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SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION--BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY

J.W. POWELL DIRECTOR

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF MORTUARY CUSTOMS AMONG THE NORTH AMERICAN
INDIANS

BY DR. H. C. YARROW ACT ASST SU G USA

WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1880

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY

_Washington D. C. July 8, 1880_

This little volume is the third of a series designed to promote
anthropologic researches among the North American Indians. The first
was prepared by myself and entitled "Introduction to the Study of
Indian Languages," the second by Col. Garrick Mallery entitled
Introduction to the Study of Sign Language among the North American
Indians.

The following are in course of preparation and will soon appear.

Introduction to the Study of Medicine Practices among the North
American Indians

Introduction to the Study of Mythology among the North American
Indians

Introduction to the Study of Sociology among the North American
Indians

The mortuary customs of savage or barbaric people have a deep
significance from the fact that in them are revealed much of the
philosophy of the people by whom they are practiced. Early beliefs
concerning the nature of human existence in life and after death and
the relations of the living to the dead are recorded in these customs.
The mystery concerning the future love for the departed who were loved
while here, reverence for the wise and good who may after death be
wiser and better, hatred and fear of those who were enemies here and
may have added powers of enmity in the hereafter--all these and like
considerations have led in every tribe to a body of customs of
exceeding interest as revealing the opinions, the philosophy of the
people themselves.

In these customs, also are recorded evidences of the social condition
of the people, the affection in which friends and kindred are held,
the very beginnings of altruism in primitive life.

In like manner these customs constitute a record of the moral
condition of the people, as in many ways they exhibit the ethic
standards by which conduct in human life is judged. For such reasons
the study of mortuary customs is of profound interest to the
anthropologist.

It is hoped that by this method of research the observations of many
men may be brought together and placed on permanent record, and that
the body of material may be sufficient, by a careful comparative
study, to warrant some general discussion concerning the philosophy of
this department of human conduct.

General conclusions can be reached with safety only after materials
from many sources have been obtained. It will not be safe for the
collector to speculate much upon that which he observes. His own
theory or explanation of customs will be of little worth, but the
theory and explanation given by the Indians will be of the greatest
value. What do the Indians do, and say, and believe? When these are
before us it matters little whether our generalizations be true or
false. Wiser men may come and use the facts to a truer purpose. It is
proposed to make a purely objective study of the Indians, and, as far
as possible, to leave the record unmarred by vain subjective
speculations.

The student who is pursuing his researches in this field should
carefully note all of the customs, superstitions, and opinions of the
Indians relating to--

1. The care of the lifeless body prior to burial, much of which he
will find elaborated into sacred ceremonies.

2. The method of burial, including the site of burial, the attitude in
which the body is placed, and the manner in which it is investured.
Here, also, he will find interesting and curious ceremonial
observances. The superstitions and opinions of the people relating to
these subjects are of importance.

3. The gifts offered to the dead; not only those placed with the body
at the time of burial, but those offered at a subsequent time for the
benefaction of the departed on his way to the other world, and for his
use on arrival. Here, too, it is as important for us to know the
ceremonies with which the gifts are made as to know the character of
the gifts themselves.

4. An interesting branch of this research relates to the customs of
mourning, embracing the time of mourning, the habiliments, the self-
mutilations, and other penances, and the ceremonies with which these
are accompanied. In all of these cases the reason assigned by the
Indians for their doings, their superstitions, and explanations are of
prime importance.

5. It is desirable to obtain from the Indians their explanation of
human life, their theory of spirits and of the life to come.

A complete account of these customs in any tribe will necessitate the
witnessing of many funeral rites, as the custom will differ at the
death of different persons, depending upon age, sex, and social
standing. To obtain their explanations and superstitions, it will be
necessary to interrogate the Indians themselves. This is not an easy
task, for the Indians do not talk with freedom about their dead. The
awe with which they are inspired, their reverence and love for the
departed, and their fear that knowledge which may be communicated may
be used to the injury of those whom they have loved, or of themselves,
lead them to excessive reticence on these subjects. Their feelings
should not be rudely wounded. The better and more thoughtful members
of the tribe will at last converse freely on these subjects with those
in whom they have learned to place confidence. The stories of ignorant
white men and camp attaches should be wholly discarded, and all
accounts should be composed of things actually observed, and of
relations made by Indians of probity.

This preliminary volume by Dr. H. C Yarrow has been the subject of
careful research and of much observation, and will serve in many ways
as a hint to the student. The literature of the subject is vast, but
to a large extent worthless, from the fact that writers have been
hasty travelers or subjective speculators on the matter. It is strange
how much of accepted history must be rejected when the statements are
carefully criticised and compared with known facts. It has frequently
been stated of this or that tribe that mutilations, as the cutting off
of fingers and toes, of ears and nose, the pulling out of teeth, &c.,
are extensively practiced as a mode of mourning find wild scenes of
maiming and bloodshed are depicted as following upon the death of a
beloved chief or great man yet among these tribes maimed persons are
rarely found It is probable that there is some basis of fact for the
statement that mutilations are in rare instances practiced among some
tribes. But even this qualified statement needs absolute proof.

I am pleased to assure those who will take part in this work by
earnest and faithful research that Dr Yarrow will treat them
generously by giving them full credit for their work in his final
publication.

I must not fail to present my thanks to the Surgeon General of the
United States Army and his corps of officers for the interest and
assistance they have rendered.

J W POWELL

WASHINGTON, D C, _April_ 5, 1880

DEAR SIR: I have the honor to offer for your consideration the
following paper upon the Mortuary Customs of the North American
Indians, and trust it may meet with your approval as an introduction
to the study of a subject which, while it has been alluded to by most
authors, has received little or no systematic treatment. For this and
other reasons I was induced some three years since to commence an
examination and collection of data relative to the matter, and the
present paper is the outcome of that effort. From the vast amount of
material in the Bureau of Ethnology, even at the present time, a large
volume might be prepared, but it was thought wiser to endeavor to
obtain a still greater array of facts, especially from living
observers. If the desired end is attained I shall not count as lost
the labor which has been bestowed.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

H C. YARROW.

Maj. J. W. POWELL,

_In charge of Bureau of Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution_

_The wisest of beings tells us that it is better to go to the House
of Mourning than to that of laughter. And those who have well consider
d the grounds he bad for thus his judgment will not by the title of
this book (as melancholy as it appears) be affrighted from the
perusing it.

What we read to have been and still to be the custom of some nations
to make sepulchres the repositories of their greatest riches is (I am
sure) universally true in a moral sense however it may be thought in
the literal there being never a grave but what conceals a treasure
though all have not the art to discover it I do not here invite the
covetous miser to disturb the dead who can frame no idea of treasure
distinct from gold and silver but him who knows that wisdom and virtue
are the true and sole riches of man. Is not truth a treasure think
you? Which yet Democritus assures us is buried in a deep pit or grave
and he bad reason for whereas we meet elsewhere with nothing but pain
and deceit we no sooner look down into a grave but truth faceth us and
tells us our own._--MURET

INQUIRIES AND SUGGESTIONS

upon the

MORTUARY CUSTOMS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS.

BY H. C. YARROW.

INTRODUCTORY.

The primitive manners and customs of the North American Indians are
rapidly passing away under influences of civilization and other
disturbing elements. In view of this fact, it becomes the duty of all
interested in preserving a record of these customs to labor
assiduously, while there is still time, to collect such data as may be
obtainable. This seems the more important now, as within the last ten
years an almost universal interest has been awakened in ethnologic
research, and the desire for more knowledge in this regard is
constantly increasing. A wise and liberal government, recognizing the
need, has ably seconded the efforts of those engaged in such studies
by liberal grants from the public funds; nor is encouragement wanted
from the hundreds of scientific societies throughout the civilized
globe. The public press, too--the mouth-piece of the people--is ever
on the alert to scatter broadcast such items of ethnologic information
as its corps of well-trained reporters can secure. To induce further
laudable inquiry, and assist all those who may be willing to engage in
the good work, is the object of this preliminary work on the mortuary
customs of North American Indians, and it is hoped that many more
laborers may through it be added to the extensive and honorable list
of those who have already contributed.

It would appear that the subject chosen should awaken great interest,
since the peculiar methods followed by different nations and the great
importance attached to burial ceremonies have formed an almost
invariable part of all works relating to the different peoples of our
globe; in fact no particular portion of ethnologic research has
claimed more attention. In view of these facts, it might seem almost a
work of supererogation to continue a further examination of the
subject, for nearly every author in writing of our Indian tribes makes
some mention of burial observances; but these notices are scattered
far and wide on the sea of this special literature, and many of the
accounts, unless supported by corroborative evidence, may be
considered as entirely unreliable. To bring together and harmonize
conflicting statements, and arrange collectively what is known of the
subject has been the writer's task, and an enormous mass of
information has been acquired, the method of securing which has been
as follows:

In the first instance a circular was prepared, which is here given;
this at the time was thought to embrace all items relating to the
disposal of the dead and attendant ceremonies, although since its
distribution other important questions have arisen which will be
alluded to subsequently.

"WASHINGTON, D. C, _June_ 15, 1877.

"To--

"SIR: Being engaged in preparing a memoir upon the 'Burial Customs of
the Indians of North America, both ancient and modern, and the
disposal of their dead,' I beg leave to request your kind co-operation
to enable me to present as exhaustive an exposition of the subject as
possible, and to this end earnestly invite your attention to the
following points in regard to which information is desired:

"1st. Name of the tribe

"2d. Locality.

"3d. Manner of burial, ancient and modern.

"4th. Funeral ceremonies.

"5th. Mourning observances, if any.

"With reference to the first of these inquiries, 'Name of the tribe,'
the Indian name is desired as well as the name by which the tribe is
known to the whites.

"As to 'Locality,' the response should give the range of the tribe,
and be full and geographically accurate.

"As to the 'Manner of burial,' &c, it is important to have every
particular bearing on this branch of the subject, and much minuteness
is desirable.

"For instance:

"(_a_) Was the body buried in the ground; if so, in what
position, and how was the grave prepared and finished?

"(_b_) If cremated, describe the process, and what disposal was
made of the ashes.

"(_c_) Were any utensils, implements, ornaments, &c., or food
placed in the grave? In short, every _fact_ is sought that may
possibly add to a general knowledge of the subject.

"Answers to the fourth and fifth queries should give as full and
succinct a description as possible of funereal and other mortuary
ceremonies at the time of death and subsequently, the period of
mourning, manner of its observance, &c.

"In obtaining materials for the purpose in question it is particularly
desirable that well-authenticated sources of information only be drawn
upon, and, therefore, any points gathered from current rumor or mere
hearsay, and upon which there is doubt, should be submitted to
searching scrutiny before being embraced in answers to the several
interrogatories, and nothing should be recorded as a _fact_ until
fully established as such.

"In seeking information from Indians, it is well to remember the great
tendency to exaggeration they show, and since absolute facts will
alone serve our purpose, great caution is suggested in this
particular.

"It is earnestly desired to make the work in question as complete as
possible, and therefore it is especially hoped that your response will
cover the ground as pointed out by the several questions as thoroughly
as you may be able and willing to make it.

"In addition to notes, a reference to published papers either by
yourself or others is desirable, as well as the names of those persons
who may be able to furnish the needed information.

"Permit me to assure you that, while it is not offered in the way of
inducement to secure the service asked, since it is barely possible
that you can be otherwise than deeply interested in the extension of
the bounds of knowledge, full credit will be given you in the work for
whatever information you may be pleased to furnish.

"This material will be published under the auspices of Prof. J.W.
Powell, in charge of the U. S Geographical and Geological Survey of
the Rocky Mountain Region.

"Communications may be addressed to me either at the address given
above or at the Army Medical Museum, Washington, D. C.

"Respectfully, yours,

"H. C. YARROW."

This was forwarded to every Indian agent, physicians at agencies, to a
great number of Army officers who had served or were serving at
frontier posts, and to individuals known to be interested in
ethnologic matters. A large number of interesting and valuable
responses were received, many of them showing how customs have changed
either under influences of civilization or altered circumstances of
environment.

Following this, a comprehensive list of books relating to North
American Indians was procured, and each volume subjected to careful
scrutiny, extracts being made from those that appeared in the writer's
judgment reliable. Out of a large number examined up to the present
time, several hundred have been laid under contribution, and the labor
of further collation still continues.

It is proper to add that all the material obtained will eventually be
embodied in a quarto volume, forming one of the series of
contributions to North American Ethnology prepared under the direction
of Maj. J. W. Powell, Director of the Bureau of Ethnology, Smithsonian
Institution, from whom, since the inception of the work, most constant
encouragement and advice has been received, and to whom all American
ethnologists owe a debt of gratitude which can never be repaid.

Having thus called attention to the work and the methods pursued in
collecting data, the classification of the subject may be given and
examples furnished of the burial ceremonies among different tribes,
calling especial attention to similar or almost analogous customs
among the peoples of the Old World.

