419 NEW ZEALAND. [CHAI-. xvm. 



was exactly following the English method. Old Shongi, who 

 happened to be in England during the Queen's trial, expressed 

 great disapprobation at the whole proceeding : he said he had five 

 wives, and he would rather cut off all their heads than be so much 

 troubled about one. Leaving this village, we crossed over to 

 another, seated on a hill-side at a little distance. The daughter of 

 a chief, who was still a heathen, had died there five days before. 

 The hovel in which she had expired had been burnt to the ground : 

 her body being enclosed between two small canoes, was placed 

 upright on the ground, and protected by an enclosure bearing 

 wooden images of their gods, and the whole was painted bright red, 

 so as to be conspicuous from afar. 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, 1 ' and ran on ahead ; but 

 when witliin 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. I noticed that among the women 

 employed in cooking, there was a man-slave : it must be a 

 humiliating thing for a man in this warlike country to be employed 

 in doing that Avhich is considered as the lowest woman's work. 

 Slaves are not allowed to go to war ; but this perhaps can hardly 

 be considered as a hardship. I heard of one poor wretch who, 

 during hostilities, ran away to the opposite party ; being met by 

 two men, he was immediately seized ; but as they could not agree 



