Indian Tribes of the Upper Missouri / Edited with Notes and Biographical Sketch

by Edwin Thompson Denig

Death and Its Consequences

When a warrior dies the body is straightened and dressed in full war dress, as for battle, the face being painted red. It is then wrapped up in a blanket, which is again enveloped in scarlet cloth, or his flag, if he has one; then his bow, quiver, sword, gun, powder horn, battle ax, war club, tomahawk, knife, and his medicine or charm are laid alongside and the whole baled with the body in his buffalo robe, being the one on which his coups on his enemies are painted. The last covering is the raw hide of a buffalo, hair inside, which incloses all, and is strapped up tightly by strong cords passed through holes cut around the edge of the skin, the whole presenting the form of a large oblong bale. All this is done by some old men, often some of the divining men, though not those who attended him while sick; and the persons who pay this attention to the corpse know they will be well paid by the relatives of the deceased, as it is the greatest honor one Indian can confer on another and is a claim on the patronage of the relatives during their life. Before enshrouding the body some one of the persons who officiate cuts off a lock of the dead man’s hair, which he retains a year. At the end of that time the nearest relatives of the deceased buy the hair from him at a very high price in horses, blankets, etc. This is another long ceremony and should be described, but our limits do not admit of it.

When the body is thus dressed and prepared for interment it is the wish of the relatives to get it out of sight as soon as possible, or in a few hours after dissolution, but it often happens that there is no suitable place in the vicinity for burial and they are obliged to carry it along for several days. Most of these tribes prefer scaffolding the corpse on trees, which is the most ancient method of disposing of them, arising from the want of tools to excavate, particularly in the winter season, when the ground is frozen to the depth of 5 feet as solid as a rock, and for the reason that they wish the dead to be placed where they can at all times feast and speak to them. Of late years, however, they prefer their being interred by the whites at the different trading forts if possible, but as this can only happen to a few the others either scaffold them or inter them, when the weather admits, on the tops of hills, covered with large stones, which, being rolled on the grave after it is filled prevent the ravages of the wolves and foxes. In either case the clothing, arms, medal, or other trinkets not bequeathed are deposited with the body, and as the sanctum of the dead is never disturbed nor these articles renewed, they must present a sure criterion whereby to judge of their state of arts and arms at the time of the interment as far as it is possible to be determined by the nature of the materials thus deposited. Supposing they are near the timber, and the man has died in the night, the funeral takes place next day, or if he has died during the day it is disposed of the following morning.

At the moment life becomes extinct the relatives set up a loud howl, cut their hair and legs, and the neighbors crowd into the lodge, each endeavoring to excel the other in the violence of their lamentations, which are kept up without intermission from that time until the funeral is over, by all, and during this interval the whole of the property of the deceased, except his war horse and arms as mentioned, is given away by the relatives to those who lament. All his horses, skins, clothing, provisions, and a good part of that of his relatives (brothers, father, etc.) must pass into the hands of strangers; even the blankets off their backs, arms, and cooking utensils are seized and carried away by those who aid in mourning. If he has made a will, which occasionally happens, it is sometimes carried into effect, but usually the nearest relatives sit around the body howling, with their heads down, and pay no attention to the general pillage which then takes place, or if they do, it is only to tell each of the mourners which of their horses or other property to take away, giving the horses to those who have aided in laying out the dead man. Their custom is to make themselves as poor as they can be made on these occasions, either in property or with regard to their persons.

The body being placed on a horse travaille crosswise, it is conveyed to the spot for scaffolding by leading the horse, the whole following without any order and uttering loud howlings, both men and women. Several men now ascend the tree and draw up the corpse with strong cords attached to it, placing the feet as near toward the south as the fork of the tree will admit, and elevating the head part of the bale so that it may face in that direction, after which it is secured by the cords being tied round the limbs of the tree many times, to prevent the wind from blowing it down.

When this is finished they recommence cutting their legs and howling, calling on the deceased by the tie of relationship which bound them, thus: “My brother” or “my son,” adding, “remain in peace where you are; let your spirit go to the south and not be troubled; we will feast you; do not visit us in spirit; you are happy; and we are miserable.” These words are not distinguishable on account of the noise, and most probably muttered; as, having witnessed many of these funerals in every way, we have never heard any other words than lamentations; but they say they do pronounce them either mentally or very low, and that if it is neglected some more of their relatives will die; consequently we are bound to believe they utter these and other words in an audible voice. At this stage of affairs his war horse is led under the tree and shot, in addition to which, among the Crow Indians, a finger or two of each of the near relatives are chopped off and the blood smeared over their faces, left to dry there, and remain until it wears off. The deceased’s shield, lance, or other implement, too long or unwieldy to be enveloped with the body, are now tied at his head on the tree, and the mourners retire. Some of the near relatives, however, often remain all day and night, naked and barefoot, exposed to cold, snow, or rain, for several days and nights without eating until they are completely exhausted, and for a year or more afterwards wear nothing but an old torn skin, which, with their bodies and faces, is smeared over with white clay, and present a miserable appearance.

