E one Uex CRLSSI ne ae ee ee ee = = 5 £ = = i 2 2 : x = > raanimeieimenian re ee - ; . : 7 ; . BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BUEEBTIN 83) PEATE! {ancey (Ll: SIOUX BURIAL MOUND, WITH RECENT OJIBWAY GRAVES Mille Lac, Minn., May 20, 1900 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 83 BURIALS OF THE ALGONQUIAN, SIOUAN AND CADDOAN TRIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI BY DAVID I. BUSHNELL, Jr. WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1927 SUSE co “PTAA t Le Pee . he “4 ~ « i £ | ; gat ' } ee ya ; OP y ee é ; ’ ; s ise Ue? < y . y 4 - r f\>¥ ys 5 s | By + be he " 1x ; os hg re ape en aT AE Ie eras - =f * sepa ees . \ . . . ‘ i “ ye shivett, She ie 4 he ‘ Pr 3 d re * ay he Fy Ld .™ 7 _ - 4 AY, ~ ° al < . P ee ILLUSTRATIONS PLATES Page 1. Intrusive Ojibway graves on a Sioux burial mound___________ Frontispiece 2. Ojibway burials on the banks of Red River, 1858___________________ 6 3. Ojibway burials on the banks of Red River, 1858___________________ 6 4, Ojibway graves at Red Lake, Minn. About 1895__________________ 6 5. Tree burial. Southern Cheyenne. Mooney, 1891__--___-_--_______- 6 6. Tree burial. Southern Cheyenne. Mooney, 1891__________________ 10 jmmchnevenne burial in artravois basket 2o222 0 2 ee 10 8. Scaffold burial with travois basket. Probably Northern Cheyenne___ 10 Umno puiial eround, Wastman —- 22-2 a 10 MO sScaitod-purial., Seymour, W823 2.8 2 ee 32 11. “Funeral seaffold of a Sioux chief.” Bodmer, 1834________________ 32 smc TOA el PNT Ce tered Ses ey ee Ne a 2S aN eS 32 i onion se Otel atatone Juaramie... 1868-225. hls ee ee 32 imeirecsburiaic near, Hort luaramie. (S682 252. eee 40 PESTO GCE wm UNI Ale ce = ke eR ae ee re EC a eee Pe, 40 16. Death scene among the Brulés. Miss Fletcher, 1881_________________ 40 17. “Tombs of Assiniboin Indians on trees.” Bodmer, 1833_____-_____-- 40 18. a, Father De Smet, 1851. 6, Assiniboin Indian at Fort Union, 1851. TET VSs gS CLINPA C0 ey 7p ERS BR cre irae ge a EO IE A PEE CC 48 1S HorgeUnion in) 18di- a, Exterior, 6; Interior, Kurzl222-———2-2=__ = 48 Aisicreeceny: HMmegnch JIGUnZ2=._ 20 oe eae ee Ee 48 21. a, View on the upper Missouri, Blackbird’s grave. Catlin, 1832. aview trom blackbird» Hills: Jackson, 187lje =. es ee 48 Domains oT aVen- GOOGMen | 1SSae ss ee oe ale ee nee A Yes 52 Pee TRTEyIEY Sian) LAE Sd Ses ets PRs See a i ee 52 24. Ponea burials. a, Scaffold holding several bodies. 6, Graves pro- RECEOU MINAS DLC KS = eos ee™ erleee te 2 ieee A ee a eee 52 25. a, Osage graves on a ridge near Pawhuska, Okla. 6, The Gasconade ESET ee ete TIS 3 COUN ys oN Oe ee ee ee ae a eee 52 26. a, Mandan village and scaffold burials. Catlin, 1832. 06, “ Butte de NOT Upper MiSsoOUtt = Oatlin: ol Go2 a 02 ah ae ee a ee ee ce 27. Mandan shrine near the village. Bodmer, 1883_____-_-_________--- 72 28. Mandan offerings, near Fort Berthold. Kurz, 1851-_----_-__--______- ae PS CEN OS MD Ve SEC UIT Zew ioe Lt see ee ee ee eS eee ee 2 30. a, Crow Agency on the Yellowstone. Jackson, 1871. 0b, Crow burials NeaeetheracenCey.= Ts ACKSONS OLS (bees es oe St Se es oe 78 31. Crow burials near the Crow Agency. a, Scaffold burial of Chief Crazy Wolf. Prando. 0b, The distant grave is that of Chief iran tO reGat Ss4.0™ PTaN GOL 2 yee ee ee 78 Sid. LUT OTM Ls TBAT Las septs Sey Oa ee ae tig a eS a A a ac eae ae See 78 33. Crow burials near the Crow Agency. ad, On the surface. 06, Scaffold_ 78 34. Burial of Crow Chief Ten Bear at the Crow Agency. a, Lodge re- moved and poles placed beneath scaffold. 6, Scaffold and death PECL pee ees tan ena See w ee seee Nee et aie be te ai 5 2 See SS A 78 x ILLUSTRATIONS Page 35. a, View near Fort Keogh, Mont. b, Body of a child wrapped and in crotch, of treevon bank.of thes Bicviloms = eee aes oe eens 78 36. Pawnee. cemetery. 4 222 Se ee ee Ae ee eee 78 $7. Arikara graves at. Hort Clark, swWimar, S598 2 2 en Se eee ee 78 TEXT FIGURES 1. Plan of burials in a mound, Mille Lac, Minn., 1900_~_____! _=__ LG 2. Scaffold burials of the Yankton: “Bodmer, 183322222252 29 3; Various: forms of burials. “Canin, S32. 225s ae ee eee 52 BURIALS OF THE ALGONQUIAN, SIOUAN, AND CADDOAN TRIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI By Davin I. BusHnett, JR. THE HABITAT OF THE THREE GROUPS The Algonquian, Siouan, and Caddoan tribes, whose burial cus- toms form the subject of this sketch, once dominated the entire valley of the Missouri and the adjacent regions far north and south. At that time the endless prairies, claimed as their hunting grounds by the many tribes, were roamed over by the millions of buffalo which served to attract the native hunters from the widely scattered villages. This is now a rich section of the United States, with many cities and towns the population of any one of which is far greater than was that of the entire region a few generations ago. The primitive camps and villages of these tribes, with their various types of habitations and other structures, have already been described by the writer (Bushnell, (1)), and at this time the burial customs of the same people will be considered. Unfortunately the various travelers and explorers who traversed the country included in this sketch, and who must necessarily have come in contact with the native tribes, did not leave any very clear or specific accounts of the ceremonies enacted by the people at the time of the burial of their dead. It may be assumed, however, that such ceremonies were seldom witnessed by white men, especially by any who would or could have left written descriptions of the trans- actions, but there is reason to believe the rites were usually quite simple. The nature of the country in which a tribe lived, whether broken and mountainous, a rolling open prairie, or densely timbered, with lakes and streams, exerted the greatest influence on the ways of life of the people, which in time became their fixed customs. And by reason of their natural environment different groups of tribes were led to adopt certain distinct methods of disposing of their dead. This is clearly demonstrated by the stone-inclosed burials of the Osage found on many rocky cliffs in the region south of the Mis- 1 2 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 83 souri, by the high scaffold burials of the tribes who frequented the plains, and by the log-covered graves of the people of the lake and forest country beyond the headwaters of the Mississippi. In describing the burial customs of the tribes of the three stocks they will be discussed in the same sequence as was observed when referring to their villages, in the work mentioned above. However, it is to be regretted that no specific references to the burial customs of certain tribes have been discovered in the many journals and narratives examined. ALGONQUIAN TRIBES The Algonquian tribes were the northernmost of the three groups certain of whose customs are to be described at this time. True, a great majority of the tribes of this stock, the most numerous lin- guistic family in North America, lived eastward from the Mississippi and their burial customs have already been discussed (Bushnell, (2) ), but others occupied large areas west of the river, and many of the latter retained their primitive manners and ways of life until recent times, little influenced by contact with Europeans. Within the past two centuries many of the Algonquian tribes have removed from their earlier habitat, some advancing before the encroaching settlements of the whites, others seeking better hunting grounds. Two centuries ago the region about the headwaters of the Mississippi was occupied by the Dakota tribes, soon to be driven to the south and west by their inveterate enemies, the Ojibway, who continued to hold the country where game was so abundant and where the lakes and streams teemed with fish, ail so easily secured for food. The Algonquian tribes to be mentioned on the following pages include the Ojibway or Sauteux; the Cree; and the Cheyenne, Blackfoot, and Arapaho, the three usually being considered as constituting the western division of the stock. In addition to the preceding we shall also refer to the Sauk and Foxes, and others who crossed the Mississippi within recent times. Ostpway, OR SAUTEUX The Ojibway, one of the largest native tribes of North America, when first encountered by the French missionaries early in the seven- teenth century, lived along the timbered shores of Lake Huron and Lake Superior, quite remote from the region occupied by Europeans for more than a hundred years. Later, having obtained firearms from the traders, they were enabled to attack the neighboring tribes with greater success, and gradually they pushed westward across the present State of Minnesota to the Valley of Red River and beyond. BUSHNELL] BURIALS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI 3) At the beginning of the last century the old North-West Co. had trading posts in that part of the country, and Peter Grant was for some years at the head of the Red River department of the company. He was a careful observer, as indicated by his writings, and fortu- nately about the year 1804 prepared a most valuable account of the manners and ways of life of the Sauteux, whose camps were then scattered through the valley and who traded at his company’s posts. In describing the ceremonies which attended death and burial he wrote: “ It is very singular that they seldom impute sickness to any natural cause, but, on the contrary, imagine that some person has bewitched them, or thrown bad medicines in their way. “ When at the last extremity and death seems inevitable, the prin- cipal men assemble with their medicine bags, drums and rattles, which they accompany with the death song, to encourage the depart- ing soul on his journey to the next world. “When life is gone, the body is addressed by some friend of the deceased in a long speech in which he begs of him to take courage and boldly pursue his journey to the great meadow, observing that all his departed friends and relations are anxiously waiting to receive him, and that his surviving friends will soon follow. “ The body is then decently dressed and wrapped in a new blanket, with new shoes garnished, and painted with vermilion on the feet. It is kept for one night in the lodge, and is next day buried in the earth. The nearest relations bear it to the grave, in which it is wrapped up in birch bark instead of a coffin, carefully laying his medicine bag under the head. Some bury kettles, guns, axes and various other articles with the body, but this custom is not general. Before the grave is shut, the nearest relation takes a lock of the deceased’s hair and carefully wraps it up in a piece of cloth or blan- ket; this they continually carry with them from place to place and keep many years as a remembrance. This pledge of their affection is particularly honored at their feasts and drinking matches by hav- ing the first offerings of their meat and drink.” (Grant, p. 364.) After being filled with earth the graves were carefully covered, and then, so the account continues, “ They either raise a pile of wood over the grave, or inclose it with a fence; at the head of the grave a small post is erected on which they carve the particular mark of the tribe to whom the deceased belonged.” And it is of very great interest to find here a brief reference to scaffold burials, and the reason they were erected by the Sauteux: “The bodies of some of their most celebrated chiefs are raised upon high scaffolds, with flags flying and the scalps of their enemies, with other trophies of their’ prowess, suspended from a high pole, but all those monuments are not intended so much to distinguish their great men from the vulgar as 4 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 83 to ensure to their departed souls the same respectability in the next world which they enjoyed in this. “Tt is customary with their warriors at the funeral of their great men to strike the post and relate all their martial achievements as they do in the war dance, and their funeral ceremonies generally conclude by a feast around the grave.” (Op. cit., p. 365.) They cherished the memory of the dead and would often visit the graves of persons who had died 30 or 40 years before and honor them in various ways. During the period of mourning they would blacken their faces, abandon all ornaments, and allow their hair to fall unkempt over their faces. “They, likewise, stab their thighs, legs, and arms in a cruel manner; the women, for the loss of a hus- band or a favorite child, will cut all their hair, and both sexes wear a black string around their wrists and ankles. All their effects, except those which are absolutely necessary, are voluntarily thrown away, and may be taken by whoever chooses.” The Sauteux believed in the existence of a future state, in the immortality of the soul, and held that death was not to be dreaded as it was but the means of reaching a better world, where the good would ever enjoy themselves. It was their belief that “ When life leaves the body the soul immediately goes to the southward, to a delightful country stocked with the choicest game and all ‘things necessary for the happiness of man, and where Azjaz Manitou receives them on the banks of a beautiful river. Here he keeps his court and judges mankind according to its deserts; the wicked Indians he delivers over to Macht Manitou, who receives them under the earth in a wretched dungeon swarming with serpents, and where the poor souls endure every degree of misery, while the good are immediately released from any future dread of pain, and enjoy every pleasure which the heart of man can desire.” But before arriv- ing at this haven of rest they reach a river, and according to their belief, “ They must cross the river on a single pole, laid across as a bridge, and carry all their wicked deeds in a bundle on their back; if the bundle is too heavy, the unfortunate bearer is apt to stumble and fall in the river, whose rapid stream sweeps him along into the dreary regions, where he must forever remain under dominion of the ‘ Bad Spirit.’ Infants or persons very old and infirm are natu- rally supposed unable to pass the bridge, but if they were persons of good behaviour before their death, the Master of Life takes pity on them and kindly helps them over.” It was supposed to require several days for the souls to reach the pole bridge across the river, during which time they must carry all provisions necessary for the journey. Arriving at the bridge they were offered choice food but if accepted the souls were sent to the Bad Spirit. “All the Sciews BUSHNELL] BURIALS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPT 5 they killed in war are supposed to attend them as slaves to the other world, where husbands live with their wives and children, where society exists as it did before death,” never to change. (Op. cit., pp. 354-355.) The preceding is one of the most interesting records of the burial customs of a northern tribe extant and for that reason has been quoted at length. It was prepared by one who knew the Indian in his primitive state. The burials as they appeared at that time un- doubtedly resembled others which stood in the same region a little more than half a century later, “ the secluded Ojibway graves, on the banks of Red River,” where were to be seen “ Sioux scalps decorated with beads, bits of cloth, coloured ribbons, and strips of leather sus- pended at the extremity of a long slender stick, near the head of the grave.” (Hind, p. 120.) Two photographs, probably the first ever made in the Red River Valley, taken in the year 1858 by a member of the Hind expedition, are now reproduced in Plates 2 and 3. These show the covered graves surrounded by fences to serve as addi- tional protection, and probably did not differ in appearance from the graves of the ancestors of the same people through many generations. On the shores of Mille Lac and in the surrounding region, near the center of the present State of Minnesota, stood the numerous vil- lages of the Dakota two centuries and more ago. It is quite evident, as will be shown in the following pages, that the Dakota were the builders of the many small burial mounds now discovered in the region, and it is of the greatest interest to know that the Ojibway, the later comers, acknowledge the mounds to have been erected by the earlier occupants of the land whom they, by force of arms, pushed southward and westward to and beyond the Mississippi. These mounds, the known burial places of the Siouan tribes, served the invaders as elevated sites for graves of their own dead. Thus we have the explanation of the origin of the so-called “intrusive burials,” such as may be encountered in the majority of ancient mounds throughout the length and breadth of the Mississippi Valley. During the spring of 1900 several of the larger ancient mounds at the Ojibway village of Sagawamick, on the south shore of Mille Lac, were covered with recent Ojibway graves. A typical example is shown in Plate 1, from a photograph made during the month of May of that year. The graves, as will be noticed, were surrounded by pickets to protect them from the innumerable dogs belonging to the village, and from wild animals as well. Great changes have taken place in the appearance of the country during the quarter of a cen- tury since the picture was made. One of the most ancient Ojibway settlements stands on the bank of Red Lake, in the northwestern part of Minnesota. A generation 6 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 83 ago it existed as it had through several centuries, little influenced by contact with the encroaching towns of the whites. A very interest- ing photograph of a portion of the cemetery near the Ojibway vil- lage, made about the year 1895, is shown in Plate 4. This was taken by Rey. J. A. Gilfillan, a great friend of the Ojibway, who labored among the scattered people for a quarter of a century. No reference to any form of scaffold burial at Mille Lac has been discovered, but it is highly probable that such a method of disposing of the dead was sometimes followed. It appears to have been quite usual in the vicinity of Sandy Lake, a short distance northward. In a diary kept by Martin McLeod during his travels through the pres- ent State of Minnesota nearly a century ago is an entry made while at Sandy Lake, November 10, 1836. It reads: “ Making preparations for an immediate start up the Mississippi 300 miles to Lake Winni- peg. Weather still mild hope to succeed in getting there with Canoes. Observed a number of coffins containing bodies placed on poles about 12 feet high. Learned that that is frequently the Indian mode of depositing their bodies in this part of the Indian Country.” (McLeod, p. 384.) CREE The Cree and Ojibway were closely related; they spoke the same language, followed similar customs, and possessed equally strange beliefs. 