and ribbons comprise the funeral shroud. The dead, being thus
enrobed, is placed in a recumbent posture at the most conspicuous
part of the lodge and viewed in rotation by the mourning relatives
previously summoned by a courier, all preserving uniformity in the
piercing screams which would seem to have been learned by rote.

An apparent service is then conducted. The aged men of the tribe,
arranged in a circle, chant a peculiar funeral dirge around one of
their number, keeping time upon a drum or some rude cooking-utensil.

At irregular intervals an aged relative will arise and dance
excitedly around the central person, vociferating, and with wild
gesture, tomahawk in hand, imprecate the evil spirit, which he
drives to the land where the sun goes down. The evil spirit being
thus effectually banished, the mourning gradually subsides, blending
into succeeding scenes of feasting and refreshment. The burial feast
is in every respect equal in richness to its accompanying
ceremonies. All who assemble are supplied with cooked venison, hog,
buffalo, or beef, regular waiters distributing alike hot cakes
soaked in grease and coffee or water, as the case may be.

Frequently during this stage of the ceremony the most aged Indian
present will sit in the central circle, and in a continuous and
doleful tone narrate the acts of valor in the life of the departed,
enjoining fortitude and bravery upon all sitting around as an
essential qualification for admittance to the land where the Great
Spirit reigns. When the burial feast is well-nigh completed, it is
customary for the surviving friends to present the bereaved family
with useful articles of domestic needs, such as calico in bolt,
flannel cloth, robes, and not unfrequently ponies or horses. After
the conclusion of the ceremonies at the lodge, the body is carefully
placed in a wagon and, with an escort of all friends, relatives, and
acquaintances, conveyed to the grave previously prepared by some
near relation or friend. When a wagon is used, the immediate
relatives occupy it with the corpse, which is propped in a
semi-sitting posture; before the use of wagons among the Otoes, it
was necessary to bind the body of the deceased upon a horse and then
convey him to his last resting place among his friends. In past days
when buffalo were more available, and a tribal hunt was more
frequently indulged in, it is said t