628 



Varinas*, as in Canada, to the west of the Alleg- 

 hanies~{~. It seems remarkable enough, that, 

 notwithstanding the extreme abundance of wood 

 in those countries, the natives of the Oroonoko 

 were as little accustomed as the ancient Scythians 

 to burn the dead. They formed funeral piles 

 for this purpose sometimes after a battle only, 

 when the number of the dead was considerable. 

 Thus, in 1748, the Parecas burned not only the 

 bodies of their enemies, the Tamanaes, but also 

 those of their own relations, who fell on the 

 field of battle. The Indians of South America, 

 like all nations that live in a state of na- 

 ture, are strongly attached to the spots, where 

 the bones of their fathers repose. This feeling, 

 which a great writer has painted in a manner so 

 affecting in the episode of Atala, is cherished in 

 all it's primitive ardour by the Chinese. These 

 people, among whom every thing is the produce 

 of art, or rather of the most ancient civilization, 

 do not change their dwelling without carrying 

 along with them the bones of their ancestors. 



* Near Mijagual. See vol. iv, p. 314. 



+ This kind of mummies and skeletons contained in bask- 

 ets were recently discovered in a cavern in the United States. 

 Tt is believed, they belong to a race of men analogous to 

 that of the Sandwich Islands. The description of these 

 tombs {Mitchell, in the Bibl. Univ., Aotit, 1817, p. 335) has 

 however some similitude with that of the tombs of Ata- 

 ruipe. 