'The Ojibway continued to live in the seclusion of the forest- covered region, but the Cree were attracted to the prairie country, where the buffalo then roamed in vast herds, and although this re- sulted in some changes in the ways of life of the people, it is evident they adhered to their old burial customs and beliefs. This is clearly indicated by comparing the following brief account of the habits of the Cree with Grant’s description of the customs of the Sauteux, and probably not more than five years intervened between the prepa- ration of the two accounts. Mackenzie wrote regarding the Cree, or Knisteneaux: “The funeral rites begin, like all other solemn cere- monials, with smoking, and are concluded by a feast. The body is dressed in the best habiliments possessed by the deceased, or his rela- tions, and is then deposited in a grave, lined with branches; some domestic utensils are placed on it, and a kind of canopy erected over it. During this ceremony, great lamentations are made, and if the departed person is very much regretted the near relations cut off their hair, pierce the fleshy part of their thighs and arms with arrows, knives, &c. and blacken their faces with charcoal. If they have distinguished themselves in war, they are sometimes laid on a kind of scaffolding; and I have been informed that women, as in the East, have been known to sacrifice themselves to the manes of their SRL AOALY poy Jo syuvq oy4 uo ‘autyy ‘yT AoIyduiny, Aq ydeasojoyd SMOILS LITdS HLIM GSYSsAOO ‘SSAVED NVIOGNI ¢ ALVid €8 NILATING ADOIONHLA NVOINAWY 43O Nvadnd SST ‘IOATY poy Jo syueq oy) uo ‘eum “y Aorqgdun yA Aq ydeiz0j04g MYVa HOYIE HLIM GSYSAOO ‘SSAVHD NVIGNI € 3Al1Vid €8 NiLaq7qng ASOIONHLA NVOIYSWVY 4O nvaunag c68l| LNOdVY ‘NNIW ‘axNvV1 Gay LV SSAVYS AVMAIPO vy alVid €8 NILS11NG ADOIONHIS NVOIYSAWY SO Nvadnd BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULEERINGS3nmrZ AE > SOUTHERN CHEYENNE TREE BURIAL. SOUTH CANADIAN RIVER, OKLA., 1891 Photograph by James Mooney BUSHNELL] BURIALS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI Z husbands. The whole of the property belonging to the departed person is destroyed, and the relations take in exchange for the wear- ing apparel, any rags that will cover their nakedness. The feast bestowed on the occasion, which is, or at least used to be, repeated annually, is accompanied with eulogiums on the deceased, and with- out any acts of ferocity. On the tomb are carved or painted the symbols of his tribe, which are taken from the different animals of the country.” (Mackenzie, pp. xcviii-xcix.) And the same writer when describing the many strange beliefs of the Cree wrote: “Among their various superstitions, they believe that the vapour which is seen to hover over moist and swampy places, is the spirit of some person lately dead. They also fancy another spirit which appears, in the shape of a man, upon the trees near the lodge of a person deceased, whose property has not been interred with them. He is repre- sented as bearing a gun in his hand, and it is believed that he does not return to his rest, till the property that has been withheld from the grave has been sacrificed to it.” (Op. cit., p. evi.) While at Fort Union, September 28, 1851, Friedrich Kurz wit- nessed another form of Cree mourning. He wrote in his journal at that time: “Today I saw a Cree squaw with the upper part of her body entirely uncovered; a sign, they say, of mourning for the loss of a child. She was walking and wore a buffalo robe. The Cree squaw’s garb is like that of the Sauteuse woman, i. e. shoulders and arms bare, skirt held up by means of bands or straps.” CHEYENNE Generations ago the Cheyenne lived far eastward from the Mis- souri, and possibly at one time their villages were in the midst of the densely timbered area of Minnesota between the shore of Mille Lac and the extremity of Lake Superior. Thence they moved to the valley of the Minnesota and by successive moves up that stream arrived in a region then teeming with countless herds of buffalo. They pushed across the Great Plains and soon became a veritable plains tribe, following and huntingethe buffalo, which became so necessary to them in their changed ways of life. A century ago all were living in one community, or rather region, but about the year 1830 some moved southward, later on to be joined by others. These have been designated the Southern Cheyenne, and their home at the present time isin Oklahoma. Those who remained in the north and who are known as the Northern Cheyenne have lands in Montana. It is quite natural to suppose that with a decided change in the nature of their surroundings, from a heavily forested country to a 3019°—27——2 8 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 83 vast open prairie, many of their tribal customs would show a corre- sponding change. This was undoubtedly true in respect to the burial customs of the tribe, and it is highly probable that while living in the region of lakes, surrounded by forests of pine, they deposited their dead in excavated graves after the fashion of the kindred Ojibway, who occupied the same territory until recent years. The customs of the Cheyenne of the present day and of those of recent times have been recorded by Grinnell, and no work on tie American Indians previously printed contains such a vast amount of valuable information regarding the manners and ways of life of a native tribe as does the contribution from which the following quotations are made. Referring to the Cheyenne: “The bodies of men, women, and children were placed on scaffolds in trees, on scaffolds on poles on the prairie, on scaffolds or on beds in a lodge, and in caves or crevices in the rocks, or were placed on the ground and stones piled over them. “Sometimes, if several people died at the same time, as often happened in epidemics, or after a battle, two or three might be placed on the same scaffold in a tree. “Phe body of a man who died in battle, however, was left lying on the prairie, sometimes covered with a blanket, oftener not covered. Men thought it well that wolves, coyotes, eagles, buzzards, and other animals should eat their flesh, and scatter their bodies far and wide over the prairie... When a man wounded in battle was being transported to camp, and died on the way, they made a little house, somewhat like a sweat-lodge, and placed him in it, wrapped in blankets on a bed of white sage. The shelter was covered with grass, over which the bark of trees was laid, and over all a sheet was spread and pinned down all around.” (Grinnell, II, pp: 163-164.) During the early summer of 1857, after defeating the Cheyenne, the troops under command of Colonel Sumner followed the fleeing In- dians. They frequently encountered “along the trail freshly made graves, showing that a number of the Cheyennes had succumbed from their wounds after the fight.” (Peck, p. 501.) Could these graves, made by the survivors of a village then endeavoring to escape destruction, have been as elaborately constructed as those mentioned in the preceding note? It is hardly probable. Doctor Grinnell has given a very complete account of the customs and beliefs attending death and burial among the tribe, and to again quote: “ When a man died, anyone who would undertake it, usually his close relations, men and women, sometimes assisted by a comrade or a close friend, if the man had one, prepared the body for burial. It was dressed in its finest clothing, and sometimes friends and relatives brought their own best clothing for him to BUSHNELL] BURIALS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI 9 be buried in. The body, extended at full length, hands at sides, was placed on robes or blankets, which were then folded closely over it, and the bundle was lashed with ropes passed many times about it. The bundle was then taken out of the lodge, lashed on a travois, and carried to the place of deposit, the immediate family following. With the man they placed his war implements—his gun, bow and arrows, and axe and knives—and also his pipe and tobacco, and anything he especially valued... If the dead man owned horses, his best horse was saddled and bridled, and shot near the grave. Sometimes several horses were so killed. If the body was put in a tree or on a scaffold, the horses were shot under it... The burial took place soon after death. Because of the fear of ghosts, dead bodies were not kept about. The dead person having become a ghost, his spirit was likely to linger near the body, and might take away with it the spirit of some person still living. . . Relations testified to their grief by cutting off the hair. The wife, the mother, and often the sisters, cut their hair short, gashed their heads, and sometimes the calves of their legs, with knives. Sometimes they cut off a finger. Male relations did not cut their legs, but they unbraided their hair and let it hang loose.” (Grinnell, pp. 160-161.) Two very interesting photographs of tree burials of the Southern Cheyenne are reproduced as Plates 5 and 6. Both pictures were made by the late James Mooney on the banks of South Canadian River, Okla., in 1891. The burial shown in Plate 5 was evidently quite carefully prepared, with skins and pieces of heavy matting covering a rough frame in which the body had been placed. But the burial had probably been exposed to the elements for some months and the covering was in a torn, dilapidated condition when the photograph was made. The second picture, that reproduced in Plate 6, was made by Mooney at the same time and place. How- ever, the platform does not appear to have been constructed with such care, and its size would indicate it had been intended to hold more than one body. It may have held two or three. This, as mentioned by Grinnell, was the custom of the people under certain conditions. The United States National Museum has a most remarkable example of a Cheyenne burial. It is a travois basket in which had been placed the remains of a small child, wrapped in many blankets, some beautifully decorated, and accompanied by various beads and other ornaments. This rested upon a scaffold and was collected by Dr. G. M. Sternberg on Walnut Creek, Kans., July 26, 1869. A photograph of the travois basket, with the various blankets, etc., » folded and placed within it, but not in the manner in which they 10 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETH NOLOGY [ BULL. 83 were discovered more than half a century ago, is reproduced in Plate 7. Unfortunately, the photograph which is shown in Plate 8 has not been identified. It belongs to the collection in the National Museum, but when and where made is not known. As it reveals the custom of the Northern Cheyenne, the burial scaffold may be regarded as having been erected by some members of that tribe. The supports of the scaffold at the corner nearest the position of the camera had fallen, thus allowing the scaffold with its burden to sag and to reveal more clearly the mass which rested upon the platform. One body had evidently been wrapped and placed within a travois basket, closely resembling and suggesting the example in the col- lection of the National Museum. One or more bodies, in addition to that in the travois basket, may have been on the platform. The six buffalo skulls had undoubtedly been placed upon the ground, near the scaffold, for some well-defined purpose or reason. Buackroor CONFEDERACY The allied tribes who formed this confederacy were the Siksika, or Blackfeet proper; the Kainah, or Bloods; and the Piegan. Asso- ciated with these were the Atsina, one of the divisions of the Arap- aho. The habitat of these comparatively numerous tribes was the rugged, mountainous region about the headwaters of the Missouri, with the adjacent plains—a region where game was plentiful, where the deep valleys offeréd protection against the rigors of the long winters, and where their enemies would seldom penetrate. During the earlier days of their contact with Europeans some bands of the confederated tribes dominated the region as far north as the Sas- katchewan. Maximilian, who came in contact with these tribes during the summer of 1833, wrote regarding the customs of the people at the time of the death of one of their number: “ When a Blackfoot dies, they do not bury him in the ground if they can avoid it, but sew him up in a buffalo robe, dressed in his best clothes, his face painted red, but without his weapons, and lay him in some retired place, in ravines, rocks, forests, or on a high, steep bank, and often cover the body with wood or stones, that the wolves may not get at it. Frequently, when they cannot find a solitary spot, the corpse re- mains above ground in a kind of wooden shed, and they were often obliged to bury it, or to give it to the Whites as a desirable present, which cannot be refused. The relations cut off their long hair, smear it, as well as their faces and clothes, with whitish-grey clay, and, during the time of mourning, wear their worst clothing. Often, too, they cut off a joint of a finger. They believe the dead go into BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 83 PLATE 6 SOUTHERN CHEYENNE TREE BURIAL, ON SOUTH CANADIAN RIVER, OKLA., 1891 Photograph by James Mooney (6188-1988 ‘IWN'S'A) *810qTI01S “WD Id Laysva SIOAVYL V NI 1VIdNd ANN3ASHO ADOITONHIA NVOINAWY 40 nvaund ZL aLlVid €8 NILA11ING BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 83 PLATE 8 SCAFFOLD BURIAL. REMAINS HAVE BEEN WRAPPED AND PLACED WITHIN A TRAVOIS BASKET. PROBABLY NORTHERN CHEYENNE ueujseq “§ ydeo Aq Zunured Is; 7 GNNOYS WIYNd NVIGNI 641Vid €8 NILAIING ADOIONHLA NVOIYANWVY 40 NVAENd BUSHNELL] BURIALS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI UG: another country, where they will have lack of nothing; and that they have often been heard when they were summoned to smoke a pipe together. At the funeral of rich Indians, several horses are often killed upon the spot; and we were told of instances when twelve or fifteen horses were killed in this manner at the funeral of a celebrated chief . . . The relations assemble at the residence of the deceasec, and even the men lament and wail. The corpse is gen- erally buried on the first day, and in case of death during the night, it is removed on the following morning.” (Maximilian, pp. 258- 259.) He likewise referred briefly to the treatment of the sick: “The medicine men or physicians of the Blackfeet are very un- skilful. We always saw them take water in their mouths, which they spit out over the wounded . . . Drums and rattles (schischikue) were daily used in their attendance on the sick, in the closed tent . . . These Indians have some efficacious remedies derived from the vegetable kingdom, one of which is a whitish root from the Rocky Mountains, which is called, by the Canadians, rhubarb, which is said to resemble our rhubarb in its effect and taste, and likewise to act as an emetic. Another root is esteemed to be a powerful remedy against the bite of serpents. In all cases they have recourse to the drum and the rattle, and have great confidence in the intolerable noise caused by those instruments. The Blackfeet make their rattles of leather, wood, or bladder.” (Op. cit., p. 258.) The burial and mourning customs of the Blackfeet were inter- estingly described by another observer a few years later: “ The Blackfeet do not place their dead on scaffolds but either in a hole well covered to keep off the wolves, or they leave them in the lodge with everything just as it is when they die. In that case the wolves of course eat their bodies very soon; and I am told that in this way the body of nearly every Blackfoot is disposed of. When one of them is in mourning he puts white earth on his head and goes out before his lodge wailing most piteously; as soon as the neighbors — see that they all rush to his lodge and take it and everything it con- tains, leaving him nothing but his horse. The death of a relation is therefore a very serious affair, since a man loses all his property as well as his friend.” (Culbertson, p. 126.) The two preceding accounts contain rather conflicting statements, but they may refer to different groups of the Blackfoot confederacy. Possibly the tribal customs have undergone a change within a com- paratively short time. This would be suggested by the following quotation: “Their manner of burial has always been (until re- cently) to inclose the dead body in robes or blankets, the best owned by the departed, closely sewed up, and then, if a male or chief, fasten in the branches of a tree so high as to be beyond the reach of wolves, and then left to slowly waste in the dry winds. If the body was 12 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [ BULL. 83 that of a squaw or child, it was thrown into the underbrush or jungle, where it soon became the prey of the wild animals. The weapons, pipes, &c., of men were inclosed, and the small toys of children with them. The ceremonies were equally barbarous, the relatives cutting off, according to the depth of their grief, one or more joints of the fingers, divesting themselves of clothing even in the coldest weather, and filling the air with their lamentations. All the sewing up and burial process was conducted by the squaws, as the men would not touch nor remain in proximity to a dead body.” (Yarrow, p. 161.) The preceding notes were prepared by John Young at the Blackfoot Agency, and tell of conditions as they existed some 50 years ago, but it is doubtful if he was acquainted with local customs of the more distant villages, where the older methods of disposing of the dead may still have been practiced. Another and what is intended to be a general account of the burial customs of these tribes written only a few years later is very interest- ing as it contains references to certain customs not mentioned by other writers. It begins: “ Their funeral and burial ceremonies in- dicate their belief in the immortality of the soul. These forms are of a similar type among all the tribes composing the nation. They place their dead, dressed in gaudiest apparel, within a tent, in a sitting posture, or occasionally fold them in skins and lay them on high scaf- folds out of the reach of wild beasts, under which the relatives weep and wail. The arms and horses are buried with them, to be used in the long journey to the spirit land, showing the possession of the idea of the dual nature of matter and spirit.” (Robinson, pp. 193- 194.) And the same writer continues and relates a curious custom following the death of a child: “ Immediately upon its decease, the whole village rush into the lodge and take possession of whatever portable property they can seize upon, until the grief-stricken par- ents are stripped of all their worldly possessions, not even excepting their clothing. The only method of evading the custom is to secrete the most valuable property