116 



PIGEWIS. 



Camp;' and having pointed the stem to the 

 heavens and then to the earth, he gave the 

 first whiff to the Master of Life, and afterwards 

 handed it to me. Pigewis then delivered what 

 I understood to be an address to the Great 

 Spirit, and the party seated around him used 

 an expression, apparently of assent, in the 

 middle and conclusion of his speech. Though 

 addressing an unknown God, what a reflection 

 does his conduct, in returning thanks for his 

 short and precarious supplies, to the Master of 

 Life, cast upon multitudes who profess Chris- 

 tianity and the knowledge of the true God, 

 and yet daily partake of the bounties of his 

 providence, without any expression of grati- 

 tude, or whose only return, is to live in the 

 known violation of his laws, and to blaspheme 

 his holy name, in the midst of his goodness 

 towards them! 



Pigewis breakfasted with me on the following 

 morning ; and his general remarks in conver- 

 sation gave me, as they had done before, a 

 favourable opinion of his penetration and 

 mental ability. The active efforts of his 

 mind, however, are confined principally to 

 those objects which immediately affect his 

 present wants or enjoyments. Savages talk of 

 the animals that they have killed, and boast of 



