A Further Contribution to the Study of the Mortuary Customs of the North American Indians

A Further Contribution to the Study of the Mortuary Customs of the North American Indians is by H. C. Yarrow. The article says that much of it is quoted from other published sources. An entry headed Ancient mourning observances says that men blacked the whole face for a period of ten days after a death in the family, while the women blacked only the cheeks.

A passage on burial says that a feast was always called after burial, and a portion of the food of which each and every relative was partaking was burned to furnish subsistence to the spirit upon its journey. A quoted account says that two instances of cremation were found, in each of which the skull of the subject, which was unconsumed, was used as the depository of his ashes. A list of questions asks Are scaffolds or trees used as burial places and Are bodies placed in canoes, and asks that if cremation is or was practiced, the process, disposal of the ashes, and origin of custom or traditions relating thereto be described.