Introduction to the Study of Mortuary Customs Among the North American Indians (Volume P97-2714) (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1880 edition. Excerpt: ...'cold obstruction' into chemic change, and the once 'delighted spirit' of the savage was borne up. "It seems as if the savage shared in Shakspeare's shudder at the "Contrib. to N. A. Etlmol., 1877, vol. iii, i. 169. thought of rotting in the dismal grave, for it is the one passion of his superstition to think of the soul of his departed friend set free and purified by the swift purging heat of the flames, not dragged down to be clogged and bound in the moldering body, but borne up in the soft, warm chariots of the smoke toward the beautiful sun, to bask in his warmth and light, and then to fly away to the Happy Western Land. What wonder if the Indian shrinks with unspeakable horror from the thought of burying his friend's soul --of pressing and ramming down with pitiless clods that inner something which once took such delight in the sweet light of the sun What wonder if it takes years to persuade him to do otherwise and follow our custom What wonder if even then he does it with sad fears and misgivings Why not let him keep his custom In the gorgeous landscapes and balmy climate of California and India incremation is as natural to the savage as it is for him to love the beauty of the sun. Let the vile Esquimaux and the frozen Siberian bury their dead if they will; it matters little, the earth is the same above as below; or to them the bosom of the earth may seem even the better; but in California do not blame the savage if he recoils at the thought of going under ground This soft, pale halo of the lilac hills--ah, let him console himself if he will with the belief that his lost friend enjoys it still The narrator concluded by saying that they destroyed full $500 worth of property. 'The blankets, ' said he with a fine Californian...