beforehand, generally a matter difficult of accomplishment.” (Op. cit., p. 194.) Evidently the death of a child caused much sorrow among the people, and as told by one who was well acquainted with the ways of life of Blackfeet: “ Late one afternoon as I was pursuing my way through the outskirts of the camp, I heard a low sad wail, and on looking up, saw a poor woman meanly clad, the beautiful garments of yesterday, having been taken from her. Her legs from the knees to the feet had been gashed with a knife and the blood was clotted upon them. Her hair had been cut off, and one of the fingers on the left hand had been severed at the first joint. A piece of wood lay in the palm of the injured hand, the clotted blood was mingled with ashes, which had been sprinkled over. BUSHNELL] BURIALS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI 13 it. I spoke to her and she pointed to a tree, where hidden within the branches lay a little bundle, the darling of her bosom, recently dead. She turned from me and sang her coronach, mentioning the name of her babe and calling upon it to come back to her. Deeply and tender these Indian mothers love their children, and no suffering is too great for them to bear on their behalf.” (Maclean, p. 66.) In the same account is a reference to the placing of the dead “in the crotches of trees, or raised platforms, and in lodges,” the latter probably resembling the similar form of burial as mentioned among the Crow and Oglala. The writer whose work has just been quoted continues and gives a brief description of the treatment of the sick, and likewise of conditions that exist after death. He says: “When anyone is sick a part of the garments of the sick person is placed upon the top of the lodge, that being shaken by the wind the prairie spirits may be induced to stop upon their journey, and the medicine man earnestly performs his incantations and giving of medicines, assisted by the friends of the sick person, and the gods, listening to the prayers, will aid in the overthrow of the evil genius which dwells in the body. During a severe time of sickness in one of the camps, as I sat beside the medicine man in one of the lodges, a large number of children were brought in, and the medicine man, taking the dress from the top of the lodge, rubbed the children’s persons with it, as a protection against the attack of the disease. When anyone dies, he is said to have gone to the Sand Hills. “ The people are afraid of the spirits of the dead, and at once they remove the lodge, and sometimes even tear down the house, lest the spirit of the deceased return and inflict injury upon the living. They believe that the spirits of the dead hold communion with each other, and require food and clothing like the living, only as they are spirit- ual, they need the spiritual part, and not the material, for their sustenance. (Op. cit., p. 67.) ARAPAHO The ancient habitat of the Arapaho, before they reached the open prairie lands to follow the buffalo, was probably in the timbered regions northeast of the Minnesota River. The Atsina, a division of the Arapaho more closely connected with the Blackfeet, were usually mentioned by the early narrators as the Gros Ventres of the Prairies, and as such they were alluded ‘to by Maximilian. The latter wrote during August, 1833: “The Gros Ventres des Prairies ...In the main, their customs agree with those of the Blackfeet, and they dispose of their dead in the same manner.” (Maximilian, p. 234.) 14 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [ BULL. 83 SauK AND Foxss Although the earlier habitat of these closely related tribes was east of the Mississippi, they had, before the close of the first half of the last century, removed to the westward. A century ago the people of the tribes evidently maintained their primitive manners and ways of life, little changed through contact with the European settlers. An interesting account of their ceremonies attending death and burial was recorded by an agent to the tribes, Thomas Forsyth, dated St. Louis, January 15, 1827. He wrote in part: “ When an Indian is sick and finds he is going to die, he may direct the place and manner of his interment, his request is religeously performed. The Sauk and Fox Indians bury their dead in the ground and sometimes have them transported many miles to a par- ticular place of interment. The grave is dug similar to that of white people, but not so deep, and a little bark answers for a coffin, the body, is generally carried to the grave by old women, howling at intervals most piteously. Previous to closing the grave one or more Indians who attend the funeral will make a motion with a stick or war-club called by the Indians Puc-ca-maw-gun speaking in an audible voice, ‘I have killed so many men in war, I give their spirits to my deceased friend who lies there (pointing to the body) to serve him as slaves in the other world.’ After which the grave is filled up with earth, and in a day or two afterwards a kind of cabin is made over the grave with split boards something like the roof of a house, if the deceased was a brave a post is planted at the head of the grave, on which is painted with vermillion the num- ber of scalps and prisoners he had taken in war, distinguishing the sexes in-a rude manner of painting peculiar to themselves. The Indians bury their dead as soon as the body becomes cold, after the death of an adult all the property of the deceased is given away to the relations of the deceased and the widow or widower returns to his or her nearest relations . . . Many may mourn for the loss of a relation but the widows are always the principal mourners, they are really sincere, they are to be seen all in rags, their hair disheveled, and a spot of black made with charcoal on the cheeks, their counte- nance dejected, never seen to smile but appears always pensive, seldom give loose to their tears unless it is alone in the woods, where they are out of the hearing of any person, there they retire at inter- vals and cry very loud for about fifteen minutes, they return to their lodges quite composed.” Evidently the above statement regarding the disposal of the property of the deceased does not refer to, or rather does not include, certain ornaments and arms, and later the narrative contains this brief statement: “In burying Indians they place all their ornaments of the deceased, sometimes his gun and BUSHNELL] BURIALS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI 15 other implements for hunting, also some tobacco in his grave, paint and dress the dead body as well as possible previous to interment.” (Blair, II, pp. 206-209.) It was the belief of the people, so the account continues, “that the spirit of a deceased person hovers about the village or lodge for a few days, then takes its flight to the. land of repose.” Leaving the abodes of the living, the spirit “arrives at a very extensive Pirarie, over which they see the woods at a great distance appearing like a blue cloud.” Beyond the prairie is a rapid stream which flows be- tween it and the distant woods, “across this stream is a pole which is continually in motion by the rapidity of the water, the spirit must attempt to cross on the pole, if he or she has been a good person in this world, the spirit will get safe over and will find all of his or her good relations who died formerly.” The woods are filled with game, and to arrive there is to experience everlasting joy and happiness, but if “the person has done bad in this life, his or her spirit will fall off the pole into the water, the current of which will carry the spirit to the residence of the evil spirit,” and there it will ever re- main in misery. An interesting burial of a member of one of these tribes was en- countered by a missionary late in April, 1856, near Ottumwa, Coffey County, Kans. It stood in the timber, probably not far from the left or north bank of the Neosho River. He wrote: “A flock of carrion crows and buzzards attracted my attention. I rode out into the timber to see what they were after, and soon found what the gathering of the crows and buzzards meant. I saw a small pen built of poles and small logs, notched down cabin fashion... I found the body of a large Indian man sitting upright in the pen with a blanket thrown around him. He was kept in an upright position by two posts driven at his back. A post with the bark peeled off and painted red was driven in the ground outside of the pen. It was adorned with some scalps which had been nailed on the top of it, and some rude pictures of buffalo, elk, men and ponies. Beside him was a bottle filled with some kind of liquid, a bow and arrows, and a vessel that had probably been filled with succotash. The flesh had fallen off his head and face, giving him a very ghastly appearance. The pen was covered with logs to protect the body from the hungry coyotes... I stopped at the first cabin I came to and made inquiry about what I had seen, and to my surprise the man did not know there was a dead Indian so near his home. He knew, however, that the Sac and Fox Indians had spent the winter in the river bend below and had fed their ponies on the mulberry brush and wild rye.” (Rice, pp. 307-808.) Some months later, while at the agency, Rice was told that during the winter while 16 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 83 members of the tribes were encamped near the Neosho, “one of the big Indians, a Blackhawk, died and they put him away,” as described above. SIOUAN TRIBES The Siouan tribes form several distinct groups and their combined population caused them to rank second among the linguistic stocks, the Algonquian being the most numerous. It is quite evident that during the past centuries a great movement of the Siouan tribes occurred, forcing them, for some reasons unknown at this time, to abandon their old homes far east of the Mississippi, in the upper and central valley of the Ohio, and to seek new lands in the West. Daxorta-AssINnIBOIN GROUP The Dakota will first be considered. This is the largest of the divisions of the Siouan linguistic family, and included seven tribes, the Mdewakanton, Wahpeton, Wahpekute, Sisseton, Yankton, Yank- tonai, and Teton—the Seven Council Fires of the Dakota. During the latter half of the seventeenth century the first four tribes just mentioned were discovered by the French occupying vil- lages in the central part of the present State of Minnesota, on the shores of the great lakes, surrounded by dense pine forests. Soon they were to be driven southward and westward by the Ojibway, whose superiority of strength may be attributed to the possession of firearms which they obtained from the French traders. MDEWAKANTON Saturday, May 26, 1900, the writer was in camp on the northeast- ern shore of Mille Lac, Minn. A short distance down the lake shore was a large group of artificial mounds, 127 in number, some of which were 10 feet in height and 60 feet in diameter, although the great majority were much smaller. This was undoubtedly the site of a Sioux village of two and one-half centuries ago, and the mounds were the burial places of the dead. It was an interesting site, typical of others throughout the region, all of which were worthy of careful examination. Two of the mounds were excavated and in the first a single stone implement was discovered, but no trace of bones. The second mound was about 3 feet in height and 15 feet in diameter and proved of much interest. Resting upon or near the original surface were parts of four skeletons. In every case the long bones of the arms and legs had been placed together, with a skull resting upon the bundle thus formed. There were four such bundles which were discovered in the relative positions as indicated in the accompanying BUSHNELL] BURIALS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI 17 sketch. (Fig. 1.) In one instance two small ribs and two verte- brae were found in contact with the long bones, and one flint knife and a single fragment of pottery were discovered in the earth between the human bones, but no other objects were recovered from the mound. All material of a perishable nature had long ago decayed and disappeared, and undoubtedly the bones, when they were placed upon the ground to be covered with earth, were wrapped in skins, bags, or robes, possibly decorated with embroidery of quills. The Fig. 1.—Four burials in a mound on the northeast shore of Mille Lac, Minn. bones remain but they will soon have vanished, leaving no trace of | the burials. Early in the spring of the year 1680 Father Louis Hennepin while ascending the Mississippi was taken captive by a Sioux war party. They continued up the river, thence through the dense forests to their village situated on the shore of a small lake only a short distance south of Mille Lac. (Bushnell, (1),pp.45-46.) While at the village Father Hennepin saw much to interest him and fortu- nately his notes were preserved. He referred to the strange custom of the people in caring for and carrying about with them the bones of their relatives. He wrote regarding a certain member of the 18 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [ BULL. 83 tribe: “This wily savage had the bones of some important deceased relative, which he preserved with care in some skins dressed and adorned with several rows of black and red porcupine quills; from time to time he assembled his mén to give it a smoke, and he made us come several days in succession to cover the deceased’s bones with goods, and by a present wipe away the tears he had shed for him, and for his own son killed by the Miamis. To appease this captious man, we threw on the bones of the deceased several fathoms of French tobacco, axes, knives, beads, and some black wampum brace- Jets.” (Shea, pp. 216-217.) Soon after reaching the village of their captors Hennepin wrote: “Aquipaguetin’s son, who called me his brother, paraded about with our brocade chasuble on his bare back, having rolled up in it a dead man’s bones, for whom these people had a great veneration.” (Op. cit., p. 226.) It is reasonable to suppose the bones of their relatives, so care- fully preserved and cared for, would later be buried. Undoubtedly the four distinct bundles of bones discovered in the mound at Mille Lac had been preserved and carried about, wrapped in decorated skins, before they were placed upon the ground to be covered with a mass of earth. The Mdewakanton removed from the vicinity of Mille Lac to the banks of the Mississippi, below the Minnesota, where they were liy- ing when visited by American explorers during the early part of the nineteenth century. During the early summer of 1823 Major Long’s party started from Fort Crawford to trace the course of the Minnesota River, then known as the St. Peters, in which undertaking they were quite successful. Some members of the party went overland to Fort Snelling, situated at the mouth of the Minnesota, and others accom- panied the boat used in conveying supplies to that post. On June 29 the latter party reached “ Wapasha’s village,” and during the afternoon of July 1 were at “the Redwing village.” The following day they passed the mouth of the St. Croix and not far away went ashore to examine an Indian cemetery. It stood on the bank of the river, “but elevated above the water’s level; it exhibits several scaffolds, supporting coffins of the rudest form; sometimes a trunk, (purchased from a trader,) at other times a blanket, or a roll of bark, conceal the bodies of the deceased. There were, also, several graves, in which are probably deposited the bones, after all the softer parts have been resolved into their elements, by long exposure to the atmosphere.” Later in the day they arrived at Fort Snelling. (Keating, I, pp. 288-289.) The cemetery just mentioned belonged to the village of Kaposia, where Little Crow was chief, a village of much importance in its time. BUSHNELL] BURIALS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI 19 The several villages on the banks of the Mississippi below Fort Snelling always proved places of interest to the traveler, as they did to Latrobe just 90 years ago, when he wrote: “ We passed more than one permanent village of the Sioux, now all deserted ; the houses were made of rude poles covered with pieces of oak-bark, and swarmed with fleas, numerous as the dust. In their vicinity were seen the dead bodies of their chiefs, wasting in the air, enclosed in rude wooden cases, elevated upon scaffolds raised eight or ten feet above the surface.” (Latrobe, II, p. 287.) This was during the autumn, and the Indians were evidently on their fall hunt, seeking buffalo on the prairie lands to the west and south or in the valley of the St. Croix. A later and more complete account of the cemetery at Kaposia has been preserved. It refers to conditions at that most interesting village during the spring of 1849, at which time it had a population of about 300, and consisted of some 40 lodges, with two frame houses, one occupied by a missionary, the other by a teacher. On May 17 of that. year, “On the high bluffs in the rear of their village, several flags, affixed to long poles, were seen floating in the wind. Beneath these flags, erected on scaffolds about ten feet high, were the bodies of deceased Indians in coffins, covered with apie or red cloth. This custom of elevating their dead on scaffolds originated, prob- ably, in the difficulty of burying their dead during the winter. The bodies of those who died during that season of the year were pre- served until spring for interment, and were erected on scaffolds to preserve them from the reach of wolves. It has grown into a custom, so that now the bodies of those who request it are elevated on scaf- folds at other seasons of the year. A half-breed Indian informed me, that Indians dread to have the heavy earth press upon their breasts; they prefer to have their bodies elevated in a conspicuous place, where they can have a view of all that is transpiring around them. In a few months the bodies are, in ordinary cases, taken down and buried. Sometimes, however, they are left on the scaffold several years, especially those of persons of distinction in the tribe.” (Seymour, p. 93.) A few days later Seymour again visited the village of Kaposia, and in describing the cemetery wrote: “Ascend- ing the high bluff which overhangs the village, I examined their burial-ground, which occupies the summit. The first object that attracted my attention was a small bowlder, painted red, and en- circled by offerings, which the friends of deceased persons had made to this idol; a dead eagle, a dead dog, an arrow, etc., were among the offerings. If any one is in want of articles thus offered to their idols, it is regarded as lawful to take them, provided others, of equal value, are left in their stead.” And describing the burials them- 20 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 