New-York tribune., 1901-07-28
HERILDRY or THE INDIANS.
MARKS or THE FACE TO DENOTE HONoHs
ANCESTRY. TRIBE AND CONDITIoN.
From The washington Times.

From The Washington Times
People in general have been content to look
upon the Indians adornUe:t of his head WITH
eagle feathers and his face with paint AS marks
Of pers nal decoration inspired by vanity ana
savage taste. different only in 81 cc from nat
is sem times Witnessed among highly civilized
peoples. EGt the fact if that, IH preference I"
tn latter custom. for Instance. every paint
mark on en- Indians face has sort of hcra-d
meaning. iI.II lyinG not only til" honurs won uy
tn brave IN person. but representing also thu
claims Of his family and distinction. In
other words. what is shown among more cult
urci communities 10y coats Of arms orders and
decorations Is depicted by the Indian on his
fac" lT means OF pigments.
Scientists are 10" engaged. among other novel
investigations concerning the North American
Indian, in compiling record Of the armoT.a!. uI
rather facial, bearings Of certain celebrated
chiefs, and IL is said to b. fascinating Work.
On, renowned warrior to- iu-t.u,. nIU have
his lip painted copper rcd This j. fHuud 10
indicate that his trit. was once in possession
Of huge mines ut COPPER Another Individual
viii hay, his forehead adorurd with a painting
OF a certain fish thus Implying that b" or hs
people a-y renowned for prpycSs in catcht1s
fish. The same distinguished person sometimes
wears a disk of pearl in addition To- LIS pant
mask This ~ its ShimWcriug radiance and
its form. implies that he is descended from TIA"
moon. in tho sens, that the goddess Of night is
one Of Lis ancestors
Th- :1ct that the Indian has no conception
OF perspective seriously handcaus IA" success
Of his efforts at pictorial art. Iud".d tn" Indian
thinner merely aims To show the most charaC-
tcrist.c portion Of the object hc attempts To
depict. unless he be u man of great attainment,
in which case he divides dssccts the subject
of his picture and represents the whole 10y it's
parts, the latter being arranged entirely ire
Spoctivc OF tn. natural sequence
The features OF the Indian sometimes in
Corporatcd into tn" rcprcs utation Of the animal
which forms his hcrdidlc bearing. Should the
beaver, for example. bc the object to he de-
piCtcd, il is not attempted to design tho whole
form Of the amin 3l. but only it's distinctive and
y Spcal parts. as, for instance. its peculiar tail.
which is paint d in criss-cross lines extending
from the chin to the nose. though standing
upright The chin itself docs service as the
beavers body.
The arbitrary methods Of the Indian artist
render il difficult il not impossible for any but
expert To interpret the meanings OF the pic
torlal representations. Thus. an animals ears
are invariably depicted above tho eyes ON the
human subject the of the beaver being
Just above the eyebrows. ON tho checks are
painted the paws in position though they
we're raised 10 the mouth in the manner CON
vcntion&l in Indian carvings.
The doglish painted in red on the face dcsig-
mates the members of entire tribe. ON the
foreheads Of the members of this tribe is painted
the long, thin snout: the gills are represented
by two curved lines below tho eyes, while the
tail is shown as cut in two and hanging from
each noStrIl. only one or TWO parts Of an ami
NAL painted on an Indians face indicates that
he is of inferior position; the entire symbol no
matter in what form presented, is significant of
lofty station ana high honOrs.
The facial hcraldry OF the Indian may he said
to be unique, not alone in the method of repre-
ScntatiOn employed, but in the subjects selected
These latter include fish flesh and fowl of All
descriptions dog salmon, deyilish stariish
Woodpeckers. ravens eagles. bears wolves
frogs, are comprised in the armOral gallery.
Every object represented has it's own particu-
lar significance, and one of the most pcculiar
phases Of face printing relates to the employ
ment of forms other than animal-toos, mpc-
mentS OF the chase OF war. dcnOting the 0cCu-
patton of the individual his tribe.