102 MORTUARY CUSTOMS OF NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 
When the priest arrives, the corpse is done up or rather baled up in a large and well- 
tanned buftalo robe, and tied around tight with a rope or lasso made for the purpose ; 
then six or eight men act as pall-bearers, conducting the body to the place of 
burial, which is in front of their church or chapel. The priest conducts the funeral 
ceremonies in the ordinary and usual way of mortuary proceedings observed by the 
Catholic church all over the world. While the grave-diggers are filling up the grave, 
the friends, relatives, neighbors, and, in fact, all persons that attend the funeral, give 
vent to their sad feelings by making the whole pueblo howl; after the tremendous 
uproar subsides, they disband and leave the body to rest until Gabriel blows his trum- 
pet. When the ceremonies are performed with all the pomp of the Catholic church, 
the priest receives a fair compensation for his services; otherwise he officiates for 
the yearly rents that all the Indians of the pueblo pay him, which amount in the sum 
total to about $2,000 per annum. 
These Pueblo Indians are very strict in their mourning observance, which last for 
one year after the demise of the deceased. While in mourning for the dead, the 
mourners do not participate in the national festivities of the tribe, which are occasions 
of state with them, but they retire into a state of sublime quietude which makes 
more civilized people sad to observe; but when the term of mourning ceases, at the 
end of the year, they have high mass said for the benefit of the soul of the departed ; 
after this they again appear upon the arena of their wild sports and continue to be 
gay and happy until the next mortal is called from this terrestrial sphere to the happy 
hunting-ground, which is their pictured celestial paradise. The above cited facts, 
which are the most interesting points connected with the burial customs of the Indians 
of the pueblo San Geronimo de Taos, are not in the least exaggerated, but are the ab- 
solute facts, which I have witnessed myself in many instances for a period of more 
than twenty years that I have resided but a short distance from said pueblo, and, 
being a close observer of their peculiar burial customs, am able to give you this true 
and undisguised information relative to your circular on ‘burial customs.” 
Another example of the care which is taken to prevent the earth com- 
ing in contact with the corpse may be found in the account of the burial 
of the Wichita Indians of Indian Territory, furnished by Dr. Fordyce 
Grinnell, whose name has already been mentioned in connection with 
the Comanche customs. The Wichitas call themselves Hitty-ka-tats, or 
those of the tattooed eyelids. 
When a Wichita dies the town-crier goes up and down through the village and 
announces the fact. Preparations are immediately made for the burial, and the body 
is taken without delay to the grave prepared for its reception. If the grave is some 
distance from the village, the body is carried thither on the back of a pony, being 
first wrapped in blankets and then laid prone across the saddle, one person walking on 
either side to supportit. The graye is dug from three to four feet deep and of sufiicient 
length for the extended body. First blankets and buffalo-robes are laid in the bottom 
of the grave, then the body, being taken from the horse and unwrapped, is dressed 
in its best apparel and with ornaments is placed upon a couch of blankets and robes, 
with the head towards the west and the feet to the east; the valuables belonging 
to the deceased are placed with the body in the grave. With the man are deposited 
his bows and arrows or gun, and with the woman her cooking utensils and other 
implements of her toil. Over the body sticks are placed six or eight inches deep 
and grass over these, so that when the earth is filled in, it need not come in contact 
with the body or its trappings. After the grave is filled with earth, a pen of poles is 
built around it, or, as is frequently the case, stakes are driven so that they cross 
each other from either side about midway over the grave, thus forming a complete 
‘protection from the invasion of wild animals. After all this is done, the grass of 
other debris is carefully scraped from about the grave for several feet, so that the 
ground is left smooth and clean. It is seldom the case that the relatiyes accompany 
