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, with his friends and supporters were encamped within a few yards of the other party, went up to Mugawit and ordered her to follow him to his Mya, or bark hut; this she declined doing, and he immediately speared her in the thigh. Miago now, as in duty bound, threw a quartz-headed spear at Bennyyowlee, which, if the latter had not most dexterously avoided, must have proved fatal. A general disturbance would have taken place had not I and several other Europeans come up at the same moment and pacified Miago, whilst Bennyyowlee took advantage of this temporary calm to evacuate the field, followed by insulting shouts of laughter from Miago's friends.
A circumstance strongly illustrating the peculiar family customs of this people occurred this evening. Moorroongo, Miago's stepfather, was a Tdondarup, and as such stood in the relation of matta-gyne to Bennyyowlee; his hut stood therefore amongst those of this native's friends, and Miago's future wives remained in the care of his mother, and of course amongst the friends of his rival. When however Bennyyowlee departed Miago's mother and the two native girls went over to the Ngotak and Nagarnook party, who were, on this occasion, united. They then built a hut for Miago and lighted a fire; the old mother herself swept out the hut, so as to make it perfectly clean and nice; the brides then laid down in it, one on each side, so as to leave a vacant place in the centre for their new lord and master; and Miago's mother, having seen all these arrangements completed, returned once more to the hut of her husband. This was a remarkable instance of a stepfather and son being by custom compelled to espouse opposite sides of a quarrel because they bore different family names.
BURIAL OF A NATIVE IN THE LESCHENAULT DISTRICT. BURIAL AT THE VASSE.
As these forms of interment have considerable interest and are somewhat varied in their details in different localities, I have subjoined the following account of the burial of a native, as described in an extract of a letter from Mr. Bussel, a gentleman resident near the Vasse River in Western Australia:
PROCESSION TO THE GRAVE.
The funeral is a wild and fearful ceremony. Before I had finished in the stockyard the dead man was already removed and on its way to the place of interment, about a quarter of a mile from where the death took place,* and I left our house entirely guided by the shrill wailing of the female natives as they followed, mourning, after the two men who bore the body in their arms.
(*Footnote. He had been murdered by his countrymen whilst tending Mr. Bussel's cattle.)
The dirge, as distance blended all the voices, was very plaintive, even musical; nor did the diminution of distance destroy the harmony entirely; some of the chants were really beautiful, but rendered perhaps too harsh for our ears in actual contact: for as I joined myself to the procession, and became susceptible of the trembling cadence of each separate performer--the human voice in every key which the extremes of youth and age might produce, there was a sensation effected which I cannot well describe--a terrible jarring of the brain. The fact that the involuntary tears rolled down the cheeks of those infants who sat passively on their mothers' shoulders, not appreciating the cause of lament, but merely as listeners, must prove that these sounds are calculated to affect the nervous system powerfully.
CEREMONIES ON INTERMENT.
The procession moved slowly on and at length arrived at the place fixed upon for the burial. There had been a short silence previous to coming thus far, as if to give the voice a rest; for as the body touched the ground, and the bearers stood erect and silent, a piercing shriek was given, and as this died away into a chant some of the elder women lacerated their scalps with sharp bones until the blood ran down their furrowed faces in actual streams. The eldest of the bearers then stepped forward and proceeded to dig the grave. I offered to get a spade, but they would not have it; the digging stick was the proper tool, which they used with greater despatch than from its imperfect nature could have been expected at first sight. The earth being loosened with this implement was then thrown out with the hands with great dexterity, in complete showers so as to form, in the same line with the grave, at both ends, two elongated banks, the sand composing them so lightly hurled as to seem almost like drift-sand on the seashore. In the throw, if perchance the right limit was outstepped, the proper form was retained by sweeping.