Besides these foundations of things good, they recognize a Manitou, whom we may call the devil. They regard him as the origin of evil; it is true that they do not attribute great malice to the Manitou, but to his wife, who is a real she-devil. The husband does not hate men. He is only present in wars and combats, and those whom he looks upon are protected, the others are killed. So for this reason, my host told me that he prayed this Manitou every day not to cast his eyes upon the Hiroquois, their enemies, and to always give them some of them in their wars. As to the wife of the Manitou, she is [58] the cause of all the diseases which are in the world. It is she who kills men, otherwise they would not die; she feeds upon their flesh, gnawing them upon the inside, which causes them to become emaciated in their illnesses. She has a robe made of the most beautiful hair of the men and women whom she has killed; she sometimes appears like a fire; she can be heard roaring like a flame, but her language cannot be understood. From this, in my opinion, come those cries and howls, and those beatings of the drum which they make around their sick, as if to prevent this she-devil from giving the deathblow, which she does so secretly that no one can defend himself therefrom, for he does not see her. Deplus, les Sauuages se persuadent que non seulement les hommes & les autres animaux: mais aussi que toutes les autres choses sont animées, & que toutes les ames sont immortelles, ils se figurent les ames comme vn ombre de la chose animée, n'ayans iamais ouy parler d'vne chose purement spirituelle, ils se representent l'ame de l'hõme, [59] comme vne image sombre & noire, où comme vne ombre de l'homme mesme, luy attribuant des pieds, des mains, vne bouche, vne teste, & toutes les autres parties du corps humain. Voila pourquoy ils disent que les ames boiuent & mangent, aussi leurs dõnent-ils à manger quand quelqu'vn meurt, iettant la meilleure viãde qu'ils ayent dãs le feu, & souuẽt ils m'ont dit qu'ils auoient trouué le matin de la viande rongée la nuict par les ames. Or m'ayans declaré ce bel article de leur croyance, ie leurs fis plusieurs interogations. Premierement, ou alloient ces ames apres la mort de l'homme, & des autres creatures; elles vont, dirent ils, fort loin, en vn grãd village situé où le Soleil se couche: Tout vostre pays, leur dis-je (sçauoir est l'Amerique) est vne grande Isle, comme vous tesmoignez l'auoir appris: comment est ce que les ames des hommes, des animaux, des haches, des cousteaux, des chaudieres; bref les ames de tout ce qui meurt, ou qui s'vse, peuuent passer l'eau pour s'en aller à ce grand village que vous placez où le soleil se couche, trouuent [60] elles des vaisseaux tous prests pour s'embarquer & trauerser les eaux? non pas, mais elle vont à pied, me dirent-ils, passants les eaux à gay en quelque endroict: & le moyen, leur fis-ie,