brings us to the Mysteries of Vitzliputzli,
established in South America. Dr. Oliver, in the twelfth lecture
of his History of Initiation, gathering his materials from various
sources, gives a terrific account of the dramatic ritual here
employed. The walls, floor, images, were smeared and caked with
human blood. Fresh slaughters of victims were perpetrated at
frequent intervals. The candidate descended to the grim caverns
excavated under the foundations of the temple. This course was
denominated "the path of the dead." Phantoms flitted before him,
shrieks appalled him, pitfalls and sacrificial knives threatened
him. At last, after many frightful adventures, the aspirant
arrived at a narrow stone fissure terminating the range of
caverns, through which he was thrust, and was received in the open
air, as a person born again, and welcomed with frantic shouts by
the multitudes who had been waiting for him without during the
process of his initiation.

Even among the savage tribes of North America striking traces have
been found of an initiation into a secret society by a mystic
death and resurrection. Captain Jonathan Carver, who spent the
winter of 1776 with the Naudowessie Indians, was an eye witness of
the admission of a young brave into a body which they entitled
Wakou Kitchewah, or Friendly Society of the Spirit. "This singular
initiation," he says, "took place within a railed enclosure in the
centre of the camp at the time of the new moon." First came the
chiefs, clad in trailing furs. Then came the members of the
society, dressed and painted in the gayest manner. When all were
seated, one of the principal chiefs arose, and, leading the young
man forward, informed the meeting of his desire to be admitted
into their circle. No objection being offered, the various
preliminary arrangements were made; after which the director began
to speak to the kneeling candidate, telling him that he was about
to receive a communication of the spirit. This spirit would
instantly strike him dead; but he was told not to be terrified,
because he should immediately be restored to life again, and this
experience was a necessary introduction to the advantages of the
community he was on the point of entering. Then violent agitation
distorted the face and convulsed the frame of the old chief. He
threw something looking like a small bean at the young man. It
entered his mouth, and he fell lifeless as suddenly as if he had
been shot. Several