76 Cincennate Society of Natural History. 
of the Mississippi; they said they came from distant regions to the 
West. 
It is singular how or where many of our Indian tribes obtained 
their traditions in regard to the deluge, the ark, the dove, with the 
leaf-twig, the confusion of tongues, or Babel; the descent of the 
human race from a single pair; of Cain and Abel; their custom 
of erecting and carving the cross, and the ceremonials of baptism 
and the holy sacrament. Herrera states that baptism was practiced 
in Yucatan, and it there signified to be born again. The Mexicans 
made their principal deity of flour, blood and spices, which 
after a mimic sacrifice, was broken in pieces, distributed as a com- 
munion among the people, who ate it with religious devotion. 
We will now speak of their moral and social state, and of the 
leading features of their government, religion, wars, mechanical 
arts, etc. 
To procure food, raiment and shelter, and undoubtedly these 
were first necessities of mankind, the weakness of human nature 
inclines them to fall under the rule of superstition, and the stimu- 
lus of pride or oppression excites them to war. We ourselves 
obtained the names of our days from our ancient pagan ancestors : 
from Sun, Moon, Thor, Woden, Friga, and the names of our 
months from the Etruscans. Our Christmas fires of yule-logs, and 
cakes, are vestiges of the fires of Baal; and the May-pole, of the 
garden god, Priapus. Our own customs are stamped with the 
inheritance of superstition. 
Some of our Indians—those of the temperate and southern 
lands—were in a semi-civilized state, as the Natchez, Floridians, 
Mexicans and Guatemalas. 
Most of our American tribes had no fixed abodes. They were 
dependent for food on fish, and shell fish principally, and huge 
deposits of mussel and oyster shells mark their localities of sojourn- 
ing. The buffalo were most plentiful from the District of Colum- 
bia to the Rocky Mountains, and supplied them with food, 
clothing, utensils, ropes, twine, thread, and tents. Their bones 
were made into bows, hatchets, knives, awls, etc. Their houses 
were formed by making a frame-work of saplings, which was cov- 
ered with sheets of bark, skins, mats, and thatching of grass. The 
center of this roof has a hole for the smoke to.escape—for the fire 
was made in the middle of the floor, and a mat or skin closed up 
the door. 
