The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-07-27
CAME HERE NEARLY
FOUR CENTURIES AGO
Proofs Of the Antiquity Of the Red Man
In America.
DECIDEDLY INTERESTING VIEWS
Prof. Wilson, Ofthe Smithsonian In.
stitutiOn Thinks That His Ancestors
Could Not Have Migrated from
Europe Later Than Two Thousand
Years Before Christ.

Years Before Christ.
A Washington letter to the Sun says
Professor Thomas Wilson. curator o.
the department OF prehistoric anthrc-
pology at the Smithsonian institution
has some novel and interesting views
OH the much discussed subject OF the
origin of the American Indian and the
antiquity of the race. At the request
CT correspondent of the Sun he gave
the following synopsis Of his opinions:
There has been much discussion over
this question" said Professor Wilson
but all without greater effect than
the ennunciation OF theories. possible
and impossible. The ancestry OF the
American race has been variously at
triDuted to Semitic, Phoenician. and
Mcngolian races, and possibly to mix.
ture OF some or all. with many addi-
tions. The best OF these theories have
been based only on alleged similarities
OF some remarkably fine details in the
characteristics OF the Indians and their
alleged ancestors look upon the sub.
ject from broader basis. and will now
bring evidence in large groups which
believe will demonstrate my proposi-
ton. and will at the same time not
lie denied OF doubted by its disbelevers.
! viii deal only with the Indians, the
Ped Men of America, what DR.. Brin-
ton calls The American race and will
not discuss the question OF an earlier
or higher civilization than his, Or q man
belonging to different geologic epoch,
or deal with paleolthic man in any OF
his phases. The race whose antiquity
of the discovery in possession of the
hemisphere from ocean to ocean and
from the Arctic circle to Terra del
Fu"ao.
My first statement Is that this
American race of Indians Is practically
the same race throughout the entire
hemisphere. With all their diversity of
anatomy and physiology (Which divers
ity, by the way, is no greater among In
dians than IL is among various men,
bers of the white or black race), they
develop u remarkable fiXedness of type.
DR.. Brinton gave this as his opinion in
his address before the section of An
thropology OF the American association
at its New York meeting. 1t Is the
basis of his book on The American
Race Darwin remarks the close fami-
ly resemblance between distant tribes
in America. DR.. Coleman. of Bale. as
serts the essential physical identity of
the American Indian. Starting. then,
with this assumption Of the identity OF
the race it is to be argued that it began
in America in one of two ways--either
by evolution from lower animals, or by
migration from other countries l pur-
posely leave out of consideration the
supposable method of special creation.
FROM SMALL Beginnings.
I'm whichever of these ways the red
man appeared in America. we are fairly
entitled to suppose, and may justly
argue, that i'm the beginning the race
was represented by few individuals.
There may have been but a single pair
or there may have been a hundred pairs
of individuals. Either number will
suit my argument equally we'll. What
| contend Is. that II was not hundred
thousand or million. Accepting. then,
as a fact, the beginning of the red man
in America with small number OF in
dividuals, II necessarily follows that
they We're confined to d single locality.
This locality may have been on the east
coast or west coast. may have been
north or south. These facts tell us that
with this little colony as starter,
branching out from single locality, the
North American Indian has been on
this hemisphere such u length Of time
that. by ordinary mode of Drocreation.
he had increased so that at the time Of
the discovery by Columbus 1t Is esti-
mated that there were eleven millions
or thereabouts. From this single To-
cality which the small colony original
ly inhabited, II had also, as We may say.
extended itself territorially. and We find
ii to have populated pretty equally the
hemisphere from the Arctic circle on the
north to TERRA del Fuego on the south.
and from the Atlantic ocean OH the
east to the Pacific ocean Oh the west.
My first point, then. is that this Increase
in number and the extension in terri
tory must have required Il long period
of time. These two facts are proof Of
the early period at which the ancestors
Of the race appeared in this hemisphere,
and 50, Of its antiquity.
"rhe confusion of tongues and the in
crease in the number Of languages
among red Indians is to me another
evidence of their antiquity. When the
first colony OF Indians appeared.
whether. as I say, by evolution or mi
grafton. II must be conceded that they
spoke practically but one language.
Suppose. in case Of migration, that they
sf,aie many languages prior to the time
OF their coming together on these. to
them. foreign shores. they would In
evitably speak but one language after
their arrival They would invent q
common language II none existed prior
This would not be difficult to do If. as
we suppose. the colony was small in
numbers. With this for starting
point, we may see what they have
done. They spread themselves up and
down the valleys, over the mountains.
across the rivers. While at first they
may have retained their communica-
tIcE with the parent colony and kept
up the original method of speech. 1t
cnly continued 50 long as those rela-
tions were maintained. When the
swarm got SO far away that they made
no visits to the parent colony and had
, no relation with its members. they be-
gan to invent other languages different
from that Of their ancestors, and this
continued until they became parent
colony sending forth younger swarms.
These younger swarms founded colonies
which in their turn cut off their re-
lations and invented new languages. 50
they have gone on from east to west.
north to south. occupying new territory.
founding new colonies. inventiDg new
languages. And this continued for such
an infinite and almost unbelievable
length Of time that, not only had they
come at the time Of the discovery to
OCCUPY the entire hemisphere. as we