CiUr. II. 
MENTAL POWERS. 
67 
ilie tendency in savages to imagine that natural 
objects and agencies are animated by spiritual or living 
essences, is perhaps illustrated by a little fact which 1 
°uce noticed : my dog, a full-grown and very sensible 
mnmal, was lying on the lawn during a hot and still 
Ua y ; but at a little distance a slight breeze occasionally 
moved an open parasol, which would have been wholly 
disregarded by the dog, had any one stood near it. As 
"'as, every time that the parasol slightly moved, the 
growled fiercely and barked. He must, I think, 
have reasoned to himself in a rapid and unconscious 
fanner, that movement without any apparent cause 
“‘bicated the presence of some strange living agent, and 
110 stranger had a right to be on his territory. 
bhe belief in spiritual agencies would easily pass into 
le belief in the existence of one or more gods. For 
Sa,Va ges would naturally attribute to spirits the same 
passions, the same love of vengeance or simplest form 
justice, and the same affections which they themselves 
experienced. The Fuegians appear to be in this respect 
j n au intermediate condition, for when the surgeon on 
° ar d the “ Beagle ” shot some young ducklings as 
s Peciniens, York Minster declared in the most solemn 
manner, “ Oh ! Mr. Bynoe, much rain, much snow, blow' 
much and this w r as evidently a retributive punish- 
ment for wasting human food. So again lie related 
l0w > when liis brother killed a “ wild man,” storms long 
] ' a ged, much rain and snow' fell. Yet we eoidd never 
c iscover that the Fuegians believed in w'hat we should 
a God, or practised any religious rites ; and Jemmy 
utton, with justifiable pride, stoutly maintained that 
mre was no devil in his land. This latter assertion is 
10 more remarkable, as with savages the belief in 
. s pirits is far more common than the belief in good 
spirits. 
