boas] TSIMSHIAN SOCIB1 V 535 



Mayne (p. 272) writes on this subject as follows: 



At Fort Simpson it appears to be the regular custom to burn the dead, but this is 

 departed from in some cases; for Mr. Duncan mentions witnessing a funeral there from 

 the Fort Gallery. He says: "The deceased was a chief's daughter, who had died sud- 

 denly. Contrary to the custom of the Indians here (who always burn their dead), 

 the chief begged permission to inter her remains in the Fort Garden, alongside her 

 mother, who was buried a short time ago, and was the first Indian thus privileged. 

 The corpse was placed in a rude box, and borne on the shoulders of four men. About 

 twenty Indians, principally women, accompanied the old chief (whose heart seemed 

 ready to burst) to the grave. A bitter wailing was kept up for three-quarters of an 

 hour, during which time about seven or eight men, after a good deal of clamor I which 

 strangely contrasted with the apparentgrief of the mourners), fixed up a pole at the head 

 of the grave, on which was suspended an Indian garment . At the head of the mother's 

 grave several drinking-vessels were attached, as well as a garment." 



He also says (p. 272) : 



In the case of a chief it is also customary to paint or carve his crest on the box in 

 which his bones lie, or to affix it on a large sign board upon a pole or neighboring 

 tree. Mr. Duncan says that if the crest of the deceased happens to be an eagle or a 

 raven, it is usual among the Northern Indians to carve it in the act of flying — the bird 

 being affixed to the edge of the box with its wings spread, so that it appears to a passer-by 

 as if just about to leave the coffin; and he (Mr. Duncan) very naturally asks whether 

 this may come of any knowledge of a resurrection of the dead among the Indians. 



On page 294 the following description is given: 



When a persi in dies, except in the case of a slave, very great lamentation is made by 

 surviving friends. Their mourning lasts for several days. A few days ago, I saw a 

 poor woman in the bush, at some distance behind the camp. She was sitting with 

 her face toward the stump of a tree, and continued her bitter wailing for a long time. 

 This is the second instance I have seen of this kind. Occasionally, mourners may be 

 seen going about the beach. Only lately I saw a woman coming away from a house 

 of death. She proceeded along the beach to where another tribe is settled, and con- 

 tinued her woeful cry all the way. Persons whom she passed took no notice whatever 

 of her; it seemed nothing strange to them. 



Soon after death the corpse is conveyed away in a canoe to a distant part of the 

 beach, and there burned to ashes. Mourners accompany it, and they make the air 

 to ring with their piercing cries all the time the body is consummg. The ashes are 

 collected and placed in a little house appointed to receive them. 



A slave, after death, is at once placed in a canoe and thrown into the harbor, without 

 any sorrow being expressed. 



The nearest relatives mourn for a whole year. Some time after 

 the burial a memorial post is erected and a memorial festival cele- 

 brated. 1 If many members of one family die in quick succession, the 

 survivors lay their fourth fingers on the edge of the box in which the 

 corpse is deposited, and cut off the first joint, "to cut off the deaths" 

 (g-uli-q!o'dz). The bodies of shamans are buried in caves or in the 

 woods. 



A widow or a widower must not marry again until four years have 

 passed after the death of the consort. 



i Compare Boas 1. 1S95, pp. 569 et seq 



