Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-12-18

men. who sped kin on his way The
sacs and foxes observe this manner ~
burial in their mortnAry customs The
otoe and Missouri triees followed
somewhat this mode 81 burial with
slight variations The Indian women
cut their hair Ell. Then the relatives
danced tomshawk 70 arrive away the
death spirit
The Pimss OF ArizonA bury their dead
Nv night Sometimes after tie grsves
are dug the sick recover. In thai case
the grave Is always left open I'LL tbs
person dies The place Of burial Is Al
ways. il possible. in grove OF neS-
quite trees The custom Of destroying
al the personal effects Of the husband
when hs dies impoverishes the bride
AS consequence women do not care 10
have many children and infanticide
prevails 10 . great extent The fukD
Of California adopt the same custom
The ComAnches Of the Indian N,Fzi.
tory adopt precisely the other extreme
Before . person dies his knees arc
doubled up and the head bent down
upon the knees. The dying person h
roped firmly In this position. A blanket
IL wrapped round the body and ropcd-
The body is then placed in sitting
posture in = saddle ON pony. for .
Comanche Is all horsemAnship "a the
last. squaw riding behind TO hold the
body mp. AZ soon as the grave Is
reached the corpse is literally tumbled
in. The grave Is found generally II the
heads Of canyons or deep washes
Broken bows and ARROWS are thrown In
after the body. A pony Is killed and
away rides the spirit Of the departed 70
the happy hunting grounds.
The Pueblos Of New Mexico bury
their dead horizontally in the grave aad
level II with the ground, go that YOU
cannot And it. They paint the body
and put ornaments in the grave, and
also food TO feed the departed on HE
Journey. A wake, with lighted candica.
followed By q supper. prececes the bur
ial. The Preb.os howl over the hocy.
mourn for one year. have high mass said
for the repose Of the soul and are hap
py The Wichita Indians OF the tat
tooed eyelids cry the town at death,
ride the corpse to the grave on a pony.
build a palisade Of poles round the
grave and shave OF the grass within.
The relatives do no, as a rule 60 20 the
grave The Caddoes or Timber Indians
| leave tteir dead. IL killed IN battle. 10
| be- devoured by birds or beasts OF prey.
Outside of this instance they follow the
foregoing custom
The Parsce towers OF silence on Aala-
bar hill, oiled with dead and crowned
with a circle Of living vultures. waiting
TO glut their greed upon the bodies
below. are type Of this. They
have in . rude way their followers
among the Indians. though the oxcep-
tons are few. The Trinity and Klamath
Indians of the Northwest coast bury In
q grave with a circular stone coping. on
which the birds sit
Black Bird. the great war chief OF the
Omahas at his own request was buried
| on the top OF high hin. logged out Ia
all his plu,ned flnery and seated astride
the back Of his living snow-white s;ee3.
Gradually the tur;s were heaped around
| the limps and TANKS Of the animal.
covering him all over the body a. they
rose higher and higher. till at last Only
the nozzle of the noble brute peeped
out OF the mound for last breath.
when with a single large turf the
smooth mound closed over forever ana
not a struggle beneath its smooth surface
told the story Of the living steed that
lay folded beneath 1t.
There is still another form Of burial.
II is aquatic burial. The Karaguc
bury their common people by sinking
their bodies in q stream. Sometimes a
canoe Is turned adrift on o stream or
over . fall. Niagara has seen many
such funeral both Of the dead and Of
the living. There are few very de-
nraved tribes who cat theix dead and
thus become living sepulchres entoinbed
with the departed.
Posts, with Indian characters grsved
on them. are sometimes placed at the
heads of graves. fires are kiDdled.
dances are performed. sacrifices offered.
feasts made and gambling indulged in
with plum stones. cbsrsctcristically
marked. The superstisions indulgcd In
arc as sadly grotesque and a. cruelty
irnperious as the ignorance Of the prim
tive race can make them
The Indian breads death. He vii
take no open or even chances for hi'
life until he is certain that he has your
FIRST lie is always armed. An Indian
without his gun is dead Indian.
Such are the various mortuary Gus
toms Of the Indian country.
All this the pine tree told me as y
sang its lullaby in the hushed up valley
around that little grave For he IL ~
membcrcd that whatever he the mold
of burial. in eorpe mysterious way q
cnbnlminv. or strewing, or staring
; or fcrkinr. or posting. cr scaIoio
ing. or pickctinc. or tree burial. IN
some way the pine tree plays ID
part. The shades Of the dead phns
, in ID. bear~ed ssblc~. the plumes a
the warrior toss on It's tasseled tips
the meiieine Of the conjurer lurls In IN
, Legendary semets, che nsir~cle ~ heal
inc works in it's brand scattering bsl
sams. the voice of sad heart broke,
, people steals In IL "AisercrS~ on tls
stall air and strangely whisper: Milan