Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/34

 22 On the defccnt of the American Indians from the Jews.

flricteft devotian, and affirm it has been burning, without the lead inter- mifiion, feveral thoufand years. But the Indian Americans are fo far from the idolatry of the Sidonians, that they efteem fifh only as they are ufeful to the fupport of human life, though one of their tribes is called the fifo : they are fo far from paying any religious worfhip to the aerial wind, like the Tyrians, that they often call the bleak north- wind, explicatively, very evil, and accurfed, which they probably, would not fay, if they de rived the great efteem they now have for the divine fire, from the aforefaid idolatrous nations: neither would they wilfully extinguish their old fire, before the annual facrifice is offered up, if, like the former heathens, they paid religious worfhip to the elementary fire ; for no fociety of people would kill their own gods, unlefs the papifts, who go farther, even to eat him. The Indians efteem the old year's fire, as a molt dangerous pollution, re garding only the fuppofed holy fire, which trie archi-magus annually renews for the people.

They pay no religious worfhip to flocks, or flones, after the manner of the old eaftern pagans j neither do they worfhip any kind of images what- foever. And it deferves our notice, in a very particular manner, to invali date the idle dreams of the jeluitical fry of South-America, that none of all the various nations, from Hudfon's Bay to the Miffifippi, has ever been known, by our trading people, to attempt to make any image of the great Divine Being, whom they worfhip. This is confonant to the Jewifh oblervance of the fecond commandment, and directly contrary to the ufage of all the ancient heathen world, who made corporeal reprefentations of their deities and their conduct, is a reproach to many reputed chriftian temples, which are littered round with a crowd of ridiculous figures to reprefent God, fpurious angels, pretended faints, and notable villains.

The facred penmen, and prophane writers, aflure us that the ancient hea thens had laicivious gods, particularly ns^SD, 2 Cbron.xv. 16. which was the abominable Priapus. But I never heard that any of our North-American In dians had images of any kind. There is a carved human ftatue of wood, to which, however, they pay no religious homage : It belongs to the head war- town of the upper Mufkohge country, and feems to have been originally de- figned to perpetuate the memory of fome diftinguifhed hero, who deferved well of his country j for, when their cu/eena, or bitter, black drink is about to

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