STUDY OF THE MORTUARY CUSTOMS

INTRODUCTORY.

In view of the fact that the present paper will doubtless reach many
readers who may not, in consequence of the limited edition, have seen
the preliminary volume on mortuary customs, it seems expedient to
reproduce in great part the prefatory remarks which served as an
introduction to that work; for the reasons then urged, for the immediate
study of this subject, still exist, and as time flies on become more and
more important.

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 further paper 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
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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 already described in the preceding volume and
need not be repeated at this time. It has seemed undesirable at present
to enter into any discussion regarding the causes which may have led to
the adoption of any particular form of burial or coincident ceremonies,
the object of this paper being simply to furnish illustrative examples,
and request further contributions from observers; for, notwithstanding
the large amount of material already at hand, much still remains to be
done, and careful study is needed before any attempt at a thorough
analysis of mortuary customs can be made. It is owing to these facts and
from the nature of the material gathered that the paper must be
considered more as a compilation than an original effort, the writer
having done little else than supply the thread to bind together the
accounts furnished.

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, 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, although further study may lead to some
modifications.

CLASSIFICATION OF BURIAL.

1st. By INHUMATION in pits, graves,
or holes in the ground, stone graves or cists, in mounds, beneath or in
cabins, wigwams, houses or lodges, or in caves.

2d. By EMBALMMENT or a process of
mummifying, the remains being afterwards placed in the earth, caves,
mounds, boxes on scaffolds, or in charnel-houses.

3d. By DEPOSITION of remains in
urns.

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4th. By SURFACE BURIAL, the remains
being placed in hollow trees or logs, pens, or simply covered with
earth, or bark, or rocks forming cairns.

5th. By CREMATION, or partial
burning, 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.

6th. By AERIAL SEPULTURE, the
bodies being left in lodges, houses, cabins, tents, deposited on
scaffolds or trees, in boxes or canoes, the two latter receptacles
supported on scaffolds or posts, or placed on the ground. Occasionally
baskets have been used to contain the remains of children, these being
hung to trees.

7th. 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
Teutonic 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, and in no case has the
relator’s language been changed except to correct manifest
unintentional, errors of spelling.

INHUMATION.

PIT BURIAL.

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:

One of the simplest forms is thus noted by Schoolcraft:1

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 wood to grow upon the grave, and frequently visited it and
made lamentation.

In Jones2 is the following interesting account from Lawson3 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 hurdle and deposited in
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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
hurdle. 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 in 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 Sepulcre, which is about
six foot deep and eight foot 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 Ridge-Pole, as you shall understand presently), before they
lay the Corps into the Grave, they cover the bottom two or three time
over with the Bark of Trees; then they let down the Corps (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 thereof, where the other Ends lie in the
Ridge-Pole, so that they are declining like the Roof of a House. These
being very thick plac’d, 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.

Figure 1, after De Bry and Lafitau, represents what the early writers
called the Quiogozon, or charnel-house, and allusions will be found to
it in other parts of this volume. Discrepancies in these accounts impair
greatly their value, for one author says that bones were deposited,
another dried bodies.

Fig. 1.—Quiogozon or Dead
House.

It will be seen from the following account, furnished by M. B. Kent,
relating to the Sacs and Foxes (Oh-sak-ke-uck) of the Nehema
Agency, Nebraska, that these Indians were careful in burying their dead
to prevent the earth coming in contact with the body, and this custom
has been followed by a number of different tribes, as will be seen by
examples given further on.

Ancient burial.—The body was buried in a grave made about
2½ feet deep, and was laid always with the head towards the east, the
burial taking place as soon after death as possible. The grave was
prepared by putting bark in the bottom of it before the corpse
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was deposited, a plank covering made and secured some distance
above the body. The plank was made by splitting trees, until intercourse
with the whites enabled them to obtain sawed lumber. The corpse was
always enveloped in a blanket, and prepared as for a long journey in
life, no coffin being used.

Modern burial.—This tribe now usually bury in coffins, rude
ones constructed by themselves, still depositing the body in the grave
with the head towards the east.

Ancient funeral ceremonies.—Every relative of the deceased
had to throw some article in the grave, either food, clothing, or other
material. There was no rule stating the nature of what was to be added
to the collection, simply a requirement that something must be
deposited, if it were only a piece of soiled and faded calico. After the
corpse was lowered into the grave some brave addressed the dead,
instructing him to walk directly westward, that he would soon discover
moccasin tracks, which he must follow until he came to a great river,
which is the river of death; when there he would find a pole across the
river, which, if he has been honest, upright, and good, will be
straight, upon which he could readily cross to the other side; but if
his life had been one of wickedness and sin, the pole would be very
crooked, and in the attempt to cross upon it he would be precipitated
into the turbulent stream and lost forever. The brave also told him if
he crossed the river in safety the Great Father would receive him, take
out his old brains, give him new ones, and then he would have reached
the happy hunting grounds, always be happy and have eternal life. After
burial a feast was always called, and a portion of the food of which
each and every relative was partaking was burned to furnish subsistence
to the spirit upon its journey.

Modern funeral ceremonies.—Provisions are rarely put into
the grave, and no portion of what is prepared for the feast subsequent
to burial is burned, although the feast is continued. All the address
delivered by the brave over the corpse after being deposited in the
grave is omitted. A prominent feature of all ceremonies, either
funeral or religious, consists of feasting accompanied with music and
dancing.

Ancient mourning observances.—The female relations allowed
their hair to hang entirely unrestrained, clothed themselves in the most
unpresentable attire, the latter of which the males also do. Men blacked
the whole face for a period of ten days after a death in the family,
while the women blacked only the cheeks; the faces of the children were
blacked for three months; they were also required to fast for the same
length of time, the fasting to consist of eating but one meal per day,
to be made entirely of hominy, and partaken of about sunset. It was
believed that this fasting would enable the child to dream of coming
events and prophesy what was to happen in the future. The extent and
correctness of prophetic vision depended upon how faithfully the ordeal
of fasting had been observed.

Modern mourning observances.—Many of those of the past are
continued, such as wearing the hair unrestrained, wearing uncouth
apparel, blacking faces, and fasting of children, and they are adhered
to with as much tenacity as many of the professing Christians belonging
to the evangelical churches adhere to their practices, which constitute
mere forms, the intrinsic value of which can very reasonably be called
in question.

The Creeks and Seminoles of Florida, according to Schoolcraft,4 made the
graves of their dead as follows:

When one of the family dies, the relatives bury the corpse about four
feet deep in a round hole dug directly under the cabin or rock wherever
he died. The corpse is placed in the hole in a sitting posture, with a
blanket wrapped about it, and the legs bent under and tied together. If
a warrior, he is painted, and his pipe, ornaments, and warlike
appendages are deposited with him. The grave is then covered with canes
tied to a hoop round the top of the hole, then a firm layer of clay,
sufficient to support the weight of a man. The relations howl loudly and
mourn publicly for four days. If the deceased has been a man of eminent
character, the family immediately remove
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from the house in which he is buried and erect a new one, with a belief
that where the bones of their dead are deposited the place is always
attended by goblins and chimeras dire.

Dr. W. C. Boteler, physician to the Otoe Indian Agency, Gage County,
Nebraska, in a personal communication to the writer, furnishes a most
interesting account of the burial ceremonies of this tribe, in which it
may be seen that graves are prepared in a manner similar to those
already mentioned:

The Otoe and Missouri tribes of Indians are now located in southern Gage
County, Nebraska, on a reservation of 43,000 acres, unsurpassed in
beauty of location, natural resources, and adaptability for prosperous
agriculture. This pastoral people, though in the midst of civilization,
have departed but little from the rude practice and customs of a nomadic
life, and here may be seen and studied those interesting dramas as
vividly and satisfactorily as upon the remote frontier.

During my residence among this people on different occasions,
I have had the opportunity of witnessing the Indian burials and
many quaint ceremonies pertaining thereto.

When it is found that the vital spark is wavering in an Otoe subject,
the preparation of the burial costume is immediately began. The near
relatives of the dying Indian surround the humble bedside, and by loud
lamentations and much weeping manifest a grief which is truly
commensurate with the intensity of Indian devotion and attachment.

While thus expressing before the near departed their grief at the sad
separation impending, the Indian women, or friendly braves, lose no time
in equipping him or her with the most ornate clothes and ornaments that
are available or in immediate possession. It is thus that the departed
Otoe is enrobed in death, in articles of his own selection and by
arrangements of his own taste and dictated by his own tongue. It is
customary for the dying Indian to dictate, ere his departure, the
propriety or impropriety of the accustomed sacrifices. In some cases
there is a double and in others no sacrifice at all. The Indian women
then prepare to cut away their hair; it is accomplished with scissors,
cutting close to the scalp at the side and behind.

The preparation of the dead for burial is conducted with great solemnity
and care. Bead-work, the most ornate, expensive blankets and ribbons
comprise the funeral shroud. The dead, being thus enrobed, is placed in
a recumbent posture at the most conspicuous part of the lodge and viewed
in rotation by the mourning relatives previously summoned by a courier,
all preserving uniformity in the piercing screams which would seem to
have been learned by rote.

An apparent service is then conducted. The aged men of the tribe,
arranged in a circle, chant a peculiar funeral dirge around one of their
number, keeping time upon a drum or some rude cooking-utensil.

At irregular intervals an aged relative will arise and dance excitedly
around the central person, vociferating, and with wild gesture, tomahawk
in hand, imprecate the evil spirit, which he drives to the land where
the sun goes down. The evil spirit being thus effectually banished, the
mourning gradually subsides, blending into succeeding scenes of feasting
and refreshment. The burial feast is in every respect equal in richness
to its accompanying ceremonies. All who assemble are supplied with
cooked venison, hog, buffalo, or beef, regular waiters distributing
alike hot cakes soaked in grease and coffee or water, as the case
may be.

Frequently during this stage of the ceremony the most aged Indian
present will sit in the central circle, and in a continuous and doleful
tone narrate the acts of valor in the life of the departed, enjoining
fortitude and bravery upon all sitting around as an essential
qualification for admittance to the land where the Great Spirit reigns.
When the burial feast is well-nigh completed, it is customary for the
surviving friends to
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present the bereaved family with useful articles of domestic needs, such
as calico in bolt, flannel cloth, robes, and not unfrequently ponies or
horses. After the conclusion of the ceremonies at the lodge, the body is
carefully placed in a wagon and, with an escort of all friends,
relatives, and acquaintances, conveyed to the grave previously prepared
by some near relation or friend. When a wagon is used, the immediate
relatives occupy it with the corpse, which is propped in a semi-sitting
posture; before the use of wagons among the Otoes, it was necessary to
bind the body of the deceased upon a horse and then convey him to his
last resting place among his friends. In past days when buffalo were
more available, and a tribal hunt was more frequently indulged in, it is
said that those dying on the way were bound upon horses and thus
frequently carried several hundred miles for interment at the burial
places of their friends.

At the graveyard of the Indians the ceremony partakes of a double
nature; upon the one hand it is sanguinary and cruel, and upon the other
blended with the deepest grief and most heartfelt sorrow. Before the
interment of the dead the chattels of the deceased are unloaded from the
wagons or unpacked from the backs of ponies and carefully arranged in
the vault-like tomb. The bottom, which is wider than the top (graves
here being dug like an inverted funnel), is spread with straw or grass
matting, woven generally by the Indian women of the tribe or some near
neighbor. The sides are then carefully hung with handsome shawls or
blankets, and trunks, with domestic articles, pottery, &c., of less
importance, are piled around in abundance. The sacrifices are next
inaugurated. A pony, first designated by the dying Indian, is led
aside and strangled by men hanging to either end of a rope. Sometimes,
but not always, a dog is likewise strangled, the heads of both
animals being subsequently laid upon the Indian’s grave. The body, which
is now often placed in a plain coffin, is lowered into the grave, and if
a coffin is used the friends take their parting look at the deceased
before closing it at the grave. After lowering, a saddle and
bridle, blankets, dishes, &c., are placed upon it, the mourning
ceases, and the Indians prepare to close the grave. It should be
remembered, among the Otoe and Missouri Indians dirt is not filled in
upon the body, but simply rounded up from the surface upon stout logs
that are accurately fitted over the opening of the grave. After the
burying is completed, a distribution of the property of the
deceased takes place, the near relatives receiving everything, from the
merest trifle to the tent and homes, leaving the immediate family, wife
and children or father out-door pensioners.

Although the same generosity is not observed towards the whites
assisting in funeral rites, it is universally practiced as regards
Indians, and poverty’s lot is borne by the survivors with a fortitude
and resignation which in them amounts to duty, and marks a higher grade
of intrinsic worth than pervades whites of like advantages and
conditions. We are told in the Old Testament Scriptures, “four days and
four nights should the fires burn,” &c. In fulfillment of this
sacred injunction, we find the midnight vigil carefully kept by these
Indians four days and four nights at the graves of their departed.
A small fire is kindled for the purpose near the grave at sunset,
where the nearest relatives convene and maintain a continuous
lamentation till the morning dawn. There was an ancient tradition that
at the expiration of this time the Indian arose, and mounting his spirit
pony, galloped off to the happy hunting-ground beyond.

Happily, with the advancement of Christianity these superstitions have
faded, and the living sacrifices are partially continued only from a
belief that by parting with their most cherished and valuable goods they
propitiate the Great Spirit for the sins committed during the life of
the deceased. This, though at first revolting, we find was the practice
of our own forefathers, offering up as burnt offerings the lamb or the
ox; hence we cannot censure this people, but, from a comparison of
conditions, credit them with a more strict observance of our Holy Book
than pride and seductive fashions permit of us.

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From a careful review of the whole of their attendant ceremonies a
remarkable similarity can be marked. The arrangement of the corpse
preparatory to interment, the funeral feast, the local service by the
aged fathers, are all observances that have been noted among whites,
extending into times that are in the memory of those still living.

The Pimas of Arizona, actuated by apparently the same motives that
led the more eastern tribes to endeavor to prevent contact of earth with
the corpse, adopted a plan which has been described by Capt. F. E.
Grossman,5 and the account is corroborated by M. Alphonse
Pinart6
and Bancroft.7

Captain Grossman’s account follows:

The Pimas tie the bodies of their dead with ropes, passing the latter
around their 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
graves from four to five feet deep and perfectly round (about two feet
in diameter), and 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 coyotes.

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)
recover. In such cases the graves are left open until the persons for
whom they are 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
trees.

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
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repast for the mourners. The nearest relatives of the deceased as a sign
of their sorrow remain within their 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 custom of destroying all the property of the husband when he dies
impoverishes the widow and children and prevents increase of stock. The
women of the tribe, well aware that they will be poor should their
husbands die, and that then they will have to provide for their children
by their own exertions, do not care to have many children, and
infanticide, both before and after birth, prevails to a great extent.
This is not considered a crime, and old women of the tribe practice it.
A widow may marry again after a year’s mourning for her first
husband; but having children no man will take her for a wife and thus
burden himself with her children. Widows generally cultivate a small
piece of ground, and friends and relatives (men) plow the ground for
them.

Fig. 2, drawn from Captain Grossman’s description by my friend Dr.
W. J. Hoffman, will convey a good idea of this mode of burial.

Stephen Powers8 describes a similar mode of grave preparation among the
Yuki of California:

The Yuki bury their dead in a sitting posture. They dig a hole six feet
deep sometimes and at the bottom of it “coyote” under, making a
little recess in which the corpse is deposited.

The Comanches of Indian Territory (Nem, we, or us,
people), according to Dr. Fordyce Grinnell, of the Wichita Agency,
Indian Territory, go to the opposite extreme, so far as the protection
of the dead from the surrounding earth is concerned. The account as
received is given entire, as much to illustrate this point as others of
interest.

When a Comanche is dying, while the death-rattle may yet be faintly
heard in the throat, and the natural warmth has not departed from the
body, the knees are strongly bent upon the chest, and the legs flexed
upon the thighs. The arms are also flexed upon each side of the chest,
and the head bent forward upon the knees. A lariat, or rope, is now
used to firmly bind the limbs and body in this position. A blanket
is then wrapped around the body, and this again tightly corded, so that
the appearance when ready for burial is that of an almost round and
compact body, very unlike the composed pall of his Wichita or Caddo
brother. The body is then taken and placed in a saddle upon a pony, in a
sitting posture; a squaw usually riding behind, though sometimes
one on either side of the horse, holds the body in position until the
place of burial is reached, when the corpse is literally tumbled into
the excavation selected for the purpose. The deceased is only
accompanied by two or three squaws, or enough to perform the little
labor bestowed upon the burial. The body is taken due west of the lodge
or village of the bereaved, and usually one of the deep washes or heads
of cañons in which the Comanche country abounds is selected, and the
body thrown in, without special reference to position. With this are
deposited the bows and arrows; these, however, are first broken. The
saddle is also placed in the grave, together with many of the personal
valuables of the departed. The body is then covered over with sticks and
earth, and sometimes stones are placed over the whole.

Funeral ceremonies.—the best pony owned by the deceased is
brought to the grave and killed, that the departed may appear well
mounted and caparisoned among his fellows in the other world. Formerly,
if the deceased were a chief or man of consequence and had large herds
of ponies, many were killed, sometimes amounting to 200 or 300 head in
number.

The Comanches illustrate the importance of providing a good pony for the
convoy
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of the deceased to the happy-grounds by the following story, which is
current among both Comanches and Wichitas:

“A few years since, an old Comanche died who had no relatives and who
was quite poor. Some of the tribe concluded that almost any kind of a
pony would serve to transport him to the next world. They therefore
killed at his grave an old, ill-conditioned, lop-eared horse. But a few
weeks after the burial of this friendless one, lo and behold he
returned, riding this same old worn-out horse, weary and hungry. He
first appeared at the Wichita camps, where he was well known, and asked
for something to eat, but his strange appearance, with sunken eyes and
hollow cheeks, filled with consternation all who saw him, and they fled
from his presence. Finally one bolder than the rest placed a piece of
meat on the end of a lodge-pole and extended it to him. He soon appeared
at his own camp, creating, if possible, even more dismay than among the
Wichitas, and this resulted in both Wichitas and Comanches leaving their
villages and moving en masse to a place on Rush Creek, not far
distant from the present site of Fort Sill.

“When the troubled spirit from the sunsetting world was questioned why
he thus appeared among the inhabitants of earth, he made reply that when
he came to the gates of paradise the keepers would on no account permit
him to enter upon such an ill-conditioned beast as that which bore him,
and thus in sadness he returned to haunt the homes of those whose
stinginess and greed permitted him no better equipment. Since this no
Comanche has been permitted to depart with the sun to his chambers in
the west without a steed which in appearance should do honor alike to
the rider and his friends.”

The body is buried at the sunsetting side of the camp, that the spirit
may accompany the setting sun to the world beyond. The spirit starts on
its journey the following night after death has taken place; if this
occur at night, the journey is not begun until the next night.

Mourning observances.—All the effects of the deceased, the
tents, blankets, clothes, treasures, and whatever of value, aside from
the articles which have been buried with the body, are burned, so that
the family is left in poverty. This practice has extended even to the
burning of wagons and harness since some of the civilized habits have
been adopted. It is believed that these ascend to heaven in the smoke,
and will thus be of service to the owner in the other world. Immediately
upon the death of a member of the household, the relatives begin a
peculiar wailing, and the immediate members of the family take off their
customary apparel and clothe themselves in rags and cut themselves
across the arms, breast, and other portions of the body, until sometimes
a fond wife or mother faints from loss of blood. This scarification is
usually accomplished with a knife, or, as in earlier days, with a flint.
Hired mourners are employed at times who are in no way related to the
family, but who are accomplished in the art of crying for the dead.
These are invariably women. Those nearly related to the departed, cut
off the long locks from the entire head, while those more distantly
related, or special friends, cut the hair only from one side of the
head. In case of the death of a chief, the young warriors also cut the
hair, usually from the left side of the head.

After the first few days of continued grief, the mourning is conducted
more especially at sunrise and sunset, as the Comanches venerate the
sun; and the mourning at these seasons is kept up, if the death occurred
in summer, until the leaves fall, or, if in the winter, until they
reappear.

It is a matter of some interest to note that the preparation of the
corpse and the grave among the Comanches is almost identical with the
burial customs of some of the African tribes, and the baling of the body
with ropes or cords is a wide and common usage of savage peoples. The
hiring of mourners is also a practice which has been very prevalent from
remotest periods of time.

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GRAVE BURIAL.

The following interesting account of burial among the Pueblo Indians
of San Geronimo de Taos, New Mexico, furnished by Judge Anthony Joseph,
will show in a manner how civilized customs have become engrafted upon
those of a more barbaric nature. It should be remembered that the Pueblo
people are next to the Cherokees, Choctaws, and others in the Indian
Territory, the most civilized of our tribes.

According to Judge Joseph, these people call themselves
Wee-ka-nahs.

These are commonly known to the whites as Piros. The manner of
burial by these Indians, both ancient and modern, as far as I can
ascertain from information obtained from the most intelligent of the
tribe, is that the body of the dead is and has been always buried in the
ground in a horizontal position with the flat bottom of the grave. The
grave is generally dug out of the ground in the usual and ordinary
manner, being about 6 feet deep, 7 feet long, and about 2 feet
wide. It is generally finished after receiving its occupant by being
leveled with the hard ground around it, never leaving, as is customary
with the whites, a mound to mark the spot. This tribe of Pueblo
Indians never cremated their dead, as they do not know, even by
tradition, that it was ever done or attempted. There are no utensils or
implements placed in the grave, but there are a great many Indian
ornaments, such as beads of all colors, sea-shells, hawk-bells, round
looking-glasses, and a profusion of ribbons of all imaginable colors;
then they paint the body with red vermilion and white chalk, giving it a
most fantastic as well as ludicrous appearance. They also place a
variety of food in the grave as a wise provision for its long journey to
the happy hunting-ground beyond the clouds.

The funeral ceremonies of this tribe are very peculiar. First, after
death, the body is laid out on a fancy buffalo robe spread out on the
ground, then they dress the body in the best possible manner in their
style of dress; if a male, they put on his beaded leggins and
embroidered saco, and his fancy dancing-moccasins, and his large
brass or shell ear-rings; if a female, they put on her best manta or
dress, tied around the waist with a silk sash, put on her feet her fancy
dancing-moccasins; her rosario around her neck, her brass or
shell ear-rings in her ears, and with her tressed black hair tied up
with red tape or ribbon, this completes her wardrobe for her long and
happy chase. When they get through dressing the body, they place about a
dozen lighted candles around it, and keep them burning continually until
the body is buried. As soon as the candles are lighted, the
veloris, or wake, commences; the body lies in state for about
twenty-four hours, and in that time all the friends, relatives, and
neighbors of the deceased or “difunti” visit the wake, chant,
sing, and pray for the soul of the same, and tell one another of the
good deeds and traits of valor and courage manifested by the deceased
during his earthly career, and at intervals in their praying, singing,
&c., some near relative of the deceased will step up to the corpse
and every person in the room commences to cry bitterly and express aloud
words of endearment to the deceased and of condolence to the family of
the same in their untimely bereavement.

At about midnight supper is announced, and every person in attendance
marches out into another room and partakes of a frugal Indian meal,
generally composed of wild game; Chilé Colorado or red-pepper tortillas,
and guayaves, with a good supply of mush and milk, which completes the
festive board of the veloris or wake. When the deceased is in
good circumstances, the crowd in attendance is treated every little
while during the wake to alcoholic refreshments. This feast and feasting
is kept up until the Catholic priest arrives to perform the funeral
rites.

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When the priest arrives, the corpse is done up or rather baled up in a
large and well-tanned buffalo robe, and tied around tight with a rope or
lasso made for the purpose; then six or eight men act as pall-bearers,
conducting the body to the place of burial, which is in front of their
church or chapel. The priest conducts the funeral ceremonies in the
ordinary and usual way of mortuary proceedings observed by the Catholic
church all over the world. While the grave-diggers are filling up the
grave, the friends, relatives, neighbors, and, in fact, all persons that
attend the funeral, give vent to their sad feelings by making the whole
pueblo howl; after the tremendous uproar subsides, they disband and
leave the body to rest until Gabriel blows his trumpet. When the
ceremonies are performed with all the pomp of the Catholic church, the
priest receives a fair compensation for his services; otherwise he
officiates for the yearly rents that all the Indians of the pueblo pay
him, which amount in the sum total to about $2,000 per annum.

These Pueblo Indians are very strict in their mourning observance, which
last for one year after the demise of the deceased. While in mourning
for the dead, the mourners do not participate in the national
festivities of the tribe, which are occasions of state with them, but
they retire into a state of sublime quietude which makes more civilized
people sad to observe; but when the term of mourning ceases, at the end
of the year, they have high mass said for the benefit of the soul of the
departed; after this they again appear upon the arena of their wild
sports and continue to be gay and happy until the next mortal is called
from this terrestrial sphere to the happy hunting-ground, which is their
pictured celestial paradise. The above cited facts, which are the most
interesting points connected with the burial customs of the Indians of
the pueblo San Geronimo de Taos, are not in the least exaggerated, but
are the absolute facts, which I have witnessed myself in many instances
for a period of more than twenty years that I have resided but a short
distant from said pueblo, and, being a close observer of their peculiar
burial customs, am able to give you this true and undisguised
information relative to your circular on “burial customs.”

Another example of the care which is taken to prevent the earth
coming in contact with the corpse may be found in the account of the
burial of the Wichita Indians of Indian Territory, furnished by Dr.
Fordyce Grinnell, whose name has already been mentioned in connection
with the Comanche customs. The Wichitas call themselves
Kitty-ka-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
its 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 person walking on
either side to support it. The grave is dug from three to four 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
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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 it 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 Bruhier9 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,10 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; beecause they
concluded from thence the happiness of those that had been devoured,
wishing after their Death to meet with the like good luck.

104

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 sepulchers. 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.

The Buddhists of Bhotan are said to expose the bodies of their dead
on top of high rocks.

According to Tegg, whose work is quoted frequently, in the London
Times of January 28, 1876, Mr. Monier Williams writes from Calcutta
regarding the “Towers of Silence,” so called, of the Parsees, who, it is
well known, are the descendants of the ancient Persians expelled from
Persia by the Mohammedan conquerors, and settled at Surat about 1,100
years since. This gentleman’s narrative is freely made use of to show
how the custom of the exposure of the dead to birds of prey has
continued up to the present time.

The Dakhmas, or Parsee towers of silence, are erected in a garden on the
highest point of Malabar Hill, a beautiful, rising ground on one
side of Black Bay, noted for the bungalows and compounds of the European
and wealthier inhabitants of Bombay scattered in every direction over
its surface.

The garden is approached by a well-constructed, private road, all access
to which, except to Parsees, is barred by strong iron gates.

The garden is described as being very beautiful, and he says:

No English nobleman’s garden could be better kept, and no pen could do
justice to the glories of its flowering shrubs, cypresses, and palms. It
seemed the very ideal, not only of a place of sacred silence, but of
peaceful rest.

The towers are five in number, built of hardest black granite, about
40 feet in diameter and 25 in height, and constructed so solidly as
almost to resist absolutely the ravages of time. The oldest and smallest
of the towers was constructed about 200 years since, when the Parsees
first settled in Bombay, and is used only for a certain family. The next
oldest was erected in 1756, and the three others during the next
century. A sixth tower of square shape stands alone, and is only
used for criminals.

The writer proceeds as follows:

Though wholly destitute of ornament and even of the simplest moldings,
the parapet of each tower possesses an extraordinary coping, which
instantly attracts and fascinates the gaze. It is a coping formed not of
dead stone, but of living vultures. These birds, on the occasion of my
visit, had settled themselves side by side in perfect order and in a
complete circle around the parapets of the towers, with their heads
pointing inwards, and so lazily did they sit there, and so motionless
was their whole mien, that except for their color, they might have been
carved out of the stonework.

Fig. 3.—Parsee Towers of Silence
(interior).

105

No one is allowed to enter the towers except the corpse-bearers, nor
is any one permitted within thirty feet of the immediate precincts.
A model was shown Mr. Williams, and from it he drew up this
description:

Imagine a round column or massive cylinder, 12 or 14 feet high and at
least 40 feet in diameter, built throughout of solid stone except in the
center, where a well, 5 or 6 feet across, leads down to an
excavation under the masonry, containing four drains at right angles to
each other, terminated by holes filled with charcoal. Round the upper
surface of this solid circular cylinder, and completely hiding the
interior from view, is a stone parapet, 10 or 12 feet in height. This it
is which, when viewed from the outside, appears to form one piece with
the solid stone-work, and being, like it, covered with chunam, gives the
whole the appearance of a low tower. The upper surface of the solid
stone column is divided into 72 compartments, or open receptacles,
radiating like the spokes of a wheel from the central well, and arranged
in three concentric rings, separated from each other by narrow ridges of
stone, which are grooved to act as channels for conveying all moisture
from the receptacles into the well and into the lower drains. It should
be noted that the number “3” is emblematical of Zoroaster’s three
precepts, and the number “72” of the chapters of his Yasna,
a portion of the Zend-Avestá.

