_Of the Manner in which they treat their_ DEAD.
AN Indian meets death when it approaches him in his hut, with the same
resolution he has often faced him in the field. His indifference
relative to this important article, which is the source of so many
apprehensions to almost every other nation, is truly admirable. When his
fate is pronounced by the physician, and it remains no longer uncertain,
he harangues those about him with the greatest composure.
If he is a chief and has a family, he makes a kind of funeral oration,
which he concludes by giving to his children such advice for the
regulation of their conduct as he thinks necessary. He then takes leave
of his friends, and issues out orders for the preparation of a feast,
which is designed to regale those of his tribe that come to pronounce
his eulogium.
After the breath is departed, the body is dressed in the same attire it
usually wore whilst living, his face is painted, and he is seated in an
erect posture on a mat or skin placed in the middle of the hut, with his
weapons by his side. His relations being seated round, each harangues in
turn the deceased; and if he has been a great warrior, recounts his
heroic actions nearly to the following purport, which in the Indian
language is extremely poetical and pleasing:
“You still sit among us, Brother, your person retains its usual
resemblance, and continues similar to ours, without any visible
deficiency, except that it has lost the power of action. But whither is
that breath flown, which a few hours ago sent up smoke to the Great
Spirit? Why are those lips silent, that lately delivered to us
expressive and pleasing language? why are those feet motionless, that a
short time ago were fleeter than the deer on yonder mountains? why
useless hang those arms that could climb the tallest tree, or draw the
toughest bow? Alas! every part of that frame which we lately beheld with
admiration and wonder, is now become as inanimate as it was three
hundred winters ago. We will not, however, bemoan thee as if thou wast
for ever lost to us, or that thy name would be buried in oblivion; thy
soul yet lives in the great Country of Spirits, with those of thy nation
that are gone before thee; and though we are left behind to perpetuate
thy fame, we shall one day join thee. Actuated by the respect we bore
thee whilst living, we now come to tender to thee the last act of
kindness it is in our power to bestow: that thy body might not lie
neglected on the plain, and become a prey to the beasts of the field, or
the fowls of the air, we will take care to lay it with those of thy
predecessors who are gone before thee; hoping at the same time, that thy
spirit will feed with their spirits, and be ready to receive ours, when
we also shall arrive at the great Country of Souls.”
In short speeches somewhat similar to this does every chief speak the
praises of his departed friend. When they have so done, if they happen
to be at a great distance from the place of interment appropriated to
their tribe, and the person dies during the winter season, they wrap the
body in skins, and lay it on a high stage built for this purpose, or on
the branches of a large tree, till the spring arrives. They then, after
the manner described in my Journal, carry it, together with all those
belonging to the same nation, to the general burial-place, where it is
interred with some other ceremonies that I could not discover.
When the Naudowessies brought their dead for interment to the great
cave, I attempted to get an insight into the remaining burial rites; but
whether it was on account of the stench which arose from so many bodies,
the weather being then hot, or whether they chose to keep this part of
their customs secret from me, I could not discover; I found, however,
that they considered my curiosity as ill-timed, and therefore I
withdrew.
After the interment, the band to which the person belongs, take care to
fix near the place such hieroglyphicks as shall show to future ages his
merit and accomplishments. If any of these people die in the summer at a
distance from the burying-ground, and they find it impossible to remove
the body before it putrefies, they burn the flesh from the bones, and
preserving the latter, bury them in the manner described.
As the Indians believe that the souls of the deceased employ themselves
in the same manner in the country of spirits, as they did on earth, that
they acquire their food by hunting, and have there, also, enemies to
contend with, they take care that they do not enter those regions
defenceless and unprovided: they consequently bury with them their bows,
their arrows, and all the other weapons used either in hunting or war.
As they doubt not but they will likewise have occasion both for the
necessaries of life, and those things they esteem as ornaments, they
usually deposit in their tombs such skins or stuffs as they commonly
made their garments of, domestic utensils, and paint for ornamenting
their persons.
