Heckewelder," they never fail to offer up a sacrifice to the great Being, to return him thanks for having given them courage and strength to destroy or conquer their enemies *."

66

Loskiel, who has given a minute account of the sacrifices offered by the Lenapé or Delawares, and who is said, by Heckewelder, to have almost exhausted the subject, affirms that they are offered upon all occasions, the most trivial, as well as the most important. They sacrifice to a hare," says he, "because, according to report, the first ancestor of the Indian tribes had that name t." To Indian corn, they sacrifice bear's flesh, but to deer and bears, Indian corn; to the fishes, small pieces of bread in the shape of fishes; but they positively deny, that they pay any adoration to these subordinate good spirits, and affirm, that they only worship the true God, through them: For God, say they, does not require men to pay offerings or adoration immediately to him. He has, therefore, made known his will in dreams, notifying to them, what beings they have to consider as Manittoes, and what offerings to make to them."-"When a boy dreams, that he sees a large bird of prey, of the size of a man, flying towards him from the north, and saying to him, "Roast some meat for me,' the boy is then * Heckewelder, Hist. Acc. of Ind. p. 204, 207.

This may account for the following statement by Charlevoix: " Presque toutes les Nations Algonquines ont donné le nom de grand Liévre au premier Esprit. Quelques uns l'appellent Michabou; d'autres Atahocan," Journal, p. 344.

Loskiel, p. 40.

bound to sacrifice the first deer or bear he shoots to this bird. The sacrifice is appointed by an old man, who fixes on the day and place in which it is to be performed. Three days previous to it, messengers are sent to invite the guests. These assemble in some lonely place, in a house large enough to contain three fires. At the middle fire, the old man performs the sacrifice. Having sent for twelve straight and supple sticks, he fastens them into the ground, so as to enclose a circular spot, covering them with blankets. He then rolls twelve red-hot stones into the enclosure, each of which is dedicated to one God in particular. The largest belongs, as they say, to the great God in Heaven; the second to the sun, or the God of the day; the third, to the sun or the moon; the fourth, to the earth; the fifth, to the fire; the sixth, to the water; the seventh, to the dwelling or House-God; the eighth, to Indian corn; the ninth, to the west; the tenth, to the south; the eleventh, to the east; and the twelfth, to the north. The old man then takes a rattle, containing some grains of Indian corn, and leading the boy, for whom the sacrifice is made, into the enclosure, throws a handful of tobacco upon the red-hot stones, and as the smoke ascends, rattles his calabash, calling each God by name, and saying: This boy (naming him) offers unto thee a fine fat deer, and a delicious dish of sapan! Have mercy on him, and grant good luck to him and his family*.

*Loskiel, parti, cap. iii. p. 42-3,

་

All the inhabitants of the West Indies offered sacrifices; and of these, the Charaibes were accustomed, at the funerals of their friends, to offer some of the captives who had been taken in battle *. I scarcely need advert to the well-known fact, that human sacrifices were offered by the Mexicans. Of these, all the Spanish historians have given the most horrible and disgusting account, and they are described more especially by Bernal Diaz, who was an eye-witness, with the most artless and affecting simplicity. Of this practice, however, there are no traces among the present Indian tribes, unless the tormenting of their captives, as Charlevoix seems to intimate, be considered as a sacrifice to the God of war t.

That the practice of sacrifice, as an expiation for sin, formed a prominent feature in the religion of all the nations of the old world, is a truth too well known to require proof. That it formed a part of the patriarchal religion is equally evident; and that it must have been of divine institution will, I think, be admitted, after a very little reflection. The earliest instance of worship, recorded in the Holy Scriptures, is the sacrifice offered by Cain and Abel, at a period when no permission had yet been given to eat animal food, and no pretext could have possibly pre

* Edwards' West Indies, p. 47, 51.

66

* “ Il semble que ce soit des victimes qu'on engraisse pour le sacrifice, et ils sont effectivement immolés au Dieu de la Guerre: la seule difference

qu'on met entre ceux et les autres, (the adopted prisoners,) c'est qu'on leur noircit entièrement le visage." Journal Hist.

p.

246.

sented itself to the mind of man for taking the life of any of the creatures of God. It is equally inconceivable, that by any deduction of unassisted reason, the mind could have arrived at the conclusion, that to destroy a part of creation, could be acceptable to the Creator; much less, that it could be viewed as an act of homage. The difficulty is still greater, when it is considered that this was intended as an expiation for the sins of the offerer. How could the shedding of the blood of an animal be looked upon as an atonement for the offences which man had committed against his Maker? This would have been to make an act at which nature would once have involuntarily shuddered, the expiation of another act which might not in itself be so hurtful or so barbarous.

This reasoning is further strengthened by the next instance of worship recorded in the Bible. When Noah had descended from the Ark, the first act of a religious nature which he performed, was to build an altar and to offer sacrifice. Human reason would have dictated a course of conduct directly opposite; for it would have told him not to diminish the scanty remnant of life; especially when the earth was al- · ready covered with the victims which had perished in the mighty waste of waters.

But if of divine institution, the question then arises, what was the reason of the institution? Every intelligent being proposes to himself some end -some design to be accomplished by his actions. What, then, with reverence let it be asked, was the design of God?

To the Christian the solution of this inquiry is not difficult. He has learned, that in the secret counsels of almighty wisdom, the death of the Messiah was essential for the salvation of man; that in his death, the first of our race was as much interested as he will be, who will listen to the last stroke of departing time; that it was necessary, therefore, to establish a representation of this great event as a sign of the future blessing, in order to keep alive the hopes and the expectations of men; and that this was effected by the slaughter of an innocent animal whose life was in the blood, and whose blood poured out was the symbol of His death, who offered himself a ransom for the sins of men.

Assuming this as the origin and intent of sacrifice, it is easy to account for its universal prevalence among mankind. Noah, as we have seen, offered a burnt-offering immediately after he left the Ark. From him, and his three sons, did their posterity derive the practice; and we find from the Scriptures, that it prevailed among all the nations, which, from their connexion with the family of Israel, are there incidentally mentioned.

If we turn to profane history, we cannot open a volume without meeting every where the record of sacrifice. The Phenicians, the Ethiopians, the Egyptians, the Chinese, the Persians, the nations in the north of Europe and Asia, the Carthaginians, the Greeks, the Romans, the inhabitants of Gaul and Britain-in a word, every heathen nation, of which we have any records remaining, constantly offered sacrifice as an expiation for sin. The gra