Based on his study of the infant minds, and the needs of these people, Mr. Duncan began by teaching them the simple truths of the Christian religion. He dispensed with everything in the way of form or ceremony that would distract their minds; he represented to them as the central idea the One Omnipotent God,-Creator of all,-Ruler of human destinies,-Controller of the elements, of the earth, and of the heavens.

He told them of the fall of man, and how God had sent His own Son into the world to sufferand to be sacrificed, for the redemption of all sinners. He told them of the reward for the righteous, and the punishment of the wicked. He did not tell them, that his God was better than theirs; he taught them, that there was but one God, and it was the Supreme Ruler Who had blessed the earth with light, and warmth, and verdure; stocked the sea and rivers with fish, and the forests with game.

He was dealing with simple, primitive minds, whose only idea of creation, and, the origin of surrounding wonders of nature, had been conveyed through tribal legends.

Notwithstanding, the many plausible speculations and theories advanced by learned investigators, primitive autochthonic life, not only in America but throughout the entire world, is enshrouded in mystery. Neither science, nor theology, has conclusively solved the problem of the manner in which the world was peopled. However, we may consistently

conjecture that man primordially was without a knowledge of the true God, knew absolutely nothing. His development was like the babe from birth, and his gradual unfoldment was the result of necessity, and, the impulsion of the inevitable. His cravings to appease hunger caused him to seek wherewith to satisfy his need; the fruits and the weaker creatures about him served as his food; in his struggles with nature he devised means to ensnare and kill animals, whose skins should protect him from cold. His very strife in self-defence against ferocious animals quickened his intellect. He sought shelter from the inclemency of the elements in caves. Communal life was adopted for security, and the strongest naturally assumed the chieftainship. Consequent upon being thus thrown together, attrition of one mind with another, enlarged their mental hori

zon.

The savage beheld with awe the phenomena of nature. Light, darkness, the storms, the tides, the seasons, his own origin, all signified some hidden power, which, unable to solve, he attributed to the workings of some good or evil spirit, visible or invisible. Many of their beliefs hung upon the figments of their dreams, which were to them realities. "So strong was the [aboriginal] North American faith in dreams, that on one occasion when an Indian dreamt he was taken captive, he induced his friends to make a mock attack on him, to bind him, and treat him as a captive, actually submitting to a con

siderable amount of torture, in the hope thus to fulfil his dreams. The Greenlanders, also, believe in the reality of dreams, and think that at night they go hunting, visiting, courting, and so on " (Sir John Lubbock).

These children in intellect ever struggled with the mysterious problems of nature. M. Ambrousset was told by Sekesa a Kaffir: "Your tidings are what I want; and I was seeking before I knew you as you shall hear and judge for yourselves. Twelve years ago I went to feed my flock. The weather was hazy, I sat down on a rock and asked myself sorrowful questions; yes sorrowful because I was unable to answer them. 'Who has touched the stars with his hands? On what pillars do they rest?' I asked myself. 'The waters are never weary; they know no other law than to flow, without ceasing, from morning till night, and from night till morning; but where do they stop? And who makes them flow thus? The clouds also come and go, and burst in water over the earth. Whence come they? Who sends them? The divines certainly do not give us rain, for how could they do it? And why do I not see them with my own eyes, go up to heaven to fetch it? I cannot see the wind but what is it? Who brings it, makes it blow, and roar and terrify us? Do I not know that the corn sprouts? Yesterday there was not a blade in my field; today I returned to the field and found some. Who can have given to the earth the wisdom and