# Journal of American Folk-Lore/Volume 13/Issue 50/Record of American Folk-Lore

RECORD OF AMERICAN FOLK-LORE.
NORTH AMERICA.
Algonkian. General. Under the title, "The Northern Nations," Mr. Joseph Edkins, of Shanghai, China, endeavors, in the "American Antiquarian" (vol. xxii. pp. 254–257) for July–August, 1900, to prove some connections between the northern languages of Asia and America. He compares certain Cree and Ojibwa words with words in the Mongol language, Chinese and Japanese. His treatment of Algonkian roots is only on a par with his treatment of Mongol roots. Such attempts are exercises in philological atavism, hardly aught else.—In the "Transactions of the Canadian Institute" (vol. vi. pp. 285–312), Mr. J. C. Hamilton writes of "Famous Algonquins: Algic Legends." Among other noted Indians of Algonkian lineage, the following are discussed at more or less length, many interesting facts about them being recorded: Shinguakongse ("Little Pine," a half-breed Chippewa, famous in the war of 1812), who is remembered in Chinguacousy, the name of a township in the county of Peel, Ontario; Pegwis (a Cree chief, who signed a treaty with the Earl of Selkirk in 1817); Iandwahwah ("Thunderbolt," a Cree chief, who looked remarkably like the late Sir John A. Macdonald, the Canadian premier); Crowfoot (the famous Blackfoot chieftain, who died in 1890, and over whose grave Canada has erected a modest monument); Poundmaker (the Cree chief, a really great man); Mikasto ("Red Crow," a Blood chief of considerable repute as a native statesman); Gitchi Naigou (better known by the French translation of his name, Le Grand Sable, a Chippewa chief, who figured at the taking of Mackinac in 1763; Waubojeeg ("White Fisher," son of a Chippewa chief who was with Montcalm at the taking of Quebec, but afterwards went over to the British side; of his granddaughters,—their mother was the wife of Mr. Johnston, an Irish gentleman,—one married Rev. Mr. McMurray, an Anglican clergyman, another Schoolcraft, the ethnologist). Pages 299–303 of Mr. Hamilton's paper are taken up with an account of the "Blackbirds," an Ottawa family which has produced some notable characters, from the Assikinack or Assignac, who, as a boy, was at Mackinac in 1763, down to F. Assikinack (died 1863), who, after distinguishing himself at Upper Canada College, spent several years in the government service, in the Indian Department. The concluding pages of the essay are devoted to a general discussion of Algonkian legends—"Algic legends and Hiawatha myths." Mr. Hamilton is one of the few Canadians who are enthusiastic enough over the Indian to make permanent record of valuable and interesting historical data concern​ing individual Red Men.—Arapaho. To the "Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History" (vol. xiii. 1900, pp. 69–86) Mr. A. L. Kroeber contributes a valuable and interesting article (illustrated) on the "Symbolism of the Arapaho Indians." The author's investigations were carried on during the summer of 1899 in Oklahoma Territory, where some of the members of this outlying branch of the Algonkian linguistic stock now reside. According to Mr. Kroeber, "every decorative design of the Arapaho is also pictorial," so realistic is even what seems to be purely ornamental. Arapaho art is also "strongly imbued with the symbolic tendency," which is indeed its most marked feature. Its decorative value is mediocre. Arapaho art (pottery and textile fabrics not occurring) is confined to "embroidering with colored beads, quills, or fibres; carving in outline or bas-relief; and painting." While suggesting picture-writing, it is not real pictography. With the Arapaho "designs of animal origin are abundant, but they by no means predominate." The buffalo and things associated with it naturally furnish a good many symbols. An interesting fact is that "separate parts of the body, animal and human, are not infrequently represented." Plant-designs are not very common, as indeed they are not with most primitive peoples. Symbols numerous and very varied are furnished by inanimate nature,—sun, rainbow, lightning, rain, stars, Milky Way, clouds, etc. The earth, lakes, mountains, etc., have also their symbols. The human figure (generally in profile) "is not often represented, except in painting and carving." Mr. Kroeber informs us also that "symbols of abstract ideas have been developed by the Arapaho," as with the closely related Cheyennes, according to Ehrenreich. Perhaps the most common abstract symbol is "that called 'hii teni,' which denotes abundance or the prayer for plenty." This symbol "varies considerably, but all the forms are connected with the square or rectangle,"—also the symbol for earth and buffalo. The use of color in Arapaho art is also very interesting; and "we may have a shape symbolism and a color symbolism in the same decorated object, each totally independent of the other."