[1] _Author’s Note._--Okukum is the juice extracted from a fungus like
a very small mushroom. It is painted on to the skin with a small stick,
and is a fight brown liquid paste. Curious designs are made all over
the body, the lines running parallel. The paste is then allowed to dry
for about a day, and eventually rubs off. By this time the acid has
eaten into the skin, and the dark marks remain, showing the pattern
for several months. They cannot be washed off by water. The Okuni and
Infoit people call this fungus _oboma_ and the Boki people _katium_.
The indigo black markings last less than a week, and the Okuni people
call it _ebim_.
[2] A sort of burrowing bush rat.
[3] _Author’s Note._--Koko yams are cooked for several hours. They are
boiled in three different waters, and so that each water is steamed
away before the fresh water is added. The yams are then left in the pot
until the following morning. The ordinary yam is cooked and eaten at
once.
[4] The “night” calabash was used by the witches when they were going
to kill anyone for their feasts, as it prolonged the night, and the
Okuni people still believe when the nights are unusually long that the
witches are out with the “night” calabash and are killing people.
[5] These shelters are made out of palm leaves and are quickly put
together, but they do not keep out the rain. They are, however,
sufficient for the wants of the natives in the dry season.
[6] The native hunters say that if you shout at an iguana he does not
move or take any notice, but if you point at him and whisper, “Look,
there is an iguana,” he will run away at once. An iguana never runs
more than about fifty yards at a time; he then stops to get his breath.
If you find him again he will be killed easily, as he cannot run so far
a second time; there is, therefore, a second saying amongst the hunters
that “A first run is a run for life, and when you are in danger you
should run as far as you can before you stop to rest, as when you run
the second time you will not be able to go so far.”
[7] The natives believe that when a man whose first-born child is a boy
happens to hit a toe on his right foot against a stone on his way to a
town, that he will be badly received at that town, but if the toe which
is hit by the stone is on his left foot, then the people will welcome
him and treat him kindly.
[8] The origin of this saying is, that a man seeing a fine bird sitting
on the branch of a tree threw a stone at it, but the stone hit the
branch, and as the man was standing underneath the stone came back and
hit him.
[9] “’Nda” in the Infor and Inde languages means “elephantiasis.”
[10] The native lamp was of earthenware, with a fibre wick in palm-oil.
[11] The four streams mentioned in this story are still called by the
same names, and are well known to the inhabitants of Okuni.
Transcriber's Notes:
Italics are shown thus: _sloping_.
Variations in spelling and hyphenation are retained.
Perceived typographical errors have been changed.