New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-02-14
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
INDIANS AND THEIR ENEMIES.

49,; 143 G. w Bardeen. Syracuse. y y
THE SPANISH PIONEERS. BY Charles r.
( aOG Go1 Illustrated ip 80 "
IN THE bANP OF GATT frederick AT schWat
ka. Illustrated. PIP. x, $50. the CaSSe" W.
fishing Company.
Taking these books together. they cover though
not I'm scientific way almost the whole helo -
aboriginal life In America, as well as some III
verse phases of invading civilization. General
Strongs book is. in fact summary OF ihuia"
history. but the interest Of It is found chiefly
in the pages drawn from the personal experience
Of the author. and these are all too rev. wan
keenah Is the name Of a handsome young woman
Of the Yakima tribe. on the shores OF the Co
lumh,a River She became domestic In the
family of Judge Strong. OF Oregon; showeu
great auickness In adapting herself TO ciViiizeu
life and still retained the alertness or her VIII
training She an expert hunter anu wa"
apparently devoid of fear. Once she rescued
child from drowning by hasty plunge INTO
rapid river. At another time she saved ueheiai
Stronp's life at the risk Of her own III was just
before the outbreak of what was known as 'he
Yakima War Wahkeenah had just learned '''a'
the warriors OF her tribe were about TO go on the
Warmth. It happened that very day that ueh-
eral Strong had gone to the Yakima country Oh
q bunting trip. He quickly observed the changed
ms
.xn,a,n T. In the middle of the night however,
he was aroused by the stealthy approach OF
figure which proved to be that of WahKeenah'
CO., nod followed him from his brothers house.
AT the risk OF her own life to warn him OF MS
donger II was her suggestion Of plan which
orab,ed him To escape before the savages carried
ont their purpose Of making him the hrSt
victim Of their war against the whites WIN
such an incident In memory. General o'rohs
coud hardly be less than partial 10 lhuiahS'
He defends them in all the struggles WIN ule
whites in Mexico we'll as IN New-hhs 'd'i"
On the other hand. Mr. Lummis who Is usually
more than partial TO the red man. IN MS la'eS'
volume strenuously upholds the cause Oh "'e
Standards In Mexico 'le has the approval VI
Professor Bandelier, who has long been an apolo-
pdst for the Spanish invaders. III may De co'-
coded that the ordinary prejudice against Cor'e%
should be modified. But 1t is impossipie '"''
man charged with so many crimes against
Standards. the murder Of his own wire Among
,he number should have been just to the Ind
fans There was excuse Tor MS puiiiiis
nr,soners at the stake. The incidents OF MS
,,ctorous invasion show how little he really
had to fear from the natives. Gut MT hu''iiihs
doas 0ood service by showing the unreaIty Oh
tho legendary notion of Montezuma Moctezu-
mo, which reappears In the book or Geherai
ctrong and also in that of Lieutenant Sch"atKa'
That this barbarian chieftain bore any COM
harrison 10 the monarchs OF the Old "oiiu 10
a nnisa pprehension that vitiates the "hoie S'"u'
OF ancient Mexican history
Ono ~ the most interesting passages In Cen
eraI Strone's book is the description OF mar
rage In high life among the Chinook lno'ahs.
The girl had four suitors who were all iooKeu
upon with equal favor by the parents ohe
herself however. had her favorite. But the
matter could not be decided directly by her
preferences She must be the prize OF the man
who could catch her In race on horsepach'
This device which may or may not nave Deeh
customary with the Chinooks Is known TO De
regular practice among certain Iuraihah
tribes In Asia. The girl set off with the evil
dent determination not to be caught except by
the right man. With sklful management she
succeeded Upon returning to the village the
couple were seated on the ground and covered
with blanket, while a procession marched
around them seven times. each time repeating
An invocation first to the Great Spirit. then to
the Evil Spirit and successfully 10 the Spirits
If the forest the water, the air, and TO the
bridegroom and bride. The ceremony, as whole,
particularly the use OF the blanket. makes one
think Of details in the eighteenth fdyl OF
Theocritus Just as the chorus in that poem
appealed to Menelaus to be kind to Helen. so
when an unproptious omen disturbed the
Chinook epithalamium the leader Of the pro-
cession related what had happened. and asked
the bridegroom. will you be good to herr"
Both General Strongs book. which only incl
dentally mentions the Iroquois. and that Of Miss
Yawger, which is largely taken up with these
famous confederates seem somewhat exagger-
ated 1t may be conceded as an eloquent figure
NJ at no Romans
the Western Continent. and that they would If
let alone have extended their empire over the
whole American race. But it is doubtful II their
forays ever extended far as the Mississippi, as
General Strong would have US believe; and much
more than doubtful that they knew anything OF
the far Southwest except from hearaay. though
the author of The Indian and the Pioneer" sup
poses that they made warke expeditions as
far as the Isthmus of Panama. The ordinary
processes Of Indian trade would account for the
possession by the Six Nations Of plants which
must have had semi-tropical origin. 1t Is quite
enough for their fame to remember that they ac-
tually did interfere In the affairs Of every tribe
from the St Lawrence to the Everglades, and
thus dominated region almost rivalling that
actually overrun by Alexander They un-
uuestionaby had caught the cew Of military and
political evolution. and without the interference
%
erations, have perfected system worthy to be
compared with that Of the ancient Asiatc EN-
pires.
The salient feature Of Lieutenant Schwatka'
book is his description Of Tarahumari trbesmen
the cliff-dwellers of Chihuahua. He is pract
cally the first writer Of English TO discuss these
curious people in detail. Bandeler has alluded
TO them as likely 10 have traditions concerning
some noteworthy ruins in Northern Chihuahua
and Schwatka confirms this by his hypothesis
that they Of the same race with the dweller:
in caves and cliffs VINO left their mark ir
territory now belonging 10 the United States
He supposes that the descent OF the Apaches
from the North forced the ancestors Of the
Tarahumaris TO move from their old haunts int
Mexico. Gradually they became massed together
in such numbers that they were able to rests
the Northern invaders. They are now. and pos