Each circle of open stone coffins is divided from the next by a pathway,
so that there are three circular pathways, the last encircling the
central well, and these three pathways are crossed by another pathway
conducting from the solitary door which admits the corpse-bearers from
the exterior. In the outermost circle of the stone coffins are placed
the bodies of males, in the middle those of the females, and in the
inner and smallest circle nearest the well those of children.

While I was engaged with the secretary in examining the model,
a sudden stir among the vultures made us raise our heads. At least
a hundred birds collected round one of the towers began to show symptoms
of excitement, while others swooped down from neighboring trees. The
cause of this sudden abandonment of their previous apathy soon revealed
itself. A funeral was seen to be approaching. However distant the
house of a deceased person, and whether he be rich or poor, high or low
in rank, his body is always carried to the towers by the official
corpse-bearers, called Nasasalár, who form a distinct class, the
mourners walking behind.

Before they remove the body from the house where the relatives are
assembled, funeral prayers are recited, and the corpse is exposed to the
gaze of a dog, regarded by the Parsees as a sacred animal. This latter
ceremony is called sagdid.

Then the body, swathed in a white sheet, is placed in a curved metal
trough, open at both ends, and the corpse-bearers, dressed in pure white
garments, proceed with it towards the towers. They are followed by the
mourners at a distance of at least 30 feet, in pairs, also dressed in
white, and each couple joined by holding a white handkerchief between
them. The particular funeral I witnessed was that of a child. When the
two corpse-bearers reached the path leading by a steep incline to the
door of the tower, the mourners, about eight in number, turned back and
entered one of the prayer-houses. “There,” said the secretary, “they
repeat certain gáthás, and pray that the spirit of the deceased may be
safely transported, on the fourth day after death, to its final
resting-place.”

The tower selected for the present funeral was one in which other
members of the same family had before been laid. The two bearers
speedily unlocked the door, reverently conveyed the body of the child
into the interior, and, unseen by any one, laid it uncovered in one of
the open stone receptacles nearest the central well. In two minutes they
reappeared with the empty bier and white cloth, and scarcely had they
closed the door when a dozen vultures swooped down upon the body and
were rapidly followed by others. In five minutes more we saw the
satiated birds fly back and lazily settle down again upon the parapet.
They had left nothing behind but a skeleton. Meanwhile, the bearers were
seen to enter a building shaped like a high barrel. There,
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as the secretary informed me, they changed their clothes and washed
themselves. Shortly afterwards we saw them come out and deposit their
cast-off funeral garments in a stone receptacle near at hand. Not a
thread leaves the garden, lest it should carry defilement into the city.
Perfectly new garments are supplied at each funeral. In a fortnight, or,
at most, four weeks, the same bearers return, and, with gloved hands and
implements resembling tongs, place the dry skeleton in the central well.
There the bones find their last resting-place, and there the dust of
whole generations of Parsees commingling is left undisturbed for
centuries.

The revolting sight of the gorged vultures made me turn my back on the
towers with ill-concealed abhorrence. I asked the secretary how it
was possible to become reconciled to such usage. His reply was nearly in
the following words: “Our prophet Zoroaster, who lived 6,000 years ago,
taught us to regard the elements as symbols of the Deity. Earth, fire,
water, he said, ought never, under any circumstances, to be defiled by
contact with putrefying flesh. Naked, he said, came we into the world
and naked we ought to leave it. But the decaying particles of our bodies
should be dissipated as rapidly as possible and in such a way that
neither Mother Earth nor the beings she supports should be contaminated
in the slightest degree. In fact, our prophet was the greatest of health
officers, and, following his sanitary laws, we build our towers on the
tops of the hills, above all human habitations. We spare no expense in
constructing them of the hardest materials, and we expose our putrescent
bodies in open stone receptacles, resting on fourteen feet of solid
granite, not necessarily to be consumed by vultures, but to be
dissipated in the speediest possible manner and without the possibility
of polluting the earth or contaminating a single being dwelling thereon.
God, indeed, sends the vultures, and, as a matter of fact, these birds
do their appointed work much more expeditiously than millions of insects
would do if we committed our bodies to the ground. In a sanitary point
of view, nothing can be more perfect than our plan. Even the rain-water
which washes our skeletons is conducted by channels into purifying
charcoal. Here in these five towers rest the bones of all the Parsees
that have lived in Bombay for the last two hundred years. We form a
united body in life and we are united in death.”

It would appear that the reasons given for this peculiar mode of
disposing of the dead by the Parsee secretary are quite at variance with
the ideas advanced by Muret regarding the ancient Persians, and to which
allusion has already been made. It might be supposed that somewhat
similar motives to those governing the Parsees actuated those of the
North American Indians who deposit their dead on scaffolds and trees,
but the theory becomes untenable when it is recollected that great care
is taken to preserve the dead from the ravages of carnivorous birds, the
corpse being carefully enveloped in skins and firmly tied up with ropes
or thongs.

Figures 3 and 4 are representations of the Parsee towers of silence,
drawn by Mr. Holmes, mainly from the description given.

Fig. 4.—Parsee Towers of
Silence.

George Gibbs11 gives the following account of burial among the Klamath
and Trinity Indians of the Northwest coast, the information having been
originally furnished him by James G. Swan.

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
107

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-á, 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 Péh-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”?

To Dr. Charles E. McChesney, acting assistant surgeon, United States
Army, one of the most conscientious and careful of observers, the writer
is indebted for the following interesting account of the mortuary
customs of the

WAH-PETON AND SISSETON SIOUX OF DAKOTA.

A large proportion of these Indians being members of the Presbyterian
church (the missionaries of which church have labored among them for
more than forty years past), the dead of their families are buried after
the customs of that church, and this influence is felt to a great extent
among those Indians who are not strict church members, so that they are
dropping one by one the traditional customs of their tribe, and but few
can now be found who bury their dead in accordance with their customs of
twenty or more years ago. The dead of those Indians who still adhere to
their modern burial customs are buried in the ways indicated below.

Warrior.—After death they paint a warrior red across the
mouth, or they paint a hand in black color, with the thumb on one side
of the mouth and the fingers separated on the other cheek, the rest of
the face being painted red. (This latter is only done as a mark of
respect to a specially brave man.) Spears, clubs, and the medicine-bag
of the deceased when alive are buried with the body, the medicine-bag
being placed on the bare skin over the region of the heart. There is not
now, nor has there been, among these Indians any special preparation of
the grave. The body of a warrior is generally wrapped in a blanket or
piece of cloth (and frequently in addition is placed in a box) and
buried in the grave prepared for the purpose, always, as the majority of
these Indians inform me, with the head towards the south.
(I have, however, seen many graves in which the head of the
occupant had been placed to the east. It may be that these graves
were those of Indians who belonged to the church; and a few Indians
inform me that the head is sometimes placed towards the west,
according to the occupant’s belief when alive as to the direction from
which his guiding medicine came, and I am personally inclined to give
credence to this latter as sometimes occurring.) In all burials, when
the person has died a natural death, or had not been murdered, and
whether man, woman, or child, the body is placed in the grave with the
face up. In cases, however, when a man or woman has been murdered
by one of their own tribe, the body was, and is always, placed in the
grave with the face down, head to the south, and a piece
of fat (bacon or pork) placed in the mouth. This piece of fat is placed
in the mouth, as these Indians say, to prevent the spirit of the
murdered person driving or scaring the game from that section of
country. Those Indians who state that their dead are always buried with
the head towards the south say they do so in order that the spirit of
the deceased may go to the south, the land from which these Indians
believe they originally came.

Women and children.—Before death the face of the person
expected to die is often painted in a red color. When this is not done
before death it is done afterwards; the
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body being then buried in a grave prepared for its reception, and in the
manner described for a warrior, cooking-utensils taking the place of the
warrior’s weapons. In cases of boys and girls a kettle of cooked food is
sometimes placed at the head of the grave after the body is covered.
Now, if the dead body be that of a boy, all the boys of about his age go
up and eat of the food, and in cases of girls all the girls do likewise.
This, however, has never obtained as a custom, but is sometimes done in
cases of warriors and women also.

Cremation has never been practiced by these Indians. It is now, and
always has been, a custom among them to remove a lock of hair from
the top or scalp lock of a warrior, or from the left side of the head of
a woman, which is carefully preserved by some near relative of the
deceased, wrapped in pieces of calico and muslin, and hung in the lodge
of the deceased and is considered the ghost of the dead person. To the
bundle is attached a tin cup or other vessel, and in this is placed some
food for the spirit of the dead person. Whenever a stranger happens in
at meal time, this food, however, is not allowed to go to waste; if not
consumed by the stranger to whom it is offered, some of the occupants of
the lodge eat it. They seem to take some pains to please the ghost of
the deceased, thinking thereby they will have good luck in their family
so long as they continue to do so. It is a custom with the men when they
smoke to offer the pipe to the ghost, at the same time asking it to
confer some favor on them, or aid them in their work or in
hunting, &c.

There is a feast held over this bundle containing the ghost of the
deceased, given by the friends of the dead man. This feast may be at any
time, and is not at any particular time, occurring, however, generally
as often as once a year, unless, at the time of the first feast, the
friends designate a particular time, such, for instance, as when the
leaves fall, or when the grass comes again. This bundle is never
permitted to leave the lodge of the friends of the dead person, except
to be buried in the grave of one of them. Much of the property of the
deceased person is buried with the body, a portion being placed
under the body and a portion over it. Horses are sometimes killed on the
grave of a warrior, but this custom is gradually ceasing, in consequence
of the value of their ponies. These animals are therefore now generally
given away by the person before death, or after death disposed of by the
near relatives. Many years ago it was customary to kill one or more
ponies at the grave. In cases of more than ordinary wealth for an
Indian, much of his personal property is now, and has ever been,
reserved from burial with the body, and forms the basis for a gambling
party, which will be described hereafter. No food is ever buried in the
grave, but some is occasionally placed at the head of it; in which case
it is consumed by the friends of the dead person. Such is the method
that was in vogue with these Indians twenty years ago, and which is
still adhered to, with more or less exactness, by the majority of them,
the exceptions being those who are strict church members and those very
few families who adhere to their ancient customs.

Before the year 1860 it was a custom, for as long back as the oldest
members of these tribes can remember, and with the usual tribal
traditions handed down from generation to generation, in regard to this
as well as to other things, for these Indians to bury in a tree or on a
platform, and in those days an Indian was only buried in the ground as a
mark of disrespect in consequence of the person having been murdered, in
which case the body would be buried in the ground, face down,
head toward the south and with a piece of fat in the mouth. *** The platform upon which the body was deposited
was constructed of four crotched posts firmly set in the ground, and
connected near the top by cross-pieces, upon which was placed boards,
when obtainable, and small sticks of wood, sometimes hewn so as to give
a firm resting-place for the body. This platform had an elevation of
from six to eight or more feet, and never contained but one body,
although frequently having sufficient surface to accommodate two or
three. In burying in the crotch of a tree and on platforms, the head of
the dead person was always placed towards the south; the body was
wrapped in blankets or pieces of cloth securely tied, and many of the
personal effects
109

of the deceased were buried with it; as in the case of a warrior, his
bows and arrows, war-clubs, &c., would be placed alongside of the
body, the Indians saying he would need such things in the next
world.

I am informed by many of them that it was a habit, before their
outbreak, for some to carry the body of a near relative whom they held
in great respect with them on their moves, for a greater or lesser time,
often as long as two or three years before burial. This, however, never
obtained generally among them, and some of them seem to know nothing
about it. It has of late years been entirely dropped, except when a
person dies away from home, it being then customary for the friends to
bring the body home for burial.

Mourning ceremonies.—The mourning ceremonies before the
year 1860 were as follows: After the death of a warrior the whole camp
or tribe would be assembled in a circle, and after the widow had cut
herself on the arms, legs, and body with a piece of flint, and removed
the hair from her head, she would go around the ring any number of times
she chose, but each time was considered as an oath that she would not
marry for a year, so that she could not marry for as many years as times
she went around the circle. The widow would all this time keep up a
crying and wailing. Upon the completion of this the friends of the
deceased would take the body to the platform or tree where it was to
remain, keeping up all this time their wailing and crying. After
depositing the body, they would stand under it and continue exhibiting
their grief, the squaws by hacking their arms and legs with flint and
cutting off the hair from their head. The men would sharpen sticks and
run them through the skin of their arms and legs, both men and women
keeping up their crying generally for the remainder of the day, and the
near relatives of the deceased for several days thereafter. As soon as
able, the warrior friends of the deceased would go to a near tribe of
their enemies and kill one or more of them if possible, return with
their scalps, and exhibit them to the deceased person’s relatives, after
which their mourning ceased, their friends considering his death as
properly avenged; this, however, was many years ago, when their enemies
were within reasonable striking distance, such, for instance, as the
Chippewas and the Arickarees, Gros Ventres and Mandan Indians. In cases
of women and children, the squaws would cut off their hair, hack their
persons with flint, and sharpen sticks and run them through the skin of
the arms and legs, crying as for a warrior.

It was an occasional occurrence twenty or more years ago for a squaw
when she lost a favorite child to commit suicide by hanging herself with
a lariat over the limb of a tree. This could not have prevailed to any
great extent, however, although the old men recite several instances of
its occurrence, and a very few examples within recent years. Such was
their custom before the Minnesota outbreak, since which time it has
gradually died out, and at the present time these ancient customs are
adhered to by but a single family, known as the seven brothers, who
appear to retain all the ancient customs of their tribe. At the present
time, as a mourning observance, the squaws hack themselves on their legs
with knives, cut off their hair, and cry and wail around the grave of
the dead person, and the men in addition paint their faces, but no
longer torture themselves by means of sticks passed through the skin of
the arms and legs. This cutting and painting is sometimes done before
and sometimes after the burial of the body. I also observe that
many of the women of these tribes are adopting so much of the customs of
the whites as prescribes the wearing of black for certain periods.
During the period of mourning these Indians never wash their face, or
comb their hair, or laugh. These customs are observed with varying
degree of strictness, but not in many instances with that exactness
which characterized these Indians before the advent of the white man
among them. There is not now any permanent mutilation of the person
practiced as a mourning ceremony by them. That mutilation of a finger by
removing one or more joints, so generally observed among the Minnetarree
Indians at the Fort Berthold, Dak., Agency, is not here seen, although
the old men of these tribes inform me that it was an ancient custom
among
110

their women, on the occasion of the burial of a husband, to cut off a
portion of a finger and have it suspended in the tree above his body.
I have, however, yet to see an example of this having been done by
any of the Indians now living, and the custom must have fallen into
disuse more than seventy years ago.

In regard to the period of mourning, I would say that there does
not now appear to be, and, so far as I can learn, never was, any fixed
period of mourning, but it would seem that, like some of the whites,
they mourn when the subject is brought to their minds by some remark or
other occurrence. It is not unusual at the present time to hear a man or
woman cry and exclaim, “O, my poor husband!” “O, my poor wife!” or “O,
my poor child!” as the case may be, and, upon inquiring, learn that the
event happened several years before. I have elsewhere mentioned
that in some cases much of the personal property of the deceased was and
is reserved from burial with the body, and forms the basis of a gambling
party. I shall conclude my remarks upon the burial customs,
&c., of these Indians by an account of this, which they designate as
the “ghost’s gamble.”

The account of the game will be found in another part of this
paper.

As illustrative of the preparation of the dead Indian warrior for the
tomb, a translation of Schiller’s beautiful burial song is here
given. It is believed to be by Bulwer, and for it the writer is indebted
to the kindness of Mr. Benjamin Drew, of Washington, D.C.:

BURIAL OF THE CHIEFTAIN.

The position in which the body is placed, as mentioned by Dr.
McChesney, face upwards, while of common occurrence among most tribes of
Indians, is not invariable as a rule, for the writer discovered at a
cemetery belonging to an ancient pueblo in the valley of the Chama, near
Abiquiu, N. Mex., a number of bodies, all of which had been
buried face downward. The account originally appeared in Field and
Forest, 1877, vol. iii, No. 1, p. 9.

On each side of the town were noticed two small arroyas
or water washed ditches, within 30 feet of the
walls, and a careful examination of these revealed the objects of our
search. At the bottom of the arroyas, which have certainly formed
subsequent to the occupation of the village, we found portions of human
remains, and following up the walls of the ditch soon had the pleasure
of discovering several skeletons in situ. The first found was in
the eastern arroya, and the grave in depth was nearly 8 feet below the
surface of the mesa. The body had been placed in the grave face
downward, the head pointing to the south. Two feet above the skeleton
were two shining black earthen vases, containing small bits of charcoal,
the bones of mammals, birds, and partially consumed corn, and above
these “ollas” the earth to the surface was filled with pieces of
charcoal. Doubtless the remains found in the vases served at a funeral
feast prior to the inhumation. We examined very carefully this grave,
hoping to find some utensils, ornaments, or weapons, but none rewarded
our search. In all of the graves examined the bodies were found in
similar positions and under similar circumstances in both arroyas,
several of the skeletons being those of children. No information could
be obtained as to the probable age of these interments, the present
Indians considering them as dating from the time when their ancestors
with Moctezuma came from the north.

The Coyotero Apaches, according to Dr. W. J. Hoffman,12 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
112

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,13 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:

CANOE BURIAL IN GROUND.

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 1873 removed from the
graves at Santa Barbara, California, 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, 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
113

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.

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. In their construction they resemble somewhat, in
the care that is taken to prevent the earth touching the corpse, the
class of graves previously described.

A number of cists have been found in Tennessee, and are thus
described by Moses Fiske:14

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 Solutré, 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 own
observation in Tennessee.

The burial places, or cemeteries are exceedingly abundant throughout the
State. Often hundreds of graves may be found on a single hillside. The
same people sometimes bury in scattered graves and in mounds—the
mounds being composed of a large number of cist graves. The graves are
increased by additions from time to time. The additions are sometimes
placed above and sometimes at the sides of the others. In the first
burials there is a tendency to a concentric system with the feet towards
the center, but subsequent burials are more irregular, so that the
system is finally abandoned before the place is desired for cemetery
purposes.

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, and in many instances collections of bones are
buried. Sometimes these bones are 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.

114

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 work15 the reader is referred for a more
detailed account of this mode of burial.

G. K. Gilbert, of the United States Geological Survey, informs the
writer that in 1878 he had a conversation with an old Moquis chief as to
their manner of burial, which is as follows: The body is placed in a
receptacle or cist of stone slabs or wood, in a sitting posture, the
hands near the knees, and clasping a stick (articles are buried with the
dead), and it is supposed that the soul finds its way out of the grave
by climbing up the stick, which is allowed to project above the ground
after the grave is filled in.

The Indians of Illinois, on the Saline River, according to George
Escoll Sellers,16 inclosed their dead in cists, the description of which
is as follows:

Above this bluff, where the spur rises at an angle of about 30°, it has
been terraced and the terrace as well as the crown of the spur have been
used as a cemetery; portions of the terraces are still perfect; all the
burials appear to have been made in rude stone cists, that vary in size
from 13 inches by 3 feet to 2 feet by 4 feet, and from 18 inches to 2
feet deep. They are made of thin-bedded sandstone slabs, generally
roughly shaped, but some of them have been edged and squared with
considerable care, particularly the covering slabs. The slope below the
terraces was thickly strewed with these slabs, washed out as the
terraces have worn away, and which have since been carried off for
door-steps and hearth-stones. I have opened many of these cists;
they nearly all contain fragments of human bones far gone in decay, but
I have never succeeded in securing a perfect skull; even the clay
vessels that were interred with the dead have disintegrated, the
portions remaining being almost as soft and fragile as the bones. Some
of the cists that I explored were paved with valves of fresh-water
shells, but most generally with the fragments of the great salt-pans,
which in every case are so far gone in decay as to have lost the outside
markings. This seems conclusively to couple the tenants of these ancient
graves with the makers and users of these salt-pans. The great number of
graves and the quantity of slabs that have been washed out prove either
a dense population or a long occupancy, or both.

W. J. Owsley, of Fort Hall, Idaho, furnishes the writer with a
description of the cist graves of Kentucky, which differ somewhat from
other accounts, inasmuch as the graves appeared to be isolated.

I remember that when a school-boy in Kentucky, some twenty-five years
ago, of seeing what was called “Indian graves,” and those that I
examined were close to small streams of water, and were buried in a
sitting or squatting posture and inclosed by rough, flat stones, and
were then buried from 1 to 4 feet from the surface. Those graves which I
examined, which examination was not very minute, seemed to be isolated,
no two being found in the same locality. When the burials took place I
could hardly conjecture, but it must have been, from appearances, from
fifty to one hundred years. The bones that I took out on first
appearance seemed tolerably perfect, but on short exposure to the
atmosphere crumbled, and I was unable to save a specimen. No implements
or relics were observed in those examined by me, but I have heard of
others who have found such. In that State, Kentucky, there are a number
of places
115

where the Indians buried their dead and left mounds of earth over the
graves, but I have not examined them myself. ***

According to Bancroft,17 the Dorachos, an isthmian tribe of Central
America, also followed the cist form of burial.

In Veragua the Dorachos had two kinds of tombs, one for the principal
men, constructed with flat stones laid together with much care, and in
which were placed costly jars and urns filled with food and wine for the
dead. Those for the plebians were merely trenches, in which were
deposited some gourds of maize and wine, and the place filled with
stones. In some parts of Panama and Darien only the chiefs and lords
received funeral rites. Among the common people a person feeling his end
approaching either went himself or was led to the woods by his wife,
family, or friends, who, supplying him with some cake or ears of corn
and a gourd of water, then left him to die alone or to be assisted by
wild beasts. Others, with more respect for their dead, buried them in
sepulchers made with niches, where they placed maize and wine and
renewed the same annually. With some, a mother dying while suckling
her infant, the living child was placed at her breast and buried with
her, in order that in her future state she might continue to nourish it
with her milk.

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
Archæology, 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 4½ 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
116

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 Lundsley 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 he 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 undoubtedly been 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.18

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

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.

117

Caleb Atwater19 gives this description of the

BURIAL MOUNDS OF OHIO.

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 6 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 huge 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 1½ 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
118

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 verdigris. 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 beads 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.
Holbrook20 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 4½ 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.
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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, contain 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 4½ 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:21

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 vertebræ, 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
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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 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,22 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.

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 description by Dr. J. Mason
Spainhour, of Lenoir, N.C., of an excavation made by him March 11, 1871,
on the farm of R. V. Michaux, esq., near John’s River, in Burke
County, N.C., is given. The author bears the reputation of an observer
of undoubted integrity, whose facts as given may not be doubted:

EXCAVATION OF AN INDIAN MOUND.

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,
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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 farther 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 were 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
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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 in distance
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 the Indians 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.

Should Dr. Spainhour’s inferences be incorrect, there is still a
remarkable coincidence of circumstances patent to every Mason.

In support of this gentleman’s views, attention is called to the
description of the Midawan—a ceremony of initiation for
would-be medicine men—in Schoolcraft’s History of the Indian
Tribes of the United States, 1855, p. 428, relating to the Sioux
and Chippewas. In this account are found certain forms and resemblances
which have led some to believe that the Indians possessed a knowledge of
Masonry.

BURIAL BENEATH, OR 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
kinds of burial.

Bartram23 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
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had the greatest value for in his lifetime. His oldest 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,24 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.

Lieut. George E. Ford, Third United States Cavalry, in a personal
communication to the writer, corroborates the account given by Dr.
Menard, as follows:

This tribe, numbering about 8,000 souls, occupy a reservation in the
extreme northwestern corner of New Mexico and Northeastern Arizona. The
funeral ceremonies of the Navajos are of the most simple character. They
ascribe the death of an individual to the direct action of
Chinde, or the devil, and believe that he remains in the vicinity
of the dead. For this reason, as soon as a member of the tribe dies a
shallow grave is dug within the hogan or dwelling by one of the near
male relatives, and into this the corpse is unceremoniously tumbled by
the relatives, who have previously protected themselves from the evil
influence by smearing their naked bodies with tar from the piñon tree.
After the body has thus been disposed of, the hogan (composed of logs
and branches of trees covered with earth) is pulled down over it and the
place deserted. Should the deceased have no near relatives or was of no
importance in the tribe, the formality of digging a grave is dispensed
with, the hogan being simply leveled over the body. This carelessness
does not appear to arise from want of natural affection for the dead,
but fear of the evil influence of Chinde upon the surviving
relatives causes them to avoid doing anything that might gain for them
his ill-will. A Navajo would freeze sooner than make a fire of the
logs of a fallen hogan, even though from all appearances it may have
been years in that condition. There are no mourning observances other
than smearing the forehead and under the eyes with tar, which is allowed
to remain until worn off, and then not renewed. The deceased is
apparently forgotten, as his name is never spoken by the survivors for
fear of giving offense to Chinde.

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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.

The next account, taken from M. Butel de Dumont,25 relating to the
Paskagoulas and Billoxis of Louisiana, may be considered as an example
of burial in houses, although the author of the work was pleased to
consider the receptacles as temples.

Les Paskagoulas et les Billoxis n’enterent point leur Chef, lorsqu’il
est décédé; mais-ils font sécher son cadavre au feu et à la fumée de
façon qu’ils en font un vrai squelette. Après l’avoir réduit en cet
état, ils le portent au Temple (car ils en ont un ainsi que les
Natchez), et le mettent à la place de son prédécesseur, qu’ils tirent de
l’endroit qu’il occupoit, pour le porter avec les corps de leurs autres
Chefs dans le fond du Temple où ils sont tous rangés de suite dressés
sur leurs pieds comme des statues. A l’égard du dernier mort, il
est exposé à l’entrée de ce Temple sur une espèce d’autel ou de table
faite de cannes, et couverte d’une natte très-fine travaillée fort
proprement en quarreaux rouges et jaunes avec la peau de ces mêmes
cannes. Le cadavre du Chef est exposé au milieu de cette table droit sur
ses pieds, soutenu par derrière par une longue perche peinte en rouge
dont le bout passe au dessus de sa tête, et à laquelle il est attaché
par le milieu du corps avec une liane. D’une main il tient un casse-tête
ou une petite hache, de l’autre un pipe; et au-dessus de sa tête, est
attaché au bout de la perche qui le soutient, le Calumet le plus fameux
de tous ceux qui lui ont été présentés pendant sa vie. Du reste cette
table n’est guères élevée de terre que d’un demi-pied; mais elle a au
moins six pieds de large et dix de longueur.

C’est sur cette table qu’on vient tous les jours servir à manger à ce
Chef mort en mettant devant lui des plats de sagamité, du bled grolé ou
boucané, &c. C’est-là aussi qu’au commencement de toutes les
récoltes ses Sujets vont lui offrir les premiers de tous les fruits
qu’ils peuvent recueillir. Tout ce qui lui est présenté de la sorte
reste sur cette table; et comme la porte de ce Temple est toujours
ouverte, qu’il n’y a personne préposé pour y veiller, que par conséquent
y entre qui veut, et que d’ailleurs il est éloigné du Village d’un grand
quart de lieue, il arrive que ce sont ordinairement des Etrangers,
Chasseurs ou Sauvages, qui profitent de ces mets et de ces fruits, ou
qu’ils sont consommés par les animaux. Mais cela est égal à ces
sauvages; et moins il en reste lorsqu’ils retournent le lendemain, plus
ils sont dans la joie, disant que leur Chef a bien mangé, et que par
conséquent il est content d’eux quoiqu’il les ait abandonnés. Pour leur
ouvrir les yeux sur l’extravagance de cette pratique, on a beau leur
représenter ce qu’ils ne peuvent s’empêcher de voir eux-mêmes, que ce
n’est point ce mort qui mange; ils répondent que si ce n’est pas lui,
c’est toujours lui au moins qui offre à qui il lui plaît ce qui a été
mis sur la table; qu’après tout c’étoit là la pratique de leur père, de
leur mère, de leurs parens; qu’ils n’ont pas plus d’esprit qu’eux, et
qu’ils ne sauroient mieux faire que de suivre leur example.

C’est aussi devant cette table, que pendant quelques mois la veuve du
Chef, ses enfans, ses plus proches parens, viennent de tems en tems lui
rendre visite et lui faire
125

leur harangue, comme s’il étoit en état de les entendre. Les uns lui
demandent pourquoi il s’est laissé mourir avant eux? d’autres lui disent
que s’il est mort ce n’est point leur faute; que c’est lui même qui
s’est tué par telle débauche on par tel effort; enfin s’il y a eu
quelque défaut dans son gouvernement, on prend ce tems-là pour le lui
reprocher. Cependant ils finissent toujours leur harangue, en lui disant
de n’être pas fâché contre eux, de bien manger, et qu’ils auront
toujours bien soin de lui.

