Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1885-12-17
INDIAN BURIAL RITES.


zied fanatical fashion, which causes them
to sacrifice their most treasured belong
ings upon the funeral pile. Many Of
them viii tear of their best blankets,
fnger-rings, earrings, sandals and leg
gins and throw them into the fire, laugh
ing and gesticulating wildly and trans
fixing the bystanders, if there are any,
with unutterable horror.
When an Indian dies it is considered
necessary for all his relatives to see and
examine the body in order to make sure
of the fact that he died natural death.
They are SO stringent on this point that
if there remained one relative who had
not seen and tested the corpse, the death
was not thought to have occurred from
natural causes. In such case the absent
relative deemed it his duty to kill those
who sat in Judgment over the dead body
as rebuke for their lack Of discernment
and the small honor they paid him in
daring to arrive at conclusion without
his assistance.
When Carib or Jamaican Indian dies
he is Immediately painted all over with
roucou, and his face and mustaches are
painted differently from what they were
in life. A grave is then dug, into which
the Indian is thrust in a sitting posture,
his cheek on his hand, or his elbow on
his knee, just as he has been accustomed
to sit in life. No part Of the body
touches the outside Of the grave, which
is covered with wood and mats. The
paint which has preserved the Indians in
life from the sun, the storm and the
ravages Of insects proves simple en-
balmer in death, and bodies thus treated
remain intact for years.
When great chieftain is buried they
place in his mouth two gold twenties,
and other smaller coins in his ears and
hands, and place beside him all of his
feathers, blankets, bows and arrows,
which. he is supposed to take to the happy
hunting grounds, even though they as
cend with his charred remains in
wreath of fire. The remaining friends
and relatives begin the exercises by
chanting over the dead body. When
the torch is applied to it, the noise
gradually increases until spirit Of
demoniac fury seems to possess them.
The young English-speaking Indians
area little ashamed of this proceeding
in the presence Of spectators, but they
soon forget themselves and enter with
relish into the horrible exercises attend
ant upon the funeral. Many Of them in
their intense excitement would cast
themselves into the flames but that they
are restrained BY their companions.
In opening Indian burial mounds
skulls are often found which have been
used as receptaclestor the ashes Of the
bodies. Lying beside them are found
large quantities of human bones and
many pieces Of bright colored earthen
pottery. These discoveries seem to in
dicate that the cremations have been
only partial, as the bones have been
carefully rescued from the fire and pre-
served in their original shapes.
The methods of Indian burial are as
varied as they are curious; singular bur
ials are often unearthed by plow-shares,
one of the most peculiar instances on
record being that of hollow layer of
charcoal, beneath which was slab Of
burnt clay about seven feet in length.
Nothing was found beneath the slab, but
on examing its under side mold of
perfect human figure was discovered.
It has since been discovered that this
mold was made by placing the body in
a pit, face downward, then over it was
nodded covering Of mortar, fitting the
form snd features. On this was built a
hot fire, which formed an entire shield
Of pottery for the corpse. The breaking
up one such tomb gives a perfect cast
Of the form Of the occupant.
Lodge burials, or burials above the
ground, are by no means common among
the Indians, although they are sometime
found, and regarded as great curiosities.
They include house, box, scaffold and
tree burial. The lodges are found
pitched upon the open prairie, and in
them are found the bodies of Indians
laid out on the ground wrapped in Buff
falo skins, with all their implements Of
peace and war piled up above them.
Some of the lodges contain three bodies,
others only one. A traveller relates of
the Sioux burials that he one day diseov-
cred small wigwam, in which was
found the dead body of girl attired in
the brightest of leggins, having beads on
her neck and in her ears, wearing mecca
sins, and presenting altogether an ap-
pearance as if she were deckcd out for a
holiday. Investigation proved that she
had been seized with cholera, and had
been buried while she was yet allye-a
living sacrifice to the horror of her peo-
ple for this dread disease, which they at
tribute to some supernatural influence.
The Shoshones Of Nevada never bury
their dead, more than to cover them
with leaves and brush. The atmosphere
il SO dry that decomposition does not en-
sue, and six weeks after the so-called
burial bodies are found 50 dried up and
shriveled as to be quite hideous in their
aspect.
The Indians Of Alaska often bury