POWELL] MYTHIC TALES. 43 
formulated as the omnipresent, the omnipotent, the omniscient—the 
infinite. 
Time has failed me to tell of the evolution of idolatry from fetichism, 
priesteraft from sorcery, and of their overthrow by the doctrines that 
were uttered by that voice on the Mount. Religion, that was fetichism 
and eecstasism and sorcery, is now the yearning for something better, 
something purer, and the means by which this highest state for human- 
ity may be reached, the ideal worship of the highest monotheism, is “in 
spirit and in truth.” The steps are long from Cin-ad-iv, the ancient of 
wolves, by Zeus, the ancient of skies, to Jehovah, the ‘Ancient of Days.” 
MYTHIC TALES. 
Tn every Indian tribe there is a great body of story lore—tales purport- 
ing to be thesayings and doings, thehistory, of the gods. Every tribe has 
one or more persons skilled in the relation of these stories—preachers. 
The long winter evenings are set apart for this purpose. Then the men 
and women, the boys and girls, gather about the camp-fire to listen to 
the history of the ancients, to a chapter in the unwritten bible of sav- 
agery. Such a scene is of the deepest interest. A camp-fire of blazing 
pine or sage boughs illumines a group of dusky faces intent with ex- 
pectation, and the old man begins his story, talking and acting; the 
elders receiving his words with reverence, while the younger persons 
are played upon by the actor until they shiver with fear or dance with 
delight. An Indian is a great actor. The conditions of Indian life 
train them in natural sign language. Among the two hundred and fifty 
or three hundred thousand Indians in the United States, there are scores 
of languages, so that often a language is spoken by only a few hundred 
or afew score of people; and asa means of communication between 
tribes speaking different languages, a sign language has grown up, so 
that an Indian is able to talk all over—with the features of his face, his 
hands and feet, the muscles of his body; and thus a skillful preacher 
talks and acts; and, inspired by a theme which treats of the gods, he 
sways his savage audience at will. And ever as he tells his story he 
points a moral—the mythology, theology, religion, history, and all human 
duties are taught. This preaching is one of the most important insti- 
tutions of savagery. The whole body of myths current in a tribe is the 
sum total of their lore—their philosophy, their miraculous history, their 
authority for their governmental institutions, their social institutions, 
their habits and customs. It is their unwritten bible. 