Another example of burial in houses may be found in vol. vi of the
publications of the Hakluyt Society, 1849, p. 89, taken from
Strachey’s Virginia. It is given more as a curious narrative of an early
writer on American ethnology than for any intrinsic value it may possess
as a truthful relation of actual events. It relates to the Indians of
Virginia:

Within the chauncell of the temple, by the Okens, are the cenotaphies or
the monuments of their kings, whose bodyes, so soon as they be dead,
they embowell, and, scraping the flesh from off the bones, they dry the
same upon hurdells into ashes, which they put into little potts (like
the anncyent urnes): the annathomy of the bones they bind together or
case up in leather, hanging braceletts, or chaines of copper, beads,
pearle, or such like, as they used to wear about most of their joints
and neck, and so repose the body upon a little scaffold (as upon a
tomb), laying by the dead bodies’ feet all his riches in severall
basketts, his apook, and pipe, and any one toy, which in his life he
held most deare in his fancy; their inwards they stuff with pearle,
copper, beads, and such trash, sowed in a skynne, which they overlapp
againe very carefully in whit skynnes one or two, and the bodyes thus
dressed lastly they rowle in matte, as for wynding sheets, and so lay
them orderly one by one, as they dye in their turnes, upon an arche
standing (as aforesaid) for the tomb, and thes are all the
ceremonies we yet can learne that they give unto their dead. We heare of
no sweet oyles or oyntments that they use to dresse or chest their dead
bodies with; albeit they want not of the pretious rozzin running out of
the great cedar, wherewith in the old time they used to embalme dead
bodies, washing them in the oyle and licoure thereof. Only to the
priests the care of these temples and holy interments are committed, and
these temples are to them as solitary Asseteria colledged or ministers
to exercise themselves in contemplation, for they are seldome out of
them, and therefore often lye in them and maynteyne contynuall fier in
the same, upon a hearth somewhat neere the east end.

For their ordinary burialls they digg a deepe hole in the earth with
sharpe stakes, and the corps being lapped in skynns and matts with their
jewells, they laye uppon sticks in the ground, and soe cover them with
earth; the buryall ended, the women (being painted all their faces with
black coale and oyle) do sitt twenty-four howers in their howses,
mourning and lamenting by turnes, with such yelling and howling as may
expresse their great passions.

While this description brings the subject under the head before
given—house burial—at the same time it might also afford an
example of embalmment or mummifying.

Figure 1 may be referred to as a probable
representation of the temple or charnel-house described.

The modes of burial described in the foregoing accounts are not to be
considered rare; for among certain tribes in Africa similar practices
prevailed. For instance, the Bari of Central Africa, according to the
Rev. J. G. Wood,26 bury their dead within the inclosure of the home-stead,
fix a pole in the ground, and fasten to it certain emblems. The Apingi,
according to the same author, permit the corpse to remain in its
dwelling until it falls to pieces. The bones are then collected and
126

deposited on the ground a short distance from the village. The Latookas
bury within the inclosure of a man’s house, although the bones are
subsequently removed, placed in an earthen jar, and deposited outside
the village. The Kaffirs bury their head-men within the cattle
inclosure, the graves of the common people being made outside, and the
Bechuanas follow the same general plan.

The following description of Damara burial, from the work quoted
above (p. 314), is added as containing an account of certain
details which resemble somewhat those followed by North American
Indians. In the narrative it will be seen that house burial was followed
only if specially desired by the expiring person:

When a Damara chief dies, he is buried in rather a peculiar fashion. As
soon as life is extinct—some say even before the last breath is
drawn—the bystanders break the spine by a blow from a large stone.
They then unwind the long rope that encircles the loins, and lash the
body together in a sitting posture, the head being bent over the knees.
Ox-hides are then tied over it, and it is buried with its face to the
north, as already described when treating of the Bechuanas. Cattle are
then slaughtered in honor of the dead chief, and over the grave a post
is erected, to which the skulls and hair are attached as a trophy. The
bow, arrows, assagai, and clubs of the deceased are hung on the same
post. Large stones are pressed into the soil above and around the grave,
and a large pile of thorns is also heaped over it, in order to keep off
the hyenas, who would be sure to dig up and devour the body before the
following day. The grave of a Damara chief is represented on page 302.
Now and then a chief orders that his body shall be left in his own
house, in which case it is laid on an elevated platform, and a strong
fence of thorns and stakes built round the hut.

The funeral ceremonies being completed, the new chief forsakes the place
and takes the whole of the people under his command. He remains at a
distance for several years, during which time he wears the sign of
mourning, i.e., a dark-colored conical cap, and round the neck a
thong, to the ends of which are hung two small pieces of ostrich-shell.
When the season of mourning is over, the tribe return, headed by the
chief, who goes to the grave of his father, kneels over it, and whispers
that he has returned, together with the cattle and wives which his
father gave him. He then asks for his parent’s aid in all his
undertakings, and from that moment takes the place which his father
filled before him. Cattle are then slaughtered, and a feast held to the
memory of the dead chief and in honor of the living one, and each person
present partakes of the meat, which is distributed by the chief himself.
The deceased chief symbolically partakes of the banquet. A couple
of twigs cut from the tree of the particular eanda to which the deceased
belonged are considered as his representative, and with this emblem each
piece of meat is touched before the guests consume it. In like manner,
the first pail of milk that is drawn is taken to the grave and poured
over it.

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
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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 adopt 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 brash, 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 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
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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 internment, 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
sepulchers 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 sepulcher 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 properly 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 role 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 employee 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.

Within the past year Ouray, the Ute chief living at the Los Pinos
agency, died and was buried, so far as could be ascertained, in a rock
fissure or cave 7 or 8 miles from the agency.

An interesting cave in Calaveras County, California, which had been
used for burial purposes, is thus described by Prof. J. D.
Whitney:27

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
129

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, by W. H. Dall,28 is so remarkable
that it seems worthy of admittance to this paper. It relates probably to
the Innuits 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 minced 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.

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EMBALMMENT OR MUMMIFICATION.

Following and 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 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 the Egyptian tombs, it is not surprising
that this theory has obtained many believers. 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 Pariset 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.

131

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,29 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 the 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,30 who took the account from Smith’s Virginia, the
Werowance of Virginia preserved their dead as follows:

In their Temples they have his [their chief God, the Devil’s] image
euill favouredly carved, and then painted and adorned with chaines of
copper, and beads, and covered with a skin, in such manner as the
deformitie may well suit with such a God. 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
ioynts and necke they hang bracelets, or chaines of copper, pearle, and
such like, as they use to wear. Their inwards they stuffe with copper
beads, hatchets, and such trash. Then lappe they them very carefully in
white skins, and so rowle them in mats for their winding-sheets. And in
the Tombe, 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 deepe hole in the earth with
sharpe stakes, and the corpse being lapped in skins and mats with their
Jewels they lay them upon stickes in the ground, and so cover them with
earth. The buriale ended, the women being painted all their faces with
blacke cole and oyle doe sit twenty-foure houres in the houses mourning
and lamenting by turnes with such yelling and howling as may expresse
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 the tombes
of their predecessors. Those houses are near sixty feet in length, built
harbourwise after their building. This place they count so holey as that
but the priests and Kings dare come into them; nor the savages dare not
go up the river in boates by it, but that they solemnly cast
132

some piece of copper, white beads or pocones into the river for feare
their Okee should be offended and revenged of them.

They think that their Werowances and priests which they also esteeme
quiyough-cosughs, when they are deade doe goe beyond the mountains
towards the setting of the sun, and ever remain there in form of their
Okee, with their bedes paynted rede with oyle 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 deth, but rot in
their graves like dede dogges.

This is substantially the same account as has been given on a former
page, the verbiage differing slightly, and the remark regarding
truthfulness will apply to it as well as to the other.

Figure 1 may again be referred to as an example
of the dead-house described.

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;31 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 in supported by nine stakes or small posts,
the grave being about 6 to 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
vermillion; 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 or pine of the 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, &c. 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 man’s 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
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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 deerskins, 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
saltpetre and other caves of Kentucky, and it is still a matter of doubt
with archæologists 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 Wilkins32 thus describes one:

*** An exsiccated body of a female33 *** 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 atone 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.34*

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: found in one of the limestone caverns of Kentucky. It is a perfect
desiccation; 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 archæologists.

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 them 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 batter’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 Muhlenbergh could determine the plant which furnished the
fibrous material.

134

The innermost tegument is a mantle of cloth, like the preceding, but
furnished with large brown feathers, arranged and fashioned 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 covered
with sorrel or foxey 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 curiousity.

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,35 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
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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, &c. 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.

Figure 5, copied from Dall, represents the Alaskan mummies.

Fig. 5.—Alaskan Mummies.

Martin Sauer, secretary to Billings’ Expedition,36 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
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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 affecting 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
bird’s claws inserted into one another, and several specimens of little
bags, and a cap plaited out of sea-grass and almost water-tight.

In Cary’s translation of Herodotus (1853, p. 180) the following
passage occurs which purports to describe the manner in which the
Macrobrian Ethiopians preserved their dead. It is added, simply as a
matter of curious interest, nothing more, for no remains so preserved
have ever been discovered.

After this, they visited last of all their sepulchres, which are said to
be prepared from crystal in the following manner. When they have dried
the body, either as the Egyptians do, or in some other way, they plaster
it all over with gypsum, and paint it, making it as much as possible
resemble real life; they then put round it a hollow column made of
crystal, which they dig up in abundance, and is easily wrought. The body
being in the middle of the column is plainly seen, nor does it emit an
unpleasant smell, nor is it in any way offensive, and it is all visible
as the body itself. The nearest relations keep the column in their
houses for a year, offering to it the first-fruits
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of all, and performing sacrifices; after that time they carry it out and
place it somewhere near the city.

Note.—The Egyptian mummies could
only be seen in front, the back being covered by a box or coffin; the
Ethiopian bodies could be seen all round, as the column of glass was
transparent.

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 Foster37 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, off 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.38

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
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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 impassible 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, Tenn. 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:39

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. Figure 6 represents
different forms of burial-urns, a, b, and e, after
Foster, are from Laporte, Ind. f, after Foster, is from Greenup
County, Kentucky; d is from Milledgeville, Ga., in Smithsonian
collection, No. 27976; and c is one of the peculiar shoe-shaped
urns brought from Ometepec Island, Lake Nicaragua, by Surgeon J. C.
Bransford, U.S.N.

Fig. 6.—Burial Urns.

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
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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
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.

The writer has recently received from Prof. C. Engelhardt, of
Copenhagen, Denmark, a brochure describing the oak coffins of
Borum-Æshœi. From an engraving in this volume it would appear that the
manner employed by the ancient Danes of hollowing out logs for coffins
has its analogy among the North American Indians.

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:40

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 horses, 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 fur-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,
his steel, and his tinder to light his pipe 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
vermillion, 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.

Figure 7, after Schoolcraft, represents an Indian burial-ground on a
high bluff of the Missouri River.

Fig. 7.—Indian Cemetery.

According to the Rev. J. G. Wood,41 the Obongo, an African tribe,
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buried their dead in a manner similar to that which has been stated of
the Seminoles:

When an Obongo dies it is usual to take the body to a hollow tree in the
forest and drop it into the hollow, which is afterwards filled to the
top with earth, leaves, and branches.

M. de la Potherie42 gives an account of surface burial as practiced by the
Iroquois of New York:

Quand ce malade est mort, on le met sur son séant, on oint ses cheveux
et tout son corps d’huile d’animaux, on lui applique du vermillon sur le
visage; on lui met toutes sortes de beaux plumages de la rassade de la
porcelaine et on le pare des plus beaux habits que l’on peut trouver,
pendant que les parens et des vieilles continuent toujours à pleurer.
Cette cérémonie finie, les alliez apportent plusieurs présens. Les uns
sont pour essuyer les larmes et les autres pour servir de matelas au
défunt, on en destine certains pour couvrir la fosse, de peur,
disent-ils, que la plague ne l’incommode, on y étend fort proprement des
peaux d’ours et de chevreuils qui lui servent de lit, et on lui met ses
ajustemens avec un sac de farine de bled d’Inde, de la viande, sa
cuillière, et généralement tout ce qu’il faut à un homme qui veut faire
un long voyage, avec toux les présens qui lui ont été faits á sa mort,
et s’il a été guerrier on lui donne ses armes pour s’en servir au pais
des morts. L’on couvre ensuite ce cadavre d’écorce d’arbres sur
lesquelles on jette de la terre et quantité de pierres, et on l’entoure
de pierres pour empêcher que les animaux ne le déterrent. Ces sortes de
funérailles ne se font que dans leur village. Lorsqu’ils meurent en
campagne on les met dans un cercueil d’écorce, entre les branches des
arbres où on les élève sur quatre pilliers.

On observe ces mêmes funérailles aux femmes et aux filles. Tous ceux qui
ont assisté aux obsèques profitent de toute la dépouille du défunt et
s’il n’avoit rien, les parens y supléent. Ainsi ils ne pleurent pas en
vain. Le deuil consiste à ne se point couper ni graisser les cheveux et
de se tenir négligé sans aucune parure, couverts de méchantes hardes. Le
père et la mère portent le deuil de leur fils. Si le père meurt les
garçons le portent, et les filles de leur mère.

Dr. P. Gregg, of Rock Island, Illinois, has been kind enough to
forward to the writer an interesting work by J. V. Spencer,43 containing
annotations by himself. He gives the following account of surface and
partial surface burial occurring among the Sacs and Foxes formerly
inhabiting Illinois:

Black Hawk was placed upon the ground in a sitting posture, his hands
grasping his cane. They usually made a shallow hole in the ground,
setting the body in up to the waist, so the most of the body was above
ground. The part above ground was then covered by a buffalo robe, and a
trench about eight feet square was then dug about the grave. In this
trench they set picketing about eight feet high, which secured the grave
against wild animals. When I first came here there were quite a number
of these high picketings still standing where their chiefs had been
buried, and the body of a chief was disposed of in this way while I
lived near their village. The common mode of burial was to dig a shallow
grave, wrap the body in a blanket, place it in the grave, and fill it
nearly full of dirt; then take split sticks about three feet long and
stand them in the grave so that their tops would come together in the
form of a roof; then they filled in more earth so as to hold the sticks
in place. I saw a father and mother start out alone to bury their
child about a year old; they carried it by tieing it up in a blanket and
putting a long stick through the blanket, each taking an end of the
stick.

141

I have also seen the dead bodies placed in trees. This is done by
digging a trough out of a log, placing the body in it, and covering it.
I have seen several bodies in one tree. I think when they are
disposed of in this way it is by special request, as I knew of an Indian
woman who lived with a white family who desired her body placed in a
tree, which was accordingly done.44* Doubtless there was some peculiar
superstition attached to this mode, though I do not remember to have
heard what it was.

Judge H. Welch45 states that “the Sauks, Foxes, and Pottawatomies buried
by setting the body on the ground and building a pen around it of sticks
or logs. I think the bodies lay heads to the east.” And C. C.
Baldwin, of Cleveland, Ohio, sends a more detailed account, as
follows:

I was some time since in Seneca County and there met Judge Welch. *** In 1824 he went with his father-in-law,
Judge Gibson, to Fort Wayne. On the way they passed the grave of an
Ottawa or Pottawatomie chief. The body lay on the ground covered with
notched poles. It had been there but a few days and the worms were
crawling around the body. My special interest in the case was the
accusation of witchcraft against a young squaw who was executed for
killing him by her arts. In the Summit County mounds there were only
parts of skeletons with charcoal and ashes, showing they had been
burned.

W. A. Brice46 mentions a curious variety of surface burial not
heretofore met with:

And often had been seen, years ago, swinging from the bough of a tree,
or in a hammock stretched between two trees, the infant of the Indian
mother; or a few little log inclosures, where the bodies of adults sat
upright, with all their former apparel wrapped about them, and their
trinkets, tomahawks, &c., by their side, could be seen at any time
for many years by the few pale-faces visiting or sojourning here.

A method of interment so closely allied to surface burial that it may
be considered under that head is the one employed by some of the
Ojibways and Swampy Crees of Canada. A small cavity is scooped out,
the body deposited therein, covered with a little dirt, the mound thus
formed being covered either with split planks, poles, or birch bark.

Prof. Henry Youle Hind, who was in charge of the Canadian Red River
exploring expedition of 1858, has been good enough to forward to the
Bureau of Ethnology two photographs representing the variety of grave,
which he found 15 or 20 miles from the present town of Winnipeg, and
they are represented in the woodcuts, Figures 8 and 9.

Fig. 8.—Grave Pen.

Fig. 9.—Grave Pen.

142

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, &c., and covered over with saplings of the
mountain aspen; on the 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.

From Dr. O. G. Given, physician to the Kiowa and Comanche Agency,
Indian Territory, the following description of burial ceremonies was
received. According to this gentleman the Kiowas call themselves
Kaw-a-wāh, the Comanches Nerm, and the Apaches
Tāh-zee.

They bury in the ground or in crevices of rocks. They do not seem to
have any particular rule with regard to the position. Sometimes prone,
sometimes supine, but always decumbent. They select a place where the
grave is easily prepared, which they do with such implements as they
chance to have, viz, a squaw-axe, or hoe. If they are traveling,
the grave is often very hastily prepared and not much time is spent in
finishing. I was present at the burial of Black Hawk, an Apache
chief, some two years ago, and took the body in my light wagon up the
side of a mountain to the place of burial. They found a crevice in the
rocks about four feet wide and three feet deep. By filling in loose
rocks at either end they made a very nice tomb. The body was then put in
face downwards, short sticks were put across, resting on projections of
rock at the sides, brush was thrown on this, and flat rocks laid over
the whole of it.

The body of the deceased is dressed in the best clothing, together with
all the ornaments most admired by the person when living. The face is
painted with any colored paint they may have, mostly red and yellow, as
I have observed. The body is then wrapped in skins, blankets, or
domestic, with the hands laid across the breast, and the legs placed
upon the thighs. They put into the grave their guns, bows and arrows,
tobacco, and if they have it a blanket, moccasins, and trinkets of
various kinds. One
143

or more horses are killed over or near the grave. Two horses and a mule
were killed near Black Hawk’s grave. They were led up near and shot in
the head. At the death of a Comanche chief, some years ago, I am
told about seventy horses were killed, and a greater number than that
were said to have been killed at the death of a prominent Kiowa chief a
few years since.

The mourning is principally done by the relatives and immediate friends,
although any one of their own tribe, or one of another tribe, who
chances to be passing, will stop and moan with the relatives. Their
mourning consists in a weird wail, which to be described must be heard,
and once heard is never forgotten, together with the scarifying of their
faces, arms, and legs with some sharp instrument, the cutting off of the
hair, and oftentimes the cutting off of a joint of a finger, usually the
little finger (Comanches do not cut off fingers). The length of time and
intensity of their mourning depends upon the relation and position of
the deceased in the tribe. I have known instances where, if they
should be passing along where any of their friends had died, even a year
after their death, they would mourn.

The Shoshones, of Nevada, generally concealed their dead beneath
heaps of rocks, according to H. Butterfield, of Tyho, Nye County,
Nevada, although occasionally they either burn or bury them. He gives as
reasons for rock burial: 1st, to prevent coyotes eating the corpses; 2d,
because they have no tools for deep excavations; and 3d, natural
indolence of the Indians—indisposition to work any more than can
be helped.

The Pi-Utes, of Oregon, bury in cairns; the Blackfeet do the same, as
did also the Acaxers and Yaquis, of Mexico, and the Esquimaux; in fact,
a number of examples might be quoted. In foreign lands the custom
prevailed among certain African tribes, and it is 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 Tegg47 informs us that it reached as far back
as the Theban war, in the account of which mention is made of the
burning of Menœacus 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
144

of this rite among the people 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 the
country, with discursive notes and an account of its origin among the
Nishinams of California, by Stephen Powers,48 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 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
Schoolcraft49 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 then.
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 gives an account of the process as performed by the
Tolkotins of Oregon:50

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 7 feet
long, of cypress, neatly split and in the interstices, 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
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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, &c, 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 life time she has been known to have committed
any act of infidelity or omitted administering to him savory food or
neglected his clothing, &c. 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 food, &c. 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 the 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, &c.
Invitations are then sent 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 her late husband, which are now removed and placed in
a covered box, which is nailed or otherwise fastened to a post twelve
feet high. Her conduct as a faithful widow is next highly eulogized, and
the ceremony of her manumission is completed by one man powdering on her
head the down of birds and another pouring on it the contents of a
bladder of oil. She is then at liberty to marry again or lead a life of
single blessedness, but few of them, I believe, wish to encounter
the risk attending a second widowhood.

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The men are condemned to a similar ordeal, but they do not bear it with
equal fortitude, and numbers fly to distant quarters to avoid the brutal
treatment which custom has established as a kind of religious rite.

Figure 10 is an ideal sketch of the cremation according to the
description given.

Fig. 10.—Tolkotin cremation.

Perhaps a short review of some of the peculiar and salient points of
this narrative may be permitted.

It is stated that the corpse is kept nine days after
death—certainly a long period of time, when it is remembered that
Indians as a rule endeavor to dispose of their dead as soon as possible.
This may be accounted for on the supposition that it is to give the
friends and relatives an opportunity of assembling, verifying the death,
and of making proper preparations for the ceremony. With regard to the
verification of the dead person, William Sheldon51 gives an account of a
similar custom which was common among the Caraibs of Jamaica, and which
seems to throw some light upon the unusual retention of deceased persons
by the tribe in question, although it most be admitted that this is mere
hypothesis:

They had some very extraordinary customs respecting deceased persons.
When one of them died, it was necessary that all his relations should
see him and examine the body in order to ascertain that he died a
natural death. They acted so rigidly on this principle, that if one
relative remained who had not seen the body all the others could not
convince that one that the death was natural. In such a case the absent
relative considered himself as bound in honor to consider all the other
relatives as having been accessories to the death of the kinsman, and
did not rest until he had killed one of them to revenge the death of the
deceased. If a Caraib died in Martinico or Guadaloupe and but his
relations lived in St. Vincents, it was necessary to summon them to see
the body, and several months sometimes elapsed before it could be
finally interred. When a Caraib died he was immediately painted all over
with roucou, and had his mustachios and the black streaks in his
face made with a black paint, which was different from that used in
their lifetime. A kind of grave was then dug in the carbet
where he died, about 4 feet square and 6 or 7 feet deep. The body was
let down in it, when sand was thrown in, which reached to the knees, and
the body was placed in it in a sitting posture, resembling that in which
they crouched round the fire or the table when alive, with the elbows on
the knees and the palms of the hands against the cheeks. No part of the
body touched the outside of the grave, which was covered with wood and
mats until all the relations had examined it. When the customary
examinations and inspections were ended the hole was filled, and the
bodies afterwards remained undisturbed. The hair of the deceased was
kept tied behind. In this way bodies have remained several months
without any symptoms of decay or producing any disagreeable smell. The
roucou not only preserved them from the sun, air, and insects
during their lifetime, but probably had the same effect after death. The
arms of the Caraibs were placed by them when they were covered over for
inspection, and they were finally buried with them.

Again, we are told that during the burning the bystanders are very
merry. This hilarity is similar to that shown by the Japanese at a
funeral, who rejoice that the troubles and worries of the world are over
for the fortunate dead. The plundering of strangers present, it may be
remembered, also took place among the Indians of the Carolinas. As
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already mentioned on a preceding page, the cruel manner in which the
widow is treated seems to be a modification of the Hindoo suttee, but,
if the account be true, it would appear that death might be preferable
to such torments.

It is interesting to note that in Corsica, as late as 1743, if a
husband died, women threw themselves upon the widow and beat her
severely. Brohier quaintly remarks that this custom obliged women to
take good care of their husbands.

George Gibbs, in Schoolcraft,52 states that among the Indians of Clear
Lake, California, “the body is consumed upon a scaffold built over a
hole, into which the ashes are thrown and covered.”

According to Stephen Powers,53 cremation was common among the Se-nél of
California. He thus relates it.

The dead are mostly burned. Mr. Willard described to me a scene of
incremation that he once witnessed, which was frightful for its
exhibitions of fanatic frenzy and infatuation. The corpse was that of a
wealthy chieftain, and as he lay upon the funeral pyre they placed in
his month two gold twenties, and other smaller coins in his ears and
hands, on his breast, &c. besides all his finery, his feather
mantles, plumes, clothing, shell money, his fancy bows, painted arrows,
&c. When the torch was applied they set up a mournful ululation,
chanting and dancing about him, gradually working themselves into a wild
and ecstatic raving, which seemed almost a demoniacal possession,
leaping, howling, lacerating their flesh. Many seemed to lose all
self-control. The younger English-speaking Indians generally lend
themselves charily to such superstitious work, especially if American
spectators are present, but even they were carried away by the old
contagious frenzy of their race. One stripped off a broadcloth coat,
quite new and fine, and ran frantically yelling and cast it upon the
blazing pile. Another rushed up, and was about to throw on a pile of
California blankets, when a white man, to test his sincerity, offend him
$16 for them, jingling the bright coins before his eyes, but the savage
(for such he had become again for the moment) otherwise so avaricious,
hurled him away with a yell of execration and ran and threw his offering
into the flames. Squaws, even more frenzied, wildly flung upon the pyre
all they had in the world—their dearest ornaments, their gaudiest
dresses, their strings of glittering shells. Screaming, wailing, tearing
their hair, beating their breasts in their mad and insensate
infatuation, some of them would have cast themselves bodily into the
flaming ruins and perished with the chief had they not been restrained
by their companions. Then the bright, swift flames, with their hot
tongues, licked this “cold obstruction” into chemic change, and the once
“delighted spirit” of the savage was borne up. ***

It seems as if the savage shared in Shakspeare’s shudder at the thought
of rotting in the dismal grave, for it is the one passion of his
superstition to think of the soul, of his departed friend set free and
purified by the swift purging heat of the flames not dragged down to be
clogged and bound in the mouldering body, but borne up in the soft, warm
chariots of the smoke toward the beautiful sun, to bask in his warmth
and light, and then to fly away to the Happy Western Land. What wonder
if the Indian shrinks with unspeakable horror from the thought of
burying his friend’s soul!—of pressing and ramming down
with pitiless clods that inner something which once took such delight in
the sweet light of the sun! What wonder if it takes years to persuade
him to do otherwise and follow our custom! What wonder if even then he
does it with sad fears and misgivings! Why not let him keep his custom!
In the gorgeous
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landscapes and balmy climate of California an Indian incremation is as
natural to the savage as it is for him to love the beauty of the sun.
Let the vile Esquimaux and the frozen Siberian bury their dead if they
will; it matters little, the earth is the same above as below; or to
them the bosom of the earth may seem even the better; but in California
do not blame the savage if he recoils at the thought of going
underground! This soft pale halo of the lilac hills—ah, let him
console himself if he will with the belief that his lost friend enjoys
it still! The narrator concluded by saying that they destroyed full $500
worth of property. “The blankets,” said he with a fine Californian scorn
of much absurd insensibility to such a good bargain, “the blankets that
the American offered him $16 for were not worth half the money.”

After death the Se-nél hold that bad Indians return into coyotes. Others
fall off a bridge which all souls must traverse, or are hooked off by a
raging bull at the further end, while the good escape across. Like the
Yokaia and the Konkan, they believe it necessary to nourish the spirits
of the departed for the space of a year. This is generally done by a
squaw, who takes pinole in her blanket, repairs to the scene of the
incremation, or to places hallowed by the memory of the dead, when she
scatters it over the ground, meantime rocking her body violently to and
fro in a dance and chanting the following chorous:

This refrain is repeated over and over indefinitely, but the words have
no meaning whatever.

Henry Gillman54 has published an interesting account of the exploration
of a mound near Waldo, Fla., in which he found abundant evidence that
cremation had existed among the former Indian population. It is as
follows:

In opening a burial-mound at Cade’s Pond, a small body of water
situated about two miles northeastward of Santa Fé Lake, Fla., the
writer found two instances of cremation, in each of which the skull of
the subject, which was unconsumed, was used as the depository of his
ashes. The mound contained besides a large number of human burials, the
bones being much decayed. With them were deposited a great number of
vessels of pottery, many of which are painted in brilliant colors,
chiefly red, yellow, and brown, and some of them ornamented with
indented patterns, displaying not a little skill in the ceramic art,
though they are reduced to fragments. The first of the skulls referred
to was exhumed at a depth of 2½ feet. It rested on its apex (base
uppermost), and was filled with fragments of half incinerated human
bones, mingled with dark-colored dust, and the sand which invariably
sifts into crania under such circumstances. Immediately beneath the
skull lay the greater part of a human tibia, presenting the peculiar
compression known as a platycnemism to the degree of affording a
latitudinal index of .512; while beneath and surrounding it lay the
fragments of a large number of human bones, probably constituting an
entire individual. In the second instance of this peculiar mode in
cremation, the cranium was discovered on nearly the opposite side of the
mound, at a depth of 2 feet, and, like the former, resting on its apex.
It was filled with a black mass—the residuum of burnt human bones
mingled with sand. At three feet to the eastward lay the shaft of a
flattened tibia, which presents the longitudinal index of .527. Both the
skulls were free from all action of fire, and though subsequently
crumbling to pieces on their removal, the writer had opportunity to
observe their strong resemblance to the small, orthocephalic crania
which he had exhumed from mounds in Michigan. The same resemblance was
perceptible in the other cranium belonging to this mound. The small
narrow, retreating frontal, prominent parietal protuberances, rather
protuberant occipital, which was
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not in the least compressed, the well defined supraciliary ridges, and
the superior border of the orbits, presenting a quadrilateral outline,
were also particularly noticed. The lower facial bones, including the
maxillaries, were wanting. On consulting such works as are accessible to
him, the writer finds no mention of any similar relics having been
discovered in mounds in Florida, or elsewhere. For further particulars
reference may be had to a paper on the subject read before the Saint
Louis meeting of the American Association, August, 1878.

