One of the most carefully described scenes of mourning at the death of
a chief of the Crows is related in the life of Beckwourth, [Footnote:
Autobiography of James Beckwourth, 1856, p. 260.] who for many years
lived among this people, finally attaining great distinction as a
warrior.
"I dispatched a herald to the village to inform them of the head
chief's death, and then, burying him according to his directions, we
slowly proceeded homewards. My very soul sickened at the contemplation
of the scenes that would be enacted at my arrival. When we drew in
sight of the village, we found every lodge laid prostrate. We entered
amid shrieks, cries, and yells. Blood was streaming from every
conceivable part of the bodies of all who were old enough to
comprehend their loss. Hundreds of fingers were dismembered; hair torn
from the head lay in profusion about the paths, wails and moans in
every direction assailed the ear, where unrestrained joy had a few
hours before prevailed. This fearful mourning lasted until evening of
the next day....
"A herald having been dispatched to our other villages to acquaint them
with the death of our head chief and request them to assemble at the
Rose Bud in order to meet our village and devote themselves to a
general time of mourning there met in conformity with this summons
over ten thousand Crows at the place indicated. Such a scene of
disorderly vociferous mourning no imagination can conceive nor any pen
portray. Long Hair cut off a large roll of his hair, a thing he was
never known to do before. The cutting and hacking of human flesh
exceeded all my previous experience; fingers were dismembered as
readily as twigs, and blood was poured out like water. Many of the
warriors would cut two gashes nearly the entire length of their arm,
then separating the skin from the flesh at one end, would grasp it in
their other hand and rip it asunder to the shoulder. Others would
carve various devices upon their breasts and shoulders and raise the
skin in the same manner to make the scars show to advantage after the
wound was healed. Some of their mutilations were ghastly and my heart
sickened to look at them, but they would not appear to receive any
pain from them."
From I. L. Mahan, United States Indian Agent for the Chippewas of Lake
Superior, Red Cliff, Wisconsin, the following detailed account of
mourning has been received.
There is probably no people that exhibit more sorrow and grief for
their dead than they. The young widow mourns the loss of her husband;
by day as by night she is heard silently sobbing; she is a constant
visitor to the place of rest; with the greatest reluctance will she
follow the raised camp. The friends and relatives of the young mourner
will incessantly devise methods to distract her mind from the thought
of her lost husband. She refuses nourishment but as nature is
exhausted she is prevailed upon to partake of food; the supply is
scant, but on every occasion the best and largest proportion is
deposited upon the grave of her husband. In the mean time the female
relatives of the deceased have according to custom submitted to her
charge a parcel made up of different cloths ornamented with bead-work
and eagles' feathers which she is charged to keep by her side--the
place made vacant by the demise of her husband--a reminder of her
widowhood. She is therefore for a term of twelve moons not permitted
to wear any finery, neither is she permitted to slicken up and comb
her head; this to avoid attracting attention. Once in a while a female
relative of deceased, commiserating with her grief and sorrow, will
visit her and voluntarily proceed to comb out the long-neglected and
matted hair. With a jealous eye a vigilant watch is kept over her
conduct during the term of her widowhood, yet she is allowed the
privilege to marry, any time during her widowhood, an unmarried
brother or cousin, or a person of the same _Dodem_ [_sic_]
(family mark) of her husband.
"At the expiration of her term, the vows having been faithfully
performed and kept, the female relatives of deceased assemble and,
with greetings commensurate to the occasion, proceed to wash her face,
comb her hair, and attire her person with new apparel, and otherwise
demonstrating the release from her vow and restraint. Still she has
not her entire freedom. If she will still refuse to marry a relative
of the deceased and will marry another, she then has to purchase her
freedom by giving a certain amount of goods and whatever else she
might have manufactured during her widowhood in anticipation of the
future now at hand. Frequently, though, during widowhood the vows are
disregarded and an inclination to flirt and play courtship or form an
alliance of marriage outside of the relatives of the deceased is being
indulged, and when discovered the widow is set upon by the female
relatives, her slick braided hair is shorn close up to the back of her
neck, all her apparel and trinkets are torn from her person, and a
quarrel frequently results fatally to some member of one or the other
side."
The substitution of a reminder for the dead husband, made from rags,
furs, and other articles, is not confined alone to the Chippewas,
other tribes having the same custom. In some instances the widows are
obliged to carry around with them, for a variable period, a bundle
containing the bones of the deceased consort.
Benson [Footnote: Life among the Choctaws, 1860, p. 294.] gives the
following account of their funeral ceremonies, embracing the
disposition of the body, mourning feast and dance:
"Their funeral is styled by them 'the last cry.'
"When the husband dies the friends assemble, prepare the grave, and
place the corpse in it, but do not fill it up. The gun, bow and
arrows, hatchet and knife are deposited in the grave. Poles are
planted at the head and the foot, upon which flags are placed; the
grave is then enclosed by pickets driven in the ground. The funeral
ceremonies now begin, the widow being the chief mourner. At night and
morning she will go to the grave and pour forth the most piteous cries
and wailings. It is not important that any other member of the family
should take any very active part in the 'cry,' though they do
participate to some extent.
"The widow wholly neglects her toilet, while she daily goes to the
grave during one entire _moon_ from the date when the death
occurred. On the evening of the last day of the moon the friends all
assemble at the cabin of the disconsolate widow, bringing provisions
for a sumptuous feast, which consists of corn and jerked beef boiled
together in a kettle. While the supper is preparing, the bereaved wife
goes to the grave, and pours out, with unusual vehemence, her bitter
wailings and lamentations. When the food is thoroughly cooked the
kettle is taken from the fire and placed in the center of the cabin,
and the friends gather around it, passing the buffalo-horn spoon from
hand to hand and from mouth to mouth till all have been bountifully
supplied. While supper is being served, two of the oldest men of the
company quietly withdraw and go to the grave and fill it up, taking
down the flags. All then join in a dance, which not unfrequently is
continued till morning; the widow does not fail to unite in the dance,
and to contribute her part to the festivities of the occasion. This is
the '_last cry,_' the days of mourning are ended, and the widow
is now ready to form another matrimonial alliance. The ceremonies are
precisely the same when a man has lost his wife, and they are only
slightly varied when any other member of the family has died. (Slaves
were buried without ceremonies.)"