Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1886-02-11
BURNING THE DEAD.
BURIAL PRACTICES OF THE
ALASKAN NATIVES.
Cremating the Bodies and Preserve
ing the Calcined Remains in Min
iature Houses-An Alaskan
Funeral Described.

calcined remains are carafully placed in
miniature houses like tho sRaman's (the
y native medicine maa alsat, instead of
being isolated from each other, the
houses are grouped in a common ceme-
terry, as in civilized communities. The
sites are chosen with respect to pictur-
csque attraction on grassy islands, ,shapely
ridges of land, and curves Of the shore.
On burial island near Methlakatla the
Indians have fashioned number of fir
trees into very artistic patterns. At
Sitka there is long ridge lined. with
several score Of these mortuary recep-
tacles painted in gaudy colors and ar
ranged in parallel rows, interspersed
with fanciful totem poles in quaint de-
vices, on the apex Of each one Of which
is a bear, raven, or an eagle, denoting
the clan to which the deceased belonged
These houses are seldom more than
five or six feet cube, with pyramidal
roof, sometimes surmounted by carved
| image and are very creditable bits of
architecture, considering that the boards
have been split with an ak and smoothed
with an adze. There are cemeteries else
where which are enclosed with neat
whitewashed pliings, and you often see
small jackstaffs with pennants Of white
and colored cotton cloth standing by the
graves. This is where the method of in
terment has been adopted from the
whites, the bodies. being placed in the
earth and carved slabs set up in lieu of
headstones. There are no less than three
other modes of sepulture in Alaska-bur
ial in tents and in canoes raised on stad-
dies out Of reach Of animals, aquatic bur
ial beneath the waves, and in canoes
turned adrift
With so many various methods in vogue
in the same region, one hesitates to lay as
much stress as some ethnologists doupon
the assumed significance Of mortuary
rites and burial as indicating the relig-
ious belief of those who practice them,
It depends much upon circumstances
ssssss present convenience, as we'll rs
the liability to subsequent disturbance,
how Indians, or any other people, bury
their dead. However, it may be said
with regard to cremation, which has long
been the popular form in Alaska, that
the natives believe that the souls of those
who are cremated enter into heaven. The
raven is consequently sacred bird all
over the country, and is never molested.
He is known as s'tilacum CfrienO and it
is considered a good omen when
one of the dismal creatures is
in attendance at a Gre
nation. In Sitka, the presence of ravens
! is as common as of buzzards in some
Southern cities, SO that the people have
no lack Of family associations. The vel
fare Of those who are not cremated is not
50 positively vouched for.
There is very little ceremony now at q
1 cIeuldllOu, OuG III CdI1lCI blliiOS " OO1 cfON
widow was subjected to good deal Of
cruelty, being repeatedly thrown upon
the pyre by sympathizing friends or
demonstrative mourners, and seldom es-
Gaping without serious burns. Very few
had courage to infict the sacrifcial
torture upon themselves. Other near
relatives displayed their sincerity Of grief
by various barbarous mutilations.
Previous to the cremation there is a
good deal of forlnality at the house of
mourning. In Alaskan houses dais or
platform runs around the four sides Of
the interior, which is single apartment
or reception room, opening into small
! staterooms on the side opposite the en-
trance A brick or tagged hearth occu-
pies the centre of the quadrangle, the
smoke from the fire escaping through a
fiatl cupola in the roof, there being no
chimneys. Four totem poles of fantastic
carving and color, showing the geneal-
ogy of the deceased and the clan to
which he belonged, are set up at the four
corners Of the court. They are kept COW
cred while the body sits in state, for the
dead Indian is not laid out on bier, but
is set up on the dais opposite the en-
trance, with his face painted red, a fan
ciful crown on his head, and blanket
over his shoulders, as if living. The
wall behind him is appropriately draped
and sometimes festooned with small
American flags.
On the evening of the day before the
funeral the totem poles are uncovered
and the wailing begins. The whole
space between the dais and the central
fire is crowded with mourners of both
sexes, clad in their best blankets, who
beat the ground with sticks in time with
doleful chant. This lugubri-
GUS singing and shaking Of
rattles and beating of the floor with
long staffs is kept up all night. When
the hour of cremation comes the body is
hoisted out through the roof and carried
to the funeral pile. A corpse is never
taken out Of the door Of house. 1t
would be ''bad medicine, and defle the
temple. Some tribes Of Indians burn the
bark or skin lodge whose inmate dies, OF
they set up the lodge apart from habi-
tations and place the dead body in it, as
is also done in Alaska in some instances.
But this practice would be expensive
where the houses are substantial and hard
to build, as is the case with most Of the
winter residences in Alaska.
! The funeral pile is made Of resinous