364 EMBALMED HEADS. [PART II. 



the high fences of which stretched about half a 

 mile along the banks of the lake, which were 

 strewed over with pumice intermixed with small 

 pieces of black obsidian. The village, although full 

 of well-constructed native houses, had no inhabit- 

 ants, as it was a pa used only as a place for the tribe 

 to assemble in in times of war. I had leisure to exa- 

 mine it, and found most of the houses ornamented 

 with carvings, and containing the usual domestic 

 utensils of the proprietors. In some boxes which 

 stood upon poles were the bones of children and 

 adults, deposited here as their final resting-place. 

 In the vestibule of one of the houses I found the 

 head of a young girl in a basket, prepared in the 

 manner which has long been so well known, and 

 of which so many specimens have been conveyed to 

 Europe. This was the first time that I had seen 

 one of these embalmed heads. The custom was 

 once very common, but is now falling rapidly into 

 disuse. Not only the heads of enemies were thus 

 prepared and planted upon the palisades which 

 surrounded the pas, but also the heads of relations, 

 as a missionary assured me ; and these served from 

 time to time to excite violent grief and expressions 

 of sorrow in the surviving relatives. The high 

 poles which surrounded this pa were carved at the 

 tops with human figures in a defying position, and 

 with a fierce expression of countenance. 



Not far from this place we crossed another river. 

 Here a rocky promontory, connected with the main 



