died the body became full of little animals or spirits, as they
thought them. After crawling over the body for a time they took all
manner of shapes, some that of the deer, others the elk, antelope,
etc. It was discovered, however, that great numbers were taking wings,
and for a while they sailed about in the air, but eventually they
would fly off to the moon. The old coyotes or Indians, fearing the
earth might become depopulated in this way, concluded to stop it at
once, and ordered that when one of their people died the body must be
burnt. Ever after they continued to burn the bodies of deceased
persons."

Ross Cox [Footnote: Adventures on the Columbia River, 1831, vol. ii,
p. 387] gives an account of the process as performed by the Tolkotins
of Oregon:

"The ceremonies attending the dead are very singular, and quite
peculiar to this tribe. The body of the deceased is kept nine days
laid out in his lodge, and on the tenth it is buried. For this purpose
a rising ground is selected, on which are laid a number of sticks,
about seven feet long, of cypress, neatly split, and in the
interstices is placed a quantity of gummy wood. During these
operations invitations are dispatched to the natives of the
neighboring villages requesting their attendance at the ceremony. When
the preparations are perfected the corpse is placed on the pile, which
is immediately ignited, and during the process of burning, the
bystanders appear to be in a high state of merriment. If a stranger
happen to be present they invariably plunder him, but if that pleasure
be denied them, they never separate without quarreling among
themselves. Whatever property the deceased possessed is placed about
the corpse, and if he happened to be a person of consequence, his