USA > New Jersey > Passaic County > Paterson > History of Paterson and its environs (the silk city); historical- genealogical - biographical > Part 7
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183. quequera qulam tanansi oke cowin kee catungo 'where I look for a place to lie down and sleep, for I am sleepy'. This phrase appears on three lines in the ms. and was thus copied by Lossing. The sentence seems hopelessly cor- rupted, probably by the original scribe. I can find nothing to indicate what was meant by the words quequera qulam tanansi, except by supposing that in tanansi we have some form of the stem seen in ndoniken 'he seeks me'. Oke is 'and' = woak ; cf. nr. II. cowin 'sleep' = Z. gauwin; cf. nr. III. The words kee catungo = 'thou art sleepy' and not 'I', as above. They were either wrongly introduced here, or else the whole phrase should be in the 2 p. It may be noted that the q in quequera and qulam may be indications of the 2 p. = k.
184. aloppan 'to-morrow'; cf. nr. 118. This propably goes with what follows.
185. ne hattunum hwissi takene 'I will go a-hunting in the woods'; in two lines in the ms. With ne hattunum hwissi, cf. Z. ndochwilsi 'I go hunting'. The usual root is allauwi; cf. J. D. Prince, "The Modern Minsi Delaware Dialect," "Amer. Journ. of Philol.," XXI, pp. 294-302. 'In the woods' was properly tékenink; B., Z. tékene.
186. attoon attonamen 'goeing to look for a buck'; attoon = Z. achtu 'deer'. This word probably is concealed in the modern corrupt form Tuxedo which the Marquis de Chastellux in 1785 translated 'there are plenty of deer'; i. e., Tuxedo pos- sibly =achtuhuxítonk = B. achtuhu 'there are many deer' + -xit 'where one gets them' + the loc. - onk = 'place where one gets many deer'. Attonamen is from naten 'go after something'. The form should be n'naten 'I seek him' (anim.) ; (n)attonamen is inanimate and wrong here.
187. matcha pauluppa shuta 'I have catest (sic!) a buck'; B. palippawe 'buck' and Z. tchunásu 'catched (sic!) from which shuta is obvious. The entire phrase means 'I am going (matcha; nr. 60, for nee matcha) a buck to catch'.
188. accoke 'a snake'; B., Z. achgook; Aben. skok.
189. mockerick accoke 'rattlesnake'; lit. 'big [see nr. 143] snake'. Z. wischalowe = 'rattlesnake' (='frightener'; A.).
190. husko purso 'very sick'; purso = B. palsin; same stem seen in 191.
191. tespahala 'small-pox'; B. despchellan; Z. despéhelleu. Stem is pa (h)al, pehel 'be sick', seen in B. pal-sin (nr. 190).
192. mupane 'the ague'; lit. 'it comes again'; B. nohenopenowagan 'the sickness which recurs again' (A.).
193. singuope 'hold thy tongue'; perhaps a corruption of B. samuttonen 'close the mouth'. The proper word was tschitgussin (Z.) = 'be silent'.
194. singuap hockin hatta 'be quiet, the earth has them; they are dead'. Earth = Z. hacki; B. haki. Cf. nr. 65 for hatta 'have'. The -in may be for the loc. - ing, ink.
195. sheek 'grass or any green herb' (should be skeek) ; B. askiquall, skiquall; Z. mas- gik; B. maskik. Cf. Pass. m'skikwul 'grasses'.
196. hocking 'the grounds'; Z. hacki; B. haki 'earth'; lit. 'in the earth'. Cf. Pass. ki; Aben. a'ki, etc.
197. hockehockon 'plantation'; Z. hakihácan.
47
THE ABORIGINES
198. nee tukona 'my country'; also from hacki; viz., n of the I p. + the intercalated -t- before a vowel or soft h + the element uk-ak = hacki.
199. ouritta 'plaine; even; smooth'. This is simply wulita 'it is good', specially applied to land here. Properly 'plain' was B. memgukek (A. schimgek).
200. oana 'a path; highway'; B., Z. aney. See nr. 165 spelled ana.
