The Courier. (Genoa, Nev.) 1899-1904, 1903-09-25


fore civilization Had fully Marked
Them Fer Its Own Usea 10 Get Ever
With Their En~mies.
\ little Willie ago while turning oyel
Io.la meme ltos Of many years spen
IN the Pacific islands | came across d
imall circl, OF fine cane about tive
inches ia diameter. From the side TO
ward the center delicate network OF
the fibers of some plant was construct
ell leaving small hole In the center
large enough Tor, say, bee to craw
through. The article weighed les,
than quarter OF an ounce; yet. small
and harmless Ms it appeared, 1t is not
SO very many years ago that II and
others like it were objects OF deadly
terror to the natives of many Of the
Pacific islands. particularly those OF
Manahiki Humphrey island. for The
simple looking thing WIS II soul catch
er''-that is. destroyer of human life.
Manahiki Is one OF Il group Of low
lying atoll islands to the northnorth
west of Samoa, and its people today
are about the best educated Of all the
Malayo-Polynesian people. They elect ii
king and parliament. have one of the
most beautifully adorned churches in
the Pacific islands. and nearly all the
younger members OF the community
can now not only speak but read and
write English. The island is-for an
nd IN Ia
a fine. stalwart, handsome copper col
ored race. The main industries are the
making of ''eopra" dried eocOanuU and
diving for pearl shell.
soul catching" in the heather days,
prior to 1853, could he and was prac-
ticed by any one who desired revenge
or the life OF an enemy. Indeed. al
though the people were nominally
Christians in 1873. IL WAS still in
vogue. The modus operandi Is very
simple. Say that two men, Rika and
Tetoro, quarrel. Rika accuses Tetoro
of going out into the lagoon at night
time, lifting his (Rika's) fish traps and
sbstracting the contents. He therefore
demands compensation. TetorO denies
the theft. The relatives Of both men
take sides. rnd the quarrel assumes all
the elements of feud with bloodshed.
1t may he that Tetoro is a man OF
means or chiefly rank and influence
and treats ! IL acelser with scorn.
Very well" the injured Rika cries.
"If | cannot get justice from you
shall snare your soul. and you will die
OF n wasting sickness"
Tetoro, even IL he Is innocent. begins
to feel uneasy at this threat and while
vigorously denying the theft, offers
Rika n present of Il pig To end the mat
ter. Rika's relatives At once clamor
not only for their original demands.
but for the pig as well. Possibly free
fight ensues, and Rika's people get
badly used, and threats OF soul snar-
Ing" are heard on all sides
Then Rika : wife makes the snare for
Tetoro's soul. Taking her mat out into
the village square or upon we'll fire.
quented road or path, she suspends the
snare from the branches NJ trees or
sticks placed In the ground I'm such
position that she can closely watch the
oriice In the center OF the square.
Rika's friends, male and female, come
with her. They bring food and eat 1t
and throw fragments under the snare
to attract the flies, with which the Is
land is infested. III but one fly crawls
through the hole Tetoro Is dead man,
unless lie suddenly gives In and allows
himself to he bled. for not only do
Rika's people watch the snare, but his
own ~ well. No one OF them would
dare To attempt to destroy the snare.
The death Of the interferer by occult
power would certainly follow.
And 80 for hours and h0urs-some-
times for days-msny pairs OF eyes
toro and his friends are now ready to
yield, but feel that still more extor-
tomato demands may he made. Then
at last a fly is seen to crawl through.
and shout goes through the village.
TIA hOpO te lago! Ia hopo tie lago!'
"A fly has passed through Tetoro
hears the cries and Immediately imag-
ines lie feels III. His wife and relatives
crowd about him and try to cheer him
lp, but his face assumes melancholy
ook, and as the time passes on he re-
fuses his food. Perhaps he may con
fess that he did steal Rika's fish and
Iremblngly offer to make full restitu-
lion II Rika will catch fly and make
It go through the circle from the re-
verse side through which the first one
voluntarily. Usually this Is
lone, and what might have become
asting family feud had Tetoro died OF
funk through being bewltched. ends
up by the payment OF so much property
10 Rika, and feast for which both
parties provide the viandsc-Pall Mall
Gazette.