100 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bdll. 71 



A mound only a short distance northward from the preceding, 

 examined and described at the same time (op. cit., pp. 2G0-262), 

 proved even more interesting. It was somewhat larger, being 48 

 feet in diameter and 5 feet in height. In it " human remains were 

 met with in forty-five places, the deepest being 3^ feet from the 

 surface. All bones were in the last stage of decay and crumbling to 

 bits." Of the burials, 23 were described as " isolated skulls," others 

 Avere skulls with various bones, or bones without the skulls. Objects 

 of stone and copper and vessels of earthenware were encountered 

 during the exploration of the burial place. It is quite evident the 

 smaller, more fragile bones had disappeared through decay. 



A small group of Choctaw lived, until a few years ago, near Bayou 

 Lacomb, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, on the north shore of Lake 

 Pontchartrain. They were few in number, and the oldest person 

 among them was probably little more than 50 years of age, and un- 

 fortunately they were unable to describe the old tribal burial customs. 

 But although they knew little of the manner in which the bodies of 

 their ancestors were treated, they were able to recall the manner in 

 which the living mourned for the dead. According to the best in- 

 formed, the period of mourning varied as did the age of the deceased. 

 An older person, as the mother or father, was thus honored for six 

 months or even a year, but for a child or young person the period did 

 not exceed three months. During this time the women cut their hair 

 and often gathered near the grave and " cried." When it was desired 

 to cease mourning, the person stuck into the ground, so as to form a 

 triangle, three pieces of wood, several feet in height. The three 

 sticks were drawn together at the top and tied with a piece of bright- 

 colored cloth or some other material. These sticks, so tied and 

 decorated, stood near the entrance of the habitation and indicated 

 that the occupants desired to cease mourning. The three days fol- 

 lowing the mourners cried or wailed three times each day — at sunrise, 

 at noon, and at sunset. And while thus expressing their grief they 

 would be wrapped in blankets which covered their heads, and they sat 

 or knelt upon the gi'ound. During these three days their friends 

 gathered and soon began dancing and feasting. At the expiration of 

 the three days all ceased weeping and joined in the festivities, which 

 continued another day. It is quite interesting to compare certain 

 details of this brief description Avith the graphic drawing*made by 

 Capt. Romans, in which the manner of mourning as followed by the 

 women is so clearly shown, sitting near the grave, wrapped in blankets 

 which covered their heads. 



According to the beliefs of the same Choctaw, " persons d^nng by 

 violent deaths involving loss of blood, even a few drops, do not pass 

 to the home of Aba (heaven), regardless of the character of their 

 earthly lives, or their rank in the tribe. At night spirits are wont to 

 travel along the trails and roads used by living men, and thus avoid 



