e standard of Great Britain in
the war of 1812; and as a Brigadier General in her army, lost his
life, bravely supporting the cause which he had espoused. He deserved
a better fate; and but for prejudice which is so apt to dim the eye
and distort the object, Tecumseh would, most probably, be deemed a
martyr for his country, and associated in the mind with the heroes of
Marathon and Thermopylae.

To contemplate the Indian character, in a religious point of view, is
less gratifying than to consider it in regard to the lesser morals. At
the period of the settlement of Western Virginia, excepting the
Moravians, and a few others who had been induced by the zeal and
exertions of Roman catholic missionaries to wear the cross, the
Indians north west of the Ohio river, were truly heathens. They
believed indeed in a First Cause, and worshiped the Good Spirit; but
they were ignorant of the great truths of Christianity, and their
devotions were but superstitious acts of blind reverence. In this
situation they remain generally at the present day, notwithstanding
the many laudable endeavors which have been made to christianize
them.

Perhaps there was never a tribe in America, but believed in the
existence of a Deity; yet were their ideas of the nature and
attributes of God, not only obscure, but preposterous and absurd. They
believe also in the existence of many inferior deities, whom they
suppose to be employed as assistants in managing the affairs of the
world, and in inspecting the actions of men. Eagles and Owls are
thought by some to have been placed here as observers of the actions
of men; and accordingly, when an eagle is seen to soar about them by
day, or an owl to perch near them at night, they immediately offer
sacrifice, that a good report may be made of them to the Great
Spirit.

They are likewise believers in the immortality of the soul; and have
such an idea of a future state of existence, as accords with their
character and condition here. Strangers to [34] intellectual
pleasures, they suppose that their happiness hereafter will consist of
mere sensual gratifications; and that when they die, they will be
translated to a delightful region, where the flowers never fade, nor
the leaves fall from the trees; where the forests abound in game, and
the lakes in fish, and where they expect to remain forever, enjoying
all the pleasures which delighted them here.[5]

In consequence of this belief, when an Indian dies, and