Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1888-01-07
ROASTED INDIANS.

4lVtAOlIU LIN
CREMATION As PRAcTIcED BY THE
THLlNkETs OF ALASKA.
Providing h Spirit with . Square Meal.
A Corpse Awaiting Burial-wreird 9csns
at the Funeral-How the Cremation Il
Conducted.
Among those Indians known a. the
Thlinkets, who inhabit the coast and con-
tiguous islands Of southeastern ALASKA,
the practice Of cremation IL universal, ex.
eept in the case Of shamans OF medicine
men, whose spirits after death inhabit q
higher world apart from the common
scarcely worthy Of this distinction.
The Thlinket believes that shortly be.
fore death the spirit Of some loved friend
gone before viii appear to him, saying:
my dear brother, or good friend, you can
last hut a few suns longer, and IL Is best
20, for life is but hard; so be ready, for I
will soon come to lead your spirit to q
land where all Is happiness"
With the last breath tidings 20 out to
the clan, who assemble with blackened
faces to mourn the dead, and in former
years the nearer relatives cut of the hair.
The corpse is now dressed in the most
valued garments, the face decorated in
red and black, and placed in a sitting po-
sition, with back to the wall, opposite the
entrance. AL the property Of the de-
ceased is now brought and piled or either
hand-the Thlinket counts his Wenlth In
blankets, kept stored away in camphor
wood or cedar chests. Masks, ~rattles.
robes, guns, hunting and fishing nipple.
ments and dancing paraphernalia are
placed directly around; the head Is sur
mounted by q grotesquely carved wooden
mask In totemic design, brilliant in its in
laying Of holiotis shell and topped by .
semi-transparent forest Of sea lion whisk-
ers, while over the body is thrown q
highly ornamental blanket, woven from
the dner fleece Of the mountain goat and
worked In black, white, yellow and blue
from old pattern boards that have been
handed down through generations until
the designs have become conventional.
For three days the dead remains a silent
spectator Of household affairs, which have
to go on much a. usual, as a number Of
families live under the same roof. Wis.,
itors come and go, food Is prepared Ut tho
common central fire, and children toddle
about, tumbling over the sleeping dogs;
but a general air Of quiet prevails until
nightfall, when the tribe assemble with
drum, rattle and dancing sticks, and to
their measured accompaniment keep time
in monotonous chant. eulogizing and la
menting the dead.
The scene is weird to degree, the many
eolornA h1uukoku cha hlool,oo>l Pano. <LA
walls hung with arms and fishing imple-
ments. the curiously carved and colored
house posts; while f~estoons of dried fish
and meat depend from the roof, and all
seen through the f1tful flashes of the great
cracking fire of cedar logs, over which at
| intervals oil Is dashed ia redouble the
effect.
For three nights this scene Is repeated,
but on the third day the wealth Of the de-
ceased ia distributed among the relatives,
each ono receiving q certain portion, as
Judged by popular consent.
The funeral pyre Is now erected directly
in rear Of the house or on tho outskirts Of
the village, In proximity to tho shore.
Logs OF tho fragrant yellow cedar are now
brought and laid upon each other, forming
a hollow parallelogram seven feet long BY
three wide. At a height Of from two to
three feet q flooring Of logs is laid, leaving
air spaces between them, above which tho
walls are continued for another foot. Be-
meath the flooring aud around the sides
kidding and spruce knots saturated with
gum, arc placed.
All being in readiness, on this, the
fourth, day, the class assemble, a plank
is removed from the side Of end Of the
house, and through this opening the dead
Is carried on . mat made from tho inner
bark Of the red cedar, for it Is . strongly
rooted superstition among these people
that should the body pass through the
doorway. that later the death spirit would
return to claim more victims. As the
body Is carried out an old woman takeS
some Goals and burning fragments from
the IRE and scatters them after Il, to drive
away the spirit Ut death and cleanse the
p~assageway, and aftsrward throws out .
dog to accompany it, masters spirit 70 the
world beyond.
The procession now makes Its way
slowly toward the plaos selected tor ere.
nation, and when reached the body Il
deposited on tho raised flooring Of tho
pyre and q torch applied to the restnous
splinters readily igniting tho whole mass.
! The women IL full dancing hnbiliments,
consisting Of u blue black blanket faced
with red cloth and ornamented with hun
drcds Of mother Of pearl buttons, fancy
colored caps or headdresses of raven OF
eagle feathers, immense earrings and nose
pendants, faces blackened and carrying
in the right hand a long pole, the end
decorated with eprigs Of evergreen and
bright streamers, form in a half circle
about the head of the pile. The men,
with dancing sticks and ~rattles, are
grouped on n side. The nearer rela.
tives sit about pr~omiscuously, moaning
and wailing. The older men lead the
chant or dirge, which is Joined in by all,
and to its slow notes the women keer
time with the body swaying from side tc
side and bowling In unison, reminding one
of the famous sword dance of the Bedou'
ms.
Oftentimes tho arms and personal be
longings Of the deceased are thrown on
the fire, which, by means of long poles,
Is constantly stirred, and the chant con
tinues until the body Is reduced to ashes
and the logs consumed. Tho family col
lect any remains of bones and the sup
posed ashes, which are carefully deposited
In small decorated boxes or trunks GOV
cred with cedar mating, corded with
spruce roots, and finally placed in deaf
houses or family vaults directly in rear o
the houses.
Every one now returns to the house
where a grand feast Is prepared, consist
ing Of dried salmon dipped in seal oil, her
ring spawn potatoes, roots, berries. edible