201. singa mantauke 'when we fight'; tschinge 'when' (see nrs. 114; 152) ; B. mach- tagen; Z. machtágeen 'fight'. There is no indication of person in this phrase. 202. ne holock; Eng. not given (see nr. 205).
203. ne rune husco hwvissase 'we are afraid'; should be 'much (husco) afraid'. Ne runa = niluna, the exclusive 'we'; cf. nr. 128, for kiluna the incl. 'we'.
204. opche hwissase 'always afraid'; Z. abtschi 'always'.
205. ne olocko toon 'we run into holes'; verb-form, really I p. pl. excl. from Z. woalac ; B. walak; A. waleck = 'a hollow, excavation; not a hole which penetrates'. 206. keeko kec lunse une 'what dost thou call this'? Note keeko; should probably be read kccko (cf. nr. 34) ; kee = 2 p. sing .; on lunse, see nr. 63.
207. checonck 'looking-glass'. The usual expression was B., Z. pepenaus 'mirror', from pipinamen 'differentiate, choose'. The Natick word for 'mirror' was pepen- autchitchunkquonk; Narr. pebenochichauquanick 'the thing by which one sees a reflection'. Checonck of the jargon ms. seems to contain the final element of a Del. word akin to these long combinations just indicated.
208. powatahan 'a pair of bellows'; an inversion of Z. putawoágan.
209. itcoloha 'a cradle', for Z. tchallan 'Indian bedstead'; wrongly. tschallaan in B.
210. mamolehickon 'book or paper'; B. mamalekhikan 'writing, letter' (A. "in crooked lines or stripes") ; from lekhammen 'write'.
211. leecock 'table, chair, chest'; evidently from licchen 'lie down'; Z. liwichin 'rest'. Apparently a jargon word (?).
212. sepussing 'creek'; diminutive locative of sipo 'river'; Aben. sibo.
213. kitthaning 'river'; B. kittan; see nr. 164. kitthaning is loc. 'at the river'.
214. moholo 'a canoe'; B. amochol; Z. amóchol.
215. rena moholo 'a great boat or ship'; perhaps for lina (quot) amochol 'it is like a canoe' ( ?).
216. taune kee hatta 'where hadst thou it'? On taune see nr. 61 ; on hatta, nrs. 65; 194. 217. ne taulle ke rune 'I will tel thee'; verb-form from stem öl; cf. Z. kt-öl-len 'I tell thee'. Here in the jargon they used the I p. + 3 p. ne taulle = nt-öl-e; lit. 'I tell him', and added ke runa = kiluna; see nr. 128.
218. ne maugholame 'I bought it'; B. mehallamen; see nr. 99.
219. ke kamuta 'thou hast stolen it'; Z. com moot; com mootgeen 'stolen'; kemodgé- wak 'they have st. it'.
220. matta ne kamuta 'no, I did not steal it'; see nrs. 66; 95 for matta.
221. taune maugholame 'where dist thou buy it': See nrs. 61 ; 99.
222. A. B. undoque 'yond of A. B.' See nrs. 62; 113.
223. B. C. sickomeele 'B. C. will give me so much for it'. Z. ta-uchtend-chi = 'how much'? A. keechi 'how much'. The si- element must be the chi in kecchi; komecle =k'mîli 'you give me'. The correct translation is probably 'B. C., how much will you give me':
224. sawwe 'all'; Pass. m'siu; Aben. m'siwi. The proper Del. word was B. wemi; Z. wcemi.
225. hockung tappin 'God's'; lit. 'on earth (hockung) is God' (tappin = Pass. tepeltek; Aben. tabaldak 'lord').
226. manitto 'the Devill'; B. Manitto (A. 'spirit') ; cf. Z. manittowahalan 'bewitch'. 227. renus 'man' = lenno; see. nr. 228. The -s here is diminutive.
228. leno 'man'; B. lenno.
229. peray 'a lady' = pelay; same element as in Pass. pil- 'young', seen in Pass. pil- skwessis 'young woman, girl'. Peray-pelay really means 'young female'.
48
PATERSON AND ITS ENVIRONS
230. penaeste 'boy'; for penae-tit = B. pil-wessin 'be a boy' (see nr. 229). The end- ing -tit is diminutive.
