9 8 SPOK TING A D VENTURES 



bier, all formed in procession, the head men being in advance, 

 and they were followed by the young braves and squaws. 

 The pall-bearers consisted of two relatives of the deceased, and 

 they were preceded by a lad who rung- a weird-sounding bell, 

 in measured time, every few moments. When the procession 

 advanced towards the grave, which was dug amid the matted 

 undergrowth of the forest, all commenced intoning a hymn in 

 their native tongue, and that, to me, was the most pleasing, or 

 rather the most picturesque, I had ever heard, as the weak and 

 senile voice of the aged was contrasted with the deep bass of 

 the young men and the clear tones of the squaws. When the 

 grave was reached, another prayer was uttered, another sad 

 hymn for the repose of the soul of the deceased was sung, and 

 the rude casket was placed in the earth amid the dripping 

 shrubbery. When the last sod was thrown on, the procession re- 

 formed and marched back to the hamlet, wailing the tribal song 

 of death in prayerful words. The contrast between the solemn 

 funeral ceremony of this Christian tribe and the barbarous 

 Diggers, made a marked impression on my mind, and caused 

 me to remember the cougar-hunt of the two occasions in the 

 most vivid manner. 



After leaving the reservation, I engaged a canoe and two 

 Indians to take me to the Falls, and, as the trip was to 

 occupy several days, I placed a store of provisions and arms 

 aboard, in order to be prepared for all emergencies. We 

 had to work hard during the day to pass over brawling 

 cascades, and to stem strong currents ; hence, when night 

 came, we were glad to go ashore and camp under the shelter 

 of a gigantic spruce or fir. While I was soundly sleeping one 

 night, an Indian jumped up suddenly, awoke me, and called 

 my attention to an animal that was stealthily advancing' 

 towards us. Its movements were light and eat-like, and 

 recognizing 1 at once what it was, I seized the loaded rifle 

 which lay beside me, and fired when 1 caught it in a position 

 where the glare of the camp fire fell full upon it. Not being 

 more than thirty or forty feet away, I hit it in tin; shoulder, 

 and the ball went crashing through it from side to side. One of 

 the Indians then fired at it with a revolver, and he also succeeded 



