FUNERAL CEREMONIES WITCHCRAFT. 73 
pense of the deceased during their stay to 
mourn for him ), and to have the better op- 
portunity to cheat them out of their portion 
of the inheritance. And that the reader 
may not have too exalted an opinion of the 
worth of the estates of headmen, we will 
say here that, leaving out their wives, a few 
country cloths, and mats, with a crop of rice s 
make up the amount. 
On the occasion of the death of headmen, 
but not until after their interment, the peo- 
ple of his town go to the neighboring towns 
to solicit aid to defray the burial expenses : 
that is, to buy rum and powder to make 
merry the season allotted for mourning. 
Firing muskets where they have them^ 
and powder ( as is the case immediately on 
the coast ), is kept up for several days after 
the burial takes place ; and the wives and 
friends continue crying, or wailing, though 
at stated times, for several weeks, and 
sometimes the whole town joins them. 
Besides these, there are professional 
mourners, whose business it is to go from 
town to town, for the express purpose of 
mourning for the dead. These must also 
