THOMAS. | BURIAL CEREMONIES OF THE HURONS. 33 
tion assemble to decide upon the time when the feast shall be held, so as to satisfy 
all the people of the country and the outside nations who are to be invited. 
When the decision is made, as all the bodies are to be transported to the village 
where the common graye is made, each family takes charge of its dead with a care 
and affection that cannot be described. If they have relatives buried in any part of 
the country whatever they spare no trouble to go and bring them. They take them 
from the cemeteries, carry them on their own shoulders, and cover them with the 
finest robes they have in their possession. In each village a good day is chosen, and 
they repair to the cemetery, where those called Aiheonde, who have had the care of the 
sepulcher, take the bodies from the tomb in the presence of the relatives, who renew 
their tears and repeat the mourning of the day of the funeral. 
I was present at this ceremony, and willingly invited all our servants, for I do not 
think that there can be seen in this world a livelier image or more perfect representa- 
tion of the condition of man. 
It is true that in France our cemeteries speak forcibly, and that all these bones 
heaped upon one another without distinction, the poor with the rich or the small 
with the great, are so many voices continually reminding us of death, the vanity of 
worldly things, and the insignificance of this present life. But it seems to me that 
the custom of our savages on this occasion shows us still more sensibly our wretched- 
ness, for after the graves are opened all the bodies are laid out on the ground and left 
thus uncovered for some time, giving the spectators an opportunity for once to see 
what will be their condition some day. Some of the bodies are entirely devoid of 
flesh and have only a dry skin on the bones; others appear as if they had been smoked 
and dried and show scarcely any signs of decay. Others still are covered with worms. 
The friends, being satisfied with this sight, cover them with handsome robes of 
beaver-skin, entirely new. Finally, after a while, they strip off the flesh and the skin, 
which they throw into the fire, together with the robes and mats in which the bodies 
have been buried. The complete bodies of those newly buried are left in the same 
condition and the friends content themselves with simply covering them with new 
robes. They touched only one old man, of whom I haye spoken heretofore, who died 
this autumn on the return from fishing. This large body had only begun to decay a 
month ago, at the time of the first heat of spring; the worms were swarming all over 
if, and the pus which came from it caused an odor almost intolerable; nevertheless 
they had the courage to take the body from the robe in which it was enveloped, 
cleansed it as much as possible, took it up carefully and placed it in a new mat and 
robe, and all this was accomplished without exposing any of this corruption. Is here 
not a good example to animate the hearts of Christians, who should have more noble 
ideas to deeds of charity and works of pity towards their brethren? After this who 
will look with horror upon the misery of a hospital? And who will not feel a pecu- 
liar pleasure in serving a sick man covered with wounds, in whose person he serves 
the Son of God? 
As they were stripping the bodies they found in two of them a species of charm. 
The one that I saw with my own eyes was a turtle’s egg with a leather strap 
(courroye); the other, which was examined by our fathers, was a small turtle the size 
ofanut. This leads to the belief that there were sorcerers in our village, on account 
of which some resolved to leave it as soon as possible. Indeed, two or three days 
after one of the richest men, fearing that some misfortune would befall him, trans- 
ported his cabin two miles from us to the village of Arontaen. 
Now, when these bones are well cleaned, part of them are placed in sacks, part in 
blankets, and they carry them on their shoulders, covering these bundles with other 
beautiful hanging robes. Entire bodies are put on a sort of litter and carried 
with all the others, each one taking his bundle into his cabin, where every family 
makes a feast to its dead. 
Returning from this festival with a captain, who has considerable intelligence and 
who will be some day of high standing in the affairs of the country, I asked him why 
> ETH—S 
