Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1880-02-21
burial Customs of the Indians.

manner Of procedure in collecting this informa
ton, which will eventually be embodied In 8
s agss0 Of y0ss fSmng 20 S %Srth OF Ams
| can ethnology, prepared under the direc
ton Of Major J. W. Powell, president o.
the society, to whom an American etanolog1sts
parations OF burial were classified for consider
alton as follows First, by inhumation, In pits
graves, holes in the ground, mounds and caves
second, by cremation, generally on the surface
| of the earth, sometimes under, the bones OF
ashes being placed in pits In the ground, In
boxes on scaf1olds or trees or In ovens. and oc.
| casionally scattered to the winds; third, by
| embalmment or process of mummify1ng, the
| remains being afterwards placed In caves
| mounds, dead houses, &C.; fourth, by aerial
sepulture, on scaffolds, trees, boxes and canoes
| the two latter receptacles being placed on scat
| fold posts, or on the ground. Occasionally
baskets have been used for children; fifth
aquatic burial, beneath the water or in canoes
which were turned adrift.
THE CoMMoNEsT MODE
OF burial has been that Of 1nterment In the
ground. This has been done in different ways.
The Mohawks, of New York, made large
round hole In which the body was placed up
tight or upon its launches, after which it was
covered with timber To support the earth which
being pressed. They then raised the earth in a
round hill over 1t. They always dressed the
corpse In all its f1nery and put wampum and
other things into the grave with 1t, and the
grow upon the grave, and frequently visited 1t
and made lamentations. Among the Carolina
tribes, the burial OF the dead was accompanied
| ality attendant upon the funeral according with
| the rank Of the deceased. The corpse was first
placed in cane bundle and deposited in an
clubhouse made for the purpose, where it re-
| manned for day and night, guarded and
mourned over by the nearest relatives. Those
who are to officiate at the funeral go into the
town, and from the backs of the first young
| men they must strip such blankets and match
coats as they deem suitable. In these the dead
body is wrapped and covered with two or three
made OF woven reeds or hollow canes. tied fast at
both ends. The corpse is carried from the house
into an orchard of peach trees. Seated on mats
are congregated the family and tribe of deceased
and invited guests. The medicine man or con-
jurer having enjoined silence then pronounceS
funeral Grafton In which he recounts the ex-
Of deceased; alludes to the void caused by his
death, and counSels those who remain to sup
ply his place by following in his footsteps;
pictures the happiness he VIII EN- enjoy s9!,
an allusion to the prominent traditions Of his
tribe. The corpse Is then taken to the grave'by
four young men, attended by the relatives. the
chiefs, re old men and all the nation. When
they reach the sepulchre which is about foot
deep and eight feet long, having at the head
and foot light wood, or pitch pine fork driven
ground. These two forks were to contain
ridge pole. Before they lay the corpse in the
grave, they cover the bottom two or three times
over with the bark of trees Then they let down
the corpse very slowly upon the barks; then lay
oveE,a pole OF the same wood In the two forks,
and having great many pieces OF pitch pine
logs about two feet and a-half long, they stick
them in the sides Of the grave down each end
and near the top, when the other ends lie in the
ridge pole, making them declining like the top
OF house Being placed very thick, they cover
them many times with bark; then throw the
earth thereon that came out OF the grave and
beat 1t down very firmly. BY this means the
dead body lies in a vault. After time the
body is taken up the bones cleaned and depos-
tied in an assuary called the "Quiogoz en-"
PAID MoURNERs.
These Indians employed paid mourner5 who
blackened their faces, as did the nations of an
tiquity, and that custom with the disuse of the
backing has prevailed in England, France and
Switzerland. OF the Wichita Indians, Indian
crter goes up and down through the village and
announces the fact. Preparations are at once
made for the burial and the body is taken without
delay to the grave lit is some distance, the
first wrapped in blankets and then laid across
the saddle, one walking on either side 10 sup
and OF suf1ie1ent length for the extended body.
Blankets and buffalo robes are laid in the bot
tom, then the body Is unwrapped and dressed
in its best apparel and with ornaments is placed
upon couch of blankets and robes with the
head towards the west the valuables belonging
to the deceased are placed in the grave with the
body, his bows and arrows or gun, or with the
women her cooking utensils and instruments
OF her toll. over the body sticks are
placed six or eight inches Deep and
grass over these, so that when the earth is
body or trappings. After the earth is filled in,
pen of poles is built around it, or stakes are
driven, so that they cross each other from either
side about midway over the grave thus form
Ing a complete protection from Wild animal
After this Is DONE the grass or other debris is
carefully scraped from about the grave for sew
eral feet, SO that the ground is left smooth and
clean. 1t is seldom that the relatives accom-
pany the remains to the grave, but employ
others to bury the body for them, usually
| women.
MOURNING
is similar to that of other tribes and consists in
cutting of the hair, fasting, sc. Horses are also
killed at the grave. If Caddo Indian is killed
In battle, the body is never buried, but is left
| to be devOured by beasts or birds, and the con-
| Gition OF such individuals in the other world Is
believed to be far better than that of persons
| dying natural death. or the stone graves or
| cists, of Tennessee, he said there are many
| burying grounds in West Tennessee with regu-
| lar graves. These graves are eighteen inches
| deep; slabs were placed at the bottoms, ends
and sides, forming kind of stone coffin, and
the body covered with earth. In the summer
of 1878, the speaker assisted at the opening Of a
! number OF graves of men OF
| THE REINDEER PERIOD
near Solutrie in France, and they were almost
| Identical In construction with those of the
| tribes in Tennessee. The Virginia kings after
| death were deposited as follows: The body was
| slit In the back, and through the opening the
! flesh was removed the SineWS being left to pre-.
| serve the attachments of the joints. The bones
| were then dried, the skin being prevented from
| shrinking by an application Of Oil or grease.
They were then carefully disposed in their proper
| places in the skin the yacuitieS caused by the
removal OF the flesh being nicely filled with fine
white Sand so as TO restore the body to the nat
| ural size and appearance. The flesh having
| been exposed upon hurdles to the sun and thor
| oughly dried was served up in basket and set
| at the foot of the body in the charnel house.
| The mode OF
ROCK BURIAL,
which still prevails among the tribes of the
Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevadas was next
considered. In 1872 the lecturer visited one Of
these rock cemeteries In Utah which had been
used for Is or 20 years 1t was situated in
the bottom OF a rock Slide, upon the side OF an
almost inaccessible mountain, in position so
carefully chosen for concealment, that 1t would
have been almost impossible, without a guide,
to find it. Several OF the graves were opened,
and it was found number Of b0ulder5 had
been removed from the bed Of the slide, until
a sufficient cavity had been obtained. The
| cavity was lined with skins, the corpse placed
| in with weapons, ornaments, &C., and covered
| over with saplings OF the mountain aspen; on
| top OF these the removed boulders were piled,
| forming a ca1rn large enough to have marked
| the last resting place of an elephant. In the
| vicinity were scattered the osseouS remains of
horses which had been sacrificed at the funeral