96 MORTUARY CUSTOMS OF NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 
diately remove from the house in which he is buried and erect a new one, with a bo- 
lief that where the bones of their dead are deposited the place is always attended by 
goblins and chimeras dire. 
Dr. W. ©. Boteler, physician to the Otoe Indian Agency, Gage 
County, Nebraska, in a personal communication to the writer, furnishes 
a most interesting account of the burial ceremonies of this tribe, in 
which it may be seen that graves are prepared in a manner similar to 
those already mentioned : 
The Otoe and Missouri tribes of Indians are now located in southern Gage County, 
Nebraska, on a reservation of 43,000 acres, unsurpassed in beauty of location, nat- 
ural resources, and adaptability for prosperous agriculture. This pastoral people, 
though in the midst of civilization, have departed but little from the rude practice 
and customs of a nomadic life, and here may be seen and studied those interesting 
dramas as vividly and satisfactorily as upon the remote frontier. 
During my residence among this people on different occasions, I have had the op- 
portunity of witnessing the Indian burials and many quaint ceremonies pertaining 
thereto. 
When it is found that the vital spark is wavering in an Otoe subject, the pre- 
paration of the burial costume is immediately begun. The near relatives of the 
dying Indian surround the humble bedside, and by loud lamentations and much weep- 
ing manifest a grief which is truly commensurate with the intensity of Indian devo- 
tion and attachment. 
While thus expressing before the near departed their grief at the sad separation im- 
pending, the Indian women, or friendly braves, lose no time in equipping him or her 
with the most ornate clothes and ornaments that are available or in immediate pos- 
session. It is thus that the departed Otoe is enrobed in death, in articles of his own 
selection and by arrangements of his own taste and dictated by his own tongue. It 
is customary for the dying Indian to dictate, ere his departure, the propriety or im- 
propriety of the accustomed sacrifices. In some cases there is a double and in others 
no sacrifice at all. The Indian women then prepare to cut away their hair; it is ac- 
complished with scissors, cutting close to the scalp at the side and behind. 
The preparation of the dead for burial is conducted with great solemnity and care. 
Bead-work the most ornate, expensive blankets and ribbons comprise the funeral 
shroud. The dead, being thus enrobed, is placed in arecumbent posture at the most 
conspicuous part of the lodge and viewed in rotation by the mourning relatives 
previously summoned by a courier, all preserving uniformity in the piercing screams 
which would seem to have been learned by rote. 
An apparent service is then conducted. The aged men of the tribe, arranged in a cir- 
cle, chant a peculiar funeral dirge around one of their number, keeping time upon a 
drum or some rude cooking-utensil. 
At irregular intervals an aged relative will arise and dance excitedly around the 
central person, vociferating, and with wild gesture, tomahawk in hand, imprecate the 
evil spirit, which he drives to the land where the sun goesdown. The eyil spirit being 
thus effectually banished, the mourning gradually subsides, blending into succeeding 
scenes of feasting and refreshment. The burial feast is in every respect equal in rich- 
ness to its accompanying ceremonies. All who assemble are supplied with cooked veni- 
son, hog, buffalo, or beef, regular waiters distributing alike hot cakes soaked in grease 
and coffee or water, as the case may be. 
Frequently during this stage of the ceremony the most aged Indian present will sit 
in the central circle, and in a continuous and doleful tone narrate the acts of valor in 
the life of the departed, enjoining fortitude and brayery upon all sitting around as an 
essential qualification for admittance to the land where the Great Spirit reigns. When 
the burial feast is well-nigh completed, it is customary for the surviving friends to 