231. issimus 'a brother'; should probably be connected with Pass. nsiwes 'my brother . This is the same stem seen in Z. schiess 'uncle'. Z. gives nimat, kimat 'my brother, thy brother'.
232. runcassis 'cousin'; B. longachsiss 'cousin'; but A. = 'nephew'.
233. mitthurrus 'husband'; must =witthullus 'her husband'; same stem as in B. alle- wussowagan 'majesty, supremacy'. Cf. nr. 242.
234. squaw 'a wife'; a jargon word from the Natick squaw 'woman'. The kindred Del. was B. ochque; Z. ochqueu.
235. noeck 'father'; Z. nooch 'my father'; ochwall 'his father', etc. Note the hard- ening of the guttural and cf. nrs. 260-261.
236. anna 'mother'; perhaps a jargon word. The proper Del. was B. gahowes; Z. gahowees.
237. haxis 'old woman'; corruption of Z. chauchschiessis.
238. aquittit 'little girl'; B. ochque-tit; lit. 'little woman'. Ignores guttural.
239. kins kiste 'a maide ripe for marriage'; corruption of choanschikan 'virginity'.
240. papouse 'a suckling child'; a jargon word from the Natick, as nr. 234. Del. was B. nonetschik; Z. nohulentschik 'children'.
241. munockon '[?] or a woman'; ms. indistinct. This is probably B. allamachtey 'womb, inward parts' (?), and denotes the pudendum femina.
242. qualis 'a master'; k'welis 'thy master' from alleweus, as in nr. 233.
243. tollemuse 'servant'; w't-allemus 'he hires (sends) him'; cf. B. allogagan 'servant'; Z. allogáman 'he is sent'. Is allum 'dog' from this stem? Cf. Aben. w'd-alemos 'his dog'.
244. wheel 'the head'; Z. wihl; B. wil.
245. mcelha 'the hair'; Z. milach; pl. milchall.
246. skinch; Z. wuschking; B. wuschgink 'eye'; cf. Natick skizucks.
247. hickywas 'the nose'; Z. wickiwon; B. wikiwon.
248. twn 'the mouth'; B., Z. wdoon.
249. wippet 'the teeth'; Z. wiput; B. wipit.
250. pentor 'the ear or hearing' = k'pentol 'I hear thee'; B. pendamen 'hear'; Z. necama k'pendak 'he hears thee'.
251. quaquangan 'the neck'; Z. ochquecanggan.
252. nacking 'the hand'; B. nachk; properly 'my hand'.
253. ponacka 'the hands'. I cannot explain the prefix.
254. wotigh 'the belly'; B. wachtey.
255. hickott 'the legs'; Z. wickaat.
256. ceet 'the foote'; B. w'sit; Z. w'chsiit.
257. iucka 'a day'; B. juke 'now'; Z. jucke. Cf. nrs. 115, 129.
258. kishquecon 'a week'; B. gischquik.
259. kisho 'a moneth'; B., Z. gischuch 'month'.
260. cothtingo 'a year'; B. gachtin; Z. gachtün. Note the rendering of the guttural in the jargon by th. Cf. nr. 235.
261. passica catton 'a halfe yeare'; B., Z. pachsiwi 'half' + catton = B. gachtin; Z. gachtiin. Here the guttural is ignored in the jargon. Cf. nr. 235.
INDEX
Abundance, 157. Afraid, 203.
Apple, 173.
Beaver, 71.
Arrow, 48.
Bellows, 208.
Autumn, 162.
Belly, 254. .
Ague, 192. Ale, 88. A11, 224.
Ax, 51.
Beyond thyself, 141.
Aye, 98.
Big, 189.
Alone, 149.
Bad, 124.
Boar, 74.
And, II-19.
Bag, 178.
Book, 210.
THE ABORIGINES
49 .
Flour, 176. Foot, 256.
Meal, 176. Meat, 81. Milk, 86.
Four, 4. Fourteen, 14. Fox, 75.
Mill, 175.
Mind, 35.
Freeze, 155; 158.
Mink, 80.
Friend, 58. Give, 102; 104; 144; 223.
Mother, 236.
Go, 60; 161 ; 165.