The discoveries made by Mr. Gillman would seem to indicate that the
people whose bones he excavated resorted to a process of partial
cremation, some examples of which will be given on another page. The use
of crania as receptacles is certainly remarkable, if not unique.

The fact is well-known to archæologists that whenever cremation was
practiced by Indians it was customary as a rule to throw into the
blazing pyre all sorts of articles supposed to be useful to the dead,
but no instance is known of such a wholesale destruction of property as
occurred when the Indians of Southern Utah burned their dead, for Dr. E.
Foreman relates, in the American Naturalist for July, 1876, the account
of the exploration of a mound in that Territory, which proves that at
the death of a person not only were the remains destroyed by fire, but
all articles of personal property, even the very habitation which had
served as a home. After the process was completed, what remained
unburned was covered with earth and a mound formed.

A. S. Tiffany55 describes what he calls a cremation-furnace, discovered
within seven miles of Davenport, Iowa.

*** Mound seven miles, below the city,
a projecting point known as Eagle Point. The surface was of the
usual black soil to the depth of from 6 to 8 inches. Next was found a
burnt indurated clay, resembling in color and texture a medium-burned
brick, and about 30 inches in depth. Immediately beneath this clay was a
bed of charred human remains 6 to 18 inches thick. This rested upon the
unchanged and undisturbed loam of the bluffs, which formed the floor of
the pit. Imbedded in this floor of unburned clay were a few very much
decomposed, but unburned, human bones. No implements of any kind were
discovered. The furnace appears to have been constructed by excavating
the pit and placing at the bottom of it the bodies or skeletons which
had possibly been collected from scaffolds, and placing the fuel among
and above the bodies, with a covering of poles or split timbers
extending over and resting upon the earth, with the clay covering above,
which latter we now find resting upon the charred remains. The ends of
the timber covering, where they were protected by the earth above and
below, were reduced to charcoal, parallel pieces of which were found at
right angles to the length of the mound. No charcoal was found among or
near the remains, the combustion there having been complete. The porous
and softer portions of the bones were reduced to pulverized bone-black.
Mr. Stevens also examined the furnace. The mound had probably not been
opened after the burning.

This account is doubtless true, but the inferences may be
incorrect.

Many more accounts of cremation among different tribes might be given
to show how prevalent was the custom, but the above are thought to be
sufficiently distinctive to serve as examples.

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PARTIAL CREMATION.

Allied somewhat to cremation is a peculiar mode of burial which is
supposed to have taken place among the Cherokees, or some other tribe of
North Carolina, and which is thus described by J. W. Foster:56

Up to 1819 the Cherokee held possession of this region, when, in
pursuance of a treaty, they vacated a portion of the lands lying in the
valley of the Little Tennessee River. In 1821 Mr. McDowell commenced
farming. During the first season’s operations the plowshare, in passing
over a certain portion of a field, produced a hollow rumbling sound, and
in exploring for the cause the first object met with was a shallow layer
of charcoal, beneath which was a slab of burnt clay about 7 feet in
length and 4 feet broad, which, in the attempt to remove, broke into
several fragments. Nothing beneath this slab was found, but on examining
its under side, to his great surprise there was the mould of a naked
human figure. Three of these burned-clay sepulchers were thus raised and
examined during the first year of his occupancy, since which time none
have been found until recently. During the past season, (1878) the plow
brought up another fragment of one of these moulds, revealing the
impress of a plump human arm.

Col. C. W. Jenkes, the superintendent of the Corundum mines, which
have recently been opened in that vicinity, advises me thus:

“We have Indians all about us, with traditions extending back for 500
years. In this time they have buried their dead under huge piles of
stones. We have at one point the remains of 600 warriors under one pile,
but a grave has just been opened of the following construction:
A pit was dug, into which the corpse was placed, face upward; then
over it was moulded a covering of mortar, fitting the form and features.
On this was built a hot fire, which formed an entire shield of pottery
for the corpse. The breaking up of one such tomb gives a perfect cast of
the form of the occupant.”

Colonel Jenkes, fully impressed with the value of these archeological
discoveries, detailed a man to superintend the exhumation, who proceeded
to remove the earth from the mould, which he reached through a layer of
charcoal, and then with a trowel excavated beneath it. The clay was not
thoroughly baked, and no impression of the corpse was left, except of
the forehead and that portion of the limbs between the ankles and the
knees, and even these portions of the mould crumbled. The body had been
placed east and west, the head toward the east. “I had hoped,”
continues Mr. McDowell, “that the cast in the clay would be as perfect
as one I found 51 years ago, a fragment of which I presented to
Colonel Jenkes, with the impression of a part of the arm on one side and
on the other of the fingers, that had pressed down the soft clay upon
the body interred beneath it.” The mound-builders of the Ohio valley, as
has been shown, often placed a layer of clay over the dead, but not in
immediate contact, upon which they builded fires; and the evidence that
cremation was often resorted to in their disposition are too abundant to
be gainsaid.

This statement is corroborated by Mr. Wilcox:57

Mr. Wilcox also stated that when recently in North Carolina his
attention was called to an unusual method of burial by an ancient race
of Indians in that vicinity. In numerous instances burial places were
discovered where the bodies had been placed with the face up and covered
with a coating of plastic clay about an inch thick. A pile of wood
was then placed on top and fired, which consumed the body and baked the
clay, which retained the impression of the body. This was then lightly
covered with earth.

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It is thought no doubt can attach to the statements given, but the
cases are remarkable as being the only instances of the kind met with in
the extensive range of reading preparatory to a study of the subject of
burial, although it must be observed that Bruhier states that the
ancient Ethiopians covered the corpses of their dead with plaster
(probably mud), but they did not burn these curious coffins.

Another method, embracing both burial and cremation, has been
practiced by the Pitt River or Achomawi Indians of California, who

Bury the body in the ground in a standing position, the shoulders nearly
even with the ground. The grave is prepared by digging a hole of
sufficient depth and circumference to admit the body, the head being cut
off. In the grave are placed the bows and arrows, bead-work, trappings,
&c., belonging to the deceased; quantities of food, consisting of
dried fish, roots, herbs, &c., were placed with the body also. The
grave was then filled up, covering the headless body; then a bundle of
fagots was brought and placed on the grave by the different members of
the tribe, and on these fagots the head was placed, the pile fired, and
the head consumed to ashes; after this was done the female relatives of
the deceased, who had appeared as mourners with their faces blackened
with a preparation resembling tar or paint, dipped their fingers in the
ashes of the cremated head and made three marks on their right cheek.
This constituted the mourning garb, the period of which lasted until
this black substance wore off from the face. In addition to this
mourning, the blood female relatives of the deceased (who, by the way,
appeared to be a man of distinction) had their hair cropped short.
I noticed while the head was burning that the old women of the
tribe sat on the ground, forming a large circle, inside of which another
circle of young girls were formed standing and swaying their bodies to
and fro and singing a mournful ditty. This was the only burial of a male
that I witnessed. The custom of burying females is very different, their
bodies being wrapped or bundled up in skins and laid away in caves, with
their valuables and in some cases food being placed with them in their
mouths. Occasionally money is left to pay for food in the spirit
land.

This account is furnished by Gen. Charles H. Tompkins, deputy
quartermaster-general, United States Army, who witnessed the burial
above related, and is the more interesting as it seems to be the only
well-authenticated case on record, although E. A. Barber58 has described
what may possibly have been a case of cremation like the one above
noted:

A very singular case of aboriginal burial was brought to my notice
recently by Mr. William Klingbeil, of Philadelphia. On the New Jersey
bank of the Delaware River, a short distance below Gloucester City,
the skeleton of a man was found buried in a standing position, in a
high, red, sandy-clay bluff overlooking the stream. A few inches
below the surface the neck bones were found, and below these the
remainder of the skeleton, with the exception of the bones of the hands
and feet. The skull being wanting, it could not be determined whether
the remains were those of an Indian or of a white man, but in either
case the sepulture was peculiarly aboriginal. A careful exhumation
and critical examination by Mr. Klingbeil disclosed the fact that around
the lower extremities of the body had been placed a number of large
stones, which revealed traces of fire, in conjunction with charred wood,
and the bones of the feet had undoubtedly been consumed. This fact makes
it appear reasonably certain that the subject had been executed,
probably as a prisoner of war. A pit had been dug, in which he was
placed erect, and a fire kindled around him. Then he had been buried
alive, or, at least, if he did not survive the fiery ordeal, his body
was imbedded
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in the earth, with the exception of his head, which was left protruding
above the surface. As no trace of the cranium could be found, it seems
probable that the head had either been burned or severed from the body
and removed, or else left a prey to ravenous birds. The skeleton, which
would have measured fully six feet in height, was undoubtedly that of a
man.

Blacking the face, as is mentioned in the first account, is a custom
known to have existed among many tribes throughout the world, but in
some cases different earths and pigments are used as signs of mourning.
The natives of Guinea smear a chalky substance over their bodies as an
outward expression of grief, and it is well known that the ancient
Israelites threw ashes on their heads and garments. Placing food with
the corpse or in its mouth, and money in the hand, finds its analogue in
the custom of the ancient Romans, who, some time before interment,
placed a piece of money in the corpse’s mouth, which was thought to be
Charon’s fare for wafting the departed soul over the Infernal River.
Besides this, the corpse’s mouth was furnished with a certain cake,
composed of flour, honey, &c. This was designed to appease the fury
of Cerberus, the infernal doorkeeper, and to procure a safe and quiet
entrance. These examples are curious coincidences, if nothing more.

AERIAL SEPULTURE.

LODGE-BURIAL.

Our attention should next be turned to sepulture above the ground,
including lodge, house, box, scaffold, tree, and canoe burial, and the
first example which may be given is that of burial in lodges, which is
by no means common. The description which follows is by Stansbury,59 and
relates to the Sioux:

I put on my moccasins, and, displaying my wet shirt like a flag to the
wind, we proceeded to the lodges which had attracted our curiosity.
There were five of them pitched upon the open prairie, and in them we
found the bodies of nine Sioux laid out upon the ground, wrapped in
their robes of buffalo-skin, with their saddles, spears, camp-kettles,
and all their accoutrements piled up around them. Some lodges contained
three, others only one body, all of which were more or less in a state
of decomposition. A short distance apart from these was one lodge
which, though small, seemed of rather superior pretensions, and was
evidently pitched with great care. It contained the body of a young
Indian girl of sixteen or eighteen years, with a countenance presenting
quite an agreeable expression: she was richly dressed in leggins of fine
scarlet cloth elaborately ornamented; a new pair of moccasins,
beautifully embroidered with porcupine quills, was on her feet, and her
body was wrapped in two superb buffalo-robes worked in like manner; she
had evidently been dead but a day or two, and to our surprise a portion
of the upper part of her person was bare, exposing the face and a part
of the breast, as if the robes in which she was wrapped had by some
means been disarranged, whereas all the other bodies were closely
covered up.
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It was, at the time, the opinion of our mountaineers, that these Indians
must have fallen in an encounter with a party of Crows; but I
subsequently learned that they had all died of the cholera, and that
this young girl, being considered past recovery, had been arranged by
her friends in the habiliments of the dead, inclosed in the lodge alive,
and abandoned to her fate, so fearfully alarmed were the Indians by this
to them novel and terrible disease.

It might, perhaps, be said that this form of burial was exceptional,
and due to the dread of again using the lodges which had served as the
homes of those afflicted with the cholera, but it is thought such was
not the case, as the writer has notes of the same kind of burial among
the same tribe and of others, notably the Crows, the body of one of
their chiefs (Long Horse) being disposed of as follows:

The lodge poles inclose an oblong circle some 18 by 22 feet at the base,
converging to a point, at least 30 feet high, covered with buffalo-hides
dressed without hair except a part of the tail switch, which floats
outside like, and mingled with human scalps. The different skins are
neatly fitted and sewed together with sinew, and all painted in seven
alternate horizontal stripes of brown and yellow, decorated with various
lifelike war scenes. Over the small entrance is a large bright cross,
the upright being a large stuffed white wolf-skin upon his war lance,
and the cross-bar of bright scarlet flannel, containing the quiver of
bow and arrows, which nearly all warriors still carry, even when armed
with repeating rifles. As the cross is not a pagan but a Christian
(which Long Horse was not either by profession or practice) emblem, it
was probably placed there by the influence of some of his white friends.
I entered, finding Long Horse buried Indian fashion, in full war
dress, paint and feathers, in a rude coffin, upon a platform about
breast high, decorated with weapons, scalps, and ornaments. A large
opening and wind-flap at the top favored ventilation, and though he had
lain there in an open coffin a full month, some of which was hot
weather, there was but little effluvia; in fact, I have seldom
found much in a burial-teepee, and when this mode of burial is thus
performed it is less repulsive than natural to suppose.

This account is furnished by Col. P. W. Norris, superintendent of
Yellowstone National Park, he having been an eye-witness of what he
relates in 1876; and although the account has been questioned, it is
admitted for the reason that this gentleman persists, after a reperusal
of his article, that the facts are correct.

General Stewart Van Vliet, U.S.A., informs the writer that among the
Sioux of Wyoming and Nebraska when a person of consequence dies a small
scaffold is erected inside his lodge and the body wrapped in skins
deposited therein. Different utensils and weapons are placed by his
side, and in front a horse is slaughtered; the lodge is then
closed up.

Dr. W. J. Hoffman writes as follows regarding the burial lodges of
the Shoshones of Nevada:

The Shoshones of the upper portion of Nevada are not known to have at
any time practiced cremation. In Independence Valley, under a deserted
and demolished wickeup or “brush tent,” I found the dried-up
corpse of a boy, about twelve years of age. The body had been here for
at least six weeks, according to information received, and presented a
shriveled and hideous appearance. The dryness of the atmosphere
prevented decomposition. The Indians in this region usually leave the
body when life terminates, merely throwing over it such rubbish as may
be at hand, or the remains of their primitive shelter tents, which are
mostly composed of small branches, leaves, grass, &c.

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The Shoshones living on Independence Creek and on the eastern banks of
the Owyhee River, upper portion of Nevada, did not bury their dead at
the time of my visit in 1871. Whenever the person died, his lodge
(usually constructed of poles and branches of Salix) was
demolished and placed in one confused mass over his remains, when the
band removed a short distance. When the illness is not too great, or
death sudden, the sick person is removed to a favorable place, some
distance from their temporary camping ground, so as to avoid the
necessity of their own removal. Coyotes, ravens, and other carnivores
soon remove all the flesh so that there remains nothing but the bones,
and even these are scattered by the wolves. The Indians at Tuscarora,
Nevada, stated that when it was possible and that they should by chance
meet the bony remains of any Shoshone, they would bury it, but in what
manner I failed to discover as the were very reticent, and avoided
giving any information regarding the dead. One corpse was found totally
dried and shrivelled, owing to the dryness of the atmosphere in this
region.

Capt. F. W. Beechey60 describes a curious mode of burial among the
Esquimaux on the west coast of Alaska, which appears to be somewhat
similar to lodge burial. Figure 11, after his illustration, affords a
good idea of these burial receptacles.

Fig. 11.—Eskimo lodge burial.

Near us there was a burying ground, which in addition to what we had
already observed at Cape Espenburg furnished several examples of the
manner in which this tribe of natives dispose of their dead. In some
instances a platform was constructed of drift-wood raised about two feet
and a quarter from the ground, upon which the body was placed, with its
head to the westward and a double tent of drift-wood erected over it,
the inner one with spars about seven feet long, and the outer one with
some that were three times that length. They were placed close together,
and at first no doubt sufficiently so to prevent the depredations of
foxes and wolves, but they had yielded at last, and all the bodies, and
even the hides that covered them, had suffered by these rapacious
animals.

In these tents of the dead there were no coffins or planks, as at Cape
Espenburg, the bodies were dressed in a frock made of eider duck skins,
with one of deer skin over it, and were covered with a sea horse hide,
such as the natives use for their baidars. Suspended to the
poles, and on the ground near them, were several Esquimaux implements,
consisting of wooden trays, paddles, and a tamborine, which, we were
informed as well as signs could convey the meaning of the natives, were
placed there for the use of the deceased, who, in the next world
(pointing to the western sky) ate, drank, and sang songs. Having no
interpreter, this was all the information I could obtain, but the custom
of placing such instruments around the receptacles of the dead is not
unusual, and in all probability the Esquimaux may believe that the soul
has enjoyments in the next world similar to those which constitute their
happiness in this.

The Blackfeet, Cheyennes, and Navajos also bury in lodges, and the
Indians of Bellingham Bay, according to Dr. J. F. Hammond, U.S.A.,
place their dead in carved wooden sarcophagi, inclosing these with a
rectangular tent of some white material. Some of the tribes of the
northwest coast bury in houses similar to those shown in
Figure 12.

Fig. 12.—Burial Houses.

Bancroft61 states that certain of the Indians of Costa Rica, when
a death occurred, deposited the body in a small hut constructed of
plaited palm reeds. In this it is preserved for three years, food being
supplied,
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and on each anniversary of the death it is redressed and attended to
amid certain ceremonies. The writer has been recently informed that a
similar custom prevailed in Demerara. No authentic accounts are known of
analogous modes of burial among the peoples of the Old World, although
quite frequently the dead were interred beneath the floors of their
houses, a custom which has been followed by the Mosquito Indians of
Central America and one or two of our own tribes.

BOX-BURIAL.

Under this head may be placed those examples furnished by certain
tribes on the northwest coast who used as receptacles for the dead
wonderfully carved, large wooden chests, these being supported upon a
low platform or resting on the ground. In shape they resemble a small
house with an angular roof, and each one has an opening through which
food may be passed to the corpse.

Some of the tribes formerly living in New York used boxes much
resembling those spoken of, and the Creeks, Choctaws, and Cherokees did
the same.

Capt. J. H. Gageby, United States Army, furnishes the following
relating to the Creeks in Indian Territory.

*** are buried on the surface, in a box
or a substitute made of branches of trees, covered with small branches,
leaves, and earth. I have seen several of their graves, which after
a few weeks had become uncovered and the remains exposed to view.
I saw in one Creek grave (a child’s) a small sum of
silver, in another (adult male) some implements of warfare, bow and
arrows. They are all interred with the feet of the corpse to the east.
In the mourning ceremonies of the Creeks the nearer relatives smeared
their hair and faces with a composition made of grease and wood ashes,
and would remain in that condition for several days, and probably a
month.

Josiah Priest62 gives an account of the burial repositories of a tribe
of Pacific coast Indians living on the Talomeco River, Oregon. The
writer believes it to be entirely unreliable and gives it place as an
example of credulity shown by many writers and readers.

The corpses of the Caciques were so well embalmed that there was no bad
smell, they were deposited in large wooden coffins, well constructed,
and placed upon benches two feet from the ground. In smaller coffins,
and in baskets, the Spaniards found the clothes of the deceased men and
women, and so many pearls that they distributed them among the officers
and soldiers by handsfulls.

In Bancroft63 may be found the following account of the burial boxes
of the Esquimaux.

The Eskimos do not as a rule bury their dead, but double the body up and
place it on the side in a plank box which is elevated three or four feet
from the ground and supported by four posts. The grave-box is often
covered with painted figures of
156

birds, fishes and animals. Sometimes it is wrapped in skins placed upon
an elevated frame and covered with planks or trunks of trees so as to
protect it from wild beasts. Upon the frame, or in the grave box are
deposited the arms, clothing, and sometimes the domestic utensils of the
deceased. Frequent mention is made by travelers of burial places where
the bodies lie exposed with their heads placed towards the north.

Frederic Whymper64 describes the burial boxes of the Kalosh of that
Territory.

Their grave boxes or tombs are interesting. They contain only the ashes
of the dead. These people invariably burn the deceased. On one of the
boxes I saw a number of faces painted, long tresses of human hair
depending therefrom. Each head represented a victim of the (happily)
deceased one’s ferocity. In his day he was doubtless more esteemed than
if he had never harmed a fly. All their graves are much ornamented with
carved and painted faces and other devices.

W. H. Dall,65 well known as one of the most experienced and careful
of American Ethnologic observers, describes the burial boxes of the
Innuits of Unalaklik, Innuits of Yuka, and Ingaliks of Ulukuk as
follows: Figs. 13 and 14 are after his illustrations in the volume
noted.

Fig. 13.—Innuit Grave.

INNUIT OF UNALAKLIK.

The usual fashion is to place the body doubled up on its side in a box
of plank hewed out of spruce logs and about four feet long. This is
elevated several feet above the ground on four posts which project above
the coffin or box. The sides are often painted with red chalk in figures
of fur animals, birds, and fishes. According to the
157

wealth of the dead man, a number of articles which belonged to him
are attached to the coffin or strewed around it; some of them have
kyaks, bows and arrows, hunting implements, snow-shoes, or even kettles,
around the grave or fastened to it; and almost invariably the wooden
dish, or “kantág,” from which the deceased was accustomed to eat, is
hung on one of the posts.

Fig. 14.—Ingalik grave.

INNUIT OF YUKON.

The dead are enclosed above ground in a box in the manner previously
described. The annexed sketch shows the form of the sarcophagus, which,
in this case, is ornamented with snow-shoes, a reel for seal-lines,
a fishing-rod, and a wooden dish or kantág. The latter is found
with every grave, and usually one is placed in the box with the body.
Sometimes a part of the property of the dead person is placed in the
coffin or about it; occasionally the whole is thus disposed of.
Generally the furs, possessions, and clothing (except such as has been
worn) are divided among the nearer relatives of the dead, or remain in
possession of his family if he has one; such clothing, household
utensils, and weapons as the deceased had in daily use are almost
invariably enclosed in his coffin. If there are many deaths about the
same time, or an epidemic occurs, everything belonging to the dead is
destroyed. The house in which a death occurs is always deserted and
usually destroyed. In order to avoid this, it is not uncommon to take
the sick person out of the house and put him in a tent to die.
A woman’s coffin may be known by the kettles and other feminine
utensils about it. There is no distinction between the sexes in method
of burial. On the outside of the coffin, figures are usually drawn in
red ochre. Figures of fur animals usually indicate that the dead person
was a good trapper; if seal or deer skin, his proficiency as a hunter;
representation of parkies that he was wealthy; the manner of his death
is also occasionally indicated. For four days after a death the women in
the village do no sewing; for five days the men do not cut wood with an
axe. The relatives of the dead must not seek birds’ eggs on the
overhanging cliffs for a year, or their feet will slip from under them
and they will be dashed to pieces. No mourning is worn or indicated,
except by cutting the hair. Women sit and watch the body, chanting a
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mournful refrain until he is interred. They seldom suspect that others
have brought the death about by shamánism, as the Indians almost
invariably do.

At the end of a year from the death, a festival is given, presents
are made to those who assisted in making the coffin, and the period of
mourning is over. Their grief seldom seems deep but they indulge for a
long time in wailing for the dead at intervals. I have seen several
women who refused to take a second husband, and had remained single in
spite of repeated offers for many years.

INGALIKS OF ULUKUK.

As we drew near, we heard a low, wailing chant, and Mikála, one of my
men, informed me that it was women lamenting for the dead. On landing,
I saw several Indians hewing out the box in which the dead are
placed. *** The body lay on its side on
a deer skin, the heels were lashed to the small of the back, and the
head bent forward on the chest so that his coffin needed to be only
about four feet long.

TREE AND SCAFFOLD BURIAL.

We may now pass to what may be called aerial sepulture proper, the
most common examples of which are tree and scaffold burial, quite
extensively practiced even at the present time. From what can be learned
the choice of this mode depends greatly on the facilities present, where
timber abounds, trees being used, if absent, scaffolds being
employed.

From William J. Cleveland, of the Spotted Tail Agency, Nebraska, has
been received a most interesting account of the mortuary customs of the
Brulé or Teton Sioux, who belong to the Lakotah alliance. They are
called Sicaugu, in the Indian tongue Seechaugas, or the
“burned thigh” people. The narrative is given in its entirety, not only
on account of its careful attention to details, but from its known
truthfulness of description. It relates to tree and scaffold burial.

Fig. 15.—Dakota Scaffold
Burial.

FUNERAL CEREMONIES AND MOURNING OBSERVANCES.

Though some few of this tribe now lay their dead in rude boxes, either
burying them when implements for digging can be had, or, when they have
no means of making a grave, placing them on top of the ground on some
hill or other slight elevation, yet this is done in imitation of the
whites, and their general custom, as a people, probably does not differ
in any essential way from that of their forefathers for many generations
in the past. In disposing of the dead, they wrap the body tightly in
blankets or robes (sometimes both) wind it all over with thongs made of
the hide of some animal and place it reclining on the back at full
length, either in the branches of some tree or on a scaffold made for
the purpose. These scaffolds are about eight feet high and made by
planting four forked sticks firmly in the ground, one at each corner and
then placing others across on top, so as to form a floor on which the
body is securely fastened. Sometimes more than one body is placed on the
same scaffold, though generally a separate one is made for each
occasion. These Indians being in all things most superstitious, attach a
kind of sacredness to these scaffolds and all the materials used or
about the dead. This superstition is in itself sufficient to prevent any
of their own people from disturbing the dead, and for one of another
nation to in any wise meddle with them is considered an offense not too
severely punished by death.
159

The same feeling also prevents them from ever using old scaffolds or any
of the wood which has been used about them, even for firewood, though
the necessity may be very great, for fear some evil consequences will
follow. It is also the custom, though not universally followed, when
bodies have been for two years on the scaffolds to take them down and
bury them under ground.

All the work about winding up the dead, building the scaffold, and
placing the dead upon it is done by women only, who, after having
finished their labor, return and bring the men, to show them where the
body is placed, that they may be able to find it in future. Valuables of
all kinds, such as weapons, ornaments, pipes, &c.—in short,
whatever the deceased valued most highly while living, and locks of hair
cut from the heads of the mourners at his death, are always bound up
with the body. In case the dead was a man of importance, or if the
family could afford it, even though he were not, one or several horses
(generally, in the former case, those which the departed thought
most of) are shot and placed under the scaffold. The idea in this
is that the spirit of the horse will accompany and be of use to his
spirit in the “happy hunting grounds,” or, as these people express it,
“the spirit land.”

When an Indian dies, and in some cases even before death occurs, the
friends and relatives assemble at the lodge and begin crying over the
departed or departing one. This consists in uttering the most
heartrending, almost hideous wails and lamentations, in which all join
until exhausted. Then the mourning ceases for a time until some one
starts it again, when all join in as before and keep it up until unable
to cry longer. This is kept up until the body is removed. This crying is
done almost wholly by women, who gather in large numbers on such
occasions, and among them a few who are professional mourners. These are
generally old women and go whenever a person is expected to die, to take
the leading part in the lamentations, knowing that they will be well
paid at the distribution of goods which follows. As soon as death takes
place, the body is dressed by the women in the best garments and
blankets obtainable, new ones if they can be afforded. The crowd
gathered near continue wailing piteously, and from time to time cut
locks of hair from their own heads with knives, and throw them on the
dead body. Those who wish to show their grief most strongly, cut
themselves in various places, generally in the legs and arms, with their
knives or pieces of flint, more commonly the latter, causing the blood
to flow freely over their persons. This custom is followed to a less
degree by the men.

A body is seldom kept longer than one day as, besides the desire to get
the dead out of sight, the fear that the disease which caused the death
will communicate itself to others of the family causes them to hasten
the disposition of it as soon as they are certain that death has
actually taken place.

Until the body is laid away the mourners eat nothing. After that is
done, connected with which there seems to be no particular ceremony, the
few women who attend to it return to the lodge and a distribution is
made among them and others, not only of the remaining property of the
deceased, but of all the possessions, even to the lodge itself of the
family to which he belonged. This custom in some cases has been carried
so far as to leave the rest of the family not only absolutely destitute
but actually naked. After continuing in this condition for a time, they
gradually reach the common level again by receiving gifts from various
sources.

