These divines, as of old the priest of Isis and
Osiris, are deeply learned; and truly their knowledge of natural history
is astonishing. They are well acquainted with astronomy and botany, and
keep the records and great transactions of the tribes, employing certain
hieroglyphics, which they paint in the sacred lodges, and which none but
their caste or order can decipher.
Those few who, in their journey in the wilderness, have "dreamt" of a
snake and made it their "spirit," become invariably "Medecines." This
reptile, though always harmless in the western countries (except in some
parts of the mountains on the Columbia, where the rattlesnake abounds),
has ever been looked upon with dread by the Indians, who associate it
with the evil spirit. When "Kishe Manito" (the good God) came upon
earth, under the form of a buffalo, to alleviate the sufferings of the
red man, "kinebec" (the serpent), the spirit of evil gave him battle.
This part of their creed alone would almost establish their
Brahminic origin.
The "Medecine" inspires the Indian with awe and dread; he is respected,
but he has no friends, no squaws, no children. He is the man of dark
deeds, he that communes with the spirit of evil; he takes his knowledge
from the earth, from the fissures of the rocks, and knows how to combine
poisons; he alone fears not "Anim Teki" (thunder).
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