The gods of the Indians have bodies, and live much in the same manner with us; but without any of those inconveniencies to which we are subject. The word spirit, among them, signifies only a being of a more excellent na ture than others. According to the Iroquois, in the third generation there came a deluge, in which not a soul was saved; so that, in order to re-people the earth, it was necessary to change beasts into men. Beside the First Being, or theGreat Spirit, they hold an infinite number of genii, or inferior spirits, both good and evil, who have each their peculiar form of worship. They ascribe to these beings a kind of immensity and omnipresence, and constantly invoke them as the guardians of mankind. But they never address themselves to the evil genii, except to beg of them to do them no hurt. They believe the immortality of the soul, and say that the region of their everlasting abode lies so far westward, that the souls are several months in arriving at it, and have vast difficulties 'to surmount. The happiness which they hope to enjoy is not believed to be the recom pense of virtue only; but to have been a good hunter, brave in war, &c., are the merits which entitle them to this paradise,* which they and other American natives figure as a delightful country, blessed with perpetual spring, whose forests abound with game, whose rivers swarm with fish, where famine is never felt, and uninterrupted plenty shall be enjoyed without labour or toil.+ Many of the Indian natives have been converted to christianity, and no accounts could be procured to ascertain how far some of their tribes now retain the sentiments above described. About nine tenths of the inhabitants of these provinces are Roman Catholics, who enjoy under the present government the same provision, rites, and privileges, as was granted them in 1774, by the act of the 14th of George iii. The rest of the people are Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and a few of almost all the different sects of christians. The Moravian brethren have laboured assiduously to convert the Canadian Indians, and have now a settlement in that country. * Charlevoix's Voyage to North America, vol, ii. pp. 141-155, SPANISH AMERICA. LOUISIANA. Most of the natives of this part of America have an idea of a supreme Being, whom they call the Grand Spirit, by way of excellence; and whose perfections are as much superior to all other beings, as the fire of the sun is to elementary fire. They believe this omnipotent Being is so good, that he could not do evil to any one, if he were even inclined. That, though he created all things by his will, yet he had under him spirits of an inferior order, who, by his power, formed the beauties of the universe; but that man was the work of the Creator's own hands. These spirits are, by the Natches, termed free servants, or agents; but at the same time they are as submissive as slaves: they are constantly in the presence of God, and prompt to execute his will. The air, according to them, is full of other spirits of more mischievous dispositions, and these have a chief, who was so eminently mischievous, that God almighty was obliged to confine him; and ever since, those ærial spirits do not commit so much mischief as they did before, The greatest part of the natives of Louisiana had formerly their temples, as well as the Natches; and in all these temples a perpetual fire was preserved. The christians inhabiting this place are Roman Catholics. EAST AND WEST FLORIDA. The natives of this country believe a supreme benevolent Deity, and a subordinate deity, who is malevolent; neglecting the former, who they say does no harm, they bend their whole attention to soften the latter, who they say torments them day and night. The Apalachites, bordering on Florida, worship the sun, but sacrifice nothing to him which has life: they hold him to be the parent of life, and *Modern Universal History, vol. xl, p. 374. think he can take no pleasure in the destruction of any live ing creature. Their devotion is exerted in perfumes and songs. The Spanish inhabitants of this country are Roman Catholics. NEW MEXICO, Including California. The inhabitants of this country are chiefly Indians, whom the Spanish missionaries have in many places brought over to christianity.+ In the course of a few years after the reduction of the Mexican empire, the sacrament of baptism was administered to more than four millions. Many of these proselytes, who were adopted in haste, either retained their veneration for their ancient religion in its full force, or mingled an attachment to its doctrines and rites, with that slender knowledge of christianity which they acquired. These sentiments the new converts transmitted to their posterity, into whose minds they sunk so deep, that the Spanish ecclesiastics, with all their industry, have not been able to eradicate them. The religious institutions of their ancestors are still remembered, and held in honour by the Indians, both in Mexico and Peru; and whenever they think themselves out of reach of inspection by the Spaniards, they assemble and celebrate their pagan rites. OLD MEXICO, or NEW SPAIN. The divinities of the ancient inhabitants of Mexico were clothed with terror, and delighted in vengeance. The figures of serpents, of tigers, and of other destructive animals, decorated their temples. Fasts, mortifications, and penances, all rigid, and many of them excruciating to an extreme degree, were the means which they employed to appease the wrath of the gods. But of all offerings, human sacrifices were deemed the most acceptable. At the dedication of the great temple at Mexico, it is said, there were sixty or seventy thousand human sacrifices. The usual amount of them was about twenty thousand.§ The city of Mexico is said to have contained nearly two thousand small temples, and three hundred and sixty which were adorned with steeples. The whole empire of Mexico contained above forty thousand temples, endowed with very considerable revenues. * Kaim's Sketches, vol. iv. p. 216. Guthrie, p. 763. Robertson's History of South America, vol. ii, pp. 381, 385. Priestley's Lectures on History, p. 410. For the service in the grand temple of Mexico itself, above five thousand priests were appointed; and the number in the whole empire is said to have amounted to nearly a million of people. The whole priesthood, except that of the conquered nations, was governed by two high priests, who were also the oracles of the kings. Beside the service in the temple, the clergy were to instruct youth, to compose the calendars, and to point the mythological pictures. The Mexicans had also priestesses, but they were not allowed to offer up sacrifices. They likewise had monastic orders, especially one, in which no person under sixty years of age was admitted.* Notwithstanding the vast depopulation of America, a very considerable number of the native race still remains both in Mexico and Peru. Their settlements in some places are so populous as to merit the name of cities. In the three audiences into which New Spain is divided, there are at least two millions of Indians; a pitiful remnant indeed of its ancient population: but such as still form a body of people superior in number to that of all the other inhabitants of this vast country.t In consequence of grants bestowed upon Ferdinand of Spain, by Pope Alexander the sixth, and Julius the second, the Spanish monarchs have become, in effect, the heads of the Roman Catholic American church. In them the administration of its revenues is vested. Their nomination of persons to supply vacant benefices is instantly confirmed by the pope. Papal bulls cannot be admitted into America; nor are they of any force there, till they have been previously examined and approved of by the royal council of the Indies; and if any bull should be surreptitiously introduced, and circulated in America, without obtaining that approbation, ecclesiastics are required, not only to prevent it from taking effect, but to seize all the copies of it, and transmit them to the council of the Indies. The hierarchy is established in America in the same form as in Spain, with its full train of archbishops, bishops, deans, and other dignitaries. The inferior clergy are divided into three classes, under the deno * Critical Review, vol. liv. p. 312. ↑ Robertson's History of America, p. 391. Robertson's History of South America, vol. ii, p. 376. mination of curas doctrineros, PERU. The sun, as the great source of light, of joy, and fertility in the creation, attracted the principal homage of the native Peruvians. The moon and At present there are several districts in Peru, particularly in the kingdom of Quito, occupied almost entirely by Indians.‡ Notwithstanding some of the native Peruvians still practise in secret their pagan rites, the Roman Catholic is the prevailing religion in this place. From the fond delight the American Spaniards take in the external pomp and parade of religion, and from their reverence for ecclesiastics of every denomination, they have * Robertson's History of South America, vol. ii. p. 377. |