See on his mat, as if of yore,
How lifelike sits he here;
With the same aspect that he wore
When life to him was dear.
But where the right arm’s strength, and where
The breath he used to breathe
To the Great Spirit aloft in air,
The peace-pipe’s lusty wreath?
And where the hawk-like eye, alas!
That wont the deer pursue
Along the waves of rippling grass,
Or fields that shone with dew?
Are these the limber, bounding feet
That swept the winter snows?
What startled deer was half so fleet,
Their speed outstripped the roe’s.
These hands that once the sturdy bow
Could supple from its pride,
How stark and helpless hang they now
Adown the stiffened side!
Yet weal to him! at peace he strays
Where never fall the snows,
Where o’er the meadow springs the maize
That mortal never sows;
Where birds are blithe in every brake,
Where forests teem with deer,
Where glide the fish through every lake,
One chase from year to year!
With spirits now he feasts above;
All left us, to revere
The deeds we cherish with our love,
The rest we bury here.
Here bring the last gifts, loud and shrill
Wail death-dirge of the brave
What pleased him most in life may still
Give pleasure in the grave.
We lay the axe beneath his head
He swung when strength was strong,
The bear on which his hunger fed--
The way from earth is long!
And here, new-sharpened, place the knife
Which severed from the clay,
From which the axe had spoiled the life,
The conquered scalp away.
The paints that deck the dead bestow,
Aye, place them in his hand,
That red the kingly shade may glow
Amid the spirit land.
The position in which the body is placed, as mentioned by Dr. McChesney,
face upwards, while of common occurrence among most tribes of Indians,
is not invariable as a rule, for the writer discovered at a cemetery
belonging to an ancient pueblo in the valley of the Chama, near Abiquiu,
N. Mex., a number of bodies, all of which had been buried face downward.
The account originally appeared in Field and Forest, 1877, vol. iii,
No. 1, p. 9.
On each side of the town were noticed two small arroyas or water
washed ditches, within 30 feet of the walls, and a careful
examination of these revealed the objects of our search. At the
bottom of the arroyas, which have certainly formed subsequent to the
occupation of the village, we found portions of human remains, and
following up the walls of the ditch soon had the pleasure of
discovering several skeletons _in situ_. The first found was in the
eastern arroya, and the grave in depth was nearly 8 feet below the
surface of the mesa. The body had been placed in the grave face
downward, the head pointing to the south. Two feet above the
skeleton were two shining black earthen vases, containing small bits
of charcoal, the bones of mammals, birds, and partially consumed
corn, and above these “_ollas_” the earth to the surface was filled
with pieces of charcoal. Doubtless the remains found in the vases
served at a funeral feast prior to the inhumation. We examined very
carefully this grave, hoping to find some utensils, ornaments, or
weapons, but none rewarded our search. In all of the graves examined
the bodies were found in similar positions and under similar
circumstances in both arroyas, several of the skeletons being those
of children. No information could be obtained as to the probable age
of these interments, the present Indians considering them as dating
from the time when their ancestors with Moctezuma came from the
_north_.
The Coyotero Apaches, according to Dr. W. J. Hoffman,[12] in disposing
of their dead, seem to be actuated by the desire to spare themselves any
needless trouble, and prepare the defunct and the grave in this manner:
The Coyoteros, upon the death of a member of the tribe, partially
wrap up the corpse and deposit it into the cavity left by the
removal of a small rock or the stump of a tree. After the body has
been crammed into the smallest possible space the rock or stump is
again rolled into its former position, when a number of stones are
placed around the base to keep out the coyotes. The nearest of kin
usually mourn for the period of one month, during that time giving
utterance at intervals to the most dismal lamentations, which are
apparently sincere. During the day this obligation is frequently
neglected or forgotten, but when the mourner is reminded of his duty
he renews his howling with evident interest. This custom of mourning
for the period of thirty days corresponds to that formerly observed
by the Natchez.
Somewhat similar to this rude mode of sepulture is that described in the
life of Moses Van Campen,[13] which relates to the Indians formerly
inhabiting Pennsylvania:
Directly after, the Indians proceeded to bury those who had fallen
in battle, which they did by rolling an old log from its place and
laying the body in the hollow thus made, and then heaping upon it a
little earth.
As a somewhat curious, if not exceptional, interment, the following
account, relating to the Indians of New York, is furnished, by Mr.
Franklin B. Hough, who has extracted it from an unpublished journal of
the agents of a French company kept in 1794: