ORIGIN OF THE



others like tunnels, built of bark, supported by
sometimes plastered on the outside with mud



posts,
in a



coarse manner; in a word, built with less art, neatness,
and solidity than the cabins of the beaver. These cab-
ins are about fifteen and twenty feet in breadth, and
sometimes a hundred in length; then they contain sev-
eral fires; for a fire never takes up more than twelve
feet. When the floor is not sufficient for all the inhabi-
tants to sleep on, the young people lay on a wide bench,
about five or six feet high, that runs the whole length of
the cabin. The furniture and provisions are over this,
placed on pieces oF wood put across under the roof. For
the most part there is before the door a sort of porch,
where the young people. sleep in the summer, and which
                         ~~~~~ M   e   0-9-M 0It~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



serves for
nothingu by.
and they r
windows i
the middb
out; andt
snows, an
they be bti



a wood house in
it bark, fixed like
iever shut close.
nor chimneys; bu
e of the roof, by
they are obliaed t
d then they mut



inded with



smoke.



the winter. '1'
the umbrella c
These cabins
t they leave an
which part the
o cover it, whe
st extinguish



he doors are
4f a window,
have neither
i opening in
smoke goes
n it rains or



the fire



les t



_--. . o



THEIR NOTION OF



THE ORIGIN OF MAN.



  Nothing is miore certain than that the American In-
dians have an idea of a First Being, but at the same time
nothing is more obscure. They agree, in general, in
makino' him the First Spirit, the Lord and Creator of the
world, but wheni they are pressed a little on this article,
to explain what they mean by the First Spirit, we find
nothing but odd fancies, fables so ill conceived, systems
so little digested, and so little uniformity, that one can
say nothing regular on this subject. It has been said
that the Sious, came much nearer than the rest to what
we thinks of this first principle. Almost all the Algion-



196



I