This is the most general custom among all the tribes of which we write of disposing of their dead, and nine-tenths of them are scaffolded in this way. Yet occasionally some, either by request or desire of surviving relatives, or in the event of their dying where no timber can be found, are interred on the top of a hill. In either case the mourning and ceremonies are the same. When interred, the hole or grave is excavated to the depth of about 5 feet, and made large enough to contain the implements before referred to, which are all buried with the body, the grave filled up and large rocks rolled upon it. In either way no inscription or device is made to mark the spot, nor any hieroglyphics carved on trees denoting the age, name of the person, or anything else. No consolation is offered to Indians at the time of the funeral, nor for several days afterwards. Those who wish to console must aid to mourn, but say nothing. In a few days, however, many elderly men invite the relations to feast and console them by the usual arguments the nature of the case dictates. The reason why the feet are placed southward and the face turned in that direction is that the Indian paradise is supposed to be in that quarter, and the soul is thus given to the South Wind to be carried off to that point. Very brave and formerly renowned warriors sometimes requested not to be interred in any way, in which case they are placed inside their lodge propped up, in a sitting posture, dressed and painted, the door of the lodge is closed tight, and the outside around the lodge inclosed by a hedge of thick branches and dirt to prevent the wolves from entering, and the whole is thus left on the plains.

In the course of time the lodge rots away, the wolves enter, and the bones are scattered about or carried away by them. This is the manner in which the Chief Wah-he´-muzza, or The Iron Arrow Point, ordered his obsequies to be performed, giving for his reason that he wished to remain above ground in order to see and hear his children all the time and to have the spot rendered remarkable by his being there.

The death of ordinary Indians is attended with like results, though if not warriors of note they are merely enveloped in their ordinary clothing and blankets or skins with their implements, but no horse is killed over their grave. When women die their favorite dogs are killed and all their tools for scraping and dressing hides, with their pillow and porcupine quills, are enveloped with them. If she be the wife of a chief or man of importance she is also wrapped in scarlet cloth, formerly in painted skins. There is as much mourning and distress observed on the death of their children, perhaps more, than when grown. On these occasions often some one of the parents destroy themselves, and all other Indians are very attentive to them for several days until the most violent grief is over. Should anyone offend the parent during this time his death would most certainly follow, as the man, being in profound sorrow, seeks something on which to wreak his revenge, and he soon after goes to war, to kill or be killed, either of which being immaterial to him in that state.

The reason the implements are deposited in the grave is that they are supposed to be necessary to his being in the world of spirits. It is a very ancient custom, perhaps coeval with their existence.

We know of no tumulus or barrow erected either in former or later times through this country containing many bodies or possessing the character of a charnel house, but are in the knowledge of the graves of many chiefs either on scaffolds or on hills.

Bodies are never interred in a sitting posture, though that manner is sometimes observed when deposited in the lodge above ground and the posture preserved by stakes driven in around the body with forks on the end supporting the different members and equilibrium.

There are no herbs or spices placed with the corpse, neither is it submitted to any process analogous to embalming. It is enveloped, as before mentioned, in skins to which those who can afford it add scarlet cloth and blankets.

Scaffolding of corpses is the general manner of disposing of them with all the prairie tribes, and the way they are prepared has been alluded to. They would prefer having them boxed instead of baled, but have no tools to prepare timber, and even if they had can not at all times procure it, which together with their lack of means to excavate in these frozen regions were no doubt the original causes of this mode of burial. When bodies are brought to the trading houses for interment or scaffolding they are always boxed by the whites, the coffin being made large enough to contain the implements and ornaments enveloped with the corpse. This in former times was a great honor done the Indians and highly recompensed, but of later years is a great bore and expense.

