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I 1
THE AMERICAN NATION
A HISTORY
LIST OP AUTHORS AND TITLES
Group I.
Foundations of the Nation
Vol. I European Background of American
History, by Edward Potts Chey-
ney, A.M., Prof. Hist. Univ. of Pa.
" 2 Basis of American History, by
Livingston Farrand, M.D., Prof.
Anthropology Columbia Univ.
" 3 SpaininAmerica, by Edward Gay-
lord Bourne, Ph.D., Prof. Hist.
Yale Univ.
" 4 England in America, by Lyon Gar-
diner Tyler, LL.D., President
William and Mary College.
" 5 Colonial Self - Government, by
Charles McLean Andrews, Ph.D.,
Prof. Hist. Johns Hopkins Univ.
Group II.
Transformation into a Nation
Vol. 6 Provincial America, by Evarts
Boutell Greene, Ph.D., Prof. Hist,
and Dean of College, Univ. of 111.
" 7 France in America, by Reuben
Gold Thwaites, LL.D., Sec. Wis-
consin State Hist. Soc.
Vol. 8 Preliminaries of the Revolution,
by George Elliott Howard, Ph.D.,
Prof. Hist. Univ. of Nebraska.
" 9 The American Revolution, by
Claude Halstead VanTvne.Ph.D.,
Prof. Hist. Univ. of Michigan.
" lo The Confederation and the Consti-
tution, by Andrew Cunningham
McLaughlin, A.M., Head Prof.
Hist. Univ. of Chicago.
Group III.
Development of the Nation
Vol. II The Federalist System, by John
Spencer Bassett, Ph.D., Prof.
Am. Hist. Smith College.
" 12 The Jeff ersonian System, by Ed-
ward Channing, Ph.D., Prof. Hist.
Harvard Univ.
" 13 Rise of American Nationality, by
Kendric Charles Babcock, Ph.D.,
Pres. Univ. of Arizona.
" 14 Rise of the New West, by Freder-
ick Jackson Turner, Ph.D., Prof.
Am. Hist. Univ. of Wisconsin.
'* 15 Jacksonian Democracy, by Will-
iam MacDonald, LL.D., Prof.
Hist. Brown Univ.
Group IV.
Trial of Nationality
Vol. 16 Slavery and Abolition, by Albert
Bushnell Hart, LL.D., Prof. Hist.
Harvard Univ.
Vol.17 Westward Extension, by George
Pierce Garrison, Ph.D., Prof.
Hi.-^t. Univ. of Texas.
" 1 8 Parties and Slavery, by Theodore
Clarke Smith, Ph.D., Prof. Am.
Hist. Williams College.
" 19 Causesof the Civil War ,by Admiral
French Eusor Chadwick, U.S.N. ,
recent Pres. of Naval War Col.
" 20 The Appeal to Arms, by James
Kendall Hosmer, LL.D., recent
Librarian Minneapolis Pub. Lib.
" 21 Outcome of the Civil War, by
James Kendall Hosmer, LL.D., re-
cent Lib. Minneapolis Pub. Lib.
Group V.
National Expansion
Vol. 22 Reconstruction, Political and Eco-
nomic,by William Archibald Dun-
ninpr, Ph.D., Prof. Hist, and Politi-
cal Philosophy Columbia Univ.
" 23 National Development, by Edwin
Erie Sparks, Ph.D., Prof. Hist.
Univ. of Chicatjo.
" 24 National Problems, by Davis R.
Dewey, Ph.D., Professor of Eco-
nomics, Mass. Inst, of Technology.
" 25 America the World Power, by
John H. Latane, Ph.D., Prof.
Hist. Washington and Lee Univ.
" 26 Ideals of American Government,
by Albert Bushnell Hart, LL.D.,
Prof. Hist. Harvard Univ.
COMMITTEES APPOINTED TO ADVISE AND
CONSULT WITH THE EDITOR
The Massachusetts Historical Society
Charles Francis Adams, LL.D., President
Samuel A. Green, M.D., Vice-President
James Ford Rhodes, LL.D., 2d Vice-President
Edward Channing, Ph.D., Prof. History, Harvard
Univ.
Worthington C. Ford, Chief of Division of MSS.
Library of Congress
The Wisconsin Historical Society
Reuben G. Thwaites, LL.D., Secretary
Frederick J. Turner, Ph.D., Prof. Hist. Univ. of
Wisconsin
James D. Butler, LL.D.
William W. Wright, LL.D.
Hon. Henry E. Legler
The Virginia Historical Society
Captain William Gordon McCabe, Litt.D., Pres-
ident
Lyon G. Tyler, LL.D., Pres. William and Mary
College
Judge David C. Richardson
J. A. C. Chandler, Professor Richmond College
Edward Wilson James
The Texas Historical Society
Judge John Henninger Reagan, President
George P. Garrison, Ph.D., Prof. Hist. Univ of
Texas
Judge C. W. Raines
Judge Zachary T. FuUmore
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2007 with funding from
IVIicrosoft Corporation
http://www.archive.org/details/americannationhi02hartuoft
JOSEPH (tribe, XEZ PERCE)
Photograph by De Lancey GUI
THE AMERICAN NATION : A HISTORY
VOLUME 3
BASIS OF
AMERICAN HISTORY
I 500-1 900
BY
LIVINGSTON FARRAND, A.M.. M.D,
PROFESSOR OP ANTHROPOLOGY, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
NEW YORK AND LONDON
HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS
c
o
/Is'/
Copyright, 1904, by Habpbk & Brothbrs.
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATE* or AMERICA
r-n
CONTENTS
CBAP. PAGB
Editor's Introduction xiii
Author's Preface xvii
I. General Physiography of North America
(1500-1900) 3
II. Waterways, Portages, Trails, and Moun-
tain-Passes (1500-1800) 23
III. Timber and Agricultural Products op
North America (1500-1900) 39
IV. Animal Life of North America (i 500-1900) 54
V. Antiquity op Man in North America . . 70
VI. Classification and Distribution of the
American Indians (i 500-1900) .... 88
VII. The Eskimo and the North Pacific Indians
(1500-1900) 103
VIII. Indians of the Northern Interior and of
the Lower Pacific Coast (1800-1900) . 117
IX. The Indians OF the Great Plains (i 700-1900) 13a
X. Northern Tribes of the Eastern Wood-
lands (1600-1900) 148
XI. Southern Tribes of the Eastern Wood-
lands (1600-1900) 163
XII. Indian Tribes of the Southwest and of
Mexico (i 500-1900) 176
xii CONTENTS
CRAP. PAGB
XIII. Social Organization op the Indians (1500-
1900) 195
XIV. Indian Houses, House Life, and Food
Quest (1500-1900) 215
XV. Indian Industrial Life and Warfare (1500-
1900) 227
XVI. Indian Religion, Mythology, and Art
(1500-1900) 248
xvii. Character and Future of the Indians
(1904) 262
xviii. Critical Essay on Authorities .... 272
Index 291
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION
HAVING in the first volume of this series dis-
cussed the events, the national developments,
and the institutions which preceded the colonization
of America, the next step is to describe the land and
the people of America as they were found by the
Europeans. This volume, therefore, is intended
once for all to set forth the physical conditions of
colonization; for within twenty-five years after the
discovery the Spaniard began to penetrate into the
interior of North America, and to encounter the
obstacles of rivers and mountains and the sterner
opposition of native tribes.
The general physiography of North America is
familiar enough to readers. Professor Farrand,
however, has in his first chapter set forth the condi-
tions which affected the movement of Europeans
westward and northwestward from the coast; and
in his second chapter on waterways, portages,
trails, and mountain -passes he brings out the net-
work of intercommunication used by the Indian
tribes and inevitably followed by the advancing
white man. The avenues of trade were also the
highways of settlement and the theatres of Indian
xiii
xiv EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION
wars, hence the significance of this preliminary de-
scription of the routes of travel.
The two chapters upon the agricultural products
and animal life of North America are also the
foundation for many discussions in later volumes of
the series, not only because they affected the dis-
tribution of the natives and of later settlers, but be-
cause they underlie many of our present social and
economic problems. The fur trade, the timber sup-
ply, the cattle ranges, the areas of profitable cultiva-
tion of wheat, com, cotton, and other staple crops,
have been throughout the history of the United
States elements of immense importance; and Pro-
fessor Farrand's summary of the scientific conclu-
sions upon these subjects will serve as a basis for
later writers in the series.
Physical barriers have been easily overcome, but
the human barriers were always more resisting.
The special feature of this volume is, therefore, an
account of the native Indians. This subject, to
which Professor Farrand has given much of his life,
is one upon which there is an immense literature, yet
nowhere a single, brief volume surveying the whole
ground. Professor Farrand has condensed in these
pages the results of scientific investigations which
have gone on for more than half a century, and by
which the fleeting records of the civilization of the
aborigines have been preserved.
One of the most interesting chapters is on the
vexed question of the antiquity of man in North
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION xv
America, which will be the more serviceable because
of the writer's conservative results. The chapters
on the distribution of the Indians give a description
of the different geographic groups, combined almost
for the first time into a brief statement, a view of
the Indians as a race, and a statement of their sim-
ilarities and their divergencies, ranging from the
wretched Digger Indian to the intelligent and pros-
perous Pueblo Indians, and thence to the Aztec civ-
ilization. To most readers these chapters will be a
revelation both of the common characteristics and
of the great variety of customs among the native
peoples.
Chapters xiii. to xvii. take up the same subject
with a different object — namely, the portrayal of
the Indian character, life, business, and religion.
Many conventional beliefs disappear in the light of
this scientific investigation; for instance, that the
Indian is naturally taciturn and solemn ; that there
were cannibal tribes; that the Indian believed in a
single Great Spirit. The description of the Iroquois,
the people who most affected the history of Canada,
New England, and the middle communities, will be
found especially clear and interesting. For the
portrait frontispiece has been selected Chief Joseph,
of the Nez Perc6 tribe, an exceptionally able and
characteristic Indian statesman.
The critical essay on authorities is practically a
select bibliography out of the immense literature of
monographs and special treatises upon the general
xvi EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION
subject of the volume, and will enable the reader
easily to follow out any favorite subject of study.
Thus, upon a subject described and discussed
since the earliest contact between the white and
native races, the author has been able to throw a
concentrated light, under which the physical basis
is seen to furnish a reaction for the native peoples;
and these peoples stand out as substantially one, a
race prepared from the beginning to assert itself in
the history of America. Later volumes will show
how some tribes melted away, some fused with their
conquerors, and some resisted steadily and exacted
life for life before they yielded to white supremacy.
AUTHOR'S PREFACE
THE present work is an attempt to describe, as
fully as the limits of the book will permit,
those features of North America and its native in-
habitants which have been of greatest significance
in the history of the United States. For the physi-
cal features of the continent, numerous trustworthy
works are available; for the faima and flora there
are various general treatises of value; while for the
aborigines there is not a single comprehensive book
of a satisfactory character. This lack has long been
a source of embarrassment to students of American
ethnology, and for that reason the chief emphasis in
the following pages is laid upon the distribution and
the culture of the Indians.
The difficulties to be overcome in the preparation
of a general descriptive account of the Indian tribes
are not caused by lack of material. The systematic
researches of the Bureau of American Ethnology in
Washington, and of such institutions as the Peabody
Museum of Harvard, the American Museum of Nat-
ural History in New York, and the Field-Colum-
bian Museum of Chicago, added to the accumulated
products of individual writers, afford an enormous
xvii
xviii AUTHOR'S PREFACE
mass of available information. The task of the pres-
ent volume, therefore, has been one of condensation.
Of many omissions, ruthless but necessary, I am
fully conscious and equally regretful. It is my hope,
however, that the book may prove of some service
as an introduction to the study of American eth-
nology as well as to that of American history.
I am grateful for this opportimity of acknowledg-
ing my deep and constant obligation to my friend
and colleague Franz Boas, whose extraordinary an-
thropological learning and enthusiasm have been to
me for years a source of inspiration, and whose
judgment has been always at my disposal in the
preparation of this volume. I wish also to acknowl-
edge particularly the assistance of Mr. A. B. Lewis,
who has co-operated at every stage of the work ; and
of Dr. J. F. McGregor and Mr. C. B. Robinson, who
gave indispensable aid in the treatment of topics
with which they were especially familiar.
Livingston Farrand.
BASIS OF AMERICAN
HISTORY
BASIS OF AMERICAN
HISTORY
CHAPTER I
GENERAL PHYSIOGRAPHY OF NORTH AMERICA
(1500-1900)
THAT the economic conditions of any people
will be largely determined by their physical en-
vironment is particularly true in the earlier devel-
opment of a territory, before the increase and over-
crowding of population through commerce and man-
ufacture force an artificial adaptation to changed
conditions. Environment also reacts upon the
physical and mental constitution of the inhabitants
and modifies and determines their culture. The
industrial life of the Eskimo of the arctic is sharp-
ly contrasted with that of the desert dwellers of
Arizona and New Mexico; and the less tangible
differences of temperament and mental character
of the two groups are likewise to a large degree
due to the variations of climate and soil. The
contour of the land, by favoring or forbidding
3
4 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
migration and the consequent contact of differing
groups, also affects development of culture even
among primitive peoples whose institutions tend to
evolve along independent lines. Hence the political
fortunes even of a people of high culture are large-
ly dependent upon the physical geography of their
home.
A comprehensive history of the American nation
must, therefore, be based upon an accurate ap-
preciation of the features of the territory within
which it is working out its future ; and the physical
geography of the United States demands considera-
tion not only of that portion embraced within the
present political boundaries, but also of the general
characteristics of the continent of North America
as a whole.*
The great triangle of North America presents its
base to the arctic and narrows to its apex in the
tropics. This means that its greater area is included
in high latitudes and ruled by a relatively severe
climate. While the United States lies mainly in
the southern half, roughly between the parallels of
29° N. and 49° N., its greatest extent lies far enough
north to gain the advantage which colder climates
seem to possess in producing efffcient racial groups.
The character of the coast - line of a continent
is a matter of prime concern in colonization or
invasion, and becomes of constantly greater im-
• For general authorities on the physiography of the United
States, see chap, xviii., below.
I900] PHYSIOGRAPHY 5
portance with the development of civilization and
the growth of commerce. Hence the discussion of
that coast is a convenient avenue of approach to
the task of this volume. In general, the North
American coast is irregular and broken, especially
on the Atlantic shore. Deep bays and consequent
peninsulas are common; yet of Labrador, Nova
Scotia, Florida, Yucatan, Lower California, and
Alaska, only Nova Scotia and Florida have lain
within the main tracks of conquest and immigration.
Yucatan is of interest chiefly as the seat of a re-
markable native culture in pre-Columbian times;
Labrador and Lower California have always re-
mained little more than names upon the map ; and
Alaska is just beginning to play a part in history.
The indentations of the coast are of far greater
historical importance. Hudson Bay, the Gulf of
St. Lawrence, the Bay of Fundy, Massachusetts
Bay, Buzzards Bay, Long Island Sound, Delaware
and Chesapeake bays, Albemarle and Pamlico
sounds, and the Gulf of Mexico with its branches,
represent the great breaks of the Atlantic coast-
line; while, in contrast, the Gulf of California and
Puget Sound are the only considerable interruptions
of the Pacific shore. The same difference marks the
smaller bays and harbors. At frequent intervals
along its stretch the Atlantic coast offers admirable
protection for shipping; while on the entire Pacific
coast of the United States there are practically but
two natural harbors, that of San Francisco and the
6 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
reaches of Puget Sound. The harbor of San Diego,
near the southern line of CaHfornia, though it
affords a certain degree of shelter, is as yet of minor
importance; and the mouth of the Columbia River
is admirably situated for commerce, but the shallow-
ness of its waters and the great bar at the entrance
have thus far rendered it impracticable for vessels
of deep draught.
North of the United States boimdary, on the
Pacific, British Columbia and a large part of Alaska
abut upon a fiord coast ; outlying islands and deep,
narrow, cliff -bordered inlets make good harbors, but
the adjacent interior is undeveloped and forbidding.
A somewhat similar fiord coast is found on the
Atlantic side, along the Canadian provinces and,
to a greater extent, in Maine. The indentations of
Maine, while comparatively shallow, offer in many
cases excellent harbors.
Massachusetts Bay, formed by the projection of
Cape Cod, contains Boston Harbor, and the hospi-
tality of the coast increases as one progresses south-
ward. Narragansett and Buzzards bays are succeed-
ed by the shores of Long Island Soimd, with many
small, protected havens, imtil at New York an ex-
traordinary combination of unrivalled natural ad-
vantages makes that point the most important
centre of commerce on the continent. The depth
of water, the strikingly favorable arrangement of
the land about the mouth of the Hudson River,
and the fact that the Hudson is the commercial
i9oo] PHYSIOGRAPHY 7
gateway to the interior, have conspired to place New-
York beyond competition in the development of
Atlantic ports.
Delaware Bay is the estuary of the Delaware
River; and Chesapeake Bay, still farther south, re-
ceives the Susquehanna, the Potomac, and the James.
Neither bay compares as a harbor with New York,
but they have been of great moment, nevertheless, in
the early and later history of America. From the
Chesapeake southward to the extremity of Florida
the indentations are fewer, smaller, and shallower,
but are of great historical importance. The Gulf
of Mexico is notable not only as the receiver of the
Mississippi drainage, but as an element in modifying
the climate of the country by its situation and by
the ocean currents to which it gives rise.
Of superlative importance not only as barriers
to the spread of population, but also as influences
modifying climatic conditions, are the mountain-
ranges of a continent. In North America the most
striking relief feature is the so - called Cordillera,
an immense mountain chain stretching along the
western area from Central America to Alaska. In
reality it is a great plateau with a breadth of one
thousand miles in the United States and with an
elevation of from five to ten thousand feet. Upon
this broad and lofty base rise various mountain -
ranges running longitudinally north and south and
reaching their greatest, average heights in the Rocky
Mountains of Colorado and in the Sierra Nevadas
8 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
of California. North of the Sierras lies the Cascade
range of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.
This chain is of volcanic structure, many of its
peaks still retaining their crater formation. Reach-
ing Alaska, the Cordillera breaks into a confusion of
groups and irregular ridges, and presents the highest
peaks of the continent, Mount McKinley, at the
head of Cook Inlet, attaining an altitude of 20,464
feet. South of the United States the Cordillera
extends through Mexico and Central America, pre-
serving the general character of the northern sys-
tem— that is, a table-land of considerable height
with detached ranges and peaks ; and in this region
are many active as well as extinct volcanoes. The
highest of them are Orizaba (18,250 feet) and Popo-
catapetl (17,520 feet).
Eastward from the Cordillera stretches the great
central basin of the continent, which reaches the
Atlantic at Hudson Bay, and is bordered throughout
the United States by the Appalachian or Eastern
mountain system. The only elevation of promi-
nence which breaks the monotony of this ex-
panse is made by the geographically unimportant
Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, Missouri, and Indian
Territory, rising but slightly over three thousand
feet.
The Appalachians, on the other hand, have played
a most important part in the history of the nation :
they extend from Nova Scotia in a southwesterly
direction through the eastern states to Alabama, aijd.
I900] PHYSIOGRAPHY 9
Georgia. The Appalachians are not a continuous
range and exhibit many breaks and groups, but
may nevertheless be regarded as a single system.
Their highest points are found in the White Moun-
tains of New Hampshire and the Black Mountains
of North Carolina, which reach altitudes of over
six thousand feet; the central part of the system is
seldom over three thousand feet in height, and
usually less.
Tracing this system from the north, the most
striking gap in its continuity is made by the Hudson
River, with its extension up the valley of the Mo-
hawk to the Great Lakes and down the valley of
Lake Champlain to the St. Lawrence. This leaves
the Adirondack Mountains of northern New York
as an isolated group, and quite cuts off the Appala-
chians of New England and eastern Canada from
the ridges of the south. In New England there are
two well-marked groups of elevation, separated by
the Connecticut River — the Green and the White
mountains, which reach their greatest heights in
Vermont and New Hampshire ; yet nowhere in New
England is there a sufficient elevation to offer any
ver}'^ decided obstruction to migration and com-
munication.
West and south of the Hudson Valley rises the
central division of the Appalachians, presenting
several detached groups of eminences, of which
the Catskill Mountains, in southeastern New York,
are, thp iftpst consj^icuous. In Pennsylvania, New
lo BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
Jersey, and the Virginias appears what may be
considered the typical formation of the Appalachian
system: here is fovmd a relatively narrow plateau
from seventy to two hundred miles in width, limited
by the Blue Ridge on the east and the Alleghany
mountains on the west. The central valley thus
contained extends south practically to the termina-
tion of the range in the Gulf states. It is broken
here and there by intersecting lines of hills, usually
placed longitudinally, which form a great number
of minor valleys, but the general character of the
great central depression is nowhere lost, and it
early took the significant name of "The Valley."
The arrangement of the relief of the continent
breaks the lowlands into several belts. Lying be-
tween the Cordillera and the Appalachians, and
occupying the greater portion of the continent, is
the great central basin of North America. Ex-
tending as it does from the extreme north to the
extreme south, it exhibits wide variations in climate,
and hence in superficial character. In the north it
is cold and barren; between latitudes fifty and
sixty degrees it is covered for the most part with
forests; while from fifty degrees southward stretch
on the west the dry and treeless great plains and
on the east the more fertile prairies.
The great plains extend from the base of the
Rocky Mountains eastward, and without definite
boundary merge irregularly into the prairies of the
trans - Mississippi states, and drop off southward
igoo] PHYSIOGRAPHY 11
until they disappear in the richness of vegetation
brought about by the increased rainfall of Mexico
and Central America. They are not an unbroken
expanse of level territory, but are often hilly and
almost always rolling in character. The deep
valleys cut by the intersecting streams further
break the monotony of the region. The excessive
dryness of the plains has prevented any large growth
of population, but the discovery that they afford
admirable grazing for horses, cattle, and sheep has
brought about a development of that industry which
has been of great significance in the growth of the
United States and in the westward movement.
The prairies, the remarkably fertile lowlands of the
middle west, are seen at their best in the states of
Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana, but extend well into
Ohio, and were the chief attraction to early migra-
tion from the Atlantic states.
East and south of the Appalachian barrier lies a
narrow strip of lowland, the Atlantic coastal plain,
the seat of much of the early colonization. The
water boundary of the plain is shallow, and from
New Jersey to North Carolina is fringed with reefs
which have forced the commercial settlements of
the strip back upon the estuaries of the rivers drain-
ing the slope.
South from the Carolinas the Atlantic plain
sweeps around the southern end of the Appalachian
Moimtains and merges into the coastal plain of the
Gulf, which in turn extends south along the Texas
12 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
shore into Mexico. The Gulf plain is broken and
hilly in the interior, but as it approaches the coast
spreads into flat and rather marshy prairies. The
state of Florida offers a peculiar modification of the
Atlantic plain, and appears to be a slight upheaval
of the sea bottom. The most distinguishing feature
of the Florida peninsula is the impenetrable wilder-
ness in the south known as the Everglades.
West of the Rocky Mountains in the United
States a wide plateau of lava formation appears in
the country drained by the Columbia River and its
tributaries. This area lies chiefly in Idaho, Oregon,
and Washington, and was the first point occupied
in the settlement of the Pacific slope from the
east. South of the Columbia plateau stretches an
arid territory including Nevada, parts of Utah and
Arizona and southern California. Through this
desert the Colorado drains to the Gulf of California,
and it is the only considerable river of the area, the
other streams all Ibsing themselves in the dry soil.
Between the ranges of the Pacific slope lie valleys
and plains of greater or less extent, the most im-
portant being the central valley of California, the
Willamette of Oregon, and the lowlands about
Puget Sound, in Washington.
A striking and significant feature of North
America is the chain of Great Lakes — Ontario,
Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Superior — inland seas
of fresh water, forming the political boundary be-
tween the United States and Canada. These lakes
iQoo] PHYSIOGRAPHY 13
drain an immense area in the interior of the con-
tinent, and their waters reach the Atlantic through
the St. Lawrence. Other great inland bodies of
water are Great Bear, Great Slave, and Athabasca
lakes in the north, which empty into the Arctic
by way of the Mackenzie River; lakes Winnipeg
and Manitoba and Lake of the Woods, which drain
into Hudson Bay, and certain desert lakes, such as
Great Salt, which have no outlets. In addition
there are thousands of smaller lakes and ponds,
particularly in the northern tier of states and in
central Canada, the depressions which they fill
having been formed for the most part by the
grinding of the great Laurentian glacier.
Generally speaking, the drainage of North Amer-
ica is into the Atlantic Ocean, and the larger part
goes through the outlet of the great interior basin,
the Mississippi, with its chief tributaries, the Mis-
souri, Ohio, Arkansas, and Red rivers ; or through the
St. Lawrence, with its lake supply. The northern
part of the basin is drained into the Arctic by the
Mackenzie and into Hudson Bay by various
streams, notably the Nelson River. East of the
Appalachian barrier the narrow coastal plain is
drained by a large number of streams of relatively
short flow, of which the chief are the Kennebec,
Connecticut, Hudson, Delaware, Susquehanna, Poto-
mac, and James, all of which cut their way through
the mountain ridges to reach the sea, and all of
which played a part in determining early settlement
14 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
and provincial boundaries. Farther south the
Roanoke, Yadkin, Catawba, and Savannah may
be mentioned, while the southern plain is drained
into the Gulf of Mexico by the Appalachicola, the
Alabama, and other small streams besides the lower
waters of the great Mississippi.
The true continental watershed runs irregularly
through the Rocky Mountains, and west of that
barrier the drainage is to the Pacific, except for a
few enclosed basins. The chief western streams are
the Colorado to the Gulf of California, the Columbia
and the Fraser to the ocean, and the Yukon into
Bering Sea.
