194 TRANSACTIONS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. [VOL. V^ 



no common respect to the memory of their departed friends, by a long 

 period of mourning, cutting off their hair, and never making use of the 

 property of the deceased. Nay, they frequently destroy or sacrifice 

 their own, as a token of regret and sorrow." Hearne writes : " These 

 people do not bury their dead. They abandon them in the place where 

 they die, so that one must suspect they are eaten by wild animals and 

 birds of prey. This is the reason why the Indians never eat the fox, 

 the wolf, nor the crow, unless constrained by necessity. On the death 

 of one of their near relatives, they strip themselves of their clothes and 

 remain naked till someone comes to console them. The mourning for a 

 father, a mother, a wife, a son, or a brother lasts a whole year. With the 

 exception of shorn hair, nothing indicates this mourning in the costume 

 of the Northern Indians. It consists solely in uttering cries almost 

 incessant. Apart from time devoted to sleep and eating, whether they 

 walk or rest, they emit at intervals a prolonged howl, which is often 

 repeated in unison by all persons present." 



Dr. Yarrow, in his " Introduction to the Study of Mortuary Customs 

 among the North American Indians," says : " Tree burial was not 

 uncommon among the nations of antiquity, for the Colchians enveloped 

 their dead in sacks of skin and hung them to trees ; the ancient Tartars 

 and Scythians did the same." What he says regarding the Colchians 

 is taken from Arrian, De Var. Hist. IV. i, but I have a very distinct 

 recollection of coming across similar facts in classical authors which I 

 have not succeeded in verifying. It is unfortunate that Dr. Yarrow or 

 his informant does not mention his authorities. However, I quote Dr. 

 Yarrow at page 75 for the following : " W. L. Hardisty gives a curious 

 example of log-burial in trees, relating to the Loucheux of British 

 America. ' They inclose the body in a neatly-hollowed piece of wood, 

 and secure it to two or more trees, about six feet from the ground. A 

 log about eight feet long is first split in two, and each of the parts 

 carefully hollowed out to the required size. The body is then inclosed 

 and the two pieces well lashed together, preparatory to being finally 

 secured, as before stated, to the trees.' " Mr. Dall,in his "Distribution and 

 Nomenclature of the Native tribes of Alaska, etc.," has the following notes 

 on Tinneh tribes: '' Unakhotana — the bodies of the dead are always 

 placed by them above ground in a box or wooden receptacle. Kutcha- 

 Kutchin — They formerly burned their dead. Tehanin-Kiitchin — They 

 bury their dead in boxes above ground on which they pile up stones." 



Father Morice's account is fuller than the preceding, and will be 

 found in his paper, "The Western Den^s — their Manners and Customs." 

 It sets forth the wailings of the relatives for a deceased man of note, the 



