43 SUPPLEMENTATY FACTS. 
themselves on the graves, men and squaws together, as the twilight closes 
in around them, and begin a mournful wailing, crying, and ululation for the 
dead of the year. After a time they rise and form a circle around the fire, 
between it and the offerings, and commence a dance accompanied by that 
hoarse, deathly rattle of the Indian chant, which sounds so eldritch and so 
terrible to the civilized ear. Heavily the dancing and the singing go on from 
hour to hour, and now and then a few pounds of provisions, a string of 
shell-money, or some small article is taken down from the espaliers and 
cast into the flames. All through the night the funereal dance goes on with- 
out cessation; wilder and more frantic grows the chanting; swifter becomes 
the motion of the dancers, and faster and faster the offerings are hurled upon 
the blazing heap. The savage transports wax amain. With frenzied yells 
and whoops they leap in the flickering firelight like demons—a terrible 
spectacle. Now some squaw, if not restrained, would fling herself headlong 
into the burning mass. Another one will lie down and calmly sleep amid 
the extraordinary commotion fortwo hours, then arise and join as wildly as 
before in the frightful orgies. But still the espaliers are not emptied, and 
as the morning stars grow dim and daybreak is close at hand, with one 
frantic rush, yelling, they seize down the residue of the clothing (the cloth- 
ing is mostly reserved until near morning) and whirl it into the flames, lest 
the first gray streak of dawn should appear before the year-long hunger of 
the ghosts is appeased. 
There is another feature of this anniversary which is remarkable. I 
do not know as they determine the time for it by any savage ephemeris, 
but its occurrence marks their New Year’s Day. It is therefore seized upon 
as a proper occasion for settling their accounts, wiping out all old debts, 
and making a clear ledger for the coming year. So, amid all these ulula- 
tions, and the burning and fizzing of woolens and dried meat, those Indians 
who are not presently engaged in the dance may be seen squatted all 
around the fire in twos, busily reckoning their accounts on their fingers, 
tying and untying their strings of shell-money, handing over and receiving 
their shell-beads and other valuables, ete. On this eventful night, too, are 
made many marriage contracts for the ensuing year. 