For our present purpose the following provisional arrangement of
burials may be adopted:

1st. By INHUMATION in pits, graves, holes in the ground, mounds;
cists, and caves.

2d. By CREMATION, generally on the surface of the earth, occasionally
beneath, the resulting bones or ashes being placed in pits, in the
ground, in boxes placed on scaffolds or trees, in urns, sometimes
scattered.

3d. By EMBALMENT or a process of mummifying, the remains being
afterwards placed in the earth, caves, mounds, or charnel-houses.

4th. By AERIAL SEPULTURE, the bodies being deposited on scaffolds or
trees, in boxes or canoes, the two latter receptacles supported on
scaffolds or posts, or on the ground. Occasionally baskets have been
used to contain the remains of children, these being hung to trees.

5th. By AQUATIC BURIAL, beneath the water, or in canoes, which were
turned adrift.

These heads might, perhaps, be further subdivided, but the above seem
sufficient for all practical needs.

The use of the term _burial_ throughout this paper is to be
understood in its literal significance, the word being derived from
the Anglo-Saxon "_birgan,_" to conceal or hide away.

In giving descriptions of different burials and attendant ceremonies,
it has been deemed expedient to introduce entire accounts as
furnished, in order to preserve continuity of narrative.

INHUMATION.

The commonest mode of burial among North American Indians has been
that of interment in the ground, and this has taken place in a number
of different ways; the following will, however, serve as good examples
of the process.

"The Mohawks of New York made a large round hole in which the body was
placed upright or upon its haunches, after which it was covered with
timber, to support the earth which they lay over, and thereby kept the
body from being pressed. They then raised the earth in a round hill
over it. They always dressed the corpse in all its finery, and put
wampum and other things into the grave with it; and the relations
suffered not grass nor any weed to grow upon the grave, and frequently
visited it and made lamentation." [Footnote: Hist. Indian Tribes of
the United States, 1853, part 3, p 183.]

This account may be found in Schoolcraft.

In Jones [Footnote: Antiq. of Southern Indians, 1873, pp 108-110] is
the following interesting account from Lawson, of the burial customs
of the Indians formerly inhabiting the Carolinas:

"Among the Carolina tribes, the burial of the dead was accompanied
with special ceremonies, the expense and formality attendant upon the
funeral according with the rank of the deceased. The corpse was first
placed in a cane bundle and deposited in an outhouse made for the
purpose, where it was suffered to remain for a day and a night guarded
and mourned over by the nearest relatives with disheveled hair. Those
who are to officiate at the funeral go into the town, and from the
backs of the first young men they meet strip such blankets and
matchcoats as they deem suitable for their purpose. In these the dead
body is wrapped and then covered with two or three mats made of rushes
or cane. The coffin is made of woven reeds or hollow canes tied fast
at both ends. When everything is prepared for the interment, the
corpse is carried from the house in which it has been lying into the
orchard of peach-trees and is there deposited in another bundle.
Seated upon mats are there congregated the family and tribe of the
deceased and invited guests. The medicine man, or conjurer, having
enjoined silence, then pronounces a funeral oration, during which he
recounts the exploits of the deceased, his valor, skill, love of
country, property, and influence, alludes to the void caused by his
death, and counsels those who remain to supply his place by following
in his footsteps; pictures the happiness he will enjoy in the land of
spirits to which he has gone, and concludes his address by an allusion
to the prominent traditions of his tribe."

Let us here pause to remind the reader that this custom has prevailed
throughout the civilized world up to the present day--a custom, in the
opinion of many, "more honored in the breach than the observance."

"At last [says Mr. Lawson], the corpse is brought away from that
hurdle to the grave by four young men, attended by the relations, the
king, old men, and all the nation. When they come to the sepulchre,
which is about six feet deep and eight feet long, having at each end
(that is, at the head and foot) a light-wood or pitch-pine fork driven
close down the sides of the grave firmly into the ground (these two
forks are to contain a ridgepole, as you shall understand presently),
before they lay the corpse into the grave, they cover the bottom two
or three time over with the bark of trees; then they let down the
corpse (with two belts that the Indians carry their burdens withal)
very leisurely upon the said barks; then they lay over a pole of the
same wood in the two forks, and having a great many pieces of pitch-
pine logs about two foot and a half long, they stick them in the sides
of the grave down each end and near the top, through of where (sic) the
other ends lie in the ridge-pole, so that they are declining like the
roof of a house. These being very thick placed, they cover them many
times double with bark; then they throw the earth thereon that came
out of the grave and beat it down very firm. By this means the dead
body lies in a vault, nothing touching him. After a time the body is
taken up, the bones cleaned, and deposited in an ossuary called the
Quiogozon."

Dr Fordyce Grinnell, physician to the Wichita Agency, Indian
Territory, furnishes the following description of the burial
ceremonies of the Wichita Indians, who call themselves. "_Kitty-la-
tats_" or those of the tattooed eyelids.

"When a Wichita dies the town-crier goes up and down through the
village and announces the fact. Preparations are immediately made for
the burial, and the body is taken without delay to the grave prepared
for it reception. If the grave is some distance from the village the
body is carried thither on the back of a pony, being first wrapped in
blankets and then laid prone across the saddle, one walking on either
side to support it. The grave is dug from 3 to 4 feet deep and of
sufficient length for the extended body. First blankets and buffalo
robes are laid in the bottom of the grave, then the body, being taken
from the horse and unwrapped, is dressed in its best apparel and with
ornaments is placed upon a couch of blankets and robes, with the head
towards the west and the feet to the east; the valuables belonging to
the deceased are placed with the body in the grave. With the man are
deposited his bows and arrows or gun, and with the woman her cooking
utensils and other implements of her toil. Over the body sticks are
placed six or eight inches deep and grass over these, so that when the
earth is filled in it need not come in contact with the body or its
trappings. After the grave is filled with earth a pen of poles is
built around it, or, as is frequently the case, stakes are driven so
that they cross each other from either side about midway over the
grave, thus forming a complete protection from the invasion of wild
animals. After all this is done, the grass or other _debris_ is
carefully scraped from about the grave for several feet, so that the
ground is left smooth and clean. It is seldom the case that the
relatives accompany the remains to the grave, but they more often
employ others to bury the body for them, usually women. Mourning is
similar in this tribe as in others, and consists in cutting off the
hair, fasting, &c. Horses are also killed at the grave."

The Caddoes, _Ascena_, or Timber Indians, as they call
themselves, follow nearly the same mode of burial as the Wichitas, but
one custom prevailing is worthy of mention.

"If a Caddo is killed in battle, the body is never buried, but is left
to be devoured by beasts or birds of prey and the condition of such
individuals in the other world is considered to be far better than
that of persons dying a natural death."

In a work by Bruhier [Footnote: L'incertitude des Signes de la Mort,
1740, tom 1, p. 430] the following remarks, freely translated by the
writer, may be found, which note a custom having great similarity to
the exposure of bodies to wild beasts mentioned above.

"The ancient Persians threw out the bodies of their dead on the roads,
and if they were promptly devoured by wild beasts it was esteemed a
great honor, a misfortune if not. Sometimes they interred, always
wrapping the dead in a wax cloth to prevent odor."

M. Pierre Muret, [Footnote: Rites of Funeral, Ancient and Modern,
1683, p 45] from whose book Bruhier probably obtained his information,
gives at considerable length an account of this peculiar method of
treating the dead among the Persians, as follows:

"It is a matter of astonishment, considering the _Persians_ have
ever had the renown of being one of the most civilized Nations in the
world, that notwithstanding they should have used such barbarous
customs about the Dead as are set down in the Writings of some
Historians, and the rather because at this day there are still to be
seen among them those remains of Antiquity, which do fully satisfie
us, that their Tombs have been very magnificent. And yet nevertheless,
if we will give credit to _Procopius_ and _Agathias_, the
_Persians_ were never wont to bury their Dead Bodies, so far were
they from bestowing any Funeral Honours upon them. But, as these
Authors tell us, they exposed them stark naked in the open fields,
which is the greatest shame our Laws do allot to the most infamous
Criminals, by laying them open to the view of all upon the highways:
Yea, in their opinion it was a great unhappiness, if either Birds or
Beasts did not devour their Carcases; and they commonly made an
estimate of the Felicity of these poor Bodies, according as they were
sooner or later made a prey of. Concerning these, they resolved that
they must needs have been very bad indeed, since even the beasts
themselves would not touch them; which caused an extream sorrow to
their Relations, they taking it for an ill boding to their Family, and
an infallible presage of some great misfortune hanging over their
heads, for they persuaded themselves, that the Souls which inhabited
those Bodies being dragg'd into Hell, would not fail to come and
trouble them, and that being always accompanied with the Devils, their
Tormentors, they would certainly give them a great deal of disturbance.

"And on the contrary, when these Corpses were presently devoured,
their joy was very great, they enlarged themselves in praises of the
Deceased; every one esteeming them undoubtedly happy, and came to
congratulate their relations on that account: For as they believed
assuredly, that they were entered into the _Elysian_ Fields, so
they were persuaded, that they would procure the same bliss for all
those of their family.

"They also took a great delight to see Skeletons and Bones scatered up
and down in the fields, whereas we can scarcely endure to see those of
Horses and Dogs used so. And these remains of Humane Bodies, (the
sight whereof gives us so much, horror, that we presently bury them
out of our sight, whenever we find them elsewhere than in Charnel-
houses or Church yards) were the occasion of their greatest joy
because they concluded from thence the happiness of those that had
been devoured wishing after then Death to meet with the like good
luck."

The same author states and Bruhier corroborates the assertion that the
Parthians, Medes, Iberians, Caspians, and a few others had such a
horror and aversion of the corruption and decomposition of the dead
and of their being eaten by worms that they threw out the bodies into
the open fields to be devoured by wild beasts, a part of their belief
being that persons so devoured would not be entirely extinct, but
enjoy at least a partial sort of life in their living sepulchres. It
is quite probable that for these and other reasons the Bactrians and
Hircanians trained dogs for this special purpose called _Canes
sepulchrales_ which received the greatest care and attention, for
it was deemed proper that the souls of the deceased should have strong
and lusty frames to dwell in.

George Gibbs [Footnote: Schoolcraft's Hist. Indian Tribes of the
United States Pt. 3, 1853, p. 140]  gives the following account of
burial among the Klamath and Trinity Indians of the Northwest coast.

The graves which are in the immediate vicinity of their houses exhibit
very considerable taste and a laudable care. The dead are inclosed in
rude coffins formed by placing four boards around the body and covered
with earth to some depth; a heavy plank often supported by upright
head and foot stones is laid upon the top or stones are built up into
a wall about a foot above the ground and the top flagged with others.
The graves of the chiefs are surrounded by neat wooden palings, each
pale ornamented with a feather from the tail of the bald eagle.
Baskets are usually staked down by the side according to the wealth or
popularity of the individual and sometimes other articles for ornament
or use are suspended over them. The funeral ceremonies occupy three
days during which the soul of the deceased is in danger from _O-mah-
u_ or the devil. To preserve it from this peril a fire is kept up
at the grave and the friends of the deceased howl around it to scare
away the demon. Should they not be successful in this the soul is
carried down the river, subject, however, to redemption by _Peh-ho
wan_ on payment of a big knife. After the expiration of three days
it is all well with them.

The question may well be asked, is the big knife a "sop to Cerberus"?

Capt. F. E. Grossman, [Footnote: Rep. Smithson. Inst., 1871, p. 414]
USA, furnishes the following account of burial among the Pimas of
Arizona:

"The Pimas tie the bodies of their dead with ropes, passing the latter
around the neck and under the knees and then drawing them tight until
the body is doubled up and forced into a sitting position. They dig
the grave from four to five feet deep and perfectly round (about two
feet in diameter), then hollow out to one side of the bottom of this
grave a sort of vault large enough to contain the body. Here the body
is deposited, the grave is filled up level with the ground, and poles,
trees, or pieces of timber placed upon the grave to protect the
remains from the coyotes (a species of wolf). Burials usually take
place at night, without much ceremony. The mourners chant during the
burial, but signs of grief are rare. The bodies of their dead are
buried, if possible, immediately after death has taken place, and the
graves are generally prepared before the patients die. Sometimes sick
persons (for whom the graves had already been dug) recovered; in such
cases the graves are left open until the persons for whom they were
intended die. Open graves of this kind can be seen in several of their
burial-grounds. Places of burial are selected some distance from the
village, and, if possible, in a grove of mesquite bushes. Immediately
after the remains have been buried, the house and personal effects of
the deceased are burned, and his horses and cattle killed, the meat
being cooked as a repast for the mourners. The nearest relatives of
the deceased, as a sign of their sorrow, remain in the village for
weeks and sometimes months; the men cut off about six inches of their
long hair, while the women cut their hair quite short"

The Coyotero Apaches, according to Dr. W. J. Hoffman, [Footnote: U.S.
Geol. Surv. of Terr. for 1876, p. 473] in disposing of their dead,
seem to be actuated by the desire to spare themselves any needless
trouble, and prepare the defunct and the grave in this manner.

