Indian to behave otherwife, as it would be for any When any one of the fociety dies, he is lament ed by the whole; and on this occafion a thousand ceremonies are practifed, denoting the moft lively forrow. Of thefe, the moft remarkable, as it dif covers both the height and continuance of their grief, is what they call the feaft of the dead, or the feaft of fouls. The day of this ceremony is appointed by public order, and nothing is omitted that it may be celebrated with the utmost pomp and magnificence. The neighbouring tribes are invited to be prefent, and to join in the folemnity. At this time all those who have died fince the laft folemn occafion, (which is renewed every ten years among fome tribes, and every eight among others) are taken out of their graves; thofe who have been interred at the greateft diftance from the villages are diligently fought for and brought to this great ren dezvous of carcaffes. They bring their bodies into their cottages, where they prepare a feast in honour of the dead, during which their great actions are celebrated, and all the tender intercourses which took place between them and their friends are piously called to mind. The ftrangers, who have come fometimes many hundred miles to be prefent on the occafion, join in the tender condolence; and the women, by frightful fhrieks, demonftrate that they are pierced with the fharpeft forrow. Then they are carried from the cabbins for the general reinterment. A great pit is dug in the ground, and thither, at a certain time, each perfon attended by his family and friends, marches in folemn filence, bearing the dead body of a fon, a father, or a brother. When they are all convened, the dead bodies, or the duft of thofe which were quite corrupted, are depofited in the pit: then their grief breaks out anew. Whatever they poffefs moft moft valuable is interred with the dead. The strangers are not wanting in their generofity, and confer those prefents which they have brought along with them for the purpose. Then all prefent go down into the pit, and every one takes a little of the earth, which they afterwards preferve with the most religious care. The bodies, ranged in order, are covered with new furze, and over thefe with bark, on which they throw ftones, wood, and earth. Then taking their last farewell, they return each to his own cabbin. Areskoui, or the god of battle is revered as the great god of the Indians. Him they invoke before they go into the field, and according as his difpofition is more or lefs favourable to them, they conclude they will be more or lefs fuccefsful. Some nations worfhip the fun and moon; among others there are a number of traditions, relative to the creation of the world, and the hiftory of the gods: traditions which refemble the Grecian fables, but which are ftill more abfurd and inconfiftent. But except when they have fome immediate óccafion for the affiftance of their gods, they pay them no fort of worship. Like all rude nations, however, they are ftrongly addicted to fuperftition. They believe in the exiftence of a number of good and bad genii or fpirits, who interfere in the affairs of mortals, and produce all our happiness or mifery. It is from the evil genii in particular, that our difcafes proceed; and it is to the good genii we are indebted for a cure. The minifters of the genii are the jugglers, who are alfo the only phyficians among the favages. Thefe jugglers are fuppofed to be infpired by the good genii, moft commonly in their dreams, with the knowledge of future events; they are called into the affiftance of the fick, and are fuppofed to be informed by the genii whether they will get over the difeafe, and in what way they must be treated. But thefe fpirits are extremely E fimple 1 fimple in their fyftem of phyfic, and in almost every difeafe, direct the juggler to the fame remedy. The patient is enclosed in a narrow cabbin, in the midft of which is a stone red hot; on this they throw water, until he is well foaked with the warm vapour and his own fweat. Then they hurry him from the bagnio, and plunge him fuddenly into the next river. This coarfe method, which cofts many their lives, often performs very extraordinary cures. The jugglers have likewife the ufe of fome fpecifics of wonderful efficacy; and all the favages are dextrous in curing wounds by the application of herbs. But the power of thefe remedies is always attributed to the magical ceremonies with which they are administered. HISTORY A concife view of North America and the Weft-India Islands, from their first discovery, 'till the feeds of the prefent conteft were foun, notifying the commercial ftrength and shipping of each of the colonies, as they food in the year 1763. THE firft difcovery made by any of our coun TH baftian Cabot, a native of Briftol; who in 1498 discovered that part of North America now known by the name of Hudfon's Bay, and the ftraits of Davis, from Capt. Hudfon and Davis, who failed afterwards to thefe places. Between the years 1607 and 1611, Mr. Hudfon made four voyages to this part of the world; in the laft of which, his men forced him and eight more of their officers into a boat, and left them to ftarve in the bottom of the bay. Sir Thomas Button purfued the difcovery in 1612, and Capt. James, in 1631, in hopes of finding a North-Weft paffage to China. Capt. Gilham failed to the bottom of the bay in 1667, and, at his return, his owners procured a patent for planting this country, anno 1670. The English Governor that went thither was Charles Batley, Efq; who built a fort on Rupert river, calling it Charles-Fort, and foon after fettled another factory at Nelfon. In the year 1684, the chief English factory was at Albany, and a fort erected for its defence. The The French invaded our fettlements, and took Fort Rupert and Albany in July 1686, though we were then at peace with France. In King William's war, anno 1693, the English recovered their fettlements again. During the war in Queen Anne's reign, the French reduced all our fettlements except Albany, but were obliged to restore them at the peace of Utrecht, anno 1713; and the company have remained in poffeffion of them ever fince; and by the treaty they were to restore to Great Britain, the Bay and Streights of Hudfon, with all the lands,. feas, fea-coafts, rivers, and places, fituated on the fame bay and streights, (which comprehend all New Britain and British Canada) and it was agreed, that commiflioners, on the part of Great Britain and France, fhould terminate, within the space of a year, the limits between the dominions of Great Britain and France on that fide, which limits the fubjects of Great Britain and France were not to pafs over to each other by fea or land. It is not with certainty known what Europeans firft vifited the country of Canada, the difcovery being claimed by both Spaniards and French. However, no permanent fettlement was inade here till about the beginning of the 17th century; when the French having built fome forts, and being frequently fupplied with emigrants, they became able to fupport themfelves and extend their views. As their fettlements were the first to the Northward of what was then called New England, they gradually fpread themselves round the bay of St Lawrence, and along both fides of the river, ufurped the country called Nova Scotia, built a town, called Port Royal, in the bay of Fundy, and from thence, about the year 1630, fupported the Indians of New England, in their wars with the English; for which they were, in 1690, ftripped of their poffeflions in the bay of Fundy by the people of New England, under the com |