he had a number of indian rangers , many of whom also esteemed him ; some of these came to the unburying with a medicine person ( i think it was a man but could n't be sure ; it was short and round and wore a bird mask ) , who incensed the remains heavily with burning sage and sweetgrass ( not much help in terms of olfaction , but the smoke did draw a gentle veil over the more horrid aspects of the situation ) and sang over him at some length .