"The Coyoteros, upon the death of a member of the tribe, partially
wrap up the corpse and deposit it into the cavity left by the removal
of a small rock or the stump of a tree. After the body has been
crammed into the smallest possible space the rock or stump is again
rolled into its former position, when a number of stones are placed
around the base to keep out the coyotes. The nearest of kin usually
mourn for the period of one month, during that time giving utterance
at intervals to the most dismal lamentations, which are apparently
sincere. During the day this obligation is frequently neglected or
forgotten, but when the mourner is reminded of his duty he renews his
howling with evident interest. This custom of mourning for the period
of thirty days corresponds to that formerly observed by the Natchez."

Somewhat similar to this rude mode of sepulture is that described in
the life of Moses Van Campen, which relates to the Indians formerly
inhabiting Pennsylvania:

"Directly after the Indians proceeded to bury those who had fallen in
battle, which they did by rolling an old log from its place and laying
the body in the hollow thus made, and then heaping upon it a little
earth"

As a somewhat curious, if not exceptional, interment, the following
account, relating to the Indians of New York is furnished, by Mr.
Franklin B. Hough, who has extracted it from an unpublished journal of
the agents of a French company kept in 1794:

"Saw Indian graves on the plateau of Independence Rock. The Indians
plant a stake on the right side of the head of the deceased and bury
them in a bark canoe. Their children come every year to bring
provisions to the place where their fathers are buried. One of the
graves had fallen in and we observed in the soil some sticks for
stretching skins, the remains of a canoe, &c., and the two straps for
carrying it, and near the place where the head lay were the traces of
a fire which they had kindled for the soul of the deceased to come and
warm itself by and to partake of the food deposited near it.

"These were probably the Massasauga Indians, then inhabiting the north
shore of Lake Ontario, but who were rather intruders here, the country
being claimed by the Oneidas."

It is not to be denied that the use of canoes for coffins has
occasionally been remarked, for the writer in 1875 removed from the
graves at Santa Barbara an entire skeleton which was discovered in a
redwood canoe, but it is thought that the individual may have been a
noted fisherman, particularly as the implements of his vocation--nets,
fish-spears, &c.--were near him, and this burial was only an
exemplification of the well-rooted belief common to all Indians, that
the spirit in the next world makes use of the same articles as were
employed in this one. It should be added that of the many hundreds of
skeletons uncovered at Santa Barbara the one mentioned presented the
only example of the kind.

Among the Indians of the Mosquito coast, in Central America, canoe
burial in the ground, according to Bancroft [Footnote: Native Races of
Pacific States, 1874, vol. 1, p 744.], was common, and is thus
described:

"The corpse is wrapped in cloth and placed in one-half of a pitpan
which has been cut in two. Friends assemble for the funeral and drown
their grief in _mushla_, the women giving vent to their sorrow by
dashing themselves on the ground until covered with blood, and
inflicting other tortures, occasionally even committing suicide. As it
is supposed that the evil spirit seeks to obtain possession of the
body, musicians are called in to lull it to sleep while preparations
are made for its removal. All at once four naked men, who have
disguised themselves with paint so as not to be recognized and
punished by _Wulasha_, rush out from a neighboring hut, and,
seizing a rope attached to the canoe, drag it into the woods, followed
by the music and the crowd. Here the pitpan is lowered into the grave
with bow, arrow, spear, paddle, and other implements to serve the
departed in the land beyond, then the other half of the boat is placed
over the body. A rude hut is constructed over the grave, serving as a
receptacle for the choice food, drink, and other articles placed there
from time to time by relatives."

BURIAL IN CABINS, WIGWAMS, OR HOUSES.

While there is a certain degree of similitude between the above-noted
methods and the one to be mentioned subsequently--_lodge_ burial--
they differ, inasmuch as the latter are examples of surface or aerial
burial, and must consequently fall under another caption. The
narratives which are now to be given afford a clear idea of the former
kind of burial.

Bartram [Footnote: Bartram's Travels, 1791, pp. 515.] relates the
following regarding the Muscogulges of the Carolinas:

"The Muscogulges bury their deceased in the earth; they dig a four-
foot, square, deep pit under the cabin, or couch which the deceased
laid on in his house, lining the grave with cypress bark, when they
place the corpse in a sitting posture, as if it were alive, depositing
with him his gun, tomahawk, pipe, and such other matters as he had the
greatest value for in his lifetime. His eldest wife, or the queen
dowager, has the second choice of his possessions, and the remaining
effects are divided among his other wives and children."

According to Bernard Roman, the "funeral customs of the Chickasaws did
not differ materially from those of the Muscogulges. They interred the
dead as soon as the breath left the body, and beneath the couch in
which the deceased expired."

The Navajos of New Mexico and Arizona, a tribe living a considerable
distance from the Chickasaws, follow somewhat similar customs, as
related by Dr. John Menard, formerly a physician to their agency.

"The Navajo custom is to leave the body where it dies, closing up the
house or hogan or covering the body with stones or brush. In case the
body is removed, it is taken to a cleft in the rocks and thrown in,
and stones piled over. The person touching or carrying the body, first
takes off all his clothes and afterwards washes his body with water
before putting them on or mingling with the living. When a body is
removed from a house or hogan, the hogan is burned down, and the place
in every case abandoned, as the belief is that the devil comes to the
place of death and remains where a dead body is. Wild animals
frequently (indeed, generally) get the bodies, and it is a very easy
matter to pick up skulls and bones around old camping grounds, or
where the dead are laid. In case it is not desirable to abandon a
place, the sick person is left out in some lone spot protected by
brush, where they are either abandoned to their fate or food brought
to them until they die. This is done only when all hope is gone. I
have found bodies thus left so well inclosed with brush that wild
animals were unable to get at them; and one so left to die was revived
by a cup of coffee from our house and is still living and well."

Mr. J. L. Burchard, agent to the Round Valley Indians of California,
furnishes an account of burial somewhat resembling that of the
Navajos:

"When I first came here the Indians would dig a round hole in the
ground, draw up the knees of the deceased Indian, and wrap the body
into as small a bulk as possible in blankets, tie them firmly with
cords, place them in the grave, throw in beads, baskets, clothing,
everything owned by the deceased, and often donating much extra; all
gathered around the grave wailing most pitifully, tearing their faces
with their nails till the blood would run down their cheeks, pull out
their hair, and such other heathenish conduct. These burials were
generally made under their thatch houses or very near thereto. The
house where one died was always torn down, removed, rebuilt, or
abandoned. The wailing, talks, &c., were in their own jargon; none
else could understand, and they seemingly knew but little of its
meaning (if there was any meaning in it); it simply seemed to be the
promptings of grief, without sufficient intelligence to direct any
ceremony; each seemed to act out his own impulse"

STONE GRAVES OR CISTS.

These are of considerable interest, not only from their somewhat rare
occurrence, except in certain localities, but from the manifest care
taken by the survivors to provide for the dead what they considered a
suitable resting-place. A number of cists have been found in
Tennessee, and are thus described by Moses Fiske: [Footnote: Trans.
Amer. Antiq. Soc., 1820 vol. 1, p. 302]

"There are many burying grounds in West Tennessee with regular graves.
They dug them 12 or 18 inches deep, placed slabs at the bottom ends
and sides, forming a kind of stone coffin, and, after laying in the
body, covered it over with earth."

It may be added that, in 1873, the writer assisted at the opening of a
number of graves of men of the reindeer period, near Solutre, in
France, and they were almost identical in construction with those
described by Mr. Fiske, with the exception that the latter were
deeper; this, however, may be accounted for if it is considered how
great a deposition of earth may have taken place during the many
centuries which have elapsed since the burial. Many of the graves
explored by the writer in 1875, at Santa Barbara, resembled somewhat
cist graves, the bottom and sides of the pit being lined with large
flat stones, but there were none directly over the skeletons.

The next account is by Maj. J. W. Powell, the result of his
observation in Tennessee.  "These ancient cemeteries are exceedingly
abundant throughout the State, often hundreds of graves may be found
on a single hillside. In some places the graves are scattered and in
others collected in mounds, each mound being composed of a large
number of cist graves. It is evident that the mounds were not
constructed at one time, but the whole collection of graves therein
was made during long periods by the addition of a new grave from time
to time. In the first burials found at the bottom and near the center
of a mound a tendency to a concentric system, with the feet inward, is
observed, and additions are made around and above these first
concentric graves, as the mound increases in size the burials become
more and more irregular:

"Some other peculiarities are of interest. A larger number of
interments exhibit the fact that the bodies were placed there before
the decay of the flesh, while in other cases collections of bones are
buried. Sometimes these bones were placed in some order about the
crania, and sometimes in irregular piles, as if the collection of
bones had been emptied from a sack. With men, pipes, stone hammers,
knives, arrowheads, &c., were usually found; with women, pottery, rude
beads, shells, &c.; with children, toys of pottery, beads, curious
pebbles, &c.

"Sometimes, in the subsequent burials, the side slab of a previous
burial was used as a portion of the second cist. All of the cists were
covered with slabs."

Dr. Jones has given an exceedingly interesting account of the stone
graves of Tennessee, in his volume published by the Smithsonian
Institution, to which valuable work [Footnote: Antiquities of
Tennessee, Cont. to Knowledge, Smith. Inst., 1876, No. 259, 4 deg., pp. 1,
8, 37, 52, 55, 82.] the reader is referred for a more detailed account
of this mode of burial.

BURIAL IN MOUNDS.

In view of the fact that the subject of mound-burial is so extensive,
and that in all probability a volume by a member of the Bureau of
Ethnology may shortly be published, it is not deemed advisable to
devote any considerable space to it in this paper, but a few
interesting examples may be noted to serve as indications to future
observers.

The first to which attention is directed is interesting as resembling
cist-burial combined with deposition in mounds. The communication is
from Prof. F. W. Putnam, curator of the Peabody Museum of Archaology,
Cambridge, made to the Boston Society of Natural History, and is
published in volume XX of its proceedings, October 15, 1878:

"...He then stated that it would be of interest to the members, in
connection with the discovery of dolmens in Japan, as described by
Professor Morse, to know that within twenty-four hours there had been
received at the Peabody Museum a small collection of articles taken
from rude dolmens (or chambered barrows, as they would be called in
England), recently opened by Mr. E. Curtiss, who is now engaged, under
his direction, in exploration for the Peabody Museum.

"These chambered mounds are situated in the eastern part of Clay
County, Missouri, and form a large group on both sides of the Missouri
River. The chambers are, in the three opened by Mr. Curtiss, about 8
feet square, and from 4-1/2 to 5 feet high, each chamber having a
passage-way several feet in length and 2 in width leading from the
southern side and opening on the edge of the mound formed by covering
the chamber and passage-way with earth. The walls of the chambered
passages were about 2 feet thick, vertical, and well made of stones,
which were evenly laid without clay or mortar of any kind. The top of
one of the chambers had a covering of large, flat rocks, but the
others seem to have been closed over with wood. The chambers were
filled with clay which had been burnt, and appeared as if it had
fallen in from above. The inside walls of the chambers also showed
signs of fire. Under the burnt clay, in each chamber, were found the
remains of several human skeletons, all of which had been burnt to
such an extent as to leave but small fragments of the bones, which
were mixed with the ashes and charcoal. Mr. Curtiss thought that in
one chamber he found the remains of 5 skeletons and in another 13.
With these skeletons there were a few flint implements and minute
fragments of vessels of clay.

"A large mound near the chambered mounds was also opened, but in this
no chambers were found. Neither had the bodies been burnt. This mound
proved remarkably rich in large flint implements, and also contained
well-made pottery and a peculiar "gorget" of red stone. The connection
of the people who placed the ashes of their dead in the stone chambers
with those who buried their dead in the earth mounds is, of course,
yet to be determined."

It is quite possible, indeed probable, that these chambers were used
for secondary burials, the bodies having first been cremated.

In the volume of the proceedings already quoted the same investigator
gives an account of other chambered mounds which are, like the
preceding, very interesting, the more so as adults only were inhumed
therein, children having been buried beneath the dwelling-floors:

"Mr. F. W. Putnam occupied the rest of the evening with an account of
his explorations of the ancient mounds and burial places in the
Cumberland Valley, Tennessee.