The received custom requires of women, near relatives of the dead,
a strict observance of the ten days following the death, as
follows: They are to rise at a very early hour and work unusually hard
all day, joining in no feast, dance, game, or other diversion, eat but
little, and retire late, that they may be deprived of the usual amount
of sleep as of food. During this they never paint themselves, but at
various times go to the top of some hill and bewail the dead in loud
cries and lamentations for hours together. After the ten days have
expired they paint themselves again and engage in the usual amusements
of the people as before. The men are expected to mourn and fast for one
day and then go on the war-path against some other tribe, or on some
long journey alone. If he prefers, he can mourn and fast for two or more
160

days and remain at home. The custom of placing food at the scaffold also
prevails to some extent. If but little is placed there it is understood
to be for the spirit of the dead, and no one is allowed to touch it. If
much is provided, it is done with the intention that those of the same
sex and age as the deceased shall meet there and consume it. If the dead
be a little girl, the young girls meet and eat what is provided; if it
be a man, then men assemble for the same purpose. The relatives never
mention the name of the dead.

Fig. 16.—Offering Food to the
Dead.

“KEEPING THE GHOST.”

Still another custom, though at the present day by no means generally
followed, is still observed to some extent among them. This is called
wanagee yuhapee, or “keeping the ghost.” A little of the
hair from the head of the deceased being preserved is bound up in calico
and articles of value until the roll is about two feet long and ten
inches or more in diameter, when it is placed in a case made of hide
handsomely ornamented with various designs in different colored paints.
When the family is poor, however, they may substitute for this case blue
or scarlet blanket or cloth. The roll is then swung lengthwise between
two supports made of sticks, placed thus × in front of a lodge which has
been set apart for the purpose. In this lodge are gathered presents of
all kinds, which are given out when a sufficient quantity is obtained.
It is often a year and sometimes several years before this distribution
is made. During all this time the roll containing the hair of the
deceased is left undisturbed in front of the lodge. The gifts as they
are brought in are piled in the back part of the lodge, and are not to
be touched until given out. No one but men and boys are admitted to the
lodge unless it be a wife of the deceased, who may go in if necessary
very early in the morning. The men sit inside, as they choose, to smoke,
eat, and converse. As they smoke they empty the ashes from their pipes
in the center of the lodge, and they, too, are left undisturbed until
after the distribution. When they eat, a portion is always placed
first under the roll outside for the spirit of the deceased. No one is
allowed to take this unless a large quantity is so placed, in which case
it may be eaten by any persons actually in need of food, even though
strangers to the dead. When the proper time comes the friends of the
deceased and all to whom presents are to be given are called together to
the lodge and the things are given out by the man in charge. Generally
this is some near relative of the departed. The roll is now undone and
small locks of the hair distributed with the other presents, which ends
the ceremony.

Sometimes this “keeping the ghost” is done several times, and it is then
looked upon as a repetition of the burial or putting away of the dead.
During all the time before the distribution of the hair, the lodge, as
well as the roll, is looked upon as in a manner sacred, but after that
ceremony it becomes common again and may be used for any ordinary
purpose. No relative or near friend of the dead wishes to retain
anything in his possession that belonged to him while living, or to see,
hear, or own anything which will remind him of the departed. Indeed, the
leading idea in all their burial customs in the laying away with the
dead their most valuable possessions, the giving to others what is left
of his and the family property, the refusal to mention his name,
&c., is to put out of mind as soon and as effectual as possible the
memory of the departed.

From what has been said, however, it will be seen that they believe each
person to have a spirit which continues to live after the death of the
body. They have no idea of a future life in the body, but believe that
after death their spirits will meet and recognize the spirits of their
departed friends in the spirit land. They deem it essential to their
happiness here, however, to destroy as far as practicable their
recollection of the dead. They frequently speak of death as a sleep, and
of the dead as asleep or having gone to sleep at such a time. These
customs are gradually losing their hold upon them, and are much less
generally and strictly observed than formerly.

Figure 15 furnishes a good example of scaffold
burial. Figure 16, offering of food and drink to
the dead. Figure 17, depositing the dead upon the scaffold.

Fig. 17.—Depositing the
Corpse.

161

A. Delano,66 mentions as follows an example of tree-burial which he
noticed in Nebraska.

*** During the afternoon we passed a
Sioux burying-ground, if I may be allowed to use an Irishism. In a
hackberry tree, elevated about twenty feet from the ground, a kind
of rack was made of broken tent poles, and the body (for there was but
one) was placed upon it, wrapped in his blanket, and a tanned buffalo
skin, with his tin cup, moccasins, and various things which he had used
in life, were placed upon his body, for his use in the land of
spirits.

Figure 18 represents tree-burial, from a sketch drawn by my friend
Dr. Washington Matthews, United States Army.

Fig. 18.—Tree-burial.

John Young, Indian agent at the Blackfeet Agency, Montana, sends the
following account of tree-burial among this tribe:

Their manner of burial has always been (until recently) to inclose the
dead body in robes or blankets, the best owned by the departed, closely
sewed up, and then, if a male or chief, fasten in the branches of a tree
so high as to be beyond the reach of wolves, and then left to slowly
waste in the dry winds. If the body was that of a squaw or child, it was
thrown into the underbrush or jungle, where it soon became the prey of
the wild animals. The weapons, pipes, &c., of men were inclosed, and
the small toys of children with them. The ceremonies were equally
barbarous, the relatives cutting off, according to the depth of their
grief, one or more joints of the fingers, divesting themselves of
clothing even in the coldest weather, and filling the air with their
lamentations. All the sewing up and burial process was conducted by the
squaws, as the men would not touch nor remain in proximity to a dead
body.

The following account of scaffold burial among the Gros Ventres and
Mandans of Dakota is furnished by E. H. Alden, United States Indian
agent at Fort Berthold:

The Gros Ventres and Mandans never bury in the ground, but always on a
scaffold, made of four posts about eight feet high, on which the box is
placed, or, if no box is used, the body wrapped in red or blue cloth if
able, or, if not, a blanket of cheapest white cloth, the tools and
weapons being placed directly under the body, and there they remain
forever, no Indian ever daring to touch one of them. It would be bad
medicine to touch the dead or anything so placed belonging to him.
Should the body by any means fall to the ground, it is never touched or
replaced on the scaffold. As soon as one dies he is immediately buried,
sometimes within an hour, and the friends begin howling and wailing as
the process of interment goes on, and continue mourning day and night
around the grave, without food sometimes three or four days. Those who
mourn are always paid for it in some way by the other friends of the
deceased, and those who mourn the longest are paid the most. They also
show their grief and affection for the dead by a fearful cutting of
their own bodies, sometimes only in part, and sometimes all over their
whole flesh, and this sometimes continues for weeks. Their hair, which
is worn in long braids, is also cut off to show their mourning. They
seem proud of their mutilations. A young man who had just buried
his mother came in boasting of, and showing his mangled legs.

According to Thomas L. McKenney,67 the Chippewas of Fond du Lac, Wis.,
buried on scaffolds, inclosing the corpse in a box. The narrative is as
follows:

One mode of burying the dead among the Chippewas is to place the coffin
or box containing their remains on two cross-pieces, nailed or tied with
wattap to four poles.
162

The poles are about ten feet high. They plant near these posts the wild
hop or some other kind of running vine, which spreads over and covers
the coffin. I saw one of these on the island, and as I have
described it. It was the coffin of a child about four years old. It was
near the lodge of the sick girl. I have a sketch of it.
I asked the chief why his people disposed of their dead in that
way. He answered they did not like to put them out of their sight so
soon by putting them under ground. Upon a platform they could see the
box that contained their remains, and that was a comfort to them.

Figure 19 is copied from McKenney’s picture of this form of
burial.

Fig. 19.—Chippewa Scaffold
Burial.

Keating68 thus describes burial scaffolds:

On these scaffolds, which are from eight to ten feet high, corpses were
deposited in a box made from part of a broken canoe. Some hair was
suspended, which we at first mistook for a scalp, but our guide informed
us that these were locks of hair torn from their heads by the relatives
to testify their grief. In the center, between the four posts which
supported the scaffold, a stake was planted in the ground, it was
about six feet high, and bore an imitation of human figures, five of
which had a design of a petticoat indicating them to be females; the
rest amounting to seven, were naked and were intended for male figures;
of the latter four were headless, showing that they had been slain, the
three other male figures were unmutilated, but held a staff in their
hand, which, as our guide informed us designated that they were slaves.
The post, which is an usual accompaniment to the scaffold that supports
a warrior’s remains, does not represent the achievements of the
deceased, but those of the warriors that assembled near his remains
danced the dance of the post, and related their martial exploits.
A number of small bones of animals were observed in the vicinity,
which were probably left there after a feast celebrated in honor of the
dead.

The boxes in which the corpses were placed are so short that a man could
not lie in them extended at full length, but in a country where boxes
and boards are scarce this is overlooked. After the corpses have
remained a certain time exposed, they are taken down and burned. Our
guide, Renville, related to us that he had been a witness to an
interesting, though painful, circumstance that occurred here. An Indian
who resided on the Mississippi, hearing that his son had died at this
spot, came up in a canoe to take charge of the remains and convey them
down the river to his place of abode but on his arrival he found that
the corpse had already made such progress toward decomposition as
rendered it impossible for it to be removed. He then undertook with a
few friends, to clean off the bones. All the flesh was scraped off and
thrown into the stream, the bones were carefully collected into his
canoe, and subsequently carried down to his residence.

Interesting and valuable from the extreme attention paid to details
is the following account of a burial case discovered by Dr. George M.
Sternberg, United States Army, and furnished by Dr. George A. Otis,
United States Army, Army Medical Museum, Washington, D.C. It relates to
the Cheyennes of Kansas.

The case was found, Brevet Major Sternberg states, on the banks of
Walnut Creek, Kansas, elevated about eight feet from the ground by four
notched poles, which were firmly planted in the ground. The unusual care
manifested in the preparation of the case induced Dr. Sternberg to infer
that some important chief was inclosed in it. Believing that articles of
interest were inclosed with the body, and that their value would be
enhanced if the were received at the Museum as left by the Indians, Dr.
Sternberg determined to send the case unopened.

I had the case opened this morning and an inventory made of the
contents. The case consisted of a cradle of interlaced branches of white
willow, about six feet long,
163

three feet broad, and three feet high, with a flooring of buffalo thongs
arranged as a net-work. This cradle was securely fastened by strips of
buffalo-hide to four poles of ironwood and cottonwood, about twelve feet
in length. These poles doubtless rested upon the forked extremities of
the vertical poles described by Dr. Sternberg. The cradle was wrapped in
two buffalo robes of large size and well preserved. On removing these an
aperture eighteen inches square was found at the middle of the
right-side of the cradle or basket. Within appeared other buffalo robes
folded about the remains, and secured by gaudy-colored sashes. Five
robes were successively removed, making seven in all. Then we came to a
series of new blankets folded about the remains. There were five in
all—two scarlet, two blue, and one white. These being removed, the
next wrappings consisted of a striped white and gray sack, and of a
United States Infantry overcoat, like the other coverings nearly new. We
had now come apparently upon the immediate envelope of the remains,
which it was now evident must be those of a child. These consisted of
three robes, with hoods very richly ornamented with bead-work. These
robes or cloaks were of buffalo-calf skin about four feet in length,
elaborately decorated with bead-work in stripes. The outer was covered
with rows of blue and white bead-work, the second was green and yellow,
and the third blue and red. All were further adorned by spherical brass
bells attached all about the borders by strings of beads.

The remains with their wrappings lay upon a matting similar to that used
by the Navajo and other Indians of the southern plains, and upon a
pillow of dirty rags, in which were folded a bag of red paint, bits of
antelope skin, bunches of straps, buckles, &c. The three bead-work
hooded cloaks were now removed, and then we successively unwrapped a
gray woolen double shawl, five yards of blue cassimere, six yards of red
calico, and six yards of brown calico, and finally disclosed the remains
of a child, probably about a year old, in an advanced stage of
decomposition. The cadaver had a beaver-cap ornamented with disks of
copper containing the bones of the cranium, which had fallen apart.
About the neck were long wampum necklaces, with Dentalium,
Unionidæ, and Auriculæ, interspersed with beads. There
were also strings of the pieces of Haliotis from the Gulf of
California, so valued by the Indians on this side of the Rocky
Mountains. The body had been elaborately dressed for burial, the costume
consisting of a red-flannel cloak, a red tunic, and frock-leggins
adorned with bead-work, yarn stockings of red and black worsted, and
deer-skin beadwork moccasins. With the remains were numerous trinkets,
a porcelain image, a China vase, strings of beads, several
toys, a pair of mittens, a fur collar, a pouch of the
skin of Putorius vison, &c.

Another extremely interesting account of scaffold-burial, furnished
by Dr. L. S. Turner, United States Army, Fort Peck, Mont., and
relating to the Sioux, is here given entire, as it refers to certain
curious mourning observances which have prevailed to a great extent over
the entire globe:

The Dakotas bury their dead in the tops of trees when limbs can be found
sufficiently horizontal to support scaffolding on which to lay the body,
but as such growth is not common in Dakota, the more general practice is
to lay them upon scaffolds from seven to ten feet high and out of the
reach of carnivorous animals, as the wolf. These scaffolds are
constructed upon four posts set into the ground something after the
manner of the rude drawing which I inclose. Like all labors of a
domestic kind, the preparation for burial is left to the women, usually
the old women. The work begins as soon as life is extinct. The face,
neck, and hands are thickly painted with vermilion, or a species of red
earth found in various portions of the Territory when the vermilion of
the traders cannot be had. The clothes and personal trinkets of the
deceased ornament the body. When blankets are available, it is then
wrapped in one, all parts of the body being completely enveloped. Around
this a dressed skin of buffalo is then securely wrapped, with the flesh
side out, and the whole securely bound with thongs
164

of skins, either raw or dressed; and for ornament, when available,
a bright-red blanket envelopes all other coverings, and renders the
general scene more picturesque until dimmed by time and the elements. As
soon as the scaffold is ready, the body is borne by the women, followed
by the female relatives, to the place of final deposit, and left prone
in its secure wrappings upon this airy bed of death. This ceremony is
accompanied with lamentations wild and weird that one must see and hear
in order to appreciate. If the deceased be a brave, it is customary to
place upon or beneath the scaffold a few buffalo-heads which time has
rendered dry and inoffensive; and if he has been brave in war some of
his implements of battle are placed on the scaffold or securely tied to
its timbers. If the deceased has been a chief, or a soldier related to
his chief, it is not uncommon to slay his favorite pony and place the
body beneath the scaffold, under the superstition, I suppose, that
the horse goes with the man. As illustrating the propensity to provide
the dead with the things used while living, I may mention that some
years ago I loaned to an old man a delft urinal for the use of his son,
a young man who was slowly dying of a wasting disease. I made
him promise faithfully that he would return it as soon as his son was
done using it. Not long afterwards the urinal graced the scaffold which
held the remains of the dead warrior, and as it has not to this day been
returned I presume the young man is not done using it.

The mourning customs of the Dakotas, though few of them appear to be of
universal observance, cover considerable ground. The hair, never cut
under other circumstances, is cropped off even with the neck, and the
top of the head and forehead, and sometimes nearly the whole body, are
smeared with a species of white earth resembling chalk, moistened with
water. The lodge, teepee, and all the family possessions except the few
shabby articles of apparel worn by the mourners, are given away and the
family left destitute. Thus far the custom is universal or nearly so.
The wives, mother, and sisters of a deceased man, on the first, second,
or third day after the funeral, frequently throw off their moccasins and
leggings and gash their legs with their butcher-knives, and march
through the camp and to the place of burial with bare and bleeding
extremities, while they chant or wail their dismal songs of mourning.
The men likewise often gash themselves in many places, and usually seek
the solitude of the higher point on the distant prairie, where they
remain fasting, smoking, and wailing out their lamentations for two or
three days. A chief who had lost a brother once came to me after
three or four days of mourning in solitude almost exhausted from hunger
and bodily anguish. He had gashed the outer side of both lower
extremities at intervals of a few inches all the way from the ankles to
the top of the hips. His wounds had inflamed from exposure, and were
suppurating freely. He assured me that he had not slept for several days
or nights. I dressed his wounds with a soothing ointment, and gave
him a full dose of an effective anodyne, after which he slept long and
refreshingly, and awoke to express his gratitude and shake my hand in a
very cordial and sincere manner. When these harsher inflictions are not
resorted to, the mourners usually repair daily for a few days to the
place of burial, toward the hour of sunset, and chant their grief until
it is apparently assuaged by its own expression. This is rarely kept up
for more than four or five days, but is occasionally resorted to, at
intervals, for weeks, or even months, according to the mood of the
bereft. I have seen few things in life so touching as the spectacle
of an old father going daily to the grave of his child, while the
shadows are lengthening, and pouring out his grief in wails that would
move a demon, until his figure melts with the gray twilight, when,
silent and solemn, he returns to his desolate family. The weird effect
of this observance is sometimes heightened, when the deceased was a
grown-up son, by the old man kindling a little fire near the head of the
scaffold, and varying his lamentations with smoking in silence. The
foregoing is drawn from my memory of personal observances during a
period of more than six years’ constant intercourse with several
subdivisions of the Dakota Indians. There may be much which memory has
failed to recall upon a brief consideration.

165

Figure 20 represents scarification as a form of grief-expression for
the dead.

Fig. 20.—Scarification at
Burial.

Perhaps a brief review of Dr. Turner’s narrative may not be deemed
inappropriate here.

Supplying food to the dead is a custom which is known to be of great
antiquity; in some instances, as among the ancient Romans, it appears to
have been a sacrificial offering, for it usually accompanied cremation,
and was not confined to food alone, for spices, perfumes, oil, &c.,
were thrown upon the burning pile. In addition to this, articles
supposed or known to have been agreeable to the deceased were also
consumed. The Jews did the same, and in our own time the Chinese,
Caribs, and many of the tribes of North American Indians followed these
customs. The cutting of hair as a mourning observance is of very great
antiquity, and Tegg relates that among the ancients whole cities and
countries were shaved (sic) when a great man died. The Persians
not only shaved themselves on such occasions, but extended the same
process to their domestic animals, and Alexander, at the death of
Hephæstin, not only cut off the manes of his horses and mules, but took
down the battlements from the city walls, that even towns might seem in
mourning and look bald. Scarifying and mutilating the body has prevailed
from a remote period of time, having possibly replaced, in the process
of evolution, to a certain extent, the more barbarous practice of
absolute personal sacrifice. In later days, among our Indians, human
sacrifices have taken place to only a limited extent, but formerly many
victims were immolated, for at the funerals of the chiefs of the Florida
and Carolina Indians all the male relatives and wives were slain, for
the reason, according to Gallatin, that the hereditary dignity of Chief
or Great Sun descended, as usual, by the female line, and he, as well as
all other members of his clan, whether male or female, could marry only
persons of an inferior clan. To this day mutilation of the person among
some tribes of Indians is usual. The sacrifice of the favorite horse or
horses is by no means peculiar to our Indians, for it was common among
the Romans, and possibly even among the men of the Reindeer period, for
at Solutré, in France, the writer saw horses’ bones exhumed from the
graves examined in 1873. The writer has frequently conversed with
Indians upon this subject, and they have invariably informed him that
when horses were slain great care was taken to select the poorest of the
band.

Tree-burial was not uncommon among the nations of antiquity, for the
Colchians
enveloped their dead in sacks of skin and
hung them to trees; the ancient Tartars and Scythians did the same. With
regard to the use of scaffolds and trees as places of deposit for the
dead, it seems somewhat curious that the tribes who formerly occupied
the eastern portion of our continent were not in the habit of burying in
this way, which, from the abundance of timber, would have been a much
easier method than the ones in vogue, while the western tribes, living
166

in sparsely-wooded localities, preferred the other. If we consider that
the Indians were desirous of preserving their dead as long as possible,
the fact of their dead being placed in trees and scaffolds would lead to
the supposition that those living on the plains were well aware of the
desiccating property of the dry air of that arid region. This
desiccation would pass for a kind of mummification.

The particular part of the mourning ceremonies, which consisted in
loud cries and lamentations, may have had in early periods of time a
greater significance than that of a mere expression of grief or woe, and
on this point Bruhier69 seems quite positive, his interpretation being that
such cries were intended to prevent premature burial. He gives some
interesting examples, which may be admitted here:

The Caribs lament loudly, their wailings being interspersed with comical
remarks and questions to the dead as to why he preferred to leave this
world, having everything to make life comfortable. They place the corpse
on a little seat in a ditch or grave four or five feet deep, and for ten
days they bring food, requesting the corpse to eat. Finally, being
convinced that the dead will neither eat nor return to life, they throw
the food on the head of the corpse and fill up the grave.

When one died among the Romans, the nearest relatives embraced the
body, closed the eyes and month, and when one was about to die received
the last words and sighs, and then loudly called the name of the dead,
finally bidding an eternal adieu. This ceremony of calling the deceased
by name was known as the conclamation, and was a custom anterior
even to the foundation of Rome. One dying away from home was immediately
removed thither, in order that this might be performed with greater
propriety. In Picardy, as late as 1743, the relatives threw themselves
on the corpse and with loud cries called it by name, and up to 1855 the
Moravians of Pennsylvania, at the death of one of their number,
performed mournful musical airs on brass instruments from the village
church steeple and again at the grave70*. This custom, however, was probably a
remnant of the ancient funeral observances, and not to prevent premature
burial, or, perhaps, was intended to scare away bad spirits.

W. L. Hardisty71 gives a curious example of log-burial in trees,
relating to the Loucheux of British America:

They inclose the body in a neatly-hollowed piece of wood, and secure it
to two or more trees, about six feet from the ground. A log about
eight feet long is first split in two, and each of the parts carefully
hollowed out to the required size. The body is then inclosed and the two
pieces well lashed together, preparatory to being finally secured, as
before stated, to the trees.

The American Indians are by no means the only savages employing
scaffolds as places of deposit for the dead, for Wood72 gives a number of
examples of this mode of burial.

Fig. 21.—Australian Scaffold
Burial.

167

In some parts of Australia the natives, instead of consuming the body by
fire, or hiding it in caves or in graves, make it a peculiarly
conspicuous object. Should a tree grow favorably for their purpose, they
will employ it as the final resting place for the dead body. Lying in
its canoe coffin, and so covered over with leaves and grass that its
shape is quite disguised, the body is lifted into a convenient fork of
the tree and lashed to the boughs, by native ropes. No farther care is
taken of it, and if in process of time it should be blown out of the
tree, no one will take the trouble of replacing it.

Should no tree be growing in the selected spot, an artificial platform
is made for the body, by fixing the ends of stout branches in the ground
and connecting them at their tops by smaller horizontal branches. Such
are the curious tombs which are represented in the illustration. *** These strange tombs are mostly placed
among the reeds, so that nothing can be more mournful than the sound of
the wind as it shakes the reeds below the branch in which the corpse is
lying. The object of this aerial tomb is evident enough, namely, to
protect the corpse from the dingo, or native dog. That the ravens and
other carrion-eating birds should make a banquet upon the body of the
dead man does not seem to trouble the survivors in the least, and it
often happens that the traveler is told by the croak of the disturbed
ravens that the body of a dead Australian is lying in the branches over
his head.

The aerial tombs are mostly erected for the bodies of old men who have
died a natural death; but when a young warrior has fallen in battle the
body is treated in a very different manner. A moderately high
platform is erected, and upon this is seated the body of the dead
warrior with the face toward the rising sun. The legs are crossed and
the arms kept extended by means of sticks. The fat is then removed, and
after being mixed with red ochre is rubbed over the body, which has
previously been carefully denuded of hair, as is done in the ceremony of
initiation. The legs and arms are covered with zebra-like stripes of
red, white, and yellow, and the weapons of the dead man are laid across
his lap.

The body being thus arranged, fires are lighted under the platform, and
kept up for ten days or more, during the whole of which time the friends
and mourners remain by the body, and are not permitted to speak.
Sentinels relieve each other at appointed intervals, their duty being to
see that the fires are not suffered to go out, and to keep the flies
away by waving leafy boughs or bunches of emu feathers. When a body has
been treated in this manner it becomes hard and mummy-like, and the
strongest point is that the wild dogs will not touch it after it has
been so long smoked. It remains sitting on the platform for two months
or so, and is then taken down and buried, with the exception of the
skull, which is made into a drinking-cup for the nearest relative. ***

This mode of mummifying resembles somewhat that already described as
the process by which the Virginia kings were preserved from
decomposition.

Figs. 21 and 22 represent the Australian
burials described, and are after the original engravings in Wood’s work.
The one representing scaffold-burial resembles greatly the scaffolds of
our own Indians.

Fig. 22.—Preparing the Dead.

With regard to the use of scaffolds as places of deposit for the
dead, the following theories by Dr. W. Gardner, United States Army, are
given:

If we come to inquire why the American aborigines placed the dead bodies
of their relatives and friends in trees, or upon scaffolds resembling
trees, instead of burying them in the ground, or burning them and
preserving their ashes in urns, I think we can answer the inquiry
by recollecting that most if not all the tribes of American Indians, as
well as other nations of a higher civilization, believed that the human
soul, spirit, or immortal part was of the form and nature of a bird, and
as these are essentially
168

arboreal in their habits, it is quite in keeping to suppose that the
soul-bird would have readier access to its former home or dwelling-place
if it was placed upon a tree or scaffold than if it was buried in the
earth; moreover, from this lofty eyrie the souls of the dead could rest
secure from the attacks of wolves or other profane beasts, and guard
like sentinels the homes and hunting-grounds of their loved ones.

This statement is given because of a corroborative note in the
writer’s possession, but he is not prepared to admit it as correct
without farther investigation.

PARTIAL SCAFFOLD BURIAL AND OSSUARIES.

Under this heading may be placed the burials which consisted in first
depositing the bodies on scaffolds, where they were allowed to remain
for a variable length of time, after which the bones were cleaned and
deposited either in the earth or in special structures, called by
writers “bone-houses.” Roman73 relates the following concerning the
Choctaws:

The following treatment of the dead is very strange. *** As soon as the deceased is departed, a stage
is erected (as in the annexed plate is represented) and the corpse
is laid on it and covered with a bear-skin; if he be a man of note, it
is decorated, and the poles painted red with vermillion and bear’s oil;
if a child, it is put upon stakes set across; at this stage the
relations come and weep, asking many questions of the corpse, such as,
why he left them? did not his wife serve him well? was he not contented
with his children? had he not corn enough? did not his land produce
sufficient of everything? was he afraid of his enemies? &c., and
this accompanied by loud howlings; the women will be there constantly,
and sometimes, with the corrupted air and heat of the sun, faint so as
to oblige the bystanders to carry them home; the men will also come and
mourn in the same manner, but in the night or at other unseasonable
times when they are least likely to be discovered.

The stage is fenced round with poles; it remains thus a certain time,
but not a fixed space; this is sometimes extended to three or four
months, but seldom more than half that time. A certain set of
venerable old Gentlemen, who wear very long nails as a distinguishing
badge on the thumb, fore, and middle finger of each hand, constantly
travel through the nation (when I was there I was told there were but
five of this respectable order) that one of them may acquaint those
concerned, of the expiration of this period, which is according to their
own fancy; the day being come, the friends and relations assemble near
the stage, a fire is made, and the respectable operator, after the
body is taken down, with his nails tears the remaining flesh off the
bones, and throws it with the entrails into the fire, where it is
consumed; then he scrapes the bones and burns the scrapings likewise;
the head being painted red with vermillion is with the rest of the bones
put into a neatly made chest (which for a Chief is also made red) and
deposited in the loft of a hut built for that purpose, and called bone
house; each town has one of these; after remaining here one year or
thereabouts, if he be a man of any note, they take the chest down, and
in an assembly of relations and friends they weep once more over him,
refresh the colour of the head, paint the box, and then deposit him to
lasting oblivion.

An enemy and one who commits suicide is buried under the earth as one to
be directly forgotten and unworthy the above ceremonial obsequies and
mourning.

169

Jones74 quotes one of the older writers, as follows, regarding
the Natchez tribe:

Among the Natchez the dead were either inhumed or placed in tombs. These
tombs were located within or very near their temples. They rested upon
four forked sticks fixed fast in the ground, and were raised some three
feet above the earth. About eight feet long and a foot and a half wide,
they were prepared for the reception of a single corpse. After the body
was placed upon it, a basket-work of twigs was woven around and
covered with mud, an opening being left at the head, through which food
was presented to the deceased. When the flesh had all rotted away, the
bones were taken out, placed in a box made of canes, and then deposited
in the temple. The common dead were mourned and lamented for a period of
three days. Those who fell in battle were honored with a more protracted
and grievous lamentation.

Bartram75 gives a somewhat different account from Roman of burial
among the Choctaws of Carolina:

The Chactaws pay their last duties and respect to the deceased in a very
different manner. As soon as a person is dead, they erect a scaffold 18
or 20 feet high in a grove adjacent to the town, where they lay the
corps, lightly covered with a mantle; here it is suffered to remain,
visited and protected by the friends and relations, until the flesh
becomes putrid, so as easily to part from the bones; then undertakers,
who make it their business, carefully strip the flesh from the bones,
wash and cleanse them, and when dry and purified by the air, having
provided a curiously-wrought chest or coffin, fabricated of bones and
splints, they place all the bones therein, which is deposited in the
bone-house, a building erected for that purpose in every town; and
when this house is full a general solemn funeral takes place; when the
nearest kindred or friends of the deceased, on a day appointed, repair
to the bone-house, take up the respective coffins, and, following one
another in order of seniority, the nearest relations and connections
attending their respective corps, and the multitude following after
them, all as one family, with united voice of alternate allelujah and
lamentation, slowly proceeding on to the place of general interment,
when they place the coffins in order, forming a pyramid;76* and, lastly, cover
all over with earth, which raises a conical hill or mount; when they
return to town in order of solemn procession, concluding the day with a
festival, which is called the feast of the dead.

