The Caddoes, _Ascena,_ or Timber Indians, as they call themselves,
follow nearly the same mode of burial as the Wichitas, but one custom
prevailing is worthy of mention:

If a Caddo is killed in battle, the body is never buried,
but is left to be devoured by beasts or birds of prey, and
the condition of such individuals in the other world is
considered to be far better than that of persons dying a
natural death.


In a work by Bruhier[9] the following remarks, freely translated by the
writer, may be found, which note a custom having great similarity to the
exposure of bodies to wild beasts mentioned above:

The ancient Persians threw out the bodies of their dead on
the roads, and if they were promptly devoured by wild beasts
it was esteemed a great honor, a misfortune if not.
Sometimes they interred, always wrapping the dead in a wax
cloth to prevent odor.

M. Pierre Muret,[10] from whose book Bruhier probably obtained his
information, gives at considerable length an account of this peculiar
method of treating the dead among the Persians, as follows:

It is a matter of astonishment, considering the _Persians_
have ever had the renown of being one of the most civilized
Nations in the world, that notwithstanding they should have
used such barbarous customs about the Dead as are set down
in the Writings of some Historians; and the rather because