430 THK TLINGIT INDIANS [eth. ann. 2Q 



person was very nnich thoutfht of, all his clansmen of both sexes 

 dressed themselves in their best blankets and stood in front of the 

 town just as the sun was setting, each bearing a cane made out of a 

 5'oung tree, the bark on which had been stripped up to one end. Just 

 as the sun neared the horizon all held their canes out straight with the 

 small ends toward it and moved them slowly upward to keep the sun 

 up a little longer. Then each would give utterance to some wish or 

 praj-er, such as these: "Let me be rich," "Let me come across sea 

 otter sleeping," " Let me kill seal," "Let me kill land otter." 



When it was time to remove the body, the clansmen of the deceased 

 invited those of the opposite phratry to smoke — or, in olden times, 

 chevv — tobacco with them. Then speeches were exchanged, after which 

 those invited carried the corpse out through an opening in a rear corner 

 of the house made })y removing a wall plunk. All the duties of an under- 

 taker were performed by the opposite phratry, for it was not considered 

 respectful to them to invite one's own friends for this office. Just after 

 the body had gone a dog was thrown througli the opening made for it. 

 According to the writer's Sitka informant a dead dog was thrown out 

 and afterwards some sand, the former to protect the deceased froia 

 the many animals which beset the trail he had to follow and the 

 latter to form a path in front of him. According to Katishan a 

 dead puppy was first thrown through the opening, and the people 

 followed it out strewing ashes, all for the purpose of driving away 

 evil spirits. According to another informant at Wrangell a live 

 dog was thrown out in this way so that the dead spirit or ghost, as 

 distinguished from the living soul which travels on into the other 

 world, would go into the dog instead of into a human being, for if it 

 went into the latter the person would die. 



After this the corpse was usually burned, so that the deceased might 

 be near the tire in the "Ghosts' Home." Otherwise he had to remain 

 far back in the hou.se, and shake all the time, no matter how many 

 blankets he wore. Sometimes tlie body of a very brave man was not 

 burned, because he was thought to be too valiant to care to stay around 

 the fire like weak people. Other persons might also prefer to have 

 their bodies set away intact, but, if a friend of one of these dreamed 

 that he had come to him and complained of being cold, his body was 

 taken up and burned. Before being placed upon the pyre the body 

 was turned around four times in the direction which they conceive the 

 sun to take, just the reverse of its motion as we understand it, and 

 finally laid down head to the sunrise. This was to enable the deceased's 

 soul to be reborn, for, if it were laid head t(^ward the sunset, he would 

 never come back. Shamans' bodies were placed upon points along 

 shore, just where their spirits had directed. Some bodies, probably 

 those of shamans, were removed through the smoke hole. 



