144 MORTUARY CUSTOMS OF NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS

of

this rite

among the people spoken of and the Indians of North Amer-

ica,yet,

did space admit,

a

discussion might

profitably

be entered upon regarding

the details

of

it

among the ancients and the

origin of

the

cer-

emony. As

it is,

simple narrations

of

cremation

in this

country, with

discursive

notes and an account

of itsorigin

among the Nishinams

of California,

by Stephen Powers,* seem

to

be

all

that

is

required

at this

time

:

The moon

and the coyotewroughttogetherⁱⁿcreatingallthingsthatexist.

The moon

was good, but the coyote

was

bad. In

making men

and

women

the

moon

wishedtosofashiontheir souls that

when

theydiedtheyshould returntothe earth after

two

or three days, as he himself does

when

he dies. But the coyote

was

evil disposed,andsaid thisshould not be; but that

when men

died their friendsshould burntheir bodies, and oncea year

make

a greatmourningfor

them

; andthecoyote prevailed. So, presently

when

a deer died,theyburned his body,asthe coyote had decreed, and afterayear they

made

a great

mourning

for him. But the

moon

cre- ated the rattlesnake and caused ittobite thecoyote's son, so that he died.

Now,

though the coyote

had

beenwilling to burnthedeer's relations,herefusedtoburn his

own

^son.

Then

the

moon

said unto him, "This is your

own

rule.

You would

haveitso,and

now

yoursoushallbeburnedlikethe others." Sohe

was

burned,and afterayearthe coyote

mourued

for him.

Thus

thelaw

was

establishedover theco- yotealso, and,ashehad dominionovermen, itprevailedover

men

likewise.

Thisstoryisutterly worthless for itself,butithas^itsvalueinthatit.shows there

was

atime

when

the California Indians did not practice cremation,

which

isalsoes- tablished byother traditions. It hintsatthe additionalfact,that theNishinamsto thisdaysetgreat store

by

the

moon

; considerittheirbenefactorin ahundredways, andobserveitschangesforahundredpurposes.

Another myth regarding cremation

is

given by Adam Johnston,

in Schoolcraft,t

and

relatesto

the Bonaks,

orroot-diggers

:

The

firstIndians that,livedwerecoyotes.

When

one oftheir

number

died thebody becamefullof littleanimals or spirits, as they thought, them. After crawling over thebodyforatimetheytookall

manner

of shapes, somethat of thedeer,othersthe elk, antelope, &c. It

was

discovered, however, that great numbers were taking wings,andfora while they sailed aboutintheair, buteventually they

would

flyotf tothemoon.

The

old coyotes or Indians, fearing the earthmight become depopu- lated in thisway, concluded to stopitat once,and ordered that

when

one oftheir people died thebody

must

be burnt. Everafterthey continuedtoburnthebodies of deceasedpersons.

Eoss Cox gives an account

of

the process as performed by

the

Tolko-

tins

of Oregon

^:_$

The

ceremonies attending the dead are verysingular, and quite peculiar to this tribe.

The body

of thedeceasedis keptnine dayslaid outin his lodge,andon the tenthit isburied. Forthis purposea risinggroundis selected,on which are laida

number

ofsticks,about7 feet long, of cypress,neatlysplit, and inthe intersticesis

placed a quantity of

gummy

wood. Duringtheseoperationsinvitations aredispatched tothe natives of theneighboringvillagesrequestingtheirattendanceattheceremony.

When

the preparations are perfected the corpseisplacedonthe pile, whichisimme- diatelyignited,and during the processofburning, the bystandersappear tobe ina

*Cont, toN.A. Ethnol., 1877, vol.iii, p,341.

tHist.Indian Tribes of theUnitedStates, 1854,part IV, p.224.

tAdventuresontheColumbiaRiver,1831, vol.ii,p. 387.

taekow.)

CREMATION OREGON. 145

highstateof merriment. ^Ifa strangerhappentobe present they invariablyplunder him^; butif-that pleasure* be denied them,they never separate without quarreling

among

themselves.

