the bravest places himself at the head, and the rest follow him as
long as they are able; there is no deliberate choosing of a leader.

[Death customs.] On the whole, they are peaceful and honorable towards
each other, although the idle occasionally steal the fruits of the
fields; and, should the thief be caught, the person robbed punishes
him with blows of the rattan, without being under any apprehensions
of vengeance in consequence. If a man dies, his nearest kinsmen
go out to requite his death by the death of some other individual,
taken at random. The rule is strictly enforced. For a dead man a man
must be killed; for a woman a woman; and for a child a child. Unless,
indeed, it be a friend they encounter, the first victim that offers
is killed. Latterly, however, owing to the unusual success attained by
some of them in representing the occurrence of death as an unavoidable
destiny, the custom is said to have fallen into desuetude; and the
relatives do not exact the satisfaction. This was easy in the case
of the deceased being an ordinary person; but, to the present day,
vengeance is required in the event of the death of a beloved child or
wife. If a man kills a woman of another house, her nearest kinsman
endeavors to kill a woman of the house of the murderer; but to the
murderer himself he does nothing; and the corpse of the victim thus
slain as a death-offering is not buried, nor is its head cut off; and
her family, in their turn, seek to avenge the death by murder. This
is reckoned the most honorable course. Should the murderer, however,
be too strong to be so overcome, any weaker person, be it who it may,
is slain in retaliation; and hence, probably, the comparatively small
number of women.

[Marriage.] Polygamy is permitted; but even the most courageous
and skilful seldom or never have more than one wife. A young man