90 MOURNING— CROWS. 



take into consideration how many analogies have been found in comparing 

 old and new world funeral observances, and the statements made by Bruhier, 

 Lafitau, Muret, and others, who give a number of examples of this peculiar 

 mode of burial. 



For instance, the Tartars sometimes ate their dead, and the Massageties, 

 Derbices, and Effedens did the same, having previously strangled the aged 

 and mixed their flesh with mutton. Horace and Tertulian both affirm 

 that the Irish and ancient Britons devoured the dead, and Lafitau remarks 

 that certain Indians of South America did the same, esteeming this mode 

 of disposal more honorable and much to be preferred than to rot and be 

 eaten by worms. To the credit of our savages, this barbarous and revolt- 

 ing practice is not believed to have been practiced by them. 



MOURNING, FEASTS, FOOD, DANCES, SONGS, GAMES, POSTS, FIRES, AND 

 SUPERSTITIONS IN CONNECTION WITH BURIAL. 



The above subjects are coincidental with burial, and some of them, 

 particularly mourning, have been more or less treated of in this paper, yet 

 it may be of advantage to here give a few of the collected examples, under 

 separate heads. 



MOURNING. 



One of the most carefully described scenes of mourning at the death 

 of a chief of the Crows is related in the life of Beckwourth,* who for many 

 years lived among this people, finally attaining great distinction as a 

 warrior. 



"I dispatched a herald to the village to inform them of the head 

 chief's death, and then, burying him according to his directions, we slowly 

 proceeded homewards. My very soul sickened at the contemplation of the 

 scenes that would be enacted at my arrival. When we drew in sight of the 

 village, we found eveiy lodge laid prostrate. We entered amid shrieks, 

 cries, and yells. Blood was streaming from every conceivable part of the 

 bodies of all who were old enough to comprehend their loss. Hundreds of 

 fingers were dismembered; hair torn from the head lay in profusion about 

 the paths; wails and moans in every direction assailed the ear, where unre- 



* Autobiography of James Beckwourth, 1S50, p. 209. 