Geologically speaking, the record of North Amer-
ica is simple. The oldest part of the continent is
doubtless the Laurentian plateau in eastern Canada,
with its extension south represented by the Adiron-
dacks of New York, and a considerable area about
the Great Lakes. From this centre the emergence
seems to have been progressively westward. The
Laurentian uplift was evidently in the earliest
geological periods, for the structure of the rocks
and the character of the deposits argue a formation
deep beneath the earth's crust, with a subsequent
upheaval and gradual denudation, requiring ages to
effect.
The Cordilleras of the west are, on the contrary,
comparatively recent and exhibit the results of late
volcanic action. In Mexico active volcanoes still
exist, and in Alaska they are not entirely extinct.
i9oo] PHYSIOGRAPHY 15
Many of the basins and valleys of the system are
vast lava beds, forming in certain regions exten-
sive low plateaus, as in the drainage area of the
Columbia River.
A matter of prime importance for the geologist
and for the student of race distribution is the
record of a great glacial sheet which in very recent
geological times spread over practically all of
Canada and a large part of the United States.
It extended south over New England and New
York to the Ohio River, and westward over the
prairies and a portion of the great plains. The
erosive action of this glacier has been of great
significance. With its retreat was discovered the
great level extent of prairie land, where the drift
deposit has produced most fertile soil. Along the
northern frontier of the United States, and through
eastern and central Canada, the ragged track of
the ice sheet is marked by the thousands of lakes
and watercourses which distinguish that area.
The mineral deposits of the continent are rich
and varied. Of these coal is one of the most
important, and, in the east at least, is so universally
distributed that there is no habitable portion of the
United States many miles distant from a natural
supply.* The interior and far west are less favored,
but there are, nevertheless, many spots in which
coal is found. The Mexican deposits are rich but
undeveloped. In 1902 the United States produced
* Shaler, United States of America, I., 428.
i6 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
about one- third of the entire coal supply of the worlds
with an estimated value of $367,000,000.*
Iron is also of great importance and widely dis-
tributed, and in recent years the value of the out-
put in the United States has exceeded that of coal.
In 1902 seventy -six per cent, of the ore came from
the Lake Superior district, while Alabama followed
with ten per cent, of the product. Other metals
of which the annual yield in the United States ex-
ceeds a value of $1,000,000 are, with their approxi-
mate values in millions, gold (80), copper (77), silver
(29), lead (22), zinc (14), aluminum (2), and quick-
silver (i^). Numerous other metals are pro-
duced in smaller quantities. Gold is found in
considerable abundance in several of the western
states and in Canada, Alaska, and Mexico. Silver is
also a metal of wide distribution, and Mexico leads
all countries of the world in its production. In the
output of copper Montana is in the lead, with the
Lake Superior region second. Lead is produced
mainly in the West ; Kansas leads in the production
of zinc ; and California is first in quicksilver.
Among the non - metallic mineral products are
many of great significance and value, such as petro-
leum, natural gas, clay, borax, gypsum, salt, etc.
Nearly all the mineral materials needed in the in-
dustrial life of the United States are found within
its borders and in sufficient quantities. Those
' See for these and following figures, U. S. Gaol. Siir\ey, A'^-
port on Mineral Resources of U.S. for jgo2.
iQoo] PHYSIOGRAPHY 17
most largely imported are tin, antimony, platinum,
nickel, sulphur, and precious stones.
The climate of North America naturally varies
greatly, depending on latitude, the general atmos-
pheric circulation or direction of the prevailing winds,
and the form and relief of the land areas. The
influence of latitude is evident as we proceed from
the tropical climate of Central America to the arctic
climate of the far north. The greater part of the
continent lies within the region of the anti-trades
or prevailing west winds, and as a consequence the
Pacific coast has an insular climate, moist and with-
out great extremes of temperature. As the moun-
tains lie near the coast, the winds soon lose their
moisture, and the interior region east of the coastal
ranges has but a slight rainfall and is largely arid
or desert, presenting the wide extremes of temper-
ature and rather light rainfall which are character-
istic of a continental climate.
The rainfall gradually increases as we approach
the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, the great
sources of supply for the eastern region. The
effect of the difference in climate brought about by
the prevailing winds, tempered as they are by the
surface over which they have blown, is seen in the
difference between the climates of similar latitudes
in Labrador and southern A.laska. Proceeding
from the region of the anti-trades to that of the
trade winds, the conditions are reversed, and it is
now the east coast which receives the rainfall. The
VOL. II.— 3
MEAN AVERAGE
TEMPERATURES
OP NORTH AMERICA
SCALE OF MILES
0 100 3X) 600 760 1000
^00° Longitude Wwt 90° from QT^enwloh ao\j^fc^v * CO., H>y-. 70'
igoo] PHYSIOGRAPHY 19
difference is exhibited to a certain extent even in the
United States in the increased rainfall on the
southern Atlantic coast, and in the dry climate of
southern California, but is more noticeable in
Mexico and Central America. The contrast between
the extreme temperatures of a continental climate
and the more imif orm conditions of a coastal climate,
especially to the windward, may be readily seen by
comparing the isothermal lines for January and July,
The islands belonging to North America are
numerous and important. Excluding the arctic
archipelago, which is composed of a number of
land masses of almost continental size, the only
large islands in the North Atlantic are Newfotmd-
land, opposite the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Cape
Breton, in the Gulf, and Long Island, off the mouth
of the Hudson River. The tropic seas to the
south abound in islands collectively called the West
Indies; they include the Greater Antilles, Cuba,
Haiti, Jamaica, and Porto Rico, and the Lesser
Antilles, a chain of small islands stretching in a
curve from Porto Rico to the South American coast,
including among others Guadeloupe, Martinique,
Barbadoes, and Trinidad. Southeast of Florida and
north of Cuba are the Bahama Islands, on parallel
25° N. The West Indies are, geologically, a partially
submerged mountain-range, and many of the smaller
islands retain a volcanic character. Embraced by
the West Indies and the shores of Central and South
America is the Caribbean Sea.
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22 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
Off the Pacific coast the only islands of importance
are Vancouver, north of Puget Sound and opposite
the international boundary ; and the Aleutian group,
far to the north, which stretches from the Alaskan
peninsula nearly to the coast of Asia and forms
the southern limit of Bering Sea.
From even this rapid survey of the continental
features the infinite variety of natural advantages
which North America offers to man is clear. By
its extensive mineral deposits, by the adaptability
of its soil and climate to the development of agri-
culture in every form, and by its contour which ad-
mits of easy distribution, it is fitted by nature for
the support of an enormous population.
CHAPTER II
WATERWAYS, PORTAGES, TRAILS, AND
MOUNTAIN-PASSES
( 1 500-1800)
THE two most important factors in the ex-
ploration and settlement of a country are the
waterways and mountain systems — the one an
assistance to travel, the other an obstacle. In the
sheltered bays, inlets, and rivers of the Atlantic
coast of North America the early European settle-
ments were mostly placed ; but some locations were
chosen well inland, up the larger rivers, and often
near the head of navigation for sea -going vessels
— for example, Quebec and Montreal on the St.
Lawrence, where the lower shores were forbidding;
and the settlements on the James and the Delaware,
where fear of attack by sea determined the sites.
From these points as bases the early exploration
and settlement of the country extended, and the
significance of the rivers and streams at once be-
came evident.* The dense forests, where the only
road was the narrow Indian trail, were not passable
except on foot; even pack animals could be used
* For the authorities, see chap, xviii., below.
23
24 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
with difficulty. The streams, however, offered a
r.eady means of transport and the light birch-bark
canoe, which could be shouldered over the necessary
portages, made it possible for the early voyageurs to
penetrate far into the heart of the continent, carry-
ing their merchandise for barter and returning with
their bales of furs. River travel on east and west
lines involved crossings from one stream to another ;
hence a point of great interest to the pioneer was
the portage.
From the Atlantic seaboard the St. Lawrence
and the Great Lakes offered the readiest access to
the interior of the continent, and as a natural con-
sequence we find the French, the settlers of the
St. Lawrence basin, the first explorers of a large
part of the interior of North America ; and this, too,
before the English farther south had even passed
the Alleghanies. By portages from Lake Superior to
Rainy Lake and thence to Lake of the Woods, the
French gained the northward-flowing streams and
penetrated to Hudson Bay and far into the Canadian
northwest. Their successors, the English and Scotch
of the fur companies, were the first to reach the
Pacific coast from the interior. It is interesting,
too, that the first portage to the Mississippi Valley
discovered by explorers was one of those lying
farthest west — that from the Fox River to the
Wisconsin.
The place and convenience of these portages were
\vell kiiown to the Indian, and the European as a
i8oo] ROUTES OF TRAVEL 25
rule merely followed the trail of the savage. Their
importance in the early occupation of the country is
attested by the fact that forts were immediately
established on most of the main portages ; and in the
French and Indian wars such places as Crown Point,
Schenectady, and Presque Isle indicated lines of
attack and defence. Since these routes followed
the lowest and easiest ways over the watersheds
between the river valleys, wagon-roads and railways
were eventually built along the same lines, which
thus exerted a marked influence both on the early
movements of population and the more recent de-
velopments of commercial centres.
In Canada one of the most important portages
was that from the upper Ottawa to Lake Nipis-
sing, from which the French River was followed
to Georgian Bay and Lake Huron. The route left
the Ottawa by way of the Mattawa River, up
which it passed to Trout Lake; thence across the
low divide by an easy carry to Riviere de la Vase,
a small stream emptying into Lake Nipissing,
about five miles south of North Bay. This is
nearly the line of the Canadian Pacific Railway.*
In the early days of the occupation this was the
main route to the W^est, more used than a second
passage from Lake Ontario by the river Trent
across to Lake Simcoe and thence to Lake Huron.
From the upper end of Lake Superior two well-
known portages led over the divide to the waters
' Geol. Survey, Canada, AnnHdl Report, 1897, X., H- la.
26 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
of the Northwest: the Grand Portage, from the
bay of that name, or from Pigeon River, which
empties into it, across to Rainy Lake and Lake of
the Woods; the other from Thunder Bay up the
Kaministiquia and Dog River, and across by Lac
des Mille Lacs and Sturgeon Lake and River to
Rainy Lake. The latter was the route commonly
followed by the early fur-traders; and the North-
west Company later established one of its principal
stations at Fort William on Thunder Bay, This
route was of great assistance in the construction of
the Canadian Pacific Railway, which also runs from
Fort William up the Kaministiquia and crosses the
divide not far from the old portage trail.
From the Great Lakes to the Mississippi basin
there was a choice of paths. In the Northwest the
French often crossed from the head of Lake Superior
to the upper Mississippi by way of the St. Louis
River. The most important portage, however, was
probably that which led from the Fox to the
Wisconsin River, first used in 1673 by Joliet and
Marquette,^ and later the site of Fort Winnebago.
At the southern end of Lake Michigan an important
trail led from the Chicago to the Des Plaines and
so to the Illinois, on the same line as the present
Chicago Drainage Canal ; the portage was from four
to nine miles in length according to the season.
Other carrying-places of that region were from the
Calumet to the Des Plaines, and from the St.
^ Jesuit Relations (Thwaites' ed.),LIX., 105, 107.
i8oo] ROUTES OF TRAVEL 27
Joseph to the Kankakee; but that from the St.
Joseph to the Wabash was the principal channel
of supplies for the early settlers at Vincennes.
On account of the hostility of the Iroquois Ind-
ians, the portages from Lake Erie were not much
used until the eighteenth century, but later became
of great importance. On the west there was one
well-known and much-frequented portage from the
Maumee to the Wabash which varied from eight to
twenty miles in length. Its eastern end is marked
by the present town of Fort Wayne. Two portages
led from the Maumee to Loramie Creek, a branch
of the Great Miami. General Wayne built Fort
Loramie near the southern end of these portages in
1794. Other carries were from the Sandusky to the
Scioto; from the Cuyahoga, near the present city
of Akron, Ohio, to the Tuscarawas and the Musk-
ingum, and from the neighborhood of Ravenna
to the Mahoning; from Lake Erie at Presque Isle
(the present site of Erie) to the French Creek and
the Alleghany ; and from Lake Erie to Chautauqua
Lake and thence to the Alleghany River.* The
carry around Niagara Falls was, of course, much
used, though there was another route from Lake
Ontario by portage to Grand River and thence to
Lake Erie.
One of the most important portages in the early
history of the colonies was the "Oneida," which
varied with the stage of the water from four to
' Young, Hist, of Chautauqua County, 37-44.
28 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1700
eight miles in length. It led from the Mohawk
Valley to Wood Creek, a tributary of the Oswego,
and so to Lake Ontario. This was the strategic
point on the route from New York and the Hudson
to the Great Lakes. In 1732 Fort William was
erected at the Mohawk terminus, where is now the
city of Rome, and in 1758 this was replaced by the
famous Fort Stanwix. Forts were also established
near the other end of the portage.'
Another series of much - frequented carrying-
places were on the "Grand Pass" leading from the
valley of the Hudson into Canada, the line of
numerous French invasions from the north and of
Burgoyne's expedition in 1777. The main portage
of this route, that from the Hudson to Lake George,
was about fifteen miles long and was guarded by
Fort Edward on the Hudson and by Fort William
Henry at the southern end of Lake George. An-
other important portage on this route was from
Lake George to Lake Champlain, guarded by Fort
Ticonderoga. Still another route between the Hud-
son and Lake Champlain was from Fort Edward,
northeast over a portage of about eleven miles
to Wood Creek and down that stream to the lake.
Fort Ann was built on Wood Creek to protect this
route.
Farther east a number of portages led from the
rivers of New England to the St. Lawrence basin —
' Syhester, Northern New York and the Adirondack Wilder'
ness, 280.
i8oo] ROUTES OF TRAVEL 29
for example, the important Indian trail from the
Connecticut to the St, Francis ; that from the Kenne-
bec and Dead River to the Chaudiere, crossed by
Arnold in 1775 / and several from the headwaters of
the St. John northward.
From the Atlantic coast to the Ohio Valley the
main portages were from the Susquehanna to the
Alleghany near Kittanning ; from the Juniata to the
Alleghany, the present route of the Pennsylvania
Railroad ; and from the Potomac to the Monongahela,
via Wills Creek, the line of Braddock's march.
Farther south the portage probably most used
was from the headwaters of the James to the
Greenbrier branch of the Kanawha. These south-
erly routes, though important Indian trails, were
never much used by the whites, because the streams
were not favorable to navigation by large boats;
moreover, the trails were long and rough, and lay
to one side of the main lines of travel. The more
northern routes to the upper Ohio were also too
long and difficult to be of much value for the
transport of goods in colonial times.
To the settler, with his household goods and
farming implements, falls and rapids made the
Appalachian streams practically impassable for his
transportation, and wagon-roads were indispensable
for his movements on land. Such roads are ordi-
narily not built until demanded by military opera-
* Smith, " Arnold's Battle with the Wilderness," in Century
Magazine, LXV., 529.
30 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
tions or extensive movements of population. Hence
the spread of population on the Atlantic seaboard
proceeded rapidly enough up-stream to the heads
of navigation, but from those points inland prog-
ress was much slower and was entirely checked by
the mountain-ranges until roads were constructed
across them.
Of all the routes by which the Appalachian
barrier could be crossed, the most favorable in the
north was by way of the Hudson and Mohawk
valleys to the lakes; but it was closed to the early
settlers by the Iroquois, though subsequently of
immense importance. A second route was from
the headwaters of the Mohawk to the upper Alle-
ghany. A third route was through southern Penn-
sylvania to the Monongahela and so to the Ohio
River. The fourth well-travelled route was by the
broad Appalachian Valley to the southwest and out
through Cumberland Gap or the valley of the Ten-
nessee to the more open country beyond. It would
also have been possible to go around the southern
end of the Appalachian chain, but this way was
closed until comparatively modern times by the
Cherokee Indians. In the first settlement of the
Ohio Valley the routes b}^ Cumberland Gap and
the Tennessee were the most important; but with
the later improvement of the more direct roads
through Pennsylvania these rotmdabout paths fell
into disuse.
The discovery of these ways was not a matter of
i8oo] ROUTES OF TRAVEL 31
chance, in every case they followed more or less
closely the line of an Indian trail.' In crossing
the divides and mountain-ranges the trails followed
the gentlest slopes and traversed the lowest gaps;
but elsewhere they kept to the higher levels, follow-
ing the ridges and uplands between the valleys in
order to avoid swamps and streams. As the Ind-
ians travelled in single file their trails were merely
narrow runways through the forest, often worn to a
depth of a foot or more and winding about to avoid
obstacles. In addition to the trails of the Indian
there were also the tracks of the buffalo, though
the two often followed the same path, especially
across the mountain passes.
The Indians at times travelled great distances, and
many of their trails connected widely separated
regions. Some of the more extensive of these
primitive lines of communication became widely
known under special names. In New England im-
portant trails led from different points of the coast
up to and beyond the Connecticut Valley, one of
the best -known being the Old Connecticut Path
from Boston, by way of Grafton, Oxford, and
Springfield, to Albany.
The most famous Indian thoroughfare in New
York was the great Iroquois war -trail from the
Hudson up the Mohawk Valley and westward
along the water-shed to the Niagara River. It was
the great highway connecting the different tribes
* Hulbert, Indian Thoroughfares.
32 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1700
of the Iroquois with one another and with the
regions to the east and west.
In Pennsylvania there was an important trading
trail running from Philadelphia up the Susquehanna
and Juniata, across the Alleghany Mountains by
Kittanning Gorge and down to the Alleghany
River. A branch of this trail ran farther south
by way of Raystown (Bedford) to the junction of
the Alleghany and Monongahela. To this point
also ran a trail from the Potomac, sometimes called
Nemacolin's Path, from the name of a Delaware
chief.
One of the most noted of the early trails was the
Great Indian War-path of Virginia, up the Shenan-
doah Valley, across the headwaters of the New
River to the upper Holston, and on down to the
Cherokee territory of east Tennessee and Georgia.
It was joined in Tennessee by the Warrior's Path
from Ohio, sometimes called the Scioto Trail, which
started at Sandusky on Lake Erie, followed up
the Sandusky River, and down the Scioto to its
mouth. Across the Ohio it led south through Ken-
tucky and Cumberland Gap to its junction with
the Virginia trail in eastern Tennessee. This was
the great war-path from the north, the line of the
principal invasions from both north and south, and
was used by the whites as well as by the Indians.
A branch of the Scioto Trail also followed up the
Kanawha and across the mountains to the head-
waters of the James.
i8oo] ROUTES OF TRAVEL 33
Another well-known route from north to south
was the Miami Trail, North of the Ohio it had
several branches in the Little and Great Miami
valleys, but they all converged on the Ohio River
near the mouth of the Licking. After crossing the
Ohio the trail ran south to the water-shed between
the Green and the Cumberland rivers, where it
forked, one branch continuing straight on to the
Cherokee country, while the other joined the Scioto
Trail on its way through Cumberland Gap.
An important effect of the topography of America
on its history is seen in the development of the im-
portant roads which were later constructed along the
line of the old Indian routes. Of these Braddock's
Road followed Nemacolin's Path ; and the Cumber-
land Road, built early in the nineteenth century,
took the same line over the divide. The road to
Pittsburg, finished by General Forbes in 1758,* fol-
lowed the old trading trail through Carlisle, Shippens-
burg, and Bedford, and soon became the main thor-
oughfare to its objective point, though Braddock's
Road was much used by those coming from Virginia.
Another important route was discovered when
progress westward from Virginia was stopped by
the Alleghany range and the Cumberland escarp-
ment; and the early pioneers turned south along
the great valley into western Virginia and eastern
Tennessee, following the old war-path to the Cherokee
district. Having thus rounded the mountains, the
» Hiilbert, Old Glade Road.
VOL. II. — 3
34 BASIvS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1700
route followed the Ohio trail through Cumberland
Gap. This way was first opened by Daniel Boone,
and was variously known as "Boone's Trail," the
"Kentucky Road," and the "Wilderness Road." »
Beginning at the settlements on the upper Holston,
it passed westward by openings in the valley ranges
across Cumberland Gap to the Cumberland River,
where it left the old Indian trail and followed a
buffalo trace through Boone's Gap to Fort Boones-
borough on the Kentucky River, and thence on to
Lexington. This road, which until 1796 was only
a pack -trail, opened up central Kentucky and
Tennessee to the Virginia and Carolina settlers ; and
even those from Pennsylvania sometimes preferred
this route. As the northern roads to the Ohio
improved, however, they attracted most of the
travellers, who, after striking the Ohio, descended
that river by boat, and followed up its branches to
their various destinations.
Access had thus been gained to the very heart
of the Mississippi Valley, and after the Revolution
immigration poured down the river and up its trib-
utaries in a never-ending stream. Then the water-
ways became of less importance, since the generally
level character of the country permitted the easy
construction of wagon-roads. The influence of the
streams was still potent, nevertheless, and the ad-
vancing wave of population presented a ragged front
due to the more rapid progress along their courses.
* Speed, Wilderness Road; Hulbert, Boone's Wilderness Road.
i8oo] ROUTES OF TRAVEL 35
As the arid regions of the great plains were gained,
the advance was checked and the country to the
rear was quickly filled.
The streams flowing eastward from the Rockies,
with the exception of the Missouri, were only nav-
igable during a portion of the year, and as a con-
sequence were unsuitable as lines of travel. The
Missouri as the one copious river was the natural
highway, therefore, and was ascended by Lewis and
Clark in 1804 in their memorable journey to the
Pacific* Proceeding to the headwaters by boat,
they crossed the Bitter Root Mountains by the
northern Nez Perce or Lou Lou Trail, one of the most
difficult in the country and one which has seldom
been followed since. Descending on the west to
the Clearwater, they continued by boat down the
Snake and Columbia to the sea. Even before Lewis
and Clark's expedition, hunters and trappers had
penetrated to the Rocky Mountains, but the great
distances to be travelled and the forbidding charac-
ter of the country checked for a considerable time
the westward movement of settlers.
At the opening of the last century St. Louis was
the starting - point and base of supplies for the
Western traders. Later the centre moved west to
Franklin, on the Missouri, then to Independence, and
finally to Kansas City, where the river turned north. ^
' Coues, Hist, of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
'Gregg, Commerce of the Prairies, I., 32; Inman, Old Santa
Fe Trail, 145.
36 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1700
To this point the western trails converged, with the
exception of one or two which passed along the
more southern tributaries of the Mississippi.
As the Spaniards or Mexicans already had settle-
ments in New Mexico and California, endeavors
were soon made to establish trade with those points,
and the Santa Fe Trail was the first important road
of the West.' This road, about eight hundred miles
long, passed westward from Independence to the Ar-
kansas, up that stream to Bent's Fort, thence south-
west up Timpas Creek and across the Raton Pass to
Las Vegas and San Miguel. From this point it pushed
westward through Apache Canon to the Santa Fe
Valley. This trail was not favorable for wagons,
and as their use increased, a more southerly route
was adopted, which left the Arkansas, passed south-
west to the Cimarron, and up that stream, meeting
the old trail at Las Vegas.
From New Mexico two routes were discovered to
the Pacific coast. One ran from the Rio Grande
over the divide to the headwaters of the Gila
River and down to the Colorado and southern
California. As the route along the upper Gila was
difficult for wagons, a way was found around the
mountains farther south, near the present line of the
Southern Pacific Railroad.- The other trail led
from Santa F6 northwest up the Chama River and
'Chittenden, American Fur Trade of the Far West; Inman,
OU Santa F^ Trail.
' Emory, in Ex. Docs., 30 Cong., i Sess., No. 41.
1850] ROUTES OF TRAVEL 37
down the Dolores Valley, crossing the Grand River
near the present site of Moab, Utah. It then led over
to the Sevier, southwest up that stream, and down
the Virgin. Instead of continuing to the Colorado,
the trail turned west towards California, crossing
the Mojave Desert and Cajon Pass, and terminated
at San Bernardino and Los Angeles. This route
was known as the Spanish Trail and was much
used for many years.* Fremont, on his return from
California in 1 844, followed this trail as far as Utah.
To the north the early settlers reached the Pacific
slope over what came to be widely known as the
Oregon Trail. This was about two thousand miles
in length. It followed the Platte, its north fork, and
the Sweetwater to South Pass; thence across the
Green River, up Black River and Muddy Creek,
and over the divide into Bear River Valley, which
it left to cross to Fort Hall, on the Snake. Following
the Snake River to a point below Salmon Falls, the
trail cut across the plains to Fort Bois6, and thence
do\vn the Snake again to Burnt River. Ascending
Burnt River Caiion it crossed to the upper Powder,
thence over the divide of the Blue Mountains, and
down the Umatilla to the Columbia. Movement
along the Oregon Trail began about 1832, and by
1845 there were eight thousand Americans in the
valley of the Columbia.^
A southward movement had begun almost im-
• Bancroft, Hist, of California, III., 386.
' Monette, Hist, of tlie Mississippi Valley, II., 569.
38 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1850
mediately from the Columbia River into the Sacra-
mento Valley of California, and a demand arose for
a more direct route to that country. After several
unsuccessful and somewhat disastrous attempts* to
find a suitable pass over the Sierras, Truckee Pass
was discovered in 1844,^ and the California Trail
became definitely established. This route left the
Oregon Trail at Bear River, crossed northern
Nevada by way of the Humboldt River to Truckee
River, ascended that stream, crossed the Truckee
Pass, and descended the Bear River to the Sacra-
mento. This was the route followed in after years
by the Central Pacific Railroad.
Such are the main lines by which native migration
and the later exploration and settlement by the
whites have proceeded. Their significance for the
history and development of the country is obvious.
