I go get\nwattah wid um, wattah take um f'om me han'. I cry 'pon de wattah,\nwattah gie me one fis'. I take de fis', I put um 'pon de sho', 'awk\ntake um 'way. I cry 'pon de 'awk, 'awk gie me one wing. I take de\nwing, I put um down, breeze take um. I cry 'pon de breeze, breeze pick\nplenty fruit fo' me. Babboo take um f'om me han'. I cry 'pon babboo,\nbabboo gie me axe. W'en I fetch um nah town, _yo'_ wey bin gentry, yo'\ntake um f'om me han'. Well, wey t'ing I go do now?'\n\n\"Well, de chief answer um back, he say:\n\n\"'Dis kind of t'ing no bin to dis town, so I go take um. I gie yo' lot\nof me money, fo' make I go take dis axe.'\n\n\"He answer de chief back, he say:\n\n\"'Well, befo' yo' take um, not to leelee bit money yo' gie me, yo' gie\nme _plenty_, because I bin suffer fo' de axe; I cry 'pon all dem t'ing\nbefo' dey gie me de axe.'\n\n\"Well, de chief answer um back, he say: 'I gie yo' money en make yo'\nsit down to dis town so yo' no suffer. I gie yo' plenty slave.'\n\n\"He answer de chief, he say: 'All ret.'\n\n\"De chief take plenty money, he gie um wid slave. Well, de boy take de\naxe, he gie um to de chief, en de chief tankee um. De chief take de\naxe, he make de blacksmit' look de axe. Dey follow how de ax bin make,\nen dey make one, but he no so good lek de fus' one. Befo' dis tem\nheah, axe no bin to dis wuld.\n\n\"De chief say: 'Make de boy mus' go cry agin, make de babboo show um\nhow fo' do wid de axe, ef he fo' make hole in um, hang um nah he neck.'\n\n\"Den de boy say: 'Chief, ef yo' no wan' de axe, gie me back, make I no\ngo die agin. Ef I go back I go die, because dah place _bad_ wey I bin\nsuffer.'\n\n\"De chief take de axe, he say: 'All ret.' He say: 'Make yo' no go\nagin.' He get one Kongah man (magician) to he town. De Kongah man show\num how fo' do wid de axe fo' 'plit wood. Well, w'en he done show um so,\nhe say: 'All ret.'\n\n\"So all man make axe tay dey sabbee (know) fo' make um. Now dey scatter\num all over dis wuld.\"\n\nThe men found but little occasion in this story for their usual\noutbursts of laughter, but they were none the less charmed with the\nstrange chain of events by which the axe was brought into existence.\n\"Story done,\" Sobah remarked, as the narrative ended, and with that he\narose, and picking up his much prized axe, set out for the village.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII\n\nKONAH HAS A WONDERFUL DAY\n\n\nOne forenoon, two weeks after the rice harvest, the little village\nwas thrown into a state of intense excitement by the news which a\nmessenger had just brought. \"White ooman duh come,\" was the word that\npassed from mouth to mouth. Scarcely a half dozen of the inhabitants\nof the village had seen a white woman, and not more than a third of\nthem had seen a white man, therefore with the approach of two white\nwomen and three white men, and their carriers and attendants, curiosity\nand fear wrought the people up to the highest pitch of expectancy. A\nmiscellaneous company of men, women and children, Konah foremost among\nthem, gathered at the edge of the village to stare at the strangers\nas they entered. The procession that was approaching was rather\nimposing. The five white people in hammocks, each hammock supported\non the heads of four carriers, and a score of other attendants made\nup the train. Just as they came opposite the group of natives, one of\nthe missionaries, with the kindest of intentions, looked benevolently\naround at the people, with results quite contrary to his expectations.\nOne old man uttered a cry of terror, ran into a hut and hid himself,\nand could not be coaxed out while the strangers were in town. Even\nKonah shrank back, and felt inclined to run. The interpreter soon\ndiscovered that the glasses worn by the missionary had occasioned all\nthis alarm. Superstitious imagination transformed these simple pieces\nof glass into a dangerous witch medicine, that would enable the wearer\nto blast with dreadful curses the lives of all upon whom he might look,\nso the harmless glasses had to be laid aside.