FL661387

& sometims his Son send mesages, accompanie
usually with a song which they sing in honor of him [word crossedout]
[words crossed out] When this is
[inset: generally several tribes]
done the aborigines collect at some appointed
place & perform certain ceremonies. I remember
one of these gatherings in the district of Wellington
when many distant tribes were assembling.
It took some months from the first announcement
till all were collected. There were tribes that
spoke different dialects present. [word crossed out] They
made a great mystery of what they saw & did;
but one of the young men [word crossed out] whose confidence
I had fully gained communicated a few
particulars to me with strict injunctions
that I should not divulge the secret,
more especially that I should not betray
him to the Blacks. they asembled all with
a few exception in one place and then pro-
ceeded in procession to the particular spot
which had been previously fixed upon and
arranged for the celebration of a myserious
ceremony & where several of the Blacks keps
watch till the others came. They found there
in a sort of enclosure made of boughs and
branches some piees of bark stuck up
with various figures engraved & painted with