CAVE BURIAL— UTAH. 31 



custom to secure, if possible, for the purpose of wrapping up the corpse, 

 the robes and blankets in which the Indian died. At the same time that 

 the body is being fitted for interment, the squaws having immediate care 

 of it, together with all the other squaws iu the neighborhood, keep up a 

 continued chant or dirge, the dismal cadence of which may, when the 

 congregation of women is large, be heard for quite a long distance. The 

 death song is not a mere inarticulate howl of distress ; it embraces expres- 

 sions eulogistic in character, but whether or not any particular formula of 

 words is adopted on such occasion is a question which I am unable, with 

 the materials at my disposal, to determine with any degree of certainty. 



"The next duty falling to the lot of the squaws is that of placing the 

 dead man on a horse and conducting the remains to the spot chosen for 

 burial. This is in the cleft of a rock, and, so far as can be ascertained, it 

 has always been customary among the Utes to select, sepulchres of this 

 character. From descriptions given by Mr. Harris, who has several times 

 been fortunate enough to discover remains, it would appear that no super- 

 stitious ideas are held by this tribe with respect to the position in which 

 the body is placed, the space accommodation of the sepulchre probably 

 regulating this matter; and from the same source I learn that it is not usual 

 to find the remains of more than one Indian deposited in one grave. After 

 the body has been received into the cleft, it is well covered with pieces of 

 rock, to protect it against the ravages of wild animals. The chant ceases, 

 the squaws disperse, and the burial ceremonies are at an end. The men 

 during all this time have not been idle, though they have in no way partici- 

 pated in the preparation of the body, have not joined the squaws in chant- 

 ing praises to the memory of the dead, and have not even as mere specta- 

 tors attended the funeral, yet they have had their duties to perform. In 

 conformity with a long-established custom, all the personal property of the 

 deceased is immediately destroyed. His horses and his cattle are shot, and 

 his wigwam, furniture, &c, burned. The performance of this part of the 

 ceremonies is assigned to the men; a duty quite in accord with their taste 

 and inclinations. Occasionally the destruction of horses and other prop- 

 erty is of considerable magnitude, but usually this is not the case, owing to 

 a practice existing with them of distributing their property among their 