Other factors have naturally had their influence;
but in determining the direction of the flow as well
as the location of the chief centres of population
geographical conditions have been paramount. With
the advance of civilization and the acquisition of
new modes of transportation, geographical exigen-
cies become less rigorous, but they still remain the
leading factor in determining the location and
growth of centres of population.
'Bancroft, Hist, of California, IV., 269-271, 394, 438.
* Ibid., 446.
CHAPTER III
TIMBER AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS OF
NORTH AMERICA
(1500-1900)
NEXT to purely geographical considerations the
character and distribution of the vegetable
products have probably played the most important
part in determining the direction and permanence
of the settlement of the different parts of North
America, From one point of view the distribution
of plant life is simply the working out of variation
in soil and climate ; but to the native as well as to
the immigrant the product of the soil and not the
cause of that product demands first attention.
Hence the presence or absence of forests and the
character of the available vegetable food supply
have not only modified the cultures of the Indian
groups, but have regulated and determined the
flow of civilized population.
The forest belt of the continent extends far to
the north, including nearly the whole of Labrador,
everything south of a line drawn from the middle of
the western shore of Hudson Bay to the mouth of
the Mackenzie River, and all of Alaska except the
39
40 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
extreme northwest. In the northern belt the trees
are the same or similar across the continent, and
but few species appear, the most typical being the
poplars and the black and white spruces, which near
their northern limit are stunted and of no economic
importance, but farther south yield valuable timber.
On the east the forest originally formed an un-
broken sheet along the entire Atlantic coast as far
south as central Florida, and along the Gulf shore
into Texas, the general western boundary of the
forest reaching or even crossing the Mississippi.
The Pacific belt ceases to connect with the Atlantic
at about the sixtieth parallel, near the eastern slopes
of the Rocky Mountains; there the prairies inter-
fere and form along the western edge of the Atlantic
forest a broad area which is but slightly wooded.
A short distance south of the forty -ninth parallel
the wooded region of the Pacific forks, the coast
division being densely covered with very valuable
timber, while the Rocky Mountains in many parts
are also well supplied with trees. Between these two
Pacific groups, and even more in the wide extent
of country between the Rocky Mountains and the
western edge of the prairies, trees are practically
wanting. The main factor in determining this
distribution is the rainfall; in dry regions trees are
few or absent, although in limited regions they may
be raised by water conducted from a river or other
source of supply through artificial channels and dis-
tributed over the land as required.
i9oo] PRODUCTS 41
The trees on the two sides of the continent are
sharply differentiated. While in the northeast the
conifers, or soft woods, form the prevailing element,
there is, nevertheless, a considerable mixture of
hardwoods with deciduous, broad leaves ; and farther
south the latter constitute almost the entire forest,
except along the coastal plain. On the Pacific the
reverse is true, the conifers reaching a size and
luxuriance unequalled elsewhere, while the hard-
woods are comparatively few.
The most important species in the east has been
the white pine, formerly very abundant in eastern
Canada and south as far as Massachusetts, but ex-
tending in less quantity south of that limit. For
many years the main supply has been drawn from
its western range in northern Michigan, Wisconsin,
and Minnesota. So freely has it been cut that
even in that region it is becoming extinct for
practical purposes. The original quantity is es-
timated to have been seven hundred billion feet,*
and the average cut at present is about two billion
feet annually.
In the northeast are many other species of coni-
fers, such as various kinds of pine, the white cedar,
hemlock, fir, larch, and the spruces already mention-
ed. The most important hardwoods are the sugar
and red maples, the beech, various birches (es-
pecially the canoe birch), the white elm, and the
» The White Pine (U. S. Dept. Agric, Div. of Forestry,
Bulletin 32), p. 19.
42 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
white ash. In the central states the conifers lose
their importance and hardwoods take the chief
place. The most notable trees of this class are the
oaks (represented by about twenty-five species),
several kinds of hickory, the chestnut, the black
walnut (once very valuable, but now exhausted),
the basswood, the magnolias, the tupelo, the tulip-
tree, and the cotton-wood. Although a conifer,
the hemlock is at its best in the mountains of
North Carolina.
Besides the lumber actually used, an enormous
quantity has inevitably been destroyed in clearing
the land, and forest fires have also wrought great
damage. As a result, lumbering has ceased to be
an important industry over most of this region,
though much is still done in places, the chief hard-
wood centres being at present Tennessee and
Kentucky.
On the coasts of the southern states, not only
on the Atlantic but along the Gulf of Mexico as
far as Texas, and extending up the Mississippi into
Missouri, are several valuable pines, especially the
long-leaf, the short-leaf, and the loblolly. From the
first of these and a fourth species, the slash pine,
the turpentine of commerce is derived.
Southern Florida differs much from the rest of
the country, its plants having many features in
common with those of the West Indies. A con-
siderable number of the Antillean trees extend to
the continent, but are not as a rule well developed,
ipoo] PRODUCTS 43
except the mahogany and the royal palm; while
the sea-shores have a tropical border of mangroves.
The western trees are nearly all soft woods and
often attain gigantic dimensions. The variety is
not great, but with some notable exceptions each
kind has a wide distribution . To the north spruces,
poplars, and the canoe birch prevail as on the
opposite side of the continent ; but in the important
forest region from southern British Columbia into
California grow trees peculiar to the district. The
most important of these, the red or Douglas fir,
reaches its best development around Puget Soimd
and for some distance north and south of that
region. It grows from two to three hundred feet
in height, and is associated with other fine trees,
notably the tide-land spruce, the hemlock, and the
red cedar. To the east of the Cascade range,
though still present, these species become less
important than the yellow pine. In southern
Oregon the Port Orford cedar becomes common,
and is followed at the Califomian border by the
redwood. This last covers a rather narrow belt
along the coast, but has a very dense growth, and
often attains a height of two himdred and fifty or
three htmdred feet.
The western slopes of the Sierra Nevada also
bear a very heavy forest growth, widest in northern
California, and characterized by the sugar pine, the
red fir, yellow pine, two true firs, and the white
cedar. Most famous of all is the Big Tree (Sequoia
44 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
gigantea), which, though neither the tallest nor the
broadest, is conceded the distinction of being the
largest in the world, rising to a height of from two
hundred and seventy-five feet to nearly four hun-
dred feet, with a diameter of twenty to thirty-five
feet, and attaining a great age. All these are
conifers. Hardwoods are, however, not entirely
lacking, the most valuable in the coast region being
the cotton-wood and the large-leaved maple.
In the interior the forest is less continuous. The
Columbia basin contains a fair supply of timber,
especially the western larch, and the eastern slopes
of the Sierra Nevada bear valuable pines. In the
Rocky Mountains of Colorado, at elevations of from
eight to ten thousand feet, a spruce (Picea Engel-
manni) grows luxuriantly, and yellow pine, red
fir, and white fir are plentiful at lower altitudes. A
similar vegetation follows the high mountains as
far as western Texas, where the pines again become
important.
Along the northern boundary of Mexico a fusion
takes place between the floras of the adjacent
portions of the Atlantic and Pacific belts. The
trees are comparatively small, the mesquite ex-
tending over a very wide area, while east of the
Colorado the giant cactus is one of the most striking
of the plants.
This vast extent of forest has had a vital bearing
upon the settlement and further development of the
country. To the pioneer it was at once a blessing
i9oo] PRODUCTS 45
and a curse, supplying abundance of building
material and fuel at his very door, while, on the
other hand, before the land could be cultivated,
arduous labor was entailed in the removal of the
trees and the tearing of their roots from the ground.
During the Indian wars, too, they formed an effectual
screen for the advancing enemy.
From the forest various products useful as food
were obtained, though these have naturally had a
diminishing importance. Many kinds of shell fruits,
such as chestnuts, beech, hazel, hickory, pecan,
walnuts and butternuts, were used in this way,
besides wild cherries and plums. The sap of the
maple also yielded excellent sugar to the aborigines
as well as to the pioneers. Most of the trees im-
portant for food purposes are of foreign origin, the
great diversity of soil and climate making it possible
to grow plants of nearly all countries not strictly
tropical. Skilful cultivation and care in the selec-
tion of suitable varieties have led to the extension
of many species of fruits over a wide area, so that
fruit of the same kind is placed upon the market
over a long period of time, the first coming from
the most southern range and then from points
successively farther north.
The fruit of most general and varied use is the
apple, a native of Europe and Asia, but introduced
into America by the early settlers. It has a great
number of cultivated varieties, of which several are
of importance in this country. It grows well in
46 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1900
Canada, in many of the northern states, and in
Cahfornia, in which state the fruit industry reaches
its greatest development, extremely large quantities
being annually shipped to the east, both in a fresh
condition and preserved. Also of high economic
importance are the pear, the cherries, and plums,
with a northern preference, the peach, almond,
quince, prune, olive, fig, and apricot, which require
a warmer climate. The orange and the lemon are
very largely grown in southern California and to a
less extent in Florida, where also some West Indian
products, such as the pineapple, are coming irito
cultivation.
From the economic stand-point the cereals are
of supreme interest, as they furnish a very high
percentage of the world's food supply. These in-
clude wheat, maize, or Indian-corn, rice, oats, rye,
barley, and buckwheat, which have a variable com-
parative importance in different countries.
In the United States corn is the greatest of all
crops, the yield for 1902^ the greatest yet recorded,
being over two billion five hundred million bushels,
grown on the vast area of ninety - four million
acres.^ The plant is in all probability a native of
Central America, and was generally in use among
the Indians on the arrival of the whites, who found
it in cultivation, and saw it employed for a vari-
* The year 1902 has, for purposes of convenience, been
chosen for such comparisons as are made in the following pages.
' U. S. Dept. Agric, Year-Book, 1902, pp. 760 ff.
iQoo] PRODUCTS 47
ety of purposes, from Peru to the St. Lawrence.
While it is grown to some extent all over the United
States, it prefers a warm climate with moderate
elevation. In 1902 Illinois produced over three
hundred and seventy- two million bushels, Iowa,
with nearly three hundred million, coming next.
Missouri and Nebraska also produced over two
htmdred and fifty million, but Kansas alone of all
the other states exceeds two hundred million.
Only two others, Indiana and Ohio, produced one
hundred million, and of the remainder, Kentucky
is the only one which approaches that figure. In
contrast, the New England states together produced
only something over five million bushels.
These figures are only partially due to average
yield per acre, the New England states standing
uniformly high in this regard, though proportions
vary widely from year to year. Illinois supplied
the greatest acreage of com cultivation — viz., over
nine million six hundred thousand. Iowa devoted
nine million three hundred thousand; Nebraska,
seven million eight hundred thousand acres to corn
alone; Kansas, seven million four hundred and fifty
thousand; Missouri, six million seven hundred and
seventy-five thousand; and Texas, five million five
hundred thousand acres. Extreme contrast is sup-
plied by Wyoming with two thousand four hundred
acres; Montana, three thousand seven hundred;
Idaho, five thousand; and Arizona seven thousand
five hundred. Over three-fourths of the amoimt
48 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1900
shipped outside the county where it is grown came
from the five states of IlHnois, Nebraska, Kansas,
Missouri, and Indiana.
Wheat is in some respects of still greater im-
portance, but in the United States has only about
one-half the acreage of corn. Introduced by the
earliest immigrants, it was at first cultivated
throughout the East, and was carried forward with
the advance of colonization. It is distinctly a
northern crop, nowhere flourishing south of the
glaciated belt, its centre of distribution lying in the
West. In 1902 the total crop in the United States
was over six hundred and seventy million bushels,
and in North America seven hundred and eighty
million, a decrease of sixty-six million from the
figures for 1901.* Of this Minnesota supplied the
largest share, over ten per cent, of the whole ; North
Dakota nearly sixty- three million, Missouri over
fifty-six million, Manitoba nearly fifty-five million,
and Nebraska fifty-three million bushels. Kansas
and South Dakota yielded each between forty
and fifty million, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois be-
tween thirty and forty million bushels. The best
yield per acre, twenty-nine and one- tenth bushels,
was in Washington, with something over a million
acres in cultivation, and other high averages are
made by states with a comparatively small total out-
put. In the year chosen for comparison the con-
tinent produced almost exactly one-quarter of the
U. S. Dept. Agric, Y ear-Book, 1902, p. 268.
1904I PRODUCTS 49
total supply of the world, and in the preceding year
a yet higher percentage, whereas it furnished almost
sixty per cent, of the world's export.
Oats also are of high importance, the crop for
1902 reaching nearly one billion bushels, grown
on twenty-eight million acres, and valued at over
$300,000,000. Illinois and Iowa, the former with
one hundred and fifty-three million bushels, the
latter with one hundred and twenty-five million
bushels, produced in each case by about four
million acres, are far in the lead in both product and
acreage. It also is notably a northern crop, a fact
attested by the Ontario yield of one hundred and
ten million bushels.
Barley is less important both actually and rel-
atively, the crop in 1902 being one hundred and
thirty-five million bushels. The centres of distribu-
tion are more widely scattered, California with nearly
thirty million bushels, Minnesota with twenty-six
million, Wisconsin and North Dakota with sixteen
million each, and Iowa with thirteen million bushels,
being responsible for the great bulk of barley pro-
duction.
Rye is of still less consequence, particularly in com-
parison with Europe, where in many parts it is the
principal cereal. The 1902 output was thirty- three
million bushels, most of which came from Wisconsin,
Nebraska, Michigan, and Minnesota. Buckwheat,
while not strictly a cereal, may be mentioned here,
with an output of fourteen million five hundred
50 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1900
thousand bushels, of which over two-thirds is raised
in New York and Pennsylvania.
Rice is typically a plant of wami countries and
requires a very wet soil for its growth. Before the
coming of the whites the Indians obtained a con-
siderable proportion of their food from the wild rice
which grew not only in such states as Virginia, but
in the Northeast and as far west as Minnesota.
The cultivated species is probably a native of
Hindustan, and in this country it has been grown
only in the southern states. At first the bulk of the
yield was produced by the Carolinas and by Georgia,
Louisiana beginning to be important about forty
years ago. The former states now grow a much
smaller quantity, while the last-named, with Texas,
form the centre of the industry. Even now the
yield, about one hundred and fifty million pounds
annually, is only half of the quantity consumed in
the country.
The sugar-cane is a tropical plant, which in the
United States is produced almost entirely in the
extreme South, Louisiana furnishing nearly the
entire output for the country. This is but a fraction
of the amotmt consumed, the balance being im-
ported from the Hawaiian Islands, West and East
Indies, and South America.
Two other plants, exclusive of the maple, also
contribute to the sugar supply. One is the beet,
very extensively grown for this purpose in Europe,
It was first employed in this coimtry for sugar-
1904] PRODUCTS 51
making in 1830, but was of little consequence for
a long time, the annual output of beet-sugar not
reaching one thousand tons tmtil 1888. It rose to
forty thousand tons within ten years. It requires a
very different climate from the cane, its ideal area
being a belt about two hundred miles wide stretching
from New York to the Dakotas, then passing to the
Mexican border, and north and west to include the
whole of California and about half of Oregon and
Washington.* While insignificant as yet beside the
European supply, the increase is very rapid, the
sugar produced in 1902 ^ being six times the quantity
only four years before.
Of hay, sixty million tons was the total for 1902.
New York raises over one-tenth of the whole from
five million acres, and Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Kansas, and Michigan fol-
low in the order named. Besides this a vast quan-
tity of grass is of course consumed as pasturage,
alike in the east and on the great ranches in the
west and southwest.
The greatest of all crops in the south is cotton.
There is much doubt as to whtether some variety
of it was not known to the natives of Peru and
Mexico before the coming of Europeans, but its
culture in the United States almost certainly dates
from the year of the settlement of Jamestown. It
• Wiley, The Sugar Beet (U. S. Dept. Agric, Farmers' Bulletin,
1899, 52).
' U. S. Dept. Agric, Year-Book, 1902, p. 825.
52 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1790
spread rapidly through the south, the centre of pro-
duction keeping steadily ahead of that of population.
Still, in 1790, the total production was less than
nine thousand bales. ^ It reached two hundred and
ten thousand bales in the early part of the last
century. Subject to annual variations, this had
risen by the beginning of the civil war to nearly
five million bales. During the years of conflict
the quantity fell almost to zero, and the industry
did not immediately recover, though the product
is now twice as large as at any time before the war.
The United States produces about three-fourths of
the world's supply and exports about two-thirds
of its crop. At times the proportion of export has
been much higher, but the growth of the manu-
facturing industry has more than kept pace with the
increase in the crop, great though that has been.
Texas furnishes the largest amount for any one
state, about one-fourth of the whole. The total yield
of 1902 was valued at $511,000,000 for the cotton
alone. The cotton -seed industry has so far ad-
vanced that in 1902 one hundred and nineteen
million gallons of oil were produced, and of oil cake
over a million tons.''
The other characteristic southern crop is tobacco,
indigenous and found in general use by the early
discoverers. Kentucky produced in 1902 about
• U. S. Dept. Agric, Official Exper. Stations, The Cotton-Plant
Bulletin (1896), 33.
' V- S. Dept. Agric, Yeckr-Book, 1902, p. 8j6.
1904] PRODUCTS 53
two hundred and fifty-eight million pounds, North
Carolina one hundred and forty- two million, and
Virginia one hundred and thirty-six million pounds.
Wisconsin, Ohio, and Tennessee come next in order
of importance, while South Carolina, Pennsylvania,
Connecticut, and Maryland all yield crops of value.*
Vegetables and small fruits are of course grown
in enormous variety wherever agriculture is prac-
tised. Of these, potatoes are the most important,
and amount to over two hundred and eighty million
bushels annually. Of the states Wisconsin, New
York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio,
Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, and Maine,
all reach the ten-million-bushel mark in potato pro-
duction.
Two impressions are left by this study of American
products : one is the immense variety of plant growth
due to the wide variations in climate and character
of the continent ; and the other is that the majority
of the plants of great economic value are of foreign
origin. In any case the fertility and adaptability
of the soil must be regarded as among the chief
contributing causes to the stupendous growth of the
American nation.
' U. S. Dept. Agric, Year-Book, 1902, p. 819.
CHAPTER IV
ANIMAL LIFE OF NORTH AMERICA
(1500-1900)
ANY general discussion of the continent in its
I relation to history must include a description
of its fauna so far as it has affected the settlement
of the country. From the stand-point of human
interest the vertebrates are immeasurably more
significant than any other forms of animal life;
but it will be necessary to select those vertebrates
which are indigenous, neglecting such as have been
introduced by Europeans, such as the domesti-
cated, animals and the domestic animals run wild,
as broncos, mustangs, and cattle of the western
plains. The insects might also be considered of
importance to man because of their destructive
relations to agriculture and forestry.
Almost any given animal inhabits a more or less
restricted geographic area, known as its "range,"
the limits of which are determined by climatic
conditions (temperature and moisture) or by the
interrelation of land areas, since intervening bodies
of water serve as barriers to the dispersal of the
species. Of these two factors temperature is vastly
54
I500] ANIMAL LIFE 55
more potent than moisture, and naturalists have
been able to demonstrate a remarkably close corre-
lation of life zones to isothermal lines/
It is important to recall the close geographic
proximity of Alaska to the northeastern part of the
great continents of Europe and Asia, called by
geographers Eurasia. Indeed, the two continents
were probably united in the Tertiary period, as
appears from the general continuity of the circum-
polar frozen region, and the similarity in physical
features and climate of the northern halves of both
land masses. To facilitate the comparative study
of animal life, naturalists have divided the earth's
surface into so-called zoogeographic areas. Of the
various schemes proposed the most logical and most
convenient for our purposes recognizes the close
similarity of the Eurasian and North American
faimas.^ It includes in an arctic realm the entire
land area north of the annual isotherm of 32° P.;
the area between the isotherms of 32° F. and 70° F.
in the north temperate realm. The portions of
these realms falling within North America are
designated respectively as the North American
arctic region and the North American temperate
region. The latter comprises almost the entire
' Merriam, "The Geographic Distribution of Life in North
America" (Biological Society, Proceedings, VII.); "Laws of
Temperature Control of the Geographic Distribution of Terres-
trial Animals and Plants" (National Geog. Soc, Magazine, Yl.)
' Allen, Geographical Distribution of North American Animals,
206.
6f
■ '^"' bfyCALC REALM
MAIN ZOOGEOGRAPHiC AREAS
OF NORTH AMERICA
. , gCALE OF MILES .
0 \(a aX) tM 7M IINQ
'"4'
too Longltira* Wa»< '^ from Qr»<m»lch ^.-^paaA. 4 eg., H.l.JO
■ ■ d
iQoo] ANIMAL LIFE 57
continent, and is subdivided into cold temperate
and warm temperate sub - regions, the line of
division being the isotherm of 43° F., or, roughly
speaking, the boundary-line between Canada and
the United States. South of the North American
temperate region is the American tropical realm,
including Central America, the West Indies, and a
part of Mexico, Florida, and Lower California.
Proceeding to a survey of the fauna of North
America, and taking first the American arctic re-
gion, the area beyond the tree limit, we find that
it has no specific fauna. Its animal inhabitants are
all circumpolar in distribution, and occur also in
arctic Eurasia. The most notable arctic animals
are the polar bear, arctic fox, arctic hare, the musk-
ox (now extinct in the Old World), the white lem-
ming, barren -ground caribou, the walnis, and, among
birds, the willow ptarmigan. The seals are abun-
dant, but certain species found in the eastern
(Barren Ground) and western (Alaskan) groups are
not identical.
Passing to the north temperate realm we find
a sharp distinction from the fauna of the arctic
region.^ The total number of genera of land
mammals in the two regions is one hundred and
forty, of which ninety - seven occur in Eurasia
and seventy - five in North America. Of these,
thirty - two are circumpolar, or common to both
* Allen, Geographical Distribution of North American Animals,
210.
58 BASKS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
regions; and out of the seventy - five in America
only twenty - seven, a trifle over one - third, are
pecuHarly American, The most interesting re-
sult, however, appears in the comparison of the
corresponding sub -regions of the two continents.
Of forty-three genera in the North American cold
temperate sub-region, six are common to both cold
and warm, and seventeen are limited to the warm
sub-region/ The general result, then, of the faunal
comparison of the two continents is that the arctic
faunas exhibit no difference, the north temperate
sub-regions very little, and that specific differentia-
tion increases rapidly as we pass southward. It
may be well to recall that the comparison deals with
genera; the great majority of species in both con-
tinents are of course peculiar.
The North American tropical region has sixty-
two genera of mammals, and the fauna is widely
divergent from that of the tropical regions of the
Old World. The most characteristic mammals are
the ant-eater, armadillo, sloth, tapir, peccary, jaguar,
marmoset, and spider-monkey.
Proceeding to a consideration of the animals them-
selves in their relations to man, we shall notice such
animals as are of economic importance, as sources
of food, clothing, or other necessities ; and the group
which pre-eminently serves these functions is the
ruminants. Of these the family which, all things
• It is an interesting fact that the majority of these peculiarly
American genera are rodents.
i9oo] ANIMAL LIFE 59
considered, has been of most service to man is the
deer, of which the most significant is the Virginia
or white-tailed deer, which in some of its eight or
more sub-species and varieties inhabits nearly all
of the warm temperate sub-region. It was the first
deer discovered by the early settlers; and to them
as well as to the Indians it was a staple source of
food and clothing. It is the most adaptable and
the most abundant American deer, and will un-
doubtedly survive all other members of its family.
Essentially a lover of the forest, it avoids the arid
plains and high mountains of the northwest. A
near relative of the white-tail is the mule-deer, some-
times called the black-tailed deer, which inhabits
the Bad Lands, and the foot-hills of the Rocky
Mountains. This species bids fair to be extermi-
nated in a few years owing to indiscriminate slaugh-
ter at all seasons.*
Of all the larger game animals, excepting only
the bison, the American elk or wapiti (Cervus
canadensis) has come the nearest to extermination.
Originally the species ranged through the Adirondack
and Alleghany mountains northward into Canada,
from the Great Lakes to Vancouver, and through
the Rocky Mountain region from Canada to Mexico.
In the eighteenth century elk were still plentiful
in the Alleghanies, and one was killed in central
' The name black- tailed deer should be restricted to the
Columbia black-tail of the Pacific coast, a variety of which,
the Sitka deer, extends northward into Alaska.
6o BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
Pennsylvania as late as 1869. Now virtually ex-
tinct east of the Mississippi, the range of the elk
is practically limited to the eastern slope of the
Rockies, especially in western Colorado, Wyoming,
and Montana, with a few representing local varieties
in the Olympic Mountains of Washington and in
Arizona and New Mexico. The present focus of
the elk range is the Yellowstone Park, which forms
a breeding-ground and summer nursery for a herd
of twenty thousand head.
The moose (Alces americantis) , the largest and
most powerful of the deer family, has suffered much
less than has the elk from the inroads of civilization.
Its present range is from the Atlantic to the Pacific,
through the wooded north temperate sub-region,
especially in New Brunswick, Manitoba, Alberta,
British Columbia, and Alaska,* and extending into
the United States in Maine, northern Minnesota,
and in the Rockies as far south as northern Wyo-
ming. In the Adirondacks it was exterminated
about i860. While the number of moose has un-
doubtedly been sadly lessened by hunters, opinion
differs as to the danger of its extinction. Though
yielding the southern limit of their range, there is
reason to believe that they are encroaching, perhaps
to an equal extent, upon new forest lands to the
northward. In certain parts of British Columbia
and Alaska the dying out of the Indian tribes has
* The Alaska moose is generally regarded as a distinct species,
Alces gigas.
igoo] ANIMAL LIFE 6i
allowed the moose to become much more numer-
ous.
