Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Updated: May 10, 2025
By this deed the wrong to the chief was supposed to be made good a very peculiar practice in native justice. It may be a remnant of old head-hunting traditions, inasmuch as Belni's brother would have given the dead man's head to the chief in payment, this being even more valuable than pigs.
It was a dry, moonlit night; one of the boys was writhing with a pain in his stomach, and we could do nothing to help him, so they were all convinced it was caused by Belni's relatives, and wanted to sail immediately. A warm breeze had driven mosquitoes to the cutter; it was a most unpleasant night. Next noon the natives appeared, about twenty strong, but without the second murderer.
The first excitement over, our boys were seized by fear, even Macao and the other one who had accompanied us. Although they were in perfect safety on board the cutter they feared all sorts of revenge from Belni's relatives, for instance, that they might cause a storm and wreck the cutter.
We shut Belni up in the hold of the cutter and told the natives that they would have to hand over Bourbaki's rifle and cartridges, and pay us two tusked pigs by noon of the next day. On this occasion we learned the reason for the murder: Belni's brother had had an intrigue with the wife of the chief, and had been condemned by the latter to pay a few pigs.
Word Of The Day
Others Looking