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 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.' 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 Loskiel, part i, cap. iii. p. 42-3. 1 Edwards' West Indies, p. 47, 61. 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 de scribed 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 presented 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 cceptable to the Creator; much less, than 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 "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 differ ence qu'on met entre ceux et les autres, (the adopted prisoners,) c'est qu'on leur noircit entièrement le visage." Journal Hist. p. 246. have involuntarily shuddered, the expiation of an* other 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 already 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 intelli gent being proposes to himself some end-some design to be accomplished by his action. 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 bis 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 connex ion 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 Phoenicians, 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 gradual corruption of the true religion, while it caused the origin of the rite to be forgotten, made no other alteration in the practice than such as regarded the quality of the victim. Human reason must, at all times, have perceived, how inadequate was the slaughter of animals to atone for the sins of mankind. A nobler victim seemed to be demanded; and it was not to be wondered at, that the blood of men, and even of children, as approaching nearer to innocence, should finally be considered as essential to obtain the grant of pardon. To find the same practice prevailing among all the Indian tribes of America, a practice deriving its origin, not from any dictate of nature, or from the deductions of reason, but resting solely upon the positive institution of God, affords the most triumphant evidence, that they sprang from the common parent of mankind, and that their religion, like that of all other heathen nations, is derived by a gradual deterioration from that of Noab. At the same time, it will be seen, that they are far from having sunk to the lowest round on the scale of corruption. With the exception of the Mexicans, their religious rites bave a character of mildness which we should elsewhere seek in vain. IV. Having seen that sacrifice is practised among the Indians, we are naturally led to consider the ques tion, whether they have among them a priesthood; and, on this point, the testimony of travellers is somewhat discordant, Mackenzie mentions that the Chip ewyans have high priests; yet he describes the public sacrifices of the Knisteneaux, as offered by their chiefs, and the private, by every man in his own cabin, assisted by his most intimate friend.† Charlevoix says, that among the Indians of whom he writes, in public ceremonies, the chiefs are the priests, in private, the father of each family, or where there is none, the most considerable person in the cabin. An aged missionary, he says, who lived among the Ottawas, stated, that with them an old man performed the office of Priest.”+ Loskiel says of the Lenapé, or Delaware Indians, that they have neither priests regularly appointed, nor temples. At general and solemn sacrifices, the oldest men perform the offices of priests; but in private parties, each man bringing a sacrifice is priest himself. Instead of a temple, a large dwelling-house is fitted up for the purpose." He afterwards speaks of the place of offering, under the name of “the house of sacrifice," and mentions it as being "in a lonely place."§ On the other hand, Bartram, in his account of the Southern tribes, says, "There is in every town, or tribe, a High Priest, with several inferior, or junior priests, called by the white people jugglers, or conjurers."|| To the same purpose, Adair asserts, that they "have * Mackenzie, 8vo. vol. i. p. 153. “There are conjurers and high priests, but I was not present at any of their ceremonies." + Ibid, p. 124 128 9. "Si l'on peut donner le nom de sacrifices aux offrandes, que ces peu. ples font à leurs divinités, les prêtres parmi eux ne sont jamais les jongleurs dans les cérémonies publeques, ce sont les chefs, et dans le domestique, ce sont ordinairement les pères de famille, où à leur défaut les plus considérable de la cabanne." Journal Hist. p. 364. "Un ancien Missionaire (le père Claude Allouez, jésuite) qui a beancoup vécu avec les Outaouais a écrit que, parmi ces sauvages, un viellard fait l'office de prêtre dans les festins, dont je viens de parler ; qu'il commence par remercier les esprits du succès de la chasse; qu'ensuite un autre prend un pain de petun, le rompt en deux, et le jette dans le feu." Ibid, p. 350. § Loskiel, p. 39, 40, 42. ad calc. A house of sacrifice is only another name for temple. Bartram's Travels through North and South Carolina, Georgia, East and West Florida, &c. Lond. 1792. 8vo. p. 495. |