robe, with the
face painted, the arms, and all that belonged to the deceased, by his
side, is exposed at the door of the cabin, in the posture it is to be
laid in the tomb; and this posture is the same in many places as that of
a child in the mother's womb. The custom of some nations is for the
relations to fast to the end of the funeral; and all this interval is
passed in tears and cries, in treating their visiters, in praising the
dead, and in mutual compliments. In other places, they hire women to
weep, who perform their part punctually: they sing, they dance, they
weep, without ceasing, always keeping time: but these demonstrations of
a borrowed sorrow do not prevent what nature requires from the relations
of the deceased.

"It appears that they carry the body without ceremony to the place of
interment, at least I find no mention made about it in any relation:
but, when it is in the grave, they take care to cover it in such a
manner that the earth does not touch it. It lies as in a little cave
lined with skin, much richer and better adorned than their cabins. Then
they set up a post on the grave, and fix on it every thing that may shew
the esteem they had for the deceased. They sometimes put on it his
portrait, and every thing that may serve to shew to passengers who he
was, and the finest actions of his life. They carry fresh provisions to
the tomb every morning; and, as the dogs and other beasts do not fail to
reap the benefit of it, they are willing to persuade themselves that
these things have been eaten by the souls of the dead.

"When any one dies in the time of hunting, they expose his body on a
very high scaffold, and it remains there till the departure of the
troop, who carry it with them to the village. There are some nations who
practice the same with regard to all their dead. The bodies of those who
die in war are burnt, and their ashes brought back to be laid in the
burying-place of their fathers. Others bury their dead in the woods, at
the foot of a tree; or dry them, and keep them in chests, till the
festival of the dead. In some places they observe an odd ceremony for
those that are drowned or frozen to death. The savages believe, when
these accidents happen, that the spirits are incensed, and that their
anger is not appeased till the body is found. Then the preliminaries of
tears, dances, songs, and feasts, being ended, they carry the body to
the usual burying-place; or, if they are too far off, to