Page:The Hasty-Pudding.djvu/34

26 As ever has been the case with most of the primitive tribes of the human race, these Indians derived their original being from divers objects, animate or inanimate, of which they entertained respect, admiration, or awe. Some who lived near a great lake which supplied them with a store of fish, called that the parent whence they emerged; some esteemed the mighty Andes as their prime mother, who, from her deep caverns, first gave them birth; and others fancied themselves to be the descendants of the great bird, condor, in token of which, on days of solemnity and festival, they wore its wings fastened to their arms.

Every nation, province, tribe, and house among them, had its particular idol. For their opinion was, that one god would have enough to do, to take care of its own province, or family, and that its power was so limited, that it could have no virtue or extent within the jurisdiction of another. Some adored whatever they saw in which an excellence could be observed, whether good or bad. The tiger, the jaguar, and the bear, they worshipped for their ferocity, and with such submission and humility, that they would not fly from them in time of danger, but offered themselves to be devoured. The fox and the monkey, they adored for their craft; the stag for his swiftness; the hawk, for agility and courage; the eagle, for acuteness of sight; while other nations were more considerate in the choice of their deities, and worshipped nothing except what afforded them benefit or advantage. As fountains and cool springs, which furnished them with drink; rivers, that watered their pastures; the earth, which they called their mother, because it yielded them food; the air, because it gave them breath and life; and fire, because it warmed them, and cooked their food. Some, also, made choice of sheep, cattle, or corn, and everything around them, that served most for nourishment, as a god, and worthy of divine honour. The inhabitants near the coast, made the sea their god, the name of which, interpreted in their language, signifies the “Mother Sea.” The whale they deified on account of its