83 selves: “Attached to the poles, upon which some of the coffins are suspended, are bunches of hair, resembling a scalp. I supposed that these were placed here to commemorate the exploits of the deceased: I was informed, however, that they were torn by mourners from their own heads, in testimony of their grief. The bodies, when buried, are protected by a tight paling closing over them, like a double roof. ‘This is necessary to prevent the shallow graves from being dug up by the wolves. “Mourners, during occasional paroxysms of grief, resort to the graves of their friends, and vent their sorrow in loud, doleful, and hideous wailings.” (Op. cit., pp. 140-141.) The expedition led by Long arrived at Fort Snelling July 2, 1823, and after a brief rest began to ascend the Minnesota. They soon passed Taoapa, better known as Shakopee’s village, and later reached the small Indian settlement called by them Weakaote. Though small and deserted it proved an interesting site. It “consisted of two lodges and the ruins of a third, near which were two scaffolds. On these scaffolds, which are from eight to ten feet high, corpses were deposited in a box made from part of a broken canoe. Some hair was suspended, which we at first mistook for a scalp; but our guide in- formed us that these were locks of hair torn from the heads by the relations, to testify their grief. In the centre, between the four posts which supported the scaffold, a stake was planted in the ground; it was about six feet high, and bore an imitation of human figures, five of which had a design of a petticoat, indicating them to be females, the rest, amounting to seven, were naked, and were intended for male figures. Of the latter, four were headless, showing that they had been slain; the three other male figures were unmutilated, but held a staff in their hand, which, as our guide informed us, designated that they were slaves. The post, which is an unusual ac- companiment to the scaffold that supports a warrior’s remains, does not represent the achievements of the deceased, but those of the war- riors that assembled near his remains, danced the dance of the post, and related their martial exploits. A number of small bones of ani- mals were observed in the vicinity, which were probably left there after a feast celebrated in honour of the dead. The boxes in which the corpses were placed are so short that a man could not lie in them extended at full length, but in a country where boxes and boards are scarce, this is overlooked. After the corpses have remained a certain time exposed, they are taken down and interred. Our guide, Ren- ville, related to us, that he had been a witness to an interesting, though painful circumstance, that occurred here. An Indian who resided on the Mississippi, hearing that his son had died at this spot, came up in a canoe, to take charge of the remains, and convey BUSHNELL] BURIALS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI 21 them down the river to his place of abode; but, on hig arrival, he found that the corpse had already made such progress towards de- composition, as rendered it impossible for it to be removed. He then undertook, with a few friends, to clean off the bones; all the flesh was scraped off and thrown into the stream; the bones were carefully collected into his canoe, and subsequently carried down to his residence.” (Keating, I, pp. 332-833.) The statement by Renville, as given above, tends to add value to certain passages in Carver’s curious work. He claimed to have spent the winter of 1766-67 among the Sioux, then occupying villages on the banks of the Minnesota, and wrote: “I left the habitations of these hospitable Indians the latter end of April 1767; but did not part from them for several days, as I was accompanied on my jour- ney by near three hundred of them, among whom were many chiefs, to the mouth of the River St. Pierre. At this season these bands annually go to the Great Cave ... to hold a grand council with all the other bands; wherein they settle their operations for the ensu- ing year. At the same time they carry with them their dead for interment bound up in buffaloes skins.” (Carver, p. 70.) He had already mentioned the cave, placing it about 30 miles below the Falls of St. Anthony, and wrote: “ The Indians term it Wakon-teebe, that is, the Dwelling of the Great Spirit.” And, “At a little distance from this dreary cavern is the burying place of the several bands of the Naudowessie Indians: though these people have no fixed residence, living in tents, and abiding but a few months in one spot, yet they always bring the bones of their dead to this place; which they take the opportunity of doing when the chiefs meet to hold their councils.” (Op. cit., p. 59.) The remains would first be dis- posed of and the council would then be held. The spot thus described so many years ago had probably not changed in appearance when painted by Eastman nearly a century later. Eastman’s painting, as engraved by J. Andrews and repro- duced by Schooicraft, is here given as Plate 9. The view from the Mississippi shows the high bluff with its summit plateau covered with burials. This, according to Schoolcraft, was the burial place for the people of the three Mdewakanton villages, all of which were situated a few miles distant. (Schoolcraft, IT, p. 97.) Some 14 years after the Long expedition another explorer, in the same region, recorded a similar experience. On April 14, 1837, McLeod entered in his diary: “ Embarked at sun raise in a canoe with Indians and squaws who are going down to where the St. Peters joins the Mississippi at Fort Snelling. Have for company 10 Indians and squaws in three canoes. These people have in one of their Canoes the bodies of two of their deceased relatives which they intend carrying to a lake near the Mississippi more than 100 miles 22 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 83 from this. In many instances these people bring the bodies of their friends much farther when it is the wish of the dying person to be deposited in a particular place.” (McLeod, p. 418.) They were probably bound for the burial ground mentioned by Schoolcraft, not to a lake as mentioned. Twelve years after Major Long’s party ascended the Mississippi, and passed the several important native settlements before reaching the mouth of the St. Peters, or Minnesota River, the English geolo- gist, Featherstonhaugh, traversed the same region. On September 7, 1835, he arrived at the village of the great chief Wapasha, on the bank of the Mississippi, in the present Wabasha County, Minn. The village at that time “ consisted of twelve large oblong wigwams, or teebees, covered in with bark, and two round lodges, made with poles and covered with skins.” He witnessed a peculiar form of mourning practiced by the people of the village and likewise visited their cemetery. His narrative continued: “As we approached the prairie, a great number of men came to the landing-place, painted in the most hideous manner, one-half of their faces being rubbed over with a whiteish clay, and the other side all begrimed with charcoal; not that they were going to war, but because they were in mourning for the wife of a chief of the second class, who had recently died.” And “near the village several death-scaffolds were erected, formed of four poles each, about eight feet high, with a floor made by fas- tening shorter poles to them about seven feet from the ground, and the frail structure shored up by another pole extending to the ground. Upon this floor a rude coffin was placed, containing the body, and from one end of the scaffold a sort of bunting was flying, to denote the rank of the individual . . . An old squaw was stand- ing near the scaffold of the defunct lady, howling in a most extraor- dinary manner. Around these scaffolds were numerous inferior graves, some of them containing full-length corpses, and others only the bones of the dead after they have remained too long on the scaf- folds to hold together.” (Featherstonhaugh, I, pp. 237-238.) Later, before passing the mouth of the St. Croix, he encountered a number of Indians, among whom “ There was a frightful-looking old squaw, with a little boy, a youth about twenty, with strings of wampum hanging from his forelocks, and his face all begrimed with charcoal, whilst his sister, a tolerable-looking young squaw, about nineteen, had only a black grimy spot on each cheek. The journey they were upon was connected with the death of a relative, and the party had gone into cheap mourning, which, nevertheless, amongst these simple and rude people, is the symbol of wounded affections.” (Op. cit., p. 252.) And quite similar to this was a reference made by the wife of Capt. Seth Eastman to an old Indian whom she BUSHNELL] BURIALS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI 20 saw at Fort Snelling. He was an old man, so she wrote, “ in mourn- ing, and he looked particularly en dishabille, his clothing (and there was little of it) was dirty in the extreme. His face he had painted perfectly black; his hair he had purposely disarranged, to the greatest degree. Thus he presented a striking contrast to the elaborately adorned warriors around him.” (Eastman, p. 90.) SISSETON Continuing up the Minnesota, passing the encampments of the Mdewakanton, the Long expedition soon arrived among the Sisseton, or, rather, within the region which they claimed and occupied. But the burial customs of all the Siouan tribes then encountered in the Valley of the Minnesota were similar, and a description of one would undoubtedly have applied to all. On July 15, 1828, so the narrative of the expedition states: “ we saw the remains of Indian habitations; they were deserted. Upon a scaffold, raised eighteen feet above the ground, and situated upon an elevated part of the prairie, the putrefying carcass of an Indian lay exposed to view. It had not been enclosed in a box, but merely shrouded in a blanket, which the wind and atmospheric influences had reduced to tatters. Fifteen horizontal black marks, drawn across one of the posts that sup- ported the scaffold, designated, as we were informed by Renville, that as many scalps had been offered in sacrifice to the deceased, by those who danced at the funeral.” (Keating, I, pp. 340-341.) This scaffold appears to have been unusually high, and the body was evidently less carefully prepared and wrapped than was customary. The camp and burial just mentioned stood in either Nicollet or Blue Earth County, the Minnesota River passed between the two, and a short distance below was the mouth of Blue Earth River, the site of the present Mankato. “ By the Dacotas it is called Makato Osa Watapa, which signifies ‘the river where blue earth is gathered’ ... The mouth of the Blue Earth river is the chief residence of a tribe of the Dacotas, who call themselves the Miakechakesa, and who are generally known by the traders by the name of Sisitons.” (Op. cit., pp. 341-342.) About a half century ago Dr. C. E. Me- Chesney, acting assistant surgeon, United States Army, prepared a most interesting account of the customs attending death and burial then prevailing among the Sisseton and closely related Wahpeton. The following quotations are made from the extended notes: “ Be- fore the year 1860 it was a custom, for as long back as the oldest members of these tribes can remember, and with the usual tribal traditions handed down from generation to generation, in regard to this as well as to other things, for these Indians to bury in a tree 3019°—27——_3 IA BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [ BULL. 83 or on a platform, and in those days an Indian was only buried in the ground as a mark of disrespect in consequence of the person having been murdered, in which case the body would be buried in the ground, face down, head toward the south and with a piece of fat in the mouth . . . The platform upon which the body was deposited was constructed of four crotched posts firmly set in the ground, and connected near the top by cross-pieces, upon which was placed boards, when obtainable, and small sticks of wood, sometimes hewn so as to give a firm resting-place for the body. The platform had an elevation of from six to eight or more feet, and never contained but one body, although frequently having sufficient surface to accommo- date two or three. In burying in the crotch of a tree and on plat- forms, the head of a dead person was always placed towards the south; the body was wrapped in blankets or pieces of cloth securely tied, and many of the personal effects of the deceased were buried with it; as in the case of a warrior, his bows and arrows, war-clubs, &e., would be placed alongside of the body, the Indians saying he would need such things in the next world. “T am informed by many of them that it was a habit, before their outbreak, for some to carry the body of a near relative whom they held in great respect with them on their moves, for a greater or lesser time, often as long as two or three years before burial. This, however, never obtained generally among them, and some of them seem to know nothing about it. It has of late years been entirely dropped, except when a person dies away from home, it being then customary for the friends to bring the body home for burial.” (Yar- row, pp. 108-109.) This was the older method of disposing of the dead, a method which had probably prevailed ever since the tribes had occupied the forest-covered region far eastward of the Valley of the Minnesota. But at the time the account was prepared, so we are told, a large proportion of the people of the two tribes had been under the direct influence of Presbyterian missionaries for a generation or longer, and as a consequence their burial customs had become somewhat changed. Few examples of the old scaffold burial were to be seen, but evidently they persisted in decorating and painting the remains as they had done through many generations. According to Doctor McChesney, the Indians with whom he came in contact disposed of their dead in the following way : “ Warrior—After death they paint a warrior red across the mouth, or they paint a hand in black color, with the thumb on one side of the mouth and the fingers separated on the other cheek, the rest of the face being painted red. (This latter is only done as a mark of respect to a specially brave man.) Spears, clubs, and the BUSHNELL] BURIALS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI 25 medicine-bag of the deceased when alive are buried with the body, the medicine-bag being placed on the bare skin over the region of the heart. There is not now, nor has there been, among these Indians any special preparation of the grave. The body of a warrior is generally wrapped in a blanket or piece of cloth (and frequently in addition is placed in a box) and buried in a grave prepared for the purpose, always, as the majority of these Indians inform me, with the head towards the south. (I have, however, seen many graves in which the head of the occupant had been placed to the east. It may be that these graves were those of Indians who belonged to the church; and a few Indians inform me that the head is sometimes placed towards the west, according to the occupant’s belief when alive as to the direction from which his guiding medicine came, and I am personally inclined to give credence to this latter as sometimes occurring.) In all burials, when the person has died a natural death, or had not been murdered, and whether man, woman, or child, the body is placed in the grave with the face wp. In cases, however, when a man or woman has been murdered by one of their own tribe, the body was, and is always, placed in the grave with the face down, head to the south, and a piece of fat (bacon or pork) placed in the mouth. This piece of fat is placed in the mouth, as these Indians say, to prevent the spirit of the murdered person driving or scaring the game from that section of country. Those Indians who state that their dead are always buried with the head towards the south say they do so in order that the spirit of the deceased may go south, the Jand from which these Indians believe they originally came. “ Women and children Before death the face of the person ex- pected to die is often painted in a red color. When this is not done before death it is done afterwards; the body being then buried in a grave prepared for its reception, and in the manner described for a warrior, cooking-utensils taking the place of the warrior’s weapons. In cases of boys and girls a kettle of cooked food is sometimes placed at the head of the grave after the body is covered. Now, if the dead body be that of a boy, all the boys of about his age go up and eat of the food, and in cases of girls all the girls do likewise. This, however, has never obtained as a custom, but is sometimes done in cases of warriors and women also.” (Op. cit., pp. 107-108.) The article continues and contains many interesting references to the strange and curious beliefs of the people. It tells of a custom of removing “a lock of hair from the top or scalp lock of a warrior, or from the left side of the head of a woman, which is carefully pre- served by some near relative of the deceased, wrapped in pieces of calico and muslin, and hung in the lodge of the deceased and is con- sidered the ghost of the dead person.” This bundle, “the ghost,” re- 26 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 83 ceived certain offerings, was held in great reverence, and a feast would be held for it. A large proportion of the earthly possessions of an individual would be placed in the grave, some beneath and some above the body. Horses were killed on the grave of a warrior. “No food is ever buried in the grave, but some is occasionally placed at the head of it; in which case it is consumed by the friends of the dead person.” The peculiar custom of carrying the bones of the dead from place to place, and often preserving them thus for several years before placing them in the ground, was observed by these people. As was told by Doctor McChesney: “I am informed by many of them that it was a habit, before their outbreak, for some to carry the body of a near relative whom they held in great respect with them on their moves, for a greater or lesser time, often as long as two or three years before burial. This, however, never obtained generally among them, and some of them seem to know nothing about it. It has of late years been entirely dropped, except when a person dies away from home, it being then customary for the friends to bring the body home for burial.” (Op. cit., p. 109.) This curious custom has already been mentioned as prevailing among the kindred Mde- wakanton. It was witnessed by Father Hennepin early in the year 1680, and the writer, during the month of May, 1900, discovered burials of such a nature as to prove the