The herald., 1897-04-14
ACADEMY OF SCIENCE
INTERESTING PAPERS GIVEN
LAST NIGHT
Indian Legends and Indian Folk
Music, Full of Interesting and
Scientific Illustration

The Academy of Science held its regu-
lar meeting at the Friday Morning club
rooms last evening, President William
Knight presiding. Two valuable papers
were presented during the evening
one on Indian Legends" by DR.. Lor-
EMO G. Yates of Santa Barbara, and
one on "Folk Music of Our American
Indians" by Prof. ]. c. Fillmore of Po
mona college.
The legends of the California Indians
presented by DR.. Yates showed first how
unciviiizei tribes who nave no written
language, no books for disseminating
knowledge, transmit by word of mouth
from the older to the younger members
of a family the legends and traditions.
Among some tribes the legends show
thought and wisdom acquired through
many generations of ancestors. and are
clothed in grand, heroic and poetic
language.
The California Indians lack wealth OF
expression, their language is crude, and
it lacks oratorical character The wri-
ter touched on the origin Of the Indian
legends of the Great Spirit, and the
supernatural powers accredited to ami
mails The paper closed with several In
teresting legends, entitled "The Coyote
and the Bat" "The Coyote and the Tor
toise," and "How the World was Made"
all most delightfully."- presented.
"The Scientific Importance of the
Folk Music of our American Aborigines"
was the title of the paper presented by
Prof. Fillmore, who touched first on the
value of chronological and anthropologi-
cal study, as we'll as the study of mental
life, the history, manners, customs, re-
ligion and social ideas of various races
and tribes of our American aborigines.
1t is patent to every one that the abor-
igines of this continent are fast vanish
ing from the face of the earth, and those
who still remain must soon perish from
the memory of man. What ever is done
to preserve the unwritten records must
be done quickly. or this incomparably
important body of scientific knowledge
will have perished beyond hope of resur-
rection.
After touching on the responsibility
forced upon us by circumstances, of fall
ing to see and do what lies in our power
for the posterity Of the Indian, the wri-
ter touched the folk-music. Prayers are
always sung not said. Every mother
teaches her child to sing, not say WA
kanda," am poor and needy; have pity
on me-" When he passes the border
land of childhood and youth. the prayers
must invariably be sung.
All the historical chronicles of the
tribes OF the Omahas are kept in song.
Children have singing games; the young
- n n o. q
of thanks and songs of the medicine
men in their ministrations among the
sick. The great religious ceremony of
the "Wawam," or secret fellowship
pipes, is a full choral service of four or
five hours length, every act Of
which is sung. Prof. Fillmore
said his largest collection of aborig-
inal folk songs was obtained from
Miss Alice c. Fletcher, a fellow in Har-
ward university and an assistant of Prof.
Putnam of the Peabody Museum Of
American Archaeology and Ethnology.
She spent some years in Nebraska.
studying the life of the Indians and
sang their songs with them. reducing
them to written form. Prof. Fillmore
has a large number of Photographic
records Of songs of many nations, and
he illustrated his thoughts with two
Navajo songs through the phonograph,
showing the relation of primitive melody
to harmony. At the worlds fair the
writer had an opportunity of making
comparisons of our Indian folk music
with that of other nations, which has led
to important scientific results
After the lecture fund was estab-
lished by the academy for the purpose
Of sending half-dozen young students
with Prof. Fillmore to an Indian reser-
walton, 80 miles south of Hemet, during
the summer. The party goes to study
under Prof. Fillmore the folk music of
the Indians at this point and to further
add to the scientific investigation. One
hundred dollars will be raised by the
academy for this purpose.