Name, 63.
Go away, 129.
Neck, 251.
God, 225.
Nine, 9.
Good, 123; 125.
Nineteen, 19.
Goose, 22.
No. 95.
Canoe, 214.
Grapes, 172.
Northwest wind, 180.
Grass, 195.
Nose, 247.
Grease, 32.
Now, 129.
Great deal, 143.
Old woman, 237.
Chair, 21I.
Grounds, 196.
Open, 137.
Chamber, 182.
Guilder. 101.
Otter, 72.
Cherry, 169-171.
Gun, 46.
Outside, 136.
Chest, 2II.
Hail, 156.
Paper, 210. Path, 165; 200.
Child, 240. Cloak, 40. Cloth, 42. Coat, 40.
Hand, 252-253.
Peach, 169-171. Perch, 29.
Cold, 154-155.
Hare, 79. Haste (vb.), 153.
Plain, 199.
Come, 133-134. Come from, 59. Come hither, 132. Corn, 90; 174.
Have, 34; 65; 119; 157; 194; 216.
Pot, 50. Powder, 47.
Country, 198.
Have a mind to, 35.
Pudendum, 241.
Cousin, 232.
Head, 244.
Quiet, 131; 194.
Cow, 85.
Hearing, 250.
Raccoon, 76.
Cradle, 209.
Hen, 24.
Rainy, 159.
Creek, 212. Cup, 146.
Hoe, 52.
Return, 132.
Day, 115; 116; 159; 257.
Hog, 82.
River, 164; 213.
Deer, 186. Desire, 35-36.
Hold thy tongue, 193.
Run, 153a.
Devil, 226.
Hole, 202, 205.
Run into holes, 205.
Doe, 69.
Horse, 83.
Salt, 93.
Door, 139.
House, 163.
Scissors, 54.
Drink (n.), 88. Drunk, 140; 142. Duck, 23; 122.
Hunting, 185.
Sell, 100.
Husband, 233.
Servant, 243.
I, 105.
Seven, 7.
Idle, 151.
Seventeen, 17.
Tron, 49.
Shad, 26.
Kettle, 50.
Sheep, 87.
Eight, 8.
Knife, 53.
Ship, 215.
Eighteen, 18.
Lady, 229.
Shut, 138.
Eleven, II. Elk, 73.
Leave in pawn, 108.
Sit, 130.
!
Legs, 255.
Six, 6. Sixteen. 16.
Farthing, 106.
Like, 94.
Sleep, 111; 183.
Fat (n.), 32.
Linen, 42.
Sleepy, 183.
Father, 235. Fathom, 102.
Look for, 183; 186.
Smallpox, 191. Smooth, 199.
Fetch, 109-112.
Looking-glass, 207. Maiden, 239.
Snake, 188.
Fifteen, 15. Fight, 128; 201. Fire off, 46. Fish, 30.
Man, 227-228.
Snow, 156-157.
Something, 144. Spring (season), 1600.
Five, 5.
Mare, 84. Master, 242. Matchcoat, 41.
Squirrel, 78.
Boy, 230. Brass, 49. Bread, 91. Breeches, 43. Bring, 110; 121. Broken, 179. Brother, 231. Buck, 187. Bullet, 48.
Burn, 181; 182. Buy, 33; 99; 218; 221. By and By, 117. Call, 206.
Cap, 39. Care for, 96; 97. Catch, 187. Catfish, 27.
Grind, 177.
One, I.
Hair, 245.
Half, 261.
Pawn, 108. .
Handsome, 126.
Pipe, 56.
Hat, 39.
Plantation, 197.
Highway, 200.
Rattle-snake, 189.
Hohokus, 75.
Rum, 57.
How many, IOI.
Seek, 183.
Ear, 250. Earth, 194. Eat, 148. Eel, 28.
Lead (metal), 48.
Sick, 190.
Even, 199. Eye, 246. Fall, 162.
Lend, 120.
Let it alone, 149.
Skin, 70.
Little girl, 238.
Small-beer, 89.
P- 4
Month, 248; 259.
50
PATERSON AND ITS ENVIRONS
Stand, 168.
Tree, 167; 168.
Whence, 59.
