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LETTER XXIV. 



Of the Religion and T raditions of the Indians of 

 Canada. 



Fort at the River St. Jofeph, Sept. 8, 1721: 



Madam, ■ ■ 

 tir^ HIS letter will in all likelyhood be a very 

 JL long one, unlefs fome unforefeen hindrance 

 fhould oblige me to put off to fome other oppor- 

 tunity, what I have been able to collect, relating 

 to the belief, traditions and religion of our Indians. 



vV Nothing is more certain than that the Indians 

 of this continent, have an idea of a fupreme Be- 

 ing, ^though nothing at the fame time can be more 

 obfcure. They all in general agree in looking up- 

 on him as the firft fpirit, and the governor and 

 creator of the world, but when you prefs them a 

 little clofe on this article, in order to know what 

 they underftand by the fovereign fpirit, you find 

 no more than a tiffue of abfurd imaginations, of 

 fables fo ill contrived, of fyftems fo ill digefted 

 and fo wild, that it is impoflible to give any re- 

 gular or juft account of them. It is pretended 

 that the Sioux approach much nearer than the 



other 



