98 EXPEDITION TO THE 



appetite ; in this respect, therefore, they prove themselves 

 more consistent than the Mahometans, who are said while 

 their Ramadan or lent lasts, to make up by the debauche- 

 ries in which they indulge in the night time, for the 

 painful restrictions imposed upon them during the day, by 

 the precepts of their prophet. The same apprehensions 

 which will prevent an Indian, whether man or boy, from 

 tasting food, while covered with his coating of charcoal, 

 will not allow him to shorten the term of his penance by 

 consuming the piece of wood too hastily. If he does not 

 use it sparingly, he is certain that the charm or virtue wnth 

 which he invests it, will be dispelled. In addition to these 

 mortifications, the Indian attempts to impress upon his off- 

 spring a permanent and unshaken belief in the existence 

 of a Great Spirit, ruler of the universe, whose attributes 

 are kindness to men, and a desire of relieving them from 

 all their afflictions : the necessity of doing all that may be 

 grateful to him is often recurred to, in those exhortations 

 by which every Indian parent instructs his sons, both 

 morning and evening. It does not appear that the same 

 care is extended to the religious principles of females. We 

 never heard of their joining in fasts or mortifications; 

 they are not allowed to take a part in the public sacrifices, 

 and as they have no concern in the noble occupations of war 

 or the chase, it probably matters but little whether or not 

 they are agreeable in the sight of the Great Spirit. The only 

 inducement which they have to pray is, that they may 

 continue to hold a place in the afFectionsof their husbands; 

 but, as upon this point the men are quite indifferent, it would 

 appear to them unworthy of their superior rank in creation, 

 if they were to bestow a thought upon the subject. 



Among the men of their own tribe, these Indians are re- 

 presented as indulging in many of the virtues which have 



