Page:An account of the natives of the Tonga Islands.djvu/336

270 270 TRANSACTIONS AT time is generally about a quarter of a mile. If, during the game, any one of either party see a fair shot at a bird, he may take aim at it; if he kill it, it counts the same as a rat, but whether he hit it or not, if he venture a shot, he changes place with the one behind him. Every now and then they stop and make a pe- culiar noise with the lips, hke the squeaking of a rat, which frequently brings them out of the bushes, and they sit upright on their haunches, as if in the attitude of listening. If a rat is alarmed by their approach, and is running away, one or more cry out too ! (stop !) with a sudden percussion of the tongue, and is a term used, we may suppose, on account of the sharp and sudden tone with which it may be pro- nounced. This has generally the effect of making the rat stop, when he sits up, and ap- pears too much frightened to attempt his escape. When he is in the act of running away, the squeaking noise with the lips, instead of stopping him, would cause him to run faster. They frequently also use another sound, similar to what U'e use when we wish to answer in the affirmative without opening the lips, consisting in a sort of humming noise, sounding through the nostrils, but more loud, short, and sudden. The arrows used on these OGcasions are nearly six feet long, (the war-arrows being about three