The caribou (rangifer), of which there are some
seven fairly distinct varieties, falls within two main
groups: the woodland caribou, which inhabits the
wooded portion of British America extending into
Maine and Montana ; and the barren-groimd caribou,
which traverses the vast treeless tundras of arctic
America and Greenland. The caribou is migratory
and travels in immense herds, and being easy to
kill it is slaughtered in great numbers by Eskimos
and Indians. In some parts of Alaska it has been
almost exterminated by natives, who have butchered
them to sell the flesh to the whalers wintering on
the coast. The final extinction of the caribou,
however, is fortunately far distant.
Of all our ruminants, the one distinctive Ameri-
can, the one form which has no Old-World double,
is the prong-horn antelope, which, zoologically, is
intermediate between the deer and the bovidte, or
cattle. Formerly very abundant between the Mis-
souri River and the Pacific coast, it now exists only
on the great plains and the high plateaus, where its
numbers are decreasing.
Of less actual value to civilized man than the
above-mentioned species, but formerly very im-
portant to the Indians, are the mountain-sheep, or
big-horn, and the Rocky Mountain goat. The former,
once very abundant, is now limited to small bands,
and is doomed to early extinction. The Rocky
62 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1900
Mountain goat, which is comparatively valueless for
flesh or skin, ranges the higher Rocky and Cascade
mountains from Montana to Alaska.
The musk-ox is a truly arctic form, originally
circumpolar in distribution, but now restricted to
the Western Hemisphere, where it ranges the frozen
wastes of the barren groimds. A closely allied
species has recently been discovered in Greenland.
The long, woolly coat is highly valued by the Eski-
mos, and the flesh is said to be excellent. Quite re-
cently the musk-ox has been extensively himted by
sportsmen.
Beyond all doubt the most noteworthy of all
North American animals is the bison, or "buffalo,"
by reason of its majestic size, former countless
numbers, its practical value, and its lamentable
extermination. Originally the bison ranged from
the AUeghanies to the Rockies and even farther
west into Oregon and Nevada, and from Great
Slave Lake southward nearly to central Mexico.
By 1800 the species was practically exterminated
east of the Mississippi, and by the middle of the
century the buffalo were restricted to the great
plains, where they continued to roam by millions,
until 1869, when the completion of the Union Pa-
cific Railway divided them into a "northern herd"
and a "southern herd," and initiated the beginning
of the end of the race. Previous to this time the
killing had been desultory, but in 1871 began the
systematic slaughter of the southern herd, which at
ORIGINAL RANGE OF THE BISON
Dates of local exterminatton, location
and bumbacs of yuld De«ls in li9Cl3.
eCALE OF MILES,
0 JOO '300 MO 'i«J iooo
Longltada Wat y>° from-GrwnwIoh
64 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
that time numbered between three and four million,
yet by 1876 was exterminated by the hide hunters.
The opening of the Northern Pacific Railway in
1880 marked the beginning of a similar war of
extermination of the northern herd, which con-
tained one million five hundred thousand head ; and
by 1883 the end was accomplished and the sole sur-
vivors were some two hundred head in Yellowstone
Park, five hundred and fifty near Great Slave
Lake, and a few scattered smaller bands/ The
Yellowstone herd has been sadly decimated by
poachers, and in March, 1893, numbered thirty -four
head, while the Canadian wild herd near Great
Slave Lake contained about six hundred. Formerly
completely intergraded with the southern form,
the Canadian herd is now regarded as sufficiently
distinct to warrant its designation as a variety — the
wood bison. The buffalo in the various parks and
private game preserves number about one thousand,
and these are slowly increasing.
Regarding the former value of the buffalo to man,
it is impossible to estimate closely the commercial
value of the beef and hides during the period of
active slaughter, but it has been placed at from
$15,000,000 to $20,000,000, However, the real
value of the buffalo was not to the white man, but
to the Indian tribes of the great plains. Besides
the flesh — fresh, dried, and made into pemmican —
there were the hide, which yielded tipi, clothing, bed-
* Homaday, The Extermination of the American Bison, 437.
igoo] ANIMAL LIFE 65
ding, and shield ; the sinews, which gave thread, rope,
and bow-string ; and the bones and horns, which were
fashioned into implements of various kinds.
Turning now to the fur-bearing animals, we find
that these belong chiefly to the camivora and the
rodents. Though many are distributed over the
entire continent, the fur - bearers as a rule inhabit
the northerly regions, and a large proportion are of
more or less aquatic habits. The larger camivora,
including the bear, wolf, and cougar, or puma, are
far less important commercid-Uy as fur -bearers.
From the economic stand-point these animals are
rather to be regarded as nuisances, owing to their
depredations among deer and other game animals,
and even among cattle and sheep. Of all these
the wolf is the worst offender.
We are likely to underestimate the importance of
the fur-bearers as a factor in the progress of civiliza-
tion, unless we consider that for two centuries and
a half these animals have been chiefly responsible
for the penetration of the forests by trappers and
traders, in order to supply the demand of European
markets. This exploitation of the furs was in the
north due chiefly to the famous Hudson Bay Com-
pany, established in 1670; but as early as 1763 a fur-
trading post was established on the present site of
St. Louis, and continued to be of great importance
for the trade until the middle of the nineteenth
century.
Examination of the carefully kept statistics of
66 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
the London fur market for the last century gives
an idea of the vast importance of the trade. Ex-
cepting the seals, the most valuable fur-bearers be-
long to the Mustelida? or weasel family, represented
by the weasel, mink, sable, badger, skunk, wolverine,
otter, and sea-otter. The fur-bearing rodents in-
clude the squirrel, hare, musk-rat, and beaver; but
the beaver, which originally inhabited almost all the
wooded valleys of North America, is now nearly
extinct, except in some parts of the Rocky Mountain
region. At the present day the musk-rat far out-
ranks all other rodents in importance; the number
of skins of that species marketed in 1900 exceeded
five million.*
In recent years the most important branch of the
fur industry has been the seal - fisheries of Alaskan
waters, widely known through international com-
plications arising out of efforts by the United States
government to protect the seals in the high-seas.
Ever since the discovery of the Pribyloff Islands in
1786 the fur seal (Callorhinus) has been ruthlessly
slaughtered, but it is of interest to note that since
1799, when the Russian-American Company was
formed, laws have existed for its protection. From
1870 to 1890 the seal-fisheries, carefully guarded,
gave a yearly yield of one hundred thousand skins.
About 1886 the destructive practice of pelagic seal-
ing (shooting the animals at sea during migration)
began on a large scale, and has resulted in sadly
' U. S. Fish Commission, Report, 1904.
i9oo] ANIMAL LIFE 67
decreasing their numbers, so that the Pribyloff Isl-
ands herd in 1903 numbered only about two hun-
dred thousand seals, of which some sixty thousand
were breeding females.
The most valuable of all aquatic furs is that of
the sea-otter of the north Pacific coast, but the
annual catch has dwindled during the past twenty
years from five thousand to five hundred skins/
Quite recently the walrus of the arctic waters of
both oceans has been hunted for its skin, the chief
use of which is in the manufacture of metal pol-
ishers and certain fancy articles ; but on accoimt of
its arctic range the walrus is safe from extermina-
tion.
The manatee of the Florida rivers was threatened
with extinction a few years ago owing to a "fad"
for its skin, but this rare animal now enjoys rigorous
legal protection. Among aquatic animals there is
one reptile of considerable importance — namely,
the alligator of the gulf states and of Mexico. In
view of the fact that two himdred and eighty
thousand skins are used annually, it is not sur-
prising that the supply is becoming rapidly re-
duced.
The relation of bird-life to mankind is too large
a subject to be more than briefly mentioned in these
pages; it touches, first, game birds, and, secondly,
insect-eating birds. Nearly all the native birds are
diminishing in numbers, statistics indicating that
* U. S. Fish Commission, i^^por^ 1904.
68 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1900
the decrease during the last fifteen years has been
forty per cent,, and this is due, perhaps, as much to
destruction of forests as to hunters. A number of
species are now virtually extinct, the most notable
being the passenger-pigeon which fifty years ago
was common in flocks numbering millions. The
wild turkey and the prairie-chicken are probably
doomed, and only by strict reinforcement of the
game laws can the various grouse, quail, and other
game birds long survive. One bird of real value to
man is the willow-ptarmigan of the frozen north,
which is an important source of food to the Indians
and Eskimos.
From an economic stand - point the most im-
portant wild creatures are the fishes, and of these
the salmon of the north Pacific coast is easily in the
lead. In 1899 the catch of salmon on that coast
was nearly two hundred and fifty million poimds,
with a value of over $10,000,000. These fish, fresh
and dried, have long been the chief food staple
of the Indians of the northwest coast. Next in
importance is the cod of the Atlantic coast, the
yearly catch of which in the United States alone is
worth $3,000,000. Other important fishes of the
Atlantic are the mackerel, herring, and alewife. A
new branch of American industry is represented in
the "sardine" fisheries of the Maine coast, which,
though dating only from 1875, have an annual yield
valued at $2,000,000. The "sardines" are chiefly
young herring and several species related to the
1904] ANIMAL LIFE 69
true sardine. The shad-fisheries of the Atlantic
coast rivers are also among the most important. Of
the fresh-water fishes the white-fish and lake herring,
occurring chiefly in the Great Lakes, are the most
important commerciallv.
CHAPTER V
ANTIQUITY OF MAN IN NORTH AMERICA
THE question as to how long man has hved upon
the North American continent has been much
discussed, and is still far from being satisfactorily-
answered. The attempts to prove by supposed
finds of human remains and artifacts in suitable
geological deposits that the continent was inhab-
ited by man in pre-glacial or early glacial times,
have thus far failed to produce conviction. Prob-
ably the most important evidence for such antiquity
is ascribed to certain auriferous gravel beds in
California. In 1866 in a mining shaft in Calaveras
County in that state a skull was reported to have
been foimd embedded in a deposit of gravel which
geologists agree is of Tertiary age. Since that time
other finds of human implements of various sorts
have been reported from the same or similar de-
posits. If these objects were actually found where
they were reported, the existence of Tertiary man
in America may be regarded as established; and
some well-known investigators have accepted this
view.
More recent critical examination of the evidence,
70
ANTIQUITY OF MAN 71
however, has cast grave doubt on the authenticity
of most of these so-called discoveries, and the general
attitude to-day is one of decided scepticism. The
chief objections to the evidence are as follows:
the history of the finds is uncertain, it being even
claimed that some of them were the results of
practical jokes ; in most cases the implements found
are the same as those used by the Indians living
in the vicinity, which are extremely common on the
surface above the deposits; none of the objects
show signs of having been subjected to the action of
the violent torrents which formed the gravel beds;
finally, some of the implements seem to be made
of rock of more recent formations than the gravels
themselves. Without going into further detail, it
is enough to say that the presence of man in America
at such an early date is extremely doubtful.^
In different places and at various times a con-
siderable number of objects have been imearthed
which have been claimed to prove the presence of
man in the late glacial or early post-glacial period.
These articles have been largely of chipped stone,
many of them belonging to the so-called "palaeo-
lithic" class of implements. The most important of
these finds were made in the valley of the Delaware
River, in Ohio, and in Minnesota. The majority of
them, imder more critical examination, fail to be
' Holmes, " Preliminary Revision of the Evidence Relating to
Auriferous Gravel Man in California" {American Anthropologist,
N- S., I., 107-121, 614-645).
72 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY
as convincing as at first appeared. The possibilities
of intrusion from the surface are numerous, and
many of the implements under discussion are the
same as surface forms ; while subsequent examination
by skilled observers, in places where objects were
claimed to have been found, have usually failed to
bring other specimens to light. The result has been
that most archaeologists regard the proof for glacial
man in America as insufficient.* It must also be
added that the date of other deposits in which it is
generally agreed that human implements have been
found, such as the gravel series of Trenton, New
Jersey, has been placed by many investigators much
later than was at first supposed.^ Yet though
glacial man is doubtful, and there is little positive
fotmdation for a belief in such ancient occupation of
America as that of palaeolithic man in Eiirope, the
continent has certainly been inhabited for a very
long period, probably for thousands of years. Such
remains as some of those in Minnesota,' and a
recently discovered skull in Kansas,* prove a very
respectable antiquity.
* Mercer, Researches upon the Antiquity of Man in the Delaware
Valley, 20-33; Holmes, "Traces of Glacial Man in Ohio"
{Journal of Geology, I., 147-163.)
' General discussion of the Trenton gravels, Am. Assoc. Ad-
vancement of Science, Proceedings (1897), 344-390.
' Brower, Memoirs of Exploration in the Basin of the Missis-
sippi, V.
* Holmes, " Fossil Human Remains Found Near Lansing,
Kansas" {American Anthropologist, N. S., IV., 743-752);
Chamberlin, "The Geologic Relations of the Human Relics of
Lansing, Kansas" (Journal of Geology, X., 745-779)-
ANTIQUITY OF MAN 73
The study of cave deposits, which has led to
such important conclusions in Europe, has produced
negative results in America — instead of indicating
great antiquity, caves explored in several states,
both east and west, as well as in Mexico and South
America, tend to prove the contrary. Careful ex-
amination of the hill -caves of Yucatan does not
show the slightest trace of any ancient occupation,
or of any other civilization than that found by the
Spaniards upon their arrival in the country/
Another set of problems relates to the so-called
" motmd-builders " and "cliff-dwellers." At present
it seems to be fairly well agreed that these were
no mysterious peoples who disappeared before the
coming of the red man, but were merely the an-
cestors of the present American Indians. This does
not necessarily imply that these structures were the
work of the Indians inhabiting the particular regions
when first discovered, though even that appears to
have been the case in certain instances.
To appreciate this inquiry, let us briefly review
some of the more important of the remains and
antiquities which have thus far been discovered.
The archaeological remains found in North America
generally are unequally distributed and vary in dif-
ferent parts of the continent. In the arctic such
records are not numerous, and consist principally
of shell or refuce heaps, ruins of ancient stone
houses, and numerous small objects such as are in
' Mercer, The Hill-Caves of Yucatan.
74 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY
use by the Eskimo to-day. The houses are fre-
quently found in regions no longer inhabited, and
their presence in such places has been cited to
support certain theories regarding Eskimo mi-
gration.*
In the eastern and central part of the continent,
south of the arctic circle, appear a great number
of remains which, while varying in details, yet show
distinct relationship. Many classes of objects are
limited in distribution, and indicate the existence of
local cultural areas, or, if of wider occurrence, admit
of classification into different groups. Yet archae-
ological remains in general have so far not yielded
sufficient material to permit the specification of
definite prehistoric areas of culture; and many
parts of the continent, particularly the western
and south central states, have been examined very
superficially or not at all, and the prehistoric records
are practically unknown. Moreover, the same re-
gion may be, and has often been, occupied in suc-
cessive periods by peoples of different types.
In view of the impossibility of any safe classifica-
tion of human remains on the basis of the place of
occurrence, we are forced to find some other classifica-
tion, and a convenient one is a division into two
groups: (i) local antiquities or monuments, in-
cluding all objects which are fixed or stationary; (2)
movable antiquities, including all the various relics
* Dall, " Tribes of the Extreme Northwest " {Contributions to
Worth Americctn Ethnology, I., pt. i.).
ANTIQUITY OF MAN 75
and remains of smaller size. Local antiquities
may be subdivided into mounds, refuse-heaps, en-
closures, hut-rings, excavations, mines and quarries,
cave deposits, graves and cemeteries, garden-beds,
bowlder effigies, hearths or camp sites, petroglyphs,
and ancient trails.
Of these the mounds are perhaps the most im-
portant, certainly the most famous. They have
been classified according to shape as conical, elon-
gate, pyramidal, and effigy mounds, (a) The conical,
which include most of the burial-mounds, are of
all sizes up to eighty or ninety feet in height and
three hundred feet in diameter, (b) The elongate
mounds or walls, of unknown purpose, are from fifty
to nine hundred feet in length, from ten to twenty
feet in breadth, and are seldom more than four feet
in height, (c) The pyramidal form differs from the
conical chiefly in having a flat top, sometimes ap-
pearing like a mere earthen platform. Occasionally
there are terraces on one or two sides, or a sort of
roadway leading to the top. This type is foimd
mainly in the lower Ohio Valley, Missouri, Arkansas,
and the gulf states. It includes the two largest
mounds known, the Cahokia, situated in Illinois, a
few miles east of St. Louis, and the Etowah mound
near Cartersville, Georgia, (d) The effigy mounds
occur principally in Wisconsin and the adjacent
parts of Illinois and Iowa, with a few in Ohio and
Georgia. They are sometimes called emblematic or
symbolic, but while some of them seem to have re-
76 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY
semblances to animal forms, it is quite impossible to
say what most of them were intended to represent.
The most famous of these is probably the Serpent
Mound, in Adams County, Ohio.*
Another important group of works falls under
the term "enclosures." While pyramidal mounds
usually occur on level lowlands, these enclosures are
frequently found on bluffs and hill-tops, and are
sometimes known as "hill forts" in consequence.
Walls of earth and stone are also found thrown
across necks of land, in the bends of rivers, on the
shore -lines of lakes, or in the rear of projecting
bluffs whose precipitous sides would afford protec-
tion from the attacks of enemies. The defensive
purpose of many of these is evident enough, but
in other cases their use is quite unknown. Fort
Ancient, in Warren County, Ohio, may be regarded
as the best example of these "hill forts." ^
Other types of local antiquities need be referred
to but briefly. In various parts of the country
hundreds of rings of earth from five to fifteen feet
in diameter, with the enclosed area more or less
depressed, have been fotmd. These are so obviously
the remains of circular dwellings that they have
been termed "hut-rings." In certain regions, no-
tably in Arkansas, square house sites have been
discovered, indicating at least a different if not a
•Putnam, "Serpent Mound of Ohio" {Century Magazine,
April, 1890) ; Holmes, " The Serpent Mound " {Science, December
31, 1886). * Moorehead, Fort Ancient.
ANTIQUITY OF MAN 77
more advanced type of culture. In connection with
both varieties deposits of burned clay and ashes
occur. The so-called "garden-beds," low, parallel
ridges about six or eight inches high and four to
ten feet apart, are chiefly found in Michigan and
Wisconsin, but their significance is unknown.
Mines and quarries are found in innumerable
places, and in their neighborhood there are often the
"workshops" where the rough material was further
worked over. At these quarries there are often great
numbers of broken pieces, imperfect or defective
specimens, rejects, etc., showing all stages of the
process of manufacture from the first beginning up
to the finished implement. The quarries and quarry
workshops which are most common are those for the
manufacture of flaked implements, such as arrow-
points, spear-heads, stone knives, and the like. For
this purpose bowlders of suitable rock, as, for ex-
ample, quartzite, were sought, and the quarries are
found where deposits of such bowlders or favorable
rock occur. The implements were made by fractur-
ing and chipping the rock into suitable shapes.
Softer formations, such as steatite or soapstone, were
quarried from massive deposits by means of picks
and chisels of harder and tougher stone.* Copper
' Holmes, " Stone Implements of the Potomac - Tidewater
Province " (Bureau of Ethnology, Fifteenth Annual Report) ; also
two shorter papers by the same author — viz., " A Quarry Work-
shop of the Flaked Stone Implement Makers in the D. C." and
" Excavations in an Ancient Soapstone Quarry in the D. C."
{American Anthropologist, III., i, 321).
78 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY
was also mined by the aboriginal Americans, and the
signs of their work are quite common in the Lake
Superior copper district. The method was appar-
ently simply to batter away the surrounding rock
from the native metal with stone hammers.*
The investigation of these quarries and quarry
workshops not only throws light on the methods
of manufacture, but reveals the fact that many
of the more roughly chipped specimens formerly
regarded as crude implements and possible indi-
cations of palaeolithic man may be nothing more
than rejects or imperfect or only partly finished
implements. As the rocks found in different local-
ities often show marked variation, a careful study
of the distribution of the different artifacts might
throw much light on the early lines of travel and
intercommunication .
Perhaps as important a class of remains as any
other are the burial-mounds, graves, and cemeter-
ies, for these yield not only skeletons but also
the greater portion of the movable remains — the
vessels, implements, and ornaments, which reveal
at least something of the art and culture of the
former inhabitants of the different regions. The
shell mounds of the southern states have also been
* Whittlesey, Ancient Mining on the Shores of Lake Superior
(Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge, XIII., No. 155) ; Pack-
ard, " Pre-Columbian Copper Mining in North America " (Smith-
sonian Institution, Report, 1892, pp. 175-198); Holmes, " Ab-
original Copper Mines of Isle Royale " {American Anthropologist,
N. S., III., 684-696).
ANTIQUITY OF MAN 79
the source of large collections of objects of sig-
nificance.
The comparative study of some of the finds
from these deposits has already proven of value.*
For example, the pottery of the area east of the
Mississippi seems to show but slight resemblance in
character to that of other regions. In decorative
designs there seem to be similarities between the
southeast, particularly Florida, and the West Indies,
making a certain interchange of culture elements
highly probable. There are also traces of Yucatan
influences on the gulf coast of the Florida peninsula.
Another interesting set of objects is represent-
ed by articles and ornaments of shell. The shell
gorgets in particular show elaborate designs, some
of them bearing such strong resemblance to Mexi-
can art that it is difficult to regard it as the result of
chance. Numerous articles of beaten copper, such
as axes, spindles, disks, ear-pendants, rings, brace-
lets, etc., have also come to light, particularly in
the shell moimds of Florida, and also in Ohio and
Georgia. They have excited no little discussion as
to whether they represent truly aboriginal work-
manship or not, the majority of investigators ap-
parently thinking that there is no good evidence
of Eiiropean influence.^ A few objects beaten out
' Holmes, " Aboriginal Pottery of the Eastern United
States" (Bureau of Ethnology, Twentieth Annual Report).
* Cf. discussion on the subject by C. B. Moore et al., in
American Anthropologist, N. S., V., 27-57.
8o BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY
of native silver and gold or meteoric iron have also
been found. It cannot be shown that any of these
metals were ever smelted from the ore, though
copper and the precious metals were sometimes
cast in ancient Mexico. All iron objects which have
been found, except the few of meteoric iron, are of
European manufacture.
Of all prehistoric remains, stone objects are the
most common; and together with pottery form
the bulk of archaeological collections. This is due
in large part to their resistance to destructive
agencies, for objects of wood and vegetable materials
decay rapidly, and even bone objects are preserved
only under favorable conditions. Among the most
important classes of stone objects are the few hu-
man images discovered, mainly in Georgia, Tennes-
see, and southern Illinois. They all exhibit con-
siderable similarity, varying in size from a few
inches to over a foot in height.* Anoth.er interest-
ing group of objects are supposed to have been used
for ceremonial purposes. They are finely finished
and polished, as a rule, and were made of various
kinds of stone, slate being the favorite material.
They include such objects as "banner stones," bird
or saddle stones, boat-shaped implements, etc.
Weapons in great variety, such as arrow-points,
spear-heads, knives, axes, celts, etc., form a large
group and have been divided into numerous classes,
' Thomas, " Stone Images from Mounds and Ancient Graves "
{American Anthropologist, IX., 404-408).
ANTIQUITY OF MAN 8i
mainly according to form. Tools of many kinds
exist in great numbers, such as hammers, gouges,
scrapers, drills, adzes, chisels, and knives; and also
utensils, such as soapstone vessels, mortars and pes-
tles, in great variety. Pipes carved out of stone are
not at all uncommon and often show fine workman-
ship. Among ornaments and miscellaneous objects
may be mentioned pendants, beads, disks, plummets
or sinkers, and many other articles the use of which
is not known. ^
For the now generally accepted belief that the
makers of all these various objects were none other
than the ancestors of the present Indians there
are several reasons. In the first place, the general
culture revealed by the remains is practically the
same as that of the- Indians before they were
modified by contact with the whites. Moreover,
the early explorers found mounds used as sites for
dwellings; and not only ascribe their construction
to the Indians, but describe the methods by which
they were built. ^ Fortifications are also known
to have been erected and used by the Indians.
Additional evidence comes from the mounds them-
selves, since iron objects and articles of undoubted
European manufacture have been found in a number
of them, showing that some at least were constructed
' The literature on stone implements and objects is voluminous.
A general work with many references is Moorehead, Prehistoric
Implements: A Reference Book.
' Thomas, American Archeeology, chap. x.
82 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY
since the advent of Europeans. Yet in some regions,
as Ohio, where some of the most important of these
structures are found, there is good reason for
thinking that their construction was not due to
any tribe known to have inhabited the region
within historic times. Some writers ascribed their
origin to the Cherokees, who have traditions to that
effect, but this conclusion is doubtful. In any case
the culture exhibited in the mounds is not beyond
that of many Indian tribes; and the theory of a
pre-Indian race of mound-builders is unnecessary,
and brings in the difficulty of accounting for the
total disappearance of such a race.
Turning now to the western portion of the con-
tinent we find, outside of Mexico, several well-
marked cultural areas, of which it will be sufficient
to mention the northwest coast, California, and
the pueblo region. The archaeology of the north
Pacific region is closely connected with the present
inhabitants of that section, who will be described
below.* In California, especially to the south, but
little is known of the culture of the aboriginal in-
habitants, who seem to have readily yielded to the
teachings of the early Spanish missionaries and
rapidly dwindled imder their care. On the coast
and islands of southern California some very in-
• Smith, ArchcBology of Lytton, B. C. (Am. Mus. Nat. Hist.,
Memoirs, 1899) ; Archceology of the Thompson River Region, B. C.
{ibid., 1900); Shell Heaps of tJie Lower Fraser River, B. C.
{ibid., 1903).