This method of securing them can, however, only be embraced when death takes place near the houses, and consequently happens to few. The Mandan and Gros Ventres, being stationed at the fort with those nations, have their dead boxed by the whites and placed on a scaffold made of posts planted near their villages. The Arikara prefer interring them in the ground, and all the rest of the tribes place their dead, secured in the manner described before, in the forks of trees, which in a year or two, as soon as the cords rot off and the envelopes fall to pieces, are blown down, and the bones are found scattered beneath. Carnivorous birds, such as eagles, ravens, and magpies, often pick at the envelope until they get at the body, but if it is well strapped in rawhide it is generally secure from either birds or beasts as long as it remains in the tree.

It is the custom of the Assiniboin to put up a funeral flag over the graves of their dead, particularly children, which at this time is composed of some such fabric as red flannel or calico tied to a pole, but which was formerly made of feathers and light skins. This is a very ancient custom, arising, we are told, from the necessity of having some such object thus raised which, fluttering in the wind, frightens away the beasts and birds of prey.

The custom of collecting and reinterring the bones is very general at the present day among all these tribes; indeed, it is seldom neglected if when they visit the scaffold they find the body to have blown down and the bones exposed.

The bones are picked by any one of the party, not related, in the presence of some of the relatives of the deceased, and this time buried in the ground, with demonstrations of grief and some scarifying, though they do not go into mourning dresses further than some white clay about the face, and no property is confiscated by others, as in the case of the first funeral, but those who aid are paid with some smaller articles. On these occasions a feast is made for the dead which, being eaten, and the spirit propitiated by prayer and invocation, the whole concludes, those concerned resuming their usual dress and occupations.

There is no such thing as charnel houses or receptacles for the dead in all the district of the upper Missouri, neither are there any appearances of such things having been, each individual being buried or scaffolded separately at the most convenient place and as soon as possible after decease.

Incineration of bones is not practiced by any of them, neither do their traditions mention this custom to have ever existed among them; they have a horror of the idea.

Their symbols of mourning have been referred to, which are cutting short their hair, scarifying their legs, cutting off their fingers (Crow Indians), wearing an old tattered robe or skin on their back, the rest of the body being naked except the breech flap of the men, or body dress of the women, bare legged, bare footed, the face, hair, body, and robe smeared with white clay, often intermixed with their blood.

When the lock of hair of the deceased has been redeemed by the relative by high pay to him who took it, which is done in a year or two after demise, this relic is inclosed in a small sack and carried on the back of some of the female relatives. A piece of tobacco is wrapped with it, which is used on several occasions, as before mentioned. There are periodical visits to the grave, twice or thrice a year for the first year, and afterwards for several years whenever they happen to be in the vicinity, and on these occasions takes place the feast to the dead, so often referred to in these pages, which is one of their principal ceremonies. A repast is made of corn or pounded meat mixed with grease and sugar, sometimes a dog is cooked by some medicine man, and a crowd of people being assembled round the grave after lamenting the dead by howling, smoke, and pray to the spirit, leave a portion of the feast for it, and the rest is eaten by those who attend the ceremony. One of their prayers at these times is recorded in a former page, together with the reason of these observances. Fires are kindled near the grave or under the scaffold, but do not appear to be of further use than to light the pipe by while smoking to the dead, and are suffered to expire at their leisure.

No gravestones or posts are planted to mark the place, or any inscriptions or devices painted or carved by any of these tribes, denoting the age of the deceased or any other thing.

As has been frequently stated, there are no large mounds perceived on the upper Missouri, the work of Indians, as have been discovered in some of the western States, but were it an object or custom to bury the dead in that manner we believe there is energy and power sufficient among any of these tribes to accomplish a work of the kind, even with the rude tools they have, in a loose soil, free of rock, and in the summer season. These mounds have most probably been national or public depositories for the dead of Indians in stationary huts; and as great superstition is attached to all funeral rites, it is not improbable they were excavated in a length of time by the united efforts of the nation. Being a work in which both women and children could join, and which could be executed with the most primitive tools, they no doubt worked at it in favorable seasons, stimulated to exertion by the directions and commands of the divining men. These marks of antiquity only prove the nation to have been numerous, stationary, and unanimous in the undertaking. The materials disinterred from these receptacles must show beyond doubt the state of arts and advancement of the tribe at the time the interment was made, supposing the articles thus exhibited to be of their own manufacture and not traded from Europeans. Bones reburied are not accompanied with a new deposit of instruments.

Those articles first enveloped with the body, if found, are reinterred with it, which, having been the property of the deceased, are valuable, but to none other. It is only when the corpses fall from scaffolds or the bones of the dead by some means have become exposed that a second burial takes place; otherwise no Indians disturb the repose of the dead.