according to the depth of their grief, one or more joints of the
fingers, divesting themselves of clothing even in the coldest weather,
and filling the air with their lamentations. All the sewing up and
burial process was conducted by the squaws, as the men would not touch
nor remain in proximity to a dead body.

"When an Indian of any importance is departing, the squaws assemble in
the lodge or teepee and sing the death-song, recounting the prowess
and virtues of the dying one, and the oldest man at hand goes into the
open air and solemnly addresses the 'Great Spirit,' bespeaking a
welcome for him into the happy hunting grounds. Whatever property the
deceased has--lodge, arms, or ponies--if a will was made, it was
carefully carried out; if not, all was scrambled for by the relatives.
I have often had, when a man wanted to go out of mourning, to supply
the necessary clothing to cover his nakedness.

"Further mourning observances were and are, the women relatives
getting on some elevated spot near where the body rests, and keeping
up a dismal wail, frequently even in extreme cold weather, the greater
part of the night, and this is kept up often for a month. No cremation
or burying in a grave was practiced by them at any time. Pained by
often coming on skeletons in trees and the stench of half-consumed
remains in the brush, and shocked by the frequent mutilations visible,
I have reasoned with the poor savages. In one case, when a woman was
about to cut off a finger in evidence of her grief for the loss of a
child, she consented on entreaty to cut off only one joint, and on
further entreaty was brought to merely making a cut and letting out
some blood. This much she could not be prevailed upon to forego....
Their mourning and wailing, avoiding the defilement of touching a dead
body, and other customs not connected with burial observances,