Steal, 219-220.
Turkey, 21.
Where, 163; 165; 216.
Stiver, 106.
Turnips, 92
White, 41.
Stockings, 44.
Tuxedo, 186.
Whither, 60-61.
Stone, 49.
Twelve, 12.
Why, 120.
Sturgeon, 25. Suet, 31.
Twenty, 20.
Wife, 234. Wild-cat, 77.
Summer. 161.
Ugly, 127.
Will (vb.), 34.
Table, 21I.
Up, 164.
Winter, 160.
Tallow, 31.
Very, 126 et passim.
Within, 135.
Teeth, 249.
Victuals, 147.
Without (outside), 136.
Tell, 217.
Wampum, 37-38; 103.
Woods, 185.
Ten, 10.
Water, 145.
Year, 260-261.
Thirteen, 13.
We, 128; 145; 203.
This, 94; 100; 206.
Week, 258.
Thou, IIO, et passim.
What, 35; 63; 102; 121.
Tobacco, 55.
When, IIO; 114; 152; 201; 206.
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK CITY
COMPARISON OF THE UNAMI AND MINSI DIALECTS.
Unami.
Minsi.
God
Patamawos
Pachtamawos
Earth
hacki
achgi
Valley
pasaeck
pachsajech
Beard
wuttoney
wuchtoney
Tooth
wipit
wichpit
Blood
Mocum
Mochcum
Night
ipocu
ipochcu
Pretty
schiki
pschickki
Small
tangeto
tschankschisu
Stone
Assinn
achsun
The Sea
Kithanne
gichthanne
Light
Woacheu
woaschejeek
Black
Suksit
neesachgissit
Chief
sakima
wajauwe
Green
asgask
asgasku
No, not
matta
machta
COMPARISON OF THE DELAWARE AT INTERVALS DURING 210 YEARS.
Campanius. 1645 Swedish
Zeisberger.
Whipple. 1855
Man
rhenus
lenno
lenno
Woman
aquaeo
ochque
h'que'i
Father
nwk
nooch (my)
nuuh
Mother
kahaess
gahowes
gaiez
Head
kwijl
wil
wil
Hair
mijrack
milach
milakh
Ear
hittaock
w'hittawak (pl)
howitow
Evc
schinck
w'ushgink
tukqueling
Nose
wikuwan
w'ikiwan
ouikio
Mouth
twn
w'doon
ouitun
Tongue
hijrano
w'ilano
ouilano
Tooth
wippit
w'epit
ouipita
Hand
alaenskan
w'anach
puck-alenge
Foot
ziit
sit
zit
Heart
chitto, kitte
ktee (thy)
hute
House
wickwmen
wiquoam
ouigwam
Pipe
hopockan
hopenican
haboca
Sun
chisogh
gischuch
kishu'h
Star
aranck
alank
alanq'
Fire
tacnda
tindey
tundaih
Water
bij
mbi
bih
Snow
kuun
guhn
kuno
1778
German
English
Orthography.
Orthography.
Orthography.
Yes, 98. Yonder, 62; 64; 113; 130; 165; 222.
To-morrow, 118; 184.
Two, 2.
51
THE ABORIGINES
CHAPTER IV.
Religion of the Indians-Their belief in the supernatural-The story of the flood-Veneration for fire, the Sun and the East-After death the good go South for happiness-Two gods, both worshipped, one out of gratitude, the other out of fear-Amulets and sacrificial dances-Doings at a shaman.
The Minsis had a legend that in the beginning they dwelt in the earth under a lake, from which they accidentally discovered a way to the surface- to the light. The other Lenape tribes had the same story, except as to the lake. Bishop Ettwein says: "They had some confused Notion of the Flood, and said : All men were once drowned, only a few got on the Back of an old big Tortoise, floating on the Water; that a Diver at last brought them some Earth in his Bill, and directed the Tortoise to a small Spot of Ground, where they alighted and multiplied again. Therefore has the great Tortoise Tribe the Preference among the Tribes." This deluge myth is known to all the Algonkin tribes, and to most others in America. "Others say, the first Per- son had been a Woman, which fell from Heaven *
* and bore Twins, which peopled this Country." Or, as heard by Lindstrom, a Swedish engi- neer, about 1650, this woman bore a son, who grew up to be a wonderfully wise and good man, who performed many miracles, and at last went up to heaven, promising to return. These legends are regarded by Dr. Brinton as variations of the myth so universal among the most widely-dispersed races of mankind, wherein the ever-recurring phenomena of light and darkness are personified. It would seem that such an idealization of familiar phe- nomena could be possible only among a people far more advanced in cul- ture than our New Jersey Indians, and it is to be regretted that we have not more definite information on this point regarding their beliefs.
