it, occasioning ice-dust to fall upon the earth, which is the snow of winter and the rain of summer. This figure is the representation of the sky in the Shoshone pictography, and appears to portray the upward curve of the body of a serpent when in motion. It is not impossible that this device is suggested by the rainbow, which the savage identified with his serpent-god. The radiations of the bright arch resemble, indeed, the shifting changes of the beautiful scales of the serpent. The Indian believed, as did thẻ Hindoo, that animals were a "manifested part of God." That he should have a reverence for this species of animal, surpassing that for any other, appears rational. We find the serpent occupying a place in the story of creation; it is used in divination, and worshipped at the sacred feast. It is probable that this reverence arose from his belief in a spirit of fire; and the fiery dart, in the form of a serpent, dropping to the earth, would appear to be representative of the power of the Source of life, or that life itself, in a divine degree. It appears that in accordance with the belief of the descent of a divine serpent of fire, that spiral fire was arranged as part of the worship in the rotunda of a town, built and inhabited by the Cherokee tribes, mentioned elsewhere. The rite of sacrifice to the moon was regulated by the appearance or non-appearance of the halo around the planet, which was regarded as the circling body of a fiery serpent. Natural objects are the only available images of spiritual thought and aspiration. Conceptions of divine truth arise through, and are expressed by, these images. The more copious are these expressions, the greater wealth of thought afforded. Of the poet Shakespeare we say he had a wonderful imagination, showing, by the word itself, the natural source of the highest expression of the human mind. In considering the religion of our savages, in which are their ideas of supernatural life, we should regard this law governing all language. The Indian pictured both a serpent and a bird, in connection with his symbol of the sun, as did the Egyptian. We perceive the origin of the use of the serpent; it was from observation of the appearance of natural phenomena, the forked lightning and the radiant coil of the halo, both equally giving origin to this sacred image. But there seems to be little in common between this species of animals and the bird, except the magic power of locomotion. In the pictography of the Indians a device for a sacred bird bears some resemblance to a swan. It is already stated that the Supreme Deity was portrayed as clothed in red down. Swan's-down was placed in the sacred depository, and warriors were decorated with it at the sacred feast. Of the habits of the swan we learn, that when on its annual flight to a warmer climate it rises to the height of three and four miles, and is seen only against the sky as a mere speck. A flock of these birds, wavering this way and that, from head to terminal point, from leader to the last swan of the procession, mark a serpentine line, and resemble an aerial serpent moving across the heavens. It is possible that from observation of this transmutation, and at the same time regarding the transformation of other objects in nature in their metamorphosis as the transmigration of the souls of those 1 Vide chapter on Transmigration. objects, the Indian savage drew the inference that these birds were merged into the form of a serpent in their flight, and the season of their migration would imply a connection with and relation to the sun, to whom, therefore, they were made sacred, becoming an emblem of the power of the divinity resident in, or ruler of, that planet. This might be equally true in relation to the eagle and hawk, whose strong wings bear them near the sun-place. Symbol of the earth and Unk-ta-he, upon and within the gitche-gitche-gum-me, or the great immeasurable seas. CHAPTER V. The circles and the curved line are symbols of the spirits of the stars, and the sky. STAR-WORSHIP. THE Indian savage regards the movements of the stars and planets as regulated by their own indwelling power. They believed the larger stars were appointed by the Great Manitto as guardians of the lesser ones; while clusters of stars were called populous cities, and constellations, the council-gathering of the manittos. The following tradition is related by one of the tribe of the Iowas: Many years ago a child, when very young, observed a star in the heavens that attracted him more than any others. As the child grew to manhood his attachment increased. His thoughts dwelt continually upon this Beauty of the night. One day while hunting, as he sat down travel-worn, and weary with his ill-success, his beloved star appeared to him and comforted him with encouraging words, and then conducted him to a place where he found a great plenty and variety of game. From this time the young man showed a wonderful improvement in the art of hunting, and soon became celebrated in this pursuit. Sydney Yendys has poetized this old-time belief in human commerce with the living stars in these lines: : And see'st thou she who kneeleth clad in gold The Persians, who kiss their hands at the stars in reverence, have pictured them governed by presiding spirits, six of whom are called Amshaspands, the Immortal Holy Ones, who are under the immediate government of a seventh, called Ormuzd, the King of Light, to whom they convey the prayers of inferior spirits, and of men; for which lesser beings they are models of purity and perfection. It is recorded in their sacred books that four stars were originally placed in the heavens, as guardians over the four cardinal points. It is interesting to note the universality of the belief in the stars as the residence of spiritual beings, who have a connection with, and a mysterious relation to, human souls. This belief was prevalent in Egypt, it is proved, in the time of Sesostris, or Ramses the Great, and exercised a large influence over the people at that time; for they believed that the destiny of mortals was regulated by the motions of these heavenly bodies; while history relates that their priests were in the habit of prophesying what would be the temperament, life, and death of an infant, from the conjunction of planets at the hour of its birth. This has been suggested as the origin of the famous system of astrology, practised in later times, which the Chinese term the "science of the breath of the stars." In the Hindoo sacred books, the Gandharvas are described as beautiful spirits of singing-stars, which is |