"The excavations had been carried on by himself, assisted by Mr. Edwin
Curtiss, for over two years, for the benefit of the Peabody Museum at
Cambridge. During this time many mounds of various kinds had been
thoroughly explored, and several thousand of the singular stone graves
of the mound builders of Tennessee had been carefully opened.... Mr.
Putnam's remarks were illustrated by drawings of several hundred
objects obtained from the graves and mounds, particularly to show the
great variety of articles of pottery and several large and many unique
forms of implements of chipped flint. He also exhibited and explained
in detail a map of a walled town of this old nation. This town was
situated on the Lindsley estate, in a bend of Spring Creek. The earth
embankment, with its accompanying ditch, encircled an area of about 12
acres. Within this inclosure there was one large mound with a flat
top, 15 feet high, 130 feet long, and 90 feet wide, which was found
not to be a burial mound. Another mound near the large one, about 50
feet in diameter, and only a few feet high, contained 60 human
skeletons, each in a carefully-made stone grave, the graves being
arranged in two rows, forming the four sides of a square, and in three
layers.... The most important discovery lie made within the inclosure
was that of finding the remains of the houses of the people who lived
in this old town. Of them about 70 were traced out and located on the
map by Professor Buchanan, of Lebanon, who made the survey for Mr.
Putnam. Under the floors of hard clay, which was in places much burnt,
Mr. Putnam found the graves of children. As only the bodies of adults
had been placed in the one mound devoted to burial, and as nearly
every site of a house he explored had from one to four graves of
children under the clay floor, he was convinced that it was a regular
custom to bury the children in that way. He also found that the
children had been undoubtedly treated with affection, as in their
small graves were found many of the best pieces of pottery he
obtained, and also quantities of shell-beads, several large pearls,
and many other objects which were probably the playthings of the
little ones while living." [Footnote: A detailed account of this
exploration, with many illustrations, will be found in the Eleventh
Annual Report of the Peabody Museum, Cambridge, 1878.]

This cist mode of burial is by no means uncommon in Tennessee, as they
are frequently mentioned by writers on North American archaeology.

The examples which follow are specially characteristic, some of them
serving to add strength to the theory that mounds were for the most
part used for secondary burial, although intrusions were doubtless
common.

Of the burial mounds of Ohio, Caleb Atwater [Footnote: Trans. Amer.
Antiq. Soc., 1820, i, p. 174 et seq.] gives this description.

"Near the center of the round fort ... was a tumulus of earth about 10
feet in height and several rods in diameter at its base. On its
eastern side, and extending six rods from it, was a semicircular
pavement composed of pebbles such as are now found in the bed of the
Scioto River, from whence they appear to have been brought. The summit
of this tumulus was nearly 30 feet in diameter, and there was a raised
way to it, leading from the east, like a modern turnpike. The summit
was level. The outline of the semicircular pavement and the walk is
still discernible. The earth composing this mound was entirely removed
several years since. The writer was present at its removal and
carefully examined the contents. It contained--

"1st. Two human skeletons lying on what had been the original surface
of the earth.

"2d. A great quantity of arrow-heads, some of which were so large as
to induce a belief that they were used as spear-heads.

"3d. The handle either of a small sword or a large knife, made of an
elk's horn. Around the end where the blade had been inserted was a
ferule of silver, which, though black, was not much injured by time.
Though the handle showed the hole where the blade had been inserted,
yet no iron was found, but an oxyde remained of similar shape and
size.

"4th. Charcoal and wood ashes on which these articles lay, which were
surrounded by several bricks very well burnt. The skeleton appeared to
have been burned in a large and very hot fire, which had almost
consumed the bones of the deceased. This skeleton was deposited a
little to the south of the center of the tumulus; and about 20 feet to
the north of it was another, with which were--

"5th. A large mirrour about 3 feet in breadth and 1-1/2 inches in
thickness This mirrour was of isinglass (_mica membranacea_), and
on it--

"6th. A plate of iron which had become an oxyde, but before it was
disturbed by the spade resembled a plate of cast iron. The mirrour
answered the purpose very well for which it was intended. This
skeleton had also been burned like the former, and lay on charcoal and
a considerable quantity of wood ashes. A part of the mirrour is in my
possession, as well as a piece of brick taken from the spot at the
time. The knife or sword handle was sent to Mr. Peal's Museum at
Philadelphia.

"To the southwest of this tumulus, about 40 rods from it, is another,
more than 90 feet in height, which is shown on the plate representing
these works. It stands on a large hill, which appears to be
artificial. This must have been the common cemetery, as it contains an
immense number of human skeletons of all sizes and ages. The skeletons
are laid horizontally, with their heads generally towards the center
and the feet towards the outside of the tumulus. A considerable part
of this work still stands uninjured, except by time. In it have been
found, besides these skeletons, stone axes and knives and several
ornaments, with holes through them, by means of which, with a cord
passing through these perforations they could be worn by their owners.
On the south side of this tumulus, and not far from it, was a
semicircular fosse, which, when I first saw it, was 6 feet deep. On
opening it was discovered at the bottom a great quantity of human
bones, which I am inclined to believe were the remains of those who
had been slain in some great and destructive battle first, because
they belonged to persons who had attained their full size, whereas in
the mound adjoining were found the skeletons of persons of all ages,
and, secondly, they were here in the utmost confusion, as if buried in
a hurry. May we not conjecture that they belonged to the people who
resided in the town, and who were victorious in the engagement?
Otherwise they would not have been thus honorably buried in the common
cemetery."

CHILLICOTHE MOUND.

"Its perpendicular height was about 15 feet, and the diameter of its
base about 60 feet. It was composed of sand and contained human bones
belonging to skeletons which were buried in different parts of it. It
was not until this pile of earth was removed and the original surface
exposed to view that a probable conjecture of its original design
could be formed. About 20 feet square of the surface had been leveled
and covered with bark. On the center of this lay a human skeleton,
over which had been spread a mat manufactured either from weeds or
bark. On the breast lay what had been a piece of copper, in the form
of a cross, which had now become verdigrise. On the breast also lay a
stone ornament with two perforations, one near each end, through which
passed a string, by means of which it was suspended around the
wearer's neck. On this string, which was made of sinews, and very much
injured by time, were placed a great many heads made of ivory or bone,
for I cannot certainly say which...."

MOUNDS OF STONE.

"Two such mounds have been described already in the county of Perry.
Others have been found in various parts of the country. There is one
at least in the vicinity of Licking River, not many miles from Newark.
There is another on a branch of Hargus's Creek, a few miles to the
northeast of Circleville. There were several not very far from the
town of Chillicothe. If these mounds were sometimes used as cemeteries
of distinguished persons, they were also used as monuments with a view
of perpetuating the recollection of some great transaction or event.
In the former not more generally than one or two skeletons are found;
in the latter none. These mounds are like those of earth, in form of a
cone, composed of small stones on which no marks of tools were
visible. In them some of the most interesting articles are found, such
as urns, ornaments of copper, heads of spears, &c., of the same metal,
as well as medals of copper and pickaxes of horneblende; ... works of
this class, compared with those of earth, are few, and they are none
of them as large as the mounds at Grave Creek, in the town of
Circleville, which belong to the first class. I saw one of these stone
tumuli which had been piled on the surface of the earth on the spot
where three skeletons had been buried in stone coffins, beneath the
surface. It was situated on the western edge of the hill on which the
"walled town" stood, on Paint Creek. The graves appear to have been
dug to about the depth of ours in the present times. After the bottom
and sides were lined with thin flat stones, the corpses were placed in
these graves in an eastern and western direction, and large flat
stones were laid over the graves; then the earth which had been dug
out of the graves was thrown over them. A huge pile of stones was
placed over the whole. It is quite probable, however, that this was a
work of our present race of Indians. Such graves are more common in
Kentucky than Ohio. No article, except the skeletons, was found in
these graves; and the skeletons resembled very much the present race
of Indians."

The mounds of Sterling County, Illinois, are described by W. C.
Holbrook, [Footnote: Amer. Natural, 1877, xi, No. 11, p. 688] as
follows:

"I recently made an, examination of a few of the many Indian mounds
found on Rock River, about two miles above Sterling, Ill. The first
one opened was an oval mound about 20 feet long, 12 feet wide, and 7
feet high. In the interior of this I found a _dolmen_ or
quadrilateral wall about 10 feet long, 4 feet high, and 4-1/2 feet
wide. It had been built of lime-rock from a quarry near by, and was
covered with large flat stones No mortar or cement had been used. The
whole structure rested on the surface of the natural soil, the
interior of which had been scooped out to enlarge the chamber. Inside
of the _dolmen_ I found the partly decayed remains of eight human
skeletons, two very large teeth of an unknown animal, two fossils, one
of which is not found in this place, and a plummet. One of the long
bones had been splintered; the fragments had united, but there
remained large morbid growths of bone (exostosis) in several places.
One of the skulls presented a circular opening about the size of a
silver dime. This perforation had been made during life, for the edges
had commenced to cicatrize. I later examined three circular mounds,
but in them I found no dolmens. The first mound contained three adult
human skeletons, a few fragments of the skeleton of a child, the lower
maxillary of which indicated it to be about six years old. I also
found claws of some carnivorous animal. The surface of the soil had
been scooped out and the bodies laid in the excavation and covered
with about a foot of earth, fires had then been made upon the grave
and the mound afterwards completed. The bones had not been charred. No
charcoal was found among the bones, but occurred in abundance in a
stratum about one foot above them. Two other mounds, examined at the
same time, contained no remains.

"Of two other mounds, opened later, the first was circular, about 4
feet high, and 15 feet in diameter at the base, and was situated on an
elevated point of land close to the bank of the river. From the top of
this mound one might view the country for many miles in almost any
direction. On its summit was an oval altar 6 feet long and 4-1/2 wide.
It was composed of flat pieces of limestone, which had been burned
red, some portions having been almost converted into lime. On and
about this altar I found abundance of charcoal. At the sides of the
altar were fragments of human bones, some of which had been charred.
It was covered by a natural growth of vegetable mold and sod, the
thickness of which was about 10 inches. Large trees had once grown in
this vegetable mold, but their stumps were so decayed I could not tell
with certainty to what species they belonged. Another large mound was
opened which contained nothing."

The next account relates to the grave-mounds near Pensacola, Fla., and
was originally published by Dr. George M. Sternberg, surgeon United
States Army. [Footnote: Proc. Am. Ass. Adv. of Science, 1875, p. 288]

"Before visiting the mound I was informed that the Indians were buried
in it in an upright position, each one with a clay pot on his head.
This idea was based upon some superficial explorations which had been
made from time to time by curiosity hunters. Their excavations had,
indeed, brought to light pots containing fragments of skulls, but not
buried in the position they imagined. Very extensive explorations made
at different times by myself have shown that only fragments of skulls
and of the long bones of the body are to be found in the mound, and
that these are commonly associated with earthen pots, sometimes whole,
but more frequently broken fragments only. In some instances portions
of the skull were placed in a pot, and the long bones were deposited
in its immediate vicinity. Again, the pots would contain only sand,
and fragments of bones would be found near them. The most successful
'find' I made was a whole nest of pots, to the number of half a dozen,
all in a good state of preservation, and buried with a fragment of
skull, which I take from its small size to have been that of a female.
Whether this female was thus distinguished above all others buried in
the mound by the number of pots deposited with her remains because of
her skill in the manufacture of such ware, or by reason of the unusual
wealth of her sorrowing husband, must remain a matter of conjecture. I
found altogether fragments of skulls and thigh-bones belonging to at
least fifty individuals, but in no instance did I find anything like a
complete skeleton. There were no vertebra, no ribs, no pelvic bones,
and none of the small bones of the hands and feet. Two or three skulls
nearly perfect were found, but they were so fragile that it was
impossible to preserve them. In the majority of instances only
fragments of the frontal and parietal bones were found, buried in pots
or in fragments of pots too small to have ever contained a complete
skull. The conclusion was irresistible that this was not a burial-
place for _the bodies_ of deceased Indians, but that the bones
had been gathered from some other locality for burial in this mound,
or that cremation was practiced before burial, and the fragments of
bone not consumed by fire were gathered and deposited in the mound.
That the latter supposition is the correct one I deem probable from
the fact that in digging in the mound evidences of fire are found in
numerous places, but without any regularity as to depth and position.
These evidences consist in strata of from one to four inches in
thickness, in which the sand is of a dark color and has mixed with it
numerous small fragments of charcoal.

"My theory is that the mound was built by gradual accretion in the
following manner. That when a death occurred a funeral pyre was
erected on the mound, upon which the body was placed. That after the
body was consumed, any fragments of bones remaining were gathered,
placed in a pot, and buried, and that the ashes and cinders were
covered by a layer of sand brought from the immediate vicinity for
that purpose. This view is further supported by the fact that only the
shafts of the long bones are found, the expanded extremities, which
would be most easily consumed, having disappeared; also, by the fact
that no bones of children were found. Their bones being smaller, and
containing a less proportion of earthy matter, would be entirely
consumed....

"At the Santa Rosa mound the method of burial was different. Here I
found the skeletons complete, and obtained nine well-preserved
skulls.... The bodies were not apparently deposited upon any regular
system, and I found no objects of interest associated with the
remains. It may be that this was due to the fact that the skeletons
found were those of warriors who had fallen in battle in which they
had sustained a defeat. This view is supported by the fact that they
were all males, and that two of the skulls bore marks of ante-mortem
injuries which must have been of a fatal character."

