The Unotello Indians of Oregon also incinerate their dead. On Oct. 9, 1884, several of them got drunk at Lastine, Ore., and engaged in a bloody fight. One was cut to death, and two others badly slashed. The Indians burned the body of their dead comrade, and held a war-dance while the body was slowly consumed. Mr. George Gibbs avers that the Indians of Clear Lake, Cal., burn their dead upon scaffolds built over a hole, into which the ashes are thrown and covered. The Digger Indians have a queer custom; they mix the ashes of the dead with gum, and smear them on the heads of the mourners. The Comanches also burn their dead. The Indian method of cremation is like that of the ancients; the corpse is burnt on a pyre six feet high, amidst exclamations of grief and sorrow, funeral songs and dances. Incineration is current among some of the native tribes of Alaska, principally among the Thlinkets. In the summer of 1884, I received a letter from a former fellow-student of mine,—Dr. Hugh S. Wyman,—who was then assistant surgeon in the United States Marine Hospital Service, and stationed at Sitka, Alaska. This missive contained the following:— “The Thlinket Indians cremate their dead in every instance except one—that of the Indian doctor, whose body is never burned, but placed in a sort of ‘cache,’ constructed of timber, above ground. Carvings of images, etc., representing the family history, are made on the grave, or a tall pole is erected by the side, with a red flag. With the body of the doctor are placed all his personal effects. These are supposed to remain undisturbed; but the empty appearance of the caches and the skulless skeletons of the few graves I have visited, with a curiosity to look inside, have led me to believe that the effects and body do not always lie unmolested. [Illustration: INDIAN CINERARY URN. Found in Kentucky. ] [Illustration: INDIAN CINERARY URN. Found in Indiana. ] [Illustration: INDIAN CINERARY URN. Found in Georgia. ] [Illustration: INDIAN CINERARY URN. Found at Lake Nicaragua. ] “The cremation of a Thlinket takes place in open air. The body, after lying in state for a few days, is taken out of the house through some opening made for the purpose, never through the regular entrance. It is placed on a pile of logs, which are ignited, and the corpse rolled about with long poles until thoroughly consumed. “The ceremonies attending cremation vary very much, according to the standing of the deceased, age, sex, and so on. “The only reason I have ever heard given by the Indians why they cremate was that if not burned, the body would always remain cold in the happy hunting-grounds. “I was unable to find out why they do not burn doctors. “I believe cremation among the civilized will necessarily become generally practiced in the future, and without ideas of horror, when people are more fully enlightened, especially in hygienic principles.”