CHAPTER XII. 
ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 
= fone “yt s eee of Religious 
e Faith—Anec 
= of the Catholics—The Indian’s “egress Borg ae us- 
ms—Ancient Accoun akon a ng the Dead on Scaffolds— 
papeisthion and Witchcraft—Indian Philosophy —Polyza my 
and other _—e ial ee rs—Abhorrence of Incest—Dif- 
ference in ec sorte Indian Hospit ality Trai its of the An- 
cient Asia erp Ang meng | of Different Tribes— 
. Dreadful Decrease of the Indi 
* Ir will hardly be expected from a work 
making so little pretension as this to scientific 
accuracy and completeness, that the remarks 
which my plan necessarily leads me to make, 
concerning the aborigines of western America, 
should be either critical or comprehensive. 
Neither can I feel that it is a topic which I 
am at liberty wholly to disregard. The op- 
portunities which I have enjoyed for obtain- 
ing a knowledge of the character and habits 
of the western Indians have been such, that I 
that a brief account of them may prove 
in some measure new, and not altogether un- 
interesting to a portion of my readers. Im- 
pressed with this belief, I propose, in the few 