—Onomatology. The new "History of Westchester County," shortly to be issued, will contain a valuable article by Mr. Wallace W. Tooker on "Amerindian Names in Westchester County," in which some 100 place-names of Algonkian origin are discussed with his usual skill in interpretation. In looking over the list one is struck by the considerable number of place-names which perpetuate the name of some chieftain or other individual. The corrupt form of not a few of these names makes it possible for only a ripe scholar like the author to detect the etymology. Cohomong is, e. g., Mr. Tooker suggests, possibly "a survival of Chaubun-Konganmang, 'the boundary fishing-place,'" a ​word familiar in New England as one of the appellations of the large and long-named lake at Webster, Mass. Among others, the derivations are given in this paper of: Croton, Mamaroneck, Mokegan, Chappaqua, Sing Sing, Tuckahoe, Tanracken. Another interesting fact about some of these names is the way in which local tradition has preserved the general or particular signification of the Indian term in the Dutch or English name. Incidentally Mr. Tooker points out some of the errors of Schoolcraft, who was all too ready, with his knowledge of Ojibwa, to interpret Algonkian place-names anywhere.
Athapascan. Déné. In the "Transactions of the Canadian Institute" (vol. vi. pp. 75–83), Rev. A. G. Morice discusses "The Classification of the Déné Tribes."—The same number of the Transactions contains another paper by Father Morice on "The Use and Abuse of Philology" (pp. 84–109), which contains some interesting derails of Déné phonetics and word-formation. Both papers are in the nature of a severe criticism of the "comparative philology" of Professor John Campbell, of Montreal, whose efforts to connect the American Indian tongues with the ancient and modern languages of Asia are no less industrious than mistaken. Father Morice also criticises Petitot's interpretation of certain names occurring in Déné legends, and points out some of the mistakes, which even the best writers about the Déné have made. Among other things, the author notes that the proportion of "truly Déné words" in the Navaho "Mountain Chant" of Dr. Washington Matthews "cannot be less than 75 per cent." This is remarkable when we consider that the Déné are "perhaps 2000 miles from the nearest Navaho." Father Morice utterly rejects Professor Campbell's idea that Déné and Otomi are connected, not a single item of proof existing.—Navaho. Dr. A. Hrdlicka's paper on "Physical and Physiological Observations on the Navaho," in the "American Anthropologist" (vol. ii. N. S. pp. 339–345) for April–June, 1900, contains a few items of folk-lore. According to the author, "each Navaho man makes his own moccasins and leggings," and the "regular and often beautiful designs" on the blankets woven by the women are "individual creations, produced without the aid of actual patterns." The water-gourds "are said to be derived from the Utes, among whom they are common," and are only occasionally used by the Navaho. Among these Indians "hoarding is unknown." The Navaho has an "almost phenomenal" knowledge of his country, is an endless improviser of short songs, has a keen sense of humor, and is very fond of racing and gambling. The Navaho creation-legend makes them come into this world from an underworld, and the opening into this world is pointed out by some as situated in the La Plata mountains. According to some authorities, "the early history of the tribe is intimately ​associated with the Kisani or ancient Pueblos." Dr. Hrdlicka's paper contains a portion of the results of his activity as a member of the Hyde Expedition to the Pueblo region in 1899, under the direction of Professor F. W. Putnam.
