54 EEMAEKS ON CREMATION. 



elapsed before it could be finally interred. Wben a Caraib died lie was 

 immediately painted all over with rqucou, and had his mustachios and the 

 black streaks in his face made with a black paint, which was different from 

 that used in their lifetime. A kind of grave was then dug in the carbet 

 where he died, about 4 feet square and 6 or 7 feet deep. The body was 

 let down in it, when sand was thrown in, which reached to the knees, and 

 the body was placed in it in a sitting posture, resembling that in which they 

 crouched round the fire or the table when alive, with the elbows on the 

 knees and the palms of the hands against the cheeks. No part of the body 

 touched the outside of the grave, which was covered with wood and mats 

 until all the relations had examined it. When the customary examinations 

 and inspections were ended the hole was filled, and the bodies afterwards 

 remained undisturbed. The hair of the deceased was kept tied behind. 

 In this way bodies have remained several months without any symptoms 

 of decay or producing any disagreeable smell. The roucou not only pre- 

 served them from the sun, air, and insects during their lifetime, but prob- 

 ably had the same effect after death. The arms of the Caraibs were placed 

 by them when they were covered over for inspection, and they were finally 

 buried with them." 



Again, we are told that during the burning the by-standers are very 

 merry. This hilarity is similar to that shown by the Japanese at a funeral, 

 who rejoice that the troubles and worries of the world are over for the for- 

 tunate dead. The plundering of strangers present, it may be remembered, 

 also took place among the Indians of the Carolinas. As already mentioned 

 on a preceding page, the cruel manner in which the widow is treated seems 

 to be a modification of the Hindoo suttee, but if the account be true, it 

 would appear that death might be preferable to such torments. 



It is interesting to note that in Corsica, as late as 1743, if a husband 

 died women threw themselves upon the widow and beat her severely. 

 Bruhier quaintly remarks that this custom obliged women to take good care 

 of their husbands. 



George Gibbs, in Schoolcraft,* states that among the Indians of Clear 



* Hist. Indian Tribes of the United States, 1853, part iii, p. 113. 



