Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/77

 r opinion of thunder and lightning. 65

any exceptions but the following, which are fonorous, and feem to be of an ancient date ; Ookkah, " a fwan ;" Ilpatak, " a wing ;" Koojhak* " reeds ;" Sheenuk, " fand ;" Sbutik, " the fkies ;" Phutchik, " a ftar ; " Soonak, " a kettle ,'* $/h, " the eye ," Ai-eep^ " a pond ;" and from which they derive the word Ai-ee-pe^ " to bathe,'* which alludes to the eaftern me thod of purifying themfelves. Ilbak fignifies " a hand :" and there are a few words that end with/? i as Sotlijh^ " a tongue," &c.

The Indians call the lightning and thunder, Eloha, and its rumbling noife, Rowah, which may not improperly be deduced from the Hebrew. To enlighten the Hebrew nation, and imprefs them with a reverential awe of divine majefty, God fpoke to them at Sinai, and other times during the theocracy, with an awful or thundering voice. The greater part of the Hebrews feem to have been formerly as ignorant of philofophy, as are the favage Americans now. They did not know that thunder proceeded from any natural caufe, but from the immediate voice of Elohim, above the clouds : and the Indians believe, according to this Hebrew fyftem of phi lofophy, that Minggo IJhto Eloha Alkaiafto, " the great chieftain of the thun der, is very crofs, or angry when it thunders :" and I have heard them fay, when it rained, thundered, and blew (harp, for a confiderable time, that the beloved, or holy people, were at war above the clouds. And they believe that the war at fuch times, is moderate, or hot, in proportion to the noife and violence of the ftorm.

I have feen them in thefe ftorms, fire off their guns, pointed toward the fky, fome in contempt of heaven, and others through religion the former, to (hew that they were warriors, and not afraid to die in any fhape ; much lefs afraid of that threatening troublefome noife : and the latter, becaufe their hearts directed them to afiift JJhtokwllo Eloba *. May not this

An. 1736: and during the continuance of it, their conduct appeared very furprizing to one who had not feen the like before ; they all ran wild, this way and that way, like lunatics, firing their guns, whooping and hallooing, beating of kettles, ringing horfe-bells, and making the moft horrid noifes that human beings poflibly could. This was the effect of their natural philofophy, and done to aflift the fuflering moon. And it is an opinion of fome of the Eaft-Indians, that eclipfes are occafioned by a great monfler refembling a bull-frog, which now and then gnaws one edge of the fun and moon, and would totally deftroy them, only that they frighten it away, and by that means preferve them and their light.
 * The firft lunar eclipfe I faw, after I lived with the Indians, was among the Qieerake,

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