FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 57 



who had encamped in the vicinity of the for- 

 tfess. A girl had four lovers, whose jealousy 

 produced the most violent quarrels: after fight 

 ing a long time without any result, they deter 

 mined to end the strife by murdering the object 

 of their love, and the resolution was immediate 

 ly executed with their lances. The whole horde 

 assembled round the funeral pile, and chanted 

 a song, a part of which was interpreted by one 

 of our countrymen, who had been long resident 

 here. &quot;Thou wast too beautiful thou couldst 

 not live men looked on thee,.and madness fired 

 their hearts !&quot; 



Savage as this action was, another exceeded 

 it in ferocity. A father, irritated by the cries of 

 his child, an infant in the cradle, snatched it 

 up, and threw it into a vessel full of boiling 

 whale-oil. These examples are sufficient to 

 characterise this hateful people, who appear to 

 be in every respect the very refuse of human 

 nature. 



Their weddings are celebrated merely by a 



feast given to the relatives of the bride. The 



dead are burned, and their ashes preserved in 



small wooden boxes, in buildings appropriated 



D 5 