The near relations of the deceased lament his loss with an appearance of
great sorrow and anguish; they weep and howl, and make use of many
contortions, as they sit in the hut or tent around the body, when the
intervals between the praises of the chiefs will permit.
One formality in mourning for the dead among the Naudowessies is very
different from any mode I observed in the other nations through which I
passed. The men, to show how great their sorrow is, pierce the flesh of
their arms, above the elbows, with arrows; the scars of which I could
perceive on those of every rank, in a greater or less degree; and the
women cut and gash their legs with sharp broken flints, till the blood
flows very plentifully.
Whilst I remained among them, a couple whose tent was adjacent to mine,
lost a son of about four years of age. The parents were so much affected
at the death of their favourite child, that they pursued the usual
testimonies of grief with such uncommon rigour, as through the weight of
sorrow and loss of blood, to occasion the death of the father. The
woman, who had hitherto been inconsolable, no sooner saw her husband
expire, than she dried up her tears, and appeared cheerful and resigned.
As I knew not how to account for so extraordinary a transition, I took
an opportunity to ask her the reason of it; telling her at the same
time, that I should have imagined the loss of her husband would rather
have occasioned an increase of grief, than such a sudden diminution of
it.
She informed me, that as the child was so young when it died, and unable
to support itself in the country of spirits, both she and her husband
had been apprehensive that its situation would be far from happy; but no
sooner did she behold its father depart for the same place, who not only
loved the child with the tenderest affection, but was a good hunter, and
would be able to provide plentifully for its support, than she ceased to
mourn. She added, that she now saw no reason to continue her tears, as
the child on whom she doated was happy under the care and protection of
a fond father, and she had only one wish that remained ungratified,
which was that of being herself with them.
Expressions so replete with unaffected tenderness, and sentiments that
would have done honour to a Roman matron, made an impression on my mind
greatly in favour of the people to whom she belonged, and tended not a
little to counteract the prejudices I had hitherto entertained, in
common with every other traveller, of Indian insensibility and want of
parental tenderness.
Her subsequent conduct confirmed the favourable opinion I had just
imbibed; and convinced me, that, notwithstanding this apparent
suspension of her grief, some particles of that reluctance to be
separated from a beloved relation, which is implanted either by nature
or custom in every human heart, still lurked in hers. I observed that
she went almost every evening to the foot of the tree, on a branch of
which the bodies of her husband and child were laid, and after cutting
off a lock of her hair, and throwing it on the ground, in a plaintive
melancholy song bemoaned its fate. A recapitulation of the actions he
might have performed, had his life been spared, appeared to be her
favourite theme; and whilst she foretold the fame that would have
attended an imitation of his father’s virtues, her grief seemed to be
suspended:—
“If thou hadst continued with us, my dear Son,” would she cry, “how well
would the bow have become thy hand, and how fatal would thy arrows have
proved to the enemies of our bands. Thou wouldst often have drank their
blood, and eaten their flesh, and numerous slaves would have rewarded
thy toils. With a nervous arm wouldst thou have seized the wounded
buffalo, or have combated the fury of the enraged bear. Thou wouldst
have overtaken the flying elk, and have kept pace on the mountain’s brow
with the fleetest deer. What feats mightest thou not have performed,
hadst thou staid among us till age had given thee strength, and thy
father had instructed thee in every Indian accomplishment!” In terms
like these did this untutored savage bewail the loss of her son, and
frequently would she pass the greatest part of the night in the
affectionate employ.
The Indians in general are very strict in the observance of their laws
relative to mourning for their dead. In some nations they cut off their
hair, blacken their faces, and sit in an erect posture, with their heads
closely covered, and depriving themselves of every pleasure. This
severity is continued for several months, and with some relaxations the
appearance is sometimes kept up for several years. I was told that when
the Naudowessies recollected any incidents of the lives of their
deceased relations, even after an interval of ten years, they would howl
so as to be heard at a great distance. They would sometimes continue
this proof of respect and affection for several hours; and if it
happened that the thought occurred, and the noise was begun towards the
evening, those of their tribe who were at hand would join with them.