leaving it open, they placed inside the food which they brought. Others buried their bodies in the open field, and for several days burned fires beneath their houses and set guards, so that the dead man might not return and carry away with him those whom he had left. After the burial the mourning ceased, but not the feasting and intoxication, which lasted more or less time according to the rank of the deceased. The widow or widower, and the orphans and other relatives who felt most keenly their grief, expressed their sorrow by fasting, abstaining from meat, fish, and other viands--eating during this period only vegetables, and those in very small quantities. Among the Tagalos the color for mourning is black, and among the Bissayans white. The latter also tear out their hair and eyebrows, which makes them ugly indeed. Upon the death of a chief, silence must be observed in the village during the period of mourning, until the interdict was raised--a longer or shorter time, according to his rank; and during that time no sound of a blow or other noise might be heard in any house under penalty of some misfortune. In order to secure this quiet, the villages on the coast placed a sign on the banks of the river, giving notice that no one might travel on that stream, or enter or leave it, under penalty of death--which they forcibly inflicted, with the utmost cruelty, upon whomsoever should break this silence. Those who died in war were extolled in their dirges, and in the obsequies which were celebrated the sacrifices made to or for them lasted for a long time, accompanied by much feasting and intoxication. If the deceased had met death by violence, whether in war or in peace, by treachery, or in some other way, the mourning habits were not removed, or the interdict lifted, until the sons, brothers, or relatives had killed many others--not only of the enemies and murderers, but also other persons, strangers, whoever they might be, who were not their friends. As robbers and pirates, they scoured the land and sea, going to hunt man and killing all whom they could, until they had satiated their fury. When this was done, they made a great feast for invited guests, raised the interdict, and, in due time, abandoned their mourning.