939 REV. S. D. PEET ON THE TRADITIONS OF 
in their information, and a decline had taken place. Itisa 
common custom with the chiefs to refer to the “ancient 
people.” The common response to the preaching and teaching 
of missionaries is, ‘‘ This was the belief of our ancestors,”’ and 
it is represented that they taught exactly the same doctrine and 
truths. This gentleman made the same division of the subject 
that Rev. Mr. Hells does. There ate four or five points on which 
both missionaries seem to be agreed. These are:—(1) The 
idea of the Great Spirit is a proof of the knowledge of the 
existence of Gods (2) the view of the Indians concerning 
the future state is a proof of the belief in immortality; (8) 
the various superstitions of the Indians show that they all have 
the sense of sin; (4) the prevalence of sacrifice shows that 
the same doctrine of atonement or expiation for sin by sacrifice 
was common among these tribes. These four doctrines— 
the existence of God; immortality of the soul; the sinful- 
ness of man ; and the necessity of sacrifice ;—seem to be held in 
various modified forms by all the tribes in North America. 
The researches of Rev. Mr. Eells have been among the Nez 
Perces, those of Rev. S. L. Riggs among the Dakotahs, and 
those of Mr. Williams, the gentleman referred to above, among 
the Chippewas. These embrace three of the great aboriginal 
families of the North, mainly hunters. The testimony of these 
gentlemen shows what was common among the hunter races. 
Other authorities might be cited to show that the same 
opinions were held by the agricultural races; and still others 
to show that similar opinions were held by the civilised 
tribes. The testimony which comes to us from so many 
different sources proves to a certainty that these ideas were 
prevalent with the native mind. It has been disputed 
whether the Indians really hold to the doctrine of a ‘ Great 
Spirit,” but the quotations by Mr. Eells are very numerous 
and from many different authors, and show that this was 
common. ‘The term Great Spirit is not one which comes from 
“accommodation”? to the whites, but is used by them to 
express a common belief. This idea seems to have been fun- 
damental, and is a result of. the teachings of nature. The 
clear apprehension of the character of God we should not 
expect, but the conviction that there was one great being 
whom the Bible calls God seems to have been universal with 
_ the American tribes. It is sometimes said that monotheism 
is alate product of thought, but here is another case where 
monotheism proves to be a primitive belief. It has also been 
doubted whether immortality was a primary doctrine. Some 
have said that it does not appear even in the Old Testament. 
