well-authenticated case on record, although E. A. Barber [Footnote:
American Natural, Sept., 1878, p. 699.] has described what may
possibly have been a case of cremation like the one above noted:

"A very singular case of aboriginal burial was brought to my notice
recently by Mr. William Klingbeil, of Philadelphia. On the New Jersey
bank of the Delaware River, a short distance below Gloucester City,
the skeleton of a man was found buried in a standing position, in a
high, red, sandy-clay bluff overlooking the stream. A few inches below
the surface the neck bones were found, and below these the remainder
of the skeleton, with the exception of the bones of the hands and
feet. The skull being wanting, it could not be determined whether the
remains were those of an Indian or of a white man, but in either case
the sepulture was peculiarly aboriginal. A careful exhumation and
critical examination by Mr. Klingbeil disclosed the fact that around
the lower extremities of the body had been placed a number of large
stones, which revealed traces of fire, in conjunction with charred
wood, and the bones of the feet had undoubtedly been consumed. This
fact makes it appear reasonably certain that the subject had been
executed, probably as a prisoner of war. A pit had been dug, in which
he was placed erect, and a fire kindled around him. Then he had been
buried alive, or, at least, if he did not survive the fiery ordeal,
his body was imbedded in the earth, with the exception of his head,
which was left protruding above the surface. As no trace of the
cranium could be found, it seems probable that the head had either
been burned or severed from the body and removed, or else left a prey
to ravenous birds. The skeleton, which would have measured fully six
feet in height, was undoubtedly that of a man."

Blacking the face, as is mentioned in the first account, is a custom