New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-02-08
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
TIE HISTORY OF THE ZUNIS.

This volume OF DIR. Fcwkcss 1" journal i mainly
devoted TO an admirable and exhaustive monograph
by Professor Iandclier the sources ana ma'e1ai'
of Zuni history. lie acknowledges his ihdep'e'hes'
on the side Of Indian tradition to Mr. Cushihs' but
as usual he has made Il careful! study Of the spanish
records preserved in Mexico and New MEXICO. Every
important statement in the text Is supported oy
copous citations from these original documents There
l. no interesting episode in the history OF inc
region which j. now covered by the 'hited H'"'cs
than the search for the fabnlous seven Cities From
the outset was supposed TO b. not search lor Il
rev Civilizations hri for fragment Of European
ChristendoNl which lad almost b. accident been set
I'm centnric. before in the New World. Tho story
that the Ei,hop Of oporto and seven other prrlacS
fed 10 the island Of .Auilla in TIC ninth century Oh
cur era and founded there sever cities was Known 10
cosmorr,phcrs ere new, Of Columbus's landing on
Watling's Island had reached them hut 'he Sph'-
ish couGucst Of Mexico and Peru gave new turn TO
the superstition tradition. o" whatever II may ~
best called II WAS felt that the Unknown oar"
races which thu, fell under the control Of advcntrcrs
from over the sea in respect inferior 70 INC
pcasantry and the village population OF the Sp'''s'
Peninsula. In fact their many stored houses "e'c
COMPARED with the architecture OF the spanish N"e
II wos this effort to give reality in description 10 'e
strange features of life in the New World when
wrought much OF the confusion and led TO mu'h vi
the error in the minds of men. not only III EUROPE
Int in the growing colonies. For the temper oil 'he
dtscovcrcr. and explorers was Just that winch ms AZ
tended every effort to open up new country All"
bo. been almost annually recnrrent In America Hhoe
that time As long as hope lasted every favorable
renort abont unknown districts was dwclt upon an"
exaggerated in the process of oral 'ransmls'oh o"'
WHOM the "boom" collapsed and despair TOOK tho
place Ct joyous anticipation then every uh'aFoi"''
report was magnifed and those men VINO haa ooe"
most careful OF the truth. who had held Inc Hioui;
way between the Illusions OF enthusiasm ana inc
Illusions Of disappointment, were the very ores ~
he roundly denounced as dcceivers. II Is the way Vi
the world and what happens now happcheo INV"
with the same mOnotonOus regularity.
The Spanards must have begun early 10 P'oSe'o
their inquiries after the seven citlcs 'o"Hoou w Wv
Bishop Of Oporto. for within less thah IA" ''","
after the discovery of America they had learned vi
tie existence Of the pucbos. Every journey hui !"
ward WIS rewarded with rumors OF 81 connr!
settled By people who wore clothing, ana WHO n"'
bouses with terraced roofs Of earth not Only one o"'
many stories high. They also heard OF great ,i''
with large settlements along Its banks OF all ao"'
dance OF turquolses and OF cows larger tah 'oSe VI
sp,in.'" They heard OF horses and cameis-'he oso"
was doubess responsible the latteras among the
possessions of these people. But it was ieit Ior Il
bar footed frar 30 take a view OF Inc supP"9e" '''
of Cboa and to live until he could tell his tae' for
the first man to see the home Of the zuns the rash
negro Esevan, paid for his tementy WIN hi' me-
The Indians appear TO have heard on their sac
minors of the Spanish invasion, Just the Spannrds
had heard of Cbola. They knew that the newcomers
were white and led to believe tlat they were
.od,,he and immortal Their establishment may be
conceived when they found that their first foreign
visitor not white but dark claimed with characteristic
bravado TO be OF the same with the whites The
question of Immortality set at rest In the ONLY
way possible to determine 1t. The negro was Killed
and cut into small pieces. which were distributed 10
the chiefs throughout the region. This was decisive
blow to a superstition which the Indians were prone
otlx In shn
company Of Fray Marcos OF Mia, the proper leader
OF tn, expedition 1t Is possible that the first visit
OF Europeans TO the Zunis might have begun and
ended I'm peace. Later Coronado after single
skirmsh found these villagers his most faithful friends
The warlke In which he was ut first greeted
was due rather TO OF vengeance TO be inflicted for
the murder OF Estevan than 10 any desire for con-
fict As II was, Marcos contented himself with
distant view of the Indian city. which he TINS de-
scribed in a single sentence 1T is built In plain,
Oh the slop, of n round HILL" Upon this Professor
Bandeier's comment is: This simple description is
one of the many proofs Of the fact that Fray Marcos
got within sight OF the zuni plain. lie could not have
invented It. nor given 1t in graphic and true a
manner and in few words had he only repeated the
words of an Indian description"
While the author credits Marcos with telling the
truth about what he saw, with carefully dis
tnguishirg between the things 70 which he was eye
witness and those Of which he only heard, he has to
give considerable attention to the task Of relieving
the fIiar from the widespread distr1ist' that was
shown BY his contemporaries. His explanation NAV
be summed up In his words :" 1t IS one thing
to describe certain countries hitherto unknown, and
strange objects existing there, AMI another thing TO
accurate conception thereof in the minds Of
Others" That is to say, the contemporaries of Marcos
under II glamour OF miscOnccpon, and they
could learn the truth only by experience. CorOnado3
expedition largely made up Of men whose room |
m Mexico better than their company. They
at Ipndn MI
that they anything but content in the new
regions for which they had eagerly set out. That
Marcos consented to act the guide OF Corona 'o's
expedition in 1870 seems good evidence OF his hon
csty. From that date onward there pretty |
steady growth in the knowledge Of the Zunls obtained
by the spanish authorities. the chapters OF Pro
fessOr Eandcliers work follow a very natural order
in relating first the discovery in 153s-0 then the his
tory of the tribe from 1880 TO 1000, and thence !
throughout the seventeenth century. shown I'm |
Spanish documents. Ills only regret is that he
unable 10 make exhaustive researches In the
chves Of Mexico in those of Now Mexico As 10 |
the latter he expresses the conviction that has
teen made OF everything of Importance which they |
contain,
The historical work Of Professor Dandeler is snip
plementei with "somatologlcal observations the |
Indians of the Southwest by Dr. Herman F. C.. Ten
Kate. The conclusions of this paper are important.
DR.. Ten Kate points out that language, though 1t may
prove the existence OF a racial strain be de-
pended to account for all clinical clements, and |
he adds that I" the study Of physical anthropology
among the North American Indians does not tend 10
demonstrate that their types are exclusively Ameri-
can, but the contrary that they present only the
characteristics OF the Mongolan so-ca!ed yellow
races. Where the Indians from do not
know, but my position is follows The American
race is, 1sonatologically speaking, not type but
has characteristics which only be called Mongolod'