Morgan77 also alludes to this mode of burial:

The body of the deceased was exposed upon a bark scaffolding erected
upon poles or secured upon the limbs of trees, where it was left to
waste to a skeleton. After this had been effected by the process of
decomposition in the open air, the bones were removed either to the
former house of the deceased, or to a small bark house by its side,
prepared for their reception. In this manner the skeletons of the whole
family were preserved from generation to generation by the filial or
parental affection of the living. After the lapse of a number of years,
or in a season of public insecurity, or on the eve of abandoning a
settlement, it was customary to collect these skeletons from the whole
community around and consign them to a common resting-place.

To this custom, which is not confined to the Iroquois, is doubtless to
be ascribed the burrows and bone-mounds which have been found in such
numbers in various
170

parts of the country. On opening these mounds the skeletons are usually
found arranged in horizontal layers, a conical pyramid, those in
each layer radiating from a common center. In other cases they are found
placed promiscuously.

Dr. D. G. Brinton78 likewise gives an account of the interment of collected
bones:

East of the Mississippi nearly every nation was accustomed at stated
periods—usually once in eight or ten years—to collect and
clean the osseous remains of those of its number who had died in the
intervening time, and inter them in one common sepulcher, lined with
choice furs, and marked with a mound of wood, stone, or earth. Such is
the origin of those immense tumuli filed with the mortal remains of
nations and generations, which the antiquary, with irreverent curiosity,
so frequently chances upon in all portions of our territory. Throughout
Central America the same usage obtained in various localities, as early
writers and existing monuments abundantly testify. Instead of interring
the bones, were they those of some distinguished chieftain, they were
deposited in the temples or the council-houses, usually in small chests
of canes or splints. Such were the charnel-houses which the historians
of De Soto’s expedition so often mention, and these are the “arks” Adair
and other authors who have sought to trace the decent of the Indians
from the Jews have likened to that which the ancient Israelites bore
with them in their migration.

A widow among the Tahkalis was obliged to carry the bones of her
deceased husband wherever she went for four years, preserving them in
such a casket, handsomely decorated with feathers (Rich. Arc. Exp.,
p. 200). The Caribs of the mainland adopted the custom for all,
without exception. About a year after death the bones were cleaned,
bleached, painted, wrapped in odorous balsams, placed in a wicker
basket, and kept suspended from the door of their dwelling (Gumilla
Hist. del Orinoco I., pp. 199, 202, 204). When the quantity of these
heirlooms became burdensome they were removed to some inaccessible
cavern and stowed away with reverential care.

George Catlin79 describes what he calls the “Golgothas” of the
Mandans:

There are several of these golgothas, or circles of twenty or thirty
feet in diameter, and in the center of each ring or circle is a little
mound of three feet high, on which uniformly rest two buffalo skulls
(a male and female), and in the center of the little mound is
erected “a medicine pole,” of about twenty feet high, supporting
many curious articles of mystery and superstition, which they suppose
have the power of guarding and protecting this sacred arrangement.

Here, then, to this strange place do these people again resort to evince
their further affections for the dead, not in groans and lamentations,
however, for several years have cured the anguish, but fond affection
and endearments are here renewed, and conversations are here held and
cherished with the dead. Each one of these skulls is placed upon a bunch
of wild sage, which has been pulled and placed under it. The wife knows,
by some mark or resemblance, the skull of her husband or her child which
lies in this group, and there seldom passes a day that she does not
visit it with a dish of the best-cooked food that her wigwam affords,
which she sets before the skull at night, and returns for the dish in
the morning. As soon as it is discovered that the sage on which the
skull rests is beginning to decay, the woman cuts a fresh bunch and
places the skull carefully upon it, removing that which was
under it.

Independent of the above-named duties, which draw the women to this
spot, they visit it from inclination, and linger upon it to hold
converse and company with the dead. There is scarcely an hour in a
pleasant day but more or less of these women may be seen sitting or
lying by the skull of their child or husband, talking to it in the most
pleasant and endearing language that they can use (as they were
wont to do in former days), and seemingly getting an answer back.

171

From these accounts it may be seen that the peculiar customs which
have been described by the authors cited were not confined to any
special tribe or area of country, although they do not appear to have
prevailed among the Indians of the northwest coast, so far as known.

SUPERTERRENE AND AERIAL BURIAL IN CANOES.

The next mode of burial to be remarked is that of deposit in canoes,
either supported on posts, on the ground, or swung from trees, and is
common only to the tribes inhabiting the northwest coast.

The first example given relates to the Chinooks of Washington
Territory, and may be found in Swan.80

In this instance old Cartumhays, and old Mahar, a celebrated
doctor, were the chief mourners, probably from being the smartest scamps
among the relatives. Their duty was to prepare the canoe for the
reception of the body. One of the largest and best the deceased had
owned was then hauled into the woods, at some distance back of the
lodge, after having been first thoroughly washed and scrubbed. Two large
square holes were then cut in the bottom, at the bow and stern, for the
twofold purpose of rendering the canoe unfit for further use, and
therefore less likely to excite the cupidity of the whites (who are but
too apt to help themselves to these depositories for the dead), and also
to allow any rain to pass off readily.

When the canoe was ready, the corpse, wrapped in blankets, was brought
out, and laid in it on mats previously spread. All the wearing apparel
was next put in beside the body, together with her trinkets, beads,
little baskets, and various trifles she had prized. More blankets were
then covered over the body, and mats smoothed over all. Next,
a small canoe, which fitted into the large one, was placed, bottom
up, over the corpse, and the whole then covered with mats. The canoe was
then raised up and placed on two parallel bars, elevated four or five
feet from the ground, and supported by being inserted through holes
mortised at the top of four stout posts previously firmly planted in the
earth. Around these holes were then hung blankets, and all the cooking
utensils of the deceased, pots, kettles, and pans, each with a hole
punched through it, and all her crockery-ware, every piece of which was
first cracked or broken, to render it useless; and then, when all was
done, they left her to remain for one year, when the bones would be
buried in a box in the earth directly under the canoe; but that, with
all its appendages, would never be molested, but left to go to gradual
decay.

They regard these canoes precisely as we regard coffins, and would no
more think of using one than we would of using our own graveyard relics;
and it is, in their view, as much of a desecration for a white man to
meddle or interfere with these, to them, sacred mementoes, as it would
be to us to have an Indian open the graves of our relatives. Many
thoughtless white men have done this, and animosities have been thus
occasioned.

Figure 23 represents this mode of burial.

Fig. 23.—Canoe Burial.

From a number of other examples, the following, relating to the
Twanas, and furnished by the Rev. M. Eells, missionary to the Skokomish
Agency, Washington Territory, is selected:

The deceased was a woman about thirty or thirty-five years of age, dead
of consumption. She died in the morning, and in the afternoon I went to
the house to
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attend the funeral. She had then been placed in a Hudson’s Bay Company’s
box for a coffin, which was about 3½ feet long, 1½ wide, and 1½ high.
She was very poor when she died, owing to her disease, or she could not
have been put in this box. A fire was burning near by, where a
large number of her things had been consumed, and the rest was in three
boxes near the coffin. Her mother sang the mourning song, sometimes with
others, and often saying, “My daughter, my daughter, why did you die?”
and similar words. The burial did not take place until the next day, and
I was invited to go. It was an aerial burial in a canoe. The canoe was
about 25 feet long. The posts, of old Indian layered boards, were about
a foot wide. Holes were cut in those, in which boards were placed, on
which the canoe rested. One thing I noticed while this was done which
was new to me, but the significance of which I did not learn. As fast as
the holes were cut in the posts, green leaves were gathered and placed
over the holes until the posts were put in the ground. The coffin-box
and the three others containing her things were placed in the canoe and
a roof of boards made over the central part, which was entirely covered
with white cloth. The head part and the foot part of her bedstead were
then nailed on to the posts, which front the water, and a dress nailed
on each of these. After pronouncing the benediction, all left the hull
and went to the beach except her father, mother, and brother, who
remained ten or fifteen minutes, pounding on the canoe and mourning.
They then came down and made a present to those persons who were
there—a gun to one, a blanket to each of two or three others,
and a dollar and a half to each of the rest, including myself, there
being about fifteen persons present. Three or four of them then made
short speeches, and we came home.

I divide this subject into five periods, varying according to time,
though they are somewhat intermingled.

(a) There are places where skulls and skeletons have been plowed
up or still remain in the ground and near together, in such a way as to
give good ground for the belief which is held by white residents in the
region, that formerly persons were buried in the ground and in irregular
cemeteries. I know of such places in Duce Waillops among the
Twanas, and at Dungeness and Port Angeles among the Clallams. These
graves were made so long ago that the Indians of the present day profess
to have no knowledge as to who is buried in them, except that they
believe, undoubtedly, that they are the graves of their ancestors.
I do not know that any care has ever been exercised by any one in
exhuming these skeletons so as to learn any particulars about them. It
is possible, however, that these persons were buried according to the
(b) or canoe method, and that time has buried them where they now
are.

(b) Formerly when a person died the body was placed in the forks
of two trees and left there. There was no particular cemetery, but the
person was generally left near the place where the death occurred. The
Skokomish Valley is said to have been full of
174

canoes containing persons thus buried. What their customs were while
burying, or what they placed around the dead, I am not informed but
am told that they did not take as much care then of their dead as they
do now. I am satisfied, however, that they then left some articles
around the dead. An old resident informs me that the Clallam Indians
always bury their dead in a sitting posture.

(c) About twenty years ago gold mines were discovered in British
Columbia, and boats being scarce in the region, unprincipled white men
took many of the canoes in which the Indian dead had been left, emptying
them of their contents. This incensed the Indians and they changed their
mode of burial somewhat by burying the dead in one place, placing them
in boxes whenever they could obtain them, by building scaffolds for them
instead of placing them in forks of trees, and in cutting their canoes
so as to render them useless, when they were used as coffins or left by
the side of the dead. The ruins of one such graveyard now remain about
two miles from this agency. Nearly all the remains were removed a few
years ago.

With this I furnish you the outlines of such graves which I have drawn.
Fig. 25 shows that at present only one pair of posts remains.
I have supplied the other pair as they evidently were.

Fig. 25.—Posts for Burial
Canoes.

Figure 26 is a recent grave at another place. That part which is covered
with board and cloth incloses the coffin which is on a scaffold.

Fig. 26.—Tent on Scaffold.

As the Indians have been more in contact with the whites they have
learned to bury in the ground, and this is the most common method at the
present time. There are cemeteries everywhere where Indians have resided
any length of time. After a person has died a coffin is made after the
cheaper kinds of American ones, the body is placed in it, and also with
it a number of articles, chiefly cloth or clothes, though occasionally
money. I lately heard of a child being buried with a twenty-dollar
gold piece in each hand and another in its month, but I am not able to
vouch for the truth of it. As a general thing, money is too valuable
with them for this purpose and there is too much temptation for some one
to rob the grave when this is left in it.

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(d) The grave is dug after the style of the whites and the coffin
then placed in it. After it has been covered it is customary though not
universal, to build some kind of an inclosure over it or around it in
the shape of a small house, shed, lodge or fence. These are from 2 to 12
feet high, from 2 to 6 feet wide, and from 5 to 12 feet long. Some of
these are so well inclosed that it is impossible to see within and some
are quite open. Occasionally a window is placed in the front side.
Sometimes these enclosures are
176

covered with cloth, which is generally white, sometimes partly covered,
and some have none. Around the grave, both outside and inside of the
inclosure, various articles are placed, as guns, canoes, dishes, pails,
cloth, sheets, blankets, beads, tubs, lamps, bows, mats, and
occasionally a roughly-carved human image rudely painted. It is said
that around and in the grave of one Clallam chief, buried a few years
ago, $500 worth of such things were left. Most of these articles are cut
or broken so as to render them valueless to man and to prevent their
being stolen. Poles are also often erected, from 10 to 30 feet long, on
which American flags, handkerchiefs, clothes, and cloths of various
colors are hung. A few graves have nothing of this kind. On some
graves these things are renewed every year or two. This depends mainly
on the number of relatives living and the esteem in which they hold the
deceased.

Fig. 27.—House-Burial.

The belief exists that as the body decays spirits carry it away particle
by particle to the spirit of the deceased in the spirit land, and also
as these articles decay they are also carried away in a similar manner.
I have never known of the placing food near a grave. Figures 27 and
28 will give you some idea of this class of graves. Figure 27 has a
paling fence 12 feet square around it. Figure 28 is simply a frame over
a grave where there is no enclosure.

Fig. 28.—House-Burial.

(e) Civilized mode.—A few persons, of late, have
fallen almost entirely into the American custom of burying, building a
simple paling fence around it, but placing no articles around it; this
is more especially true of the Clallams.

FUNERAL CEREMONIES.

In regard to the funeral ceremonies and mourning observances of sections
(a) and (b) of the preceding subject I know nothing. In
regard to (c) and (d), they begin to mourn, more
especially the women, as soon as a person dies. Their mourning song
consists principally of the sounds represented by the three English
notes mi mi, do do, la la; those who attend the funeral are expected to
bring some articles to place in the coffin or about the grave as a token
of respect for the dead. The articles which I have seen for this purpose
have been cloth of some kind; a small piece of cloth is returned by
the mourners to the attendants as a token of remembrance. They bury much
sooner after death than white persons do, generally as soon as they can
obtain a coffin. I know of no other native funeral ceremonies.
Occasionally before being taken to the grave, I have held Christian
funeral ceremonies over them, and these services increase from year to
year. One reason which has rendered them somewhat backward about having
these funeral services is, that they are quite superstitions about going
near the dead, fearing that the evil spirit which killed the deceased
will enter the living and kill them also. Especially are they afraid of
having children go near, being much more fearful of the effect of the
evil spirit on them than on older persons.

MOURNING OBSERVANCES.

They have no regular period, so far as I know, for mourning, but often
continue it after the burial, though I do not know that they often visit
the grave. If they feel the loss very much, sometimes they will mourn
nearly every day for several weeks; especially is this true when they
meet an old friend who has not been seen since the funeral, or when they
see an article owned by the deceased which they have not seen for a long
time. The only other thing of which I think, which bears on this
subject, is an idea they have, that before a person dies—it may be
but a short time or it may be several months—a spirit from the
spirit land comes and carries off the spirit of the individual to that
place. There are those who profess to discover when this is done, and if
by any of their incantations they can compel that spirit to return, the
person will not die, but if they are not able, then the person will
become dead at heart and in time die, though it may not be for six
months or even twelve. You will also find a little on this subject in a
pamphlet which I wrote on the Twana Indians and which has recently been
published by the Department of the Interior, under Prof. F. V.
Hayden, United States Geologist.

177

George Gibbs81 gives a most interesting account of the burial
ceremonies of the Indians of Oregon and Washington Territory, which is
here reproduced in its entirety, although it contains examples of other
modes of burial besides that in canoes; but to separate the narrative
would destroy the thread of the story:

The common mode of disposing of the dead among the fishing tribes was in
canoes. These were generally drawn into the woods at some prominent
point a short distance from the village, and sometimes placed between
the forks of trees or raised from the ground on posts. Upon the Columbia
River the Tsinūk had in particular two very noted cemeteries,
a high isolated bluff about three miles below the mouth of the
Cowlitz, called Mount Coffin, and one some distance above, called Coffin
Rock. The former would appear not to have been very ancient. Mr.
Broughton, one of Vancouver’s lieutenants, who explored the river, makes
mention only of several canoes at this place; and Lewis and
Clarke, who noticed the mount, do not speak of them at all, but at the
time of Captain Wilkes’s expedition it is conjectured that there were at
least 3,000. A fire caused by the carelessness of one of his party
destroyed the whole, to the great indignation of the Indians.

Captain Belcher, of the British ship Sulphur, who visited the river in
1839, remarks: “In the year 1836 [1826] the small-pox made great
ravages, and it was followed a few years since by the ague. Consequently
Corpse Island and Coffin Mount, as well as the adjacent shores, were
studded not only with canoes, but at the period of our visit the skulls
and skeletons were strewed about in all directions.” This method
generally prevailed on the neighboring coasts, as at Shoal Water Bay,
&c. Farther up the Columbia, as at the Cascades, a different
form was adopted, which is thus described by Captain Clarke:

“About half a mile below this house, in a very thick part of the woods,
is an ancient Indian burial-place; it consists of eight vaults, made of
pine cedar boards, closely connected, about 8 feet square and 6 in
height, the top securely covered with wide boards, sloping a little, so
as to convey off the rain. The direction of all these is east and west,
the door being on the eastern side, and partially stopped with wide
boards, decorated with rude pictures of men and other animals. On
entering we found in some of them four dead bodies, carefully wrapped in
skins, tied with cords of grass and bark, lying on a mat in a direction
east and west; the other vaults contained only bones, which in some of
them were piled to a height of 4 feet; on the tops of the vaults and on
poles attached to them hung brass kettles and frying-pans with holes in
their bottoms, baskets, bowls, sea-shells, skins, pieces of cloth, hair
bags of trinkets, and small bones, the offerings of friendship or
affection, which have been saved by a pious veneration from the ferocity
of war or the more dangerous temptation of individual gain. The whole of
the walls as well as the door were decorated with strange figures cut
and painted on them, and besides these were several wooden images of
men, some of them so old and decayed as to have almost lost their shape,
which were all placed against the sides of the vault. These images, as
well as those in the houses we have lately seen, do not appear to be at
all the objects of adoration in this place; they were most probably
intended as resemblances of those whose decease they indicate, and when
we observe them in houses they occupy the most conspicuous part, but are
treated more like ornaments than objects of worship. Near the vaults
which are still standing are the remains of others on the ground,
completely rotted and covered with moss; and as they are formed of the
most durable pine and cedar timber, there is every appearance that for a
very long series of years this retired spot has been the depository for
the Indians near this place.”

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Another depository of this kind upon an island in the river a few miles
above gave it the name of Sepulcher Inland. The Watlala, a tribe
of the Upper Tsinūk, whose burial place is here described, are now
nearly extinct; but a number of the sepulchers still remain in different
states of preservation. The position of the body, as noticed by Clarke,
is, I believe, of universal observance, the head being always
placed to the west. The reason assigned to me is that the road to the
mé-mel-ūs-illa-hee, the country of the dead, is toward the west,
and if they place them otherwise they would be confused. East of the
Cascade Mountains the tribes whose habits are equestrian, and who use
canoes only for ferriage or transportation purposes, bury their dead,
usually heaping over them piles of stones, either to mark the spot or to
prevent the bodies from being exhumed by the prairie wolf. Among the
Yakamas we saw many of their graves placed in conspicuous points of the
basaltic walls which line the lower valleys, and designated by a clump
of poles planted over them, from which fluttered various articles of
dress. Formerly these prairie tribes killed horses over the
graves—a custom now falling into disuse in consequence of the
teachings of the whites.

Upon Puget Sound all the forms obtain in different localities. Among the
Makah of Cape Flattery the graves are covered with a sort of box, rudely
constructed of boards, and elsewhere on the Sound the same method is
adopted in some cases, while in others the bodies are placed on elevated
scaffolds. As a general thing, however, the Indians upon the water
placed the dead in canoes, while those at a distance from it buried
them. Most of the graves are surrounded with strips of cloth, blankets,
and other articles of property. Mr. Cameron, an English gentleman
residing at Esquimalt Harbor, Vancouver Island, informed me that on his
place there were graves having at each corner a large stone, the
interior space filled with rubbish. The origin of these was unknown to
the present Indians.

The distinctions of rank or wealth in all cases were very marked;
persons of no consideration and slaves being buried with very little
care or respect. Vancouver, whose attention was particularly attracted
to their methods of disposing of the dead, mentions that at Port
Discovery he saw baskets suspended to the trees containing the skeletons
of young children, and, what is not easily explained, small square
boxes, containing, apparently, food. I do not think that any of
these tribes place articles of food with the dead, nor have I been able
to learn from living Indians that they formerly followed that practice.
What he took for such I do not understand. He also mentions seeing in
the same place a cleared space recently burned over, in which the skulls
and bones of a number lay among the ashes. The practice of burning the
dead exists in parts of California and among the Tshimsyan of Fort
Simpson. It is also pursued by the “Carriers” of New California, but no
intermediate tribes, to my knowledge, follow it. Certainly those of the
Sound do not at present.

It is clear from Vancouver’s narrative that some great epidemic had
recently passed through the country, as manifested by the quantity of
human remains uncared for and exposed at the time of his visit, and very
probably the Indians, being afraid, had buried a house, in which the
inhabitants had perished with the dead in it. This is frequently done.
They almost invariably remove from any place where sickness has
prevailed, generally destroying the house also.

At Penn Cove Mr. Whidbey, one of Vancouver’s officers, noticed several
sepulchers formed exactly like a sentry-box. Some of them were open, and
contained the skeletons of many young children tied up in baskets. The
smaller bones of adults were likewise noticed, but not one of the limb
bones was found, which gave rise to an opinion that these, by the living
inhabitants of the neighborhood, were appropriated to useful purposes,
such as pointing their arrows, spears, or other weapons.

Fig. 29.—Canoe Burial.

It is hardly necessary to say that such a practice is altogether foreign
to Indian character. The bones of the adults had probably been removed
and buried elsewhere. The corpses of children are variously disposed of;
sometimes by suspending them, at others by placing in the hollows of
trees. A cemetery devoted to infants is, however, an unusual
occurrence. In cases of chiefs or men of note much pomp was used in the
179

accompaniments of the rite. The canoes were of great size and
value—the war or state canoes of the deceased. Frequently one was
inverted over that holding the body, and in one instance, near
Shoalwater Bay, the corpse was deposited in a small canoe, which again
was placed in a larger one and covered with a third. Among the
Tsinūk and Tsìhalis the tamahno-ūs board of the
owner was placed near him. The Puget Sound Indians do not make these
tamahno-ūs boards, but they sometimes constructed effigies of
their chiefs, resembling the person as nearly as possible, dressed in
his usual costume, and wearing the articles of which he was fond. One of
these, representing the Skagit chief Sneestum, stood very conspicuously
upon a high bank on the eastern side of Whidbey Island. The figures
observed by Captain Clarke at the Cascades were either of this
description or else the carved posts which had ornamented the interior
of the houses of the deceased, and were connected with the superstition
of the tamahno-ūs. The most valuable articles of property were
put into or hung up around the grave, being first carefully rendered
unserviceable, and the living family were literally stripped to do honor
to the dead. No little self-denial must have been practiced in parting
with articles so precious, but those interested frequently had the least
to say on the subject. The graves of women were distinguished by a cap,
a Kamas stick, or other implement of their occupation, and by
articles of dress.

Slaves were killed in proportion to the rank and wealth of the deceased.
In some instances they were starved to death, or even tied to the dead
body and left to perish thus horribly. At present this practice has been
almost entirely given up, but till within a very few years it was not
uncommon. A case which occurred in 1850 has been already mentioned.
Still later, in 1853, Toke, a Tsinūk chief living at Shoalwater
Bay, undertook to kill a slave girl belonging to his daughter, who, in
dying, had requested that this might be done. The woman fled, and was
found by some citizens in the woods half starved. Her master attempted
to reclaim her, but was soundly thrashed and warned against another
attempt.

It was usual in the case of chiefs to renew or repair for a considerable
length of time the materials and ornaments of the burial-place. With the
common class of persons family pride or domestic affection was satisfied
with the gathering together of the bones after the flesh had decayed and
wrapping them in a new mat. The violation of the grave was always
regarded as an offense of the first magnitude and provoked severe
revenge. Captain Belcher remarks: “Great secrecy is observed in all
their burial ceremonies, partly from fear of Europeans, and as among
themselves they will instantly punish by death any violation of the tomb
or wage war if perpetrated by another tribe, so they are inveterate and
tenaceously bent on revenge should they discover that any act of the
kind has been perpetrated by a white man. It is on record that part of
the crew of a vessel on her return to this port (the Columbia) suffered
because a person who belonged to her (but not then in her) was known to
have taken a skull, which, from the process of flattening, had become an
object of curiosity.” He adds, however, that at the period of his visit
to the river “the skulls and skeletons were scattered about in all
directions; and as I was on most of their positions unnoticed by the
natives, I suspect the feeling does not extend much beyond their
relatives, and then only till decay has destroyed body, goods, and
chattels. The chiefs, no doubt, are watched, as their canoes are
repainted, decorated, and greater care taken by placing them in
sequestered spots.”

The motive for sacrificing or destroying property on occasion of death
will be referred to in treating of their religious ideas. Wailing for
the dead is continued for a long time, and it seems to be rather a
ceremonial performance than an act of spontaneous grief. The duty, of
course, belongs to the woman, and the early morning is usually chosen
for the purpose. They go out alone to some place a little distant from
the lodge or camp and in a loud, sobbing voice repeat a sort of
stereotyped formula; as, for instance, a mother, on the loss of her
child, “A seahb shed-da bud-dah ah ta bud! ad-de-dah,” “Ah
chief!” “My child dead, alas!” When in dreams they see any of their
deceased friends this lamentation is renewed.

180

With most of the Northwest Indians it was quite common, as mentioned
by Mr. Gibbs, to kill or bury with the dead a living slave, who, failing
to die within three days, was strangled by another slave; but the custom
has also prevailed among other tribes and peoples, in many cases the
individuals offering themselves as voluntary sacrifices. Bancroft states
that—

In Panama, Nata, and some other districts, when a cacique died, those of
his concubines that loved him enough, those that he loved ardently and
so appointed, as well as certain servants, killed themselves and were
interred with him. This they did in order that they might wait upon him
in the land of spirits.

It is well known to all readers of history to what an extreme this
revolting practice has prevailed in Mexico, South America, and
Africa.

AQUATIC BURIAL.

As a confirmed rite or ceremony, this mode of disposing of the dead
has never been followed by any of our North American Indians, although
occasionally the dead have been disposed of by sinking in springs or
water-courses, by throwing into the sea, or by setting afloat in canoes.
Among the nations of antiquity the practice was not uncommon, for we are
informed that the Ichthyophagi, or fish-eaters, mentioned by Ptolemy,
living in a region bordering on the Persian Gulf, invariably committed
their dead to the sea, thus repaying the obligations they had incurred
to its inhabitants. The Lotophagians did the same, and the Hyperboreans,
with a commendable degree of forethought for the survivors, when ill or
about to die, threw themselves into the sea. The burial of Balder “the
beautiful,” it may be remembered, was in a highly decorated ship, which
was pushed down to the sea, set on fire, and committed to the waves. The
Itzas of Guatemala, living on the islands of Lake Peten, according to
Bancroft, are said to have thrown their dead into the lake for want of
room. The Indians of Nootka Sound and the Chinooks were in the habit of
thus getting rid of their dead slaves, and, according to Timberlake, the
Cherokees of Tennessee “seldom bury the dead, but throw them into the
river.”

The Alibamans, as they were called by Bossu, denied the rite of
sepulture to suicides; they were looked upon as cowards, and their
bodies thrown into a river. The Rev. J. G. Wood82 states that the
Obongo or African tribe takes the body to some running stream, the
course of which has been previously diverted. A deep grave is dug
in the bed of the stream, the body placed in it, and covered over
carefully. Lastly, the stream is restored to its original course, so
that all traces of the grave are soon lost.

The Kavague also bury their common people, or wanjambo, by simply
sinking the body in some stream.

181

Historians inform us that Alaric was buried in a manner similar to
that employed by the Obongo, for in 410, at Cosença, a town of
Calabria, the Goths turned aside the course of the river Vasento, and
having made a grave in the midst of its bed, where its course was most
rapid, they interred their king with a prodigious amount of wealth and
riches. They then caused the river to resume its regular course, and
destroyed all persons who had been concerned in preparing this romantic
grave.

A later example of water-burial is that afforded by the funeral of De
Soto. Dying in 1542, his remains were inclosed in a wooden chest well
weighted, and committed to the turbid and tumultuous waters of the
Mississippi.

After a careful search for well-authenticated instances of burial,
aquatic and semi-aquatic, among North American Indians, but two have
been found, which are here given. The first relates to the Gosh-Utes,
and is by Capt. J. H. Simpson:83

Skull Valley, which is a part of the Great Salt Lake Desert, and which
we have crossed to-day, Mr. George W. Bean, my guide over this route
last fall, says derives its name from the number of skulls which have
been found in it, and which have arisen from the custom of the Goshute
Indians burying their dead in springs, which they sank with stones or
keep down with sticks. He says he has actually seen the Indians bury
their dead in this way near the town of Provo, where he resides.

