B0SHNELL] NATIVE CEMETERIES AIS^^D FORMS OF BURIAL. 85 



Avith the repentance of his late son-in-hxw. At these last words, this 

 good man replied ' Etho,' which means yes." The body of the man 

 was then carried to the river, near the village, where it was thor- 

 oughly washed, all traces of paint being removed, then " four young 

 men carried it back with great ceremony into the same cabin from 

 which they had taken it. As soon as it was replaced it was repainted, 

 but in beautiful and divers colors, after which it was neatly clothed, 

 a gun was placed in his hand, a pipe in his mouth, and he was seated 

 beside his wife." Thus the bodies remained during the night and 

 until the following morning, and this interval " was spent in condo- 

 lences among a number of Indians who came by turn to speak to the 

 two corpses." 



The burial occurred on the following day, June 17, 1731. That 

 morning all were quiet in the village; they were seated or lying 

 about, with heads on their knees and often wrapped in blankets, and 

 each cabin was to hold a feast for the dead. The Frenchman again 

 entered the cabin and there saw the bodies " each in a coffin made of 

 a piece of white bark, without covering, so that the face and body 

 were visible." Both were dressed as on the previous day. "Their 

 knees were raised so as to support a cross four feet high, which had 

 been placed with each body in such a way that, the coffin of the 

 woman being opposite to that of her husband, the two crosses formed 

 a sort of arch, under which all the Indians passed back and forth, 

 prostrating themselves to the ground, and in turn offering prayers 

 to the Great Spirit for the repose of the souls of these two dead peo- 

 ple. About eleven o'clock the doleful lamentations began again and 

 were heard on all sides. The chief mourners seemed only to serve 

 as leaders to show the other women how they should groan or weep. 

 The men said no word and one heard only the groanings and lamen- 

 tations of the women. However, this pitiful music did not last long 

 as the chief made a sign for them to stop, to make way for the 

 Orators of the occasion to speak. At the end of their speech, which 

 was sad and very short, one of the old people made presents of 

 marten and beaver skins to the Algonquians, relations of the de- 

 ceased, he also gave some marten skins to my Ahenaquis, to the 

 mourners, and to several other Indians among the company. At last 

 they took the crosses off the bodies, after which four young Indians 

 painted black, raising the husband's body, and four others painted 

 white and red, taking the wife's body, carried them on their shoul- 

 ders to the village cemetery, about 40 or 50 fathoms [toises] distant. 

 The two young men who served as Cross bearers preceded the funeral 

 procession. Immediately after them came the Mistress of Cere- 

 monies for the mourners, she was followed by her four female mourn- 

 ers around the two bodies, and lastly the men carrying their guns 

 brought up the rear of the funeral procession. As soon as the two 