bones to have been free from flesh when they were deposited. The mourning ceremonies, or rather customs, were likewise described by Doctor McChesney. Referring to the days before the year 1860, about which time great changes developed in the manners and ways of life of the Sioux: “After the death of a warrior the whole camp or tribe would assemble in a circle, and after the widow had cut herself on the arms, legs, and body with a piece of flint, and removed the hair from her head, she would go around the ring any number of times she chose, but each time was considered as an oath that she would not marry for a year, so that she could not marry for as many years as times she went around the circle. The widow would all this time keep up a crying and wailing. Upon the completion of this the friends of the deceased would take the body to the platform or tree where it was to remain, keeping up all this time their wailing and crying. After depositing the body, they would stand under it and continue exhibiting their grief, the squaws by hacking their arms and legs with flint and cutting off the hair from their head. The men would sharpen sticks and run them through the skin of their arms and legs, both men and women keeping up their crying generally for the remainder of the day, and the near relatives of the deceased for several days there- after... In cases of women and children, the squaws would BUSHNELL | BURIALS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI 27 cut off their hair, hack their person with flint, and sharpen sticks and run them through the skin of their arms and legs, crying as for a warrior.” (Op. cit., p. 109.) ‘Such were probably the customs of all the related tribes living in the Valley of the Minnesota a century and more ago. YANKTONATLI A century ago villages of the Yanktonai were situated in the vicinity of Lake Traverse, in the present Traverse County, Minn. Here the members of the Long party rested July 26, 1823. The post of the Columbia Fur Co. stood near the shore of the lake. A drawing was made by Samuel Seymour showing the wide expanse of water, the trading post, and “the Indian lodges near it, and also a scaffold, upon which the remains of a Sioux had been deposited. The horizon is bounded by a distant view of the Coteau des Prai- ries.” (Keating, IT, p. 5.) The scaffold, as shown in the drawing, Plate 10, appears ‘to be very high, and was probably similar to the one previously described as having been raised by the Sisseton farther down the river. The various groups of Sioux encountered by Long a century ago undoubtedly held similar beliefs and followed like customs in dis- posing of their dead. As told in the narrative of the expedition: “The ideas of the Dacotas, respecting a future state, differ but little from those of-other Indians; and we may receive them with less diffidence, as they have had but little intercourse with missionaries, whether Catholic or otherwise; still, in some of their credences, as related to us, it was impossible not to discover a few of the doctrines of Christianity, which had probably crept in unnoticed by them. The Dacotas admit that there are in man two distinct essences, to which they respectively apply the terms of Wanare and Wahkan, which our interpreters translate by soul and spirit. They believe that after death the souls go to the Wanare Tebe, or dwelling place of the souls. That in order to reach it, they have to pass over a rock, the edge of which is as sharp as that of a knife; those who fall off go to the region of the evil spirit, where they are kept constantly chopping wood, carrying water, &c. being frequently flogged by their relentless master. Those, on the contrary, that have passed safe over the rock, have a long journey to travel; and as they pro- ceed, they observe the camping places of the souls that have pre- ceded them; at these spots fires are ready made for their accommoda- tion; finally, they reach the habitation of Wahkan Tanka, or Great Spirit. There they find many villages of the dead; they meet with some spirits there, who point out to them the way to the residence of their friends and relations, with whom they are reunited. Their res BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [ BULL. 83 life is an easy and blissful one, they hunt the buffalo, plant corn, &c. It is believed, that when children are on the point of death, their departed relations return from the land of souls in order to convey them thither. Women are liable to go to either of the places, but all are entitled to a situation in the land of the blessed, except, such as have violated their chastity, committed infanticide or suicide. Their system of Ethics is as simple. Men are held to go to the residence of the Great Spirit if they be good and peaceable, or if they die by the hand of their enemies. If they perish in a broil with their own countrymen, their souls are doomed to the residence of the Evil Spirit.” (Keating, I, pp. 392-394.) YANKTON On May 25, 1833, the steamboat Yellow Stone, on which Maxi- milian and the artist Bodmer were ascending the Missouri, arrived at the Sioux Agency. As they approached the agency they could see, “on the hills, some burying-places of the Sioux Indians; most of them were formed of a high platform, on four stakes, on which the corpse, sewn up in skins, les at full length; others consisted of stakes and brushwood, like a kind of hedge, in the middle of which the de- ceased is buried in the ground.” And they “were told that the son of a chief was buried in one of the latter, in a standing posture.” (Maximilian, pp. 147-148.) Fortunately Maximilian prepared an interesting description of the native burials then to have been seen in the vicinity of the agency. He wrote at that time: “Among the peculiar customs of the Sioux is their treatment of the dead. Those who die at home are sewed up, as I have before stated, in blankets and skins, in their complete dress, painted, and laid with their arms and other effects on a high stage, supported by four poles, till they are decomposed, when they are sometimes buried. Those who have been killed in battle are immediately interred on the spot. Sometimes, too, in times of peace, they bury their dead in the ground, and protect them against the wolves by a fence of wood and thorns. There were many such graves in the vicinity of the Sioux Agency, among which was that of a celebrated chief, Tschpunka, who was buried with his full dress and arms, and his face painted red. Very often, however, they lay their dead in trees; and we saw, in the neighbourhood of this place, an oak, in which there were three bodies wrapped in skins. At the foot of the tree there was a small arbour, or shed, made of branches of poplar, which the relations had built for the purpose of coming to lament and weep over the dead, which they frequently do for several days successively. As a sign of mourning, they cut off their hair with the first knife that comes to hand. daub themselves with white BUSHNELL] BURIALS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI 29 clay, and give away all their best clothes and valuable effects, as well as those of the deceased, to the persons who happen to be present. The corpse of a young woman had been enveloped in skins about a week before, and placed between the branches of the oak, with six pieces of wood under it; and a little higher in the tree there was a child.” Two days later, the Yellow Stone having left the agency, Maximilian wrote: “A pall known Sioux chief, ented Tukan Haton, and, by the Americans, the Little Soldier, was on board with a family, intending to accompany us to Fort Pierre, on the Teton Fic. 2.—Scaffold burials among the Yankton. Drawing by Bodmer River. These Indians were in mourning for some of their relations lately deceased; their dress was, therefore, as bad as possible, and their faces daubed with white clay.” (Maximilian, pp. 152-153.) A sketch of a group of scaffolds, made at that time by Bodmer, is reproduced in Figure 2. TETON On September 26, 1804, Lewis and Clark reached the great village of the Teton, standing at the mouth of the Teton River on the banks of the Missouri. The stream to which the tribal name was applied is now known as Bad River, which flows into the Missouri at Pierre, 30 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULE. 93 Stanley County, S. Dak. However, it is quite evident they had, within a comparatively short time, removed from their earlier home to the eastward, probably from the forest-covered lake region of central Minnesota. The Teton was the largest of the several divisions of the group, and the great number of skin tipis which formed their village served to attract the attention of all. Thus, Catlin in 1832 referred to “an encampment of Sioux, of six hundred tents of skin lodges, round the Fort,” but some of these may have belonged to other divisions of the Sioux who were trading or had come to trade at Fort Pierre. Fort Pierre and the surrounding encampments of Indians must have presented an animated scene when approached by a river steam- boat. The various travelers were equally impressed with the view of the fort standing on the level plain near the bank of the Missouri, with the hills rising in the distance, and the intervening space usually occupied by clusters of skin-covered lodges. As Maximilian wrote when he sighted the fort on May 30, 1833: “ Indians, on foot and on horseback, were scattered all over the plain, and their singular stages for the dead were in great numbers near the fort; immediately be- hind which, the leather tents of the Sioux Indians, of the branches of the Tetons and the Yanktons, stood.” (Maximilian, p. 156.) A year later, when returning from the far upper waters of the Missouri, Maximilian, accompanied by the artist Bodmer, again reached Fort Pierre. The former then recorded in his journal: ‘“ Mr. Bodmer took several views of the country, and also made a sketch of the stage of a distinguished Sioux warrior, whose remains had been brought from a great distance with much pomp, and were covered with red cloth.” (Op. cit., p. 457.) The beautiful drawing made at that time was reproduced by Maximilian as Plate XI, which is here given as Plate 11. This is a picture of unusual interest, as it shows a body placed within a travois frame, resting upon a platform supported by four upright poles. .Undoubtedly the travois frame was the one in which it had been secured while being “ brought from a great distance with much pomp.” Culbertson visited Fort Pierre during the spring of 1850, and after mentioning the general appearance of the interesting post itself wrote in his journal: “then the Indian lodges are seen around the fort; by their irregularity of position, their conical shape and varied colors, giving life and a picturesque air to the scene; and for a couple of miles below the fort and between it and the bluffs, the whole plain is dotted with horses grazing and moving leisurely about, while the bold bluffs a mile west of the fort affords a fine back-ground for the picture.” ‘Culbertson, p. 101.) Fortunately, a most interesting and valuable account of the burial customs of the BUSHNELL] BURIALS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI 31 Teton, as observed by Culbertson, is contained in his journal, and is now quoted at length: “The Fort Pierre grave yard hes about a quarter of a mile south of the fort; it is a square piece of ground which has been well fenced in but not ornamented in any way; it contains the bodies of a number of dead, both Indians and Whites: the latter are in the ground and their graves are marked with wooden crosses, or with tombstones recording their names and dates of their death. The Indians however have followed their own customs in disposing of their dead, which is to place them on a scaffold about eight or ten feet from the ground. As you approach the yard com- ing from the fort, you see elevated on a scaffold supported by rough willow poles and now half broken down, a confused pile of old boxes of various lengths—old trunks and pieces of blankets hang- ing. These may seem strange things for a grave yard, but these old boxes contain the bodies of dead Indians: they were originally placed on a good scaffold and had piles of blankets wrapped around them, but the scaffold has broken down from exposure to weather and weight of the bodies, which appear to have been heaped on with- out order of any kind. If you look over the fence to the left of this scaffold, you will see on the ground one of these boxes which has probably fallen down and broken open: and there the bones lay ex- posed, except the skull which perhaps has. been buried by some friend of the deceased ; if you look a little more closely you will see lying with the bones, a dark looking object about three inches broad and . perhaps fifteen long, tied around with a string: this is some tobacco given to the dead to smoke in the other world; they always place with their dead almost every article of common use, for their benefit in the other world: blankets, sometimes as many as twenty, the best the parties can afford—tobacco, sugar, coffee, molasses, kettles of mush and other things of use. These remain undisturbed until they decay, or are destroyed by the weather or wolves. On the east side is a scaffold put up a few months since; the box is a rough one, daubed with black paint, and is surrounded by several old trunks, that were the property of the old squaw who rests within. On the opposite side is another scaffold, on which is placed the body of a man who died not many months since; you can see the scarlet blanket through the large cracks in this rude coffin. It appears to me, that this method of burial originated in a desire to protect the bodies from the wolves, more than in any of their religious opinions: they frequently bury the bones, after the flesh has decayed entirely. On a large tree, a little above the fort, is a body which must have a great pile of blankets on it, from the size.” (Op. cit., p. 102.) A few days later, just before leaving Fort Pierre on the steamboat El Paso to ascend the Missouri to and beyond Fort Union, Cul- bertson entered in his journal: “ Before one of the lodges near where 32 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [ BULL. 83 the feast was held, was the body of a little girl who had died yester- day; it was wrapped in a blue blanket, and was to be placed on the scaffold as soon as the coffin should be finished. I did not see the ceremony of conveying it to the tomb, or rather, to its resting place, but it was probably done in a very simple manner, as I was told that the burying of the dead, except braves, is left principally to the squaws. Blankets and food are placed on the scaffold for their use in the other world; the family of the deceased mourn very much, and if others aid them in this sad work, they expect pay and are sure to get it.” (Op. cit., p. 108.) The winter following Culbertson’s visit to the upper> Missouri Valley was cold and severe. About the middle of January a large party of Indians, with several white men, all from Fort Pierre, were overtaken by the blizzard and 30 of the former are said to have lost their lives. The bodies of the Indians were iater carried to the fort where “a few boxes” were provided for them and they were then placed “ on scaffolds in their own cemetery.” (Marks, p. 224.) The following summer cholera raged in the vicinity of Fort Pierre, and on July 4 of that year, 1851, the Swiss artist Kurz made an interest- ing sketch of the fort from the river side, probably from the upper deck of the steamboat in which he was ascending the Missouri. The dreaded cholera caused many deaths among the Indians, whose re- mains were evidently placed upon scaffolds in the cemetery near the - fort. In that most interesting autobiograpny from which the pre- — ceding quotation was made, that of the’ Canadian trader, Louis D. Latellier, is an account of the death and burial of an Indian whose tipi stood near the fort. It reads: ‘Another death occurred and it was the son of the Iron Horse, a chief of the Sioux nation. In sing- ing he gave up the last breath. In his death there was nothing strange but its funeral interested me the most. After having made the coffin and covered it with scarlet cloth and placed the defunct in it, old Francois L’Alsatien came up to the tepee with his heavy old two-wheeled cart that had never been painted and covered with dry mud. , and a view of the agency buildings, which were destroyed by fire October 30, 1872, is shown in Plate 30, a. The Crows expressed theif grief by cutting and gashing their bodies, but probably to no greater extent than did other tribes of the Missouri Valley. One account states that “ Long Hair cut off a large roll of his hair; a thing he was never known to do before.” (Beck- wourth, p. 223.) Photographs of various forms of Crow burials, as they appeared between 30 and 40 years ago, are shown in Plates 31, 33, 34, and 35. These represent the scaffold burials soon after death and the graves in which the bones were placed after the scaffolds had fallen through decay. A photograph of the old Crow, Iron Bull, is shown in Plate 32, and his grave in Plate 31, b. He died in 1884 and prob- ably his body was first placed upon a scaffold, there to remain some months until it fell to the ground, after which the bones were col- lected and deposited in the grave. It is evident that under certain conditions the Crows placed the re- mains of their dead in tipis, a custom which has already been noted among the Oglala. A remarkable example of this form of burial was witnessed by Col. P. W. Norris in 1876, and was given by Yarrow. (Op. cit., p. 153.) It reads: “The lodge poles inclosed an oblong _ circle some 18 by 22 feet at the base, converging to a point at least 30 feet high, covered, with buffalo-hides dressed without hair except a part of the tail switch, which floats outside like, and mingled with human scalps. The different skins are neatly fitted and sewed to- gether with sinew, and all painted in seven alternate horizontal — stripes of brown and yellow, decorated with various life-like war BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 83 PLATE 30 a. CROW AGENCY ON THE YELLOWSTONE, NEAR SHIELDS RIVER. DESTROYED BY FIRE, OCTOBER 30, 1872 b. CROW BURIALS AT THE OLD AGENCY ON THE YELLOWSTONE, NEAR SHIELDS RIVER Photographs by W, H. Jackson, 1871 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 83 PLATE 31 a. Scaffold burial of Chief Crazy Wolf. Prando b. The distant grave is that of Chief Iron Bull, died 1884. Prando CROW BURIALS NEAR THE CROW AGENCY BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 83 PLATE 32 IRON BULL BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 83 PLATE 33 a. On the surface b. Scaffold CROW BURIALS NEAR THE CROW AGENCY BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 83 PLATE 34 a. Lodge removed and poles placed beneath scaffold b. Seaffold and death lodge BURIAL OF CROW CHIEF TEN BEAR AT THE CROW AGENCY BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 83 PLATE 35 a. TREE BURIAL NEAR FORT KEOGH, MONT. b. BODY OF CHILD WRAPPED AND IN CROTCH OF TREE ON BANK OF THE BIG HORN Photograph by P. P. Prando SHAVYHD SHL YSAO HLYVS GNV GOS AO SGNNOW ‘AYSLAEINSO AANMVd Se alVads ce NES nAMie ADOIONHLA NVOIYAWVY SO NVadnd Lea valdietes SNPS 6S8T ‘ez oUNL ‘TeMIT MA [IRQ Aq qoIeHS WMYVv10 LYOS LV SSAVYED VeVylYV ASOIONHLA NVOIYAWVY SO NVadnd BUSHNELL] BURIALS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI 79 scenes. Over the small entrance is a large bright cross, the upright being a large stuffed white wolf-skin upon his war lance, and the cross-bar of bright scarlet flannel, containing the quiver of bow and arrows, which nearly all warriors still carry, even when armed with repeating rifles. As the cross is not a pagan but a Christian (which Long Hair was not either by profession or practice) em- blem, it was probably placed there by the influence of some of his white friends. I entered, finding Long Horse buried Indian fashion, in full war dress, paint and feathers, in a rude coflin, upon a platform about breast high, decorated with weapons, scalps, and ornaments. A large opening and wind-flap at the top favored ventilation, and though he had lain there in an open coffin a full month, some of which was hot weather, there was but little effluvia; in fact, I have seldom found much in a burial-teepee, and when this mode of burial is thus performed it is less repulsive than natural to suppose.” CADDOAN TRIBES The more important tribes of this group, the Pawnee and Ari- kara, were discovered by the early explorers occupying permanent villages of earth lodges. The former were some miles west of the Missouri on the banks of the Platte, but the settlements of the latter were on the islands and along the banks of the Missouri. How- ever, it is quite evident they were a southern people who had arrived in the northern country only after a movement which had extended through many generations. The Wichita, considered as a kindred tribe, had not advanced beyond the northern limits of the present State of Kansas, and others had remained even farther southward, in the valley of Red River of Louisiana, and in southwestern Ar- kansas and eastern Texas. But whether all these widely separated tribes should actually be considered as belonging to the same lin- guistic group has not been definitely determined, although at this time they are regarded as constituting the Caddoan group. PAWNEE The Pawnee, whose large villages of earth-covered lodges stood in eastern Nebraska, west of the Missouri, buried their dead in exca- vated graves. According to Francis La Flesche the bodies were placed in the graves in a sitting position, which would conform with the known customs of other tribes of the Missouri Valley. Small, low mounds of earth evidently surmounted the graves, which were probably similar in every respect to those of the kindred Arikara. The groups of small mounds, the cemeteries belonging to the several villages, were evidently situated on high ground some distance from 80 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY (BULL. 83 the lodges. Ir the summer of 1833 the Pawnee towns were visited by an official party, accompanied by J. T. Irving and others. Ir- ving’s narrative is most interesting. The night spent at the Repub- lican Pawnee village, he walked “along the high bluff, looking down upon the Platte, which was dimly seen, reflecting the stars that twinkled upon its restless waters... We strolled along the bank for half a mile... At length, however, we turned for the purpose of retracing our steps, when our attention was attracted by a low, mournful cry, from the midst of a number of small mounds, at a short distance, the burial ground of the village. We approached the spot so cautiously, as not to disturb the person who was stationed there. Upon the top of one of the graves, a large mound covered with grass, was lying an Indian girl... Believing that she was some female belonging to the tribe, singing a dirge over the grave of some departed friend, we listened attentively to her song. At one moment, it would rise in the air with a plaintive sound, as if she was dwelling with mournful tenderness upon the virtues of the deceased.” (Irving, J. T., I, pp. 102-105.) The graves were undoubtedly similar in appearance to those shown in the very remarkable old photograph which is now reproduced in Plate 36. The low mounds of earth in the photograph resemble heaps of sod rather than mounds of earth. And they were probably constructed of sod, otherwise they could not have been so steep and would not have been so rough and irregular. Certainly a most interesting and valuable picture, made half a cen- tury ago, and according to La Flesche made near the great Pawnee village then standing on the banks of the Platte. These small mounds of earth and sod were probably similar to the graves sketched by Wimar at the Arikara village some years before. The latter are shown in Plate 37. Caches in which various articles and supplies were preserved were constructed by the Pawnee in or near their lodges, and it is of in- terest to find a reference to the caches having served as burial places for the dead killed at the time of an attack on the village by a band of Sioux warriors. The fight occurred in June, 1845, at which time: “the Pawnees were so badly frightened they threw their dead into corn caches and heads of ravines, covered them lightly, picked up some of their traps and left some in their lodges, crossed the river and went about three miles that night.” (Allis, p. 155.) Human re- mains have been encountered in caches in the Ohio Valley and else- where, and probably all such burials were made when the living were hard pressed, or when it would have been extremely difficult if not impossible to have excavated graves in the usual manner. Dunbar, while among the Pawnee, witnessed the manner of treat- ing a man who had been frightfully burned in a prairie fire. “The wives of the sick man showed their affection by preparing food for BUSHNELL] BURIALS WEST CF THE MISSISSIPPI 81 him, and urging him to eat ... They were also very attentive to give him drink, whenever he wanted, and to change his position when he desired it. Twice each day this dying man was carried out into the open air, as soon as it was light in the morning, and twilight in the evening.” And the narrative continues: “ Early the next morning, two of their physicians called to see the sick man. In the first place, they sat down and smoked, which was done with many ceremonies.” The various ceremonies were described in de- tail. The visits of the two were repeated twice each day, and just before the death of the sufferer they were hastily called, when “They came and with redoubled fury repeated their savage, foolish, and fiend- ish actions.” Then “as soon as the man was dead, his wives, children, and relatives broke out in the most doleful lamentations. His wives were particularly vociferous in their grief, venting their sorrow at the highest pitch of the voices, wringing their hands, beating their breasts, dishevelling their hair, letting it hang down over their faces, covering themselves entirely with their robes, together with many other expressions of savage grief. As soon as it was light, the dead man was taken out and buried. His wives and friends followed, loudly howling, and weeping to the grave lamenting their loss. When they came into the lodge, they covered themselves en- tirely with their robes, and set mourning in silence.” (Dunbar, pp. 600-602.) The entry in the journal from which the preceding notes were quoted was dated October 25, 1834, two days before the village started on their winter hunt. They advanced over the prairie, often being a line 4 miles or more in length, when “the women, boys, and girls led each of them a horse, and walk in the trail before them.” The buffalo were discovered and many were killed. A camp was established where they were to remain some days preparing meat, and while there, during the latter part of November, the missionary wrote in his journal: “ One cold morning as I was returning from my walk, I saw several women, bearing the lifeless remains of a little child, that had died the preceding night, to its burial. They carried it a short distance, then placed it on the ground, stopped and wept awhile, then took it up and went for- ward, all the while howling sadly. The father, a young man, fol- lowed at a little distance, apparently, in an agony of grief. Though it was very cold, the ground being covered with snow and ice, he wore no clothing, save the indispensable garment. In this condition, he remained weeping at the grave, probably two hours, perhaps more. I should have thought, he would have frozen to death in this time, but his mind seemed to be so much absorbed in his grief, that he did not appear, at all, to regard the cold.” (Op. cit., p. 605.) 82 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 83 The Pawnee mourned for their dead, as did other tribes, but they had one quite unusual custom, as was witnessed by the English traveler Murray late in the year 1835. During the summer and autumn he had been with the Pawnee in one of the camps, not at their permanent earth lodge village, and later attempted to return to Fort Leavenworth, but soon after leaving the Pawnee he met with an accident and was thus compelled to retrace his way to the native encampment. He passed the site of the Pawnee camp of the preced- ing night and there encountered ““ Two small circular lodges, the apertures to which were closed, and from which proceeded the low wailing chant of Indian mourning.” He then continued: “ This I observed to be a common custom among the Pawnees. After the rest of the village had been for several hours on the march, a mourn- ing family would remain behind and sing this melancholy kind of dirge. I should think that it must be a very dangerous mode of lamentation while in these remote excursions; because, if any hostile war-party was hovering on the Pawnee trail, they would inevitably fall victims to the pursuers. But this risk may be the very reason for its being esteemed so great a tribute to the dead; or, possibly, they may trust to the distant out-posts of well-mounted warriors, with which the Pawnees always secure their rear and flanks. The duration of mourning among this tribe seems very unfixed; the widow always mourns a year for her husband; but I have sometimes seen squaws moaning and chanting in the evening at a little dis- tance from camp; and, on inquiry, have learnt that they were mourn- ing for a relative, who had been some years dead.” (Murray, I, p. 439.) Men are said to have expressed their grief by other means. It was their custom to “ cut their hair close, except a tuft on the top, which they suffer to remain, and which they plait as a valued ornament, the removal of which is disgraceful. In seasons of mourning, however, they make the sacrifice, to express their grief.” (Morse, “p. 239.) ARIKARA The Arikara, once closely united with the Pawnee, from whom they separated generations ago, occupied villages of earth-covered lodges, the ruins of which were recognized by the earliest explorers who ascended the Missouri. Evidently the tribe did not remain long at any one site. In the year 1837 a great epidemic of small- pox swept through the upper valley of the Missouri. The Mandan, whose great villages stood near Fort Clark, suffered greatly and few members of the tribe survived, and those who escaped the dreaded disease abandoned the site and removed to dwell nearer the Hidasta. BUSHNELL] BURIALS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI 83 About this time the Arikara moved and took possession of the deserted village of the Mandan, and there remained until mid- summer of 1862, when they again moved up the Missouri to the vicinity of Fort Berthold. Culbertson arrived at Fort Clark June 12, 1850. At that time the Arikara village—the old Mandan site—was prosperous and flourishing. He visited the village, and when returning, so he wrote in his journal: “ On passing to the fort, I observed a great number of hillocks, scattered over the prairie, and these, I was told, are graves, this people having abandoned the old method of scaffolding their dead.” (Culbertson, p. 117.) During the summer of 1859 Carl Wimar, the artist, whose home was in St. Louis, visited the upper Missouri for the purpose of sketching the Indian in his native environment. Although he had made many excursions among the Indians of the then far West, this proved one of his most interesting journeys. On June 25 of that year he was at Fort Clark, near which post stood the old village of the Mandan, but which at that time was occupied by the Arikara. A sketch made at that time now proves of the greatest interest and value. It shows two graves of the Arikara, evidently the same as were mentioned three years later by Morgan. Writing of his visit to the Arikara village at Fort Clark in 1862, Morgan said in part: “The Arickarees buried their dead in the ground, and in a sitting posture, judging from the form and size of the mounds. Just back of the village upon the open prairie, was a long row of these mounds quite near together. There were several hundred of them form- ing a segment of a great circle apparently a mile in length. They were about three feet high, seven feet long, and five feet wide at the level of the ground. Other mounds were grouped together. The most conspicuous mound was that of an Arickaree chief killed by the Sioux a few years before. It was somewhat larger than the others, with a smaller mound, probably that of a relative intersect- ing it. Around the two, the sod had been removed for the space of five feet, thus forming an area fifteen or more feet in diameter, with a floor of bare earth, the mounds being in the centre. On the top of the mound over the chief’s grave, were two bull buffalo skulls, side and side, their horns wound with strips of red flannel and the forehead of one spotted with vermilion. The outer border of the cleared area was decorated with seventeen buffalo skulls, occupying about two-thirds of the circuit, and enclosing the grave of the chief. With what religious motive these skulls were used in their burial customs was not ascertained.” (Morgan, pp. 44-45.) The description by Morgan applies perfectly to the sketch made by Wimar three years before, which is reproduced in Plate 37. The 84 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [ BULL. 83 two mounds, the surrounding cleared area, and the encircling row of buffalo skulls are clearly shown. Two skulls remained on the top of the larger grave in 1862 but it is evident the single skull which had been placed on the smaller mound had fallen away and had not been replaced. Wimar indicated the bits of red cloth attached to the horns of the three skulls resting upon the graves, as mentioned by Morgan. M. W. Stirling, during the month of June, 1923, examined four ancient village sites, all of which were within “the 12-mile strip between Grand River and Elk Creek, South Dakota,” on the banks of the Missouri. “ Three of these, on the west bank of the Missouri, were identified as Arikara; one being the historic upper village of the Arikara visited by Lewis and Clark in 1804 and later by Bracken- ridge and Bradbury in 1811.” The remaining two sites were prob- ably occupied during the preceding century. In the cemeteries be- _ longing to the three villages the bodies had been buried in excavated graves, and it is highly probable that small, low mounds had for- merly stood over them, but all traces of such elevations have disap- peared. Much interesting material was recovered from the sites, including objects which may have been secured from Europeans two centuries or more ago. (Stirling, p. 66.) The entire region should be carefully examined while the sites may still be identified. The discovery of a large variety of objects, some of European and others of native origin, in graves known to have been made by the Arikara, suggests an observation made by Maximilian in 1833. He wrote in part: “The Arikkaras affirm that God said to them that they were made of earth, and must return to earth; on which account they bury their dead in the ground. Various things are sometimes cast into the grave of eminent men; the corpse is dressed in the best clothes, the face painted red, and sometimes a good horse is killed on the grave. If the deceased has left a son, he receives his father’s medicine apparatus; if not, it is buried with him in the grave.” (Maximilian, p. 411.) WIcHITA The Wichita was among the first of the plains tribes encountered by Europeans, the Quivira of the Spanish narratives of the Coronado ex- pedition. During the year 1541 they were occupying villages located in the eastern part of the present State of Kansas, on the edge of the vast prairies over which then roamed innumerable herds of buffalo. They constructed a curious form of habitation, a conical thatched structure, well suited to the region. They at once suggest a modified form of the earth lodge of the Pawnee, both being of circular base, the walls sloping downward from an opening at the center of the top. The Wichita and Pawnee are related linguistically, and possibly BUSHNELL] BURIALS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI 85 generations ago were even more closely allied. The two types of habitations may have had a common origin. Both tribes buried their dead in prepared graves. A brief account of the rites and customs of the Wichita was prepared by Dr. Fordyce Grinnell before the year 1879. This now proves of much interest. It is told how, = When a Wichita dies the towncrier goes up and down through the village and announces the fact. Preparations are immediately made for the burial, and the body is taken without delay to the grave prepared for its reception. If the grave is some distance from the village, the body is carried thither on the back of a pony, being first wrapped in blankets and then laid prone across the saddle, one per- son walking on either side to support it. The grave is dug from three to four feet deep and of sufficient length for the extended body. First blankets and buffalo-robes are laid in the bottom of the grave, then the body, being taken from the horse and unwrapped, is dressed in its best apparel and with ornaments is placed upon a couch of blankets and robes, with the head towards the west and the feet to the east; the valuables belonging to the deceased are placed with the body in the grave. With the man are deposited his bows and arrows or gun, and with the woman her cooking utensils and other