It is certain that they held in veneration fire and light, and their common source, the sun ; and by a natural deduction, the sun's place of rising-the east. Bishop Ettwein says: "They directed their Children in their Prayers to turn their face towards the East, because God hath his dwelling on the other Side of the rising Sun." Another author, Tobias Eric Biorck, writing half a century earlier than Bishop Ettwein, in describing the sacrifices made by the Indians, in which they burned tobacco, says: "Ex qua re, quia sicubi fumus adscendit in altum; ita sacrificulus, duplicata altiori voce, Kännakä, kännakä, vel aliquando hoo, hoo, faciem versus orientem convertit." (Where- upon, as the smoke ascends on high, the sacrificer crying with a loud voice, Kännakä, hännakä, or sometimes hoo, hoo, turns his face toward the East). Loskiel, indeed, says fire is considered as the first parent of all Indian nations. and he minutely describes the sacrifice in its honor. "Twelve manittos attend him as subordinate deities, being partly animals and partly vegetables. A large oven is built in the midst of the house of sacrifice, consisting of twelve poles, each of a different species of wood. These they run into the ground, tie them together at the top, and cover them entirely with blankets, joined close together. The oven is heated with twelve large stones made red hot
52
PATERSON AND ITS ENVIRONS
Then twelve men creep into it, and remain there as long as they can bear the heat. Meanwhile an old man throws twelve pipes full of tobacco upon the hot stones, which occasions a smoke almost powerful enough to suffocate the persons" in the oven. The recurrence of the number twelve evidently refers to the months into which the year is divided. "In great danger, an Indian has been observed to lie prostrate on his face, and throwing a handful of tobacco into the fire, to call aloud, as in an agony of distress, 'There, take and smoke, be pacified, and don't hurt me'."
The Lenâpé, in common with the Americans in general, were firm be- lievers in a future life, and in rewards for the good. David Brainerd gives the best account of their views: "They seem to have some confused notion about a future state of existence, and many of them imagine that the chichung, i. e., the shadow, or what survives the body, will at death go south- ward, and in an unknown but curious place, will enjoy some kind of happi- ness, such as hunting, feasting, dancing and the like. What they suppose will contribute much to their happiness in that state is, that they shall never be weary of those entertainments." And he adds, with an unusually saga- cious attempt to comprehend and explain an Indian myth in a common-sense way: "It seems by this notion of their going southward to obtain happiness, as if they had their course into these parts of the world from some very cold climate, and found the further they went southward the more comfortable they were; and thence concluded, that perfect felicity was to be found fur- ther towards the same point." An intelligent Indian once told him "that the souls of good folks would be happy, and the souls of bad folks miserable." By "bad folks" he meant "those who lie, steal, quarrel with their neighbors, are unkind to their friends, and especially to aged parents, and, in a word, such as are a plague to mankind." Not a bad definition that !