Iroquoian. In the "Transactions of the Canadian Institute" (vol. vi. pp. 245–272), Professor John Campbell, under the title, "The Oldest Written Records of the Iroquois," prints a remarkably useless essay. The author's thesis is that the Sinaitic inscriptions contain records of the ancestors of the Iroquois and of the League Founders. Of twenty of these inscriptions Professor Campbell gives "translations," and the interpretation of them is in accordance with his imaginativeness as displayed in many other similar attempts. This one, however, is sui generis in many respects.
Keresan. In the "American Antiquarian" (vol. xxii. pp. 219–223) for July–August, 1900, Prof. Frederick Starr writes about "Shrines near Cochiti, New Mexico." Ten shrines are mentioned (eight of these were visited), all within a short distance of Cochiti, one of the Keres Pueblos. They are all circles or heaps of stones at which "prayer-sticks" or "prayer-feathers" and other offerings are made,—the offerings being prepared with due attention to ceremonial details. The finest of these rude shrines "is now little visited, as Mexicans passing by delight to disturb the offerings." This stone circle is some fifteen feet across. Mexican disturbance seems to have affected others of these shrines as well. Professor Starr gives the Indian names of the shrines.
Kulanapan. In the "American Anthropologist" (vol. ii. N. S. pp. 346–353) for April–June, 1900, Professor O. T. Mason describes "The Hudson Collection of Basketry." The collection in question, "the best scientific collection of basketry known to the writer from any people on the earth," was acquired in August, 1899, by the U. S. National Museum from Dr. J. W. Hudson, of Ukiah, Cal. The people represented are the Pomo Indians, of the Kulanapan linguistic stock, on the Russian River, California. The plants and animal substances used are mentioned with their scientific and their Indian names; the varieties of twined weaving and coiled weaving noted in detail with their Indian designations; and the prevailing patterns of ornamentation described. According to Professor Mason, "the ornamentation on the Hudson basketry is all in the weaving; even the feather-work is caught into the stitches or meshes in coiling." There is thus "no such embroidery or overlaying as in the Tlinkit and Klikitat ware." Another interesting point is that, "according to Dr. Hudson, all but one of the basket patterns, tattoo marks, inscriptions, pictographs (ba-shi′) refer to Pomo cosmogony and totemism." Some of the ornamentation is very rich, and some of the designs are of great beauty and complexity.
​Pujunan. To the "American Anthropologist" (vol. ii. N. S. pp. 266–276) for April–June, 1900, Mr. Roland B. Dixon contributes an illustrated paper on the "Basketry Designs of the Maidu Indians of California." The baskets described (now in the American Museum of Natural History, New York) were collected among the northern Maidu in the summer of 1899. In a series of some forty baskets nearly two dozen different designs appear, for about twenty of which satisfactory explanations are forthcoming. Fully half of the designs are representations of animals, while "plants and inorganic objects are shown in the designs in about equal numbers, both together about equalling the animal patterns." The feather design is, however, the most commonly occurring single pattern. According to Mr. Dixon, "it would not be surprising to find as many as fifty distinct designs used on their baskets by Indians of the Maidu stock." It appears also that "the knowledge of the designs is almost exclusively confined to the older women, the younger generation knowing only very few." This paper is a valuable contribution to the study of rapidly vanishing primitive arts.
Salishan. As pages 163–392 (with plates xiv.–xx.) of vol. ii. of the "Memoirs of the American Museum of Natural History" (April, 1900), appears James Teit's "The Thompson Indians of British Columbia, edited by Franz Boas," which should be read in connection with the same author's earlier volume on the "Traditions of the Thompson River Indians," which forms vol. vi. of the Memoirs of the American Folk-Lore Society. Much valuable information as to the life-activities of these Indians, their arts, industries, etc., food, social devices, and general folk-lore is to be found in this excellent essay.
Siouan. Osage. Under the title, "The Osage Indians in France," Miss Alice Fletcher gives in the "American Anthropologist" (vol. ii. N. S. pp. 395–400) for April-June, 1900, an account of the visit to France, in 1827 of six Osage Indians. The account is derived from two rare French pamphlets printed in Paris in 1827. The visit is said to have been induced by the earlier visit of an ancestor of Kishagashugah, the chief of the six Osages, to King Louis XIV. The pamphlets testify to a lively interest in the Indians, their manners and customs, since one of them was already in its third edition in 1827. One of the pamphlets has a colored frontispiece representing the six Indians.
