On the other hand, most of the Amerindian tribes believed in one great God of the Sky--Manito, as He was called by the peoples of Algonkin stock, Nainubushan by the Siou and their kindred.

This Being was usually kindly disposed towards man; but they also (in most cases) believed in a _bad_ Manito, who was responsible for most of the harm in the world.

But sometimes the Great Manito was capricious, or apparently made many mistakes which he had afterwards to rectify.

Thus the Siou tribes of Assiniboia believed that the Supreme Being (whom they called Eth-tom-e) first created mankind and all living things, and then, through some oversight or mistake, caused a great flood to cover the earth's surface.

So in a hurry he was obliged to make a very large canoe of twigs and branches, and into this he put a pair of every kind of bird and beast, besides a family of human beings, who were thus saved from drowning, and began the world afresh when the waters subsided.