\n\nThe procession moved on to the barreh, where the white people were\nleft while a messenger went to inform the chief. That personage soon\nappeared in his native dignity, and on being introduced, touched\nfingertips with each of the white people, who said \"How do\" to him\nwith pieces of cloth. He welcomed them with the big-hearted hospitality\ncharacteristic of his tribe, and called them his \"strangers\" (guests).\nHuts were vacated in order to furnish lodgings; and short, quick\norders, called out to right and left, sent the people scurrying away to\nprocure rice and fowls for the use of the visitors. Meanwhile a crowd\nof natives was banked around the barreh, looking on with undisguised\nwonder. Konah was mounted on the mud wall, taking in every detail with\nall absorbing interest. A missionary told the chief that if he would\ncall a meeting of his people, they would talk to them the \"God-word.\"\nThe summons was given, and now Konah had another ravishing experience.\nThe carriers had brought out a little organ which the party carried\nfor the purpose of attracting the people. One of the white women sat\ndown before it, ran her fingers over the keys, and lo, the strangest\nmusic Konah's ears had ever heard. Then the white people and their\nfollowers sang a tender hymn. Konah was so entranced that she forgot\nherself and her surroundings. She came behind the organist, moved her\nhands in the air in imitation of the player's movements, and opened\nher mouth in an unconscious effort to join in the singing. At the\nclose of the services, the interpreter announced that in the evening\nthe white man would again talk the \"God-word\", and would show \"plenty\npicture.\" The curious crowd then followed to the barreh, and watched\nthe preparations for dinner. The meal itself brought the greatest\nrevelations yet witnessed. Wonder of wonders, the white men and women\nate at the same time, nay, even the men seemed to serve the women, and\nto be considerate of their desires. Then these strange people used\nplates, knives, forks and spoons, the necessity for which Konah could\nnot comprehend. Are white men's hands so dirty that they do not eat\nwith them? Is one hand used to cut with, the other to shovel with? were\nqueries that passed through her mind.\n\nThought of such things was soon dissipated by a matter of more\nimmediate interest. A lump of sugar was handed to a woman who was\nstanding at the end of a row of natives. She took the lump, drew her\ntongue across it in one long delicious lick, and passed it on to her\nneighbor. Here the performance was repeated, and the sugar passed\non down the line, becoming visibly smaller at every exchange. It\ndisappeared entirely just before it reached the end of the line, and\nthe last man was compelled to content himself with licking the fingers\nthat had last held the sweetness.\n\nAfter the dinner was over, some of the people, thinking that the\ninteresting part of the show was ended, went away, but Konah and many\nothers had no thought of going. Emboldened by the gentle voice and\nkindly smile of the white women, Konah drew near, touched the soft\nhands, and examined the dress, but most she wondered at the wealth\nof wavy hair in such contrast with the short kinky covering of her\nown curly pate. The missionary, seeing that not only the child, but\nmany of the women as well were deeply interested, graciously undid\nher hair, and as it tumbled down, a wavy flood, reaching far below\nher waist, amazed ejaculations burst from the beholders, and excited\ngesticulations gave expression to feelings for which they could not\nfind words. When the first ecstasy of wonder was over, Konah put out\nher hand timidly, and drew the soft hair through her fingers. But the\nmissionary, who had learned to look through the eyes down into the\nsoul, had marked Konah as one of those peculiarly bright and promising\nbeings sometimes found in darkest surroundings.\n\nCalling the interpreter, she learned all she could about the child,\ntold her about the mission school, and asked her to come there and\nbe taught all the wonders the white people know. Konah was deeply\ninterested, and more than anxious to go, but of course the question was\nnot hers to decide. Sobah and Mamenah were not so easily persuaded,\nthough they were so far impressed by the first interview as to consent\nto further palaver on the same subject after the evening service.