with respect to what becomes of it after death. Some think that the soul enjoys repose in the same field which the body cultivated when alive; others imagine that it is conveyed to certain lakes in the belly of a huge serpent, which ushers it into a delightful land ̧ . where it passes its time in dancing and quaffing.

When an Indian kills a wild beast, he opens its mouth and makes it swallow an intoxicating draught, that the soul of the dead animal may report to the rest of his species, the good reception he has met with, and that they may be encouraged to come and partake of the same favour; accordingly they wait for them in the persuasion that they will come without fear.

The Indians of the Palanka nation are never engaged in any numerous hunting party, without making the oldest huntsman drink one or two large bumpers of the strongest liquor, till unable to swallow more, he discharges the whole contents of his stomach. After that they lead him about as much. as they can, that the soul of the drunken Indian, which they believe to be wafted on the blast, may inform the game that there is likewise something for them to drink, and persuade them that instead of running away, they should approach and let themselves be killed.

Funerals of the Oronoko Indians.

Amongst the Oronoko Indians, there appears such a diversity of customs with respect to their funerals, as indicate that they are far from being uniform either

in their religious opinions, or in their manner of worship. The reader will permit me to lay before him a few instances in support of this observation.

Of the Salive Indians.

The Funerals of Indians of distinction among the Salives afford an opportunity for the display of whatever is remarkable and particular in the nation. They place the tomb in the middle of the house where the personage died. Stakes, painted with different colours and representing all the emblems of sadness and mourning, form a circle around it. The widow, without finery or painting, sits constantly beside the corpse. Every visitant who arrives, weeps bitterly before he enters, whilst their woful cries are echoed from within; soon after this, assuming an air of gaiety, they drink and dance. It will at once gratify the curiosity and excite the surprise of the reader to be told of so sudden a transition from excessive grief to excessive joy; from a burst of unfeigned tears, to peals of unaffected laughter. They perform very singular dances to the sound of funeral instruments, which one cannot hear without horror; so well are they adapted to these sorts of ceremonies. When fatigued they take some few hours of repose. To crown all, after three days very violent exercise, during which they do nothing else but dance, sing and drink, the whole company march in procession to the river, and plunge into it the tomb and its contents, together with every thing that belonged to the de

ceased; after which they all wash themselves and re tire to their respective homes.

Of the Guaraunos.

As soon as a Guarauno Indian dies, his companions take up the corpse, and throw it into the Oronoko tied with a cord which they fasten to a tree. On the following day they drag out the carcase, when they find it a skeleton perfectly clean and white, stript of the flesh which has been devoured by fish. They disjoint the bones and lay them up curiously in a basket, which they hang from the roof of the house.

Of the Aroacas.

The Aroacas inter their dead with a great deal of pomp; the arms of the deceased are buried along with him. One point of their rude doctrine is, that the earth must not touch the corpse; and therefore, they lay under it a very thick bed of Banana leaves. The Achagoas do not observe this custom but with respect to their captains and caciques, with this further particularity, that they cover the place of interment with a coat of good mortar, and go every morning carefully to fill up the chinks occasioned by the drought, in order to prevent the ants from disturbing the dead, Several other nations, particularly the Betoyes, under the influence of a contrary prejudice, think that the sooner the corpse is consumed by the ants, the better.

Of the Caribbees.

Amongst the Caribbees the corpse of a captain is put in a hammock and hung up in the house; they leave it there, as in a bed of state, during a lunar revolution, that is to say, one month. All this time, the women of the deceased have, alternately, to keep watch on each side of the corpse, in order to prevent a single fly from lighting on the dead. In order to judge of the hardship of this duty, it is only necessary to be informed that the country inhabited by this nation lies almost under the equator, and in plains scorched by a vertical sun. One of these women is interred with the deceased captain; the preference is given to her by whom he has had offspring. At the end of a year, they proceed to disinter him: they collect his bones into a basket, which is hung up in the hut of his nearest relations.

The lazy and sottish life of the Indians.

The Indians maintain that there are not under the sun enjoyments more pure and exalted than intoxication and idleness. The strongest liquor is their favourite beverage. In former times their women prepared for them a kind of wine made of fruits, such as the Ananas, the Corosol, &c. to which fermentation gave a very considerable degree of strength. That liquor went under the name of Chiche: they have neglected to manufacture any since they found it easy to supply its place by rum, and other spirituous liquors equally intoxicating. The Indian passes his

life between drinking and sleeping. With great reluctance he leaves his hammock only when the inclemency of the weather, rendering the agricultural labours of his wife unproductive, obliges him to go and hunt; then he concerts his measures with so much address as by the fatigue of one day to insure himself subsistence and repose for a whole week.

Exception in favour of the Otomaques.

The Otomaques, who inhabit the high grounds of the Oronoko, must be admitted as an exception to the general rule. More active and intelligent than the other Indians, before missionaries had arrived amongst them they passed their time in continual exercise and social joy. The only interruption they experienced in this career of life, was the time which they were accustomed to pass every morning in shedding tears for the dead, and the short interval of their repose, which lasted from midnight till three o'clock. The cock, who was their faithful time-keeper, gave them every day the signal to awake, when immediately a general cry was raised, lamentation and weeping for their departed friends. This wailing cry lasted till day; the joy which succeeded it, occupied the eighteen remaining hours.

At sunrise all the Otomaque Indians, capable of abour, repaired to the houses of their respective captains, who nominated those amongst them, who were to go on that day, to the fishing, in quest of turtles, or to the hunting of the wild boar, according to the season. In seed-time or harvest, a certain