screeching and flapping of wings. The hawk tribe soon drove all the
small birds away, and harassed the big waders so much, that they very
shortly disappeared, followed by the geese, who made much noise, and
winged away in a straight line, as if they were playing "Follow my
leader." The big forest birds who liked to lead a secluded life very
soon got tired of all the noise and bustle, and after a few croaks and
other weird noises went home. The game birds had no chance and hid in
the bush, so that very soon the only birds left were the hawks and the
big black-and-white fishing eagle, who was perched on a tree calmly
watching everything. The scavenger hawks were too gorged and lazy to
take much interest in the proceedings, and were quietly ignored by the
fighting tribe, who were very busy circling and swooping on one
another, with much whistling going on. Higher and higher they went,
until they disappeared out of sight. Then a few would return to earth,
some of them badly torn and with many feathers missing.
At last the fishing eagle said--
"When you have quite finished with this foolishness please tell me,
and if any of you fancy yourselves at all, come to me, and I will
settle your chances of being elected head chief once and for all;" but
when they saw his terrible beak and cruel claws, knowing his great
strength and ferocity, they stopped fighting between themselves, and
acknowledged the fishing eagle to be their master.
Essiya then declared that Ituen, which was the name of the fishing
eagle, was the head chief of all the birds, and should thenceforward
be known as the king bird.[13]
[Footnote 13: As the king bird is always very difficult to shoot with
a bow and arrow, owing to his sharp and keen sight, the young men,
when they want his feathers, set traps for him baited with rats, which
catch him by the foot in a noose when he seizes them. Except when they
are nesting the king birds roost on very high trees, sometimes as many
as twenty or thirty on neighbouring trees. They fly many miles from
where they get their food, and arrive at their roosting-place just
before the sun sets, leaving the next morning at dawn for their
favourite haunts. They are very regular in their habits, and you can
see them every night at the same time coming from the same direction
and flying over the same trees, generally fairly high up in the air.
There is a strong belief amongst many natives on the Cross River that
the king bird has the power of influencing the luck or the reverse of
a canoe. For example, when a trader, having bought a new canoe, is
going to market and a king bird crosses the river from right to left,
then if he is unlucky at the market that day, whenever the king bird
again crosses that particular canoe from right to left he will be
unlucky, and the bad luck will stick to the canoe. If, on the other
hand, the bird for the first time crosses from left to right, and he
is fortunate in his dealings that day at the market, then he will
always be lucky in that canoe the day he sees a king bird flying
across the river from the left to the right-hand side.]
From that time to the present day, whenever the young men of the
country go to fight they always wear three of the long black-and-white
feathers of the king bird in their hair, one on each side and one in
the middle, as they are believed to impart much courage and skill to
the wearer; and if a young man is not possessed of any of these
feathers when he goes out to fight, he is looked upon as a very small
boy indeed.
THE END
* * * * *
BY ANDREW LANG
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