Baton-Rouge gazette. [volume] (Baton-Rouge, La.) 1819-1856, 1843-10-14

INDIAN THEoLoey.-Catlii. III his Let
ters and Notes on American Indians, gives
| the following "a ChowtHw belief:
"7he Defugd.-'Our people have al-
ways had a tradition Of The Deluge, which
| happened 10 this wayi-There was total
darkness for n great time over the whole
Of The earth; tho Choetaw doctors or mys-
terry .,nen looked out for daylight for a long
time, until AT last they despaired of ever
seeing it, and The whole nation wero IN.
happy. At last n light was discovered In
the north. and there was great rejoicing.
until II was found to be great mountains of
water rolling on, which Destroyed them all.
except a few families, who had expected il
and built a great raft. on which they we're
saved
future aie.-~'our people all believe
that the spirit lives in d future state--that
it has a great distance tC travel after death
towards tho west~aathat ii has TO efoss a
dreadful deep and rapid stream, which is
hemmed In on both sides by high and rug.
ged hills-over tho stream. from hill TO hill,
there lies a long slippery pfne.log, with the
bark peeled off. over which The dead have
to pass TO the delightful hunting grounds.
On the other side Of the stream, there are
six persons on HE good hunting grounds,
with rocks in their hands, which they throw
at them all when they are On tie middle
of the log. The good walk on safely to
the good hunting grounds, where there 10
one continual day-whore the trees ate al.
ways g~resn-whete the sky has nc clouds
where there are continual fine and cool.
ing breezes--where there is one continual
scene of feasting, dancing and rejoicing
where there is no pain or trouble, and the
people never grow old. but forever live
Young and ENJOY the youthful pleasures.
"''fhe wicked see the stones coming.
and try to dodge, by which they fall from
the log, and 90 down thousands Of feet TO
the water, which is d~asfiing over rocks,
and is stin king with dead fish and animals,
where they are carried around and
brought continually back to the same place
in whirlpooIs.--where the trees are all dead,
and the waters are fall ftoads, and lizards
and snakes~-where The dead are always
hungry and have nething to eat--are al
ways sick and never die--where the sun
never shines, and where the wicked are
continually climbing up by thousands on
the side of a high rock, from which they
can overlook the beautiful country Of the
good hunting grounds, the place Of Tie hap
Ply, but never can reach it,"
But in matters Of this kid, the various 81.
oux tribes seem tS nave tho most amazing
hncies, Of the creation, for instance
in which the 'fspiritsd sly snake" does not
fail to play his part:
"'Before the creation of man, the Great
Spirit (whose tracks are yet to be seen on
the stones, at the Red Pipe, in form of the
tracks Of a large bird) used to slay the
buffaloes and eat them on the ledge Of the
Red Rscks, on the top of the Coteau des
prairies, and their bleed running ON the
| rocks, turned them red. Ohe day, when a
large snake had crawIed into the nest ei
the b,rd to eat his eggs, n of the egg,
Matched out in a clap of thunder, and the
Great Spirit catching hold ola piece of the
pipe stone to throw at fhe snake, moulded
it into a man. This mans feet grew fast
in the ground, where he stood for many
ages, like a great tree. and therefore be
grew very old; he was older than a hundred
men at the present day, and at last int
Their tree grew up By the sfde of him, when
a large snake ate them both off at the
| roots, and they wandered off together
from these have sprung all the people tina,
new inhabit the EARTH .