swANTuNi INDIAN 'riiir.i'.s OF liii, i.()\\i;i; misstssipim \.\i.i,i.\ 1 |;3 



liloyiiiciits siiitftl to tlu'ir talfiits. Some p.iss llicir lives in liiiiiliii;;, or in lisli- 

 int:, to fiiniisli supplies for tlu> t:\I)I(': otlicrs ;irc cniphiyi'd in jijtritMiltnrc. wliilf 

 t)tlifrs scrvi' in liii up his rctiimc. if he luppnis to die, .mI! tlioso serviints k-m:- 

 rilicc fli('inscl\ cs, willi Jny, to IoIIkw liicii- dear niasti'r. Tlioy first put on all 

 (licii- liiiciy .111(1 repair to (lie place opjiosile the temple, whore all the i^eople art; 

 assenililed. Alter havinjr daneed and snnjj; a snflieiently lonjc time, tliey pass 

 around tlieii' neck a cord of l)uffal() liair with a ruinuiii; knot, and immediately 

 the ministers appointed for executions of this kind come fcn-ward to strangle 

 them, reconiinendini: them to p) to rejoin tlieir master and render lum in the 

 other world services even more honorable than tliose which had occuiiied tlii'm 

 in tins. 



Tlie principal servants of the .irreat chief liaviufj been stranirled in tliis way, 

 tliey strip the llesh off their hones, jiarticularly tliose of their arms and thi>;lis, 

 and leave them to dry for two months, in a kind of tomb, after which they take 

 them out to be shut up in the baskets which are jilaced in the temjile by tlie 

 side of the bones of their master. As for the other servants, their relatives 

 carry them home with them and bury thi'Ui with their arms and clothes. 



The same ceremony is observed in lik<» manner on the death of the brothers 

 and sisters of the j^reat chief. The wives are always stran,i,'led to follow the 

 latter, excei)t wlren they have infants at the breast, in which case they con- 

 tiiiiie to li\c. And we often .see iii.iiiy w ho ciideaxor to lind nurses, or wh<t theni- 

 sehi's stranjile tln'ir infants, so that they shall not lose the rii^ht of sacrificing 

 themselves in the public square, according to the ordinary ceremonies, and as 

 the law prescribes." 



These tombs [referriuic to "raised tombs" seen near Louisiana temples] are 

 raised about 3 feet above the earth. They rest on four feet, which are forked 

 sticks platited deep euouirh in the earth and well secured to support the tomb, 

 which, supported and thus borne on these forks, is S feet long by a foot and 

 a half wide. They place the body with the head at one end in order that a 

 space remain at the end where the feet are. Above the body they make an 

 arbor of branches curved into a vault. They place straight pieces of wood at 

 the head and at the feet, then they plaster these i)ieces of wood in order to 

 inclose the body during a space of time sufficient to consume the flesh and dry 

 up the bones. After this time they withdraw them to put them in a basket 

 or coffer of cane covei'ed with the same mati'rial and carry them into the temple 

 with the others. 



As the body is not as long as the tomb, there remains a space of about a foot 

 which is covered by the end of the vault but is not closed. It is there that 

 they put the provisions whicli they bring to the dead for some time. In si)ite 

 <if their zeal to render the last duties to the dead, they are unable to satisfy 

 themselves regarding those who are killed in war. Tliey supply the deficiency 

 after their manner, with sighs, tears, and cries, as soon as they learn tlie news 

 and often for more time than if they had died in the nation, where the custom 

 is to weep for three days. 



There is no nation of Louisiana which knows the custom of burning 

 bodies used among the Greeks and Romans, nor the custom of the Egyptians, 

 which preserved them perpetually, but they solemnize them, as I have just 

 said, sometimes with ijomp, sometimes without great ceremonies, which tliey 

 take great care to conceal from stranger.s, and one only sees them when he is 

 a friend of the sovereign and can be warned and be present, or when it is 

 necessary that they do it with so much erhit that it is difficult to conceal them; 

 and they have an inclination to do such things, which I am going to relate to 

 satisfy the curiosity of the reader, and on account of the part which I had and 



" Lo Totit in .Tcs. Rol.. lxviii, i:J0-1.".*3, 



