The feast of the dead is the most celebrated ceremony that takes place among the Hurons. They give it the name of festival for the reason, as I should say now, that when the bodies are taken from the cemeteries each chief makes a feast “to the souls” in his village.

This feast is full of ceremonies, but the chief one is evi­dently that of "boiling the kettle." This outdoes all the others, and the festival of the dead is spoken of even in the most serious councils, only under the name of "the kettle." They appropriate to it all the terms of cookery, so that when they speak of hastening or retarding the feast they say "rake out" or “stir up the fire under the kettle”; and when anyone says the kettle is overturned," that means there will be no feast. There is generally only one festival in each nation. All the bodies are placed in the same grave.

The twelve years or more having expired, the old people and great men of the nation assemble to decide upon the time when the feast shall be held, so as to satisfy all the people of the country and the outside nations who are to be invited.

Then the decision is made, as all the bodies are to be transported to the village where the common grave is made. Each family taking charge of its dead with a care and affection that cannot be described. If they have relatives buried in any part of the country whatever, they spare no trouble to go and bring them in. They take them from the cemeteries, carry them on their shoulders, and cover them with the finest robes they have in their possession. In each village a good day is chosen, and they repair to the cemetery, take the bodies from the tomb in the presence of the relatives, who renew their tears and repeat the mourning of the day of the funeral.

After the graves are opened all the bodies are laid out on the ground and left uncovered some time, giving the spectators an opportunity for once to see what will be their condition some day.

Now, when the bones are well cleaned, part of them arc placed in sacks, part in blankets. and they carry them on their shoulders, covering these bundles with other beautiful hanging robes. Entire bodies are put on a sort of litter and carried with all the others, each one taking his bundle into his cabin, where every family makes a feast to its dead.

Returning from this festival with a chief, who has considerable intelligence and who will be some day of high standing in the affairs of the country, I asked him why they called the bones of the dead Atisken. He explained as clearly as he could, and I learned from what he said that many believe that we have two souls, both divisible and material and yet both rational. One leaves the body at death, but remains, however, in the cemetery until the feast of the dead, after which it either is changed into a turtledove, or, according to the more general belief, it goes immediately to the village of souls.

The other soul is attached to the body; it marks the corpse, as it were, and remains in the grave after the feast, never to leave it. He mentioned to me, as a proof of this, the perfect resemblance which some persons bear to others who are deceased. This is why they call the bones of the dead Atisken, “the souls.”

A day or two before departing for the feast they carried all these bodies into one of the largest cabins of the village, where some of them were attached to the poles of the cabin, and others laid around it, and the chief entertained and made a grand feast in the name of the deceased chief whose name he bore. I was present at this “feast of spirits,” and observed four things in particular: First, the offerings which were given for the feast by the friends, and which consisted of robes, necklaces of shell beads, and kettles, were hung on poles extending the whole length of the cabin from one side to the other. Second, the chief sang the song of the dead chief, according to the desire he had expressed before his death, that it should be sung on this occasion. Third, all the guests had the privilege of dividing among themselves all the good things they had brought, and even of carrying them home, contrary to the custom at ordinary feasts. Lastly, at the close of the feast, as a compliment to him who had entertained them, they imitated as they sang the cry of the spirits, and left the cabin crying, “Ha-e-e, ha-e-e.”

The seven or eight days before the feasts were passed in collecting the bodies as well as assembling the strangers who were invited. Meanwhile, from morning till night gifts were distributed by the living to the young men in honor of the dead. On one side women were drawing the bow to see who should have the prize, which was sometimes a girdle of porcupine quills or a necklace of beads. On the other hand, in several parts of the village the young men were drawing clubs upon anyone who would try to capture them. The prize of this victory was a hatchet, some knives, or even a beaver robe.

Every day the remains were arriving. There is some pleasure in seeing these funeral processions. Which number sometimes from two to three hundred persons. Each one carries the remains of his friends, that is, the bones, packed upon his back after the manner I have described, under a beautiful robe. Some arranged their packets in the shape of a man, decorated with strings of beads, with a fine crown of red hair. On leaving their village the whole company cried. "Ha-e-e, ha-e-e," and repeated this "cry of the spirits" all along the way. This cry, they say, comforts them greatly, otherwise their burdens, although souls, would weigh very heavily and cause a weakness of the side for the rest of their lives. They travel by short stages. The people of our village were three days in going four leagues. As soon as they arrive near any village they shout again the “Ha-e-e, ha-e-e." The whole village comes out to meet them; many presents are again distributed on this occasion. Each one repairs to some one of the cabins; all find a place to put their bundles; this is done without confusion. At the same time the chiefs hold a council to decide upon the time that the company shall spend in this village.