Whatever

property the deceased possessed ^is placedabout the corpse; and^ifhehappened to be a person of consequence,his friends generally pur- chaseacapote, ashirt,a pair oftrousers,

&c,

whicharticlesare also laid aroundthe pile. If the doctor

who

attended

him

has escaped uninjured, he is obliged to be presentat theceremony, andfor thelasttime trieshisskill inrestoring thedefunct toanimation. Failingin this,he throwsonthebodyapieceofleather, orBomeother article,asapresent, which"insome measureappeases the resentment of his relatives, audpreserves the unfortunate quack frombeing maltreated. Duringtheninedays thecorpseislaidout,the

widow

ofthedeceasedisobligedtosleep alongside itfrom sunsetto sunrise; and fromthiscustomthereisnorelaxationeven duringthehottest daysofsummer! While the doctor is performinghis lastoperations shemustlieon thepile,

and

after thefire isappliedtoitshe cannotstir until the doctor ordersher tobo removed,which,however, is never done untilher bodyis completelycovered withblisters. Afterbeing placedonherlegs,sheisobligedtopassherhandsgently throughthe llame and collect some of theliquid fat.which issuesfrom the corpse, with which she is permitted towet her face and body!

When

the friends of the deceased observe the sinewsofthelegsand arms beginningto contract theycompel the unfortunate

widow

to go again on the pile, and bydint of hard pressing to straighten thosemembers.

Ifduring her husband'slifetimeshehas been

known

to have committed anyactof infidelityoromitted administeringto

him

savory foodorneglected hisclothing,

&c,

sheis

now made

^{to sutler} severelyforsuch lapses ofdutybyhis relations,

who

fre- quentlyfling her inthe funeral pile,fromwhich sheis draggedbyher friends; and thusbetweenalternate scorchingandcooling she^is dragged backwards andforwards untilshefallsintoastateof insensibility.

Afterthe process ofburningthe corpse has terminated, the

widow

^collectsthe larger bones,

which

sherollsupin

an

envelope of birch bark,and

which

she is obliged for someyears afterwardstocarryonher back. Sheis

now

consideredaudtreated as a slave; allihelaborious duties of cooking,collectingfuel,

&c,

devolve on ^her. She must obeythe orders ofallthe

women,

and evcuofthe children belongingtotbevillage,

aud

theslightestmistakeordisobedience subjectshertotheinflictionof aheavy pun- ishment.

The

ashes of her husband are carefully collectedanddepositedina grave,

\\bichit isher dutytokeep free from weeds^;

aud

should any suchappear, she is

obligedtorootthemoutwithhexfingers. Duringthisoperation her husband's rela- tivesstandby andbeat herina cruel

manner

untilthe taskiscompletedoxshe falls a victimto their brutality.

The

wretched widows,toavoidthiscomplicatedcruelty, frequently commitsuicide. Should she,however,linger onfor three or fouryears, thefriends ofherhusbandagree to relieveherfrom her painfulmourning. This ^is a ceremony of

much

consequence, and the preparations for it occupy a considerable time,generallyfromsix toeightmonths.

The

hunters proceedtothe variousdistricts in whichdeerandbeaverabound, andaftercollecting largequantitiesofmeat andfur return to the village.

The

skins are immediatelybartered for guns, ammunition, clothing, trinkets,&c. Invitations are then sent to the inhabitantsof thevarious friendly villages,and

when

theyhave^allassembledthefeastcommences,andpresents are distributed toeach visitor.

The

objectof their meetingis then explained,and the

woman

^is brought forward,^still carryingonherback thebonesofher ^late hus- band, whichare

now

removedandplacedina covered box, whichisnailedor other- wise fastenedtoaposttwelvefeethigh.

Her

conductasafaithful

widow

isnext highly eulogized, and theceremonyofhermanumissioniscompleted byone

man

powdering onher

head

the

down

^ofbirdsand another pouring onitthecontentsot abladder of oil! She ^is then at liberty tomarryagain or lead a lifeofsingle blessedness; but fewofthem,Ibelieve, wishtoencounter therisk attending a second widowhood.

10 A E