The New York herald., 1922-06-25

ieah lnoiah' mas oeeh sross's
neglected and misrepresented
in our literature. In Colonial days
the chief authors were picus souls
who were interested only in record
ing the hostility of the Indian or in
proving his descent from the ten
Lost Tribes of Israel. In the
eighteenth century American dia-
lect poetry began when Nathaniel
Ames wrote short verse IN the In
dian's variant of English. This
was the only authentic note in the
carly description of Indian life.
Interest, in the savage was re-
vived by the teachings of Rousseau.
Chateaubriand's novel about the
roble redman is written in a very
sentimental vein. and Longfellow's
'.Hiawatha" is also too roseate. On
the other hand, Cooper paints the
redskin in too deep crimson gore.
He has influenced our conception of
the Indian more than any other
writer. but his half truths are
dangerous. Indian culture followed
. many trails beside the warpath. To
understand the Indian it is neces-
sary to know his life in peace as
well as war The social organiza-
tion of the various tribes is very
complex and full of human interest
Although art has neglected the
Indian, science has long been busy
with him. Several generations Of
American arch@ologists and eth
nologists have done creditable work.
They have been preoccupied with
the riddle of the Indians un-
written past. They visit the scat
tered tribes and gain the confidence
of the older members in their search
for ancient lore, but their reports
are very technical. Few of them
have seen fit to acquaint the gen.
eral public with their knowledge of
Indian life. 1t is a closed book.
They are too busy to broadcast their
interesting quest
Elsie Clews Parsons ranks high in
her technical studies as an anthro-
pologist. but her vision is broader.
With her the proper study of man.
kind is man, not as a fossil but as
a living. sentient being In "The
Crows Nest" Clarence Day gave q
Her appreciation of the Indian, not
as a remnant of the past but as
human being, made her wish to
show his real nature to those who
have dispossessed him. She secured
the cooperation of other experts.
Each author writes OF the tribe that
he knows best. Sincerity of pur-
pose has enabled them to make a
real contribution to literature. The
blending of exact knowledge with
literary polish is unusual. 1t is a
wedding of art and science as sur
prising and successful as william
Blal1e's Marriage of Heaven and
He'll"
In an introduction A. L. Kroeber
states the design of the book: "The
fictional form Of presentation de-
vised by the editor has definite merit.
1t allows freedom in depicting or
suggesting the thoughts and feel
ings of the Indians, such as is i'm
possible in a formal scientific re-
port. In fact, it incites to active
psychological treatment, else the
tale would lag. At the same time
the customs depicted are never in
vented. Each author has adhered
strictly to the social facts as he
knew them. He has merely selected
those that seemed most character
1stic and woven them into a plot
around an imaginary Indian hero or
heroine. The method is that of the
historical novel, with emphasis on
the history rather than the ro-
nance" The authors have carried
out this plan with such success that
the stories rival "The Last Days of
Pompeii'' or III. G. wells's pictures
OF primitive man.
One of the surprises of the book
Is the great diversity in habits of