The Dickinson press., 1890-08-30
CIIINAMEN'S COUSINS.
A CLAIM THAT AMERICAN INDIANS
ARE OF MoNGoL DESCENT.

Reasons for Thinking They Arc-The
Striking Resemblance in Language and
appearance Curious Custom of De-
pressing the Skull !Artifcially.
Having in youth visited the upper
Missouri, and obtained considerable
knowledge of the tribes who dwclt on
that river, have always felt deep i'll
terest in the Investigations as to the ORR
gin of tho American Indians. From tho
settlement of this country down to our
own time all sorts of theories have been
advanced, some of them of the widest
character, and others plausible and rea-
sonable. Catlin tells the story of Prince
Modoc and his Welshmen, and speaks of
blue eyed and light haired Indians of the
Mandan tribe in support of the legend.
Neither Catlin nor any of his critics
seem to have thought of the simple fact
that the pure blooded Wclsllman is
neither blue eyed nor light haired. And
this is but Il sample of the way in which
the subject has been dealt with even by
careful and inquiring writers.
SIMILAR WORDS,
My own opinion-if it is Of any value
is that the North American Indians,
or the greater part of them, are descend
ed from Asiatic immigrants and closely
akin to the Mongolian race. In the
Sioux language, with which have some
acquaintance, the word for chief, or
head man. is "eetoncha." Among GER
tain tribes Of Alaska tho chief is called
'seeton" and "tyone." This certainly
brings us very near the Japanese word
"tycoon." havo mentioned this word
in particular because it is one of the
terms likely to be perpetuated under any
change of circumstances, just as the
Saxon word liking" in England, survived
alike Norman conquest and Celtic ad-
mixture. The Sioux word for tent, or
home. is "tcepee," and this is very SINH
lar to the Tartar word, while there is
also a marked similarity in the appear
aneo of the tents alike of the Tartars and
the American indians. The photographs
brought by travellers from Siberia of the
tribes there subject to Russian authority
might well be mistaken for pictures Of
American Indians in unusual attire.
1t is true that the Indians are, rs a
rule, superior in physique to the average
Mongolian, at least to the specimens Of
the Mongolian race that we meet in
America, but the difference is no greater
than between the average Celtic ilnmi-
grant of fifty years ago and his grandson
Of today; whereas the Indian immigration
probably took place many hundreds of
years ago. The writer has not been tho
only traveller impressed by the reseall,
blance of Indians to the Mongols. Both
In Central and South America tribes
have been found whose likeness, in Ian
guage, physique and manner, te the
Mongolian race has lately been the sub.
tect of considerable observation and re-
mark. One of these tribes-the Guara-
ris-has its seat ON the far confines of
Paraguay; yet, in the opinion of gen.
tleman acquainted with the Tartar
tongue, their speech is distinctly Mon
golian:
1t does not follow that all the ahorig-
inal inhabitants of America are of Mon
golian descent, even if they all came
from Asia. The writer has seen the de-
scenda,4ts of the Aztecs in Mexico, and
it is difficult to inagino any relationship
between them and the Mohsolian. Yet
Aztec tradition points to the north as
their original seat, and among ~ people
who had no method of transmitting his
tory by writing tradition is likely to haze
been fairly accurate. Europe was not
all settled by one blood. The fair and
the dark haired, the Colt and the Goth,
swept over the continent, the cursent
eddying here and there, where wan
defipg horde was tempted or compelled
to rest. So that other races besides Mon
gols may have emigrateG from Asia to
Ar,aric,