The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1875-07-24
Indian Burial In Oregon.

Indian Agent CA. Huntington writes
30 The Pacific Christian Adrocate, OF
Portland Oregon, from Neah Bay In
dian Reservation, an account Of the first
Christian burial among the Makah tribe
of Indians. He says:
The fear Of human corpse, the fear of
being brought in contact with it, or with
ANYTHING that has touched it, is absolut-
ly pitiable, as it is seen amtng these 1ndi
ans. A little girl connected with our
mission school died this morning June
l4l, and it was resolved to give her
Christian burial. The Indian mode is
to remove the corpse of the PREMISES in
stantly after the breath leaves the body,
and as they have superstition that if
carried through the door of house,
the first person that passes through the
door is doomed to die soon afterward, the
general custom is to make an opening
through tho side of the house through
which the body is passed out, and then
the opening is closed. This makes the
exit of the dead possible without en-
dangering the life OF the other inmates.
But the body of this child was taken in
charge by the agent. She was properly
laid out Immediately after death, and
none of the Indians were allowed to
interfere while good coffin was made
by the reservation carpenter. A grave
was dug at point near where the school
is kept the funeral was appointed at
three o'clock, and all the Indians invited
to attend. The distance from Neah
Bay to the grave is two miles, andin was
necessary to carry the coffin in canoe.
The head chief of the tribe, man of
more Intelligence and more mani God
than any other Indian in the tribe, was
ordered to take the corpse into the canoe
with the mother Of the deceased, and
carry them to the place of burial. The
chief did not object to do this. He never
objects to any order of the agent, how
ever disagreeable. He is always prompt
to obey any request. The coffin was
brough: To the beach, some hundred
wards from the grave, where the school
and the agents family met it in process
sion. The purpose was to have the In
dian boys at the school act us bearers.
This they were all afraid to do. But 1t
WAS point to gain, to induce some of
them to do this service. Out Of twelve
BOYS four were Induced by persuasion,
amounting almost to compulsion,t to put
hand to the bier and bear the coffin to
the grave. The lid was then lifted and
all the school children brought near
TO view the face of the corpse, an act
that caused the children much fear and
to the older Indians it seemed horrible.
The school thus standing around the
grave sung the familiar school song,
"Rcst for the weary" and after prayer
offered by the agent, that other sweet
hymn, There isa beautiful land on high
when the coffin was lowered and buried,
But the fact of most significant import
remains yet to be stated, Il fact that reveals
the deep-seated superstition of those
people DO you think that canoe in
which the chief conveyed that corpse was
ever to be used again? BIZ no means,
Having been the receptacle OF coffin
containing the remains of u human
corpse, it must never again DO used as a
vehicle for the living. And the owner
demolished it on the spot in no spirit of
anger toward the agent who had order
ed duty evidently revolving to his feel
ings, bus more in tho spirit Of a willing
sacrifice upon the altar Of his superst-
ton.