ANTIQUITY OF MAN 83
teresting finds have been made, especially of stone
articles. Pottery seems to have been unknown in
this region until after the coming of the Spaniards/
In the pueblo region, however, most remarkable
remains have been found. High up on the sides of
many of the numerous cafions of this section were
discovered the ruins of old stone buildings contain-
ing from a single room to more than a himdred,
and sometimes three or four stories high. The
largest of these, known as Cliff Palace, is estimated
to have one hundred and twenty - five rooms on the
ground floor alone. These structures are perched
on lofty and almost inaccessible ledges or shelves
along the walls of the cafions, and are protected by
the overhanging cliffs above. They are especially
numerous in the region of the Mesa Verde, in south-
western Colorado, but are found in many of the
neighboring canons, and even in the region west
of the Colorado and in northern Mexico. As they
are well protected by recesses in the canon wall,
not only the stone-work, but the wooden beams of
the floors between the different stories are well pre-
served. On examination these rtiins have yielded
a large number of interesting objects. Among
them may be enumerated several skeletons, one
wrapped in a kind of feather cloth, others in mat-
* Gates, Prehistoric Man in California; Gates, in Moorehead,
Prehistoric Implements, 230-252; also reports by F. W. Putnam
et al., in U. S. Geographical Surveys West of the lOQth Meridian*
VII. {Arch(jeology) .
84 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY
ting; cotton cloth, mats and baskets of osiers;
sandals of yucca leaves and cords of yucca fibres;
pottery of various types; numerous objects of stone,
bone, and wood; also corn, both shelled and on the
cob, and beans. The wooden articles and textile
fabrics were remarkably well preserved.^
In addition to the cliff dwellings, which are merely
stone houses built on protected ledges, cave dwellings
and artificial cavate abodes are also found. These
occur chiefly on the west side of the Rio Grande,
between Santa Clara and Cochiti, and in the upper
San Juan Valley. In some cases these seem to have
been cut out of the solid rock, usually a soft volcanic
tufa or shale.*
On the plateaus and in the valleys of the south-
west ruins of stone buildings are quite common as
far west as the one himdred and thirteenth merid-
ian; those which have been most thoroughly ex-
amined are chiefly in the drainage area of the San
Juan River. Many of these structures have prob-
ably been inhabited within historic times; others
were doubtless in ruins when the Spaniards first ar-
rived. Some of the largest and most remarkable
are situated in the Chaco Canon; one of these,
known as Pueblo Bonito, is roughly semicircular in
* Nordenskiold, The Cliff Dwellers of the Mesa Verde; Birdsall,
"The Cliff Dwellings of the Cafions of the Mesa Verde" (Am.
Geog. Soc, Bulletin, XXIII., 584-620).
* Holmes, Report on tlte Ancient Ruins of Southwestern Colorado,
Examined in iSj^ and i8j6; U. S. Geol. and Geog. Survey cf
the Territories, Tenth Report, 388.
ANTIQUITY OP MAN 85
outline and about five hundred and thirty feet in
length by three hundred and eight in width. The
rooms are arranged around a central court, being
five or six deep in the curved portion and doubt-
less several stories high next the outer wall. The
whole arrangement was evidently for protection
from enemies, as in the case of some of the modem
pueblos.
In the Gila Valley are numerous adobe ruins, Casa
Grande being the best known.* In this region are
also found large ditches and remains of a former
system of irrigation, by which it is estimated that
at least two himdred and fifty thousand acres could
be supplied.^ In northern Mexico, in the western
part of the state of Chihuahua, are several ruins
similar to those of the Gila valley, known as Casas
Grandes, or "Great Houses." The culture of their
inhabitants seems to have been somewhat higher
than that of the more northern pueblos, as indi-
cated by certain household utensils, the possible ex-
istence of stairways in the interior of the houses, and
by the method of constructing irrigation ditches.'
Who were the builders of these old ruins ? With
regard to the cliff dwellings in particular many
» Mindeleff, "Casa Grande Ruin" (Bureau of Ethnology,
Thirteenth Annual Report, 289-319).
' Hodjre, " Prehistoric Irrigation in Arizona" (American Aiu
thropologist, VI., 323-330).
* Bandelier, Final Report of Investigations Among the Indians
of the Southwestern U. S.; Archaeological Institute of America,
Papers American Series, IV., 569.
86 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY
theories have been advanced. The idea of a dis-
tinct cliff-dwelling race, which has since entirely
disappeared, has been generally discarded, and it is
now generally believed that part of the buildings at
least were constructed and used by the ancestors of
some of the present Pueblo Indians; perhaps some
of them were built by the ancestors of the present
Navajos.^
That some of these structures were occupied dur-
ing historic times ^ is made probable by the tradi-
tions of some of the neighboring tribes. Certain
of the Hopi clans claim to have lived at Canon de
Chelly;' others on the upper Rio Grande, in the
Gila Valley/ The possible accuracy of such legends
is illustrated by the discussion which arose recently
over the claim of the Acoma Indians to have once
lived on the " Enchanted Mesa," in which their tra-
dition was fully supported® by investigation. On
the other hand, there is historical evidence that
some of the pueblos were deserted and in ruins at
the time of Coronado's expedition in 1540.*
* Hodge, "The Early Navajo and Apache," in Avierican
Anthropologist, VIII., 239.
* Mindeleff , " Cliff Ruins of Canon de Chelly, Arizona "
(Bureau of Ethnology, Sixteenth Annual Report), 162, 163.
' Ibid., 191.
* Fewkes, "Tusayan Migration Legends" (Bureau of American
Ethnology, Nineteenth Annual Report, pt. ii., 573-634).
' Hodge, " The Enchanted Mesa," in National Geographic Mag-
azine, VIII., 273-284).
' Report of Hernando de Alvarado, in Winship, " The Cor-
onado Expedition" (Bureau of 'Ethnology, Fourteenth Annual
Report, -pt. i., 594).
ANTIQUITY OF MAN 87
Hand-in-hand with the question of the antiquity
of man on the continent goes the problem of whence
he came. Unfortunately, this important question
must be answered by the admission that the only
conservative and defensible position at the present
day is one of frank ignorance. Theories of Asiatic,
European, African, or Polynesian origin are all
equally dangerous and weak. Geological solutions
by lost Atlantises and former land bridges from the
Old World may be invoked, but convince nobody
except their proposers. The thorough ethnological
studies which are now under way may at some time
in the future throw light upon the problem; and
we have arrived at the point of assurance that, in
the past, northwestern America and northeastern
Asia formed one area of culture. Whether that of
the west came from the east, or that of the east
was derived from the west, it is as yet impossible
to say.^
* Bogoras, in American Anthropologist, N. S., IV. (1902), 577.
Cf. also the Jesup North Pacific Expedition Reports (Am. Mus.
of Nat. Hist., Memoirs, 1 898-1 904).
CHAPTER VI
CLASSIFICATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE
AMERICAN INDIANS
( 1 500-1 900)
THOUGH there is no universally accepted
scheme of classification of the native races of
America, their essential unity is always recognized.
Viewed broadly, their racial relations are closer to
the Mongoloid type of man than to any other.
But even essential unity allows wide variation in
details, and Nature has seized her privilege in pro-
ducing the existing confusion of Indian stocks.
Anthropologists of to-day determine groups on one
of four sets of characteristics — physical, linguistic,
geographical, and general culture. The first two
criteria are the more exact, and the linguistic
classification of North American tribes has been
accepted as the most satisfactory for scientific
study. The latter two criteria are the more con-
venient and sometimes the only feasible bases of
classification. Hence, for the purposes of this
volume, a combination of the geographical and
cultural will be followed. Nevertheless, it must
never be forgotten that the limits of physical,
CLASSIFICATION OF INDIANS 89
linguistic, and cultural groups do not correspond;
and the overlapping of stocks determined by those
criteria is an unavoidable complication.
The physical characteristics of the American race
are difficult to formulate in general terms. The
Indian is, however, as a rule, of fairly high stature,
five feet eight or ten inches, though undersized in
certain groups, notably in the far north and in the
extreme south. On the other hand, he has a very
tall stature, six feet or over, in some groups, such
as the prairie tribes of North America, and certain
peoples of the Amazon basin and of Patagonia in
the southern continent.
The hair is almost invariably black, coarse, long,
and straight on the head, and scanty on the face
and body. The smooth face of the male Indian is
often due, however, to the almost universal practice
of extracting the beard by the roots.
The color of the skin is of all shades of brown, rang-
ing from a relatively dark complexion in the uplands
to a light yellowish in certain woodland stocks. The
so-called "Red Indian" does not exist. The early
observers saw Indians painted red, and perhaps a
reddish tone was present in the skin of the eastern
woodland stocks with which European immigrants
first came into contact. In the vast majority of
the Indians no such tint is discernible.
The shape of the skull is neither decidedly
dolichocephalic nor brachycephalic except in spe-
cial extreme instances, but in general is of the
90 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
mesocephalic type. The Eskimo, however, are one
of the longest-headed races on the earth, and certain
stocks both in North and South America are mark-
edly broad-headed. The custom of deforming the
heads of new-born children by artificial pressure
has produced some extreme types, which, however,
have no biological significance.
The cheek-bones are usually prominent, but with
lateral rather than high projection; in some regions
this feature is not evident. The nose is usually
large and prominent; it is often aquiline, but in
certain groups, particularly among the tribes of the
northwest coast, it is short and has a tendency to
flatness. The eyes are very dark and usually rather
small. In the northwest the oblique eye often
appears, and the same tendency is seen in the
children of many stocks even when it is not evident
in the adult.
All these characteristics are fairly general, par-
ticularly in North America, but variations sufficient
to form recognizable types are not infrequent. For
example, the short, squat Eskimo, with Mongoloid
features and light skin, is strikingly different from
the tall, dark, impressive Sioux or Algonkin; and
the coarse-faced Indian of Puget Sound is easily
distinguished from the more delicately featured
native of the southwest.
As has been stated above, linguistic characteristics
have proven the most trustworthy basis for group-
ing the vast number of tribes of the northern
igoo] CLASSIFICATION OF INDIANS 91
continent. The languages of North America in
general are highly agglutinative. Suffixes, pre-
fixes, and parts of speech are added to the verb
to a bewildering degree, and all the terms of any
sentence tend to be brought together into a single
word, in most cases the verb with which subject
and object have been incorporated. These common
characteristics do not prevent, however, a very wide
diversity, not only in the vocabularies, but in the
structures and morphologies of the different Amer-
ican languages.
Much attention has been and is being given to the
analysis of the Indian tongues. Tentative classifica-
tions of linguistic families have been made, based
upon inspection and comparison of vocabularies, and
fortunately are for the most part sustained by
comparisons based on syntax. When such com-
parison shows that the resemblances between two
languages are not sufficient to indicate a common
origin or undeniable relation, the two groups are
regarded as independent stocks or families. The
exact number of such stocks in North America it is
at present impossible to state, but it is probably
about seventy-five. It must be remembered that
each of these stocks may, and in most cases does,
speak many dialects so different as to be mutually
unintelligible, even though grammatically related.
The distribution of stock languages also varies
widely, some extending nearly across the con-
tinent and embracing hundreds of divisions, while
92 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
others are confined to a few square miles and are
spoken by a handful of survivors.
The Bureau of Ethnology^ in Washington has
determined fifty-nine independent linguistic families
north of Mexico, and with certain slight modifica-
tions we may accept this as the best classification
at our disposal. The distribution of these stocks
when first met by Europeans is shown in the ac-
companying map reproduced from a report of the
bureau. To avoid confusion, the termination "an"
or "ian" has been given to the family name to
distinguish it from a merely tribal designation; but
wherever possible the name for the family has been
derived from that of one of its tribes, a convenient
method though it gives rise to some unwieldy
terms. It must also be remembered that most of
the tribes and stocks have been described in
literature imder many different names, and as a
consequence the common designation is often very
different from the technical. These discrepancies
will so far as possible be made clear in subsequent
chapters. The stocks with their most important
constituent tribes, according to the classification of
the Bureau of Ethnology, are as follows:
Algonquian family. — Principal tribes: Abnaki, Al-
gonkin, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Conoy, Cree, Delaware
(Lenape), Fox, Illinois, Kickapoo, Massachuset,
Menominee, Miami, Micmac, Mohegan, Montagnais,
* Powell, " Indian Linguistic Families " (Bureau of Ethnology,
Seventh Annual Report, 1891).
I900] CLASSIFICATION OF INDIANS 93
Montauk, Munsee, Nanticoke, Narraganset, Nau-
set, Nipmuc, Ojibwa, Ottawa, Pamlico, Pennacook,
Pequot, Piankishaw, Pottawotomi, Powhatan, Sauk,
Shawnee, Siksika (Blackfoot), Wampanoag, Wap-
pinger.
Athapascan family. — Principal tribes: Northern
group — Ahtena, Chippewyan, Kenai, Kuchin, Lou-
cheux, Nahauni, Sarcee, Sicauni, Slave, Taculli.
Pacific group — Chasta, Chetco, Hupa, Rogue River
(various tribes), Umpqua. Southern group —
Apache, Aricaipa, Chiracahua, Coyotero, Jicarilla,
Lipan, Mescalero, Navajo.
Attacapan family.
Beothukan family.
Caddoan family. — Principal tribes: Adaize,
Arikara, Caddo, Pawnee, Wichita.
Chimakuan family. — Principal tribes : Chimakum,
Quileute.
Chimarikan family.
Chimmesyan family. — Principal tribes: Nasqua,
Tsimshian,
Chinookan family. — Principal tribes : Lower Chin-
ook group — Chinook, Clatsop. Upper Chinook
group — Cathlamet, Clackama, Multnoma, Wahkia-
cum, Wasco.
Chitimachan family.
Chumashan family.
Coahuiltecan family.
Copehan family.
Costanoan family.
94 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
Eskimauan family. — Principal tribes and villages
may be classified in groups as follows: Greenland,
Labrador, Central, Alaskan, Aleutian, Asiatic.
Esselenian family.
Iroquoian family. — Principal tribes : Cayuga, Cher-
okee, Conestoga, Erie, Mohawk, Neuter, Nottoway,
Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, Tionontate, Tuscarora,
Wyandot.
Kalapooian family.
Karankawan family.
Keresan family.
Kiowan family.
Kitunahan family. — Principal tribes : Upper,
Lower, and Flathead Kootenay.
Koluschan family. — Principal tribes : Chilcat, Sitka,
Yakutat, etc., usually grouped under name Tlingit.
Kulanapan family.
Kusan family.
LuUiamian family. — Principal tribes: Klamath
and Modoc.
Mariposan family.
Moquelumnan family.
Muskhogean family. — Principal tribes: Alabama,
Apalachi, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek or Maskoki,
and Seminole.
Naichesan family.
Palaihnihan family.
Piman family.
Pujunan family.
Quoratean family.
i9oo] CLASSIFICATION OF INDIANS 95
Salinan family.
Salishan family. — Principal tribes: Bellacoola,
Chehalis, Clallam, Colville, Cowlitz, Okinagan,
Puyallup, Quinault, Shuswap, Skokomish, Snoho-
mish, Spokan, Thompson, Tillamook.
Sastean family.
Shahaptian family. — Principal tribes: Nez Perc6
(Chopunnish), Klikitat, Paloos, Tenaino, Umatilla,
Walla Walla.
Shoshonean family. — Principal tribes: Bannock,
Comanche, Paiute, Shoshone, Tusayan, Ute.
Siouan family. — Principal groups and tribes:
Dakota group, including Santee, Sisseton, Wahpeton,
Yankton, Yanktonnais, and Teton (Brule, Ogalalla,
Uncpapa, etc.), Assinaboin, Omaha, Ponca, Kaw,
Osage, Quapaw, Iowa, Otoe, Missouri, Winnebago,
Mandan, Gros Ventre, Crow, Tutelo, Biloxi, Catawba,
Woccon.
Skittagetan family. — Principal tribes: Haida,
Kaigani.
Takilman family.
Tanoan family.
Timuquanan family.
Tonikan family.
Tonkawan family.
Uchean family.
Waiilatpuan family. — Principal tribes: Cayuse,
Molale.
Wakashan family. — Principal groups: Aht and
Haeltzuk divisions.
96 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
Washoan family.
Weitspekan family.
Wishoskan family.
Yakonan family.
Yanan family.
Yukian family.
Yuman family.
Zunian family.
It must not be supposed that the list given above
is final, for it is quite possible that modifications
will result from more complete linguistic knowledge ;
but it is evident to-day that such changes will not
be fundamental, and the classification as it stands
is a splendid achievement.
The distribution of the families as shown by the
map suggests several points of interest. It will be
seen that in most cases the stocks occupy con-
tinuous areas, which argues strongly for the view
that the Indians at the time of the arrival of the
Europeans were mainly stationary ; that is, were not
nomadic, for of course movements and campaigns of
greater or less extent were taking place constantly.
On the other hand, such a dispersion as that ex-
hibited by the Athapascan stock, with its two great
bodies, one in the extreme north and the other on
the Mexican border, indicates earlier migration of
great magnitude : it could not have been recent, for
there has been time for the dialects to become
widely differentiated and for the cultures to change
with the environments, until there are few phases to
igoo] CLASSIFICATION OF INDIANS 97
be recognized as common. Similar, but less striking,
dispersions are to be seen in the Siouan, Algonquian,
Iroquoian, Shoshonean, and other families.
In speculating as to times and periods of separa-
tion, it must be remembered that these linguistic
differences between families are not dialectic but
fundamental; and the length of time necessary to
effect such developments is staggering to con-
template. From the nature of the evidence our
knowledge of the prehistoric migrations can never
be exact. Physiographic features, doubtless, deter-
mined the direction of the movements in a majority
of cases, and linguistic and archaeological information
tends to support that view. What particular in-
ducement or pressure may have caused the Atha-
pascan and other dispersions it is impossible to say ;
but the course of the movements can sometimes be
inferred. The Athapascan movement was probably
from the north southward along the plateaus or
the great plains to the Mexican border; and sub-
sequent pressure from the east pushed a number of
the family representatives westward to the Pacific
coast, where, cut off and isolated, they form the
scattered intrusions which have long puzzled the
students of American ethnology. The original
habitat of the Siouan stock was certainly in the
east, and there is fair evidence that it was found
in the southeastern states between the Alleghanies
and the sea. The Siouan occupancy of the Ohio
Valley was not long antecedent to the coming of the
VOL. II. — 7
98 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
whites; and the later extension over the northern
plains was within historic times. Several small
remnants were left behind by the Sioux and became
known to the Europeans as the Catawba, Tutelo,
Biloxi, and other tribes of the family in the Carolinas
and the gulf states. This family in its migrations
came early into collision with the westward move-
ment of the Algonquian stock, chiefly represented
by the powerful group of the Ojibwa, who in common
with the other eastern families were being subjected
to severe pressure at the hands of the Iroquois.
With regard to the Algonquian migrations all
evidence points to the north Atlantic region as the
centre from which the southern and western ex-
tension proceeded. The original Iroquoian home
was probably the lower St. Lawrence, whence they
were driven west and south by Algonquian hostility.
The date of the breaking away of the Cherokee, their
largest tribe and most southern representative, is
entirely unknown, but in view of the linguistic dif-
ferentiation it must have been at a very early period.
The other tribes of the family were found on the
lower St. Lawrence by the French in 1535, and their
expulsion by the Algonquians was subsequent to
that date. The formation of the Iroquois league
profoundly modified the movements of the two
stocks of the region. The direction of the Sho-
shonean dispersion is difficult to infer. The rep-
resentatives in the United States would appear to
have moved southward along the plateaus and
iQoo] CLASSIFICATION OF INDIANS 99
diverged into southern California and the pueblo
region of the southwest. Many competent au-
thorities regard the Aztec or Nahua as a branch
of this family; and if so, the movement may
have been primarily northward with a subsequent
return.
While these great movements had doubtless been
in progress for many centuries, and were going on
at the time of the discovery, the evidence is in
favor of relative fixity of residence. The Indians
were not nomadic, but occupied well-defined areas,
with sparsely settled territories between the groups.
The number of the aborigines has been absurdly
over-estimated.^ Clearly, when the whites first ap-
peared the population was very small in proportion
to the enormous territory which it occupied. The
density of the population varied greatly with the
character of the country and the food supply; and
inferences with regard to the peopling of untra veiled
parts of the continent, from observations on the
regions first visited by Europeans, are extremely
dangerous. Compilations of figures from the state-
ments of early writers would indicate a population
of somewhat under two hundred thousand for the
territory east of the Mississippi, at the time of the
discovery. The Pacific coast also undoubtedly sup-
* Mallery, " The Former and Present Number of Our
Indians" (Am. Assoc. Advancement of Science, Proceedings, for
1877), p. 340; Powell, " Indian Linguistic Families " (Burqau of
Ethnology, Seventh Annual Report, 33).
loo BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
ported a numerous population, but the great inter-
vening portion of the continent was probably thinly-
peopled. It is not likely that the Indians north of
Mexico numbered much more than five hundred
thousand when the whites appeared. The decrease
during the four centuries that have elapsed since the
discovery, while not rapid, except in certain cases,
has nevertheless been constant.
The government statistics indicate a present
Indian population for the area named of something
less than four hundred thousand, but it must be
remembered that this enumeration includes a very
large proportion of mixed bloods. In certain regions
like the Pacific coast imperfect assimilation of
civilized methods of life and consequent unhygienic
conditions, coupled with the ravages of many
diseases of white introduction, are causing a rapid
decrease in the Indian population; and with the
death rate markedly higher than the birth rate, its
early extinction in that section is inevitable. In
other regions, such as the southwest, the Indian
seems to be more nearly holding his own, though
even there much of his apparent success in the
struggle is due to the inclusion of mixed bloods in
the census. In general, it is clear that he is slowly
but surely giving way. Statistics from Mexico are
scanty, but the indications are that the native
population in that country is not losing ground.
The map also brings out the fact that linguistic
and cultural limits do not coincide except in the
i9oo] CLASSIFICATION OF INDIANS loi
case of small families. Considering the extreme
variations in climate and general character which
the continent presents, it is not strange that widely
different cultures should obtain in different regions.
The shores of the Arctic Ocean and the deserts of the
southwest must necessarily produce sharp con-
trasts in the manner of life of the inhabitants;
and the same will be true for the forest-dwelling
tribes of the east and the Indians of the great
plains. For purposes of description it becomes
necessary to devise a grouping on a combined basis
of geographical distribution and general culture.
It is difficult if not impossible in dealing with the
complex psychological and social phenomena which
go to make up what we call culture, to lay down any
criteria for comparison which will be satisfactory in
all fields. What is characteristic in art may not
apply to religion; and the result of a comparison
in social organization will not hold in industrial life.
The only possible method of describing the Indian
tribes is to resort to a broad basis of generalization
which must, from the very nature of the subject, be
inexact in details. A classification which includes
considerations both of geography and culture, and
which seems open to less objection than any other,
is the following:
I. The Eskimo; II. The tribes of the north
Pacific coast; III. The tribes of the Mackenzie
River basin and the high plateaus; IV. The tribes
of the Colimibia River and California; V. the tribes
I02 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1900
of the plains; VI. the tribes of the eastern wood-
lands; VII. the tribes of the southwest and of
Mexico. It must not be inferred that these groups
all exhibit striking differences in every field, or that
further logical subdivision might not be made. It
will be noticed, however, that the groups suggested
correspond roughly to great specialized physical
areas of the continent; and they will be seen later
to possess some strongly marked cultural distinctions.
CHAPTER VII
THE ESKIMO AND THE NORTH PACIFIC INDIANS
(1500-1900)
THE word Eskimo is derived from the Abnaki
dialect of the Algonquian and means "he eats
raw flesh," a characterization quickly made by the
southern neighbors of the group in question. The
Eskimo themselves use the term Innuit, or " people,"
following the usual egotistical habit of primitive
men in designating their own particular group.
The distribution of the Eskimo is uniform and the
cultural results are very significant and interesting.
They are essentially a coast people and confined
to the higher latitudes of the continent; and, not-
withstanding the enormous separation and practical
isolation of their constituent villages, the uniformity
of their type, language, and culture is one of the
most striking lessons of ethnography.
Their seat is the coast of North America from
southern Labrador around the arctic shores to
southern Alaska. Offshoots have pushed north
to Smith Sound in Greenland and west across
Bering Strait to Asia. Seldom ranging more than
a few miles from the coast except on himting ex-
103
I04 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
peditions, they seem to have held their undesirable
foothold secure against all attacks from the interior.
The earlier southern extension of the Eskimo has
given rise to much discussion, conjecture, and asser-
tion,* That they formerly occupied the Atlantic
coast as far south as New England is not only
possible but probable. That they ranged south
of that territory is unlikely.
To the problem of the origin of the Eskimo, or,
better, their point of dispersion, have been applied
many vagaries of reasoning and guess. The favorite
view has been that their origin was Asiatic, and
that crossing Bering Strait they pushed along the
arctic coast and down the Atlantic until apparently
checked by counter influences. This idea, based
on a popular preference for Asiatic beginnings,
was strengthened by a superficial facial resemblance
of the Eskimo to Mongoloid types, and later by
the belief of some scientific authorities in a deri-
vation from the early cave men of Europe.^ This
theory is founded upon very scanty material and
equally loose ethnological reasoning. Without en-
tering into the details of the controversy, there can
be no doubt that the weight of authority to-day is
not only in favor of considering the Eskimo as
essentially American in type but also as American in
origin, so far as origins can be traced at all. The
* Packard, in American Naturalist, 1885, p. 471.
' Dawkins, Early Man in Britain, 233; John Fiske, Dis-
covery of America, 17.
igoo] ESKIMO AND PACIFIC 105
prevailing view is that the primeval home or point
of dispersion was somewhere south of Hudson's Bay ;
and that from there a migration in three directions
took place — northeast into Labrador and Greenland,
north to the shores of the arctic, and northwest to
Alaska and Asia.*
As a rule, the Eskimo are undersized, but in the
west, and notably in the Mackenzie River region,
they are tall, muscular, and vigorous.^ Their faces
are very broad; noses fairly prominent; hair dark,
usually black, and fairly abundant on the face ; eyes
dark brown or sometimes blue. The skin color
ranges through all shades of brown, but is usually
moderately dark. The skull is very dolichocephalic
in most cases, but not invariably. Recent careful
investigations of the brain development of the
Eskimo indicate that it compares very favorably
with that of Europeans.'
