Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/49

 *beir belief of the exiftence and mintftra tion of angels. 37

there, however, all hath been filent. Our noify bacchanalian company might indeed have drowned the noife with a greater of their own. But as I have gone the tedious Chikkaiah war path, through one continued defart, day and night, much oftener than any of the reft of the traders, and alone, to the Chikkafah country, fo none of thofe frightful fpirits ever appeared to, nor any tremendous aoife alarmed me. But they fay this was " becaufe I am an obdurate infidel that way."

The Hebrews feem to have entertained notions pretty much refembling the Indian opinions on this head, from fome paflfages in their rabbins, and which they ground even on the fcriptures *. We read If a. xiii. 21. " But wild beafts of the defart mail lie there, and their houfes (hall be full of dole ful creatures, and owls mail dwell there, and fatyrs mall dance there -f-."

Several warriors have told me, that their Nana IJhtohoclloy " concomitant holy fpirits," or angels, have forewarned them, as by intuition, of a dan gerous ambufcade, which muft have been attended with certain death, when they were alone, and feemingly out of danger j and by virtue of the im- pulfe, they immediately darted off, and, with extreme difficulty, efcaped the crafty, purfuing enemy. Similar to this, was the opinion of many of the Jews, and feveral of the ancient and refined heathens, "and is the fentiment of mo derns, that intimations of this kind, for man's prefervation and felicity > proceed from God by the inftru mentality of good angels, or fuperior invi- fible beings, which he employs for that purpofe who can fo imprefs the imagination, and influence the mind, as to follow the fuggeftions, but not fo as to deftroy the liberty of the will. Thus Homer introduces Minerva as fuggefting what was proper for the perfons me favoured and other fuperior beings, but they deliberated on the counfel, and chofe that which appeared to be right.

ARGUMENT V.

' The Indian language, and dialefts, appear to have the very idiom and ge nius of the Hebrew. Their words and fentenccs are expreflive, concife, em-


 * Lev. xix. 31. r Sam. xxviii. 3, &c. Ifa. viii. 19.

f Bochart fuppofes that tjiim fignify 'wild cats ; and that DTtitt is not any particular crea ture, but the crying or howling of wild beafis.. His opinion is confirmed by many judicious writers.

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