74 CONOLAMATION. 



1873. The writer has frequently conversed with Indians upon this subject, 

 and they have invariably informed him that when horses were slain great 

 care was taken to select the poorest of the band. 



Tree-burial was not uncommon among the nations of antiquity, for 

 the Colchiens enveloped their dead in sacks of skin and hung them to trees; 

 the ancient Tartars and Scythians did the same. With regard to the use of 

 scaffolds and trees as places of deposit for the dead, it seems somewhat 

 curious that the tribes who formerly occupied the eastern portion of our 

 continent were not in the habit of burying in this way, which, from the 

 abundance of timber, would have been a much easier method than the ones 

 in vogue, while the western tribes, living in sparsely wooded localities, pre- 

 ferred the other. If we consider that the Indians were desirous of pre- 

 serving their dead as long as possible, the fact of their dead being placed 

 in trees and scaffolds would lead to the supposition that those living on the 

 plains were well aware of the desiccating property of the dry air of that 

 arid region. This desiccation would pass for a kind of mummification. 



The particular part of the mourning ceremonies, which consisted in 

 loud cries and lamentations, may have had in early periods of time a greater 

 significance than that of a mere expression of grief or woe, and on this point 

 Bruhier* seems quite positive, his interpretation being that such cries were 

 intended to prevent premature burial. He gives some interesting examples, 

 which may be admitted here :* 



" The Caribs lament loudly, their wailings being interspersed with com- 

 ical remarks and questions to the dead as to why he preferred to leave this 

 world, having everything to make life comfortable. They place the corpse 

 on a little seat in a ditch or grave four or five feet deep, and for ten days 

 they bring food, requesting the corpse to eat. Finally, being convinced 

 that the dead will neither eat nor return t(? life, they throw the food on the 

 head of the corpse and fill up the grave." 



When one died among the Romans, the nearest parents embraced the 

 body, closed the eyes and mouth, and when one was about to die received 

 the last words and sighs, and then loudly called the name of the dead, finally 

 bidding an eternal adieu. This ceremony of calling the deceased by name 

 was known as the condamation, and was a custom anterior even to the 



" L'incertitudc des signes d<- la Mort," 1742, 1, p. 475 et ««;. 