The Eskimo afford a capital example of the de-
pendence of culture on environment. The climatic
conditions deprive them of any considerable use
of vegetable food or of the flesh of land animals,
and they are forced to seek nutrition from the sea.
Not alone for food, but to a great extent for clothing.
* Rink, The Eskimo Tribes; Boas, " The Central Eskimo "
(Bureau of Ethnology, Sixth Annual Report); Murdoch, in
American Anthropologist, 1888, p. 129.
* Petitot, V ocabulaire Frangais-Esquimau, 1876, p. xii.
' Hrdlicka, An Eskimo Brain; Spitzka, " Contributions to
the Encephalic Anatomy of the Races " {Am. Jour, of Anat-
omy, 11., 35).
io6 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
fuel, and other«necessities, they have made provision
with great ingenuity. Seal and walrus are their
staples — the meat for food, the fat for light and fuel,
the skins for clothing and protection, the bones
for the framework of canoes, etc. The popular
impression that the Eskimo live mainly upon blubber
and fat is entirely wrong, for that article is far too
precious and necessary for light and heat to be
wasted on food.
Their winter houses are built of blocks of packed
snow, in the form, roughly, of a hemisphere, and in-
volving the principle of the arch. Summer houses
are constructed of skins. One of the most interest-
ing of Eskimo devices is the stone lamp in which
blubber oil is burned by means of a wick of moss.
The origin and distribution of the Eskimo lamp
have given rise to much discussion. It is held by
some that it was derived from the Scandinavians
in Greenland in comparatively recent times, and
thence spread rapidly from group to group until it
became one of the most distinctive of Eskimo
utensils. Other authorities regard it as entirely
an indigenous device.^
Next to the lamp, the development of the dog-
sledge and the skin canoe must be regarded as the
important factors in the industrial life of these people.
They are both admirably suited to their purposes and
* Tylor, in four. Anthrop. Inst., 1884, p. 349; consult, also,
Hough, " The Origin and Range of the Eskimo Lamp," in
/{mericQn Anthropologist, 1898, p. 118.
iQoo] ESKIMO AND PACIFIC 107
are usually adopted at once by whites or members
of other tribes who come among them. The skill
of the Eskimo himter in handling his "kayak" in the
pursuit of walrus and seal has become proverbial.
Eskimo decorative art exhibits striking variations,
and is one of the phases of culture upon which much
has been based in the theories of origin and distri-
bution. In the eastern and central groups the art
is rude and in places may hardly be said to exist.
As one passes westward it becomes richer and richer,
until in Alaska the carving and etching on bone and
ivory and the work in basketry of the Aleutian
Islanders are among the most beautiful examples
of primitive aesthetic and technical production. In
this connection, too, should be mentioned the pas-
sion for music and the facility in the composition
of songs, which the Eskimo display. These songs
are usually occasional or topical. Competitions in
versification are frequent and are often used as a
means of settling disputes and quarrels even of a
serious nature, in which case the audience acts as
judge.*
The religion of the Eskimo is animistic and much
like that of all American peoples. Great nimibers
of spirits are believed to exist and to exert immediate
influence upon himian affairs. Dealings with these
spirits are carried on chiefly through the shamans,
usually known as " angekoks," who may be of either
* Cranz, History of Greenland, 178; Nansen, First Crossing of
Greenland, 337.
lo8 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
sex. As a rule, one of the spirits is regarded as
superior to all others, and in certain regions — e. g.,
among the central Eskimo — this spirit is a woman.
It is she who creates and transforms, who receives
the souls of the dead; and it is to her that most of
the ceremonials are devoted, and about her that the
chief myths centre.
The social organization of the Eskimo is based
on the immediate family, and no clan or gentile
system is in use except in Alaska, where it has un-
doubtedly been derived from contact with Indians.*
Marriage between those of recognized relationship
is forbidden, and monogamy is the rule, though po-
lygamy is permitted and common where the means
of the husband are sufficient for the support of
the additional families. A man's property usually
descends to his eldest son, who is then bound to
provide for his mother and yoimger brothers and
sisters, or the same duty devolves upon whoever
inherits. The group organization is in villages, and
these are almost invariably small, usually not more
than ten or fifteen huts. Chieftainship is conspic-
uous by its absence, though, as a matter of course,
age, experience, and prowess wield an influence as
great as though formally recognized.
The homogeneity of the Eskimo stock wherever
found is its most salient feature. Notwithstanding
the time which must have been consumed in the
* Nelson, "The Eskimo about Bering Strait" (Bureau of
Ethnology, Eighteenth Annual Report, 322).
I900] ESKIMO AND PACIFIC 109
geographical dispersion of the race, even dialectic
differences of speech are not to be compared with
those which exist within most of the Indian linguistic
families. An Eskimo from Labrador will within a
very few weeks be able to communicate freely with
a representative from Alaska, and the divergence
is largely a matter of pronunciation and minor
differences of vocabulary/
Doubtless this cultural independence is very large-
ly the result of the Eskimo's comparative isolation
and freedom from contact with Indians. The only
region where an intermixture of any moment takes
place is in Alaska, and it is precisely there that the
variations in custom and physical type appear most
marked. The Aleutian branch of the Eskimo bor-
ders on the Tlingit Indian stock, and the mutual ef-
fect in physical type and in institutions is at once
evident. A similar contact occurs in the case of the
Eskimo of eastern Alaska and of the mouth of the
Mackenzie River and the Athapascan tribes of the
adjacent interior; and the same interchange of
culture may be traced without difficulty.
Passing south from the Aleutian chain along the
Pacific coast, the Eskimo characteristics grow
rapidly fewer and soon disappear entirely. For
purposes of description it is most convenient to
group together all the coast tribes of Indians from
Alaska to Vancouver Island. This does not mean
that marked diversities are not present in the
* Brinton, American Race, 64.
no BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1900
culture of this extensive collection of tribes and
stocks, but simply that the similarities are far more
conspicuous than the differences. The leading tribes
of this area are the Tlingit of Alaska; the Haida of
Queen Charlotte Islands; the Tsimshian and Bella
Coola of British Columbia; and the Heiltsuk group,
of which the Kwakiutl of Vancouver Island is pos-
sibly the most important tribe.
Even physically these Indians are not homo-
geneous. Compared with those living east of the
Rocky Mountains, they are shorter and have lighter
skins. As was hinted above, in thQ most northern
of this group of tribes we find certain superficial
resemblances to the Eskimo type : the face is very
broad but short, and the nose is straight or concave
and is but slightly elevated, which gives the feat-
ures a Mongoloid cast. The eyes are not, however,
except in a few cases, noticeably oblique. Among
the more southerly tribes of the group in the neigh-
borhood of Vancouver Island the face is very long
and the nose is high and prominent, which changes
the entire appearance.^
Being, like the Eskimo, essentially a maritime
people, the arts and industries of the coast Indians
which are connected with the sea are particularly
well developed; but with a relatively warm and
wet climate instead of an arctic environment, the
line of evolution has been quite different. The
* Boas, in British Assoc. Advancement of Science, Twelfth Re-
port on the Northwestern Tribes 0} Canada, 1898.
igoo] ESKIMO AND PACIFIC iii
skin canoe gives place to the wooden "dug-out,"
which is hollowed from a single log, usually of
cedar, and is found in all sizes from eight to forty-
feet or more in length, the larger canoes being
thoroughly sea - worthy and capable of making
long excursions along the coast. Fish-hooks, spears,
nets, and lines of great variety and efficiency have
been devised, and among all these tribes the capt-
ure of salmon, halibut, and eulachon or candle-fish
is the chief employment of the men. Agriculture
is practically unknown, but vegetable food is rep-
resented by berries and roots, which are gathered
by the women and are found in great abimdance on
the luxuriant slopes of the main-land and the ad-
jacent islands.
With the excessive rain-fall of the region some
permanent and effective type of dwelling became
a necessity, and the result is a huge, square type of
house built of roughhewn cedar planks and roofed
in with bark. Houses of this character, forty and
fifty feet square, are not uncommon, and some of
the earlier explorers report them of much greater
size. The interiors are divided into rooms or com-
partments, each for a separate family.
A noticeable feature of these coast villages is the
totem poles, which are carved from the trunks of
trees and are really heraldic columns. They are
placed in front of the houses of chiefs, and record
in sculpture the tradition of the owner's family or
clan. Among the southern tribes of the group
112 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1900
totemic designs of a similar nature are painted on
the sides and roofs of the houses.
From the point of view of culture, however, the
most important characteristic of these Indians is
their system of social organization, which is close
and strictly guarded. In the north the tribes are
divided into clans, each of which has its animal
totem, and the clan relationship is traced through
the mother.* The clans are further gathered into
phratries, or groups, which are probably subdivisions
of what were formerly single clans, and within these
phratries marriage is forbidden. The system is
most rigid in the northern tribes, but shows signs
of weakening in the southern peoples. For instance,
a new-bom child whose father's clan has become
weak in numbers may under certain circumstances
and with appropriate ceremonial be entered as a
member of the paternal clan when he would nor-
mally belong to that of his mother.
Among the Kwakiutl of Vancouver Island we
find an interesting case of a people originally or-
ganized on a system reckoning descent through the
father, who have come under the influence of ma-
ternal institutions, and adopted them in a way
directly contrary to what is classically considered
the usual course of development of the family and
society.' This state of things, if correctly inter-
preted, has a most important bearing on the general
' See below, chap. xiii.
*Boas, Social Organization of the Kwakiutl Indians, 334.
iQoo] ESKIMO AND PACIFIC 113
theory of the evolution of the family. In this tribe,
clan and family crests, names, and privileges are an
inheritance, and are held by a man either in his own
right, derived directly from his father, or in trust
for his children, and derived from his father-in-law
through his wife. There are thus two sets of in-
heritances existing side by side, and the complexity
of the social organization in a tribe diminishing in
numbers like the Kwakiutl is too baffling to unravel.
An economic development among these tribes
which is of great interest and to which insufficient
attention has been paid hitherto is the so-called
"potlatch."* This is at first glance a ceremonial
giving away of property, and as such has been
misunderstood and actively combated by mission-
aries and government agents on the ground that
it pauperized the natives. It is in reality an
elaborate and beneficial system of credit. In any
undertaking the Indian calls upon his friends for
help in the shape of loans. These are always repaid
with interest at a later date, and, owing to lack of
a system of writing, such payments or repayments
are always made publicly, to give security to the
transaction. This public negotiation, which is con-
ducted with elaborate ceremonial and feasting, is the
potlatch. The unit of value is the blanket, valued
at fifty cents, and as the amount of property owned
in every tribe greatly exceeds the number of blankets
actually in existence there, a set of economic con-
' Boas, Social Organization of the Kwakiutl Indians, 341.
VOL. II. — 8
114 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1900
ditions based on credit has grown up which is quite
analogous to those present in any civiUzed com-
munity. The Indian of this region has as his main
object in Hfe the acquisition of property, and conse-
quent social position for himself and his children.
This involves the prompt payment of debts and the
amassing of wealth, and the result of his efforts is
the system just outlined. As an example of the
independent growth of an elaborate financial system
in a rude community, it stands almost, if not quite,
unparalleled.
Strict social orders of chiefs, common people, and
slaves also exist among these tribes, though in late
years slavery has largely disappeared under the in-
fluence of whites. Wealth is the great means of
attaining rank, and this is the explanation of the
passion with which the northwest native seeks to
obtain property.
The religion of these peoples is animistic and
closely tied up with their totemic beliefs. Any in-
dividual may, if fortunate, obtain by proper fast-
ing and training a supernatural helper, who will be
one of the innumerable spirits supposed to exist in
the world. By the aid of this helper the individual
becomes a successful hunter or warrior or craftsman
or seer, and the best shaman or medicine-man is the
one who has the most powerful spirit at his com-
mand. This system of obtaining supernatural aid
is more fully developed in the interior than on the
coast, and, as will be brought out later, is a funda-
I900] ESKIMO AND PACIFIC 115
mental characteristic of Indian religious beliefs and
cults.
Among the Kwakiutl, the clans are believed to
have been founded by ancestors who had certain
relations with supernatural beings and obtained
from them the crests, names, dances, and songs.
These are the privileges which are handed down
from generation to generation and are jealously
guarded as a family's most precious possession.
Every year the spirits are supposed to visit the
people and animate them, and it is during the times
of their visits that the elaborate ceremonials which
have often been described are conducted. It is
impossible to disentangle the social and religious
features of these systems, and the close relationship
between the two is seen nowhere more clearly than
in these tribes of the coast.
The chief figure in the mythology* of the region
is the raven, who is the great benefactor of man.
It is he who procures fire, daylight, and fresh water,
regulates the phenomena of nature, and teaches men
the arts. He is also a trickster, after the manner
of the culture heroes of all American tribes. In
certain places the mink assumes the leading rdle;
and on the coast of Washington the same adventures
that are told of the raven farther north are assigned
to the blue jay.
Another distinctive feature of the culture of
the northwest coast is the art. It is peculiar in
* Boas, Indianische Sagen, etc.
ii6 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1900
that the process of conventionalization of decorative
patterns has not led, except in the case of Tlingit
basketry,* to geometric designs, but to curiously
conventionalized animal motives. The well-known
totem poles and the carving and painting of house-
posts, boxes, dishes, spoons, and implements of all
sorts are examples of the process. The aim seems
to be to portray as much of the pattern animal as
possible; and in the adaptation of the design to
surfaces of all shapes there has arisen a mode of
conventional dissection and elimination of parts
which is unique among primitive peoples.^
From Vancouver Island south to the Columbia
River is a group of tribes of which the Nootka of the
Wakashan family and numerous Salishan peoples
about Puget Sound are the most conspicuous. They
form a sort of transition in type between people of
the north Pacific coast and the tribes of California,
and do not demand extended description. The im-
portant factors to note are the rapid breaking-up
of the close clan organization of society, the dis-
appearance of the peculiar art mentioned above,
the further development of certain industries, nota-
bly whaling, and the modification of the religious
ceremonials and mythology by southern influence.
* Emmons, " Basketry of the Tlingit" (Am. Mus. Nat. Hist.,
Memoirs, III., 263).
^ Boas, " Decorative Art of the Indians of the North Pacific
Coast" (Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., Bulktins, IX,).
CHAPTER VIII
INDIANS OF THE NORTHERN INTERIOR AND
OF THE LOWER PACIFIC COAST
(1800- I 900)
PASSING up the Yukon River in Alaska, or the
Mackenzie in British Columbia, or crossing the
Coast Range in British Columbia, the widely dis-
tributed Athapascan family is encountered. This
stock is often referred to as Tinn4 or Dene, which is
their own name for themselves wherever found, and
signifies, as usual, "men" or "people." On the
north the Athapascans come into contact with the
Eskimo, on the south and east with the Algonquian
tribes, and on the west with the Pacific peoples. Ex-
tensions of the stock south and west are numerous,
small tribes who speak unmistakable Athapascan
dialects appearing in Washington, Oregon, and Cal-
ifornia; while the important Navajo and Apache
in New Mexico and Arizona form a branch of the
family even more important numerically than that
of British America.
The tribes which stretch across the north of the
continent from the Coast Range to Hudson Bay
occupy a bleak and barren territory and have never
117
ii8 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1800
advanced far on the road to civilization. They
are also cut up into a large number of tribes and
bands, which speak mutually unintelligible dialects,
but their manner of life as well as their physical
features remain fairly imiform. The most im-
portant tribes of the northern branch are the
Kutchin, Nahane, Slave, Taculli or Carriers, Chil-
cotin, Yellow Knives, Hare, Dogrib, Chippewyan,
and Sarcee. On the Pacific slope various small
tribes in southern Oregon and the Hupa of Califor-
nia may be noted, while the Navajo and Apache, al-
ready mentioned, represent the southern extension
of the stock.
The same general culture stretches south from
the northern Athapascan territory over the high
plateaus between the Rockies and the Coast Range,
through interior British Columbia, where it includes
several inland Salishan peoples, notably the Shuswap
and Thompson. Still farther south the Kootenay
appear; and the important Shahaptian family, of
which the Nez Perc6 and the Yakima are probably
the best-known tribes, occupying a large part of
eastern Washington, Idaho, and Oregon, must also
be included. The Shahaptian stock is in intimate
relation on the south with the great Shoshonean
people. This latter family has an extensive dis-
tribution over Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Col-
orado, southern California, New Mexico, and Texas.
The northern Shoshone must be regarded as be-
longing to the plateau type of British Colimibia
I900] NORTHERN INTERIOR INDIANS 119
and the Shahaptian area. In all its branches the
Shoshonean family exhibits transitions to or mixt-
ures with surroimding culture. Its most important
tribes are the Ute, Shoshone, and Comanche, with
their constituent bands.
The distinguishing features of the culture of the
area we are discussing are the following : extreme loose-
ness of social organization, which stands in sharpest
contrast with the close systems of the coast; lack
of elaborate ceremonials ; a complete change in the
character of the art ; and possibly, also, the develop-
ment of a mythology which, while not very dif-
ferent from that of the tribes to the east, bears
little resemblance to that of the northwest coast,
except in places where intimate affiliation has modi-
fied the normal type.
In general the clan system disappears entirely on
the plateaus, and even tribal organization can hardly
be said to exist. Independent local bands, under
leadership determined by circumstances or indi-
vidual capacity, are the rule. These bands would
often affiliate for purposes of war or other ends, and
since common dialects and customs would deter-
mine the lines of the unions, tribal limits would tend
to appear. Local interests, however, often proved
stronger than tribal bonds, as was shown clearly
in the dealings with the whites during the settle-
ment of Oregon and later. The Nez Perc6 war of
1876 is a good example, when a few bands under
Joseph conducted an active campaign, while the
I20 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1800
majority of the tribe held entirely aloof or even
sympathized with the United States, yet were not
regarded as in any sense renegade to tribal obliga-
tions.
Little is known of the social organization of
the northern Athapascans, but there is probably no
clan system in operation, except in the case of the
Carriers and possibly a few other tribes, where its
nature pretty definitely proves its derivation from
the Indians of the coast.* In general the two
units are the immediate family and the local village
group, but the latter is often unstable in character.
The complex and elaborate religious ceremonials
of the coast tribes are replaced by comparatively
simple shamanistic practices. Prayers and obser-
vances are all directed towards mysterious, spir-
itual powers which are believed to pervade every
phase of nature. The main object of every boy
or girl is to obtain one of these spirits as his super-
natural helper, who will then remain his guardian
through life and to whom is given the credit for any
success he may achieve. To acquire one of these
guardian spirits is the object of the puberty cere-
monials, which are particularly well developed in
this group. As puberty approaches, the boy goes
away by himself to an isolated spot, the peak of a
moimtain or a desert place, and there passes days
or weeks in fasting and violent physical exercise
* Farrand, "The Chilcotin," in British Assoc. Advancement of
Science, Twelfth Report on the Northwestern Tribes of Canada, 18.
I900] NORTHERN INTERIOR INDIANS 121
combined with certain fixed symbolic rites. During
the exhaustion thus produced, or in answer to the
nervous expectancy under which he Hves, vivid
dreams or hallucinatory waking visions appear, and
in these is revealed to him the being who will act
as his helper n the future.
In order to become a recognized shaman of the
professional class, a much longer period of "train-
ing" is necessary. Sometimes years are spent in the
acquisition of the necessary wisdom and powers.*
These customs will be noticed again in the general
discussion of Indian religious beliefs, but should
be emphasized here as forming the central interest
in the life of the people of this region. In certain
of the tribes, as the Kootenay,^ an annual ceremonial
is held which seems to be a sort of worship of the
sun, and connected with the idea of the possible
return of the dead from the other world.
The art of the plateaus is characterized by the
absence of the plastic forms which are so striking
on the coast. Among many of these interior tribes
carving is practically unknown. Decoration, there-
fore, consists largely in painted or woven designs,
which were undoubtedly originally attempts at
pictorial representations, but which have become,
through difficulties of execution, conventional in
* Teit, " The Thompson Indians of British Columbia" (Am.
Mus. Nat. Hist., Memoirs, II., 254 ff.).
' Cf. Chamberlain, in British Assoc. Advancement of Science,
Eighth Report on Northwestern Tribes of Canada.
122 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1800
form, but still, among most tribes, strictly symbolic.
This characteristic is shown most clearly in the
basketry * and in the painting of raw-hide receptacles
of various kinds.
The mythology almost always refers to the deeds
of a "transformer," or "transformers," who visited
the world when it was in an incomplete state and
straightened things out. He rid the country of
monsters which infested it, changed and fixed the
landmarks, taught the people the arts, and con-
ferred upon them many benefits. After his work
was done he disappeared, but is expected to retiim
again when his people have most need of him.
This "transformer" is usually personified not as
a venerable person, but as a coyote or one of the
other animals, or some purely mythological being;
he tricks and is tricked, indulges in the loosest
amours, and is often vain, boastful, and petty in
character; but is nevertheless the great benefactor
and hero of the people.^
Of the industrial life of these tribes it is diffi-
cult to speak in general terms. They are all by
necessity hunting and fishing peoples, but the con-
trast between the forests of the north and the arid
region of the southern plateaus produces marked
differences in the arts.
^Farrand, "Basketry Designs of the Salish Indians" (Am.
Mus. Nat. Hist., Memoirs, II., pt. v.).
* Boas, in introduction to Teit, Traditions of the Thompson
Indians.
I900] NORTHERN INTERIOR INDIANS 123
The northern Athapascans are among the most
primitive of all American stocks. They make a
rude pottery and weave the hair of the mountain
goat. Agriculture is unknown, and their livelihood
is precarious and difficult. The advent of the
Hudson Bay Company has affected the life of this
group to a great extent, and much of their native
manufacture has now given place to articles ob-
tained from the posts in return for furs.
The Salishan tribes of British Columbia are some-
what more advanced. The former houses of these
Indians were imderground lodges covered in with
roofs of beams, mats, and dirt. The excavation
was three or four feet deep and eighteen to thirty
feet in diameter; and from the edges four beams
were inclined towards the centre, supported by
posts and covered by cross -poles, woven mats,
brush, and dirt. A hole was left at the apex, which
served as the door and in which a ladder stood.
The larger houses would be occupied by several
families. These underground lodges were used only
in winter, and in summer the people lived in tents
of bark or mats woven of rushes. The household
utensils were usually of basketry or bark.^ Of late
years these Indians, who are much in contact with
whites, have given up most of their old industries,
live in log huts, and have adopted the clothing and
utensils of civilization.
* Teit, "The Thompson Indians of British Columbia" (Am.
Mus. Nat. Hist., Memoirs, II., 192 ff.).
124 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1800
The Shahaptian and Shoshonean tribes of the
more southerly plateaus were primarily hunting
peoples, but the attraction of the salmon fisheries
of the Columbia River seems to have very distinctly
modified their habits of life. In general their ex-
istence was much like that of the Salishan tribes
lUst mentioned, till the annual migration to the
fisheries brought them into contact with Indians
pushing up from the coast, and many customs were
acquired in that way. For example, the communal
houses of the Chinook were found among the Nez
Perce when first seen by Lewis and Clark. The
horse had also reached this group at the time of
the explorers' visit, and the revolution which that
acquisition would bring about is easy to imagine.
As has been pointed out, each group of these
peoples has been influenced by foreign contact: the
Athapascan by the Eskimo and north coast Indians ;
the Salishan by the coast tribes extending up the
Fraser River; and the Shahaptian and Shoshonean
by the lower Columbia peoples, as well as by the
plains Indians on the east. There is no part of the
continent where the migration of culture along nat-
ural paths of communication can be better studied
than here, where the inhabitants are bordered by two
diametrically opposed types, that of the coast and
that of the plains.
Physically these stocks are strongly differentiated
from the coast types and not so strongly from those
of the plains. In stature the inland people are tall,
iQoo] NORTHERN INTERIOR INDIANS 125
well built, and muscular. The chief facial feature
to be noted is the nose, which becomes strongly-
marked, particularly among the Shahaptian and
Shoshonean tribes. The cheek-bones are wide and
prominent, the lips are thick, and the lower part of
the face is broad and heavy. These features ap-
pear at their best and most typically in the Indians
of the great plains, though in that region they lack
the coarseness which is the chief characteristic of
the Shoshonean and other tribes of the southern
plateaus.
From their homes on the plateaus the Shahaptian
and other peoples controlled the upper reaches of the
Columbia and its tributaries; and, led by the de-
sirability of salmon as an article of diet, they grad-
ually pushed down that stream, until their ex-
tensions were checked by a people from the coast
of sharply different language and culture, the
Chinook.^ The limiting line between these two
groups was at the falls of the Columbia in the neigh-
borhood of the present city of The Dalles. On
account of their intimate relations with the early
traders on the lower Columbia, the Chinook, though
now nearly extinct, played a most important role
in the early settlement and development of Oregon.
There were two well-marked divisions of the stock,
the upper and the lower; the former living in the
interior, but along the banks of the Columbia;
while the latter had their seat near the mouth of
' Boas, Chinook Texts.
126 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1800
that river, and extended but a short distance north
and south on either side of its entrance to the sea.
The general culture of the Chinook was much
like that of the coast tribes farther north, especially
in those phases which concerned their industrial life.
The clan organization had, however, disappeared,
and the mythology and religion began to take on
new elements which showed the influence of Cali-
fornian neighbors. The physical type is still the
northern, with the heavy, broad face and short,
thick-set body. The prevalent custom of deforming
the head of infants by fronto-occipital pressure was
practised universally by the Chinook, and they
with their neighbors of Puget Soimd may be re-
garded as the stronghold of the practice. It was
in vogue as far south as the Yakonan family of
tribes along the Oregon coast, where an intrusion
of Athapascan stock occurs and the custom dis-
appears.