\n\nThe time of the evening meeting found a crowd of two or three hundred\npeople assembled; the organ was again played, a prayer of tender\nsympathy was offered, and then the magic lantern was brought into use.\nThis created another sensation, and held the audience as under a spell,\nas picture after picture was thrown upon the canvas, representing the\nlife and the crucifixion of the Saviour of men. At the same time, that\nsimple yet extraordinary life-story was told, with all its display\nof love and self-sacrifice for the good of others. It was a doctrine\nabsolutely new and incomprehensible to the natives, who knew only the\nlaw of self-interest, yet some glimmerings of this new and gentler\nlight began to break in upon their minds, and to send touches of warmth\ninto their hearts.\n\nIt was evident that Sobah had been impressed with the events of the day\nand evening, so after the meeting adjourned, the missionaries went to\nthe appointed conference with renewed hope. The palaver was long and\nearnest. Sobah craved the opportunity to investigate new things, and\nthe offer of employment in connection with the mission boats was very\nattractive, yet it is no easy matter to break with the environments and\nhabits of a lifetime. Besides, procrastination is part of the life of\nthe black man, and so the final decision was postponed until morning.\nAfter the missionaries went away to their lodgings, some of their\nnative helpers remained, at Konah's urgent request, to talk further\nof life at the mission school. Countless were the questions asked and\nanswered.\n\n\"Oh,\" said the girl, who was giving the information, \"dey talk de\nGod-word, dey show plenty picture, dey make we sabbee book, learn we\nfo' sew clo'es, en--\" as an inspiration came to her, \"dey pull story.\"\n\nThis was a delightful prospect indeed, and Konah, much elated, wanted\nto know what kind of stories such people told. This is the sample that\nwas given her.\n\n\nTHE NEW VERSION OF EVE AND THE APPLE.\n\n\"Fus' tem people no bin deh nah de wuld. God say make we pull (create)\none man lek we. So he pull one man en one ooman. So nar heah God's\npeople wey he pull. He pull de garden fo' um too. He pull every t'ing\nfo' den yeat, but one tree he say make yo' no yeat. Satan sen' snake\nfo' tempt um. De snake walker up lek pusson. He say: 'God story 'pon\nyo'; yo' no go die; make yo' yeat de fruit.' Den de ooman go pick\nde plum en yeat um. Den de ooman go tell de man, he say: 'De fruit\nsweet, make yo' come yeat um.' Den de man come pick de plum en yeat\num. Ebenin' tem God bring de light en go look fo' dem, en dey go hide\nunder one tree. God call, dey no answer, but God fine um en say: 'Dat\nfruit I say make yo' no yeat, yo' bin yeat um?'\n\n\"Dey say: 'Yes, one man come en say make we yeat um.'\n\n\"Den God punish de people. He say ef dis ooman born pickin, de snake\ngo bite pickin foot. Den God punish de snake. He say w'en de ooman go\nwalker, he no see de snake, he step 'pon heen head en mas' um flat. Nar\ndat to Mary, Christ's mudder.\"\n\nThe story seemed to Konah much like the ones she loved so well, except\nthat it introduced characters of which she had not heard until that\nvery day. There were questions she was burning to ask regarding the God\nwho had been mentioned so often that day. The visitors undertook to\nenlighten her. They represented Him as a being who is always kind, and\ngentle, and helpful, a willing burden bearer for others.\n\n\"God he get big cottah (head-pad) so he kin kare all trouble fo' we,\"\nwas the striking way in which the last truth was expressed. The large\ncottah, or head-pad, told Konah plainly that this being was accustomed\nto carry excessive burdens, but that those should be carried \"fo'\nwe,\" she could only partly understand. Going on with his personal\nexperience, the speaker said: \"De goodness of de Lawd toward me, my\nmout' too narrow fo' talk. I no know how fo' 'press dis tankee of God;\nhe done die fo' we, he get up in t'ree day, he go do good fo' we, he\nno fo'get we. Ef I holler it no sufficien'. Ef it outside matter, my\ntongue kin ring lek bell, inside it kin tangle en humbug.