They seldom bury their dead, but throw them into the river; yet if any white man will bury them, he is generally rewarded with a blanket, besides what he takes from the corpse, the dead having commonly their guns, tommahawkes, powder, lead, silver ware, wampum, and a little tobacco, buried with them; and as the persons who brings the corpse to the place of burial, immediately leave it, he is at liberty to dispose of all as he pleases, but must take care never to be found out, as nothing belonging to the dead is to be kept, but every thing at his decease destroyed, except these articles, which are destined to accompany him to the other world. It is reckoned, therefore, the worst of thefts; yet there is no punishment for this, or any other crime, murder excepted, which is more properly revenged than punished. This custom was probably introduced to prevent avarice, and, by preventing hereditary acquisitions, make merit the sole means of acquiring power, honour, and riches. The inventor, however, had too great a knowledge of the human mind, and our propensity to possess, not to see that a superior passion must intercede; he therefore wisely made it a religious ceremony, that superstition, the strongest passion of the ignorant, might check avarice, and keep it in the bounds he had prescribed. It is not known from whence it came, but it is of great antiquity, and not only general over all North America, but in many parts of Asia. On this account the wives generally have separate property, that no inconveniency may arise from death or separation. The Indians have a particular method of relieving the poor, which I shall rank among the most laudable of their religious ceremonies, most of the rest consisting purely in the vain ceremonies, and superstitious romances of their conjurers. When any of their people are hungry, as they term it, or in distress, orders are issued out by the headmen for a war-dance, at which all the fighting men and warriors assemble; but here, contrary to all their other dances, one only dances at a time, who, after hopping and capering for near a minute, with a tommahawke in his hand, gives a small hoop, at which signal the music stops till he relates the manner of taking his first scalp, and concludes his narration, by throwing on a large skin spread for that purpose, a string of wampum, piece of plate, wire, paint, lead, or any thing he can most conveniently spare; after which the music strikes up, and he proceeds in the same manner through all his warlike actions: then another takes his place, and the ceremony lasts till all the warriors and fighting men have related their exploits. The stock thus raised, after paying the musicians, is divided among the poor. The same ceremony is made use of to recompence any extraordinary merit. This is touching vanity in a tender part, and is an admirable method of making even imperfections conduce to the good of society.