ht decomposed bodies polluted the earth, they
did not bury their dead. They had round towers as receptacles for
their departed friends, whose bodies were let down to their final
resting-place through an aperture in the roof. During the first three
days after the body had been laid in the tower, it was thought to be
in danger of being carried away by the devil. It therefore became
necessary for the friends to keep watch, in order to prevent Satan
having an opportunity to torment the soul as it winged its way to the
celestial regions. On or before the fourth day the soul was in a place
of torment or happiness. On this, the fourth day, the priests
prognosticated the future state of the deceased. The discovery was
made in this way: the dead body was laid on its back, with the eyes
turned towards heaven, and the vultures being permitted to come and
feast on the deceased, it was considered a certain sign that the soul
had gone to bliss if the right eye was taken out first, but it was an
equally sure omen that it had gone to a place of punishment if the
left eye was the first devoured. Another mode of ascertaining the
state of happiness or misery of a soul was by the movements of a dog
near a corpse. If the animal went close to it, then were the relatives
convinced the soul was in a state of bliss, but if the dog could not
be tempted to go near the body, they despaired of their friend
escaping everlasting torment.

The islanders of Madagascar entertained the opinion that there were
divers orders of genii or spirits; that some of them directed the
motions of the stars and planets, and that others had power over the
air, the meteors, the sea, and men. Besides these genii there was
another order of spirits, male and female, who married and had
offspring. They made known future events to man, and performed
superhuman actions, such as are done by Scotch fairies. The natives of
Madagascar also believed in the existence of phantoms and ghosts. To
protect themselves, their friends, and property from the power of
Satan, they, at stated times, with javelins in hand, danced, to the
beat of drum, to drive away evil spirits.

The Floridans worshipped the devil in various ways. In the Caribbee
Islands the inhabitants had a great variety of omens and
superstitions. They thought bats were supernatural creatures, whose
duty it was to watch over mortal man during night. These people
consulted relics of deceased friends as to things past and f