58 
PORTER’S JOURNAL. 
try abounding in every thing that we consider desirable, and after 
you are done he will ask you if it produces bread-fruit. A country 
is nothing to them without that blessing, and the season for bread*, 
fruit is the time of joy and festivity: the season commences in 
December, and lasts until September, when the greatest abun¬ 
dance reigns among them. They sometimes gather it when at 
the extremity of the branches, by means of a long stick split at 
the end, with which they seize the stem and dexterously twist it off, 
rarely letting the fruit fall to the ground; they commonly, howe¬ 
ver, have a small net, kept open at the mouth by means of a hoop, 
and attached to a pole, in the manner of a crab-net; with this they 
disengage the fruit from the branches, receiving it in the net. 
The young shoots from the roots are carefully collected and 
planted in a nursery until they arrive at a sufficient size to be 
transplanted; they are several years old before they bear. 
The bodies of the two Iiappahs were brought to the camp on 
the morning of the first of November. They were attended but 
by few of the natives, who kept aloof, on account of the smell, 
which was somewhat offensive. The bodies were bloated, and 
corruption had already began. On depositing the bodies near the 
graves they drew from the lashings the poles with which they had 
been brought, and retired to a distance. No persuasions of mine 
could induce them to take hold of the bodies, to put them into the 
graves: they at length, however, run the poles through the lash¬ 
ings and laid them over the grave, letting each end of the pole 
rest on the ground, with the body hanging over the pit. I now 
endeavoured to persuade them to cast off the lashings to let them 
fall in, but without effect: they all retired to a distance, when 
this request was made, with a great degree of disgust marked on 
their countenance. Finding that nothing could induce them to 
touch the bodies, and feeling well satisfied, from this circumstance, 
that they were not cannibals, I directed the lashings to be cut, and 
on their falling into the grave the natives hastened to assist in co¬ 
vering them with earth. 
This day Mowattaeeh , a chief of the Hafi/iaJis , of the tribe of, 
Nieekees and son-in-law to Gattenewa , came accompanied by se¬ 
veral others of his tribe with the white handkerchief which I hath 
sent them, to treat with me for a peace. I received hhn with mild- 