Notwithstanding the belief in a future state of existence, it had little influence on the daily life of the Indian. Powell says: "That which occu- pies the attention of the savage mind relates to the pleasures and pains, the joys and sorrows of present existence. Life, health, prosperity, and peace are the ends sought." Not so different, after all, from the whites who in 1776 declared that "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" were the grand ends to be aimed at by all governments. But the mysteries of life and death, and the belief in a future state, undoubtedly had their effect on these primitive people in leading up to the conception of a supernatural influ- ence, or rather influences, expressed in the word Manito (pronounced Mah- nee-to, the accent on the second syllable)-the Wonder-worker ; signifying some spiritual and mysterious power thought to exist in a material form. This influence resided in every animal, tree, rock or other object which the lively fancy or the fears of the savage endowed with supernatural power over his fortunes. According to Wassenaer, their "forefathers for many thousand moons" had told them of good and evil spirits, to whose honor, he supposed, they burned fires or sacrifices, as they wished to stand well with the good spirits. Biorck gives an amusing account of how they viewed their manitos: "As for their religion, if religion it can be called," says he, "they
53
THE ABORIGINES
acknowledge two Gods or spirits, which they call Manettos. One they call the ruler of celestial affairs, the other of terrestrial. The former, because he is good, they neither worship nor fear ; but the latter, because he is evil, they perversely esteem to be both feared and adored." The testimony of Van der Donck tends to corroborate this account of the politic conduct of the wily Indian. God, they said, "will not punish or do any injury to any person. and therefore takes no concern to himself in the common affairs of the world, nor does he meddle with the same, except that he has ordered the devil to take care of those matters." Hence, they were obliged to fear the devil, and try to preserve his friendship, even by sometimes casting a piece to him in the fire. There is a touch of human nature in this frank philosophy that shows the rude savage to be akin to his white brother of the nineteenth cen- tury. As David Brainerd observed, there was no appearance of reverence and devotion in the worship of these invisible powers, and "what they do of this nature, seems to be done only to appease the supposed anger of their deities, to engage them to be placable to themselves, and do them no hurt, or at most, only to invite these powers to succeed [prosper] them in those enter- prises they are engaged in respecting the present life. So that in offering these sacrifices, they seem to have no reference to a future state, but only to present comfort." Some further particulars concerning the manito are given by Loskiel: "They understand by the word manitto, every being, to which an offering is made, especially all good spirits. They also look upon the ele- ments, almost all animals, and even some plants, as spirits, one [no one ?] exceeding the other in dignity and power. * The manittos are also considered as tutelary spirits. Every Indian has one or more," revealed to him in a dream.
From the various accounts which have come down to us, and from what we now know of the laws governing human development, it is evident that the Indian's conception of manito was simply that of a mysterious influence, in general, whether for good or evil, manifesting itself through a thousand instrumentalities. The definite conception of a Great Spirit (Kitschi Manito ) or of an Evil Spirit was undoubtedly derived from the whites.
Every Indian carried about with him as an amulet or charm a figure of the animal or object which represented his particular manito-a figure of the sun or moon or other object, or a mask of a human face, carved in wood or stone or bone; this was tied up in a bag and hung about his neck-a custom that prevails among most nations to-day.
The manner of worship of the Indians horrified the early missionaries, who forgot the descriptions in Hebrew and classical lore of the sacred and festive dances among the peoples of Europe and Asia. Brainerd was intensely grieved one Sunday morning when he tried to get the Indians together that he might instruct them from the fascinating pages of the Shorter Catechism, "but soon found they had something else to do, for near noon they gathered together all their powows, or conjurers, and set about half a dozen of them playing their juggling tricks, and setting their frantic distracted postures, in order to find out why they were then so sickly.
54
PATERSON AND ITS ENVIRONS
In this exercise they were engaged for several hours, making all the wild, ridiculous and distracted motions imaginable ; sometimes singing ; sometimes howling ; sometimes extending their hands to the utmost stretch, and spread- ing all their fingers,-they seemed to push with them as if they designed to push something away, or at least keep it off at arm's-end ; sometimes stroking their faces with their hands, then spurting water fine as mist ; sometimes sit- ting flat on the earth, then bowing down their faces to the ground ; then wring- ing their sides as if in pain and anguish, twisting their faces, turning up their eyes, grunting, puffing, &c." To the saintly young missionary all this savored only of the devil, and he became so impressed with the weird spectacle that he really began to half expect Satan himself to appear; so, he says-and there is a queer pathos in his naive confession: "I sat at a small distance, not more than thirty feet from them, though undiscovered, with my bible in my hand, resolving, if possible, to spoil their sport, and prevent their receiv- ing any answers from the infernal world. They continued their hideous charms and incantations for more than three hours, until they had all wearied themselves out ; although they had in that space of time taken several inter- vals of rest, and at length broke up, I apprehended, without receiving any answer at all."
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