the tribe's
ideals of virtue.

+637+. The list of classes of supernatural Powers given above must be
regarded, as is there intimated, as a general one. One class appears
sometimes to shade into another; in the theistic schemes of low tribes
it is often difficult to define the conceptions of supernatural beings
with precision.

_Early mythical founders of culture._ Before proceeding to a
consideration of true gods, a class of beings must be mentioned that
appears to stand on the borderland between divine animals, spirits, and
gods. There are various sorts of beings that appear sometimes in animal
form, sometimes in human form, their function being the arranging of the
affairs of the world, the origination of institutions, and sometimes a
definite creation of various things. The title "founders" or
"transformers" or "culture-heroes" has been given them. They arise,
just as the true gods do, from the necessity of accounting for the
beginnings of things,[1055] and, from a comparison of the ideas of
various tribes, a certain growth in the conception may be recognized.

+638+. In some cases the figure is that of a mere trickster, a
mischievous being, the hero of countless stories, who acts from caprice
or malice, though his actions may result in advantage to men. Such are
many of the animal forms of the North American Indians: the coyote of
the Thompson River Indians,[1056] the raven of North British
Columbia,[1057] the mink and the blue jay of the North Pacific
Coast.[1058] In other cases, as also to some extent in the Thompson
River region, he appears in a more dignified form as a benevolent
organizer.

This growth of the trickster into the real culture-hero may be referred
to a progress in thought and refinement.[1059] Among the Northern Maidu
of California there is a sharp distinction between the two characters:
the coyote is tricky and mischievous in the bad sense, with no desire to
do anything profitable to men; the benevolent and useful work of the
world is ascribed to a personage called "the creator," who is always
dignified and regardful of the interests of man.[1060] This sort of
distinction, intended to account for the presence of both good and evil
elements of life, is found in inchoate form among other low peoples (as,
for example, the Masai and the Australians[1061]), but reaches its full
proportions only in the great civilized religions.

+639+. In this class of vaguely conceived creators or transformers