dying on the way were bound upon horses and thus frequently
carried several hundred miles for interment at the burial
places of their friends.

At the graveyard of the Indians the ceremony partakes of a
double nature; upon the one hand it is sanguinary and cruel,
and upon the other blended with the deepest grief and most
heartfelt sorrow. Before the interment of the dead the
chattels of the deceased are unloaded from the wagons or
unpacked from the backs of ponies and carefully arranged in
the vault-like tomb. The bottom, which is wider than the top
(graves here being dug like an inverted funnel), is spread
with straw or grass matting, woven generally by the Indian
women of the tribe or some near neighbor. The sides are then
carefully hung with handsome shawls or blankets, and trunks,
with domestic articles, pottery, &c., of less importance,
are piled around in abundance. The sacrifices are next
inaugurated. A pony, first designated by the dying Indian,
is led aside and strangled by men hanging to either end of a
rope. Sometimes, but not always, a dog is likewise
strangled, the heads of both animals being subsequently laid
upon the Indian's grave. The body, which is now often placed
in a plain coffin, is lowered into the grave, and if a
coffin is used the friends take their parting look at the
deceased before closing it at the grave. After lowering, a
saddle and bridle, blankets, dishes, &c., are placed upon
it, the mourning ceases, and the Indians prepare to close
the grave. It should be remembered, among the Otoe and
Missouri Indians dirt is not filled in upon the body, but
simply rounded up from the surface upon stout logs that are