230 RITES AND CUSTOMS RELATING TO THE DEAD. 
and then locking the door throw the key inside the fence, 
which encircles it : the pots and vessels belonging to the 
dead, and even the spade, hammer and tools used in erecting 
the mausoleum are also left within the enclosure. 
The favorite way is to select some conspicuous mound, 
in which the grave is dug, or the mausoleum erected, this 
is surrounded by a neat paling, painted red, the earth is 
then cut away, so as to leave the erection like a fortification, 
or else the coffin is placed on the top of the mound, and 
alternate layers of fern and soil built over it, until it attains 
a height of six or eight feet, on which a railing is placed ; 
these tombs are both conspicuous and picturesque. A new 
fashion now prevails of erecting the frame of a small house, 
and covering it with the sheets belonging to the dead ; now 
that they can saw timber and build houses, they bestow 
much labour on these abodes of the deceased. 
The natives are very particular about their burial grounds. 
I had a number of mimosa trees planted for ornament 
amongst the graves; when in flower they were extremely 
beautiful, and even the natives used to admire them ; but 
when I introduced the bee that industrious little insect soon 
found its way to the sacred grove ; the natives also were 
not long before they observed it, and that it sacrilegiously 
feasted upon the flowers ; they complained to me about the 
bees, gravely saying, they fed upon the flesh of the dead as 
the trees derived their substance from them, and therefore 
asked me to have them cut down. I laughed at the idea, 
and tried to make them see the absurdity of their wish, 
they went away and said nothing ; but some time after, 
when I was away on one of my journeys, they availed them- 
selves of my absence to do it ; when I returned and 
beheld the unsightly appearance, the dead trees scattered 
about on the graves, for having grown there they were 
sacred and could not be moved, I felt grieved for the 
loss of my trees, and especially at their having "been cut 
down without my permission, but I knew it was too late 
to say anything, and if I had that it would not convince 
them of their folly, so I took no notice of what had been 
