RESIDENCE AT KATUNGA, 
49 
Their manner of burying the dead is to dig a deep narrow 
hole, into which the corpse is put in a sitting posture, the elbows 
between the two knees : a poor person is buried without any 
ceremony ; a rich man has guns fired, and rum drank over his 
grave, and in his house by his friends and retainers. When a 
king of Yourriba dies, the caboceer of Jannah, three other head 
caboceers, four women, and a great many favourite slaves and 
others, are obliged to swallow poison, given by fetishmen, in a 
parrot’s egg : should this not take effect, the person is provided 
with a rope to hang himself in his own house. No public sacri- 
fices are used, at least no human sacrifices, and no one was allowed 
to die at the death of the last king, as he did not die a natural 
death ; having been murdered by one of his own sons : not the 
present king. Wives are bought ; and according to the circum- 
stances of the bridegroom, so is the price. Three days after the 
bargain, he and his friends go and bring the wife to his own house, 
when the pitto, or country beer, is sent about freely amongst the 
guests. 
In the afternoon we waited on the king. There is a pleasant 
walk through a large enclosed park at the foot of the hills, between 
the house of the king and that of his wives, enclosed by a clay wall. 
Some parts of the park are planted with corn, yams, &c. and others 
studded with beautiful shady trees. The king was sitting under 
the shade of one of the trees. I observed to him that I had been 
here twenty-four days, and was anxious to go on my journey, as 
the rains were about to set in. He asked if all the white men were 
going. I said “ Only myself and my servants.” As I knew him to 
be skilful in evasive answers, and always to have one ready at hand, 
I said “ Fix a day.” His reply was, “ Every one would say, the white 
man came to see the king of Yourriba, and brought him large pre- 
sents, and requested him to give them a good passage to where 
they wanted to go; he gave them a bad path; they were robbed 
ii 
