The Three Cities Trilogy: Paris, Volume 3
THE THREE CITIES PARIS BY EMILE ZOLA TRANSLATED BY ERNEST A. VIZETELLY BOOK III
bows and arrows or gun, and with the woman her cooking
utensils and other implements of her toil. Over the body
sticks are placed six or eight inches deep and grass over
these, so that when the earth is filled in, it need not come
in contact with the body or its trappings. After the grave
is filled with earth, a pen of poles is built around it, or
as is frequently the case, stakes are driven so that they
cross each other from either side about midway over the
grave, thus forming a complete protection from the invasion
of wild animals. After all this is done, the grass or other
_debris_ is carefully scraped from about the grave for
several feet, so that the ground is left smooth and clean.
It is seldom the case that the relatives accompany the
remains to the grave, but they more often employ others to
bury the body for them, usually women. Mourning is similar
in this tribe, as in others, and it consists in cutting off
the hair, fasting, &c. Horses are also killed at the grave.
The Caddoes, _Ascena,_ or Timber Indians, as they call themselves,
follow nearly the same mode of burial as the Wichitas, but one custom
prevailing is worthy of mention:
If a Caddo is killed in battle, the body is never buried,
but is left to be devoured by beasts or birds of prey, and
the condition of such individuals in the other world is
considered to be far better than that of persons dying a
THE THREE CITIES PARIS BY EMILE ZOLA TRANSLATED BY ERNEST A. VIZETELLY BOOK III