Indian Burials

In the early history of the county, Henry Howes, a pioneer, was probably more familiar with the Indians than many others. When a young man he often went to the Indian Village near Denver. Peashwah and Weasaw and many other Indians were converted by Catholic missionsaries before there were any settlers here. The priest was not with them often, but they always met on Sundays in an appointed place and observed the Catholic form of worship. Each converted Indian had his rosary, and no doubt, while brooding over the enroachments of the whites, performed his vigils.
It is interesting to know how the Indians buried their dead. They wound the body in a blanket and stood it upright on the ground. They drove pickets around the body and then wove bark between the pickets so as to make the grave perfectly closed and tight. If the Indian had smoked they would put a pipe and tobacco in the grave, and always what provisions they supposed would last him until he would reach his happy hunting ground. There were many graves like this near the Indian village in 1834. They began to bury as the whites soon after the settlers arrived.