JO INHUMATION— KLAMATHS. 



Church-yards) were the occasion of their greatest joy ; because they con- 

 cluded from thence the happiness of those that had been devoured, wishing 

 after their Death to meet with the like good luck." 



The same author states, and Bruhier corroborates the assertion, that 

 the Parthians, Medes, Iberians, Caspians, and a few others, had such a hor- 

 ror and aversion of the corruption and decomposition of the dead, and of 

 their being eaten by worms, that they threw out the bodies into the open 

 fields to be devoured by wild beasts, a part of their belief being that per- 

 sons so devoured would not be entirely extinct, but enjoy at least a par- 

 tial sort of life in their living sepulchres. It is quite probable that for these 

 and other reasons the Bactrians and Hircanians trained dogs for this special 

 purpose, called Canes sepulchrales, which received the greatest care and at- 

 tention, for it was deemed proper that the souls of the deceased should 

 have strong and lusty frames to dwell in. 



George Gibbs* gives the following account of burial among the Kla- 

 math and Trinity Indians of the Northwest coast : 



" The graves, which are in the immediate vicinity of their houses, 

 exhibit very considerable taste and a laudable care. The dead are inclosed 

 in rude coffins formed by placing four boards around the body, and covered 

 Avith earth to some depth ; a heavy plank, often supported by upright head 

 and foot stones, is laid upon the top, or stones are built up into a wall 

 about a foot above the ground, and the top flagged with others The 

 graves of the chiefs are surrounded by neat wooden palings, each pale 

 ornamented with a feather from the tail of the bald eagle. Baskets are 

 usually staked down by the side, according to the wealth or popularity of 

 the individual, and sometimes other articles for ornament or use are sus- 

 pended over them. The funeral ceremonies occupy three days, during 

 which the soul of the deceased is in danger from 0-mali-d or the devil. To 

 preserve it from this peril, a fire is kept up at the grave, and the friends of 

 the deceased howl around it to scare away the demon. Should they not 

 be successful in this the soul is carried down the river, subject, however, to 

 redemption by Peh-ho-wan on payment of a big knife. After the expiration 

 of three days it is all well with them." 



* Schoolcraft's Hist. Imliau Tribes of the United States, Pt. :S, 1853, p. 140. 