As corroborative of this statement, Captain Simpson mentions in
another part of the volume that, arriving at a spring one evening, they
were obliged to dig out the skeleton of an Indian from the mud at the
bottom before using the water.

This peculiar mode of burial is entirely unique, so far as known, and
but from the well-known probity of the relator might well be questioned,
especially when it is remembered that in the country spoken of water is
quite scarce and Indians are careful not to pollute the streams or
springs near which they live. Conjecture seems useless to establish a
reason for this disposition of the dead, unless we are inclined to
attribute it to the natural indolence of the savage, or a desire to
poison the springs for white persons.

The second example is by George Catlin,84 and relates to the
Chinook:

*** This little cradle has a strap which
passes over the woman’s forehead whilst the cradle rides on her back,
and if the child dies during its subjection to this rigid
182

mode, its cradle becomes its coffin, forming a little canoe, in which it
lies floating on the water in some sacred pool, where they are often in
the habit of fastening their canoes containing the dead bodies of the
old and young, or, which in often the case, elevated into the branches
of trees, where their bodies are left to decay and their bones to dry
whilst they are bandaged in many skins and curiously packed in their
canoes, with paddles to propel and ladles to bale them out, and
provisions to last and pipes to smoke as they are performing their “long
journey after death to their contemplated hunting grounds,” which these
people think is to be performed in their canoes.

Figure 30, after Catlin, is a representation of a mourning-cradle.
Figure 31 represents the sorrowing mother committing the body of her
dead child to the mercy of the elements.

Fig. 31.—Launching the Burial
Cradle.

LIVING SEPULCHERS.

This is a term quaintly used by the learned M. Pierre Muret to
express the devouring of the dead by birds and animals or the surviving
friends and relatives. Exposure of the dead to animals and birds has
already been mentioned, but in the absence of any positive proof, it is
not believed that the North American Indians followed the custom,
although cannibalism may have prevailed to a limited extent. It is true
that a few accounts are given by authors, but these are considered apochryphal in
character, and the one mentioned is only offered to show how credulous
were the early writers on American natives.

That such a means of disposing of the dead was not in practice is
somewhat remarkable when we take into consideration how many analogies
been found in comparing old and new world funeral observances, and the
statements made by Bruhier, Lafitau, Muret, and others, who give a
number of examples of this peculiar mode of burial.

For instance, the Tartars sometimes ate their dead, and the
Massagetics, Padæans, Derbices, and Effedens did the same, having
previously strangled the aged and mixed their flesh with mutton. Horace
and Tertullian
both affirm that the Irish and ancient
Britons devoured the dead, and Lafitau remarks that certain Indians of
South America did the same, esteeming this mode of disposal more
honorable and much to be preferred than to rot and be eaten by
worms.

J. G. Wood, in his work already quoted, states that the Fans of
Africa devour their dead, but this disposition is followed only for the
common people, the kings and chiefs being buried with much ceremony.

The following extract is from Lafitau:85

Dans l’Amérique Méridionale quelque Peuples décharnent les corps de
leurs Guerriers et les mangent leurs chairs, ainsi que je viens de le
dire, et après les avoir consumées, ils conservent pendant quelque temps
leurs cadavres avec respect dans leurs Cabanes, et il portent ces
squeletes dans les combats en guise d’Etendard, pour ranimer leur
courage par cette vue et inspirer de la terreur à leurs ennemis. ***

183

Il est vrai qu’il y en a qui font festin des cadavres de leurs parens;
mais il est faux qu’elles les mettent à mort dans leur vieillesse, pour
avoir le plaisir de se nourrir de leur chair, et d’en faire un repas.
Quelques Nations de l’Amérique Méridionale, qui ont encore cette coutume
de manger les corps morts de leurs parens, n’en usent ainsi que par
piété, piété mal entenduë à la verité, mais piété colorée néanmoins par
quelque ombre de raison; car ils croyent leur donner une sépulture bien
plus honorable.

To the credit of our savages, this barbarous and revolting practice
is not believed to have been practiced by them.

MOURNING, SACRIFICE, FEASTS, FOOD,
DANCES, SONGS, GAMES, POSTS, FIRES,
AND SUPERSTITIONS IN CONNECTION WITH BURIAL.

The above subjects are coincident with burial, and some of them,
particularly mourning, have been more or less treated of in this paper,
yet it may be of advantage to here give a few of the collected examples,
under separate heads.

MOURNING.

One of the most carefully described scenes of mourning at the death
of a chief of the Crows is related in the life of Beckwourth,86 who for many
years lived among this people, finally attaining great distinction as a
warrior.

I dispatched a herald to the village to inform them of the head chief’s
death, and then, burying him according to his directions, we slowly
proceeded homewards. My very soul sickened at the contemplation of the
scenes that would be enacted at my arrival. When we drew in sight of the
village, we found every lodge laid prostrate. We entered amid shrieks,
cries, and yells. Blood was streaming from every conceivable part of the
bodies of all who were old enough to comprehend their loss. Hundreds of
fingers were dismembered; hair torn from the head lay in profusion about
the paths; wails and moans in every direction assailed the ear, where
unrestrained joy had a few hours before prevailed. This fearful mourning
lasted until evening of the next day. ***

A herald having been dispatched to our other villages to acquaint them
with the death of our head chief, and request them to assemble at the
Rose Bud, in order to meet our village and devote themselves to a
general time of mourning, there met, in conformity to the summons, over
ten thousand Crows at the place indicated. Such a scene of disorderly,
vociferous mourning, no imagination can conceive nor any pen portray.
Long Hair cut off a large roll of his hair; a thing he was never
known to do before. The cutting and hacking of human flesh exceeded all
my previous experience; fingers were dismembered as readily as twigs,
and blood was poured out like water. Many of the warriors would cut two
gashes nearly the entire length of their arm; then, separating the skin
from the flesh at one end, would grasp it in their other hand, and rip
it asunder to the shoulder. Others would carve various devices upon
184

their breasts and shoulders, and raise the skin in the same manner to
make the scars show to advantage after the wound was healed. Some of
their mutilations were ghastly, and my heart sickened to look at them,
but they would not appear to receive any pain from them.

It should be remembered that many of Beckwourth’s statements are to
be taken cum grana salis.

From I. L. Mahan, United States Indian agent for the Chippewas of
Lake Superior, Red Cliff, Wisconsin, the following detailed account of
mourning has been received:

There is probably no people that exhibit more sorrow and grief for their
dead than they. The young widow mourns the loss of her husband; by day
as by night she is heard silently sobbing; she is a constant visitor to
the place of rest; with the greatest reluctance will she follow the
raised camp. The friends and relatives of the young mourner will
incessantly devise methods to distract her mind from the thought of her
lost husband. She refuses nourishment, but as nature is exhausted she is
prevailed upon to partake of food; the supply is scant, but on every
occasion the best and largest proportion is deposited upon the grave of
her husband. In the mean time the female relatives of the deceased have,
according to custom, submitted to her charge a parcel made up of
different cloths ornamented with bead-work and eagle’s feathers, which
she is charged to keep by her side—the place made vacant by the
demise of her husband—a reminder of her widowhood. She is
therefore for a term of twelve moons not permitted to wear any finery,
neither is she permitted to slicken up and comb her head; this to avoid
attracting attention. Once in a while a female relative of deceased,
commiserating with her grief and sorrow, will visit her and voluntarily
proceed to comb out the long-neglected and matted hair. With a jealous
eye a vigilant watch is kept over her conduct during the term of her
widowhood, yet she is allowed the privilege to marry, any time during
her widowhood, an unmarried brother or cousin, or a person of the same
Dodem [sic] (family mark) of her husband.

At the expiration of her term, the vows having been faithfully performed
and kept, the female relatives of deceased assemble and, with greetings
commensurate to the occasion, proceed to wash her face, comb her hair,
and attire her person with new apparel, and otherwise demonstrating the
release from her vow and restraint. Still she has not her entire
freedom. If she will still refuse to marry a relative of the deceased
and will marry another, she then has to purchase her freedom by giving a
certain amount of goods and whatever else she might have manufactured
during her widowhood in anticipation of the future now at hand.
Frequently, though, during widowhood the vows are disregarded and an
inclination to flirt and play courtship or form an alliance of marriage
outside of the relatives of the deceased is being indulged, and when
discovered the widow is set upon by the female relatives, her slick
braided hair is shorn close up to the back of her neck, all her apparel
and trinkets are torn from her person, and a quarrel frequently results
fatally to some member of one or the other side.

Thomas L. McKenney87 gives a description of the Chippewa widow which differs
slightly from the one above:

I have noticed several women here carrying with them rolls of clothing.
On inquiring what these imported, I learn that they are
widows who carry them, and that these are badges of mourning. It is
indispensable, when a woman of the Chippeway Nation loses her husband,
for her to take of her best apparel—and the whole of it is not
worth a dollar—and roll it up, and confine it by means of her
husband’s sashes; and if he had ornaments, these are generally put on
the top of the roll, and around it is wrapped a piece of cloth. This
bundle is called her husband, and it is expected that she is
185

never to be seen without it. If she walks out she takes it with her; if
she sits down in her lodge, she places it by her side. This badge of
widowhood and of mourning the widow is compelled to carry with her until
some of her late husband’s family shall call and take it away, which is
done when they think she has mourned long enough, and which is generally
at the expiration of a year. She is then, but not before, released from
her mourning, and at liberty to marry again. She has the privilege to
take this husband to the family of the deceased and leave it, but this
is considered indecorous, and is seldom done. Sometimes a brother of the
deceased takes the widow for his wife at the grave of her husband, which
is done by a ceremony of walking her over it. And this he has a right to
do; and when this is done she is not required to go into mourning; or,
if she chooses, she has the right to go to him, and he is
bound to support her.

I visited a lodge to-day, where I saw one of these badges. The size
varies according to the quantity of clothing which the widow may happen
to have. It is expected of her to put up her best and wear her
worst. The “husband” I saw just now was 30 inches high and
18 inches in circumference.

I was told by the interpreter that he knew a woman who had been left to
mourn after this fashion for years, none of her husband’s family calling
for the badge or token of her grief. At a certain time it was told her
that some of her husband’s family were passing, and she was advised to
speak to them on the subject. She did so, and told them she had mourned
long and was poor; that she had no means to buy clothes, and her’s being
all in the mourning badge, and sacred, could not be touched. She
expressed a hope that her request might not be interpreted into a wish
to marry; it was only made that she might be placed in a situation to
get some clothes. She got for answer, that “they were going to Mackinac,
and would think of it.” They left her in this state of uncertainty, but
on returning, and finding her faithful still, they took her “husband”
and presented her with clothing of various kinds. Thus was she rewarded
for her constancy and made comfortable.

The Choctaw widows mourn by never combing their hair for the term of
their grief, which is generally about a year. The Chippeway men mourn by
painting their faces black.

I omitted to mention that when presents are going round, the badge of
mourning, this “husband” comes in for an equal share, as if it
were the living husband.

A Chippeway mother, on losing her child, prepares an image of it in the
best manner she is able, and dresses it as she did her living child, and
fixes it in the kind of cradle I have referred to, and goes through the
ceremonies of nursing it as if it were alive, by dropping little
particles of food in the direction of its mouth, and giving it of
whatever the living child partook. This ceremony also is generally
observed for a year.

Figure 32 represents the Chippewa widow holding in her arms the
substitute for the dead husband.

Fig. 32.—Chippewa Widow.

The substitution of a reminder for the dead husband, made from rags,
furs, and other articles, is not confined alone to the Chippewas, other
tribes having the same custom. In some instances the widows are obliged
to carry around with them, for a variable period, a bundle
containing the bones of the deceased consort.

Similar observances, according to Bancroft,88 were followed by some of
the Central American tribes of Indians, those of the Sambos and
Mosquitos being as follows:

The widow was bound to supply the grave of her husband for a year, after
which she took up the bones and carried them with her for another year,
at last placing them upon the roof of her house, and then only was she
allowed to marry again.

186

On returning from the grave the property of the deceased is destroyed,
the cocoa palms being cut down, and all who have taken part in the
funeral undergo a lustration in the river. Relatives cut off the hair,
the men leaving a ridge along the middle from the nape of the neck to
the forehead. Widows, according to some old writers, after supplying the
grave with food for a year take up the bones and carry them on the back
in the daytime, sleeping with them at night for another year, after
which they are placed at the door or upon the house-top. On the
anniversary of deaths, friends of the deceased hold a feast, called
seekroe, at which large quantities of liquor are drained to his
memory. Squier, who witnessed the ceremonies on an occasion of this
kind, says that males and females were dressed in ule cloaks
fantastically painted black and white, while their faces were
correspondingly streaked with red and yellow, and they performed a slow
walk around, prostrating themselves at intervals and calling loudly upon
the dead and tearing the ground with their hands. At no other time is
the departed referred to, the very mention of his name being
superstitiously avoided. Some tribes extend a thread from the house of
death to the grave, carrying it in a straight line over every obstacle.
Fröebel
states that among the Woolwas
all property of the deceased is buried with him, and that both husband
and wife cut the hair and burn the hut on the death of either, placing a
gruel of maize upon the grave for a certain time.

Benson89 gives the following account of the Choctaws’ funeral
ceremonies, embracing the disposition of the body, mourning feast and
dance:

Their funeral is styled by them “the last cry.”

When the husband dies the friends assemble, prepare the grave, and place
the corpse in it, but do not fill it up. The gun, bow and arrows,
hatchet, and knife are deposited in the grave. Poles are planted at the
head and the foot, upon which flags are placed; the grave is then
inclosed by pickets driven in the ground. The funeral ceremonies now
begin, the widow being the chief mourner. At night and morning she will
go to the grave and pour forth the most piteous cries and wailings. It
is not important that any other member of the family should take any
very active part in the “cry,” though they do participate to some
extent.

The widow wholly neglects her toilet, while she daily goes to the grave
during one entire moon from the date when the death occurred. On the
evening of the last day of the moon the friends all assemble at the
cabin of the disconsolate widow, bringing provisions for a sumptuous
feast, which consists of corn and jerked beef boiled together in a
kettle. While the supper is preparing the bereaved wife goes to the
grave and pours out, with unusual vehemence, her bitter wailings and
lamentations. When the food is thoroughly cooked the kettle is taken
from the fire and placed in the center of the cabin, and the friends
gather around it, passing the buffalo-horn spoon from hand to hand and
from mouth to mouth till all have been bountifully supplied. While
supper is being served, two of the oldest men of the company quietly
withdraw and go to the grave and fill it up, taking down the flags. All
then join in a dance, which not unfrequently is continued till morning;
the widow does not fail to unite in the dance, and to contribute her
part to the festivities of the occasion. This is the “last cry,”
the days of mourning are ended, and the widow is now ready to form
another matrimonial alliance. The ceremonies are precisely the same when
a man has lost his wife, and they are only slightly varied when any
other member of the family has died. (Slaves were buried without
ceremonies.)

187

SACRIFICE.

Some examples of human sacrifice have already been given in
connection with another subject, but it is thought others might prove
interesting. The first relates to the Natchez of Louisiana.90

When their sovereign died he was accompanied in the grave by his wives
and by several of his subjects. The lesser Suns took care to follow the
same custom. The law likewise condemned every Natchez to death who had
married a girl of the blood of the Suns as soon as she was expired. On
this occasion I must tell you the history of an Indian who was noways
willing to submit to this law. His name was Elteacteal; he
contracted an alliance with the Suns, but the consequences which this
honor brought along with it had like to have proved very unfortunate to
him. His wife fell sick; as soon as he saw her at the point of death he
fled, embarked in a piragua on the Mississippi, and came to New
Orleans. He put himself under the protection of M. de Bienville, the
then governor, and offered to be his huntsman. The governor accepted his
services, and interested himself for him with the Natchez, who declared
that he had nothing more to fear, because the ceremony was past, and he
was accordingly no longer a lawful prize.

Elteacteal, being thus assured, ventured to return to his nation,
and, without settling among them, he made several voyages thither. He
happened to be there when the Sun called the Stung Serpent,
brother to the Great Sun, died. He was a relative of the late wife of
Elteacteal, and they resolved to make him pay his debt. M. de
Bienville had been recalled to France, and the sovereign of the Natchez
thought that the protector’s absence had annulled the reprieve granted
to the protected person, and accordingly he caused him to be arrested.
As soon as the poor fellow found himself in the hut of the grand chief
of war, together with the other victims destined to be sacrificed to the
Stung Serpent, he gave vent to the excess of his grief. The
favorite wife of the late Son, who was likewise to be sacrificed, and
who saw the preparations for her death with firmness, and seemed
impatient to rejoin her husband, hearing Elteacteal’s complaints
and groans, said to him: “Art thou no warrior?” He answered, “Yes:
I am one.” “However,” said she, “thou cryest; life is dear to thee,
and as that is the case, it is not good that thou shouldst go along with
us; go with the women.” Elteacteal replied: “True; life is dear
to me. It would be well if I walked yet on earth till to the death of
the Great Sun, and I would die with him.” “Go thy way,” said the
favorite, “it is not fit thou shouldst go with us, and that thy heart
should remain behind on earth. Once more, get away, and let me see thee
no more.”

Elteacteal did not stay to hear this order repeated to him; he
disappeared like lightning; three old women, two of which were his
relatives, offered to pay his debt; their age and their infirmities had
disgusted them of life; none of them had been able to use their legs for
a great while. The hair of the two that were related to
Elteacteal was no more gray than those of women of fifty-five
years in France. The other old woman was a hundred and twenty years old,
and had very white hair, which is a very uncommon thing among the
Indians. None of the three had a quite wrinkled skin. They were
dispatched in the evening, one at the door of the Stung Serpent,
and the other two upon the place before the temple. *** A cord is fastened round their necks with a
slip-knot, and eight men of their relations strangle them by drawing,
four one way and four the other. So many are not necessary, but as they
acquire nobility by such executions, there are always more than are
wanting, and the operation is performed in an instant. The generosity of
these women gave Elteacteal
188

life again, acquired him the degree of considered, and cleared
his honor, which he had sullied by fearing death. He remained quiet
after that time, and taking advantage of what he had learned during his
stay among the French, he became a juggler and made use of his knowledge
to impose upon his countrymen.

The morning after this execution they made everything ready for the
convoy, and the hour being come, the great master of the ceremonies
appeared at the door of the hut, adorned suitably to his quality. The
victims who were to accompany the deceased prince into the mansion of
the spirits came forth; they consisted of the favorite wife of the
deceased, of his second wife, his chancellor, his physician, his hired
man, that is, his first servant, and of some old women.

The favorite went to the Great Sun, with whom there were several
Frenchmen, to take leave of him; she gave orders for the Suns of both
sexes that were her children to appear, and spoke to the following
effect:

“Children, this is the day on which I am to tear myself from you
(sic) arms and to follow your father’s steps, who waits for
me in the country of the spirits; if I were to yield to your tears I
would injure my love and fail in my duty. I have done enough for
you by bearing you next to my heart, and by suckling you with my
breasts. You that are descended of his blood and fed by my milk, ought
you to shed tears? Rejoice rather that you are Suns and warriors;
you are bound to give examples of firmness and valor to the whole
nation: go, my children, I have provided for all your wants, by
procuring you friends; my friends and those of your father are yours
too; I leave you amidst them; they are the French; they are
tender-hearted and generous; make yourselves worthy of their esteem by
not degenerating from your race; always act openly with them and never
implore them with meanness.

“And you, Frenchmen,” added she, turning herself towards our officers,
“I recommend my orphan children to you; they will know no other
fathers than you; you ought to protect them.”

After that she got up; and, followed by her troop, returned to her
husband’s hut with a surprising firmness.

A noble woman came to join herself to the number of victims of her own
accord, being engaged by the friendship she bore the Stung
Serpent to follow him into the other world. The Europeans called her
the haughty lady, on account of her majestic deportment and her
proud air, and because she only frequented the company of the most
distinguished Frenchmen. They regretted her much, because she had the
knowledge of several simples with which she had saved the lives of many
of our sick. This moving sight filled our people with grief and horror.
The favorite wife of the deceased rose up and spoke to them with a
smiling countenance: “I die without fear;” said she, “grief does
not embitter my last hours. I recommend my children to you;
whenever you see them, noble Frenchmen, remember that you have loved
their father, and that he was till death a true and sincere friend of
your nation, whom he loved more than himself. The disposer of life has
been pleased to call him, and I shall soon go and join him; I shall
tell him that I have seen your hearts moved at the sight of his corps;
do not be grieved; we shall be longer friends in the country of the
spirits than here, because we do not die there again.”91*

These words forced tears from the eyes of all the French; they were
obliged to do all they could to prevent the Great Sun from killing
himself, for he was inconsolable at the death of his brother, upon whom
he was used to lay the weight of government, he being great chief of war
of the Natches, i.e. generalissimo of their armies; that prince grew
furious by the resistance he met with; he held his gun by the barrel,
and the Sun, his presumptive heir, held it by the lock, and caused the
powder to fall out
189

of the pan; the hut was full of Suns, Nobles, and Honorables92* but the
French raised their spirits again, by hiding all the arms belonging to
the sovereign, and filling the barrel of his gun with water, that it
might be unfit for use for some time.

As soon as the Suns saw their sovereign’s life in safety, they thanked
the French, by squeezing their hands, but without speaking; a most
profound silence reigned throughout, for grief and awe kept in bounds
the multitude that were present.

The wife of the Great Sun was seized with fear during this transaction.
She was asked whether she was ill, and she answered aloud, “Yes,
I am”; and added with a lower voice, “If the Frenchmen go out of
this hut, my husband dies and all the Natches will die with him; stay,
then, brave Frenchmen, because your words are as powerful as arrows;
besides, who could have ventured to do what you have done? But you are
his true friends and those of his brother.” Their laws obliged the Great
Sun’s wife to follow her husband in the grave; this was doubtless the
cause of her fears; and likewise the gratitude towards the French, who
interested themselves in behalf of his life, prompted her to speak in
the above-mentioned manner.

The Great Sun gave his hand to the officers, and said to them: “My
friends, my heart is so overpowered with grief that, though my eyes were
open, I have not taken notice that you have been standing all this
while, nor have I asked you to sit down; but pardon the excess of my
affliction.”

The Frenchmen told him that he had no need of excuses; that they were
going to leave him alone, but that they would cease to be his friends
unless he gave orders to light the fires again,93* lighting his own before
them; and that they should not leave him till his brother was
buried.

He took all the Frenchmen by the hands, and said: “Since all the chiefs
and noble officers will have me stay on earth, I will do it;
I will not kill myself; let the fires be lighted again immediately,
and I’ll wait till death joins me to my brother; I am already old,
and till I die I shall walk with the French; had it not been for them I
should have gone with my brother, and all the roads would have been
covered with dead bodies.”

Improbable as this account may appear, it has nevertheless been
credited by some of the wisest and most careful of ethnological writers,
and its seeming appearance of romance disappears when the remembrance of
similar ceremonies among Old World peoples comes to our minds.

An apparently well-authenticated case of attempted burial sacrifice
is described by Miss A. J. Allen,94 and refers to the Wascopums, of
Oregon.

At length, by meaning looks and gestures rather than words, it was found
that the chief had determined that the deceased boy’s friend, who had
been his companion in hunting the rabbit, snaring the pheasant, and
fishing in the streams, was to be his companion to the spirit land; his
son should not be deprived of his associate in the strange world to
which he had gone; that associate should perish by the hand of his
father, and be conveyed with him to the dead-house. This receptacle was
built on a long, black rock in the center of the Columbia River, around
which, being so near the falls, the current was amazingly rapid. It was
thirty feet in length, and perhaps half that in breadth, completely
enclosed and sodded except at one end, where was a
190

narrow aperture just sufficient to carry a corpse through. The council
overruled, and little George, instead of being slain, was conveyed
living to the dead-house about sunset. The dead were piled on each side,
leaving a narrow aisle between, and on one of these was placed the
deceased boy; and, bound tightly till the purple, quivering flesh puffed
above the strong bark cords, that he might die very soon, the living was
placed by his side, his face to his till the very lips met, and
extending along limb to limb and foot to foot, and nestled down into his
couch of rottenness, to impede his breathing as far as possible and
smother his cries.

Bancroft95 states that—

The slaves sacrificed at the graves by the Aztecs and Tarascos were
selected from various trades and professions, and took with them the
most cherished articles of the master and the implements of their trade
wherewith to supply his wants—

while among certain of the Central American tribe death was
voluntary, wives, attendants, slaves, friends, and relations sacrificing
themselves by means of a vegetable poison.

To the mind of a savage man unimpressed with the idea that
self-murder is forbidden by law or custom, there can seem no reason why,
if he so wills, he should not follow his beloved chief, master, or
friend to the “happy other world;” and when this is remembered we need
not feel astonished as we read of accounts in which scores of self
immolations are related. It is quite likely that among our own people
similar customs might be followed did not the law and society frown down
such proceedings. In fact the daily prints occasionally inform us,
notwithstanding the restraints mentioned, that sacrifices do take place
on the occasion of the death of a beloved one.

FEASTS.

In Beltrami96 an account is given of the funeral ceremonies of one of
the tribes of the west, including a description of the feast which took
place before the body was consigned to its final resting-place:

I was a spectator of the funeral ceremony performed in honor of the
manes of Cloudy Weather’s son-in-law, whose body had remained
with the Sioux, and was suspected to have furnished one of their
repasts. What appeared not a little singular and indeed ludicrous in
this funeral comedy was the contrast exhibited by the terrific
lamentations and yells of one part of the company while the others were
singing and dancing with all their might.

At another funeral ceremony for a member of the Grand Medicine,
and at which as a man of another world I was permitted to attend,
the same practice occurred. But at the feast which took place on that
occasion an allowance was served up for the deceased out of every
article of which it consisted, while others were beating, wounding, and
torturing themselves, and letting their blood flow both over the dead
man and his provisions, thinking possibly that this was the most
palatable seasoning for the latter which they could possibly supply. His
wife furnished out an entertainment present
191

for him of all her hair and rags, with which, together with his arms,
his provisions, his ornaments, and his mystic medicine bag, he was
wrapped up in the skin which had been his last covering when alive. He
was then tied round with the bark of some particular trees which they
use for making cords, and bonds of a very firm texture and hold (the
only ones indeed which they have), and instead of being buried in the
earth was hung up to a large oak. The reason of this was that, as his
favorite Manitou was the eagle, his spirit would be enabled more easily
from such a situation to fly with him to Paradise.

Hind97 mentions an account of a burial feast by De Brebeuf
which occurred among the Hurons of New York:

The Jesuit missionary, P. de Brebeuf, who assisted at one of the “feasts
of the dead” at the village of Ossosane, before the dispersion of the
Hurons, relates that the ceremony took place in the presence of 2,000
Indians, who offered 1,300 presents at the common tomb, in testimony of
their grief. The people belonging to five large villages deposited the
bones of their dead in a gigantic shroud, composed of forty-eight robes,
each robe being made of ten beaver skins. After being carefully wrapped
in this shroud, they were placed between moss and bark. A wall of
stones was built around this vast ossuary to preserve it from
profanation. Before covering the bones with earth a few grains of Indian
corn were thrown by the women upon the sacred relics. According to the
superstitious belief of the Hurons the souls of the dead remain near the
bodies until the “feast of the dead”; after which ceremony they become
free, and can at once depart for the land of spirits, which they believe
to be situated in the regions of the setting sun.

Ossuaries have not been used by savage nations alone, for the custom
of exhuming the bones of the dead after a certain period, and collecting
them in suitable receptacles, is well known to have been practiced in
Italy, Switzerland, and France. The writer saw in the church-yard of
Zug, Switzerland, in 1857, a slatted pen containing the remains of
hundreds of individuals. These had been dug up from the grave-yard and
preserved in the manner indicated. The catacombs of Naples and Paris
afford examples of burial ossuaries.

SUPERSTITION REGARDING BURIAL FEASTS.

The following account is by Dr. S. G. Wright, acting physician to the
Leech Lake Agency, Minnesota:—

Pagan Indians or those who have not become Christians still adhere to
the ancient practice of feasting at the grave of departed friends; the
object is to feast with the departed; that is, they believe that while
they partake of the visible material the departed spirit partakes at the
same time of the spirit that dwells in the food. From ancient time it
was customary to bury with the dead various articles, such especially as
were most valued in lifetime. The idea was that there was a spirit
dwelling in the article represented by the material article; thus the
war-club contained a spiritual war-club, the pipe a spiritual pipe,
which could be used by the departed in another world. These several
spiritual implements were supposed, of course, to accompany the soul, to
be used also on the way to its final abode. This habit has now
ceased.

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FOOD.

This subject has been sufficiently mentioned elsewhere in connection
with other matters and does not need to be now repeated. It has been an
almost universal custom throughout the whole extent of the country to
place food in or near the grave of deceased persons.

DANCES.