The most important legacy of the coast Chinook
is the Chinook jargon or trade language, which
sprang up as a medium of intercourse between the
whites and Indians and is a compound of Chinook
words with English, French, and Spanish, all
modified to meet the needs of pronunciation of the
different peoples using it. It has now spread
north as far as Alaska, south into California,
eastward to the peoples beyond the Coast Range,
and along natural routes of communication, such as
the Columbia, the Fraser, etc., to points far inland.
I900] NORTHERN INTERIOR INDIANS 127
The culture of the upper branch of the Chinook
was practically that of their cousins of the coast,
except where the absence of the sea produced a
modification in their industrial life. Living in
close contact, too, with the tribes of the plateaus,
interchange of cultural elements took place between
the two groups, so that, as already indicated, certain
Chinook customs can be found among the Shahap-
tian tribes, and vice versa.
Early in the nineteenth century the Klikitat tribe
of the Shahaptian pushed across the Coast Range
and up the Willamette Valley, driving previous
occupants ahead of them; but they were unable to
hold the territory and after a few years retired to
their former seat north of the Columbia River. The
Willamette Valley just mentioned is one of the
most fertile and desirable in the northwest and
was naturally an objective point of early white
emigration. It appears to have been occupied by
a number of tribes of the Kalapooian family who
were not particularly warlike or vigorous, and who
yielded to the pressure of the settlers even though
they had previously been able to retain their fron-
tiers against the attacks of neighboring Indians.
Lying south and east of the Willamette Valley,
with their centre about Klamath Lake, in southern
Oregon, were two vigorous and warlike tribes, the
Klamath and the Modoc, the latter of whom be-
came widely known through the insurrection of
1869. The two tribes are closely related, forming
128 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1800
the Lutuamian linguistic family, and are also possibly
akin to the Shahaptian. They led a free hunting
and fishing life and were the terror of the less
vigorous tribes to the south and west. The
Modoc, who formed the southern extension of the
family, made annual raids into northern California
for the capture of slaves, whom they carried to The
Dalles and traded with the other tribes who con-
gregated at that point. They had no clan or-
ganization and led a life similar to that of their
Shahaptian neighbors.
Peculiar developments of the Klamath were their
characteristic earth-covered lodges and the gather-
ing of water-lily seeds for food. These plants grow
in great abundance in Klamath Lake and vicinity,
and seem to have been a decided factor in determin-
ing the habitat of this group of Indians.^
South of the Chinook and west of the Kalapooian
tribes there ranged along the sea-coast of Oregon a
series of small and relatively unimportant linguistic
stocks, of which the Yakonan^ about Yaquina Bay
may be regarded as a type. Though living on and
near the coast, they seem to have depended more
upon the rivers and land than upon the sea for their
food supply. The Yakonan tribes exhibit the
generally coarse facial formation and undersized
stature of the northern coast peoples, and are
' Gatschet, The Klamath Indians.
^ Farrand, " The Alsea Indians of Oregon " {American Anthro-
pologist, N. S., III., 239).
i9oo] NORTHERN INTERIOR INDIANS 129
interesting as marking the southern limit of the
practice of head deformation in that region. South
of them tattooing makes its appearance, but it is
not known among the tribes of Yakonan stock.
The Yakonan family marks the southern ex-
tension of the typical northwest coast culture and
begins to show the influence of Calif ornian contact.
The character of the mythology shows decided
changes: the culture hero or "transformer" no
longer plays the part exhibited by the raven and
blue jay of the north. Their religioiis conceptions
are those most common to the Indian wherever
found — i. e., wide-spread animism, with the institu-
tion of shamans, or medicine-men, well developed.
The individual could acquire the supernatural
helper or guardian in the usual way by "training"
and fasting, but there is no evidence that it was
hereditary in either line.
The usual social orders of nobility or chiefs,
common people, and slaves prevailed; and it was
possible for a man of common origin to raise him-
self to the rank of chief by reason of extraordinary
wisdom, power, or wealth. The privileges of rank
were, however, as a rule, guarded jealously. In
matters of inheritance no preference was shown for
either the male or female line, a child being regarded
as related equally to both father's and mother's
family.
In northern California and southern Oregon
occurs one of the puzzling intrusions of the Atha-
VOL. II. — o
I30 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1800
pascan family ; indeed, the present state of California
is characterized by a hodge-podge of linguistic
stocks, which a glance at the linguistic map will
make evident. The physical type of California, if it
be proper to speak of such, seems to be something
intermediate between the coarse coast features and
the finer facial make - up of the southwest. The
extreme southern part of the state is occupied by
Shoshonean and Yuman tribes, the former belonging
to the culture of the western plateau and the latter
to the southwestern peoples in general.
Recent researches* show that the twenty -one
linguistic families of California (exclusive of Yuman)
fall into three groups, on a basis of grammatical
affinities, and that this classification is corroborated
to a certain extent by differences of culture in the
groups in question.
The northwestern group of five small stocks dif-
fers from the others in the character of its art, the
extensive use of canoes, the importance of salmon
as an article of food, the development of ideas of
property and their influence on social conditions,
and the character of ceremonials, myths, and re-
ligious conceptions.
The central group is quite sharply marked off from
the northwestern in point of culture; and the
character and quest of the food supply must be re-
garded as the determinant factor. The tribes of
' Dixon and Kroeber, " The Native Languages of California"
(American Anthropologist, N. S., V., i ff.).
I900] NORTHERN INTERIOR INDIANS 131
this group are universally dependent upon the acorn
for food, and in its use and treatment have lost
many of the characteristics which distinguish their
neighbors. The canoe is noticeable for its absence,
the myths differ sharply from those of the other
groups, and we find appearing again certain cere-
monials and secret societies the origin of which is
puzzling.
The main tribe of this group, the Maidu, practises
an annual ceremony known as the "burning," which
is quite unique in its special development and of
great interest in the light it throws on religious
beliefs and conceptions/ At a stated time, with
much preliminary form and ritual, the surviving
relatives bum property of all sorts for the benefit
of the dead, the idea being that the articles so de-
stroyed pass to the spirit world and are there made
use of by the spirits of the departed. This custom
is kept up usually for a period of five years after
the death of any individual, and then ceases, except
in special cases where the deceased may have been
a man of great prominence or his survivors persons
of unusual piety.
Of the southwestern Califomian group so little
is known that nothing definite can be said regarding
it. There is, however, a remarkable development of
the canoe, a return to dependence on fish for food , and
fMDSsibly a special type of art, particularly in carving.
' Dixon, MSS. Nates, in library of Am. Mus. Nat. Hist.
CHAPTER IX
THE INDIANS OF THE GREAT PLAINS
( 1 700-1900)
THE striking inequality in the geographical
distribution of Indian stocks becomes most
apparent in passing from the Pacific coast territory
to the great basin of the continent. Practically
five-sixths of all the linguistic families of North
America are found along the western slope. The
immense territory lying east of the Pacific mountain
ranges is peopled by a few large, strong stocks,
broken into many tribes and dialects, it is true, but
with affiliations within the families that are usually
more or less apparent. Of these stocks the most
important are the Algonquian, Athapascan, Iro-
quoian, Muskhogean, Shoshonean, Siouan, and a
few others of less moment and extent.
Since the physical features of their habitats pro-
duced conditions of climate and organic life totally
different from those of the Pacific slope, differentia-
tions of culture must appear equally marked. The
first area which presents a possible unit of homo-
geneous aboriginal culture is the region of the great
plains. To its inhabitants various stocks con-
132
igoo] GREAT PLAINS INDIANS 133
tributed, but chiefly the Siouan, Caddoan or Pawnee,
Algonquian, and Kiowan in the order named. It
would be impossible to take up the tribes of this
area in detail, and the Sioiix may serve as a
type.
In the history of the United States the Sioux
have been more noticeable than any other aborig-
ines, with the exception of the Algonquian and Iro-
quoian tribes. They are often regarded, too, as
the typical native Americans, physically strong and
active, hunters and warriors by nature and necessity,
shifting from place to place, but always free, always
dominant, always significant. In comparison with
the Indians of the Pacific coast their facial features
are more strongly marked, the nose and the lower
jaw being particularly prominent and heavy. The
heads are, as a rule, mesocephalic and are not arti-
ficially deformed. The skin is dark, with a faint
tinge of reddish. With the pressure of civilization
and the relatively sedentary life which the Sioux
have been forced to adopt of late years, their
bodily vigor is not so striking as it once was; but
they still remain, with their neighbors of the plains,
a fine physical type of the American Indian.
In the distribution of the Siouan family, as a
glance at the map will show, their main seat at the
advent of the whites was the region west of the
Mississippi, from the Saskatchewan in the north to
the Arkansas in the south, though isolated offshoots
appear in Virginia and on the Gulf of Mexico. Lin-
134 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1700
guistic evidence and to a certain extent native
tradition (Mandan) point to an Appalachian origin
for the group, and would indicate the eastern
slopes of that range as their earlier home. From
here they pushed westward, overrunning the prairies
and plains until brought to a halt by pressure from
the western stocks; while a back flow was pre-
vented by the barrier olEfered by the Algonquian
tribes in their rear.
The one factor which has overshadowed all others
in its influence on the Sioux habitat, institutions,
art, and beliefs was the buffalo. Probably the
pursuit of the bison led westward the eastern tribes,
and notably the Sioux, and dispersed them over
the plains. The pre-eminent part which the buffalo
played in the nutrition and industrial life of these
peoples accounts, too, for their relatively slight
development of agriculture. With the arrival of
the horse, which was probably acquired by the
prairie tribes towards the end of the eighteenth
century,* the successful pursuit of the bison herds
was greatly aided; and this gave the final touch to
their mode of life.
There is good evidence that the dog had been
domesticated by the Sioux long before the ap-
pearance of the horse, and was used for food, draught,
and ceremonial sacrifice.' The chief industries of
the Sioux and their neighbors were naturally those
* McGee, in Bureau of Ethnology, Fifteenth Annual Report,
173. ' Zu Wied, Travels, etc.
i9oo] GREAT PLAINS INDIANS 135
of hunting and war. Weapons and implements
were of stone, wood, bone, horn, and antler. The
tomahawk, club, flint knife, and bow and arrow
were the usual weapons, but short spears were also
fairly common. Household utensils were few and
crude. Rude pottery and basketry were made,
but wood and skins furnished the raw material for
domestic service.
In addition to the food supply obtained by hunt-
ing, all the tribes of the plains made use of nuts,
berries, roots, and other plants which were to be
found in a wild state, but which were also cultivated
after a fashion, whenever the residence was stable
enough to permit it. Agriculture did not, however,
flourish to any great extent except among the
Mandan.
The houses of the Sioux varied with the habitat
and the season. In the woodlands they built tent-
shaped lodges of saplings covered with brush, bark,
or skins. On the plains and prairies earth lodges
were constructed for winter, and tipis covered with
buffalo skins for the summer season. The tipi,
which is one of the typical forms of Indian dwellings,,
is essentially a portable affair, and thus differs from
the wigwam of the east, which was fixed. It is
constructed of long poles tied together near the
smaller ends, with the bases spread out in a circle
ten or fifteen feet in diameter. It is then covered
with a skin or canvas wrapping, laced or pinned
together along the middle of the junction. The
136 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1700
upper part of this tent is left open to act as a smoke
vent and to create a draught for the fire, which is
built in the centre of the structure; the lower part
is left separated as a door and is covered with a
skin flap. The bottom of the entire covering is
fastened to the ground with pins or weighted with
stones. Among certain of the Siouan tribes these
tipis were elaborately decorated with symbolic
designs. The structure and local arrangement of
the lodges of the Siouan stock were generally de-
termined in certain features by religious considera-
tions and ritual as well as by the clan relationship
of the owners.*
The Mandan tribe of this family, who seem to
have developed along special lines, built rather an
elaborate structure, circular in outline and as much
as forty to sixty feet in diameter. The frame-work
was of stout posts and beams, the roof was conical,
and the whole covered in with mats, grass, and hard-
packed earth.' The interior was divided into tri-
angular compartments, each of which was assigned
to a family and separated from the others by
partitions of decorated mats and skins. Villages
of such structures were surrounded by a stockade
of posts and were practically impregnable to the
methods of Indian warfare.
Essentially land - dwellers, the Sioux and their
* Dorsey, "Siouan Cults" (Bureau of Ethnology, Eleventh
Annual Report).
» Catlin, Letters and Notes, II., 8t.
i9oo] GREAT PLAINS INDIANS 137
neighbors made little use of canoes; but a form
of coracle constructed of skins by the Dakota women
was noticed at an early date by white visitors, and
together with certain vague linguistic suggestions
gave rise to the absurd theory that the Sioux were
of Welsh extraction/ an idea on a par with another
popular vagary that the Indians are the descend-
ants of the lost tribes of Israel.^
The art of the Sioux was exhibited at its best
in the calendars and records which the men were
given to drawing and painting upon prepared buf-
falo skins, and also in the carving of the soft red
catlinite which was obtained in the Sioux territory
and widely used for pipes and especially for the
ceremonial calumets. In these pipes symbolism was
developed to a high degree, but the significance was
greatest in the decoration of the stem, which was
often many feet in length, and descended from
father to son or was transferred to a successor with
much elaborate ceremonial. The smoking of these
pipes was an indispensable part of any formal
function and particularly in any intertribal trans-
action.
Great care was also given by other plains tribes
to the decoration of the raw-hide "parfleches," or
packing-cases, and the study of the designs in use for
their embellishment has recently thrown much light
on certain problems connected with the develop-
* CatHn, Letters and Notes, II., App. A.
' Adair, History of the American Indians.
138 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1700
ment of primitive art/ Almost always symbolic,
it has been found that these patterns and types of
patterns are widely distributed, but that the in-
terpretation differs, and differs sharply; and that
while designs are readily adopted from foreign
soil, the natives in all cases read a meaning into
them.
The religious conceptions were based upon a
belief in "Wakanda" or "Manitou" — or "mystery,"
as it is best translated — an all-pervading spiritual
entity, differentiated in an indefinite number of
individual forms, in the cult of which the various
religious and shamanistic ceremonials developed.
These ceremonials are particularly elaborate among
Siouan tribes, and consisted of dancing and chant-
ing, feasting and fasting, and in tests of physical
endurance which sometimes reached degrees of
bodily torture, as in the of ten - described "sim-
dance," which have called forth ill-advised inter-
ference by the government authorities.
In the mythology of the group the sun is a
prominent element, and in addition there are in-
numerable tales of mythical monsters, usually with
animal or bird characteristics, and the atmosphere
of the whole is tinged by the hunting and military
habits of the tribes. The most distinctive of the
ceremonials of the entire region is the siin-dance
just mentioned. It is found under one name or
* Kroeber, " Decorative Symbolism of the Arapaho " (American
Anthropologist, N. S., III., 308).
I900] GREAT PLAINS INDIANS 139
another among practically all of the stocks and
tribes of the plains except the Comanche. It is
an elaborate annual ceremonial in which the sun
is invoked, but chiefly thanked for favors bestowed
upon his devotees. It is participated in by prac-
tically all the adult members of the tribe, is managed
by the recognized shamans or medicine - men, and
the leading parts are taken by the secret societies
of a military character which are found in nearly
all the tribes. While it is thus a general tribal
ceremony, it is always prepared and given by some
individual in fulfilment of a vow.
A ceremonial lodge of saplings is erected, and on
the centre pole a sacred bundle containing symbolic
shamanistic charms is suspended. The dancers
form a semicircle, and with their eyes fixed on the
sacred bundle keep up a constant shrill whistling
through eagle bones held in the teeth, accompanied
by characteristic movements of the arms and
bodies. The participants are naked and painted
with symbolic designs, which are frequently changed
during the ceremony. The dance lasts four days
as a rule, and among certain tribes, notably the
Mandan, the later stages were marked by the
physical tortures noticed above. The flesh of the
breast and shoulders was pierced by wooden skewers
to which thongs were attached and upon which
the dancer threw his weight until he tore himself
loose. The dance is accompanied by singing and
drumming, and throughout the performance there
140 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1700
are many addresses, initiations, and other less for-
mal functions of a purely social character.
The social organization of the Sioux* is charac-
terized by kinship groups, with inheritance, as a
rule, in the male line. Traces of female descent are,
however, met, and in the lodge the woman was to a
certain extent autocratic . Marriage was arranged by
the parents, and polygamy was common where the
man was capable of supporting more than one wife.
Exogamy with respect to the clan was strictly en-
forced, but marriage within the tribe or between
related tribes was encouraged. There can be no
doubt that the marriage relations between tribes
of Siouan stock did much to strengthen the feel-
ing of unity which marked certain confederations
among them.
The regulations with regard to property were
fairly complex. The ownership of land was vested
in the group which occupied it. Food was shared
in common, with certain privileges reserved for the
individual who had procured it. Lodges, dogs,
weapons, etc., belonged to the individual, and strict-
ly personal property was usually destroyed at the
death of the owner. It has been held by some
that the purpose of this destruction was to avoid
future disputes as to ownership;^ but while this
' Dorsey, " Siouan Sociology " (Bureau of Ethnology, Fif-
teenth Annual Report).
' McGee, in Bureau of Ethnology, Fifteenth Annual Report,
178.
i9oo] GREAT PLAINS INDIANS 141
may have been a factor, there can be little doubt
that the custom arose here, as in other regions, in
the desire to provide for the deceased in the next
world.
The government of the Siouan tribes, such as it
was, consisted in a leadership of chiefs, who attained
their position by personal prowess, and who, as is
the rule among primitive peoples, were pre-eminent
mainly in times of particular emergency. This
chieftainship does not appear to have been heredi-
tary except in so far as the requisite qualities might
tend to appear in the same families. Elder men
of recognized sagacity and experience also exercised
great influence in times of peace, but were hardly on
the same plane with the military leaders.
The main families of the great plains, other than
the Siouan, were the Caddoan or Pawnee and the
Kiowan. The former was scattered in groups from
the Gulf of Mexico to what is now the state of
North Dakota. The Pawnee tribes were probably
of southern origin and migrated northward, coming
into contact and struggle with the Siouan peoples
as they advanced. Physically and culturally they
are not very sharply differentiated from the Sioux
except in a few phases. Like the Sioux, the Paw-
nees were of strong physique but with a somewhat
finer cast of features. The lips were thinner and the
lower part of the face more delicately chiselled.*
They were divided into kinship groups, distinguished
* Brinton, American Race, 95.
142 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1700
by totems, and the inheritance was apparently in the
male line. The tribes of the stock were divided into
bands, more or less independent, and chieftainship
in the bands was much more developed than among
the Sioux, The office was hereditary in the male
line, and the chief's power much more absolute
than was usual among the Indians.
Agriculture was more commonly practised than
among other peoples of the plains, and fields were
regularly planted and cultivated by individual
families: maize, pumpkins, and squashes were the
leading products. During the months of the year
when the tribes occupied fixed residences they
built a characteristic form of house, which is still
known as the Pawnee type, though not entirely
confined to that stock. A circular frame-work of
poles or logs was covered in by brush, bark, and
earth, affording a thorough protection and a home
permanent enough for their needs. When on the
move, as in the buffalo-himt, they used lodges of
skins arranged over a frame-work of poles. Crude
pottery of a rough type was manufactured by the
women, and in general the domestic utensils were
simple.
The Pawnee religious ceremonials, while of much
the same general character as those in use among
the Sioux, are more elaborate and occupy a far
greater portion of the people's time and attention.
The most distinguishing feature of the Pawnee
religious rites was formerly the human sacrifices
igoo] GREAT PLAINS INDIANS 143
offered to the morning star on the occasion of the
annual corn-planting, the victim being usually a
captive girl from some hostile tribe. The custom
persisted until very recently and was broken up with
great difficulty.
The Kiowa roamed farther to the west and were
always nomadic. They were close neighbors of the
Shoshonean tribes, and they may prove to be lin-
guistically affiliated with that stock, though the evi-
dence is regarded as favoring their independence.
The main physical distinction is a rather light skin
color. They were always noted marauders, and
seem to have lived mainly by hunting and by
depredations on neighboring tribes. In their inter-
course with the whites they were consistently hos-
tile and unruly.
The Kiowa lodges were light tipis of skin which
could be quickly struck and moved by means of
horses, which they owned in great numbers. Their
religion is very similar to that of the plains Ind-
ians already described, the sun-dance extending its
sway over them as well as the others. The clan or-
ganization is not found among the Kiowa, but the
tribe is divided into six bands, all well recognized
and defined.
Among the plains people are several Algonquian
and Shoshonean tribes who have adapted them-
selves to the region. In northern Montana and on
the Canadian side of the boundary in the foot-hills
of the Rockies live the Blackfoot, an Algonquian
144 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1700
people, divided into two groups, the Blood and the
Piegan, who have joined to themselves an Atha-
pascan tribe of the north, the Sarcee, and formed
a close confederation. Their culture is much the
same as that of the Siouan tribes who border them
on the south, but also contains certain elements
which may be either a reminiscence of their former
home in the east or the result of more recent
contact with the Ojibwa and other Algonquian
relatives.
The Arapaho and Cheyenne are also Algonquian
tribes who became cut off from the bulk of their
family in the early western migration and have
become true representatives of the plains. They
are chiefly distinguished by certain peculiar social
developments, particularly among the Cheyenne.
On the southern plains the Comanche of Sho-
shonean lineage have for over a century been closely
associated with the Kiowa, and being like them of
a roving and turbulent disposition, formerly ex-
tended their depredations as far south as Mexico.
Physically the Comanche retain something of the
heavy-featured face of the true Shoshone and are
in general of a rather low type of culture. They are
singularly deficient, for a tribe of the plains, in
religious ceremonials ; and their social system is loose
and disorganized, as might be expected from their
plateau inheritance.
Several common features, not already discussed,
are characteristic of these groups of the west. In
igoo] GREAT PLAINS INDIANS 145
most of them have sprung up societies or organiza-
tions of a miUtary and reHgious character which
are often secret, require formal initiation, and play
a most important part particularly in the cere-
monial life of the tribes. In many of them there
are regular degrees through which a member passes
after fulfilling the necessary requirements, in much
the same way as obtains in similar orders among
civilized peoples. It is quite possible that this
institution and the rather elaborate religious cere-
monials which have been spoken of may not be of
indigenous growth but are a degenerate extension
from Mexico and the southwest.
Another interesting achievement of the plains
Indians is the so-called "sign language."^ The un-
stable character of their residences and the fre-
quency with which they came into contact with
groups speaking unintelligible dialects made some
common means of communication necessary, and
the result was a combination of gesture and grimace
of remarkable efficiency. It became developed to
an extraordinary degree, and while doubtless in its
origin it was largely descriptive, with the meaning
evident in the sign, it became through generations
of use conventional to such a degree that no one un-
acquainted with it could understand more than a
fraction of the gestures current over the enormous
territory in which it w^as used.
' Mallery, Introduction to Study of Sign Language among
North American Indians; Collection of Gesture Signs, etc.
VOL. II. — 10
146 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1700
Notwithstanding the fact that the region occupied
by these Indians of the plains had been visited as
early as 1541 by De Soto and Coronado, but little
was known of them until the early part of the
nineteenth century. A certain amount of trade
had been carried on with the southern tribes from
the French settlements on the lower Mississippi, and
the Sioux and other northern groups had been vis-
ited by French traders shortly after the discovery
of that great waterway. It was not, however, until
after the Louisiana Purchase that the whites entered
the region in any numbers. Following that transac-
tion the first to come were the fur -traders, and
within a few years numerous posts were founded
and regular routes of travel established to the
motm tains beyond the plains. The Indians were not
averse to trade, and usuaHy welcomed the traders
because of the opportunity afforded to obtain
hitherto unheard of luxuries. No great difficulties
arose at first, though there were some losses, both
of property and lives, through hostile bands, or be-
cause of rash or unjust acts on the part of the whites.
As the immigrants began to pour into and through
the country matters became more serious. The
opportunity thus offered to the Indians to revenge
injuries, fancied or real, and to acquire great wealth
without much danger to themselves, was often
too tempting to be resisted by the hot-headed
younger element, even when opposed by the sager
counsels of the old men; and even the older Indians
I900] GREAT PLAINS INDIANS 147
soon saw that the endless procession of on-coming
whites foreboded no good for the future of their own
race.
The different tribes varied much in the degree
of hostiHty. The Pawnee, though much dreaded
by the early traders/ were, as a tribe, never at war
with the whites, and frequently furnished scouts in
the various difficulties that arose with other Ind-
ians. In the south the Comanche were particular-
ly notorious and a constant source of trouble and
danger, both to immigrant trains and border settle-
ments. The Sioux, the largest and most important
of the plains tribes, were also the cause of some
of the most serious of the Indian wars. Even as
early as the War of 181 2 they sided with the British
against the Americans; but their worst outbreak
was in 1862, when nearly one thousand settlers were
killed in Minnesota. For the next six years there
was almost constant war with the Sioiix, Cheyenne,
Kiowa, and other tribes of the region. The invasion
of their country after the discovery of gold in the
Black Hills again led to a serious outbreak in
187 6- 1877, during which the Custer massacre took
place. The last serious outbreak, due to dissatis-
faction at their treatment and the excitement aroused
by the reported coming of an Indian messiah,^ was
in the winter of 1 890-1 891.
* Chittenden, American Fur Trade, 869.
