Time wore on. Each withered beldame by turns addressed the party, whilst the poor wretch, the tranquillity of whose dying moments was interrupted by these scenes, gradually sank. At last the vital spark departed, and that moment an old woman started up, mad with grief and rage, tore the hut in which he had lain to atoms, saying, "this is now no good;"* and then poured forth a wild strain of imprecations against the before-mentioned boyl-yas. (*Footnote. Burckhardt remarked a similar custom among the Bedouin Arabs. He says: If the deceased have not left any male heir, or that the whole property is transferred to another family, or if his heir is a minor, and goes to live with his uncle or some other relative, the tent posts are torn up immediately after the man has expired, and the tent is demolished. Travels in Arabia page 58.) As she proceeded the men became more and more excited, and at last Moondee, the most violent of them, started forward and was on the point of spearing one of Mulligo's wives; none of the men attempted to interfere with him; but, as I anticipated, the women seized him, and held him, so as to prevent him from executing his purpose. This conduct on his part at first appeared to me to arise from passion alone, but the reason of it was soon explained. SUPPOSED CAUSE OF HIS DECEASE. It appears that some two or three months before this period Weenat, a native of the upper part of the Swan, had stolen a cloak belonging to Miago, Mulligo's brother, and had, according to their belief, from malicious motives given this cloak to one of the native sorcerers, or boyl-yas, who by this means acquired some mysterious power over either Miago or his brother, but selected the latter for his victim, when he fell and broke his back. Another of these boyl-yas (according to the usual custom) was called in to give his advice, and he applied fire to the injured part. This treatment not succeeding, and the poor fellow wasting daily away, the natives became convinced that the unfriendly boyl-yas were in the habit of rendering themselves invisible, and nightly descending for the purpose of feasting on poor Mulligo's flesh whilst he slept, and being under the influence of a charm he was not aware of what was taking place; but Moondee chose to imagine that if his wife had been more vigilant the boyl-yas might have been detected, and hence intended to spear her in the leg as a punishment for her imputed neglect.