Writing of the Choctaws, Bartram, [Footnote: Bartram's Travels, 1791,
p. 513.] in alluding to the ossuary or bone-house, mentions that so
soon as this is filled a general inhumation takes place, in this
manner.

"Then the respective coffins are borne by the nearest relatives of the
deceased to the place of interment, where they are all piled one upon
another in the form of a pyramid, and the conical hill of earth heaped
above. The funeral ceremonies are concluded with the solemnization of
a festival called the feast of the dead."

Mr. Florian Gianque, of Cincinnati, Ohio, furnishes an account of a
somewhat curious mound burial which had taken place in the Miami
Valley of Ohio.

"A mound was opened in this locality, some years ago, containing a
central corpse in a sitting posture, and over thirty skeletons buried
around it in a circle, also in a sitting posture but leaning against
one another, tipped over towards the right facing inwards. I did not
see this opened, but have seen the mounds and many ornaments, awls,
&c., said to have been found near the central body. The parties
informing me are trustworthy."

As an example of interment, unique, so far as known, and interesting
as being _sui generis_, the following is presented, with the
statement that the author, Dr J. Mason Spainhour, of Lenoir, N.C.,
bears the reputation of an observer of undoubted integrity, whose
facts as given may not be doubted.

"_Excavation of an Indian mound by J. Mason Spainhour, D.D.S., of
Lenoir, Caldwell County, North Carolina, March 11, 1871, on the farm
of R. V. Michaux, esq., near John's River, in Burke County, North
Carolina_"

"In a conversation with Mr. Michaux on Indian curiosities, he informed
me that there was an Indian mound on his farm which was formerly of
considerable height, but had gradually been plowed down, that several
mounds in the neighborhood had been excavated and nothing of interest
found in them. I asked permission to examine this mound, which was
granted, and upon investigation the following facts were revealed.

"Upon reaching the place, I sharpened a stick 4 or 5 feet in length
and ran it down in the earth at several places, and finally struck a
rock about 18 inches below the surface, which, on digging down, was
found to be smooth on top, lying horizontally upon solid earth, about
18 inches above the bottom of the grave, 18 inches in length, and 16
inches in width, and from 2 to 3 inches in thickness, with the corners
rounded.

"Not finding anything under this rock, I then made an excavation in
the south of the grave, and soon struck another rock, which upon
examination proved to be in front of the remains of a human skeleton
in a sitting posture. The bones of the fingers of the right hand were
resting on this rock, and on the rock near the hand was a small stone
about 5 inches long, resembling a tomahawk or Indian hatchet. Upon a
further examination many of the bones were found, though in a very
decomposed condition, and upon exposure to the air soon crumbled to
pieces. The heads of the bones, a considerable portion of the skull,
maxillary bones, teeth, neck bones, and the vertebra, were in their
proper places, though the weight of the earth above them had driven
them down, yet the entire frame was so perfect that it was an easy
matter to trace all the bones; the bones of the cranium were slightly
inclined toward the east. Around the neck were found coarse beads that
seemed to be of some hard substance and resembled chalk. A small lump
of red paint about the size of an egg was found near the right side of
this skeleton. The sutures of the cranium indicated the subject to
have been 25 or 28 years of age, and its top rested about 12 inches
below the mark of the plow.

"I made a further excavation toward the west of this grave and found
another skeleton, similar to the first, in a sitting posture, facing
the east. A rock was on the right, on which the bones of the right
hand were resting, and on this rock was a tomahawk which had been
about 7 inches in length, but was broken into two pieces, and was much
better finished than the first. Beads were also around the neck of
this one, but are much smaller and of finer quality than those on the
neck of the first. The material, however, seems to be the same. A much
larger amount of paint was found by the side of this than the first.
The bones indicated a person of large frame, who, I think, was about
50 years of age. Everything about this one had the appearance of
superiority over the first. The top of the skull was about 6 inches
below the mark of the plane.

"I continued the examination, and, after diligent search, found
nothing at the north side of the grave; but, on reaching the east,
found another skeleton, in the same posture as the others, facing the
west. On the right side of this was a rock on which the bones of the
right hand were resting, and on the rock was also a tomahawk, which
had been about 8 inches in length, but was broken into _three_
pieces, and was composed of much better material, and better finished
than the others. Beads were also found on the neck of this, but much
smaller and finer than those of the others. A larger amount of paint
than both of the others was found near this one. The top of the
cranium had been moved by the plow. The bones indicated a person of 40
years of age.

"There was no appearance of hair discovered; besides, the smaller
bones were almost entirely decomposed, and would crumble when taken
from their bed in the earth. These two circumstances, coupled with the
fact that the farm on which this grave was found was the first settled
in that part of the country, the date of the first deed made from Lord
Granville to John Perkins running back about 150 years (the land still
belonging to the descendants of the same family that first occupied
it), would prove beyond doubt that it is a very old grave.

"The grave was situated due east and west, in size about 9 by 6 feet,
the line being distinctly marked by the difference in the color of the
soil. It was dug in rich, black loam, and filled around the bodies
with white or yellow sand, which I suppose was carried from the river-
bank, 200 yards distant. The skeletons approximated the walls of the
grave, and contiguous to them was a dark-colored earth, and so
decidedly different was this from all surrounding it, both in quality
and odor, that the line of the bodies could be readily traced. The
odor of this decomposed earth, which had been flesh, was similar to
clotted blood, and would adhere in lumps when compressed in the hand.

"This was not the grave of the Indian warriors; in those we find pots
made of earth or stone, and all the implements of war, for the warrior
had an idea that after he arose from the dead he would need, in the
'hunting-grounds beyond,' his bow and arrow, war-hatchet, and
scalping-knife.

"The facts set forth will doubtless convince every Mason who will
carefully read the account of this remarkable burial that the American
Indians were in possession of at least some of the mysteries of our
order, and that it was evidently the grave of Masons, and the three
highest officers in a Masonic lodge. The grave was situated due east
and west; an altar was erected in the center; the south, west, and
east were occupied--_the north was not;_ implements of authority
were near each body. The difference in the quality of the beads, the
tomahawks in one, two, and three pieces, and the difference that the
bodies were placed from the surface, indicate beyond doubt that these
three persons had been buried by Masons, and those, too, that
understood what they were doing.

"Will some learned Mason unravel this mystery, and inform the Masonic
world how they obtained so much Masonic information?

"The tomahawks, maxillary bones, some of the teeth, beads, and other
bones, have been forwarded to the Smithsonian Institution at
Washington, D.C., to be placed among the archives of that institution
for exhibition, at which place they may be seen."

If Dr. Spainhour's inferences are incorrect, still there is a
remarkable coincidence of circumstances patent to every Mason.

CAVE BURIAL.

Natural or artificial holes in the ground, caverns, and fissures in
rocks have been used as places of deposit for the dead since the
earliest periods of time, and are used up to the present day by not
only the American Indians, but by peoples noted for their mental
elevation and civilization, our cemeteries furnishing numerous
specimens of artificial or partly artificial caves. As to the motives
which have actuated this mode of burial, a discussion would be out of
place at this time, except as may incidentally relate to our own
Indians, who, so far as can be ascertained, simply adopted caves as
ready and convenient resting places for their deceased relatives and
friends.

In almost every State in the Union burial caves have been discovered,
but as there is more or less of identity between them, a few
illustrations will serve the purpose of calling the attention of
observers to the subject.

While in the Territory of Utah, in 1872, the writer discovered a
natural cave not far from the House Range of mountains, the entrance
to which resembled the shaft of a mine. In this the Gosi-Ute Indians
had deposited their dead, surrounded with different articles, until it
was quite filled up; at least it so appeared from the cursory
examination made, limited time preventing a careful exploration. In
the fall of the same year another cave was heard of, from an Indian
guide, near the Nevada border, in the same Territory, and an attempt
made to explore it, which failed for reasons to be subsequently given.
This Indian, a Gosi-Ute, who was questioned regarding the funeral
ceremonies of his tribe, informed the writer that not far from the
very spot where the party were encamped was a large cave in which he
had himself assisted in placing dead members of his tribe. He
described it in detail and drew a rough diagram of its position and
appearance within. He was asked if an entrance could be effected, and
replied that he thought not, as some years previous his people had
stopped up the narrow entrance to prevent game from seeking a refuge
in its vast vaults, for he asserted that it was so large and extended
so far under ground that no man knew its full extent. In
consideration, however, of a very liberal bribe, after many refusals,
he agreed to act as guide. A rough ride of over an hour and the
desired spot was reached. It was found to be almost upon the apex of a
small mountain apparently of volcanic origin, for the hole which was
pointed out appeared to have been the vent of the crater. This
entrance was irregularly circular in form and descended at an angle.
As the Indian had stated, it was completely stopped up with large
stones and roots of sage brush, and it was only after six hours of
uninterrupted, faithful labor that the attempt to explore was
abandoned. The guide was asked if many bodies were therein, and
replied "Heaps, heaps," moving the hands upwards as far as they could
be stretched. There is no reason to doubt the accuracy of the
information received, as it was voluntarily imparted.

In a communication received from Dr. A. J McDonald, physician to the
Los Pinos Indian Agency, Colorado, a description is given of crevice
or rock-fissure burial, which follows.

"As soon as death takes place the event is at once announced by the
medicine-man, and without loss of time the squaws are busily engaged
in preparing the corpse for the grave. This does not take long;
whatever articles of clothing may have been on the body at the time of
death are not removed. The dead man's limbs are straightened out, his
weapons of war laid by his side, and his robes and blankets wrapped
securely and snugly around him, and now everything is ready for
burial. It is the custom to secure, if possible, for the purpose of
wrapping up the corpse, the robes and blankets in which the Indian
died. At the same time that the body is being fitted for interment,
the squaws having immediate care of it, together with all the other
squaws in the neighborhood, keep up a continued chant or dirge, the
dismal cadence of which may, when the congregation of women is large,
be heard for quite a long distance. The death song is not a mere
inarticulate howl of distress; it embraces expressions eulogistic in
character, but whether or not any particular formula of words is
adopted on such occasion is a question which I am unable, with the
materials at my disposal, to determine with any degree of certainty.

"The next duty falling to the lot of the squaws is that of placing the
dead man on a horse and conducting the remains to the spot chosen for
burial. This is in the cleft of a rock, and, so far as can be
ascertained, it has always been customary among the Utes to select
sepulchres of this character. From descriptions given by Mr. Harris,
who has several times been fortunate enough to discover remains, it
would appear that no superstitious ideas are held by this tribe with
respect to the position in which the body is placed, the space
accommodation of the sepulchre probably regulating this matter; and
from the same source I learn that it is not usual to find the remains
of more than one Indian deposited in one grave. After the body has
been received into the cleft, it is well covered with pieces of rock,
to protect it against the ravages of wild animals. The chant ceases,
the squaws disperse, and the burial ceremonies are at an end. The men
during all this time have not been idle, though they have in no way
participated in the preparation of the body, have not joined the
squaws in chanting praises to the memory of the dead, and have not
even as mere spectators attended the funeral, yet they have had their
duties to perform. In conformity with a long-established custom, all
the personal property of the deceased is immediately destroyed. His
horses and his cattle are shot, and his wigwam, furniture, &c.,
burned. The performance of this part of the ceremonies is assigned to
the men; a duty quite in accord with their taste and inclinations.
Occasionally the destruction of horses and other property is of
considerable magnitude, but usually this is not the case, owing to a
practice existing with them of distributing their property among their
children while they are of a very tender age, retaining to themselves
only what is necessary to meet every-day requirements.

"The widow 'goes into mourning' by smearing her face with a substance
composed of pitch and charcoal. The application is made but once, and
is allowed to remain on until it wears off. This is the only mourning
observance of which I have any knowledge.

"The ceremonies observed on the death of a female are the same as
those in the case of a male, except that no destruction of property
takes place, and of course no weapons are deposited with the corpse.
Should a youth die while under the superintendence of white men, the
Indians will not as a rule have anything to do with the interment of
the body. In a case of the kind which occurred at this agency some
time ago, the squaws prepared the body in the usual manner; the men of
the tribe selected a spot for the burial, and the employes at the
agency, after digging a grave and depositing the corpse therein,
filled it up according to the fashion of civilized people, and then at
the request of the Indians rolled large fragments of rocks on top.
Great anxiety was exhibited by the Indians to have the employes
perform the service as expeditiously as possible."

An interesting cave in Calaveras County, California, which had been
used for burial purposes, is thus described by Prof. J. D. Whitney:
[Footnote: Rep. Smithsonian Inst. 1867, p. 406.]

