104 BURIAL SUPERSTITIONS— CHIPPEWA. 



" When a Hidatsa dies his shade lingers four nights around the camp 

 or village in which he died, and then goes to the lodge of his departed 

 kindred in the ' village of the dead.' When he has arrived there he is 

 rewarded for his valor, self-denial, and ambition on earth by receiving the 

 same regard in the one place as in the other, for there as here the brave 

 man is honored and the coward despised. Some say that the ghosts of 

 those that commit suicide occupy a separate part of the village, but that 

 their condition differs in no wise from that of the others. In the next 

 world human shades hunt and live in the shades of buffalo and other ani- 

 mals that have here died. There, too, there are four seasons, but they come 

 in an inverse order to the terrestrial seasons. During the four nights that * 

 the ghost is supposed to linger near his former dwelling, those who dis- 

 liked or feared the deceased, and do not wish a visit from the shade, scorch 

 with red coals a pair of moccasins which they leave at the door of the 

 lodge. The smell of the burning leather they claim keeps the ghost out ; 

 but the true friends of the dead man take no such precautions." 



From this account it will be seen that the Hidatsa as well as the 

 Algonkins and Mexicans believed that four days were required before the 

 spirit could finally leave the earth. Why the smell of burning leather 

 should be offensive to spirits it would perhaps be fruitless to speculate on. 



The next account, by Keating,* relating to the Chippewas, shows a 

 slight analogy regarding the slippery-pole tradition already alluded to: 



"The Chippewas believe that there is in man an essence entirely 

 distinct from the body; they call it Ochechag, and appear to supply to it the 

 qualities which we refer to the soul. They believe that it quits the body 

 at the time of death and repairs to what they term CheJcechekchekawe; this 

 region is supposed to be situated to the south and on the shores of the great 

 ocean. Previous to arriving there they meet with a stream which they are 

 obliged to cross upon a large snake that answers the purpose of a bridge ; 

 those who die from drowning never succeed in crossing the stream ; they 

 are thrown into it and remain there forever. Some souls come to the edge 

 of the stream but are prevented from passing by the snake that threatens 

 to devour them ; these are the souls of the persons in a lethargy or trance. 



* Long's Exped., 1834, ii, p. 158. 



