Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1902-01-03
ORIGIN or THE INDIANS

According to the San Francisco
Chronicle. the Identity Of the Navajo
tribe OF Indians and the rlnueh Iudi-
ans Of Alaska has now been estab-
liahed, The conclusion IL based upon
correspondence In pronunciation and
meaning Of many words used by the
two tribes and also by the Navajo ira
dillon, handed down from one genera
ton to another that the tribe at one
time inhabited very cold country.
The zuni Indians Of New Mexico are
thought TO be the descendants Of the an
Client A2tecs, they being as different
from other North American tribes. as
these are from the Caucaslans, taking
their customs, mode Of living and
physical characteristics into consldera-
tlon.
The writer IN the Chronicle asserts
that the Redmen Of America, particu-
larly those dwelling on the Pacific
coast, lndlsputably are OF Aslatc ORR
gin. The nearer, he says, we approach
the point Of contact between the two
continents Of North America and Asia
the stronger Is the resemblance In
physiognomy, physique aud customs OF
the two peoples, while the differentla-
ton Is easily accounted Tor by the In
flucnoes Of environment through the
centuries. Environment has made the
red man OF the prarles a tent-dweller
and a nomad, because he has depended
from time immemoral upon the chase
for his subsistence For the same
reasons he 10 more highly developed
physically than his brother near the
seaboard, who has been forced by en-
yironment to rely upon the fish of the
sea aud the rivers and the fruits OF the
forest for his subsistence.
The writer points out that Mexico,
Central and South America contain an
tiquities which are highly suggestive
OF Egyptian origin. lie says.
They embrace pyramids, sphInxes
and hieroglyphics which correspond 30
closely TO those OF the ancient Egyp-
tlans that a conviction Of their rela-
tlonshlp is rrosiatlbe or course. the
assumption Of the Egyptian origin of
the earlier inhabitants Of the two
Americas meets with many difficulties.
owing to the wide expanse OF ocean
which separates the Old World from the
New, ana the absence OF evidence that
the ancient inhabitants Of the Nile
valley were on adVenturesome race.
1t is helped out, however 10y the ira
dltlon concerning the lost continent Of
Atlantis which ls supposed 10 have
been densely populated and which prior
to the great cataclysm which sub
merged II In the bed Of the Atlantic
ocean, Joined the two Americas to the
continent OF Africa In the llgnt of
this tradition, there Is little difficulty
10 account for the origin OF the builders
of the prehistoric pyramids and stat
ueH and the horoglyphic writings on
stone found ON these western CONT
nents Il the existence OF the contl- |
nent Of Atlantis at some time in the
remote past Is conceded, the western
migration OF the ancient Egyptian race
IS easily accounted for"
The origin Of the American Indians
though constant subject Of lnyestl- |
cation, remains n profound mystery to |
cthnolosists. But II IS noticeable that |
the clues they have obtained, an point |
TO the fact that there has, at some |
fme In the dim past, been communlca-
ZION between the western and eastern |
hcmsphcres. This fact established, Il |
should not be difficult to accept the hls-
toncal authenticity Of the Book OF Nor
mon.