CHAPTER XIII. 



Death — Mourning for the Deceased— Physical Character — 

 Senses — Manufactures and Arts — Domestic and Warlike 

 Implements — War. 



When an Omawhaw dies, his kinsmen and friends assem- 

 ble around his body, and bewail their loss with loud lamen- 

 tation, weeping, and clapping of hands. Ong-pa-ton ga, being 

 once on a visit to St. Louis, observed a number of cattle ga- 

 thering- about a spot, where one of their kind had been re- 

 cently slaughtered, smelling the blood, and pawing the earth ; 

 he said they behaved very like his own people, on the death 

 of a relative. 



They suffer the deceased to remain but a short time pre- 

 viously to interment, and often bear the body to the grave, 

 before the warmth of vitality is entirely dissipated. The bo- 

 dy is enveloped in a bison robe, or blanket, which is secured 

 by a cord. It is then carried to the grave on the shoulders of 

 two or three men, and followed by the greater portion of 

 the mourners, without any order. The grave is an oblong 

 square, of sufficient length, and four or five feet deep. The 

 body is placed in the grave, and with it a pair or two of 

 mockasins, some meat for food, and many little articles and 

 comforts, the gifts of affection, to be used on the long jour- 

 ney which the deceased is supposed to be about to perform, 

 in order to arrive at the Wa-noch a-te, or town of brave and 

 generous spirits. The grave is then filled with earth, and a 

 small tumulus is raised over it, proportioned in magnitude to 

 the dignity of the deceased. The relatives bedaub their per- 

 sons with white clay, scarify themselves with a flint, cut out 

 pieces of their skin and flesh, pass arrows through their skin, 



vol. r. 36 



