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an oval shape, having a circumference of one hundred
feet,—a simple hut, without a window, and with a low and narrow opening on the side for the only door,— were garnered up the choicest fetiches of the tribe, of
which some were moulded from clay and baked in the sun. There, too, were gathered the bones of the dead; there an undying fire was kept burning by appointed guardians, as if to warm, and light, and cheer, the departed.
On the palisades around this edifice, which has been called a temple, the ghastly trophies of victories were arranged.
Once, when, during a storm, such as in those regions sometimes blends the elements, rocks the forest, and bows the hearts of the bravest, the sacred edifice caught fire from the lightning, seven or eight mothers won the applause of the terror-stricken tribes by casting their babes into the
flames to appease the unknown power of evil.
The grand chief of the tribe was revered as of the family of the sun, and he could trace his descent with certainty from the nobles; for the inheritance of power was transmitted exclusively by the female line.
Hard by the temple, on an artificial mound of earth, stood the hut of the Great Sun: around it were grouped the cabins of the tribe.
There, for untold years, the savage had freely whispered his tale of love; had won his bride by a purchase from the father; had placed his trust in his manitous; had turned, at daybreak, towards the east, to hail and worship the beams of morning; had listened to the revelations of dreams; had invoked the aid of the medicine men to dance the medicine dance; had achieved titles of honor by prowess in war; had tortured and burned his prisoners.
There were the fields where, in spring, the whole tribe had gone forth to cultivate the maize and vines; there the