Uto-Aztecan. Mexican. Mr. M. H. Saville's brief article on "An Onyx Jar from New Mexico, in Process of Manufacture," in the "Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History" (vol. xiii. 1900, pp. 105–107) is very interesting, because the specimen described (found several years ago near the city of Tlaxcala, and now ​in the American Museum) clearly shows the way in which the jar was hollowed out—the method employed being the use of a "bow or pump-drill, the shaft of which was a hollow otlatl, the common reed found generally in Mexico." According to the author, "the use of a reed or a bone for a hollow drill was common in other parts of North America, as shown by unfinished gorgets and banner stones." The jar represents a coyote on his haunches.—From "Monumental Records" for May, 1900 (pp. 139, 140), the same author reprints an illustrated account of "A Votive Adze of Jadeite from Mexico," belonging to the Kunz collection in the American Museum of Natural History, New York. The specimen "was described, but not figured, by Mr. Kunz in his "Gems and Precious Stones of North America." The object seems to have been an idol, or to have been used for ceremonial purposes, and "the mask-like face, with the upper jaw represented pressed upwards against the nose, is characteristically a feature of southern Mexican art, and, from the presence of sharp canine teeth, apparently represents a tiger-mask." Moreover, the "edge has what appear to be teeth, possibly symbolizing the biting or cutting nature of this part of the votive adze."
Moki. In the "American Anthropologist" (vol. ii. N. S. pp. 238–246) for April–June, 1900, Mr.. H. R. Voth writes about "Oraibi Marriage Customs." Oraibi is the largest and most primitive of the villages of Tusayan. Among the Hopi Indians "marriage by purchase does not exist," and the "choice of a life companion is left almost entirely to the couple contemplating marriage, coercion on the part of the parents or guardians being exercised only in rare instances." We learn also that "marriages rarely, if ever, take place during summer, and seldom in late spring, when the Hopi are busy in their fields, but in autumn or winter, the time of leisure, of gaming and frolic, of ceremonies and katcina dances." Details of the bride's conduct after her betrothal, descriptions of her wedding apparel, and of the ceremonies in which she and her future husband, separately or together, take part are given, and the paper is accompanied by two plates representing the "Hopi Bridal Costume" and the "Hopi Bride going Home." An interesting item is the silent prayer of each on the eastern side of the Oraibi mesa, which takes place after the head-washing. Until they have a house of their own, the young couple live at the house of the wife's mother, where they may reside for several years.
Zapotecan. Mr. M. H. Saville's valued article (illustrated) on the "Exploration of Zapotecan Tombs in Southern Mexico," in the "American Anthropologist" (vol. i. N. S. pp. 350–362), contains several matters of interest to students of folk-lore. The tombs ​described are at Xoxo, some two leagues south of Oaxaca. As the author notes, "the great importance attached to mortuary rites is shown by the elaborately constructed tombs containing mural paintings and hieroglyphic inscriptions." Moreover, the terra-cotta figures and the funeral urns attest a high development among the Zapotecs of the art of modeling earthen objects. Mr. Saville also informs us that "the mural paintings of Xoxo are widely different from those of Mitla," and "the excavations give additional proof that the ancient palaces of Mitla are not to be attributed to Zapotecan culture, but are the remains of a city built by the great Nahuatl tribe." Some terra-cotta tubing found in one of the mounds "may perhaps be explained as serving some mythological purpose—perhaps to form an outlet for the escape of the shade of the dead." The remains of the paintings found, "were they complete, would be of great value in a comparative study of the old Zapotecan codices."
CENTRAL AMERICA.
