Den dey jest go back in de
house and let de fire go out, and don't even tech de dead person till
somebody git dar what has de right to tech de dead.

When somebody bad sick dey build a fire in de house, even in de
summer, and don't let it die down till dat person git well or die.
When dey die dey let de fire go out.

In de morning everybody dress up fine and go to de house whar de dead
is and stand around in de yard outside de house and don't go in.
Pretty soon along come somebody what got a right to tech and handle de
dead and dey go in. I don't know what give dem de right, but I think
dey has to go through some kind of medicine to git de right, and I
know dey has to drink de red root and purge good before dey tech de
body. When dey git de body ready dey come out and all go to de
graveyard, mostly de family graveyard, right on de place or at some of
the kinfolkses.

When dey git to de grave somebody shoots a gun at de north, den de
west, den de south, and den de east. Iffen dey had four guns dey used
'em.

Den dey put de body down in de grave and put some extra clothes in
with it and some food and a cup of coffee, maybe. Den dey takes strips
of elm bark and lays over de body till it all covered up, and den
throw in de dirt.

When de last dirt throwed on, everybody must clap dey hands and smile,
but you sho hadn't better step on any of de new dirt around de grave,
because it bring sickness right along wid you back to your own house.
Dat what dey said, anyways.

Jest soon as de grave filled up dey built a little shelter over it wid
poles like a pig pen and kiver it over wid elm bark to keep de rain
from soaking down in de new dirt.

Den everybody go back to de house and de family go in and scatter
some kind of medicine 'round de place and build a new fire. Sometime
dey feed everybody befo' dey all leave for home.

Every time dey have a funeral dey always a lot of de people say,
"Didn't you hear de stikini squalling in de night?" "I hear dat
stikini all de night!" De "stikini" is de screech owl, and he suppose
to tell when anybody going to die right soon. I hear lots of Creek
people say dey hear de screech owl close to de house, and sho' nuff
somebody in de family die soon.

When de big battle come at our place at Honey Springs dey jest git
through having de green corn "busk." De green corn was just ripened
enough to eat. It must of been along in July.

Dat busk was jest a little busk. Dey wasn't enough men