The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1835-02-13 00:00:00

FUNERAL OF' A CHIPPEWA INDIAN.

On Monday, at half-past three o'clock, the remains of the
young Indian, Nee-inee-nam-quam, or Thunder and Light-
ning; were interred in the burying-ground of Waterloo church..
A vast concourse of persons had assembled to witness the cere-
mony; it was with difficulty the procession could move along,
notwithstanding the best exertions of the constables of the thea-
tre and the assistance of a party of the new police. The coffin
was handsomely mounted; on the plate was inscribed, "An-
toine Nee-mee-nain-quam, aged 26." The pall was borne vy
Messrs. Elliot, Hugnes, Bender, Batter, Gill, .and Griffiths,)
belonging to the theatre. The chief, Mtik-coon-ee, the Cub, or
Little Bear, walked as chief mourner ; and with him Shaw-
wash, or Big Sword, second in command ,in the tribe; then
followed 0-iung-gas-kon-dads-wa, or Flying Squirrel, with
whom was M. Dunord, the interpreter. There were also fol-
lowing the body, Messrs. Gale, Allan, Ransford, Ross War-
dell, &c., belonging to the company.
The coffin was carried into the church. • The. Indians took
Their seats near the reading desk, and by their demeanour any
one would have imagined that they understood and could feel
:the expression of the solemn service. • When the coffin was
' removed to the grave, the interruption made by the crowd was
must indecorous. When the clergyman had finished the service
on the ground, the chief requested 'Shaw-wash, his senior in
years, to perform their own native service, which consisted of
an oration delivered in their own lafiguage, addressed to the
spirit of the deceased. The, orator' commenced with pronounc-
ing the name of the deceased, the same as he would do to call
the attention of a person in life to listen to what he had to say.
The address was spoken with much energy. According to their
custom, the chief threw on the first handful of earth, and the
'other two Indians followed his example in throwing on a hand-
ful of earth, as did also all those who especially attended the
funeral. They insisted on seeing the grave of their countryman •
filled up before they left it; which request was complied with.
The wife of the chief was buried in the same churchyard two
weeks ago; and, according to their native custom, he had
marked the site -of the grave with his "totem;" by which he
expected that: as in his own country, the patch of ground would
be respected in a special degree. He had expressed a desire
that, the body of the young Indian should be laid contiguous to
the grave of the Squaw, but he was also exceedingly desirous
that her grave should not be disturbed. At first, his mind
probably being engaged with the service, he did not take such
very particular notice of the spot, but he at length expressed
his conviction that the grave was the same in which the Squaw
had been interred, and he had not seen her coffin. Ile had at
her funeral, with Indian accuracy, taken the bearings in every
direction from objects to which he pointed, as if he would say
that he could have told the spot without any other marks but
thes?. But, besides, he had placed his " totem" on the adja-
cent tombstone. The " totem" is a badge of distinction by
which they are known throughout the tribes. The mark is .en-
graved on a silver plate or. medal. The chief wears a number
of " totems" of 'his ancesters round his neck ; but that which is
his own,
we believe, is meant to represent a tortoise, and the
mark he used is a rude outline of that animal. Great pains
were taken to explain to him that the grave of his wife had not
been disturbed; but he was not to be convinced. He was told
th4t the law as it had been. lately, altered praven,ted the acts of
resurrectionists; but still he was incredulous. lie said, The
law might he.very good, but it might be that the people of this
country might not like au Indian to be buried in.the 'same
ground—it was of no use to tell an Indian lies--ludians!never
told lies—had only a handful of earth been removed to show
him the Squaw's coffinlvas safe he would have seen satisfied—
and he must see." The latter phrase lie expressed in good Eng-
lish. The grave having been filled up
by
east five o'clock, he was at last satished' this time, and it being.
with the assurance that
fie should be convinced the coffin of his wife was sate in the
ground on a future day. He would depend upon that promise,
and he added, "If I do not 'find it so, my heart will swell as
big as He here made use of some gesticulation to im-
ply vast bulk.
•
NVlien they returned to' his lodgings in the Waterloo-road he
renewed the subject, but was again appeased on the above pro-
mise. During all this expostulation there was a marked dig-
nity in his manner, but he manifested all the characteristics of
a good-tempered and business-like firmness of purpose. He
then addressed the company in the room, which his interpreter
repeated after him nearly as follows :—He said "There were
many men—they were of different colours of skin,:but they had
the same blood and they had all the same hearts. The same
great Being who had made the sun and the moon, and all which
they saw, had made them, and they were all as brothers sprung
from one fattier. He was grateful for the respect that had been
paid by the people to the interment of his wife, and now to the
interment of one of his tribe." His manner, while delivering
this brief speech, was exceedingly impressive.
The Squaw, the sister of the chief, could not be prevailed
upon to attend the funeral. The young Indian had been de-
sirousto make her his wife, but she had
rejected his offer be-
cause of his carelessness of habits ; he would never keep any
property he acquired; he was seldom possessed of more than the
clothes lie wore, and his arms and his blanket. On one occa-
sion, in his own country, they say he sold a horse worth 200
dollars for one gallon of whisky. lie pursued the same habits
here. The others are also, in some in degree, addicted to 'drink-
of their .friend's death, they have formed a determination to
guard against it. By their laws of reckoning, he who is called
the Flying Squirrel having been injured in his youth, and con-
sequently partially deformed, is ranked as a woman in the
tribe, and never called upon to go to the wars.
When the Squaw was dying, application was made to the
Rev. Robert Irving to baptise her, and he attended and per-
formed the office, at the same time refusing to accept any lee.
The death of the youth was suddden and unexpected, but on
the first apprehension of danger, which was momentary, the
interpreter, M. Dunord, a catholic, baptised him according to
a form perrnitted,in his church, at the time that the poor fellow
was breathing his last.