Evening star., 1924-06-08
founders in Menacing Sweep of Great Waterspout


ing charm 20 bring about the death
Of the despoiler of the groves.
Nohea took a length of coir, the
rope the Paumotuans make of cocoa
nut fiber-from the tree which feeds
them, clothes them and houses them
and, tying IL into girdle but little
larger than the girth of the palm, put :
it about his wrists. The cocoanut tree
had at regular intervals upon It's
trunk projecting bands OF it's tough
bark, and about the first of these
above his head Nohea slipped the
rope. He pulled himself up by it.
and cIasping the tree with his legs
seized a higher holding place. Thus
he proceeded with ease until he had
reached a point half way of the lofty
column. There he halted, and taking
from his shoulders his matted band
he plastered it firmly around the
trunk
He then slipped to the ground. !
was as puzzled as boy who was told
at sailing that the ship was weighing
its anchor and saw no scale.
That will do for him." said Nohea,
"as the reef skaters the canoe when
the steersman fails to find the pass
He returned to the fire, and soon
we were absorbed in the pleasant
processes of supper. Nohea, his stom-
ach full, sat contemplatively on his
launches. Now and then he cooked
| his ear toward the cocoanut grove,
but he said nothing. The crown of
/ ha fra in ich ha e1fa
had vanished was lost in the gloom
of the night. A slight breeze sprang
up from the distance toward the land
of the war fleet, and pandanus and
niiki-miki bushes nodded and gave
forth little noises as tfeir leaves and
branches rubbed together.
over all was the atmosphere of
mystic aloofness which the white feels
SO keenly in these far-away dots
the utter difference of scene and Incl
dent from the accustomed one Of the
homeland. I unused about my own
future in these little known tropics
Nohea cautiously raised himself to
his feet, and motioning me to be
silent, directed my attention to the
| tree up which had gone the ugly ma
rauder an hour before. We heard
plainly a grating incisive noise. and
in a moment huge cocoanut fell
from among the swaying leaves TO
the earth.
!: y, =: i:
| 4 sMoTHERED exclamation of fury
broke from the Paumotuan, but
he made no step and continued point
ing at the palm. Then 1 heard a
scratching, and peering through the
| darkness with the aid of my electric
! torch, I saw the colossal crab coming
down the trunk. He held on to the
| slippery bark by the sharp points of
his walking legs, and backwardly de-
scended with extreme care.
Nohea watched intently as the ami
NAL neared the girdle of clay and
leaves. 1 noted his excitement, but
still could not resolve his plan. 1t
flashed upon me as its success was
| established in an instant of action.
The robber crab, touching the clay,
moved less carefully, and suddenly. to
my astonishment, let go his hold, and
| with claws wildly beating the air,
whirled downward from the height Of
forty feet, crashing on the rocks at
the foot of the tree. In a second
Nohea was upon him with club of
| purau wood. But there was no need
| for further punishment. The drop had
| caused instant death. The immense
shell was smashed and the monster
| lay inert upon the coral stones.
The diver sprang in the air and
clapped his hands rapidly, as might a
winning bettor at prize fight.
~ l., hoS
koekoe-no bowels of wisdom. He
thought the clay was the bottom, and
that he was already with the nut he
had robbed me of, and which he could
open and eat Many ] have killed
like that, but it takes time. L have
had such a thief steal my pareu for
his house. and bottle of kerosene
for mere mischief. We will eat the
flesh of this ones legs, and !. will melt
his fat against the rahui when L
might have rheumatism"
This thievish crab seemed marked
by his star-doubtless of the Cancer
lconstellation-to play a deceptive part
in the crustacean world. for not only
had he practically abandoned the wa
ter as his element, learned to climb
trees and to eat food utterly foreign
to his natural appetite. but he had
habit of hiding his tail when the rest
of his body was in full view. He
would stick it in every convenient
hole, under a log, or even in the CO.
coanut shell he had emptied. He was
joverconscious and seemingly ashamed
of it, like an awkward man of his
hands at wedding.
The remarkable strength of this
mollusk was proved when one was
placed in an ordinary tin cracker box.
which it could not take hold of. and
few hours later had twisted off the
lid. Nohea said that they were not
easy to trap. and that more than once
Paumotuan, who had climbed tree
in the night to procure nuts, to his
: great horror had had his hair seized
by crab.
Copyright, 1920