\"\n\nA little later the visitors withdrew, and Konah, carried by her\neagerness to the very height of presumption, ventured even to make a\ndirect and final appeal to her father, \"Oh, Daddy, make we go.\"\n\nThe father had not yet settled the question, so he commanded curtly:\n\"Shut mout'.\"\n\nMorning came, and with it Sobah's decision to remove to the mission\ntown. Konah was in ecstasy. The people of the village gathered to see\nthe visitors off. As a special mark of friendship Sobah got under\none corner of a hammock, and toted it for some distance. Konah was\ndrawn irresistibly to the side of the woman who had put a new warmth\ninto her heart, and a new hope into her life. Lacking the ability to\ncommunicate in words, the woman put out her hand. The girl seized it\neagerly, and trotted along contentedly by the side of the hammock.\nEncouraged by Konah's example, other little girls came up and took hold\nof the hand. Then the other hand was put out, and soon there were as\nmany little girls attached as there were fingers on the hands. They\ntrotted along, laughing and uttering frantic little ejaculations of\njoy. Whenever a tree crowded too close upon the path, they would loosen\ntheir hold, bound around the obstruction, and come back with a cry. So\nthe procession moved on until the river was reached. There the little\ngirls reluctantly halted. Konah stood watching, filled with an intense\nlonging, as the path turned from the further bank of the river, and\nshe saw the last hammock disappear around the bend. Her little heart\nfluttered with emotion, and her whole childish being reached out from\nthat borderland of darkness, in a mute appeal to be taken along into\nthat warmer, richer light toward which she felt herself drawn by an\nirresistible attraction. Thus she stood within the shadow, waiting for\nthe coming of the sunshine.\n\n[Illustration: The End.]\n\n\n\n\nVOCABULARY\n\n\n  Aintee?            Is it not so?\n\n  Beef               animals.\n\n  Betty              better.\n\n  Bin deh            am or was there.\n\n  Blow               breathe.\n\n  Bug-a-bug          White Ants, _Termes Bellicosus_.\n\n  Bly                basket.\n\n  Bootoo             stoop, crouch.\n\n  Calabas'           gourd.\n\n  Cham               chew.\n\n  Conk               strike.\n\n  Cumpin             companion.\n\n  Deh                there.\n\n  Dem                they, them, their.\n\n  Den                they, their, them, then.\n\n  Do'                door.\n\n  Do yah             please.\n\n  Duh                do (auxiliary).\n\n  Grap               get up.\n\n  Greedy             begrudge.\n\n  Hangry             hungry, famine.\n\n  H\u0101se            hoist, raise.\n\n  Hebe               raise, throw.\n\n  He, heen, him      his.\n\n  H\u014d'se           house.\n\n  Hush yah           term of condolence.\n\n  Leelee             little.\n\n  Lek                like, as.\n\n  Lef                leave, left.\n\n  Mate               an associate--wife.\n\n  Nah                at, from, in, on, to.\n\n  Nar                is, are, was.\n\n  Net                night.\n\n  No mo'             nothing more, merely.\n\n  Oonah              you.\n\n  Pin                place, put down.\n\n  Pickin             pickaninny.\n\n  Pull               create, tell.\n\n  Ress               rice.\n\n  Sabbee             know.\n\n  San'-san'          sand.\n\n  Sebbeh             charm.\n\n  Shabe              divide.\n\n  Soso               merely.\n\n  Sot\u00e1y              until.\n\n  'Tan'              stand.\n\n  Tay                until, for, a long time.\n\n  Tem                time.\n\n  'Tick              tree, stick.\n\n  Wey                what, which, who, where, since.\n\n  Yase               ears.\n\n  Yi                 eye.\n\n\n\n\nTRANSCRIBER'S NOTE:\n\nObvious printer errors have been corrected. Otherwise, the author's\noriginal spelling, punctuation and hyphenation have been left intact.","title":"Cunnie Rabbit, Mr. Spider and the Other Beef: West African Folk Tales","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":56616}