BUSHNELL] 



NATIVE CEMETERIES AND FORMS OF BURIAL. 



81 



ber without touching the earth at all. Finally, some days 

 after the burial, when the tears of the relatives have been 

 dried to some extent, they give a feast to give the deceased 

 back to life, that is, to give his name to another, whom 

 they urged to imitate the dead man's good actions while 

 taking his name." (Dablon, (1) , pp. 35-37.) 



A large grave as described in the preceding account 

 would, in after years, when the supporting bark had be- 

 come decayed and fallen, have been sunken and irregular. 

 The remains would have become scattered within the ex- 

 cavated space, and all the lining would have disappeared. 

 This ma}", and undoubtedly does, explain the origin of 

 many burials in the eastern part of the country, espe- 

 cially in New England. 



"When tolling of the presents exchanged and given at 

 the time of burial, Pere Dablon mentioned particularly 

 that the first was made to the church, and this was " gen- 

 erally, a fine large porcelain collar," forcelain here re- 

 fering to wampum. Such a specimen is now in the small 

 museum connected with the Collegio di Propaganda Fide, 

 at Rome, where it was deposited many years ago by some UlSti-ifj 

 missionary when he returned from America. Unfortu- 

 nately the history of the remarkable piece is not known, 

 but is one of the most interesting examples of wampum 

 preserved in any collection. This is shown in plate 1, the 

 reproductions being made from photographs of the origi- 

 nal, made by the writer in 1905. It measures nearly 6 feet 

 6 inches in length and about 4^ inches in width, made up 

 of 15 rows of beads, each row consisting of 61:6 beads, or 

 9,690 in all. The design suggests the attempt to represent 

 on one side Christianity, on the other paganism. At the 

 end of the first side is evidently shown the chapel of the 

 mission, with one window and a cross above the doorway. 

 Next are several characters which may identify the mis- 

 sion; and beyond these are two keys, crossed. In the 

 middle are two figures, evidently a missionary on the right 

 and an Indian on the left, holding between them a cross, 

 the Christian symbol. This most unusual and interesting 

 piece of native workmanship, although showing so clearly 

 the influence of the teachings of the missionaries, should 

 undoubtedly be considered as having served as a " present 

 to the church" at the time of burial of some native con- 

 vert, possibly two centuries or more ago. Arranged and fastened as it 

 is suggests its use as a collar or stole, something more elaborate than 

 an ordinary wampum " belt." The entire design is shown in figure 11. 

 130548°— 20 6 



