It is a notion generally prevailing among them, that it was not the same _God_ made them, who made us; but that they were made after the white people. And they suppose their God gained some special skill by seeing the white people made, and so made _them_ better: for they look upon themselves, and their methods of living, (which they say, their god expressly prescribed) as vastly preferable to the white people, and their methods. And hence they will frequently sit and laugh at them as being good for nothing but to fatigue themselves, with hard labour; while _they_ enjoy the satisfaction of stretching themselves on the ground, and sleeping as much as they please; and have no other trouble than now and then to chase the deer. Hence, many of them look upon it as disgraceful for them to become Christians, as Christians do to become a Pagan: and though they suppose our religion will do well enough for us, because prescribed by our God, yet it is no ways proper for them, because not of the same original.
*They seem to have some confused notion of a future state, and many of them imagine that the _chichang_, (_i. e._ the shadow,) or what survives the body, will at death go _southward_, and in an unknown but curious place, will enjoy some kind of happiness, such as hunting, feasting, dancing. And what they suppose will contribute much to their happiness in that state is, that they shall never be weary of those entertainments.
Some of them have some faint notion of _rewards_ and _punishments_, or at least of _happiness_ and _misery_ in a future state; others seem to know no such thing. Those that suppose this, imagine that most will ♦be happy, and those that are not so, will be punished only with _privation_, being excluded the walls of that good world where happy souls shall dwell.
♦ “he” replaced with “be”
These rewards and punishments they suppose to depend entirely upon their behaviour towards mankind, and not to have any reference to God. I once consulted a very ancient Indian upon this point, whether the Indians of old times had supposed there was any thing of the man that would survive the body? He replied yes. I asked him, further, whether it would be happy there? He answered, after some considerable pause, that the souls of good folks would be happy, and the souls of _bad_ folks miserable. I then asked who he called _bad folks_? His answer was, those who lie, steal, quarrel with their neighbours, are unkind to their friends, and especially to aged parents, and in a word are but a plague to mankind. These were his bad folks; but not a word was said of their neglect of divine worship, and their badness in that respect.
They have indeed some kind of worship, are frequently offering _sacrifices_ to some invisible powers, and are ready to impute their calamities in the present world, to the neglect of these sacrifices; but there is no appearances of reverence and devotion in the homage they pay them; and what they do of this nature seems to be done only to appease the anger of their deities, to engage them to do them no hurt, or at most only to invite these _powers_ to succeed them in those enterprises they are engaged in. So that in offering these sacrifices, they seem to have no reference to a future state. And they imagine, that those they call _bad folks_, are excluded from the company of good people in that state, not so much because God is determined to punish them for their sins of any kind, as because they would render others unhappy if admitted to dwell with them. So that they are excluded rather of _necessity_, than by God acting as a _righteous judge_.
They give much heed to _dreams_, because they suppose the invisible powers give them directions therein. They are likewise much attached to the traditions of their fathers, who have informed them of divers miracles anciently wrought. *They also mention some wonderful things which, they say, have happened since the memory of some who are now living. One affirmed to me, that himself had once been dead four days, that most of his friends were gathered together to his funeral, and that he should have been buried, but that some of his relations were not arrived, before whose coming he came to life again. In this time, he says, he went to the place where the sun _rises_, (imagining the earth to be plain,) and directly over that place, at a great height in the air, he was admitted, he says, into a great house, which he supposes was several miles in length, and saw many wonderful things.
What increases their aversion to Christianity is the influence their _powwows_ have upon them. These are supposed to have a power of _foretelling future events_, _of recovering the sick_, and of _charming persons to death_. Probably a satanical imitation of the spirit of prophecy that the church in early ages possessed.