yarrow. |] ; INHUMATION—APACIES. halal 
Here bring the last gifts; lond and shrill 
Wail death-dirge of the brave! 
What pleased him most in life may still 
Give pleasure in the grave. 
We lay the axe beneath his head 
He swung when strength was strong, 
The bear on which his bunger fed— 
The way from earth is long! 
And here, new-sharpened, place the knife 
Which severed from the clay, 
Irom which the axe had spoiled the life, 
The conquered scalp away. 
The paints that deck the dead bestow, 
Aye, place them in his hand, 
That red the kingly shade may glow 
Amid the spirit land. 
The position in which the body is placed, as mentioned by Dr. Mc- 
Chesney, face upwards, while of common occurrence among most tribes 
of Indians, is not invariable as a rule, for the writer discovered at a 
cemetery belonging to an ancient pueblo in the valley of the Chama, 
near Abiquiu, N. Mex., a number of bodies, all of which had been buried 
face downward. The account originally appeared in Field and Forest, 
1877, vol. iti, No. 1, p. 9. 
On each side of the town were noticed two small arroyas or water-washed ditches, 
within 30 feet of the walls, and a careful examination of these revealed the objects of 
our search. At the bottom of the arroyas, which have certainly formed subsequent 
to the occupation of the village, we found portions of human remains, and following 
up the walls of the ditch soon had the pleasure of discovering several skeletons in 
situ. The first found was in the eastern arroya, and the grave in depth was nearly 8 
feet below the surface of the mesa. The body had been placed in the grave face down- 
ward, the head pointing to the south. Two feet above the skeleton were two shining 
black earthen vases, containing small bits of charcoal, the bones of mammals, birds, 
and partially consumed corn, and above these ‘‘ollas” the earth to the surface was 
filled with pieces of charcoal. Doubtless the remains found in the vases served at a 
funeral feast prior to the inhumation. We examined very carefully this grave, hoping 
to find some utensils, ornaments, or weapons, but none rewarded our search. In allof 
the graves examined the bodies were found in similar positions and under similar cir- 
cumstances in both arroyas, several of the skeletons being those of children. * * * 
No information could be obtained as to the probable age of these interments, the pres- 
ent Indians considering them as dating from the time when their ancestors with Moc- 
tezuma came from the north. 
The Coyotero Apaches, according to Dr. W. J. Hofiman,* in disposing 
of their dead, seem to be actuated by the desire to spare themselves any 
needless trouble, and prepare the defunct and the grave in this manner: 
The Coyoteros, upon the death of a member of the tribe, partially wrap up the 
corpse and deposit it into the cavity left by the removal of a small rock or the stump 
ofatree. After the body has been crammed into the smallest possible space the rock 
or stump is again rolled into its former position, when a number of stones are placed 
around the base to keep out the coyotes. The nearest of kin usually mourn for the 
period of one month, during that time giving utterance at intervals to the most dis- 
ma] lamentations, which are apparently sincere. During the day this obligation is 
*U.S. Geol. Surv. of Terr. 1876, p. 473. 