imple- ments of her toil. Over the body sticks are placed six or eight inches deep and grass over these, so that when the earth is filled in, it need not come in contact with the body or its trappings. After the grave is filled with earth, a pen of poles is built around it, or, as is fre- quently the case, stakes are driven so that they cross each other from either side about midway over the grave, thus forming a complete protection from the invasion of wild animals. After all this is done, the grass . . . is carefully scraped~from about the grave for several feet, so that the ground is left smooth and clean. It is seldom the case that the relatives accompany the remains to the grave, but they more often employ others to bury the body for them, usually women. Mourning is similar in this tribe as in others, and it con- sists in cutting off the hair, fasting, &c. Horses are also killed at the grave.” (Yarrow, pp. 102-103.) The graves were probably grouped in the vicinity of the village, similar to the cemeteries of the Pawnee. And like the latter the graves of the dead were undoubtedly visited by the mourners who would “cry,” and lament their loss. CONCLUSION Unfortunately comparatively few references have been found to the various ceremonies which were probably enacted in connection with the burial of the dead by the scattered Algonquian, Siouan. and Caddoan tribes of the West. And, as was previously mentioned, 86 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 83 it is quite evident that such scenes were seldom witnessed by persons who were prepared to record what transpired, consequently printed records are scarce. However, sufficient information has been gath- ered from the many narratives and reports of journeys through the Indian country, of a half century and more ago, to convey an idea of the strange customs of the people who occupied the upper Mis- souri Valley and adjacent regions at that time. Customs were quite » varied and distinct forms of burial were practiced by different tribes, governed by the natural environments and ways of life of the peo- ple. Whether occupants of a densely forested region or of the open prairie country, whether a sedentary people or a group of hunters, were factors which determined not only the form of habitations which they were able to construct and occupy but also the manner in which they disposed of their dead. This has been shown in the pre- ceding pages. But these scattered references, brought together to explain the actual manner of disposing of the dead and not attempting to dis- cover the significance of the various rites which were enacted at the time of death and burial, treat of the customs and practices of the tribes who occupied the country during historic times. However, other burials encountered within the same wide region belong to an earlier period, when the inhabitants of the land possessed different manners and ways of life. To this earlier period belong the majority of mounds found in various localities, and many of these ancient works, when examined, reveal different forms of burials. Some were undoubtedly erected by members of tribes encountered by Europeans who first entered the country; others are much older and the identity of their builders may never be disclosed. AUTHORITIES CITED ADAMS, FRANKLIN G. Reminiscences of Frederick Chouteau. Jn Transactions of the Kansas State Historical Society. Vol. VIII, 1908-4. Topeka, 1904. ALLIS, SAMUEL. Forty Years among the Indians and on the Eastern borders of Nebraska. In Transactions and Reports of the Nebraska State Historical So- ciety. Vol. II. Lincoln, 1887. BECKWOURTH, JAMES P. See BonNER, T. D. Buiair, HE. H. The Indian Tribes of the Upper Mississippi Valley and Region of the Great Lakes. Cleveland, 1912. 2 vols. Bonner, T. D. The life and adventures of James P. Beckwourth, mountaineer, scout, pioneer, and chief of the Crow Nation of Indians. Written from his own dictation by T. D. Bonner. London, 1892. BRACKENRIDGE, H. M. Views of Louisiana; together with a Journal of a voyage up the Mis- souri River, in 1811. Pittsburgh, 1814. BRADBURY, JOHN. Travels in the Interior of America, in the years 1809, 1810, and 1811. Liverpool, 1817. BusHNELL, D. I., jr. (1) Villages of the Algonquian, Siouan, and Caddoan Tribes West of the Mississippi. Bulletin 77, Bureau of American Ethnology. Washington, 19238. (2) Native Cemeteries and Forms of Burial East of the Mississippi. Bulletin 71, Bureau of American Ethnology. Washington, 1920. CARVER, JONATHAN. Travels through the Interior parts of North America, in the years 1766, 1767, and 1768. London, 1781. Reprint, New York, 1838. CATLIN, GEORGE. Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Conditions of the North American Indians. London, 1841. 2 vols. CULBERTSON, THADDEUS A. Journal of an Expedition to the Mauvaises Terres and the Upper Mis- souri in 1850. Jn Fifth Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institu- tion. Washington, 1851. CUTLER, JERVIS. A Topographical Description of the State of Ohio, Indiana Territory, and Louisiana. Boston, 1812. DENSMORE, F'RANCES. Teton Sioux Music. Bulletin 61, Bureau of American Ethnology. Wash- ington, 1918. Dopecr, RicHARD IRVING. The Black Hills. New York, 1876. 3019°—27——7 87 88 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [ BULL. 88 Du Lac, PERRIN. Travels through the Two Louisianas, and among the Savage Nations of the Missouri... in 1801, 1802, & 1803. London, 1807. DUNBAR, JOHN. Journal of. In Collections of the Kansas State Historical Society, 1915-1918, Vol. XIV. Topeka, 1918. EastMAn, Mrs. Mary H. The Romance of Indian Life. Philadelphia, 18538. FEATHERSTONHAUGH, G. W. A Canoe Voyage up the Minnay Sotor. London, 1847. 2 vols. ForsytH, THOMAS. The Sauk and Fox. Jn Blair, EH. H. GLEED, C. §8. Eugene Fitch Ware. Address before the State Historical Society, at Topeka, October 20,1914. Jn Collections of the Kansas State Historical Society, 19138-1914, Vol. XIII. Topeka, 1915. GRANT, PETER. The Sauteux Indians, about 1804. Jn Masson, L. R. GREGG, JOSIAH. Commerce of the Prairies. New York, 1844. 2 vols. GRIFFING, W. J. Committee on Explorations. In Transactions of the Kansas State His- torical Society, 1903-1904, Vol. VIII. Topeka, 1904. GRINNELL, GEORGE BirD. The Cheyenne Indians. Their History and Ways of Life. New Haven, 1928. 2 vols. Harmon, D. W. A Journal of Voyages and Travels in the Interiour of North America. Andover, 1820. HENNEPIN, LOUIS. Journey of 1680. Jn Shea. Henry, ALEXANDER. Travels and Adventures in Canada and the Indian Territories, between the years 1760 and 1776. New York, 1809. HInpD, HENRY YOULE. Reports of Progress . .. on the Assinniboine and Saskatchewan Explor- ing Expedition. London, 1860. 7 Hunter, JoHN D. Memoirs of a Captivity among the Indians of North America. London, 18238. IRVING, JOHN T. Indian Sketches, Taken during an Expedition to the Pawnee and Other Tribes of American Indians. London, 1835. 2 vols. IRVING, WASHINGTON. A Tour on the Prairies. New York, 1856. JAMES, EDWIN. Account of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains, performed in the years 1819 and 1820. Philadelphia, 1823. 2 vols. JOUTEL, HENRI. Journal of his Voyage to Mexico: His Travels Eight hundred Leagues through Forty Nations of Indians in Louisiana to Canada: His Ac- count of the great River Missasipi. London, 1719. BUSHNELL] BURIALS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI 89 KEATING, WILLIAM H. Narrative of an Expedition to the Source of St. Peter’s River, Lake Win- nepeek, Lake of the Woods, &c ... Under the command of Stephen H. Long, Major U. S. T. E. Philadelphia, 1824. 2 vols. LATROBE, CHARLES JOSEPH. The Rambler in North America. London, 1836. 2 vols. Le RAYE, CHARLES. Journal of. Jn Cutler. Lewis, M., and CrarxK, W. History of the Expedition under the command of Captains Lewis and Clark ... Prepared for the press by Paul Allen. Philadelphia. 1814. 2 vols. Lone, STEPHEN H. First Expedition. See James, Edwin. Second Expedition. See Keating, W. H. MACKENZIE, ALEXANDER. Voyages from Montreal, on the River St. Laurence, through the Con- tinent of North America, to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans, in the years 1789 and 1793. 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The Great Fur Land, or Sketches of Life in the Hudson’s Bay Territory. London, 1879. SAXTON, RUFUS. Journal. Jn Reports of Explorations and Surveys to Ascertain the Most Practicable and Economical Route for a Railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean . . . 1853-1854. Vol. I. Washington, 1855. ScHooLcRAFT, HrENnry R. Information Respecting the History, Conditions, and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States. Philadelphia, 1851-1857. 6 vols. Seymour, E. S8. Sketches of Minnesota. New York, 1850. SHEA, JOHN GILMARY. A Description of Louisiana, by Father Louis Hennepin. New York, 1880. SmMeET, P. J._ DE. Western Missions and Missionaries: A Series of Letters. New York, 1863. SPENCER, JOAB. The Kaw or Kansas Indians. Jn Transactions of the Kansas State His- torical Society, 1907-1908. Topeka, 1908. S7Trrtine, M. W. Archeological Investigations in South Dakota. Jn Explorations and Field-Work of the Smithsonian Institution in 1923. Smith. Mise. Colls., vol. 76, No. 10. Washington, 1924. STANSBURY, HOWARD. An Expedition to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake of Utah. Philadel- phia, 1855. WEstT, JOHN. The Substance of a Journal during a residence at the Red River Colony. London, 1827. Yarrow, H. C. A Further Contribution to the Study of the Mortuary Customs of the North American Indians. In First Annual Report Bureau of Hthnol- ogy, 1879-1880. Washington, 1881. EXPLANATION OF PLATES PLATE 1 Painted by DeLancey Gill from a photograph by D. I. Bushnell, jr., made at the Ojibway village of Sagawamick. The village stood on the south shore of Mille Lac, Minn., and was visited during May and June, 1900. This occupied the site of an ancient Sioux settlement which was probably occupied when Father Louis Hennepin was a captive only a few miles southward, in 1680. A large group of burial mounds marked the position of the ancient village. These had been erected by the Sioux and several of them were, in 1900, used by the Ojibway as places of burial for their dead. One of the latter mounds, which stood very near the lake shore, is shown in the picture. This is a very interesting example of the use of ancient mounds by later people, and readily accounts for the discovery of cOmparatively modern burials in the upper strata of many mounds throughout the Mississippi Valley. PLATE 2 Reproduction of an original photograph made by Humphrey Lloyd Hime, on the banks of Red River, in 1858. Hime accompanied Henry Youle Hind as photographer on the Assiniboin and Saskatchewan Exploring Expedition and made many interesting negatives, including those which are now repro- duced. Copy of the original photograph is in the Bureau of American Eth- nology. PLATE 3 Same history as Plate 2. PLATE 4 A cemetery at the ancient Ojibway village on the shore of Red Lake, Minn. The photograph was made by Rev. J. A. Gilfillan about 1895. PLATE 5 This is a beautiful photograph of a tree burial of the Southern Cheyenne and was made by the late James Mooney in 1891, near the South Canadian River, Okla. The original negative is in the Bureau of American Hthnology. PLATE 6 Same as Plate 5. PLATE 7 This shows the travois basket as it is now exhibited at the United States National Museum. The human remains which were in the various wrappirgs were removed and are now in the Army Medical Museum. 91 92 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [ BULL. 83 PLATE 8 The photograph of which this is a reproduction is in the collection of the United States National Museum, but unfortunately its history is not known. PLATE 9 The original sketch from which this painting was made was probably dune by Eastman while he was stationed at Fort Snelling. Seth Hastman, born in Brunswick, Me., January 24, 1808; died in Washing- ton, D. C., August 31, 1875. PLATE 10 Samuel Seymour accompanied the Long party ‘as painter for the expedi- tion.” He is known to have made a large number of sketches and more fin- ished pictures during the trip, a few of which were reproduced in the Amer- ican and English editions of the Narrative. PLATE 11 One of the beautiful pictures made by Bodmer while he was associated with Maximilian, Prince of Wied. Reproduced in the account of their Travels in America in 1833-84. Karl Bodmer, born in Zurich, Switzerland, 1805; died 1894. PLATE 12 Photograph of Fort Laramie, made during the visit of the Indian Peace Commission in 1868. From original in possession of Mrs. N. H. “eee St. Louis. Name of the photographer not known. PLATE 13 Brown’s Hotel at Fort Laramie. Same history as Plate 12. PLATE 14 a. Tree burial. Same history as Plate 12. b, Tree burial. Same history as Plate 12. PLATE 15 Scaffold-tree burial. This very interesting old photograph is in the collection of the United States National Museum, but unfortunately it is not known when nor by whom it was made. However, it was probably made in the vicinity of Fort. Laramie. PLATE 16 This interesting and graphic sketch was made by Miss Alice C. Fletcher during the autumn of 1881. At that time Miss Fletcher was making her first trip into the Indian country of the upper Missouri, the beginning of a remark- able career. PLATE 17 Same history as Plate 11. PLATE 18 a. This is probably a very accurate portrait of the great missionary and friend of the Indians, Pére de Smet. Made by the young Swiss artist Friedrich BUSHNELL] BURIALS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI 93 Kurz, by whom he was met on board the steamboat St. Ange, bound for the upper Missouri. Pere de Smet had left St. Louis June 7, 1851, went to Fort Union, and from there continued overland to Fort Laramie, where he attended the great gathering of Indians during the month of September. b. Original drawing by Kurz. Friedrich Kurz, born in Berne, Switzerland, January 8, 1818; died 1871. PLATE 19 a. Exterior of Fort Union. b. Interior of Fort Union. Original drawings made by Kurz in 1851. Kurz, when referring to the dis- tanee of Fort Union from Fort Berthold, wrote: ‘‘ By land, the distance, as the crow flies, is about 170 miles, by the river route, more than twice as far.” Kurz left Fort Berthold September 1, 1851, on horseback, and reached Fort Union four days later. On September 15, 1851, he mentioned Fort Union in his journal, and said: “The palisades of this Fort are not driven into the ground, as in Fort Berthold, but are fitted into heavy beams that rest upon a foundation of limestone. At this place palisades are further secured by sup- ports of crossed beams on the inside, so that they cannot be blown down by the wind. Nevertheless, it happened once during my stay that on the western side, where the supports were badly decayed, a violent wind did force them down before the new beams were ready.” And ‘“ here the Assiniboins, Crows, Crees, and half-breeds do their trading; and besides, Fort Union is the depot or storage-house for the more distant posts,—Fort Benton and Fort Alexander.” PLATE 20 Reproduction of a page of Kurz’s sketchbook, showing studies, portraits, ete., made at different times. : PLATE 21 a. Blackbird’s grave, from the original painting by Catlin now in the col- lection of the United States National Museum. This is No. 364 in Catlin’s Catalogue (London, 1848), and is described as: ‘ View on Upper Missouri— the ‘ Blackbird’s Grave.’ Where ‘ Blackbird,’ Chief of the Omahas, was buried on his favorite war-horse, which was alive; 1,100 miles above St. Louis.” George Catlin, born in Wilkesbarre, Pa., 1796; died in Jersey City, N. J., December 28, 1872. b. Photograph looking from the Blackbird Hills, by William H. Jackson, i871. PEATh 2 Blackbird’s grave, looking up from the banks of the Missouri, sketched by Bodmer, 1833. Same history as Plate 11. A “Biography of Blackbird” appears in the Gazetteer of the State of Missouri, by Alphonso Wetmore. St. Louis, 1837. Pp. 299-305. PLATE 23 From a photograph in the Bureau of American Ethnology. History not known. 94. BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 83 PLATE 24 Two forms of Ponca burials are shown. The original photographs are in the collection of the Bureau of American Ethnology, but their history is not known. PLATE 25 a. Photograph kindly furnished by Francis La Flesche. This was made within the past 10 years. b. Photograph made by David I. Bushnell, jr., about 1896. PLATH 26 a. Reproduction of the original painting by Catlin now in the United States National Museum. It is No. 392 in the Catlin Catalogue, described as “ View on Upper Missouri—Back view of the Mandan Village, showing their mode of depositing their dead, on scaffolds, enveloped in skins, and of preserving and feeding the skulls; 1,800 miles above St. Louis. Women feeding the skulls of their relatives with dishes of meat.” A drawing, made by Catlin from the original painting, appeared as Plate 48, page 89, in the first volume of his Letters and Notes, London, 1841. b. From the original painting by Catlin preserved in the United States National Museum. This is No. 475 in the Catlin Catalogue, and is designated: “ Butte de Mort, Upper Missouri, a great burial-place of the Sioux, called by the French Butte de Mort, Hill of Death. “Regarded by the Indians with great dread and superstition. 