Costa Rica. In "Globus" (vol. lxxvi. 1900, pp. 348–353), Dr. Karl Sapper describes "Ein Besuch bei den Guatusos in Costa Rica." Houses and domestic life, burial customs, marriage, clothing, weapons, etc., are treated of briefly. Some items of folk-lore and songs are recorded. The Guatusos are a very interesting people, and among them the couvade survives, also polyandry and communal houses, and hut-burial.—In the same Journal (vol. lxxvii. pp. 1–8, 28–31) the same authority publishes an illustrated article on "Ein Besuch bei den Chirripó und Talamanca-Indianern von Costa Rica." Houses and house-life, clothing, weapons, musical instruments, food, burial customs, songs, etc., are described, and some of the native tunes recorded.
Mayan. Imposing in its evidence of laborious industry and active imagination is Professor John Campbell's paper on the "Decipherment of the Hieroglyphic Inscriptions of Central America," which occupies pages 101–244 of vol. vi. of the "Transactions of the Canadian Institute." After a general discussion of "Palenque and its Ruins," The Tablet of the Cross," "Maya-Quiché Documents and the Material for their Decipherment," the author takes up the consideration of "The New System of Reading the Hieroglyphs" (pp. 123–143). The Palenque inscriptions, those on the Copan altars, and those at Chichen-Izta are "interpreted," text and literal and free translations being given. The author also discusses the "historical bearings" of the "facts" revealed by his interpretations of these monuments. Pages 206–217 are devoted to the consideration of what the author terms the Malay-Polynesian affinities of the Maya-Quichés, and pages 232–239 contain a "Comparative Vocabulary of ​Maya and Malay-Polynesian Words." Out of these much-discussed inscriptions Professor Campbell makes quite a connected story, which must be read as he has written it in his own pages.—In the "Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History" (vol. xiii. pp. 99–103), Mr. M. H. Saville publishes an account of "A Shell Gorget from the Huasteca, Mexico." The specimen described and figured was found in the Huastecan region (in the vicinity of Tuxpan) of Vera Cruz, Mexico. This carved shell evidences a high state of culture among the Huastecas and "a near relationship with the Mayan mythology, which is indicated by the close resemblances noted between this figure and those of the codices." Mr. Saville compares the seated figure on the gorget with the Maize God of the Mayas. An interesting detail is the Swastika on the ear ornament.
GENERAL.
Domestic Animals. In "Globus" (vol. lxxvi. 1900, pp. 361–365), Friederici writes about "Der Indianerhund von Nordamerika." The article describes the various species of dogs in use among the North American Indians and their employment by the aborigines.
Ethics. In the "American Antiquarian" (vol. xxii. pp. 149–156) for May–June, 1900, Mr. C. W. Super writes on "The Archæology of Ethical Ideas." The essay elaborates the fact that "all modern languages contain a considerable number of words that have been in use for ages with but little change of form, but of which the ethcal significance differs widely from that which it originally had." Compare, e. g., the present significations in the various languages of Europe of the representatives of the Latin virtus, conscientia, humanitas, honor; etc. And when one considers synonyms the field is widened indefinitely. The author appeals for careful studies on this head of non-Aryan tongues.
Language and Religion. To vol. vi. (pp. 273–284) of the "Transactions of the Canadian Institute" Rev. John Maclean contributes a paper on "Language and Religion," wherein the close relations of these two human institutions, among primitive peoples especially, are rightly emphasized. As the author remarks, "The religious ideas may be crude, and the system very imperfect, yet there is some form of religion of whose meaning we learn by a study of the native tongues." According to Mr. Maclean, the sense of God now attached to the Blackfoot Kinon (our father) is due to missionary teaching.
Nature-Lore. Under the title, "Primitive Nature Study," Dr. A. F. Chamberlain publishes in the "Transactions of the Canadian Institute" (vol. vi. pp. 313–344) a paper dealing with the evidence that primitive peoples, the American Indians especially, had a deep ​and abiding sense of the beauties and wonders of nature and a love for and interest in them. Language, religious institutions, calendars and other records, animal and plant nomenclature, folk-speech, literature, myths and legends, are cited in support of this contention.
A. F. C. and I. C. C.