t H5 ) 



hurt, but they fuppofe that the others are placed 

 as fo many guardians of mankind, and that every 

 perfon has his own tutelary. In the Huron lan* 

 guage thefe are called Okkis, and in the Algonquin 

 Manitous : it is to them they have recourfe in all 

 perils , and undertakings, as alio when they would 

 obtain feme extraordinary favour ; there is nothing 

 but what they may think they may beg of them, 

 Jet it be ever fo unreafonable or contrary to good 

 morals. This protection however is not acquired 

 at the birth of the perfon, he muft firfb be expert 

 at the management of the bow and arrow, before 

 he can merit this favour, and much preparation muft 

 be ufed before he can receive it, it being look- 

 ed upon as the moft important affair in their whole 

 lives : the principal circum (lances of it are thefe. 



They begin with blacking the child's face ; af- 

 terwards they make him faft for eight days toge- 

 ther, without giving him a morfel of any thing to 

 eat, and the tutelary genius muft appear to him in 

 a dream within this fpace of time. Now the empty 

 brain of a poor child juft entering into the ftate 

 of adolefcence, cannot fail of furniming him with 

 dreams, which they take great care to caufe him 

 repeat every morning. The faft however often 

 ends before the lawful time, there being few chil- 

 dren who have ftrength enough to carry it fo far ; 

 but this occafions no difficulty, the conveniency of 

 difpenfations being fully known here as it is every 

 where elfe. Whatever thing the child happens to 

 dream of, is always fuppofed to be the tutelary 

 genius, or rather this thing is held as a fymbol, or 

 figure, under which the genius manifefts himfelf % 

 but it happens to the Indians as it does to every 

 other people, who have deviated from the primi- 



Vol. II. L tive 



