BUEIAL SUPERSTITIONS— HIDATSA. 103 



underwent a certain process of purification, others that demons were driven 

 away by them, and again that they were to afford light to the wandering 

 soul setting out for the spirit land. One writer states that "the Algonkins 

 beliered that the fire lighted nightly on the grave was to light the spirit on 

 its journey. By a coincidence to be explained by the universal sacred- 

 ness of the number, both Algonkins and Mexicans maintained it for four 

 nights consecutively. The former related the tradition that one of their 

 ancestors returned from the spirit land and informed their nation that the 

 journey thither consumed just four days', and that collecting fuel every 

 night added much to the toil and fatigue the soul encountered, all of which 

 could be spared it." So it would appear that the belief existed that the fire 

 was also intended to assist the spirit in preparing its repast. 



"Stephen Powers* gives a tradition current among the Yurok of Cali- 

 fornia as to the use of fires: 



"After death they keep a fire burning certain nights in the vicinity of 

 the grave. They hold and believe, at least the 'Big Indians' do, that the 

 spirits of the departed are compelled to cross an extremely attenuated 

 greasy pole, which bridges over the chasm of the debatable land, and that 

 they require the fire to light them on their darksome journey. A righteous 

 soul traverses the pole quicker than a wicked one, hence they regulate the 

 number of nights for burning a light according to the character for good- 

 ness or the opposite which the deceased possessed in this world." Dr. Emil 

 Bessels, of the Polaris expedition, informs the writer that a somewhat 

 similar belief obtains among the Esquimaux. 



SUPERSTITIONS. 



An entire volume might well be written which should embrace only 

 an account of the superstitions regarding death and burial among the 

 Indians, so thoroughly has the matter been examined and discussed by 

 various authors, and yet so much still remains to be commented on, but in 

 this work, which is simply preliminary, and is hoped will be provocative of 

 future efforts, it is deemed sufficient to give only a few accounts. The 

 first is by Dr. W. Mathews, U. S. A.,f and relates to the Hidatsa : 



('mil. to N. A. Etlmol., 1*77, ", 1>. 58. 

 tEthuol. and Philol. ..I' the Hidatsa Indians. U. S. Geol. Sniv. of Terr., 1*77, p. 409. 



