"I found the shed under which the body lay, close by the house in which the man resided when he was alive, some other houses being not more than 10 yards distant. The shed was about 15 feet long, and 11 broad, and of a proportionate height: one end was wholly open, and the other end and the two sides, were partly enclosed with a kind of wicker work. The bier on which the corpse was deposited, was a frame of wood ... with a matted bottom, and supported by four posts, at the height of about 5 feet from the ground. The body was covered first with a mat, and then with white cloth; by the side of it lay a wooden mace, one of their weapons of war, and near the head of it, which lay next to the close end of the shed, lay two coconut shells, such as are sometimes used to carry water in; at the other end a bunch of green leaves, with some dried twigs, all tied together, were stuck in the ground, by which lay a stone about as big as a coconut: near these lay one of the young plantain trees, which are used for emblems of peace, and close by it a stone axe. At the open end of the shed also hung, in several strings, a great number of palm nuts, and without the shed, was stuck upright in the ground, the stem of a plantain tree about 5 feet high, upon the top of which was placed a coconut shell full of fresh water; against the side of one of the posts hung a small bag, containing a few pieces of bread-fruit ready roasted." The emotions of the Tahitians were easily excited. Both men and women readily gave way to tears, and would fly into hysterical rages in which they struck their heads several times with sharks' teeth, so that a profusion of blood often followed. A woman who acted thus owing to some trifling affair which had piqued her, after her bleeding was over looked up with a smile, ceased her loud, doleful talking, collected the pieces of blood-stained cloth with which she had dabbed her head and neck, and threw them into the sea. Then she plunged herself into a river, washed her whole body, and returned to the encampment as gay and cheerful as if nothing had happened.