My host told me that during the time he had lived amongst the Pawnees he had not seen anything in their observances which led him to suppose that they had any kind of belief in a future state beyond this world, or in any absolutely over-ruling Power. The few ceremonies performed by them were apparently propitiations of the various supernatural Manitos who, they considered, had influence over them either individually or as a tribe. One of their most frequent practices consisted of offering incense to them in the form of tobacco smoke, and they invariably presented it in the same manner by throwing the first whiff upwards towards the sky, the next downwards to the ground and then to the right and left. He had also observed that when this act was finished, each Indian seemed to mutter some brief ejaculation or prayer. With respect to their superstitions he thought that they were practically spiritualists, and believed in the presence of unknown and unseen influences below, above or around them, having each in their own separate degree powers of good or evil. He mentioned an event which had happened within his personal observation. A Pawnee during a violent storm was injured by a flash of lightning. The tribe were convinced that this misfortune had been inflicted upon him as a direct punishment for some wrong deed he had committed, or that he had in some way, by his own conduct incurred the displeasure of the god of Lightning. As a consequence of this belief, he was avoided, and compelled to live apart, as a man placed under a curse or malignant influence. These Pawnees had the reputation of being cruel to their prisoners, and in that respect had the same usages as the Iroquois who tortured the captives and then burnt them at the stake.[39] All North American tribes appear to have similar habits when their savage natures are aroused by bloodshed and war, but it is also acknowledged by those who have had an intimate knowledge of them, that under other and milder conditions, they possess qualities of an affectionate nature, which are shown in their domestic lives. An event occurred not far from the settlement which exemplified their attachment to their children.