elief in the
soul, in spirits, gods, and devils, though of many of these tribes little
is really known in modern times.

Nearly all our North American Indians (I can find no exceptions) bury
objects with their dead, such as food implements, jewelry, etc., and kill
the horses of the deceased that he may ride in the Happy Hunting Ground.

With the Carib's death his wife and captives were killed, and food
utensils, etc., were buried with him.

A curious custom prevailed with some Brazilian tribes. After burying food,
utensils, arms, etc., with the body, a month after death the body was
disinterred, put in a pan over a fire, the volatile substances driven off,
the black residue reduced to powder and mixed with water and drunk by the
company.

The Patagonians bury all the possessions of the deceased with the body.

With the Hottentots, widows lose one joint of a finger as an offering to
the deceased husband every time they re-marry.

With the Kaffirs, the hut and utensils of the deceased are burnt. The East
Africans offer prayer to the dead.

The Congo people bury ornaments, utensils, arms, etc., and embalm the body
after one or two years. The body of the chief must be carried in a
straight line from the hut to place of burial, and if trees or huts impede
the passage, they are cut down.

The Coast Negroes bury property with the body and have a ceremony like an
Irish wake, as do also the Abyssinians.

With the Ashantis, gold dust and utensils are buried and human sacrifices
occur.

The wives of the Fijians are strangled that they may attend their lords in
the new country.

The people of Malagasy bury in vaults 10x12, and 7 feet high, and put in a
large quantity of property.

With the ancient Mexicans, wives, slaves, concubines, and chaplains were
slaughtered to attend the deceased.

The Arabs fasten the camels to the grave of their master.

The Todas cremate the dead and slaughter the whole herd of buffalo
belonging to him, in order to secure them to him in the after life.

I have by no means given a complete category of the primitive and
barbarous peoples who believe in a separate soul, and who believe in a
future state much like the present and in conformity with that belief bury
arms, ornaments, and utensils with the dead or place them on the grave,
and who slaughter horses, camels, wives, slaves, etc., in order that the
deceased may retain his possessions. How far these customs extend in case
of the dea