320 



THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT 



[ETH ANN. 18 



shore of Norton sound, several summer fishing camps were located, and 

 among these were a few rude graves made by building up slight 

 inclosures of drift logs and covering them with similar material. At 

 one place in this vicinity was a cone-shape inclosure made by standing 

 drift logs on end in a circle eight or nine feet in diameter, with their 

 upper ends meeting. From the top of this projected a long pole, and 

 inside was a wooden box containing the remains of a shaman, swung 

 by cords midway between the ground and the top of the structure. 

 This man, I was told, had caused himself to be burned alive two years 

 before the time of my visit, in the expectation of returning to life with 

 much stronger powers than he had previously possessed ; but the hope 

 of the shaman failed to become realized, at the appointed time, so his 

 body was inclosed in a box and the cone of driftwood was erected over it. 

 Near the village at Cape Nome was a large burial box (figure 100) 



supported about 



five feet above the 



- &amp;lt; 



ground on four 



posts. This box 

 was made of rude, 

 hewn, planks cut 

 from drift logs, and 

 was said to be the 

 grave of a noted 

 shaman who could 

 breathe fire from 

 his mouth. The 

 other graves about 

 the village at this 

 cape were roughly 

 made of drift logs, 

 with the remains 

 of totem marks, 

 stones, and imple 

 ments about them, very much like the drift log burial places near St 

 Michael, previously described. 



On Sledge island, in Bering strait, I examined several graves on a 

 sharp rocky slope of the island just above the village. These consisted 

 of shallow pits among the rocks, surrounded by rude lines of stones, 

 forming rims, over which were laid drift logs held in place by heavy 

 stones. Xo implements or other marks of distinction were observed 

 about these graves, possibly on account of their age. 



In July, 1881, 1 climbed the rocky hill above the Kskimo village at 

 East cape, Siberia, and found the graves located just above and back 

 of the houses among the rocks covering a long ridge. They were very 

 rude, consisting of a shallow pit formed by taking out the stones and 

 laying them to form a rectangular iuclosure or 8 feet long and 2 or 3 



FIG. lOfi- Grave box at Capo Xorne. 



