abled the garrison to defy all the attempts of
the enemy to filch their souls from their bodies.[40] But even when the
assailants were obliged to retire discomfited, they did not always lose
heart, the resources of the magic art were not yet exhausted. On their
return home the priest, nothing daunted by a temporary discomfiture,
might betake himself again to his spells, and by crooning his
incantations over a garment or a weapon belonging to one of his party,
might dash in pieces the arms of the enemy and cause their souls to
perish. Thus by his ghostly skill would he snatch victory from defeat,
and humble the pride of the insolent foe in the very moment of his
imaginary triumph.[41] One way in which he effected his purpose was to
take a bag or basket containing some sacred food, hold it to the fire,
and then opening the bag point the mouth of it in the direction of the
enemy. The simple recitation of a spell then sufficed to draw the souls
of the adversaries into the bag, after which nothing was easier for him
than to destroy them utterly by means of the appropriate
incantation.[42]

[40] Elsdon Best, "Spiritual Concepts of the Maori," _Journal of
the Polynesian Society_, vol. ix. no. 4 (December 1900), p. 181.

[41] Elsdon Best, "Notes on the Art of War as conducted by the
Maori of New Zealand," _Journal of the Polynesian Society_, vol.
xi. no. 3 (September 1902), p. 141.

[42] Elsdon Best, "Notes on the Art of War as conducted by the
Maori of New Zealand," _Journal of the Polynesian Society_, vol.
xii. no. 2 (June 1903), p. 72.

But valuable as are these applications of magic to practical life, the
art, like every good thing, is liable to abuse; and even where it is
employed with the best intentions, the forces which it controls are so
powerful that in spite of all precautions an accident will sometimes
happen. For example, in sickness the patient often had recourse to a
priest, who would lead him down to the nearest water, whether a pool or
a stream, and there perform the magical rites necessary for the relief
of his particular malady. While the wizard was engaged in this
beneficent task, all the people in the village kept strictly indoors,
lest their souls should wander forth to the water-side and there
colliding, if I may be allowed the expression, with the mystic forces
of the priest's spells be damaged or even annihilated by the
collision.[43] In such a case the fatal conseque