26 MEMOIR ON 



As ever has been the case with most of the primitive 

 tribes of the human race, these Indians derived their 

 original being from divers objects, animate or inanimate, 

 of which they entertained respect, admiration, or awe. 

 Some who lived near a great lake which supplied them 

 with a store of fish, called that the parent whence they 

 emerged ; some esteemed, the mighty Andes as their 

 prime mother, who, from her deep caverns, first gave 

 them birth ; ^-nd others fancied themselves to be the 

 descendants of the great bird, condor, in token of 

 which, on days of solemnity and festival, they wore its 

 wings fastened to their arms. 



Every nation, province, tribe, and house among them, 

 had 'its particular idol. For their opinion was, that 

 one god would have enough to do, to take care of its own 

 province, or family, and that its power was so limited, 

 that it could have no virtue or extent within the juris- 

 diction of another. Some adored whatever they saw in 

 which an excellence could be observed, whether good or 

 'bad. The tiger, the jaguar,, and the bear, they wor- 

 shipped for their ferocity, and with such submission 

 and humility, that they would not fly from them in 

 time of danger, but offered themselves to be devoured. 

 The fox and the monkey, they adored for their craft ; 

 the stag for his swiftness ; the hawk, for agility and 

 courage ; the eagle, for acutencss of sight ; while other 

 nations were more considerate in the choice of their 

 deities, and worshipped nothing except what afforded 

 them benefit or advantage. As fountains and cool 

 springs, which furnished them with drink * rivers, that 

 watered t'heir pastures ; the earth, which they .called 

 their mother, because it yielded them food ; the air, be- 

 cause it gave them breath and life ; and fire, because it 

 warmed them, and cooked their food. Some, also, made 

 choice of sheep, cattle, or corn, and everything around 

 them, that served most for nourishment, as a god, and 

 worthy of divine honour. The inhabitants near the 

 coast, made the sea their god, the name of which, 

 interpreted in their language, signifies the " Mother 

 Sea." The whale they deified on account of its pro- 



