52 CREMATION— OREGON. 



her face and body! When the friends of the deceased observe the sinews 

 of the legs and arms beginning to contract they compel the unfortunate 

 widow to go again on the pile, and by dint of hard pressing to straighten 

 those members. 



" If during her husband's lifetime she has been known to have com- 

 mitted any act of infidelity or omitted administering to him savory food or 

 neglected his clothing, &c, she is now made to suffer severely for such 

 lapses of duty by his relations, who frequently fling her in the funeral pile, 

 from which she is dragged by her friends ; and thus between alternate 

 scorching and cooling she is dragged backwards and forwards until she falls 

 into a state of insensibility. 



"After the process of burning the corpse has terminated, the widow 

 collects the larger bones, which she rolls up in an envelope of birch bark, 

 and which she is obliged for some years afterwards to cany on her back. 

 She is now considered and treated as a slave; all the laborious duties of 

 cooking, collecting fuel, etc., devolve on her. She must obey the orders of 

 all the women, and even of the children belonging to the village, and the 

 slightest mistake or disobedience subjects her to the infliction of a heavy 

 punishment. The ashes of her husband are carefully collected and deposited 

 in a grave, which it is her duty to keep free from weeds ; and should any 

 such appear, she is obliged to root them out with her fingers. During this 

 operation her husband's relatives stand by and beat her in a cruel manner 

 until the task is completed or she falls a victim to their brutality. The 

 wretched widows, to avoid this complicated cruelty, frequently commit 

 suicide. Should she, however, linger on for three or four years, the friends 

 of her husband agree to relieve her from her painful mourning. This is a 

 ceremony of much consequence, and the preparations for it occupy a con- 

 siderable time, generally from six to eight months. The hunters proceed to 

 the various districts in which deer and beaver abound, and after collecting 

 large quantities of meat and fur return to the village. The skins are im- 

 mediately bartered for guns, ammunition, clothing, trinkets, &c. Invita- 

 tions are then sent to the inhabitants of the various friendly villages, and 

 when they have all assembled the feast commences, and presents are dis 

 tributed to each visitor. The object of their meeting is then explained, and 