"The following is an account of the cave from which the skulls, now in
the Smithsonian collection, were taken. It is near the Stanislaus
River, in Calaveras County, on a nameless creek, about two miles from
Abbey's Ferry, on the road to Vallicito, at the house of Mr. Robinson.
There were two or three persons with me, who had been to the place
before and knew that the skulls in question were taken from it. Their
visit was some ten years ago, and since that the condition of things
in the cave has greatly changed. Owing to some alteration in the road,
mining operations, or some other cause which I could not ascertain,
there has accumulated on the formerly clean stalagmitic floor of the
cave a thickness of some 20 feet of surface earth that completely
conceals the bottom, and which could not be removed without
considerable expense. This cave is about 27 feet deep at the mouth and
40 to 50 feet at the end, and perhaps 30 feet in diameter. It is the
general opinion of those who have noticed this cave and saw it years
ago that it was a burying-place of the present Indians. Dr. Jones said
he found remains of bows and arrows and charcoal with the skulls he
obtained, and which were destroyed at the time the village of Murphy's
was burned. All the people spoke of the skulls as lying on the surface
and not as buried in the stalagmite."

The next description of cave burial, described by W. H. Dall
[Footnote: Contrib. to N. A. Ethnol., 1877, vol 1, p 62.], is so
remarkable that it seems worthy of admittance to this paper. It
relates probably to the Innuit of Alaska.

"The earliest remains of man found in Alaska up to the time of writing
I refer to this epoch [Echinus layer of Dall]. There are some crania
found by us in the lowermost part of the Amaknak cave and a cranium
obtained at Adakh, near the anchorage in the Bay of Islands. These
were deposited in a remarkable manner, precisely similar to that
adopted by most of the continental Innuit, but equally different from
the modern Aleut fashion. At the Amaknak cave we found what at first
appeared to be a wooden inclosure, but which proved to be made of the
very much decayed supra-maxillary bones of some large cetacean. These
were arranged so as to form a rude rectangular inclosure covered over
with similar pieces of bone. This was somewhat less than 4 feet long,
2 feet wide, and 18 inches deep. The bottom was formed of flat pieces
of stone. Three such were found close together, covered with and
filled by an accumulation of fine vegetable and organic mold. In each
was the remains of a skeleton in the last stages of decay. It had
evidently been tied up in the Innuit fashion to get it into its narrow
house, but all the bones, with the exception of the skull, were
reduced to a soft paste, or even entirely gone. At Adakh a fancy
prompted me to dig into a small knoll near the ancient shell-heap; and
here we found, in a precisely similar sarcophagus, the remains of a
skeleton, of which also only the cranium retained sufficient
consistency to admit of preservation. This inclosure, however, was
filled with a dense peaty mass not reduced to mold, the result of
centuries of sphagnous growth, which had reached a thickness of nearly
2 feet above the remains. When we reflect upon the well-known slowness
of this kind of growth in these northern regions, attested by numerous
Arctic travelers, the antiquity of the remains becomes evident."

It seems beyond doubt that in the majority of cases, especially as
regards the caves of the Western States and Territories, the
interments were primary ones, and this is likewise true of many of the
caverns of Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky, for in the three States
mentioned many mummies have been found, but it is also likely that
such receptacles were largely used as places of secondary deposits.
The many fragmentary skeletons and loose bones found seem to
strengthen this view.

MUMMIES.

In connection with cave burial, the subject of mummifying or embalming
the dead may be taken up, as most specimens of the kind have generally
been found in such repositories.

It might be both interesting and instructive to search out and discuss
the causes which have led many nations or tribes to adopt certain
processes with a view to prevent that return to dust which all flesh
must sooner or later experience, but the necessarily limited scope of
this preliminary work precludes more than a brief mention of certain
theories advanced by writers of note, and which relate to the ancient
Egyptians. Possibly at the time the Indians of America sought to
preserve their dead from decomposition some such ideas may have
animated them, but on this point no definite information has been
procured. In the final volume an effort will be made to trace out the
origin of mummification among the Indians and aborigines of this
continent.

The Egyptians embalmed, according to Cassien, because during the time
of the annual inundation no interments could take place, but it is
more than likely that this hypothesis is entirely fanciful. It is said
by others they believed that so long as the body was preserved from
corruption the soul remained in it. Herodotus states that it was to
prevent bodies from becoming a prey to animal voracity. "They did not
inter them," says he, "for fear of their being eaten by worms; nor did
they burn, considering fire as a ferocious beast, devouring everything
which it touched." According to Diodorus of Sicily, embalmment
originated in filial piety and respect. De Maillet, however, in his
tenth letter on Egypt, attributes it entirely to a religious belief
insisted upon by the wise men and priests, who taught their disciples
that after a certain number of cycles, of perhaps thirty or forty
thousand years, the entire universe became as it was at birth, and the
souls of the dead returned into the same bodies in which they had
lived, provided that the body remained free from corruption, and that
sacrifices were freely offered as oblations to the manes of the
deceased. Considering the great care taken to preserve the dead, and
the ponderously solid nature of their tombs, it is quite evident that
this theory obtained many believers among the people. M. Gannal
believes embalmment to have been suggested by the affectionate
sentiments of our nature--a desire to preserve as long as possible the
mortal remains of loved ones; but MM. Volney and Pariaet think it was
intended to obviate, in hot climates especially, danger from
pestilence, being primarily a cheap and simple process, elegance and
luxury coming later; and the Count de Caylus states the idea of
embalmment was derived from the finding of desiccated bodies which the
burning sands of Egypt had hardened and preserved. Many other
suppositions have arisen, but it is thought the few given above are
sufficient to serve as an introduction to embalmment in North America.

From the statements of the older writers on North American Indians, it
appears that mummifying was resorted to among certain tribes of
Virginia, the Carolinas, and Florida, especially for people of
distinction, the process in Virginia for the kings, according to
Beverly, [Footnote: Hist. of Virginia, 1722, p 185] being as follows:

"The _Indians_ are religious in preserving the Corpses of their
Kings and Rulers after Death, which they order in the following
manner: First, they neatly flay off the Skin as entire as they can,
slitting it only in the Back; then they pick all the Flesh off from
the Bones as clean as possible, leaving the Sinews fastned to the
Bones, that they may preserve the Joints together: then they dry the
Bones in the Sun, and put them into the Skin again, which in the mean
time has been kept from drying or shrinking; when the Bones are placed
right in the Skin, they nicely fill up the Vacuities, with a very fine
white Sand. After this they sew up the Skin again, and the Body looks
as if the Flesh had not been removed. They take care to keep the Skin
from shrinking, by the help of a little Oil or Grease, which saves it
also from Corruption. The Skin being thus prepar'd, they lay it in an
apartment for that purpose, upon a large Shelf rais'd above the Floor.
This Shelf is spread with Mats, for the Corpse to rest easy on, and
skreened with the same, to keep it from the Dust. The Flesh they lay
upon Hurdles in the Sun to dry, and when it is thoroughly dried, it is
sewed up in a Basket, and set at the Feet of the Corpse, to which it
belongs. In this place also they set up a _Quioccos,_ or Idol,
which they believe will be a Guard to the Corpse. Here Night and Day
one or other of the Priests must give his Attendance, to take care of
the dead Bodies. So great an Honour and Veneration have these ignorant
and unpolisht People for their Princes even after they are dead."

It should be added that, in the writer's opinion, this account and
others like it are somewhat apocryphal, and it has been copied and
recopied a score of times.

According to Pinkerton [Footnote: Collection of Voyages, 1812, vol.
XIII, p 39.], the Werowanco preserved their dead as follows:

"... By him is commonly the sepulchre of their Kings. Their bodies are
first bowelled, then dried upon hurdles till they be very dry, and so
about the most of their joints and neck they hang bracelets, or chains
of copper, pearl, and such like, as they used to wear. Their inwards
they stuff with copper beads, hatchets, and such trash. Then lap they
them very carefully in white skins, and so roll them in mats for their
winding-sheets. And in the tomb, which is an arch made of mats, they
lay them orderly. What remaineth of this kind of wealth their Kings
have, they set at their feet in baskets. These temples and bodies are
kept by their priests.

"For their ordinary burials, they dig a deep hole in the earth with
sharp stakes, and the corpse being lapped in skins and mats with their
jewels they lay them upon sticks in the ground, and so cover them with
earth. The burial ended, the women being painted all their faces with
black coal and oil do sit twenty-four hours in the houses mourning and
lamenting by turns with such yelling and howling as may express their
great passions....

"Upon the top of certain red sandy hills in the woods there are three
great houses filled with images of their Kings and devils and tombs of
their predecessors. Those houses are near sixty feet in length, built
harbourwise after their building. This place they count so holy as
that but the priests and Kings dare come into them; nor the savages
dare not go up the river in boats by it, but they solemnly cast some
piece of copper, white beads, or pocones into the river for fear their
Okee should be offended and revenged of them.

"They think that their Werowances and priests which they also esteem
quiyoughcosughs, when they are dead do go beyond the mountains towards
the setting of the sun, and ever remain there in form of their Okee,
with their heads painted red with oil and pocones, finely trimmed with
feathers, and shall have beads, hatchets, copper, and tobacco, doing
nothing but dance and sing with all their predecessors. But the common
people they suppose shall not live after death, but rot in their
graves like dead dogs."

The remark regarding truthfulness will apply to this account in common
with the former.

The Congaree or Santee Indians of South Carolina, according to Lawson,
used a process of partial embalmment, as will be seen from the
subjoined extract from Schoolcraft; [Footnote: Hist. Indian Tribes of
the United States, 1854, Part IV, p. 155, _et seq_] but instead
of laying away the remains in caves, placed them in boxes supported
above the ground by crotched sticks.

"The manner of their interment is thus: A mole or pyramid of earth is
raised, the mould thereof being worked very smooth and even, sometimes
higher or lower, according to the dignity of the person whose monument
it is. On the top thereof is an umbrella, made ridgeways, like the
roof of a house. This is supported by nine stakes or small posts, the
grave being about 6 or 8 feet in length and 4 feet in breadth, about
which is hung gourds, feathers, and other such like trophies, placed
there by the dead man's relations in respect to him in the grave. The
other parts of the funeral rites are thus: As soon as the party is
dead they lay the corpse upon a piece of bark in the sun, seasoning or
embalming it with a small root beaten to powder, which looks as red as
vermilion; the same is mixed with bear's oil to beautify the hair.
After the carcass has laid a day or two in the sun they remove it and
lay it upon crotches cut on purpose for the support thereof from the
earth then they anoint it all over with the aforementioned ingredients
of the powder of this root and bear's oil. When it is so done they
cover it over very exactly with the bark of the pine or cypress tree
to prevent any rain to fall upon it, sweeping the ground very clean
all about it. Some of his nearest of kin brings all the temporal
estate he was possessed of at his death, as guns, bows and arrows,
beads, feathers, match coat etc. This relation is the chief mourner,
being clad in moss, with a stick in his hand, keeping a mournful ditty
for three or four days, his face being black with the smoke of pitch
pine mixed with bear's oil. All the while he tells the dead mans
relations and the rest of the spectators who that dead person was, and
of the great feats performed in his lifetime, all that he speaks
tending to the praise of the defunct. As soon as the flesh grows
mellow and will cleave from the bone they get it off and burn it,
making the bones very clean then anoint them with the ingredients
aforesaid, wrapping up the skull (very carefully) in a cloth
artificially woven of opossum's hair. The bones they carefully
preserve in a wooden box, every year oiling and cleansing them. By
these means they preserve them for many ages that you may see an
Indian in possession of the bones of his grandfather or some of his
relations of a longer antiquity. They have other sorts of tombs as
when an Indian is slain in, that very place they make a heap of stones
(or sticks where stones are not to be found), to this memorial every
Indian that passes by adds a stone to augment the heap in respect to
the deceased hero. The Indians make a roof of light wood or pitch pine
over the graves of the more distinguished, covering it with bark and
then with earth leaving the body thus in a subterranean vault until
the flesh quits the bones. The bones are then taken up, cleaned,
jointed, clad in white dressed deer skins, and laid away in the
_Quiogozon,_ which is the royal tomb or burial place of their
kings and war captains, being a more magnificent cabin reared at the
public expense. This Quiogozon is an object of veneration, in which
the writer says he has known the king, old men, and conjurers to spend
several days with their idols and dead kings, and into which he could
never gain admittance."

Another class of mummies are those which have been found in the
saltpeter and other caves of Kentucky, and it is still a matter of
doubt with archaeologists whether any special pains were taken to
preserve these bodies, many believing that the impregnation of the
soil with certain minerals would account for the condition in which
the specimens were found. Charles Wilkins [Footnote: Trans. Amer.
Antiq. Soc., 1820, vol. 1, p. 360] thus describes one:

"... exsiccated body of a female ... was found at the depth of about
10 feet from the surface of the cave bedded in clay strongly
impregnated with nitre, placed in a sitting posture, incased in broad
stones standing on their edges, with a flat stone covering the whole.
It was enveloped in coarse clothes, ... the whole wrapped in deer-
skins, the hair of which was shaved off in the manner in which the
Indians prepare them for market. Enclosed in the stone coffin were the
working utensils, beads, feathers, and other ornaments of dress which
belonged to her."

