, lying in
a due east and west direction.

The men having now completed their task the women came with bundles of
blackboy tops which they had gathered, and laid these down on the central
heap so as to give it a green and pleasing appearance; they placed
neither meerro nor spear on the grave, but whilst they were filling in
the earth old Weeban and another native sat on their hams at the head of
it, facing the one to the north, and the other to the south, their
foreheads leaning on their clasped hands, which rested on one end of a
meerro whilst the other end was placed on the ground. The ceremonies
having been thus concluded I returned to Perth.

WATCHING THE GRAVE.

Sunday June 16.

This evening I walked out to Mulligo's grave and found his old mother
seated there, crying bitterly. She had indeed good reason to weep, for
those infamous boyl-yas, not content with eating the flesh of her son
during his lifetime, and thereby causing his death, had been detected by
her in the very act of sitting round his grave for the purpose of preying
on his miserable remains. There could, it appears, be no doubt of the
truth of this strange fact, for the poor old lady triumphantly pointed
out their tracks, at the spot from whence they sprang into the air, in
the direction of Guildford; but my eyes unfortunately were not good
enough to detect the slightest vestige of any traces, either human or
spiritual. However much this might have made me suspect the old lady's
veracity it had no such effect upon the natives, and being now firmly
convinced that the Guildford boyl-yas were the guilty parties, they
announced their intention of starting in a few days for the purpose of
putting Weenat to death.

CONTEST FOR MULLIGO'S WIDOWS.

June 17.

Miago ought, according to custom, to have allowed three full days to
elapse before his brother's widows entered his hut, but as Bennyyowlee
appeared resolved not to renounce his intention of claiming the hand of
one of the ladies Miago's friends thought it more prudent to bring
matters to a speedy issue, lest, in the interim, his rival might carry of
Mugawit, the young lady he was desirous of possessing. On Monday evening
therefore when I went to the native encampment I found that the first
forms of the marriage ceremony had taken place, which were as follows:

Miago ordered the two widows of his brother to prepare his hut, that as
soon as the sun had set he might sleep there. Bennyyowlee, who, w