76 FIELD AND FOREST. 



then placed upon the corpse such clothing and other effects as be- 

 longed to the deceased, and over all they placed more wood, until the 

 top of the pile was five feet above the ground. A quantity of dry 

 kindling and hay was placed on the windward side of the pile, and 

 all things being ready a match was applied, and the flames fanned by 

 a gentle breeze; the whole pile was soon wrapped in bright flames, and 

 the smoke rose curling gracefully to the sky. As soon as the fire was 

 lighted the women who had assembled began a wail that seemed to be 

 more affectation than reality. There was much conversation, as if 

 they were recounting to each other the many virtues of the deceased. 

 I observed that the longer they continued their lamentations the more 

 earnest were they in their discourse. Their position during the cre- 

 mation was seated upon the ground at a suitable distanee from the 

 fire. The men did not seem to participate in the lament, but stood 

 by with a long pole, and gave the fire an occasional poke, to adjust a 

 stick that was topling down, or to throw on a fresh supply of wood. 



The ceremony began about half-past three in the afternoon. I re- 

 mained a witness until nearly sundown, when I returned to my quar- 

 ters, a distance of about a mile, from which point I observed the smoke 

 of the cremation during the following night and day. 



The beef's head that I mentioned above was intended to supply the 

 material for baked meats that the mourners were expected to refresh 

 themselves with during their season of wailing and watching. The 

 Are was not allowed to go down till every vestige of the body was con- 

 sumed. 



Time would not allow me to be present during the whole of the pro- 

 cess, but I was informed that there was no change in the ceremony 

 from beginning to end. I visited the spot on the morning of the third 

 day, and found nothing but a bed of grey ashes colored with yellow, 

 which showed the calcination of the bones. 



There was no appearance that the bed of ashes had been disturbed 

 for the purpose of removing any of them as a souvenir of the deceased. 

 In the above simple manner the body of a poor Indian, and all that 

 he possessed, was effectually returned 'ashes to ashes.' 



For a people who have no appliances for digging a grave or making 

 a coffin, where the hungry wolf prowls at night and snatches from the 

 most carefully dug grave all bodies not encoffined, the above method 



