BURIAL SUPERSTITIONS— KAROK. 105 



Being refused a passage, these souls return to their bodies and reanimate 

 them. They believe that animals have souls, and even that inorganic sub- 

 stances, such as kettles, etc , have in them a similar essence. 



" In this land of souls all are treated according to their merits. Those 

 who have been good men are free from pain ; they have no duties to per- 

 form, their time is spent in dancing and singing, and they feed upon mush- 

 rooms, which are very abundant. The souls of bad men are haunted by 

 the phantom of the persons or things that they have injured; thus, if a man 

 has destroyed much property the phantoms of the wrecks of this property 

 obstruct his passage wherever he goes ; if he has been cruel to his dogs or 

 horses they also torment him after death. The ghosts of those whom dur- 

 ing his lifetime he wronged are there permitted to avenge their injuries. 

 They think that when a soul has crossed the stream it cannot return to its 

 body, yet they believe in apparitions and entertain the opinion' that the 

 spirits of the departed will frequently revisit the abodes of their friends in 

 order to invite them to the other world and to forewarn them of their 

 approaching dissolution." 



Stephen Powers, in his valuable work so often quoted, gives a number 

 of examples of superstitions regarding the dead, of which the following 

 relates to the Karok of California : 



" How well and truly the Karok reverence the memory of the dead 

 is shown by the fact that the highest crime one can commit is the pet-clii-e- 

 ri, the mere mention of the dead relative's name. It is a deadly insult to 

 the survivors and can be atoned for only by the same amount of blood- 

 money paid for willful murder. In default of that they will have the villain's 

 blood. * * * At the mention of his name the moldering skeleton turns 

 in his grave and groans. They do not like stragglers even to inspect the 

 burial place. * * * They believe that the soul of a good Karok goes to 

 the 'happy western land ' beyond the great ocean. That they have a well- 

 grounded assurance of an immortality beyond the grave is proven, if not 

 otherwise, by their beautiful and poetical custom of whispering a message 

 in the ear of the dead. * * * Believe that dancing will liberate some 

 relative's soul from bonds of death and restore him to earth." 



According to the same author, when a Kelta dies a little bird flies away 



