would like to wear if living. This "spirit bundle," as it was
called, was suspended from a tripod, and occupied a certain place
in the lodge which was the place of honor. At every meal time, a
dish of food was placed under it, and some person of the same sex
and age as the one who was gone must afterward be invited in to
partake of the food. At the end of a year from the time of death,
the relatives made a public feast and gave away the clothing and
other gifts, while the lock of hair was interred with appropriate
ceremonies.

Certainly the Indian never doubted the immortal nature of the
spirit or soul of man, but neither did he care to speculate
upon its probable state or condition in a future life. The idea of
a "happy hunting-ground" is modern and probably borrowed, or
invented by the white man. The primitive Indian was content to
believe that the spirit which the "Great Mystery" breathed into man
returns to Him who gave it, and that after it is freed from the
body, it is everywhere and pervades all nature, yet often lingers
near the grave or "spirit bundle" for the consolation of friends,
and is able to hear prayers. So much of reverence was due the
disembodied spirit, that it was not customary with us even to name
the dead aloud.

It is well known that the American Indian had somehow developed
occult power, and although in the latter days there have been many
impostors, and, allowing for the vanity and weakness of human
nature, it is fair to assume that there must have been some even in
the old days, yet there are well-attested instances of remarkable
prophecies and other mystic practice.