From these records it appears that, in so far as they grasped the theistic concept, the Siouan Indians were polytheists; that their mysteries or deities varied in rank and power; that some were good but more were bad, while others combined bad and good attributes; that they assumed various forms, actual and imaginary; and that their dispositions and motives resembled those found among mankind.
"The Siouan Indians"
W. J. McGee
Yet I don't think we are necessitated to worship it as the Theists do, in the shape of one all-inclusive and all-operative designing power, but rather like polytheists, in the shape of a collection of beings who have each contributed and are now contributing to the realization of ideals more or less like those for which we live ourselves.
"The Letters of William James, Vol. II"
William James
They were, in their days, among the adherents of Popish superstition, what Symmachus had been to the Roman polytheists in the age of Theodosius-what Peter the Hermit was to the fanatics of the darker ages-and what Burke was to the bigotted politicians at the dawn of liberty in France.
"A Morning's Walk from London to Kew"
Richard Phillips