horror and aversion of the corruption and decomposition of the dead
and of their being eaten by worms that they threw out the bodies into
the open fields to be devoured by wild beasts, a part of their belief
being that persons so devoured would not be entirely extinct, but
enjoy at least a partial sort of life in their living sepulchres. It
is quite probable that for these and other reasons the Bactrians and
Hircanians trained dogs for this special purpose called _Canes
sepulchrales_ which received the greatest care and attention, for
it was deemed proper that the souls of the deceased should have strong
and lusty frames to dwell in.

George Gibbs [Footnote: Schoolcraft's Hist. Indian Tribes of the
United States Pt. 3, 1853, p. 140] gives the following account of
burial among the Klamath and Trinity Indians of the Northwest coast.

The graves which are in the immediate vicinity of their houses exhibit
very considerable taste and a laudable care. The dead are inclosed in
rude coffins formed by placing four boards around the body and covered
with earth to some depth; a heavy plank often supported by upright
head and foot stones is laid upon the top or stones are built up into
a wall about a foot above the ground and the top flagged with others.
The graves of the chiefs are surrounded by neat wooden palings, each
pale ornamented with a feather from the tail of the bald eagle.
Baskets are usually staked down by the side according to the wealth or
popularity of the individual and sometimes other articles for ornament
or use are suspended over them. The funeral ceremonies occupy three
days during which the soul of the deceased is in danger from _O-mah-
u_ or the devil. To preserve it from this peril a fire is kept up
at the grave and the friends of the deceased howl around it to scare
away the demon. Should they not be successful in this the soul is