Page:The Melanesians Studies in their Anthropology and Folklore.djvu/391

.] stolen and eaten Muesarava's food. And now Muesarava began to make fighting arrows of men's bones. Muesarava went and grabbed up with his hands a boy who had died, and took his bones, and beat them to splinters and rubbed them sharp. But his enemies on their side knew nothing of that, they only cut wood into shape, or bones of fish or birds, and fixed them in their arrows, while Muesarava on his side prepared men's bones. And when they fought they shot at him and hit, but he did not die; and he shot them and they could not live, but died outright all of them. And they fought again and shot at him, and hit him and he did not die; but Muesarava shot at them and hit, and they all died. So it often happened, and they saw that they died in very great numbers; and they asked Muesarava why it was that they shot him and he did not die, while he shot them and they all of them died. Therefore he told them and said, 'Go and grub up one of the dead men I have shot, and scrape his bones, and point your arrows with that.' Upon this they listened to his counsel and did as he had said to them; and when they fought again they shot him, and he straightway died.

And that thing, the dead man's bone that Muesarava ground to a point for himself with his own hand, still remains, and has not yet been spoilt; the reed-shaft has been spoilt and replaced over and over again, but that dead man's bone still remains; I have seen it myself in my brother's possession; it still remains. The people think a great deal of it, thinking that there is supernatural power, mana, in that toto arrow. If there is heard a rumour of fighting, and that is pointed in the direction whence it comes, the fighting comes to nothing.

There was a man looking for his wife, and he came to Tagaro's village when he was not there; and he wished to steal Tagaro's pig, a rawe, so he caught the pig and