Gymnastic exercises, dignified with this name, upon the occasion of a
death or funeral, were common to many tribes. It is thus described by
Morgan:98

An occasional and very singular figure was called the “dance for the
dead.” It was known as the O-hé-wä. It was danced by the women
alone. The music was entirely vocal, a select band of singers being
stationed in the center of the room. To the songs for the dead which
they sang the dancers joined in chorus. It was plaintive and mournful
music. This dance was usually separate from all councils and the only
dance of the occasion. It was commenced at dusk or soon after and
continued until towards morning, when the shades of the dead who were
believed to be present and participate in the dance were supposed to
disappear. The dance was had whenever a family which had lost a member
called for it, which was usually a year after the event. In the spring
and fall it was often given for all the dead indiscriminately, who were
believed then to revisit the earth and join in the dance.

The interesting account which now follows is by Stephen Powers99 and
relates to the Yo-kaí-a of California, containing other matters of
importance pertaining to burial:

I paid a visit to their camp four miles below Ukiah, and finding there a
unique kind of assembly-house, desired to enter and examine it, but was
not allowed to do so until I had gained the confidence of the old sexton
by a few friendly words and the tender of a silver half dollar. The pit
of it was about 50 feet in diameter and 4 or 5 feet deep, and it was so
heavily roofed with earth that the interior was damp and somber as a
tomb. It looked like a low tumulus, and was provided with a tunnel-like
entrance about 10 feet long and 4 feet high, and leading down to a level
with the floor of the pit. The mouth of the tunnel was closed with
brush, and the venerable sexton would not remove it until he had slowly
and devoutly paced several times to and fro before the entrance.

Passing in I found the massive roof supported by a number of peeled
poles painted white and ringed with black and ornamented with rude
devices. The floor was covered thick and green with sprouting wheat,
which had been scattered to feed the spirit of the captain of the tribe,
lately deceased. Not long afterwards a deputation of the Senèl come up
to condole with the Yo-kaí-a on the loss of their chief, and a dance or
series of dances was held which lasted three days. During this time of
course the Senèl were the guests of the Yo-kaí-a, and the latter were
subjected to a
193

considerable expense. I was prevented by other engagements from
being present, and shall be obliged to depend on the description of an
eye-witness, Mr. John Tenney, whose account is here given with a few
changes:

There are four officials connected with the building, who are probably
chosen to preserve order and to allow no intruders. They are the
assistants of the chief. The invitation to attend was from one of them,
and admission was given by the same. These four wore black vests trimmed
with red flannel and shell ornaments. The chief made no special display
on the occasion. In addition to these four, who were officers of the
assembly-chamber, there were an old man and a young woman, who seemed to
be priest and priestess. The young woman was dressed differently from
any other, the rest dressing in plain calico dresses. Her dress was
white covered with spots of red flannel, cut in neat figure, ornamented
with shells. It looked gorgeous and denoted some office, the name of
which I could not ascertain. Before the visitors were ready to enter,
the older men of the tribe were reclining around the fire smoking and
chatting. As the ceremonies were about to commence, the old man and
young woman were summoned, and, standing at the end opposite the
entrance, they inaugurated the exercises by a brief service, which
seemed to be a dedication of the house to the exercises about to
commence. Each of them spoke a few words, joined in a brief chant, and
the house was thrown open for their visitors. They staid at their post
until the visitors entered and were seated on one side of the room.
After the visitors then others were seated, making about 200 in all,
though there was plenty of room in the center for the dancing.

Before the dance commented the chief of the visiting tribe made a brief
speech in which he no doubt referred to the death of the chief of the
Yo-kaí-a, and offered the sympathy of his tribe in this loss. As he
spoke, some of the women scarcely refrained from crying out, and with
difficulty they suppressed their sobs. I presume that he proposed a
few moments of mourning, for when he stopped the whole assemblage burst
forth into a bitter wailing, some screaming as if in agony. The whole
thing created such a din that I was compelled to stop my ears. The air
was rent and pierced with their cries. This wailing and shedding of
tears lasted about three or five minutes, though it seemed to last a
half hour. At a given signal they ceased, wiped their eyes, and quieted
down.

Then preparations were made for the dance. One end of the room was set
aside for the dressing-room. The chief actors wens five men, who were
muscular and agile. They were profusely decorated with paint and
feathers, while white and dark stripes covered their bodies. They were
girt about the middle with cloth of bright colors, sometimes with
variegated shawls. A feather mantle hung from the shoulder,
reaching below the knee; strings of shells ornamented the neck, while
their heads were covered with a crown of eagle feathers. They had
whistles in their months as they danced, swaying their heads, bending
and whirling their bodies; every muscle seemed to be exercised, and the
feather ornaments quivered with light. They were agile and graceful as
they bounded about in the sinuous course of the dance.

The five men were assisted by a semicircle of twenty women, who only
marked time by stepping up and down with short step. They always took
their places first and disappeared first, the men making their exit
gracefully one by one. The dresses of the women were suitable for the
occasion. They were white dresses, trimmed heavily with black velvet.
The stripes were about three inches wide, some plain and others edged
like saw teeth. This was an indication of their mourning for the dead
chief, in whose honor they had prepared that style of dancing. Strings
of haliotis and pachydesma shell beads encircled their necks, and around
their waists were belts heavily loaded with the same material. Their
head-dresses were more showy than those of the men. The head was
encircled with a bandeau of otters’ or beavers’ fur, to which were
attached short wires standing out in all directions, with glass or shell
beads strung on them, and at the tips little feather flags and quail
plumes. Surmounting all was a pyramidal plume of feathers, black, gray,
and scarlet, the top generally
194

being a bright scarlet bunch, waving and tossing very beautifully. All
these combined gave their heads a very brilliant and spangled
appearance.

The first day the dance was slow and funereal, in honor of the Yo-kaí-a
chief who died a short time before. The music was mournful and simple,
being a monotonous chant in which only two tones were used, accompanied
with a rattling of split sticks and stamping on a hollow slab. The
second day the dance was more lively on the part of the men, the music
was better, employing airs which had a greater range of tune, and the
women generally joined in the chorus. The dress of the women was not so
beautiful, as they appeared in ordinary calico. The third day, if
observed in accordance with Indian custom, the dancing was still more
lively and the proceedings more gay, just as the coming home from a
Christian funeral is apt to be much more jolly than the going out.

A Yo-kaí-a widow’s style of mourning is peculiar. In addition to the
usual evidences of grief, she mingles the ashes of her dead husband with
pitch, making a white tar or unguent, with which she smears a band about
two inches wide all around the edge of the hair (which is previously cut
off close to the head), so that at a little distance she appears to be
wearing a white chaplet.

It is their custom to “feed the spirits of the dead” for the space of
one year by going daily to places which they were accustomed to frequent
while living, where they sprinkle pinole upon the ground.
A Yo-kaí-a mother who has lost her babe goes every day for a year
to some place where her little one played when alive, or to the spot
where the body was burned, and milks her breasts into the air. This is
accompanied by plaintive mourning and weeping and piteous calling upon
her little one to return, and sometimes she sings a hoarse and
melancholy chant, and dances with a wild static swaying of the body.

SONGS.

It has nearly always been customary to sing songs at not only
funerals, but for varying periods of time afterwards, although these
chants may no doubt occasionally have been simply wailing or mournful
ejaculation. A writer100 mentions it as follows:

At almost all funerals there is an irregular crying kind of singing,
with no accompaniments, but generally all do not sing the same melody at
the same time in unison. Several may sing the same song and at the same
time, but each begins and finishes when he or she may wish. Often for
weeks, or even months, after the decease of a dear friend, a living
one, usually a woman, will sit by her house and sing or cry by the hour,
and they also sing for a short time when they visit the grave or meet an
esteemed friend whom they have not seen since the decease. At the
funeral both men and women sing. No. 11 I have heard more frequently
some time after the funeral, and No. 12 at the time of the funeral, by
the Twanas. (For song see p. 251 of the magazine quoted.) The words
are simply an exclamation of grief, as our word “alas,” but they also
have other words which they use, and sometimes they use merely the
syllable la. Often the notes are sung in this order, and
sometimes not, but in some order the notes do and la, and
occasionally mi, are sung.

Some pages back will be found a reference, and the words of a
peculiar death dirge sung by the Senèl of California, as related by Mr.
Powers. It is as follows:

195

Mr. John Campbell, of Montreal, Canada, has kindly called the
attention of the writer to death songs very similar in character; for
instance, the Basques of Spain ululate thus:

This was called the “ululating Lelo.” Mr. Campbell says:

This again connects with the Linus or Ailinus of the Greeks and
Egyptians *** which Wilkinson connects
with the Coptic “ya lay-lee-ya lail.” The Alleluia which Lescarbot heard
the South Americans sing must have been the same wail. The Greek verb
ὀλολύζω and the Latin
ululare, with an English howl and wail, are probably derived from this
ancient form of lamentation.

In our own time a writer on the manner and customs of the Creeks
describes a peculiar alleluia or hallelujah he heard, from which he
inferred that the American Indians must be the descendants of the lost
tribes of Israel.

GAMES.

It is not proposed to describe under this heading examples of those
athletic and gymnastic performances following the death of a person
which have been described by Lafitau, but simply to call attention to a
practice as a secondary or adjunct part of the funeral rites, which
consists in gambling for the possession of the property of the defunct.
Dr. Charles E. McChesney, U.S.A., who for some time was stationed among
the Wahpeton and Sisseton Sioux, furnishes a detailed and interesting
account of what is called the “ghost gamble.” This is played with marked
wild-plum stones. So far as ascertained it is peculiar to the Sioux.
Figure 33 appears as a fair illustration of the manner in which this
game is played.

Fig. 33.—Ghost Gamble.

After the death of a wealthy Indian the near relatives take charge of
the effects, and at a stated time—usually at the time of the first
feast held over the bundle containing the lock of hair—they are
divided into many small piles, so as to give all the Indians invited to
play an opportunity to win something. One Indian is selected to
represent the ghost and he plays against all the others, who are not
required to stake anything on the result, but simply invited to take
part in the ceremony, which is usually held in the lodge of the dead
person, in which is contained the bundle inclosing the lock of hair. In
cases where the ghost himself is not wealthy the stakes are furnished by
his rich friends, should he have any. The players are called in one at a
time, and play singly against the ghost’s representative, the gambling
being done in recent years by means of cards. If the invited player
succeeds in beating the ghost, he takes one of the piles of goods and
passes out, when another is invited to play, &c., until all the
piles of goods are won. In cases of men only the men play, and in cases
of women the women only take part in the ceremony.

196

Before white men came among these Indians and taught them many of his
improved vices, this game was played by means of figured plum-seeds, the
men using eight and the women seven seeds, figured as follows, and shown
in Figure 34.

Fig. 34.—Figured Plum Stones.

Two seeds are simply blackened on one side, the reverse containing
nothing. Two seeds are black on one side, with a small spot of the color
of the seed left in the center, the reverse side having a black spot in
the center, the body being plain. Two seeds have a buffalo’s head on one
side and the reverse simply two crossed black lines. There is but one
seed of this kind in the set used by the women. Two seeds have half of
one side blackened and the rest left plain, so as to represent a half
moon; the reverse has a black longitudinal line crossed at right angles
by six small ones. There are six throws whereby the player can win, and
five that entitle him to another throw. The winning throws are as
follows, each winner taking a pile of the ghost’s goods:

Fig. 35.—Winning Throw No. 1.	Fig. 36.—Winning Throw No. 2.
Fig. 37.—Winning Throw No. 3.	Fig. 38.—Winning Throw No. 4.
Fig. 39.—Winning Throw No. 5.	Fig. 40.—Winning Throw No. 6.

Two plain ones up, two plain with black spots up, buffalo’s head up, and
two half moons up wins a pile. Two plain black ones up, two black with
natural spots up, two longitudinally crossed ones up, and the
transversely crossed one up wins a pile. Two plain black ones up, two
black with natural spots up, two half moons up, and the transversely
crossed one up wins a pile. Two plain black ones, two black with natural
spots up, two half moons up, and the buffalo’s head up wins a pile. Two
plain ones up, two with black spots up, two longitudinally crossed ones
up, and the transversely crossed one up wins a pile. Two plain ones up,
two with black spots up, buffalo’s head up, and two long crossed up wins
a pile. The following auxiliary throws entitle to another chance to win:
two plain ones up, two with black spots up, one half moon up, one
longitudinally crossed one up, and buffalo’s head up gives another
throw, and on this throw, if the two plain ones up and two with black
spots with either of the half moons or buffalo’s head up, the player
takes a pile. Two plain ones up, two with black spots up, two half moons
up, and the transversely crossed
197

one up entitles to another throw, when, if all of the black sides come
up, excepting one, the throw wins. One of the plain ones up and all the
rest with black sides up gives another throw, and the same then turning
up wins. One of the plain black ones up with that side up of all the
others having the least black on gives another throw, when the same
turning up again wins. One half moon up, with that side up of all the
others having the least black on gives another throw, and if the throw
is then duplicated it wins. The eighth seed, used by the men, has its
place in their game whenever its facings are mentioned above.
I transmit with this paper a set of these figured seeds, which can
be used to illustrate the game if desired. These seeds are said to be
nearly a hundred years old, and sets of them are now very rare.

Fig. 41.—Auxiliary Throw No. 1.	Fig. 42.—Auxiliary Throw No. 2.
Fig. 43.—Auxiliary Throw No. 3.	Fig. 44.—Auxiliary Throw No. 4.
Fig. 45.—Auxiliary throw No 5.

For assisting in obtaining this account Dr. McChesney acknowledges
his indebtedness to Dr. C. C. Miller, physician to the Sisseton
Indian Agency.

Figures 35 to 45 represent the appearance of the plum stones and the
different throws; these have been carefully drawn from the set of stones
sent by Dr. McChesney.

POSTS.

These are placed at the head or foot of the grave, or at both ends,
and have painted or carved on them a history of the deceased or his
family, certain totemic characters, or, according to Schoolcraft, not
the achievements of the dead, but of those warriors who assisted and
danced at the interment. The northwest tribes and others frequently
plant poles near the graves, suspending therefrom bite of rag, flags,
horses’ tails, &c. The custom among the present Indians does not
exist to any extent. Beltrami101 speaks of it as follows:

Here I saw a most singular union. One of these graves was surmounted by
a cross, whilst upon another close to it a trunk of a tree was raised,
covered with hieroglyphics recording the number of enemies slain by the
tenant of the tomb and several of his tutelary Manitous.

Fig. 46.—Grave Posts.

The following extract from Schoolcraft102 relates to the burial
posts used by the Sioux and Chippewas. Figure 46 is after the picture
given by this author in connection with the account quoted:

Among the Sioux and Western Chippewas, after the body had been wrapped
in its best clothes and ornaments, it is then placed on a scaffold or in
a tree until the flesh is entirely decayed, after which the bones are
buried and grave-posts fixed. At the head of the grave a tubular piece
of cedar or other wood, called the adjedatig, is set. This
grave-board contains the symbolic or representative figure, which
records, if it be a warrior, his totem, that is to say the symbol of his
family, or surname, and such arithmetical or other devices as seem to
denote how many times the deceased has been in war parties, and how many
scalps he has taken from the enemy—two facts from which his
reputation is essentially to be derived. It is seldom that more is
attempted in the way of inscription. Often, however, distinguished
chiefs have their war flag,
198

or, in modern days, a small ensign of American fabric, displayed on
a standard at the head of their graves, which is left to fly over the
deceased till it is wasted by the elements. Scalps of their enemies,
feathers of the bald or black eagle, the swallow-tailed falcon, or some
carnivorous bird, are also placed, in such instances, on the
adjedatig, or suspended, with offerings of various kinds, on a
separate staff. But the latter are superadditions of a religious
character, and belong to the class of the Ke-ke-wa-o-win-an-tig
(ante, No. 4). The building of a funeral fire on recent
graves is also a rite which belongs to the consideration of their
religious faith.

FIRES.

It is extremely difficult to determine why the custom of building
fires on or near graves was originated, some authors stating that the
soul thereby underwent a certain process of purification, others that
demons were driven away by them, and again that they were to afford
light to the wandering soul setting out for the spirit land. One writer
states that—

The Algonkins believed that the fire lighted nightly on the grave was to
light the spirit on its journey. By a coincidence to be explained by the
universal sacredness of the number, both Algonkins and Mexicans
maintained it for four nights consecutively. The former related the
tradition that one of their ancestors returned from the spirit land and
informed their nation that the journey thither consumed just four days,
and that collecting fuel every night added much to the toil and fatigue
the soul encountered, all of which could be spared it.

So it would appear that the belief existed that the fire was also
intended to assist the spirit in preparing its repast.

Stephen Powers103 gives a tradition current among the Yurok of
California as to the use of fires:

After death they keep a fire burning certain nights in the vicinity of
the grave. They hold and believe, at least the “Big Indians” do, that
the spirits of the departed are compelled to cross an extremely
attenuated greasy pole, which bridges over the chasm of the debatable
land, and that they require the fire to light them on their darksome
journey. A righteous soul traverses the pole quicker than a wicked
one, hence they regulate the number of nights for burning a light
according to the character for goodness or the opposite which the
deceased possessed in this world.

Dr. Emil Bessels, of the Polaris expedition, informs the writer that
a somewhat similar belief obtains among the Esquimaux.

Figure 47 is a fair illustration of a grave-fire; it also shows one
of the grave-posts mentioned in a previous section.

Fig. 47.—Grave Fire.

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SUPERSTITIONS.

An entire volume might well be written which should embrace only an
account of the superstitious regarding death and burial among the
Indians, so thoroughly has the matter been examined and discussed by
various authors, and yet so much still remains to be commented on, but
in this work, which is mainly tentative, and is hoped will be
provocative of future efforts, it is deemed sufficient to give only a
few accounts. The first is by Dr. W. Mathews, United States Army,104
and relates to the Hidatsa:

When a Hidatsa dies, his shade lingers four nights around the camp or
village in which he died, and then goes to the lodge of his departed
kindred in the “village of the dead.” When he has arrived there he is
rewarded for his valor, self-denial, and ambition on earth by receiving
the same regard in the one place as in the other, for there as here the
brave man is honored and the coward despised. Some say that the ghosts
of those that commit suicide occupy a separate part of the village, but
that their condition differs in no wise from that of the others. In the
next world human shades hunt and live in the shades of buffalo and other
animals that have here died. There, too there are four seasons, but they
come in an inverse order to the terrestrial seasons. During the four
nights that the ghost is supposed to linger near his former dwelling,
those who disliked or feared the deceased, and do not wish a visit from
the shade, scorch with red coals a pair of moccasins which they leave at
the door of the lodge. The smell of the burning leather they claim keeps
the ghost out; but the true friends of the dead man take no such
precautions.

From this account it will be seen that the Hidatsa as well as the
Algonkins and Mexicans believed that four days were required before the
spirit could finally leave the earth. Why the smell of burning leather
should be offensive to spirits it would perhaps be fruitless to
speculate on.

The next account, by Keating,105 relating to the Chippewas, shows a
slight analogy regarding the slippery-pole tradition already
alluded to:

The Chippewas believe that there is in man an essence entirely distinct
from the body; they call it Ochechag, and appear to supply to it
the qualities which we refer to the soul. They believe that it quits the
body it the time of death, and repairs to what they term
Chekechekchekawe; this region is supposed to be situated to the
south, and on the shores of the great ocean. Previous to arriving there
they meet with a stream which they are obliged to cross upon a large
snake that answers the purpose of a bridge; those who die from drowning
never succeed in crossing the stream; they are thrown into it and remain
there forever. Some souls come to the edge of the stream, but are
prevented from passing by the snake, which threatens to devour them;
these are the souls of the persons in a lethargy or trance. Being
refused a passage these souls return to their bodies and reanimate them.
They believe that animals have souls, and even that inorganic
substances, such as kettles, &c., have in them a similar
essence.

200

In this land of souls all are treated according to their merits. Those
who have been good men are free from pain; they have no duties to
perform, their time is spent in dancing and singing, and they feed upon
mushrooms, which are very abundant. The souls of bad men are haunted by
the phantom of the persons or things that they have injured; thus, if a
man has destroyed much property the phantoms of the wrecks of this
property obstruct his passage wherever he goes; if he has been cruel to
his dogs or horses they also torment him after death. The ghosts of
those whom during his lifetime he wronged are there permitted to avenge
their injuries. They think that when a soul has crossed the stream it
cannot return to its body, yet they believe in apparitions, and
entertain the opinion that the spirits of the departed will frequently
revisit the abodes of their friends in order to invite them to the other
world, and to forewarn them of their approaching dissolution.

Stephen Powers, in his valuable work so often quoted, gives a number
of examples of superstitions regarding the dead, of which the following
relates to the Karok of California:

How well and truly the Karok reverence the memory of the dead is shown
by the fact that the highest crime one can commit is the
pet-chi-é-ri the mere mention of the dead relative’s name. It is
a deadly insult to the survivors, and can be atoned for only by the same
amount of blood-money paid for willful murder. In default of that they
will have the villain’s blood. *** At
the mention of his name the mouldering skeleton turns in his grave and
groans. They do not like stragglers even to inspect the burial place.
*** They believe that the soul of a good
Karok goes to the “happy western land” beyond the great ocean. That they
have a well-grounded assurance of an immortality beyond the grave is
proven, if not otherwise, by their beautiful and poetical custom of
whispering a message in the ear of the dead. *** Believe that dancing will liberate some relative’s
soul from bonds of death, and restore him to earth.

According to the same author, when a Kelta dies a little bird flies
away with his soul to the spirit land. If he was a bad Indian a hawk
will catch the little bird and eat him up, soul and feathers, but if he
was good he will reach the spirit land. Mr. Powers also states
that—

The Tolowa share in the superstitious observance for the memory of the
dead which is common to the Northern Californian tribes. When I asked
the chief Tahhokolli to tell me the Indian words for “father” and
“mother” and certain others similar, he shook his head mournfully and
said, “All dead,” “All dead,” “No good.” They are forbidden to mention
the name of the dead, as it is a deadly insult to the relatives, *** and that the Mat-tóal hold that the good
depart to a happy region somewhere southward in the great ocean, but the
soul of a bad Indian transmigrates into a grizzly bear, which they
consider, of all animals, the cousin-german of sin.

The same author who has been so freely quoted states as follows
regarding some of the superstitions and beliefs of the Modocs:

*** It has always been one of the most
passionate desires among the Modok, as well as their neighbors, the
Shastika, to live, die, and be buried where they were born. Some of
their usages in regard to the dead and their burial may be gathered from
an incident that occurred while the captives of 1873 were on their way
from the Lava Beds to Fort Klamath, as it was described by an
eye-witness. Curly-headed Jack, a prominent warrior, committed
suicide with a pistol. His mother and female friends gathered about him
and set up a dismal wailing; they besmeared themselves with his blood
and endeavored by other Indian customs to restore his life. The mother
took his head in her lap and scooped the blood from his ear, another old
woman placed her hand upon his heart, and a third blew in his face. The
sight of the group—these poor old women, whose grief was
unfeigned, and the dying man—was terrible in its sadness.
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Outside the tent stood Bogus-Charley, Huka Jim, Shucknasty Jim,
Steamboat Frank, Curly-headed Doctor, and others who had been the dying
man’s companions from childhood, all affected to tears. When he was
lowered into the grave, before the soldiers began to cover the body,
Huka Jim was seen running eagerly about the camp trying to exchange a
two-dollar bill of currency for silver. He owed the dead warrior that
amount of money, and he had grave doubts whether the currency would be
of any use to him in the other world—sad commentary on our
national currency!—and desired to have the coin instead. Procuring
it from one of the soldiers he cast it in and seemed greatly relieved.
All the dead man’s other effects, consisting of clothing, trinkets, and
a half dollar, were interred with him, together with some root-flour as
victual for the journey to the spirit land.

The superstitious fear Indians have of the dead or spirit of the dead
may be observed from the following narrative by Swan.106 It regards the
natives of Washington Territory:

My opinion about the cause of these deserted villages is this: It is the
universal custom with these Indians never to live in a lodge where a
person has died. If a person of importance dies, the lodge is usually
burned down, or taken down and removed to some other part of the bay;
and it can be readily seen that in the case of the Palux Indians, who
had been attacked by the Chehalis people, as before stated, their
relatives chose at once to leave for some other place. This objection to
living in a lodge where a person has died is the reason why their sick
slaves are invariably carried out into the woods, where they remain
either to recover or die. There is, however, no disputing the fact that
an immense mortality has occurred among these people, and they are now
reduced to a mere handful.

The great superstitious dread these Indians have for a dead person, and
their horror of touching a corpse, oftentimes give rise to a difficulty
as to who shall perform the funeral ceremonies; for any person who
handles a dead body must not eat of salmon or sturgeon for thirty days.
Sometimes, in cases of small-pox, I have known them leave the
corpse in the lodge, and all remove elsewhere; and in two instances that
came to my knowledge, the whites had to burn the lodges, with the bodies
in them, to prevent infection.

So, in the instances I have before mentioned, where we had buried
Indians, not one of their friends or relatives could be seen. All kept
in their lodges, singing and drumming to keep away the spirits of the
dead.

According to Bancroft107—

The Tlascaltecs supposed that the common people were after death
transformed into beetles and disgusting objects, while the nobler became
stars and beautiful birds.

The Mosquito Indians of Central America studiously and
superstitiously avoid mentioning the name of the dead, in this regard
resembling those of our own country.

Enough of illustrative examples have now been given, it is thought,
to enable observers to thoroughly comprehend the scope of the proposed
final volume on the mortuary customs of North American Indians, and
while much more might have been added from the stored-up material on
hand, it has not been deemed advisable at this time to yield to a desire
for amplification. The reader will notice, as in the previous paper,
that discussion has been avoided as foreign to the present purpose of
the volume, which is intended, as has been already stated, simply to
induce further investigation and contribution from careful and
conscientious
202

observers. From a perusal of the excerpts from books and correspondence
given will be seen what facts are useful and needed; in short, most of
them may serve as copies for preparation of similar material.

To assist observers, the queries published in the former volume are
also given.

1st. Name of the tribe;
present appellation; former, if differing any; and that used by the
Indians themselves.

2d. Locality, present and
former.—The response should give the range of the tribe and
be full and geographically accurate.

3d. Deaths and funeral
ceremonies; what are the important and characteristic facts
connected with these subjects? How is the corpse prepared after death
and disposed of? How long is it retained? Is it spoken to after death as
if alive? when and where? What is the character of the addresses? What
articles are deposited with it; and why? Is food put in the grave, or in
or near it afterwards? Is this said to be an ancient custom? Are persons
of the same gens buried together; and is the clan distinction obsolete,
or did it ever prevail?

4th. Manner of burial, ancient and
modern; structure and position of the graves;
cremation.—Are burials usually made in high and dry
grounds? Have mounds or tumuli been erected in modern times over the
dead? How is the grave prepared and finished? What position are bodies
placed in? Give reasons therefor if possible. If cremation is or was
practiced, describe the process, disposal of the ashes, and origin of
custom or traditions relating thereto. Are the dead ever eaten by the
survivors? Are bodies deposited in springs or in any body of water? Are
scaffolds or trees used as burial places; if so, describe construction
of the former and how the corpse is prepared, and whether placed in
skins or boxes. Are bodies placed in canoes? State whether they are
suspended from trees, put on scaffolds or posts, allowed to float on the
water or sunk beneath it, or buried in the ground. Can any reasons be
given for the prevalence of any one or all of the methods? Are burial
posts or slabs used, plain, or marked, with flags or other insignia of
position of deceased. Describe embalmment, mummification, desiccation,
or if antiseptic precautions are taken, and subsequent disposal of
remains. Are bones collected and reinterred; describe ceremonies, if
any, whether modern or ancient. If charnel houses exist or have been
used, describe them.

5th. Mourning
observances.—Is scarification practiced, or personal
mutilation? What is the garb or sign of mourning? How are the dead
lamented? Are periodical visits made to the grave? Do widows carry
symbols of their deceased children or husbands, and for how long? Are
sacrifices, human or otherwise, voluntary or involuntary, offered? Are
fires kindled on graves; why, and at what time, and for how long?

6th. Burial traditions and
superstitions.—Give in full all that
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can be learned on these subjects, as they are full of interest and very
important.

In short, every fact bearing on the disposal of the dead; and
correlative customs are needed, and details should be as succinct and
full as possible.

One of the most important matters upon which information is needed is
the “why” and “wherefore” for every rite and custom; for, as a rule,
observers are content to simply state a certain occurrence as a fact,
but take very little trouble to inquire the reason for it.

Any material the result of careful observation will be most
gratefully received and acknowledged in the final volume; but the writer
must here confess the lasting obligation he is under to those who have
already contributed, a number so large that limited space precludes
a mention of their individual names.

Criticism and comments are earnestly invited from all those
interested in the special subject of this paper and anthropology in
general. Contributions are also requested from persons acquainted with
curious forms of burial prevailing among other tribes of savage men.

The lithographs which illustrate this paper have been made by Thos.
Sinclair & Son, of Philadelphia, Pa., after original drawings made
by Mr. W. H. Holmes, who has with great kindness superintended
their preparation.