New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-04-04

Conn
instrated pp 677. Boston: James X osgood " W.
Tho mythology of the American Indians presents
partcnlarly rich field for research for II u S'i'
o,ss;hle In examine in the primary beliefs OF living
S,jhes the stages of intellectual Development
,hrougb which all races have passed. The siudV Oh
comparative mythology moreover SHOWS 'h"',
making allowance for differing environment ana
natural phenomena all men tend at certain per'""s
OF evolution TO arrive at synchronous oeileiS: a"u
that the forces of nature have every where pf"uu'ou
analogous impressions upon the savage me"'a'E'
Not long ago the discovery of these gene'o To
ss,,hlances in myth and symbol thought 10 de-
mand or to suggest some direct connection "'-
tween the peoples concerned; deeper research now
syar ba. shawn that such an hypothesis IL uu-
neressarv for that the human mind. compelled
nrohablv Inv its Inherent limitations tends v" tnrh
similar urinary IDEAS of it's physical SURROUNDINGS
very much rs the minds Of children 40 III '"o
MYTHS of the Indians, therefore we hnd evidence VI
the mode, in which mental evolution proceeds
.vervwhere and important indications are also
thus afforded of the growth of natural religion
The author of the work before MS says IN her
,ref,c, that she seeks to make more evident the
eapAcity of the indian race for moral AMI inte'-
l.c,u. culture" Precisely how a collection Of In
dian mythS can assist in this demonstration u II
somewhat difficult to perceive. Such works ~ the
late Lewis Morgan's ,n Ancient Society. IN wh'ch
the genesis of modern civilization and modern m
sttutiOns is clearly traced in the primitive lndE''l
social and tribal systems. may indeed he re3ar"e"
as reinforcing the theory of Indian adaPtan''ty'
In regard to most myths. however there Is danger
which cannot be too often pointed out. Ihat II tle
proncncss civilized Investigators to read INTO tue
legend meanings which involve far greater culture
both of imagination and intelligence. than the n'-
levers in the myth possess. There can be no o"""'
that this error has been fallen into by many cont
narrative myt biologists and also by many mlsSl"h-
aries whose training has led them, often nSens"y.
20 invest the religious myths of savage races Win
significance which they do not merit
Bnt the capacity of the Indian race for moral
and intellectual culture" really neeiS 10 indirect
support of this kind. The Indian is human oehg,
aud rs such susceptible of moral and inteiiectuai
culture The race that produced Shakespeare was
undoubtedly at one time very far below the
,resont stains of the North American IT.
dian. IL must the remote past ha'o
heen as low in the scale OF Development
a. the Bushmen of South Africa. Modern cviiza-
tlcn. indeed is a mere thing of to-day Thousand
years ago our ancestors were little more clVHIze'
and scarcely less predatory and ieroc'ous IMAM V'o
fierce lroguOis: while il may be questioned whether
at that time they manifested as hopeful tendencies
A. the Algonquins on the eve of their destruction
Indian barbarism is simply picture of all harbaIhn
survive the contact of a more advanced civilization
there is no reason why he should not attain moral
and intellectual culture.
The author has brought together great mass OF
myths not only Indian, but Hindu, Egyptian,
Persian Chinese, etc. and as the book has " Roou
index It is well fitted to be used as convenient
work of reference. There does not. however, APP
pear to be any plan in IT. and it does not lead to any
definite conclusions. In fact, we are almost coih-
pelled to inquire what reason for eXlStepce II
Possesses and this the more especially inasmuch as
the labors of the more recent comparative mytho"-
rists seem to have been ignored by the author. In
the photography of works used III the compilation
no reference is made to Tyler. Lubbock. Cox
Gubernatis etc. Dr. Brinton is cited. but the NELL
ton of his "Myths of the New World only suS-
gests what would probably be an nneracious com
parison And the apparent neglect not only OF re-
cent English research, but OF the abundant herman
literature of the subject, has naturally resulted Vi
some mistakes and imperfections which mIght nave
been avoided. The authors researches Oh various
Indian and other symbols. for example, would nave
been mach more valuable had she carefully studied
Hindu mythology and Acknowledgment from
writers of the last or the beginning of the present
oentury but from the school OF Indian critics
which is so very much better equipped thah C"le-
brooke and Jones and Maurice The remarks on
the 81 fvlfot cross" or as it should he styled, the
,,s1stika shows very superficial examination OF
the subject and one, in fact misleading Inc
splstikn Is a symbol of almost Worldwide dluhsi"h
II is intimately connected with the very earliest
mythical conceptions, and 1T typlhes the h"tuai
forces whose persistence and power must have hFSt
been impressed upon the nascent human ntoh-
gence.
IL however the work is regarded simply as col
lection of myths classified to some extent ana 50
arranged as 10 bring together analogous legends ne
longing to distant peoples ana If the student IS CON
tent &c draw his own differences and note the sig
nihcauce of the re>emGlances Tor himself, II Whi
doubtless prove useful The arrangement al SUD
jects is generally convenient. Thus We nave ch'p
ters on the -Four Spirits Of the Winds on Birds; on
the Serpent; on star-worship IA very fruitful sub
ioc1 and nsndicicntly treated here On the sun ;
on the Origin of Man; on the Origin of Evil; on
Legends Of the Dead on Stories of TransmigratI"n
on Ceremonials. Rites and Symbols. what detIacts
from the value of the work as one If reference
is the fact that Brinton. Tyler and Lubbock have
already collected most Of the Facts and have ana
lived them much more scientifically. Among the
aCeneral Considerations" also, there are many
statements which do not seem to be III their place
I'm such work; which really are historical and IN
no way connected with mythology. There are 4
number of Illustrations. chiefly OF SYMBOLS which
are not always explained very lucidly and to some
of which manifesty erroneous interpretations are
given Altogether considering the bulk of the vol
nme and the labor il must have entailed, it is
scarcely possible to conclude that the end crowns
the work. The subject no doubt Is both interesting
and important, but it demands more searching aud
comprehensive treatment than has been given to 1t
here
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