'74 BtTREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bdll. 71 



and friends g:athered about tlic sick person wliile making various 

 necessary plans and preparations in anticipation of the end, and 

 continued : "As soon as the sick man has drawn his hist breath, they 

 place him in the position in which he is to be in the grave ; they do 

 not stretch him at length as we do, but place him in a crouching 

 posture, almost the same that a child has in its mother's womb. Thus 

 far, they restrain their tears. After having performed these 

 duties the whole Cabin begins to respond Avith cries, groans, and 

 wails. . . . As soon as they cease, the Captain goes promptly through 

 the Cabins, making known that such and suc-h a one is dead. On 

 the arrival of friends, they begin anew to weep and complain. . . . 

 Word of the death is also sent to the friends who live in the other 

 Villages; and, as each family has some one who takes care of its 

 dead, these latter come as soon as possible to take charge of every- 

 thing, and determine the day of the funeral. Usually they inter the 

 Dead on the third day; as soon as it is light, the Captain gives orders 

 that throughout the whole Village a feast be made for the dead." 

 This being accomplished, "the Captain publishes throughout the 

 Village that the body is about to be borne to the Cemetery. The 

 whole Village assembles in the Cabin ; and weeping is renewed ; and 

 those who have charge of the ceremonies get ready a litter on which 

 the corpse is placed on a mat and enveloped in a Beaver robe, and 

 then four lift and carry it away ; the whole Village follows in silence 

 to the Cemetery. A Tomb is there, made of bark and supported on 

 four stakes, eight to ten feet high. However, before the corpse is put 

 into it, and before they arrange the bark, the Captain makes known 

 the iH-esents that have been given by the friends. In this Countiy, as 

 well as elsewhere, the most agreeable consolations for the loss of 

 friends are always accompanied by presents, such as kettles, axes, 

 Beaver robes, and Porcelain collars. . . ." All these gifts were 

 not deposited with the dead. Some were distributed among the rela- 

 tions of the deceased and others were given to those persons who 

 assisted with the ceremonies. Others were offered as prizes in games 

 played by the younger men. 



"The graves are not ]x»rmanent: as their Villages are stationary 

 only during a few years, while the supplies of the forest last, the 

 bodies only remain in the Cemeteries until the feast of the Dead, 

 which usually takes place every twelve years." During the years 

 between the death and the time of the final disposition of the re- 

 mains the departed were often honored in many ways by the mem- 

 bers of the family or by the entire village. And then came the 

 great ceremony: "The feast of the Dead is the most renowned cere- 

 mony among the Huron; they give it the name of feast be- 

 cause , , . when the bodies are taken from their Cemeteries, each 