The next description is by Dr Samuel L. Mitchill: [Footnote: Trans.
and Coll. Amer. Antiq. Soc., 1820, vol. 1, p. 318]

[A letter from Dr. Mitchill of New York, to Samuel M. Burnside, Esq.,
Secretary of the American Antiquarian Society, on North American
Antiquities.]

"Aug 24th, 1815

"DEAR SIR: I offer you some observations on a curious piece of
American antiquity now in New York, It is a human body [Footnote: A
mummy of this kind, of a person of mature age, discovered in Kentucky,
is now in the cabinet of the American Antiquarian Society. It is a
female. Several human bodies were found enwrapped carefully in skins
and cloths. They were inhumed below the floor of the cave,
_inhumed_, and not lodged in catacombs.] found in one of the
limestone caverns of Kentucky. It is a perfect exsiccation, all the
fluids are dried up. The skin, bones, and other firm parts are in a
state of entire preservation. I think it enough to have puzzled Bryant
and all the archaologists.

"This was found in exploring a calcareous cave in the neighborhood of
Glasgow for saltpetre.

"These recesses, though under ground, are yet dry enough to attract
and retain the nitrick acid. It combines with lime and potash, and
probably the earthy matter of these excavations contains a good
proportion of calcareous carbonate. Amidst these drying and
antiseptick ingredients, it may be conceived that putrefaction would
be stayed, and the solids preserved from decay. The outer envelope of
the body is a deer skin, probably dried in the usual way and perhaps
softened before its application by rubbing. The next covering is a
deer's skin, whose hair had been cut away by a sharp instrument
resembling a hatter's knife. The remnant of the hair and the gashes in
the skin nearly resemble a sheared pelt of beaver. The next wrapper is
of cloth made of twine doubled and twisted. But the thread does not
appear to have been formed by the wheel, nor the web by the loom. The
warp and filling seem to have been crossed and knotted by an operation
like that of the fabricks of the northwest coast, and of the Sandwich
islands. Such a botanist as the lamented Muhlenburgh could determine
the plant which furnished the fibrous material.

"The innermost tegument is a mantle of cloth like the preceding, but
furnished with large brown feathers arranged and fastened with great
art so as to be capable of guarding the living wearer from wet and
cold. The plumage is distinct and entire, and the whole bears a near
similitude to the feathery cloaks now worn by the nations of the
northwestern coast of America. A Wilson might tell from what bird they
were derived.

"The body is in a squatting posture with the right arm reclining
forward and its hand encircling the right leg. The left arm hangs
down, with its hand inclined partly under the seat. The individual,
who was a male did not probably exceed the age of fourteen, at his
death. There is near the occiput a deep and extensive fracture of the
skull, which probably killed him. The skin has sustained little
injury, it is of a dusky colour, but the natural hue cannot be decided
with exactness from its present appearance. The scalp, with small
exceptions is cohered with sorrel or foxy hair. The teeth are white
and sound. The hands and feet, in their shrivelled state, are slender
and delicate. All this is worthy the investigation of our acute and
perspicacious colleague, Dr Holmes.

"There is nothing bituminous or aromatic in or about the body, like the
Egyptian mummies, nor are there bandages around any part. Except the
several wrappers, the body is totally naked. There is no sign of a
suture or incision about the belly whence it seems that the viscera
were not removed.

"It may now be expected that I should offer some opinion, as to the
antiquity and race of this singular exsiccation.

"First, then, I am satisfied that it does not belong to that class of
white men of which we are members.

"2dly. Nor do I believe that it ought to be referred to the bands of
Spanish adventurers, who, between the years 1500 and 1600, rambled up
the Mississippi, and along its tributary streams. But on this head I
should like to know the opinion of my learned and sagacious friend,
Noah Webster.

"3dly. I am equally obliged to reject the opinion that it belonged to
any of the tribes of aborigines, now or lately inhabiting Kentucky.

"4thly. The mantle of the feathered work, and the mantle of twisted
threads, so nearly resemble the fabricks of the indigines of Wakash
and the Pacifick islands, that I refer this individual to that era of
time, and that generation of men, which preceded the Indians of the
Green River, and of the place where these relicks were found. This
conclusion is strengthened by the consideration that such manufactures
are not prepared by the actual and resident red men of the present
day. If the Abbe Clavigero had had this case before him, he would have
thought of the people who constructed those ancient forts and mounds,
whose exact history no man living can give. But I forbear to enlarge;
my intention being merely to manifest my respect to the society for
having enrolled me among its members, and to invite the attention of
its Antiquarians to further inquiry on a subject of such curiosity.

"With respect, I remain yours,

"SAMUEL L. MITCHILL"

It would appear from recent researches on the Northwest coast that the
natives of that region embalmed their dead with much care, as may be
seen from the work recently published by W. H. Dall, [Footnote: Cont.
to N. A. Ethnol., 1877, vol. 1, p. 89] the description of the mummies
being as follows:

"We found the dead disposed of in various ways; first, by interment in
their compartments of the communal dwelling, as already described;
second, by being laid on a rude platform of drift-wood or stones in
some convenient rock shelter. These lay on straw and moss, covered by
matting, and rarely have either implements, weapons, or carvings
associated with them. We found only three or four specimens in all in
these places, of which we examined a great number. This was apparently
the more ancient form of disposing of the dead, and one which more
recently was still pursued in the case of poor or unpopular
individuals.

"Lastly, in comparatively modern times, probably within a few
centuries, and up to the historic period (1740), another mode was
adopted for the wealthy, popular, or more distinguished class. The
bodies were eviscerated, cleansed from fatty matters in running water,
dried, and usually placed in suitable cases in wrappings of fur and
fine grass matting The body was usually doubled up into the smallest
compass, and the mummy case, especially in the case of children, was
usually suspended (so as not to touch the ground) in some convenient
rock shelter. Sometimes, however, the prepared body was placed in a
lifelike position, dressed and armed. They were placed as if engaged
in some congenial occupation, such as hunting, fishing, sewing, etc.
With them were also placed effigies of the animals they were pursuing,
while the hunter was dressed in his wooden armor and provided with an
enormous mask, all ornamented with feathers and a countless variety of
wooden pendants, colored in gay patterns. All the carvings were of
wood, the weapons even were only fac-similes in wood of the original
articles. Among the articles represented were drums, rattles, dishes,
weapons, effigies of men, birds, fish, and animals, wooden armor of
rods or scales of wood, and remarkable masks, so arranged that the
wearer when erect could only see the ground at his feet. These were
worn at their religious dances from an idea that a spirit which was
supposed to animate a temporary idol was fatal to whoever might look
upon it while so occupied. An extension of the same idea led to the
masking of those who had gone into the land of spirits.

"The practice of preserving the bodies of those belonging to the
whaling class--a custom peculiar to the Kadiak Innuit--has erroneously
been confounded with the one now described. The latter included women
as well as men, and all those whom the living desired particularly to
honor. The whalers, however, only preserved the bodies of males, and
they were not associated with the paraphernalia of those I have
described. Indeed, the observations I have been able to make show the
bodies of the whalers to have been preserved with stone weapons and
actual utensils instead of effigies, and with the meanest apparel, and
no carvings of consequence. These details, and those of many other
customs and usages of which the shell heaps bear no testimony ... do
not come within my line."

Martin Sauer, secretary to Billings' Expedition [Footnote: Billings'
Exped. 1802, p. 167.] in 1802, speaks of the Aleutian Islanders
embalming their dead, as follows:

"They pay respect, however, to the memory of the dead, for they embalm
the bodies of the men with dried moss and grass; bury them in their
best attire, in a sitting posture, in a strong box, with their darts
and instruments; and decorate the tomb with various coloured mats,
embroidery, and paintings. With women, indeed, they use less ceremony.
A mother will keep a dead child thus embalmed in their hut for some
months, constantly wiping it dry; and they bury it when it begins to
smell, or when they get reconciled to parting with it."

Regarding these same people, a writer in the San Francisco Bulletin
gives this account-

"The schooner William Sutton, belonging to the Alaska Commercial
Company, has arrived from the seal islands of the company with the
mummified remains of Indians who lived on an island north of Ounalaska
one hundred and fifty years ago. This contribution to science was
secured by Captain Henning, an agent of the company, who has long
resided at Ounalaska. In his transactions with the Indians he learned
that tradition among the Aleuts assigned Kagamale, the island in
question, as the last resting-place of a great chief, known as
Karkhayahouchak. Last year the captain was in the neighborhood of
Kagamale, in quest of sea-otter and other furs and he bore up for the
island, with the intention of testing the truth of the tradition he
had heard. He had more difficulty in entering the cave than in finding
it, his schooner having to beat on and off shore for three days.
Finally, he succeeded in effecting a landing, and clambering up the
rocks he found himself in the presence of the dead chief, his family
and relatives.

"The cave smelt strongly of hot sulphurous vapors. With great care the
mummies were removed, and all the little trinkets and ornaments
scattered around were also taken away.

"In all there are eleven packages of bodies. Only two or three have as
yet been opened. The body of the chief is inclosed in a large basket-
like structure, about four feet in height. Outside the wrappings are
finely-wrought sea-grass matting, exquisitely close in texture, and
skins. At the bottom is a broad hoop or basket of thinly-cut wood, and
adjoining the center portions are pieces of body armor composed of
reeds bound together. The body is covered with the fine skin of the
sea-otter, always a mark of distinction in the interments of the
Aleuts, and round the whole package are stretched the meshes of a
fish-net, made of the sinews of the sea lion; also those of a bird-
net. There are evidently some bulky articles inclosed with the chief's
body, and the whole package differs very much from the others, which
more resemble, in their brown-grass matting, consignments of crude
sugar from the Sandwich Islands than the remains of human beings. The
bodies of a pappoose and of a very little child, which probably died
at birth or soon after it, have sea-otter skins around them. One of
the feet of the latter projects, with a toe-nail visible. The
remaining mummies are of adults.

"One of the packages has been opened, and it reveals a man's body in
tolerable preservation, but with a large portion of the face
decomposed. This and the other bodies were doubled up at death by
severing some of the muscles at the hip and knee joints and bending
the limbs downward horizontally upon the trunk. Perhaps the most
peculiar package, next to that of the chief, is one which incloses in
a single matting, with sea-lion skins, the bodies of a man and woman.
The collection also embraces a couple of skulls, male and female,
which have still the hair attached to the scalp. The hair has changed
its color to a brownish red. The relics obtained with the bodies
include a few wooden vessels scooped out smoothly; a piece of dark,
greenish, flat stone, harder than the emerald, which the Indians use
to tan skins; a scalp-lock of jet-black hair; a small rude figure,
which may have been a very ugly doll or an idol; two or three tiny
carvings in ivory of the sea-lion, very neatly executed, a comb, a
necklet made of birds' claws inserted into one another, and several
specimens of little bags, and a cap plaited out of sea-grass and
almost water-tight."

With the foregoing examples as illustration, the matter of embalmment
may be for the present dismissed, with the advice to observers that
particular care should be taken, in case mummies are discovered, to
ascertain whether the bodies have been submitted to a regular
preservative process, or owe their protection to ingredients in the
soil of their graves or to desiccation in arid districts.

URN-BURIAL.

To close the subject of subterranean burial proper, the following
account of urn-burial in Foster [Footnote: Pre-Historic Races, 1873,
p. 199] may be added:

"Urn-burial appears to have been practiced to some extent by the
mound-builders, particularly in some of the Southern States. In the
mounds on the Wateree River, near Camden, S. C., according to Dr.
Blanding, ranges of vases, one above the other, filled with human
remains, were found. Sometimes when the mouth of the vase is small the
skull is placed with the face downward in the opening, constituting a
sort of cover. Entire cemeteries have been found in which urn-burial
alone seems to have been practiced. Such a one was accidentally
discovered not many years since in Saint Catherine's Island, on the
coast of Georgia. Professor Swallow informs me that from a mound at
New Madrid, Mo, he obtained a human skull inclosed in an earthen jar,
the lips of which were too small to admit of its extraction. It must
therefore have been molded on the head after death."

"A similar mode of burial was practiced by the Chaldeans, where the
funeral jars often contain a human cranium much too expanded to admit
of the possibility of its passing out of it, so that either the clay
must have been modeled over the corpse, and then baked, or the neck of
the jar must have been added subsequently to the other rites of
interment." [Footnote: Rawlinson's Herodotus, Book 1, chap 198, note.]

