Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-05-19
PEOPLING OF AMERICA
Indian Ocean the Source, Says Prof
Mason.
The Progressive Means by Which
Asiatics Reached This Continent
improbable Stories.

On Tuesday evening Prof. o. T. Mason
read a paper before the Anthropological
Society on the peopling OF America. He
proposed to lay aside all theories which in
volved geological or photographic changes.
all accidents to unfortunate castaways. and
to discuss the question only from the data
that has been accommodating during the last
twenty-five years. The salient points Of the
paper are here given. In the struggle for
existence men have waged a double contest;
first, against tendencies to inward decay,
and second, against internal destructive
forces and enemies. The motives Of men in
this struggle were in two lines-that of hope
and that Of fear. In following these lines
was developed the law of maAima and min
ina of effort, or getting the most COM
fort for the least work. The easiest and
most abundant supply of food is in the
water. and the lines Of migration were first
by water. Prof. Mason, therefore, took as
his thesis that America was peopled from
the Indian ocean, the original home OF man.
Kind, by way of that series of land-locked
seas which include the following: /. The
Eastern Indian ocean. 2 The South China
and Malay sea. 8. The East China and Yellow
sea. 4. The japanese and Tartary sea. S.
The Okhotsk sea. 8. The Boring sea. Z.
archipelagos. 8. The Vancouver aria. 10.
The Columbia river. These all lie along a
great circle Of the earth, which extends
also through the great interior basin. past
through the Pueblo region, Mexico, Central
America, Ecuador and Peru.
In following this great circle Of the
eartn the primitive voyagers have been In
the following conditions:
Favorable Conditions.
1. These shallow, land-locked seas con-
tain the most abundant and varied food
supply on earth, and means Of clothing in
the colder regions that could not be sur
passed:If
2. Easy means Of transportation and
travel Never at any point would the voy-
ager be long in the deep sea or away from
tnoser natural safeguards. guides, light
houses. upon which savages rely.
y. The currents of the ocean fow north
eastward and southeastward throughout
the entire length of this journey.
4. During half the year the monsoons
push the trades up along eastern Asia; the
temperature Is modified, SO that the climate
becomes more stimulating and formulating
and Strengthening as We proceed north
ward.
5. All the way the tendency was to IN
crease hope, to encourage. to hold out al
lurements and means Of gain and comfort.
o. According to all the best ethnologists.
the nearest of kin to the Americans, bio
logically. are the Malayoid peoples of south
eastern Asia.
I. Mr.. Morgan asserts that the nearest
ahke to Americans In the social and fam
lily structures are peoples of the Davidian
stock in India.
8. The language problem was laid aside
for further study.
Q. The arts and art products Of the two
regions are too much alike to attribute all
the ssimilarities to like natural causes.
There was no original art in America
10. The witness of archaeology and his
tory is for the existence of savage peoples
formerly on the eastern Asiatic coast akin
to Americans.
IL. The totemic systems and Hydrologic
carvings attest former contact.
II. photographers and travellers are con-
stantly impressed with the identity Of the
peoples on the two sides Of the Pacific
Prof. Mason declared his conviction that
the intimate association Of the two con-
tinents around the arctic circle and over
the great circle Of the earth indicated has
not been interrupted for thousands Of years