NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



when a person is brought to grief by death, such person's seat or 

 bed seems stained with human blood ; such is now your case. 



We therefore wipe off those stains with soft linen so that your 

 seat and bed may be clean and so that you may enjoy peace for a 

 day, for we may scarcely have taken our seats before we shall be 

 surprised to hear of another death. This we say and do, we four 

 brothers. 



6 Continue to hear the expression of us four brothers. When 

 a person is brought to grief through death, he is confined in the 

 darkness of deep sorrow, and such is now the case of your three 

 brothers. This we say, we four brothers. 



7 When a person is brought to grief by death, he seems to lose 

 sight of the sky (blinded with grief) and he is crushed with sorrow. 

 We therefore remove the mist from your eyes, so that the sky may 

 be clear to you. This we say and do, we four brothers. 



8 When a person is brought to grief by death he seems to lose 

 the sight of the sun ; this is now your case. We therefore remove 

 the mist so that you may see the sun rising over the trees or forest 

 in the east, and watch its course and when it arrives in midsky, it 

 will shed forth its rays around you, and you shall begin to see 

 your duties and perform the same as usual. This we say and do, 

 we four brothers. 



9 Now when the remains are laid and cause the mound of clay 

 (grave), we till the ground and place some nice grass over it 

 and place a nice slab over it, so that his body (that of the dead 

 lord) may quietly lay in his resting place, and be protected from 

 the heavy wind and great rain storms. This we say and do, we 

 four brothers. 



io Now continue to listen, for when a person is brought to 

 grief, and such is your condition, the sticks of wood from your 

 fire are scattered caused by death, so we the four brothers, will 

 gather up the sticks of wood and rekindle the fire, and the smoke 

 shall rise and pierce the sky, so that all the nations of the con- 

 federacy may see the smoke, and when a person is in great grief 

 caused by the death of some of our rulers, the head is bowed down 

 in deep sorrow. We therefore cause you to stand up again, our 

 uncles and surround the council fire again and resume your duties. 

 This we say and do, we four brothers. 



ii Continue to listen for when the Great Spirit created us, he 

 created a woman as the helpmate of man, and when she is called 



Record staff containing the history of a condolence and raising ceremony 



of a royaneh or councellor. 