It is with regret that the writer feels obliged to differ from the
distinguished author of the work quoted regarding urn-burial, for
notwithstanding that it has been employed by some of the Central and
Southern American tribes, it is not believed to have been customary,
but _to a very limited extent,_ in North America, except as a
secondary interment. He must admit that he himself has found bones in
urns or ollas in the graves of New Mexico and California, but under
circumstances that would seem to indicate a deposition long subsequent
to death. In the graves of the ancient peoples of California a number
of ollas were found in long-used burying places, and it is probable
that as the bones were dug up time and again for new burials they were
simply tossed into pots, which were convenient receptacles, or it may
have been that bodies were allowed to repose in the earth long enough
for the fleshy parts to decay, and the bones were then collected,
placed in urns, and reinterred. Dr. E. Foreman, of the Smithsonian
Institution, furnishes the following account of urns used for burial:

"I would call your attention to an earthenware burial-urn and cover,
Nos. 27976 and 27977, National Museum, but very recently received from
Mr. William McKinley, of Milledgeville, Ga. It was exhumed on his
plantation, ten miles below that city, on the bottom lands of the
Oconee River, now covered with almost impassable canebrakes, tall
grasses, and briers. We had a few months ago from the same source one
of the covers, of which the ornamentation was different but more
entire. A portion of a similar cover has been received also from
Chattanooga, Ga. Mr. McKinley ascribes the use of these urns and
covers to the Muscogees, a branch of the Creek Nation."

These urns are made of baked clay, and are shaped somewhat like the
ordinary steatite ollas found in the California coast graves, but the
bottoms instead of being round run down to a sharp apex; on the top
was a cover, the upper part of which also terminated in an apex, and
around the border, near where it rested on the edge of the vessel, are
indented scroll ornamentations.

The burial-urns of New Mexico are thus described by E. A. Barber:
[Footnote: Amer. Natural, 1876, vol X, p. 455 _et seq_]

"Burial-urns ... comprise vessels or ollas without handles, for
cremation, usually being from 10 to 15 inches in height, with broad,
open mouths, and made of coarse clay, with a laminated exterior
(partially or entirely ornamented). Frequently the indentations extend
simply around the neck or rim, the lower portion being plain."

So far as is known, up to the present time no burial-urns have been
found in North America resembling those discovered in Nicaragua by Dr.
J. C. Bransford, U. S. N., but it is quite within the range of
possibility that future researches in regions not far distant from
that which he explored may reveal similar treasures.

SURFACE BURIAL.

This mode of interment was practiced to only a limited extent, so far
as can be discovered, and it is quite probable that in most cases it
was employed as a temporary expedient when the survivors were pressed
for time. The Seminoles of Florida are said to have buried in hollow
trees, the bodies being placed in an upright position, occasionally
the dead being crammed into a hollow log lying on the ground. With
some of the Eastern tribes a log was split in half and hollowed out
sufficiently large to contain the corpse; it was then lashed together
with withes and permitted to remain where it was originally placed. In
some cases a pen was built over and around it. This statement is
corroborated by Mr. R. S. Robertson, of Fort Wayne, Ind., who states
in a communication received in 1877 that the Miamis practiced surface
burial in two different ways:

"... 1st. The surface burial in hollow logs. These have been found in
heavy forests. Sometimes a tree has been split and the two halves
hollowed out to receive the body, when it was either closed with
withes or confined to the ground with crossed stakes; and sometimes a
hollow tree is used by closing the ends.

"2d. Surface burial where the body was covered by a small pen of logs
laid up as we build a cabin, but drawing in every course until they
meet in a single log at the top."

Romantically conceived, and carried out to the fullest possible extent
in accordance with the _ante mortem_ wishes of the dead, were the
obsequies of Blackbird, the great chief of the Omahas. The account is
given by George Catlin: [Footnote: Manners, Customs, &c., of North
American Indiana, 1844, vol. ii, p. 5]

"He requested them to take his body down the river to this his
favorite haunt, and on the pinnacle of this towering bluff to bury him
on the back of his favorite war-horse, which was to be buried alive
under him, from whence he could see, as he said, 'the Frenchmen
passing up and down the river in their boats.' He owned, amongst many
homes, a noble white steed, that was led to the top of the grass-
covered hill, and with great pomp and ceremony, in the presence of the
whole nation and several of the far-traders and the Indian agent, he
was placed astride of his horse's back, with his bow in his hand, and
his shield and quiver slung, with his pipe and his medicine bag, with
his supply of dried meat, and his tobacco-pouch replenished to last
him through the journey to the beautiful hunting grounds of the shades
of his fathers, with his flint and steel and his tinder to light his
pipes by the way; the scalps he had taken from his enemies' heads
could be trophies for nobody else, and were hung to the bridle of his
horse. He was in full dress, and fully equipped, and on his head waved
to the last moment his beautiful head-dress of the war-eagles' plumes.
In this plight, and the last funeral honors having been performed by
the medicine-men, every warrior of his band painted the palm and
fingers of his right hand with vermilion, which was stamped and
perfectly impressed on the milk-white sides of his devoted horse. This
all done, turfs were brought and placed around the feet and legs of
the horse, and gradually laid up to its sides, and at last over the
back and head of the unsuspecting animal, and last of all over the
head and even the eagle plumes of its valiant rider, where all
together have smouldered and remained undisturbed to the present day."

CAIRN BURIAL.

The next mode of interment to be considered is that of cairn or rock
burial, which has prevailed and is still common to a considerable
extent among the tribes living in the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra
Nevadas.

In the summer of 1872 the writer visited one of these rock cemeteries
in middle Utah, which had been used for a period not exceeding fifteen
or twenty years. It was situated at the bottom of a rock slide, upon
the side of an almost inaccessible mountain, in a position so
carefully chosen for concealment that it would have been almost
impossible to find it without a guide. Several of the graves were
opened and found to have been constructed in the following manner: A
number of bowlders had been removed from the bed of the slide until a
sufficient cavity had been obtained; this was lined with skins, the
corpse placed therein, with weapons, ornaments, etc., and covered over
with saplings of the mountain aspen; on top of these the removed
bowlders were piled, forming a huge cairn, which appeared large enough
to have marked the last resting place of an elephant. In the immediate
vicinity of the graves were scattered the osseous remains of a number
of horses which had been sacrificed no doubt during the funeral
ceremonies. In one of the graves, said to contain the body of a chief,
in addition to a number of articles useful and ornamental, were found
parts of the skeleton of a boy, and tradition states that a captive
boy was buried alive at this place.

In connection with this mode of burial it may be said that the ancient
Balearic Islanders covered their dead with a heap of stones, but this
ceremony was preceded by an operation which consisted in cutting the
body in small pieces and collecting in a pot.

CREMATION.

Next should be noted this mode of disposing of the dead, a common
custom to a considerable extent among North American tribes,
especially those living on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains,
although we have undoubted evidence that it was also practiced among
the more eastern ones. This rite may be considered as peculiarly
interesting from its great antiquity, for Tegg informs us that it
reached as far back as the Theban war, in the account of which mention
is made of the burning of Menoaeus and Archemorus, who were
contemporary with Jair, eighth judge of Israel. It was common in the
interior of Asia and among the ancient Greeks and Romans, and has also
prevailed among the Hindoos up to the present time. In fact, it is now
rapidly becoming a custom among civilized people.

While there is a certain degree of similarity between the performance
of this rite among the peoples spoken of and the Indians of North
America, yet, did space admit, a discussion might profitably be
entered upon regarding the details of it among the ancients and the
origin of the ceremony. As it is, simple narrations of cremation in
this country, with discursive notes and an account of its origin among
the Nishinams of California, by Stephen Powers, [Footnote: Cont. to N.
A. Ethnol., 1877, vol. iii, p. 341] seem to be all that is required at
this time.

"The moon and the coyote wrought together in creating all things that
exist. The moon was good, but the coyote was bad. In making men and
women the moon wished to so fashion their souls that when they died
they should return to the earth after two or three days, as he himself
does when he dies. But the coyote was evil disposed, and said this
should not be, but that when men died their friends should burn their
bodies, and once a year make a great mourning for them, and the coyote
prevailed. So, presently when a deer died, they burned his body, as
the coyote had decreed, and after a year they made a great mourning
for him. But the moon created the rattlesnake and caused it to bite
the coyote's son, so that he died. Now, though the coyote had been
willing to burn the deer's relations, he refused to burn his own son.
Then the moon said unto him, 'This is your own rule. You would have it
so, and now your son shall be burned like the others.' So he was
burned, and after a year the coyote mourned for him. Thus the law was
established over the coyote also, and, as he had dominion over men, it
prevailed over men likewise.

"This story is utterly worthless for itself, but it has its value in
that it shows there was a time when the California Indians did not
practice cremation, which is also established by other traditions. It
hints at the additional fact that the Nishinams to this day set great
store by the moon; consider it their benefactor in a hundred ways, and
observe its changes for a hundred purposes."

Another myth regarding cremation is given by Adam Johnston, in
Schoolcraft [Footnote: Hist. Indian tribes of the United States, 1854,
part IV, p. 224] and relates to the Bonaks, or root-diggers:

"The first Indians that lived were coyotes. When one of their number
died the body became full of little animals or spirits, as they
thought them. After crawling over the body for a time they took all
manner of shapes, some that of the deer, others the elk, antelope,
etc. It was discovered, however, that great numbers were taking wings,
and for a while they sailed about in the air, but eventually they
would fly off to the moon. The old coyotes or Indians, fearing the
earth might become depopulated in this way, concluded to stop it at
once, and ordered that when one of their people died the body must be
burnt. Ever after they continued to burn the bodies of deceased
persons."

Ross Cox [Footnote: Adventures on the Columbia River, 1831, vol. ii,
p. 387] gives an account of the process as performed by the Tolkotins
of Oregon:

"The ceremonies attending the dead are very singular, and quite
peculiar to this tribe. The body of the deceased is kept nine days
laid out in his lodge, and on the tenth it is buried. For this purpose
a rising ground is selected, on which are laid a number of sticks,
about seven feet long, of cypress, neatly split, and in the
interstices is placed a quantity of gummy wood. During these
operations invitations are dispatched to the natives of the
neighboring villages requesting their attendance at the ceremony. When
the preparations are perfected the corpse is placed on the pile, which
is immediately ignited, and during the process of burning, the
bystanders appear to be in a high state of merriment. If a stranger
happen to be present they invariably plunder him, but if that pleasure
be denied them, they never separate without quarreling among
themselves. Whatever property the deceased possessed is placed about
the corpse, and if he happened to be a person of consequence, his
friends generally purchase a capote, a shirt, a pair of trousers,
etc., which articles are also laid around the pile. If the doctor who
attended him has escaped uninjured, he is obliged to be present at the
ceremony, and for the last time tries his skill in restoring the
defunct to animation. Failing in this, he throws on the body a piece
of leather, or some other article, as a present, which in some measure
appeases the resentment of his relatives, and preserves the
unfortunate quack from being maltreated. During the nine days the
corpse is laid out the widow of the deceased is obliged to sleep along
side it from sunset to sunrise; and from this custom there is no
relaxation even during the hottest days of summer! While the doctor is
performing his last operations she must lie on the pile, and after the
fire is applied to it she cannot stir until the doctor orders her to
be removed, which, however, is never done until her body is completely
covered with blisters. After being placed on her legs, she is obliged
to pass her hands gently through the flame and collect some of the
liquid fat which issues from the corpse, with which she is permitted
to wet her face and body! When the friends of the deceased observe the
sinews of the legs and arms beginning to contract they compel the
unfortunate widow to go again on the pile, and by dint of hard
pressing to straighten those members.

"If during her husband's lifetime she has been known to have committed
any act of infidelity or omitted administering to him savory food or
neglected his clothing, etc, she is now made to suffer severely for
such lapses of duty by his relations, who frequently fling her in the
funeral pile, from which she is dragged by her friends; and thus
between alternate scorching and cooling she is dragged backwards and
forwards until she falls into a state of insensibility.

"After the process of burning the corpse has terminated, the widow
collects the larger bones, which she rolls up in an envelope of birch
bark, and which she is obliged for some years afterwards to carry on
her back. She is now considered and treated as a slave, all the
laborious duties of cooking, collecting fuel, etc., devolve on her.
She must obey the orders of all the women, and even of the children
belonging to the village, and the slightest mistake or disobedience
subjects her to the infliction of a heavy punishment. The ashes of her
husband are carefully collected and deposited in a grave, which it is
her duty to keep free from weeds; and should any such appear, she is
obliged to root them out with her _fingers_. During this
operation her husband's relatives stand by and beat her in a cruel
manner until the task is completed or she falls a victim to their
brutality. The wretched widows, to avoid this complicated cruelty,
frequently commit suicide. Should she, however, linger on for three or
four years, the friends of her husband agree to relieve her from her
painful mourning. This is a ceremony of much consequence, and the
preparations for it occupy a considerable time, generally from six to
eight months. The hunters proceed to the various districts in which
deer and beaver abound, and after collecting large quantities of meat
and fur return to the village. The skins are immediately bartered for
guns, ammunition, clothing, trinkets, etc. Invitations are then bent
to the inhabitants of the various friendly villages, and when they
have all assembled the feast commences, and presents are distributed
to each visitor. The object of their meeting is then explained, and
the woman is brought forward, still carrying on her back the bones of