An Introduction to the mortuary customs of the North American IndiansYarrow, H. C. (Harry Crécy)
History
An Introduction to the mortuary customs of the North American Indians
Yarrow, H. C. (Harry Crécy)
Indians of North America -- Funeral customs and rites
"They pay respect, however, to the memory of the dead, for they embalm
the bodies of the men with dried moss and grass; bury them in their
best attire, in a sitting posture, in a strong box, with their darts
and instruments; and decorate the tomb with various coloured mats,
embroidery, and paintings. With women, indeed, they use less ceremony.
A mother will keep a dead child thus embalmed in their hut for some
months, constantly wiping it dry; and they bury it when it begins to
smell, or when they get reconciled to parting with it."
Regarding these same people, a writer in the San Francisco Bulletin
gives this account-
"The schooner William Sutton, belonging to the Alaska Commercial
Company, has arrived from the seal islands of the company with the
mummified remains of Indians who lived on an island north of Ounalaska
one hundred and fifty years ago. This contribution to science was
secured by Captain Henning, an agent of the company, who has long
resided at Ounalaska. In his transactions with the Indians he learned
that tradition among the Aleuts assigned Kagamale, the island in
question, as the last resting-place of a great chief, known as
Karkhayahouchak. Last year the captain was in the neighborhood of
Kagamale, in quest of sea-otter and other furs and he bore up for the
island, with the intention of testing the truth of the tradition he
had heard. He had more difficulty in entering the cave than in finding
it, his schooner having to beat on and off shore for three days.
Finally, he succeeded in effecting a landing, and clambering up the
rocks he found himself in the presence of the dead chief, his family
and relatives.
"The cave smelt strongly of hot sulphurous vapors. With great care the
mummies were removed, and all the little trinkets and ornaments
scattered around were also taken away.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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