FUNERAL RITES OF THE INDIANS.
The customs observed in the burial of the dead differ in the different tribes. They all, however, paint the corpse black, and the feet are turned to the rising sun. The Omahas swathe the bodies with bandages made of skins, and place them on the branches of a tree, with a wooden vase filled with dried meat by their side, which is renewed from time to time. The Sioux bury their dead on the summit of a hill or mountain, and plant on the tomb a cedar-tree, which may be seen from a distance. The Chinooks wrap the bodies of their dead in skins, bind their eyes, put little shells in their nostrils, and dress them in most beautiful clothes, and then place them in a canoe, which is allowed to drift on a lake, a river, or the Pacific Ocean. The Shoshones burn their dead, with everything belonging to them. Among other tribes of the West the warriors are buried on horseback, with bow, and buckler, and quiver, and medicine-bag, and pipe, and tobacco, and dried meats. . . . When a tribe emigrates, they carry with them, if possible, the bones of their dead which have been preserved, or bury them in a cave, or hill, or wood.—Biblical and Theological Encyclopedia.