568 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



insurance companies is quoted to show that 

 "from the material standpoint of dollars and 

 cents the life of the American is at least as 

 good as, if not better than, that of the Euro- 

 pean, all other conditions being the same. 

 And if we remember that probably the ma- 

 jority of the holders of policies of life insur- 

 ances in this country is made up from those 

 same active, pushing, and rushing men, a 

 class among which death from overwork 

 would naturally occur most frequently, then 

 the figures mentioned acquire additional 

 force. A compilation drawn from every 

 available source regarding the estimated du- 

 ration of life at different years of age in 

 America and in Europe gives figures that show 

 that the chances of the American, from early 

 manhood to a good old age, are, all through, 

 a little better than those of his English 

 brother, and a good deal better than those of 

 the Germans. 



Funeral Customs of the Haida Indians 

 (Queen Charlotte Islands). — According to the 

 Rev. C. Harrison, all men, and particularly 

 the chiefs among these Indians, are greatly 

 honored on their departure from this world. 

 When the man dies, the next to succeed 

 him (generally his nephew) is presented with 

 blankets, dishes, beads, guns, canoes, prints, 

 pottery, dogs, axes, and furniture. They are 

 not, however, for his own benefit, but for 

 the benefit of the deceased, and those who 

 take part in the burial ceremony. In fact, 

 nothing seems to be too valuable for the 

 funeral. Christians are afraid to break the 

 news of a friend's death to his wife, father, 

 and mother. Not so, however, with the Hai- 

 das. The author has seen them make the 

 coffin and decorate it in the presence of the 

 sick person when they have come to the con- 

 clusion that he is about to die. They also 

 tell the sick man that he will not recover, 

 and urge him not to attempt to do so. The 

 members of his tribe and all the chiefs of 

 the other tribes come in to see him, and 

 talk of nothing else but of others who have 

 had the same sickness and died. When he 

 hears what they have determined that he 

 should do, he then refuses to eat and drink, 

 and so hastens the demise. When gasping 

 for breath, he is washed, and his shroud, made 

 of white cotton, is then put on ; white stock- 

 ings are put on his feet ; he is clad in a pair 



of white woolen drawers, and a white hand- 

 kerchief is tied around his head. His neck 

 is encircled with beads, a spot of red paint 

 is put on either cheek, and a black spot on 

 his forehead. When thus arrayed, all his 

 friends enter the house and wait until he 

 dies. They think very little of each other 

 when in health and strength, but as soon as 

 they are dead they become valuable and are 

 called good Indians. When a person dies, 

 they arrange a bed in the corner of the 

 house and cover it with white cotton and 

 place the deceased thereon, and then they 

 cover him with a sheet of the same material. 

 In twenty-four hours' time the body is placed 

 in the coffin and arranged in the position in 

 which it is to be buried. Then the time of 

 mourning comes. All the old women of the 

 tribe and the friends and relatives of the 

 deceased begin to groan and sigh and cry. 

 After they have wept for one or two hours, 

 the greatest chief present calls for silence. 

 Then the smoking feast begins. During the 

 smoking entertainment the chiefs and friends 

 of the deceased, according to rank, will be- 

 gin to extol his virtues, and try to console 

 his relatives by reference to his disposition 

 toward the poor, his love for his friends, and 

 his kindness toward his wife and children ; 

 and they also are very careful to refer to his 

 liberality when making a free distribution of 

 his goods — namely, a potlatch. Everything 

 done in his past life passes under review, 

 and they then conclude by saying that his 

 time had come, and that the gods wanted 

 him, and he, being a good and wise man, had 

 obeyed their summons. When any one of 

 importance dies, the news is carried to all the 

 villages, and they at once come to see the 

 dead man and also consult with the relatives 

 regarding the funeral arrangements. If the 

 deceased person belonged to the Bears, the 

 funeral preparations are made and conducted 

 by the Eagle Crest, and vice versa. After 

 the funeral is over, all the people are feasted 

 by the deceased man's nephew, who then 

 assumes his uncle's title and property. 



Self-purification. — The results of recent 

 discussions in Europe, in which Prausnitz, 

 Prof. Pettenkofer, Prof. Buchner, and Prof. 

 Frankland have taken part, indicate that 

 " self -purification " of rivers by oxygena- 

 tion and sunlight, while it may be sufficient 



