This thought was approved
of by all, and it became a law which was ever after strictly observed.
"The body of his wife was then arrayed in her best clothes, and he
distributed amongst the poor all that remained of her little furniture,
charging them to pray for the dead. The whole might have amounted to
three hundred francs, which is a great deal for an Indian."--
_Relations_, 1673-4.
* * * * *
"They [1] have established amongst them a somewhat singular practice to
help the souls in Purgatory. Besides the offerings they make for that
to the Church, and the alms they give to the poor,--besides the
devotion of the four Sundays of the month, to which is attached an
indulgence for the souls in Purgatory, so great that these days are
like Easter; as soon as any one is dead, his or her nearest relations
make a spiritual collection of communions in every family, begging them
to offer all they can for the repose, of the dead."--_Relations_,
1677-8.
[Footnote 1: The Hurons of Loretto, near Quebec.]
SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEF AMONGST SOME OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS.
CABRAL.
When they are asked what they think of the soul, they answer that it is
the shadow "or living image" of the body; and it is as a consequence of
this principle that they believe all animated in the universe.
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