The following is the arrangement of the grave. There was a space about as large as the Place Royale at Paris. In the center was a large grave about ten feet deep and five fathoms in diameter, round it a scaffolding and a sort of stage nicely made from nine to ten fathoms in diameter and nine or ten feet high. Above the stage there were several poles raised and well arranged, and others laid across them on which to hang all the bundles of skeletons. The entire bodies, as these were to be placed at the bottom of the grave, were laid under the scaffolding the day before, resting on bark, or mats raised on stones to the height of a man, around the grave. The whole company arrived with the bodies about an hour after midday, and divided into parties according to the families and villages, and laid their bundles upon the ground. They also unfolded their robes and all the offerings they had brought, and hung them upon the poles which extended for from 500 to 600 fathoms. There were nearly twelve hundred gifts, which remained thus on exhibition for two whole hours, to give strangers an opportunity to see the riches and magnificence of the country. About three o'clock each one fastened up his bundles and folded his robes. Meanwhile each chief in order gave a signal, and all immediately took up their bundles of bones, ran as if at the assault of a city, mounted upon the stage by means of ladders which were placed all around, and hung them (the bundles) to the poles; each village had its department. This done, all the ladders were taken away. Some of the chiefs remained upon the platform and spent the rest of the afternoon, until seven o'clock, in announcing the lists of presents which were given in the name of the deceased to some particular persons. For instance they would say, “Here is what such a one, deceased, gives to a certain relative.”

About five or six o'clock they lined the bottom of the grave and bordered it with large new robes, each made of the skins of ten beavers, in such a way that these extended more than a foot out of it. As they were preparing the robes which were to be used for this purpose, some of them descended into the grave, and came from it with their hands full of sand. I inquired what this ceremony meant, and learned that they believed that this sand will render them happy at their games.

Of the twelve hundred offerings that had been exhibited on the platform, forty-eight robes were to line and trim the grave, and each complete body had, besides the robe in which it was wrapped, another one, and some even two others, to cover it.

At seven o'clock the bodies were lowered into the grave. We had great difficulty in approaching it. Nothing ever pictured better to me the confusion among the damned. You could see unloaded on all sides bodies, and everywhere was heard a terrible uproar of confused voices of persons who were speaking without hearing one another. Ten or twelve men were in the grave and were arranging the bodies all around it, one after the other. They placed exactly in the center, three large kettles, which were of no use save for the spirits; one was pierced with holes, another had no handle, and the third was worth little more. I saw a few necklaces of shell beads there; it is true, many of them were put on the bodies. This was all that was done on this day.

The whole company passed the night on the spot, having lit a great many fires and boiled kettles. We retired to the old village with the intention of returning the next day at daylight when they were to cast the bones into the grave; but we barely arrived in time, notwithstanding all the diligence we employed, on account of an accident which happened. One of the skeletons, which was not well fastened, or perhaps was too heavy for the cord which held it, fell of itself into the grave. The noise it made awoke the whole troop, who ran and immediately mounted, in a crowd, to the platform and emptied, without order, all the bundles into the grave, reserving, however, the robes in which they had been wrapped. We were just leaving the village at the time, but the noise was so great that it seemed almost as though we were there. Approaching, we saw suddenly an image of the infernal regions. This great space was filled with fire and smoke, and the air resounded on all sides with the mingled voices of the savages. The noise, nevertheless, ceased for a while, and was changed to singing, but in a tune so doleful and weird that it represented to us the terrible sadness and the depths of despair in which the condemned souls are forever plunged.

Nearly all the bones had been cast in when we arrived, for it was done almost in a moment, each one being in haste for fear that there was not room for all these skeletons; never, the less we saw enough of it to judge of the rest. There were five or six men in the grave, with poles, to arrange the bones. It was filled up within two feet of the top with bones, after which they turned over them the robes that bordered the grave all around, and covered the whole with mats and bark. The pit was then filled up with sand, rods, and stakes of wood which were thrown in promiscuously. Some of the women brought dishes of corn, and on the same day and the following days several cabins of the village furnished basketfuls of it, which were cast into the pit.