Her gown was fastened to the
coffin, and her hair being cut off was cast at its foot. The
relatives of the family had torn the flesh of their arms, bodies,
and faces, so that they were covered with clotted blood; and the
old women looked most filthy, disgusting objects. On the following
day some of the officers visited this place, and found the women
still howling and cutting themselves.
We continued our walk, and soon reached Waiomio. Here there are
some singular masses of limestone resembling ruined castles. These
rocks have long served for burial places, and in consequence are
held too sacred to be approached. One of the young men, however,
cried out, "Let us all be brave," and ran on ahead; but when within
a hundred yards, the whole party thought better of it, and stopped
short. With perfect indifference, however, they allowed us to
examine the whole place. At this village we rested some hours,
during which time there was a long discussion with Mr. Bushby,
concerning the right of sale of certain lands. One old man, who
appeared a perfect genealogist, illustrated the successive
possessors by bits of stick driven into the ground. Before leaving
the houses a little basketful of roasted sweet potatoes was given
to each of our party; and we all, according to the custom, carried
them away to eat on the road.
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