'There are several thousand buffalo and human skulls, perfectly bleached and curiously arranged about it.” PLATE 27 Mandan shrine. Same history as Plate 11. PLATH 28 A water-color sketch by Kurz. This shows Fort Berthold, on a cliff above the waters of the Missouri, and in the immediate foreground Kurz and his horse are standing within a circle of buffalo and human skulls. PLATE 29 a. A page of Kurz’s Sketchbook, showing a part of the interior of Fort Berthold, and above, a sweat house, probably erected by the Assiniboin, near the fort. The date of the latter sketch is August 24, 1851. A brief reference to conditions prevailing at Fort Berthold, as recorded by Kurz in his journal, is of interest. He wrote about the middle of September, 1851: “ Fort Berthold, which is, really, under control of Fort Pierre, is not a trading-post of much consequence; trade is carried on with only one tribe and, moreover, business is done, for the most part on credit, which frequently results in loss.” b. Page from Kurz’s Sketchbook. PLATE 30 a. Photograph of the Crow Agency, on the Yellowstone near Shields River, destroyed by fire October 30, 1872. In the Descriptive Catalogue of Photo- graphs of North American Indians, by W. H. Jackson, Washington, 1877, the photograph was mentioned on page 31. “The old mission buildings (lately destroyed by fire), in which the agent had his headquarters.” BUSHNELL] BURIALS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI 95 Photograph by W. H. Jackson, 1871; negative now in the Bureau of American Ethnology. b. Crow burials near the old agency. History same as preceding. PLATE 31 a. Scaffold holding the body of the Crow Chief Crazy Wolf. Near the Crow Agency, Mont. Photograph by P. P. Prando about 1890. b. Group of Crow burials near the agency. The bones were buried after the original scaffolds, upon which the bodies had been placed soon after death, had fallen through decay. The distant grave was that of the old Crow Chief Iron Bull who died in 1884. Photograph by P. P. Prando. PLATE 32 Photograph of the Crow Chief Iron Bull and squaw. This was made in Washington, D. C., during the year 1872. Iron Bull’s grave is shown in the preceding plate. PLATE 33 Crow burials near the agency. PLATE 34 Burial of the Crow Chief Ten Bear at the Crow Agency, Mont. a. The lodge having been taken down, the poles were placed beneath the scaffold, and evidently the lodge covering had been wrapped over the remains on the scaffold. b. Scaffold and ‘“ death lodge.” PLATE 35 Crow burials. a. Tree burial near Fort Keogh, Mont. History of photograph not known. b. Body of a child wrapped and placed among the branches of a tree, near the banks of the Big Horn. Photograph by P. P. Prando. PLATE 36 It is not known when this remarkable photograph was made, but it is believed to show a cemetery which belonged to one of the Pawnee villages in Nebraska 50 years or more ago. The copy formerly belonged to Miss Alice C. Fletcher and was furnished for reproduction by Dr. Francis La Flesche, PLATE 37 A erayon sketch by Carl Wimar, made at Fort Clark, on the upper Missouri, June 25, 1859. Size 9144 by 15 inches. Collection of David I. Bushnell, jr. y AH-HO-APPA, daughter of Spotted ALDEN, E. H., burials described by_- ALGONQUIAN TRIBES, habitat of_____ ALGONQUIANS OF VIRGINIA, custom TY 2 2B ee EE see ee eee eae: AMERICAN TURF REGISTER AND SporTING MAGAZINE, article in___ AQUIPAGUBPTIN, mention of____-__-~_ ARAPATO. habitat, of _—.---._...--. ARIKARA TRIBE— ALenOLe bertnold_- ———_ = (QUITE Cy Gis Ar interment practiced by_---- once united with Pawnee__-~-- SOROS OMe te ee ee ASSINIBOIN, a Missouri River steam- Pn SSeS See ee ee oe ee ASSINIBOIN INDIANS— alliance of, with the Cree__-__ puri custems of > 2 TEV ETO bees ee ee ASSINIBOIN River, Assiniboin In- BTN CARE a Sete Ibe era ATSINA— a division of the Arapaho_____~_ associated with Blackfoot Con-_ PROORS Oy. oe See ae customs of, mentioned by Maxi- POET AIG «NOR RR a 2 Sa dS he menuonters) 202 Sachs ese Bap River, former name of__------ BaRK, use of, in burials____-___~_ Bax, FATHER, mourning customs de- RNeribeds Dy As ee es ss BELIEFS— of the Assiniboin_ 43, 44, 45, 47, 14, 57 18 13 71 82-84 42,43 59 48, 49 of the Blackfoot Indians___ 10—11, 13 ercthe« Brulési5->+ = 5 bs 37, 38-39 of fihe) Cheyenne=- = 2)2 se 8-9 Btptheucrec= —- 8 ee rf Gherhe ehidatea —- — es et Sat 5 aay iy | of the: Kamsace i= 2 a5 53—54, 55 GtemmetMangans. = — = 5s 66, 70 of Ene Ong oe eS oe et 51-52 Of the Ona ges Sasi oe Sees 58 efinelSank and Fox ——-—-=--- ils Giethen sambeux=~ i595 = = 2 4 ier ther Nisseton=.=———-— -----=— 25-26 ofsthesvanktonal-—2- > 27-28 See FuTURE FE ; IMMORTALITY ; SPIRIT ; SUPERSTITIONS. Big Horn River, Brulés on_--_---_-~ 33 Bic Track, chief of the Great Osage 57 BIRCH BARK, body wrapped in_____-~ See Bark. BLACKBIRD, CHIEF, sketch of grave Ol ea ie a ee eS Ee ee BLACKFEET. See BLACKFOOT CON- FEDDPRACY. BLACKFOOT CONFEDERACY— PUTLAIS WOE 2s. S20 ere ee habitat. Osseo Bee eta tribes) formin p-.. so. SEO BuizzarpD, death of Indians in_____~ Buioops. See BLAcKkFroor CONFED- BRACY. BLUE EaArTH River, Sisseton settle- MeHtSuaes WOULD Of = ee see BOARDS, graves covered with _______ BoDMgER, drawings by---- 29, 30, 45, BONE HouSES of the Choctaw, men- ton Of! == 22 ee A ee ee ee BonES— interment of, long after death__ 22, 26, 31, 46, presenmation softens ese Le ose See SKULLS. Boreter, Dr. W. C., burial customs Geseribed! by= 22 22 eee Se ee ee BRACKENRIDGE, H. M., scaffold buri- ais) deseritbed. bya 32-82 2er 2s BRADBURY, JOHN— Hidatsa burials described by___— mourning customs described by_— BRANDON Houss, a post of the Hud- Son's“ Bay Cote soe = Se ee ee BROwN’S HOTEL, mention of____--__ BrRuLE INDIANS— Benes Ob mee sere es ee PUPS OTe ee ee ee. Habitate Gi ee ee eee BUFFALO HERDS, mention of____-___ BUFFALO SKIN, body wrapped in___ BUFFALO SKULLS— Dusiaisimarkednpye oe graves decorated with _____-_--~- in circle of human skulls__ 46, BULL BOATS, mention of______---_-_ BurIALS— deferred_—--~~— 14, 21-22, 24, 26, flexed) 322 == 22 See ee form of, affected by environ- Mente S0 =o ee 14 52, 69 61 18, 68, 78 67 74 56 43 34 33—40 47, 68 74 20 15, 36, 42-43, 62, 79, 8 28 98 INDEX 3 Page Page BurtaLs—Continued. CRYING, curious custom of_------- 56-57 intrusive, explanation of_------ 5 See WAILING. plura]_—~---______------__ 8, 9, 37, 78 CULBERTSON, T. A.— shallow Ba i a 55 at. Hort, Laramie= 24-8 = =e 49 time of, after death_______--_- ‘life at Port sPierre... cote ee 30 14, 33, 38, 42, 50, 62 burials described by---------- 31, 75 See BONDS ; CAVE BURIALS ; extracts from Journal of_—___ 30-32 GRAVES ; INTERMENTS ; LODGE pottrait © bf.o. 5223 ee 49 BURIALS; MOUNDS; SCAFFOLD Cuppinc performed by medicine- BURIALS ; TREE BURIALS. Won ie ee a ee 63 CacueEs as burial places—---------- 80 | Customs affected by environment__ db CADDOAN TRIBES— 8, 50, 86 burials, of_2—2=-~-220-——=he= 79-85 | DaKora-ASSINIBOIN GROUP, burials hapvitet.o1. ae ee 79 OF fee SE «RE OE) 16—49 PEs of, in burial cere- rs Daxonk Tae i gee ay Og ae Gas ORES Re By beliefs: of. ht tne toa 27-28 CANOPY OVER GRAVE_-=~--~~==—===— 6 hurt MTIAlS OFS ene ee eee 16-42 CATLIN, GEORGE— ‘ c : - chiefs of, buried at Fort Mandan burials described by_-- 67 i painting by 47 vigdimuemnamce ie 35 25k a ee ered bee oth ee : A fe sketch by, of Blackbird’s grave- 52 eaaniclphre a ict LESS ao Gita monade i 21 riven off ‘by Ojibway 2, 18 CEREMONIES, BURIAL, few references habitat 0f--- = 25-2 ea eee 26 IrvVING, J. T., Pawnee village visited MACKENzIn, ALEXANDER, Cree burial by ---------------------------- 80 customs described by---_-------~- 6 ISKUTUPE, death of--------------- 62 McLeop, Marvin, burials noted by_ 6, 21-22 JACKSON, photograph by_---------- 52 | Map Brar, Assiniboin chief________ 49 JAMESTOWN, VA., burials near_____~ 61 | Manro-TaronKa, burial of daughter JOKDPE, Oto Indian, mention of____ 62 Of 2D ok, ten oo ee 36 JOUTEL, description by, of Lllinois MANDAN TRIBE— burial *ctistomsi]222 ees 60 burials ofS. 4. Sede ee 65-73 KAGOHAMI, Mandan chief___-----_- 66 customs of, similar to Assini- KainaH. See BLACKFOOT CONFED- boi a. =~ oe 47, 48 ERACY. origin myth of-52.2 222 — see 66 KANSA TRIBE, burials of_____-_-_-~ 53-55 villages Of i2a=.28 pens euseeees 66, 69 KAPOSIA VILLAGE— MANITARI BURIAL CUSTOMS______--_ 69, 70 cemetery of s5- ss ee eee 18,19 See HIDATSA. : population of =-=22=====-=—-—= 19 | Marquerrn, PbrRE, reference to_____ 55, 60 Kyirp River— MARRIAGE CUSTOMS, for widows__ 26, 54, 55 Hidatsa living on==—==---- = 75 | Masrer or Lirs, belief in_________ 4, 55 villages near mouth of__-_--_- 66 | Mav-covERED BURIAL STRUCTURE —___ 61 KNISTENEAUX. See CREE, MatTooTronHA, a Mandan village____ 66 KuRz, FRIEDRICH— MATTHEWS, WASHINGTON, burials de- account by, of cholera epidemic_ 47 scribed. by 200. ee - 76-77 at: Hort: Bertholdseo see. 28s 71-72. | MaxImMILIAN— sketches pyo=! == ses 32, 47, 73, T5—-76 burials described by________ 10, 28, 30 LA BarGn, CAPTAIN, Mention of____ 47 Hidatsa customs described by__- 75 LA FLESCHE, FRANCIS-— Mandan villages described by__ 69 mention (Of 26. 2 ee 40 | MDEWAKANTON TRIBE— burials described by____-_______ 79 a division of the Dakota_______ 16 photograph identified by__---_- 80 burials ‘of_L2..2. eee 16-23 LAKE OF THE Woops, habitat of the habitat... == pe 16 Assiniboin®= = +23 [2.8 <2 ss 42 location of villages of_____---_ 21 LAKE TRAVERSE, Yanktonai villages migration’ ‘Of <2 -2. 2S 18°"« BNO ty ed iy Ta 27 | MEDICINE-BAG, place of, with corpse. 3, 25 LAKE WINNIPEG, Assiniboin in vicin- MEDICINE-MEN— : aty Ofek s Se ee 42 sick treated by_-__----~ 11, 13, 46, 81 L’ALSATIEN, FRANCOIS, mention of__ 32 treatment by, of wounded man-_ 62 INDEX 101 Page Page M®DICINE-POLM, use of_____________ 47 | Norris, Cou. P. W., burial witnessed Moun, grief expressed by__________- 59, 82 Dy oan see ee Ver ee eee ees TS MIAKECHAKESA, Sisseton name for NORTHERN CHBPYENND, home of_____ q RETIN VEN tn nate ee ere 23 | NorTH-WeEsT Co., mention of_______ 3 MiH-TuTTa-HANG-KusH, mention of_ 71 | NurraLyL, THOMAS, wailing described MILLE Lac— a es ae eee Se Bs 57 GCN ES Lay he et Ee ee 5,16 | OGLALA TRIBE— A OONBON 2 eee pee ee ee 5 ay Toying peaple== => eee 40 MINNETAREES, name for Hidatsa____ 73 burial customs of_________ 40-42, 78 MISSIONARIES— burials of, near Fort Laramie__ 40 mene ihe w@Osaren— 58-59 | OJIBWAY TRIBE— TESS ETE GDM, (ey eae ae cera 24 burial; Customs. Ol se 2-6 Missouri River, village sites on___ 84 closely related to Cree________ 6 MISSOURI TRIBE— habitat of_---______-________ - Sh atiie ch ee a a ewe ae 63-65 OLD SMOKE, CHIEF, mention of_____ 33, 34 united with Oto______________ 63 OMAHA TRUBS, UPA Sy Ole ee ee ee 50—52 MOLLHAUSEN, Oto burials noted by__ 61-62 ORIENTATION in burials__ 24, 25, 46, 67, 85 Moon AND SUN represented on graye ORIGIN MYTH, MANDAN____________ 66 Sw Se ee Ria aia 71, 73 OSAGE TRIBE— Moonry, JAMES, pictures made by__ 9 burials of----_-___-_________ 55—60 Morcan, Arikara burials described habitat of__--_-_____________ 55 a ei 83 MISTAUON= OLA= = = = eee ee 55 Mortuary customs. See BURIALS; tO RISE MourRNING CUSTOMS. eee Bs reece ae ee ee ie e ISSOUrI == mae. 86 OTTUMWA, KANS., burial near______ 15 Tay i Dd ae Ours Fou, Assiniboin chief________ 49 2s burial places... ----=--== 5 Coline nee purial) formation: of. == <2 eS 83 porn’! burial, on Mille Lac____---____ 16 nina nat? aRemareree heer 55 erected by the Dakota__-__---- 5 ool fk ane es 55 XU AVALIOONG see ete eb. 16-17 | PAINTING— indicative of former Oto vil- OE nee, dead el ee 3, 1 FT NaS ps ot a ee 61 10, 15, 24, 28, 40, 67, 76, 84 revealing earlier forms of of tree holding corpse________ 45, 46 pacha ee oe ee ee 86 onrsrave> posts==s5 eee 14, 43, 44 Mourners, hired______________ 32, 33, 77 See FActaL PAINTING, MOourRNING, duration of_________ 51, 70,82 | PARKMAN, Francis, at Fort Lara- MOURNING CRADLH, described by Lt hier er ee eS et a 35 Meili tS 28 ea oe 68-69 | PAWHUSKA, old cemetery near-_____ 56 MOURNING CUSTOMS— PAWNEE TRIBE— FARSIBINOMR 522 22 44, 48, 49 DOTIBIS <0 fa eh Sota 79-82 iIBlsiekton tes eo LS 10911, 12 linguistically related to Wichita_ 84 (STG ee eer es 2 es 36, 38 winter. hunt of 22 “sPeas 81 @hevenn esas” 2s ed oY) by 9) || BEN OF LOGS; burial ins sae 15 Greets Bes tt Fe Se oH 6 | Picorre, HENnrIn, mention of_____ 32 Crowe 22-2 Soe Ree 78 | PrpGAN. See BuacKroor COoNnrFEpD- Daa sa) as Seles Ed a RE 54 ERACY. Mondame t=“). tel 68, 70, 71, 72, 77 | PLaTTS River, Oglala Indians on__ 41 Mdewakanton 52522042 io 22,23 .|" PRURAL BURIADS-=2 ee 839) 375.78 COP ety sess a et ee ee 4 | -PONCA, TRIB; burials of. 22 ae 53 COPPER G1 SR a Oe er 51 | Ponies killed at grave of owner____ 34 Osage_--~-----------~-- 4, 56,57, 58 | Possussions buried with the dead__ 3, Pawnee —_---------------- 80, 81, 82 6, 9, 12, 14-15, 24, 25, 26, 28, 31, Quapaw —-__----------------- 60 34, 35, 36, 38, 43, 50, 51, 53, 54, Sauk and Foxes_-------_-~--- 14 57, 64, 67, 74, 84, 85. Saal St aa ee ris PortmRyY found in grave_.__._-____ 17 Yankton______.-_____________ 9g | Powpur River, Brulés on------___+ 33 See SPLF-MUTILATION ; WAILING. PROPERTY— MouRDER, burial in cases of________ 24, 25 given away as mourning cus- MURDERERS, burial of____________- 15 tom... ee A 4, 29, 58 MUTILATION. See SELF MUTILATION, of deceased, destruction of____ v6 NAMB OF DEAD not mentioned_____- 38 of deceased, distribution of____ 64 NAUDOWESSIp INDIANS, burial place of deceased, given away______ 14, Oe 21 29, 38, 44, 64 102 Page ProprerTy—Continued. of deceased, not desired by TeIMUNV.eS2 = ee 39, 44 seized on death of relative____ 11, 12 See POSSESSIONS BURIED WITH THE DEAD. PUNISHMENT. See REWARD PUNISHMENT IN FUTURE LIFE. QUAPAW TRIBE— AND burials! ofe= ss. ae ee 60-61 NaAbvitations .Ol = 2 ee 60 old manners retained by_---_-~- 55 Villages ota 2= Sots Se eee 60 Rep LAaK®P, Ojibway settlement on__ 5 Rep RIVPR COLONY, mention of___~ 44 REDWING VILLAGE, mention of______ 18 RENVILLE, story told by_------_-_ 20-21 REWARD AND PUNISHMENT IN FUTURE Ling! 222s * 4, 15, 48, 51, 57, 58, 77 ROSEBUD RESERVATION, Brulé burial OT ee a eee 40 RoSEBUD RIvER, Brulés on__-----~- 33 RUHPTARE, a Mandan village______ 69 SAGAWAMICK, mounds at__________ 5 St. ANGE, Missouri river packet____ 47 Sr. Croix RIVER— Duriais) nears = fo ae ee 18 MeCHiLOM Ol—=— 2 ee 22 St. FRANCIS HIBRONYMO, an Osage Villages. < Soh ose Se eee 59 Sanp HILLs, the abode of the dead_ 13 SANDY LAK#, scaffold burials near__ 6 SASKATCHEWAN RIveErR, Assiniboin In- Gigns nears ss= ae eee Ss eS 42 SAUK AND FOxES— DHT CustOHIS Ole =e 14-16 nabitatt’ ore 22-— 2 = see ee 14 SAuTEUx. See OJIBWAY. SCAFFOLD AND LODGE BURIAL, combi- nation. of 223s" s SSS oe 42 SCAFFOLD AND TREE BURIAL, combina- on Of, = eee eee 37 SCAFFOLD BURIALS— interment after _____ 20-21, 38, 76, 83 near pandy Lakes *ss-s aes 6 of the Algonquians of Virginia_ 61 of the Assiniboin_______~__ 43, 44-45 of the Blackfoot Indians______ 12 Of thes brulés 322 sa 4332 ~Se2 34, 35, 37 of »the, Cheyenne. == 2255 8-9, 10 of the ‘Crows=22453 3 ee 78 of? thes Hidatsax—222=. 32-4 74-77 of the Slinois.24 == es 60 of sthe; Mandan 2-222 65, 67, 68, 69 of the Mdewakanton__-_ 18,19, 20, 22 of the '‘Sauteux. 23 3 of the. Sisseton]—- = ae 23, 24 of ‘the: Leton=== 2s 30, 31, 32 of ‘the Yanktons? 222! 222 eee 29 of «the -Yanktonais- 220 32) Se 27, 28 on ‘thesplains=25<3>=- >= 2 reasons -fiven ‘foris-2-= == 34, 19, 31, 37, 44, 73, 75 ScaLPps— graves decorated with_____~_ 5, 15, 44 offering of, to the dead________ 23 INDEX . Page SELF MUTILATION, aS. a mourning cus- COWS 2 eee See pet eee. ce ee 4, 6, 9, 10, 12, 26, 27, 38, 48, 49, bi; 68, 70, 72-73, 77-78. SEVEN COUNCIL FIRES OF THE Da- KOTA, tribes included in_________ 16 Seymour, E. §S., cemetery described DY, scare eS em ee oe eee ae 19 SEYMOUR, SAMUEL, drawing made by. _ 27 SHAKOPEE’S VILLAGE, mention of___ 20 SHELTOR OVER GRAVE --—= 2 -_ Se 51 SIcHANGU. See BRULA INDIANS. Sick, THE— deserted before death__________ 41-42 dressed for burial before death_ 63 treatment of__ 11, 13, 33, 46, 59, 62, 81 SICKNESS, Sauteux belief concern- ing 2 Se ea ee eee 3 Siksika. See BLACKFOOT CONFED- PRACY. SIOUAN TRIBES— DUTTaIS “of: ee eee 16-79 Mmigratt ONMOl= ee a oe 16 Sioux. See DAKoTA, SISSHTON, BURIALS=— 32522 See 23-27 SKULLS— arrangement of, on prairie__ 70—71, 73 circles... of.s2-2.—3. eee eee 46, 68 talked to by women___--____-__ 68 SLAVES IN FUTURH WORLD, belief in_ 14 SMALLPOX, epidemics of___________ 71, 82 Sones— at Pawnee grave_________-___ 80 for treatment.-of, sicki si) 22 33 to, “the, déadi2 =o See 13 See DHATH SONG, Sout. See IMMORTALITY OF THB SOUL. SOUTHERN CHEYENNE, home of_____ 7 SPEHCH TO THH DHAD__-—__- = -_Le 3 See EULOGY OF THE DBAD. SPrRIT— Bad,: belief sins=2 ===" == 2. eee 4 Dyil;- region \of=<. =... eee 27 Great, belief in_-____ 21, 27-28, 54, 57 See BELIEFS ; FUTURE LIFH; IM- MORTALITY, SPIRITS, several, in each person____ 70 SPOTTED TAIL, A BRULE CHIEF______ 33 burial of daughter of_________ 33-34 SPOTTED TAIL AGENCY, mention of__ 38 Squaw, disposal of body of_________ £2 STANSBURY PARTY at South Fork of Platte ;Rivern=22 es ee eae 41 STERNBERG, Dr. G. M., travois bas- ket burial collected by --_-_--~-~ 9 STIRLING, M, W., village sites exam- qed bys. Sh SS eee 84 STONE-INCLOSED BURIALS, Osage, where, found s=2 +) ee ul STONES, graves covered with. 45, 53, 55-56 SUICIDE, belief concerning_________ 28, 17 SUMNER, COLONEL, Cheyenne defeat- edby, troopssote_ 2 See 8 SUN AND MOON represented on grave DOStpi22 sass an ee ee eee 71, 73 INDEX 103 Page Page SUPERSTITIONS— WAKON-THEBH, dwelling of the Great concerning shosts_2-—--—-—---— 47-48 SPIN) s2 se ee ee 21 regarding old scaffolding_-_-~~ 37 | WANARE THBH, dwelling place of the regarding the dead_-_----_--- 7,9 SOG si tit Se ae 27 See BELIEFS; GHOSTS. WA-NOCH-A-TH, abode of the dead_ 50, 51-52 A-HAt mention of-———————— 57 | WaAPASHA’S VILLAGE— TAOAPA VILLAGE, mention of____--_- 20 men ton Of s- 2. 5 eae ee TrETroN River, present name of___- 29 Scaffold) burials) at 222522222 = 2, TETON TRIBE— War, achievements in, related at pamials: Off es 2-222 =. 29-83 NV Gy eee ines ae Si ae Se ee 4 ER eal Kee Qk ee 30 | WAR EXPEDITION, as’ a mourning TETON VILLAGE— CUSTOMS Sao a es ee eee 54 IOGaioOn Ol. Sn ee 29 | WaR EXPLOITS, indicated on grave SG. OT Se eee 30 DOS Tak SST RS sR ts a a 14 TIME BETWEEN DEATH AND BURIAL-~ 11, | WARFARE, customs concerning death 14, 33, 38, 42, 50, 62, 77, 85 11) EES AO ay, See Pe Hs err ad A PB an 8, 28, 70 TIPIS— Warriors, burial customs for___ 24, 26, 51 dead placed in---____--_____-_ 12,78 | Wrakaore VILLAGE, description of__ 20 Olathe sCtOws==— =e 74 | Wuirp EarrH River, scaffold burial See HABITATIONS; LODGE BURI- Nearsmo uth Oh | ee ee es 44 ALS. WICHITA TRIBE— Tosacco buried with the dead___-_- 31 burials (Of ce 84-85 Toncup Rivser, Brulés on_------_-- 33 habitations ote aes ee 84 TOTEM on grave post___-_---~- 3, 43, 44 identical with Quivira_________ 84 TRAVOIS BASKET, dead placed in_-- 9,10 linguistically related to Pawnec_ 84 TREE AND SCAFFOLD BURIAL, combina- Wimibpows— : m Oi) Ot paar e oe See ee 37 marriage customs of________ 26, 54, 55 TRED BURIALS______~--~__ 9, 11, 12, 13, 24, mourning customs of_ 26,51, 54,55, 82 31, 36-37, 40, 44, 45, 52, 61, 76 Wiman, CARL, sketches by=-——- =e. — 83 TSCHPUNKA, CHIEF, burial of__-___ 28 | Wrxxepaco TRIBE, habitat of _______ 61 TUKAN HATON, a Sioux chief______ 29 U. S. Narionan Musnum, Cheyenne WOMEN ; burial preserved in____-_-_-_-- 9, 10 bodies of, thrown into under- . VALLEY Of THE Missourt, VFPER, the ieee CRraeNa RA De NA habitat of the Assiniboin________ 42 Stare Cite oe lhe tae 6 Pee ae Leas RSS = work performed by, at burials__ 12 VILLAGE OF THE DEAD, Indian name 88. 53 Peeeetenicteny.. 228 Fo a 47, 17 coed pate VILLAGE, WALLED, on Missouri River_ 76 | XANSTON teem, burials of ————__—— ae VILLAGES described in previous pa- YANKTONAL Teen, burials: of-—————— ee “jb aoe a a 1 YARROW, Docror— WAHPEKUTE, one of the Seven Coun- eee sete adieoed a oe Palieegat tlie Dakota. =.) 16 lodge burial described by_--_--- 42 WAHPETON, one of the Seven Council YELLOW Srone, steamboat, mention Hires’ of ‘the Dakota. 5 2 16 of ___________-_-~-_--~--------- 28, 53 WAILING, custom of___----~ 20, 26,56,57, | Younec, JOHN, burial customs de- 58, 59-60, 62, 66, 68, 71, 72, T7 81 Scribed@by; ass) eee eS 12 3019°—27——8 O I! i