Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-13

Mr.. Curtis said: II have been trying to
obtain broad and comprehensive record
of all the tribes of the North American
Indian within the limits of the United
States and Alaska that at this time are
still living in a comparatively primitive
condition. All important phases of Indian
life are pictured and described and their
significance explained. l have types OF all
ages, in all conditions Of environment. il
Illustrations of their customs. their homes
and manner Of living, their handicrafts.
their religion, their games and sports and
their ceremonies. l have obtained actual
facts, not theories. The camera is truth
full anu accurate. And mine has been the
task of the harvester, not that of the mil
Ter.
while the moreImportant and interest
ing phases of Indian life have received
their full share of attention. special eff
fort has been made to gather all available
lore in connection with their mythology
that the greatest difficulties were encoun-
tered. Even the cultivated man of civ
ilization Is loath to open the inner sane
tuary OF his soul to the fnQuisitive III
educated people object to such self exhibit
ton, what can be expected of the primi-'
tive man who from the first has been told
that lis gods are fictitious and that his
superstitions-which are merely the out
reaching of nature toward the infinite.
and a recognition of the power We call
God-are wrong and childish.
The Indians Distrust.
1T has often cost me many an hour
and long trial of patience to convince an
Indian that my interest in his thoughts
and dreams is not prompted by idle Curl
osity. and he has reason to be distrustful.
But more than that, it is difficult for a
white man brought up in the sunlight Of
our civilization to appreciate how much
1ieyi0 %
the savage, particularly to the old men.
Every act of their lives is influenced or
regulated in some way by their religion
or superstitions, and their rituals are all
accompanied by prayer. To the question
What are the words of that prayer" the
priest will often answer. 1T is prayer
too sacred to say in words. We only
think that prayer.
THE work is primarily a pictorial one"
continued Mr.. Curtis. Il believe that no
so accurately as pictures-pictures not
only showing the detail and line, but
reaching to the very heart of the subject
and showing the atmosphere of their pic
have been spent to reach this point I do
not feel that any apology is necessary for
the first two volumes that have just been
issued. l do believe, however. that
with experience each succeeding volume
will be better than the last. The greater
part of the coming summer will be passed
in the southwest with the different Pueblo
groups Considerable time has already
been spent in that region, and the coming
year will close up the material for a
couple of volumes. 1t will require at least
six years of further field work to COM
plete the entire SERIES
A Vast Undertaking.
There will be twenty volumes of text.
quarto size, nine and one-half by twelve
and one-half inches. profusely illustrated.
averaging $50 pages to the volume. There
will also be twenty portfolios with plates
eighteen by twenty-five inches. one for
each volume Of text, with altogether 2,22O
plates to the 1000 pages of text. The
text is written by Mr. Edward s. Curtis
himself from explanatory notes made at
the time the negative was taken. and
edited by Frederick Webb Hodge of the
United States bureau of ethnology and the
Smithsonian Institution, and the preface is
by President Roosevelt. who has taken a
deep interest in the plan from the begin
ming. Each volume Is complete in itself
and will treat of the same tribe or several
tribes quite independently Of the others.
The material Is all first hand and was
gathered by Mr.. Curtis while he was max
ing the photographs from his subjects.
The first two volumes are already out
and treat of the northwestern tribes. Vol
ume three will treat of the Teton Sioux,
and volume five of the Mandrans Arkiree
and eros Ventres. These are now in
press and will be issued during the pres
ent year. Hereafter Mr.. Curtis expects to
be able to issue two volumes year until
the entire set Of twenty is completed.
The printing is done OH the University
Press, Cambridge, Mass. with type
manufactured expressly Ter this pur-
pose, and the illustrations are done by
the John Andrews & Son Photogravure
Tho annfac-
tured by hand in Holland. and an edi-
ton de luxe will be printed upon jap
anese vellum. The edition is limited to
500 copies, and the price is $4,000 a set
of twenty volumes and twenty port
folios. The edition de luxe costs $3.50.
No single volumes are sold.
Not for the People Generally.
It is not intended for the popular mar
ket. but only for libraries, museums and
collections Of rare books, although a
good many orders have already been re-
ceived from individuals. 1t is the most
expensive book of general interest that
| has been published since Audubon's
Birds which was much smaller end cost
much less. Mr.. Walters OF Baltimore
printed a catalogue of his art collec-
! ton, the late Mr.. Bishop of New York
of his collection Of jades and Mr. Pier
| pont Morgan of his miniatu: that
were quite as expensive. but Trey were
| not intended for sale. Mr.. Curtis books
are not a money-making proposition.
He cannot receive more than $16O0OO If
every copy of both editions is sold, and
| he has already expended mere than half
| that sum in collecting his negatives.
Mr. Morgan guarantees him against
| loss in publication and will advance
him the means to complete his field
work among southwestern tribes. This
| work of Mr.. Curtis can never be dupli-
Gated The material can never be OBJ
| tanned again. 1t is of permanent value.
| head Of. the United States bureau of
ethnology. says:
THE native race is melting away.
| Their number. as 1 estimate it, is re-
| duced to a third or quarter. They
have gone from the forests and plains.
| from the hills and valleys over which
| they roamed and reigned for an age.
and the survivors are changed We
| have taken their land, We have blotted
out their homes, their faith. their phi
| losophy. whole type of humanity. Our
conquest has been the most striking in
history: near a thousand distinct lam
guages have given way before the con-
quering Anglo-SaxOn speech and the
force Of the press. Lowly as they were.
| our original landholders deserve a
monument: cruel as our conquest was
| in some respects, it deserves a record
and your great book forms both. do
the American Indians SO faithful as
yours-indeed. none other is nearly SO
vivid and accurate.
Rockville and Vicinity.
|