' Mooney, " The Ghost- Dance Religion " (Burew of Ethnology,
Fourteenth AnnuQl Ref>Qrt),
CHAPTER X
NORTHERN TRIBES OF THE EASTERN WOOD-
LANDS
(1600- I 900)
WITH a few unimportant exceptions, the tribes
of the northeast were of one or other of
two linguistic famiHes, the Algonquian and the
Iroquoian. The former occupied by far the greater
territory, and in the history of the United States
played decidedly the more important role. The
Algonquian stock stretched from the Athapascan
frontier in British America around the southern
shore of Hudson Bay, included the interior of
Labrador, and sweeping south covered the territory
of the Great Lakes and all the eastern part of
Canada and the eastern states as far south as
Tennessee. Its most westerly extension is the
Blackfoot tribe, which lies along the base of the
Rocky Mountains at about the forty-ninth parallel,
and is isolated by a body of Siouan peoples on its
eastern border.
The most considerable break in the continuity of
this Algonquian occupation was made by the strong
and important Iroquoian tribes who surrounded
148
i9oo] EASTERN INDIANS 149
lakes Erie and Ontario, extended down the St.
Lawrence River on both banks to about the site
of Quebec, and occupied the greater part of New
York state and eastern Pennsylvania. A southern
branch of the Iroquois had its seat in eastern
Tennessee, northern Georgia, and parts of Virginia
and the Carolinas.
In the north the westward limit was reached by
the Blackfoot described above, who, in their adap-
tation to the environment of the plains, have as-
sumed the culture which is typical of that area.
The general western limit of the Algonquians was
marked by the Siouan tribes at the Mississippi
Valley. The southern barrier was formed by the
Muskhogean family in the gulf states and a number
of small groups of different affinities along the
Atlantic seaboard in Virginia and the Carolinas.
In its most northerly extension the Algonquian
family is still checked by the Eskimo, who occupy
the shore of Labrador and formerly crossed the
strait of Belle Isle into Newfoundland. A small
and unimportant stock foimd in Newfoundland and
known as the Beothukan is now extinct; little is
known of them, but such linguistic evidence as can
be obtained points to their independence.
In the far north the Cree are the leading tribe
of the Algonquian family; while to the south and
west of them stretches the large Ojibwa division,
broken up into numerous bands, but centring in a
general way about the Great Lakes. In the east
150 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1600
the Micmacs of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are
prominent, while in New England a number of
tribes of Algonquian lineage, such as the Abnaki,
Mohegan, Massachusset, Narraganset, Pequot, Wam-
panoag, and others, occupied the territory to the
exclusion of all other families. The ]\Iohegan, of
the lower Hudson, and the Delaware (Lenape), of
the Delaware Valley, brought the stock to the region
of Chesapeake Bay. In Virginia were the Powhatan
and related groups, and in Tennessee the Shawnee
marked the southern limit of Algonquian occupation,
A branch of the Shawnee is known to have pushed
its way as far south as the Savannah River, but
was later driven north, where it joined the Delaware.
The main tribes of the central Algonquians besides
the Ojibwa, mentioned above, were the Sauk and
Fox, two tribes originally independent but to-day
practically one; the Illinois, Kickapoo, Menominee,
Ottawa, Pottawotomi, and numerous others of less
importance. The Cheyenne and Arapaho, two re-
lated tribes of the group, forced their way in the
early migrations as far west as the Black Hills of
South Dakota, and even into Wyoming and Colorado,
where, closed in by Siouan and Shoshonean peoples,
they have remained ever since.
Physically, the Algonquians are among the best
of the aborigines, tall and strong, moderately
dolichocephalic in head type, with the prominent
nose and projecting malar bones which are re-
garded as characteristic of the American natives.
i8oo] EASTERN INDIANS 151
The mouth and lips are not as coarse as in the
northwest, nor even on the plains, and the general
facial effect is somewhat finer than in those regions.
The skin is brown, with a very slight coppery tone.
The Algonquians were, as a rule, woodland people,
with the culture, life, and craft which such residence
brings about; but the wide differences in latitude
between the seats of the northern and southern
branches of the eastern Algonquians naturally
brought about differences in their manner of life.
Taking the largest tribe of the stock, the Ojibwa.
as a type of the northern group, we find that they
paid but little attention to agriculture and were
essentially a hunting and fishing people, adding to
the provision thus obtained such wild vegetable
food as their country afforded. The wild rice was
and is of such overwhelming importance to the
Ojibwa that its annual harvest might be considered
the central interest in their industrial life.* They
also understood how to make sugar from the sap
of the maple, and had knowledge of many edible
fruits and seeds. The tendency to organize secret
societies, which has been noticed in the stocks pre-
viously discussed, has found its expression among
the Ojibwa in the Mid6 society,^ a religious organiza-
tion of elaborate rules and ritual which practically
* Jenks, " Wild-Rice Gatherers of the Upper Lakes" (Bureau
of Ethnology, Nineteenth Annual Report) .
* Hoffman, " The Midewiwen of the Ojibwa" (Bureau of Eth-
nology, Seventh Annual Report).
152 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1600
controls the religious life and ceremonials of the
tribe.
As we range south among the Algonquian groups
the most striking change is the increasing atten-
tion paid to agriculture. From New England down
it was generally and quite extensively practised,
maize, squash, and tobacco being the chief prod-
ucts.
The typical dwelling of the eastern Indians was
a small hut built of saplings set firmly in the ground
and bent together at the tops, forming a rounded
frame. Through this were woven split poles and
flexible branches, and the whole was covered in with
leaves, reeds, bark, or brush. These were the so-
called "wigwams," and in the northeastern section
were usually set in groups ; the villages thus formed
were sometimes surrounded by a palisade of poles
driven into the ground. Summer dwellings were
often nothing more than carelessly made shelters of
brush.
The Algonquians were organized on a totemic
clan system, with descent, as a rule, in the female
Lne. There was a chief of each clan, and commonly
a tribal chief as well, who was chosen normally
from one clan, in which the office was hereditary.
This chief was of rather indefinite authority and
did not interfere in matters concerning any one
clan, but was appealed to on questions of general
or inter-clan interests. In case of war a war-chief
was selected on account of personal prowess, and
i8oo] EASTERN INDIANS 153
took precedence over the permanent officers of the
clans and tribes.
The religion of this group was, as usual, the belief
in "manitou," or mystery, individualized in in-
numerable forms and brought into relation with
man through various rites and ceremonies of sha-
manistic character. The general conceptions are
best brought out in the mythologies of the group,
which have to do with a great number of "mani-
tous" of varying powers and character. There is
always one — e. g., Manibozho — who plays the leading
role and is the benefactor and culture hero of the
tribe. His exploits and adventures are related
in great detail and form a cycle of myths about
which the other stories cluster. It was in the
early misconception of this character and his rep-
resentatives in the different Algonquian tribes
that the prevalent erroneous notion of the "Great
Spirit" of the Indians had its origin.*
The Iroquoian tribes which break the continu-
ity of the Algonquian domain form, in many ways,
the most interesting group on the continent. In
general culture they are not to be differentiated
from the stocks around them, but in political
development they stand unique. The main seat
of the family was on the St, Lawrence River and in
New York state. In the latter area the so-called
Five Nations — the Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida,
Cayuga, and Seneca — formed a barrier to Algonquian
* §e^ chap, xvi., below.
i8oo] EASTERN INDIANS 155
movement and influence from the Hudson River to
the lakes. West of these tribes the Wyandot, or
Huron, and the Neutral Nation held the country
between lakes Ontario and Huron; while south of
Lake Erie lived the tribe from which that lake
takes its name. In the valley of the Susquehanna
and south to the Potomac were the Conestoga, or
Susquehannock, while still farther south on the
Roanoke River were the Tuscarora. On the Ten-
nessee River lived the Cherokee, who are now pretty
definitely proven to be of Iroquoian stock, but will
be described independently.
The special achievement of the Iroquois was the
organization, probably between 1400 and 1450, of
the famous League of the Iroquois,* a confederation
of the Five Nations just named, for purposes of
defence and offence. The conception of the league
is traditionally ascribed to a Hiawatha, who may
or may not have been an historical personage, who,
it is said, enlisted the support of a leading chief of
the Onondaga ; and acting in concert they succeeded
in successfully carrying out the idea.^ The salient
feattires of the league were that it was a con-
federacy of the five tribes, each remaining inde-
pendent in matters of local concern but delegating
supreme authority in questions of general import
to a council of sachems elected from the con-
' Morgan, League of the Iroquois; Ancient Society; Houses
and House Life, etc. ; Hale, Iroquois Book of Rites; Golden, History
of the Five Nations. ' Hale, Iroquois Book of Rites, 2 1 .
156 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1600
stituent tribes.* The members of this council were
limited in number and were equal in rank and
authority. Fifty sachemships were founded and
named in perpetuity in certain clans of the several
tribes, and these tribes retained the right to fill
vacancies by election or to depose for cause. The
right to invest a sachem-elect with office was re-
served by the general council. These sachems of
the confederacy were sachems also in their several
tribes, and with the " chiefs" or leading men of these
tribes formed the tribal council. This tribal council
had supreme authority over all matters pertaining
exclusively to the tribe.
In the council of the confederacy unanimity was
essential to every act; and since in that body the
sachems voted by tribes, each tribe had a veto
power over all the others. The general council
could be convened by the call of the council of any
tribe, but it had no power to convene itself. It
was open to orators of the people for the discus-
sion of public questions, the decision resting solely
with the elected sachems. The confederacy had no
executive or official head, but for great military
operations two war-chiefs were appointed, who were
made equal in rank and authority.
Space will not permit a detailed discussion of the
various phases of the organization : it was a magnifi-
cent conception and splendidly carried out. The
• For the procedure and details, see Hale, Iroquois Book of
Rites; Morgan, League of the Iroquois, Ancient Society.
i8oo] EASTERN INDIANS 157
weak point seems to have been the lack of provision
for an executive, but this was largely compensated
for by the power of public opinion in compelling
obedience to decrees of the covmcil. Whatever
its inherent weakness, the league was so successful
that for centuries it enjoyed complete supremacy
over its neighbors. It was, apparently, not in-
tended to be limited to the five original tribes, for
overtures were made to the related Erie, Huron,
and other tribes to join the league. The only suc-
cess was in the case of the Tuscarora, who in 1715
migrated from their southern home and joined the
league under certain restrictions, making the group
the Six Nations. An unimportant branch of the
family between Lake Ontario and Lake Huron was
also included at that time. The other divisions of
the stock were treated as enemies, and many of the
most savage campaigns of the league were waged
against the Erie and the Huron.
This extraordinary scheme of representative gov-
ernment was made possible by the social system
which had developed among the Iroquois, and
which is well expressed in their mode of communal
living. The tribes of the stock were organized on a
totemic clan basis, with clan inheritance in the
mother's line ; exogamy with regard to the clan was
strictly observed. The dwellings of the Iroquois*
were regularly the famous " long houses," which were
from fifty to one hundred feet long and fifteen to
* Morgan, Houses and House Life, 64,
158 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1600
twenty feet wide. The house was built of a stout
frame-work of upright poles set in the ground, with
horizontal supports to strengthen them, and the
roof was either triangular or rounded. The whole
was covered in with bark shingles, and a second
frame-work on the outside held the covering firm.
The interior was divided into compartments, roughly
six or eight feet square, ranging along each side of
the house and opening on a common passageway
down the centre, in which the fires of the occupants
were built. Sleeping-bunks were arranged around
the walls of each chamber.
Each of these long houses was inhabited by related
families, which would mean that the mothers and
children were as a rule of the same clan, while the
fathers were of other and various clans. As a
conseouence, one clan, that of the women, would
predominate in the house, and it thus became a
factor of importance in the general organization.
Further, the system completely altered the general
status of women in the group, for over each house
a matron presided whose authority was almost ab-
solute in matters of domestic economy, and any
undesirable male occupant could be summarily ex-
pelled by the female element. The women also
had a voice in the cotmcils of the clan and could
make their influence felt even in the deliberations
of the general council of the confederacy, although
they were not permitted to address that body in
person.
i8oo] EASTERN INDIANS 159
The clan,* which was the fundamental unit of
the Iroquois system, had a definite organization
and officers. The official head of the clan was the
"sachem," who was strictly a peace officer, and the
position when vacant was filled by election from
the members of the clan, which usage, since maternal
inheritance ruled, prevented a son from succeeding
his father. There were also "chiefs" of the clan,
the number depending upon the numbers of the
clan and upon the fitness of the available candi-
dates. The function of the chiefs was military, and
distinct from that of the sachems. The clan had
always the right to depose its sachems or chiefs for
cause.
Other rights and privileges reserved by the clan
were: obligations of help, defence, and redress of
injuries of members; right of inheritance of the
personal property of deceased members, which
passed to maternal relatives, and therefore remained
within the clan limits; the right to bestow names
upon its members, certain names being confined
to certain clans; the right to adopt strangers or
captives, and thus to strengthen the group ; the ob-
servance of special religious ceremonials; and, above
all, the council of the clan, in which all adults, men
and women, had a voice, and which adjusted all
affairs affecting the clan as a group. The council
elected and deposed sachems and chiefs, avenged or
* An excellent summary of the functions of the clan is con-
tained in Morgan, Ancient Society, 62 et seq.
i6o BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1600
condoned murders of clansmen, regulated adoption,
and passed on other tribal affairs.
The clans were organized into phratries, mutually
exogamous groups of clans which had no strictly
governmental functions, and appear chiefly in re-
ligious ceremonials and games.
The tribe,* which formed the next step in the
political organization of the Iroquois, was, as always,
distinguished by a name, a dialect, and territory.
It further had the privilege of deposing a chief or
sachem, a right which pertained primarily to the
clan, but was also vested in the tribe as a pre-
cautionary measure. The tribal council was com-
posed of the chiefs and sachems of the clans and
held ultimate authority over the tribe. It was open
to address by any member of the tribe, man or
woman, but the decision with regard to any ques-
tion remained solely with the official members.
Military operations could be undertaken by any
individual or body of men, with or without the
sanction of the tribe or the confederation; and as
a matter of fact many of the most destructive
campaigns of the Iroquois were carried on by war
parties of small numerical strength. Theoretically,
every tribe was at war with every outlying tribe
(including the whites) with which there was not an
express treaty of peace ; and so long as a given raid
did not violate treaty obligations it was viewed with
favor by the rest of the tribe or confederation,
• Morgan, Ancient Society, 102 et seq.
I
1800] EASTERN INDIANS 161
although the perpetrators had no right to demand
assistance or recognition.
The close interrelation of the confederacy with
the social organization of the group gave it more
than political significance. The essential unit is
the clan, and the sachems of the general council
were primarily clan representatives. The commu-
nal house life served to emphasize and bring into
constant practical prominence the clan feature, and
it seems to have been recognized even by the Iro-
quois themselves as the prototype of their league,
since they called themselves "People of the Long
House," a figurative reference to the narrow line of
confederated bands stretching from the Hudson to
Niagara.
The formation of the League of the Iroquois en-
tirely changed the political aspect of affairs over
a vast territory. The Iroquois tribes, who had been
driven from their homes on the St. Lawrence and
were being steadily beaten back by their Algonquian
enemies, at once stood firm and began to assume the
defensive. They harried the Indians to the north
and the south until they were virtual masters of the
territory from Hudson Bay to North Carolina, and
east and west they pushed their conquests until
their borders were free from danger. Their north-
western extension was checked by the powerful
Ojibwa at the eastern end of Lake Superior; and
their own kindred, the Cherokee, were able to stop
their progress southward. The important role
VOL. 11. — IX
l62 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1600
which they played in the early days of European
colonization is a matter of history.
Although the Iroquois created the best-known
confederation, they were far from the only Indian
confederates. A similar system united the Aztec
of Mexico when found by the Spaniards, and the
same fundamental features were seen in the or-
ganization of many other Indian groups, and will
be treated in a more general way in a subsequent
chapter.*
* See below, chap. xiii.
CHAPTER XI
SOUTHERN TRIBES OF THE EASTERN WOOD-
LANDS
(1600- I 900)
CENTRING about the valley of the Delaware
River and cccupying southeastern New York,
eastern Pennsylvania, and practically all of New
Jersey, were the powerful Delaware or Lenap6.
They formed one of the largest and strongest of
Algonquian tribes and were able to withstand for
many years the attacks of the Iroquois, who bordered
them on the north and west. They were finally
forced to give way, however, and, leaving their
original home, took refuge in the valley of the
Susquehanna and upper Ohio. With the settle-
ment of Pennsylvania and New Jersey the Delaware
naturally came into close contact with the whites,
and it was with this tribe that Penn made his
famous treaty in 1682. The connection between
the Delaware and their kindred of the New England
states was made by the Mohegan, who occupied the
lower Hudson. Manhattan Island, their farthest
southern haunt, was never anything more than a
hunting - ground for Mohegan bands, the nearest
163
i64 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1600
known permanent villages being on the north side
of the Harlem River.
The next powerful aggregation of Algonquian
stock appears in Virginia and was generally known
as the Powhatan confederacy. This organization
controlled nearly all of tide-water Virginia, and in-
cluded as its chief members the Powhatan, Pamunkey,
Chickahominy, and Potomac tribes. Its founder
and leader was Wahunsonacook, or Powhatan, as he
was usually called from the name of his tribe. Upon
his death in 161 8 his successor, Opechancanough,
organized a campaign of extermination against the
whites, and brought on a conflict which lasted with
intermissions for about thirty years and resulted
most disastrously for the Indians — the confederacy
was completely broken up and some of the con-
stituent tribes practically annihilated. Curiously
enough, the Pamunkey still survive as a tribe and
retain their organization, though nearly if not quite
all the members are mixed bloods.* The informa-
tion regarding these Indians of Virginia is not very
complete, but they probably did not differ very
decidedly in habits from their Algonquian relatives
farther north. They were agricultural like their
neighbors, and were organized on a clan system
with inheritance in the female line. They seem
to have developed special and elaborate religious
ceremonials, and it is interesting to note that they
used the wooden dug-out and not the bark canoe.
* Pollard, The Pamunkey Indians of Virginia.
i7oo] SOUTHEASTERN INDIANS 165
Another group of important Algonquian peoples
were the Shawnee, of Kentucky and Tennessee, and
the Illinois group north of the Ohio. The Shawnee,
or Shawano, were first described as occupying
territory in South Carolina, but appear later in the
valley of the Cumberland, and it is with that region
that their name is chiefly connected. They were
organized on a clan basis, with maternal inheritance,
and also recognized four divisions, the character of
which is not clear, though certain of them had
hereditary privileges, such as the right of succession
to the offices of shaman or priest. Industrially, the
Shawnee are chiefly remarkable for their manufact-
ure (from saline springs) of salt, which they used ex-
tensively for barter with surrounding tribes. The
Shawnee were always a roving and warlike tribe
and seem to have been higher than many of their
neighbors in point of intelligence. They are now
for the most part incorporated with the Cherokee
Nation. The leading figure in Shawnee history is
their great chief, warrior, and organizer, Tecumseh,
whose part in the Indian outbreaks of 1811 and the
War of 1 81 2 is well known.
The Illinois formed a loose confederacy and were
prominent in the early struggles between the French
and English, and later, after the close of the Revolu-
tion, caused much trouble to the United States
before they were subdued.
A characteristic of this great family of Indians
was their skill in picture-writing. While by no
i66 BASKS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1600
means so far advanced as the systems in use in
Mexico and Central America, the Algonquian pic-
tography had reached a symbolic stage; and the
records of the Ojibwa and Delaware on birch bark
and wood are most valuable as exhibiting the process
of development from picture to alphabetic writing.*
Returning to the mountains of the Carolinas,
Tennessee, northern Georgia, and Alabama, we en-
counter another great branch of the Iroquoian
family in the powerful tribe of the Cherokee. Their
linguistic relationship with the Iroquois of New
York was not very close, and they were not on
friendly terms with their cousins of the league and
hedged them in on the south. From 1 540, when they
first came into notice, ttntil 1838, when they were
removed to Indian Territory, the Cherokee were
always a conspicuous element in the history of
North America. They were probably the largest
single tribe in the eastern United States, and from
the ethnological point of view are interesting chiefly
from the rapidity and success with which they have
adopted the life and government of civilized nations.
In 1820 they even went so far as formally to or-
ganize themselves with a definite constitution, im-
der the name of the Cherokee Nation ; but various
troubles with the government of Georgia led to their
removal, and since that time their tribal indepen-
' Hoffman, The Beginnings of Writing; Mallery, " Picture
Writing of the American Indians" (Bureau of Ethnology,
Tenth Annual Report).
1850] SOUTHEASTERN INDIANS 167
dence and government, though kept up in form,
seem to be gradually losing ground. When visited
by De Soto they were living in large and permanent
villages of log houses and practised agriculture ex-
tensively/
From the Cherokee frontier to the gulf, and be-
tween the Atlantic and the Mississippi, the coimtry
was occupied by the Muskhogean or Maskoki family,
of which the greater portion was included in the
Creek confederacy, and as such divided honors with
the Cherokee in early importance. The leading
tribes of the stock were the Apalache, Chickasaw,
Choctaw, Creek or Maskoki, and Seminole. Of
these the Choctaw held the western frontier, on
the Mississippi; the Chickasaw and Apalache the
central region, in the present state of Alabama ; while
the Creek and Seminole occupied the eastern border,
chiefly in the states of Georgia and Florida. The
early writers comment on the striking diversity
in physical type offered by the different branches of
the family: the Creek were tall and slender, while
the Chickasaw, their near relatives and neighbors,
were short, stocky, and heavily built. There seems
also to have been a considerable difference in cus-
toms between the eastern and the western mem-
bers of the stock.
' Cf. Royce, "The Cherokee Nation of Indians" (Bureau of
Ethnology, Fifth Anmial Report); Mooney, " Myths of the
Cherokee" (Bureau of Ethnology, Nineteenth Annual Report);
Adair, History of the American Indians.
i68 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1600
The dominant tribe was unquestionably the
Creek, and we may regard them as the type of the
stock for purposes of description.^ They were or-
ganized on a clan system, with descent in the female
line, but had a remarkably large number of clans,
twenty being still in existence and a number of
others remembered by the people. Several of these
clans with their constituent families united to form
a village, where they lived under one chief, or ' ' miko ' ' ;
and, being independent, such a community in reality
formed a tribe by itself. The miko was elected for
life from a certain clan, and was preferably the next
of kin, on the maternal side, of the miko just de-
ceased. If the miko became incapacitated from age
or illness he chose a coadjutor, who was subject
to the approval of the village council.
This council, composed of the leading men of the
group, exercised great power, but mainly by per-
suasion or moral influence, for the lack of an execu-
tive is typical of Indian government everywhere and
has already been noted in the case of the Iroquois.
At the same time insubordination was infrequent,
possibly because of the conservatism of the council.
It seems that among the Creek every man felt
himself more bound by the action of his own
particular clan than by that of his village or tribe,
a state of things which emphasizes the importance
of the kinship group as the fundamental factor in
the political organization of these Indians of the east.
* Cf. Gatschet, Migration Legend of the Creek Indians.
1850] SOUTHEASTERN INDIANS 169
The position of the Creek among hostile and
powerful neighbors naturally fostered a warlike
spirit and brought into prominence and favor the
warrior class. As an additional incentive a series
of war titles had been instituted, and the gaining
of these by prowess in the field became the over-
whelming passion of the youthful "brave." To
become a warrior, every young man had to pass
through a period of severe training and initiation
which lasted from four to eight m^onths; and upon
its completion he was eligible for service in the field
and possible advancement to the higher titles. Of
these degrees there were three, "leader," "upper
leader," and "great warrior," all granted by the
miko and the councillors of the village in recognition
of distinguished services on the war-path. There
was but one "great warrior" in each group, and to
achieve this office was the height of every yoimg
brave's ambition. Where several villages united
in a campaign a head war-chief was appointed for
the emergency. An intermediate privileged class
of men ranked between the councillors and the
common people, their functions being mainly of an
advisory character, or in connection with the elab-
orate ceremonials of the tribe.
The houses which composed the Creek villages
were arranged in groups or clusters, each group oc-
cupied by a single clan. In or near the centre of
the village was the public square, which contained
the "Great House" and the "Council House" and
I70 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1600
was in addition the playground of the town, The
great house was in the centre of the square and
composed of four single-storied buildings facing
inward and enclosing a court thirty feet square.
The buildings were sheds constructed of wooden
frames covered in with roughhewn slabs, and each
house was divided into three compartments with
platforms or bunks running around the sides. They
were all open towards the central court, and each
building seems to have been assigned to one of the
classes mentioned above. From the roofs hung
trophies of various sorts, and in the centre of the
square a perpetual fire was kept burning by special
attendants appointed for the purpose. The great
house was the centre for all meetings of a public
character, the place for holding the annual "busk,"
presently to be described, as well as for the daily
dances and amusements. Visiting Indians were also
entertained in the great house.
The council house stood on a circular moimd
near one corner of the great house. It was built
in the shape of a large cone, placed on walls about
twelve feet high, and was from twenty-five to
thirty feet in diameter. Here the miko and the
council met for deliberations of a private or formal
character, but when not officially in use it was a
general meeting-place for various purposes.
The religious and ceremonial life of the Creek con-
centrated in the annual festival of the puskita, or
busk, or green - corn dance, as it has come to be
I
1850] SOUTHEASTERN INDIANS 171
called in English. In the larger villages it lasted
eight days and its date depended upon the ripening
of the maize. The chief features were the cere-
monial making of new fire by friction in the cen-
tral square of the great house, the drinking of the
"black drink" (decoction of Iris versicolor), the
dances of a symbolic character on successive days,
and rigid abstinence from food, followed at the end
of the busk by feasting and dancing of the wildest
kind. It is usually considered that the ceremo-
nial was in honor of the sun as the giver of the
new fruits of the year, the sun being symbolized
by the fire burning in the court. The new fire ex-
emplified the new life, physical and moral, which
was to begin with the new year. The fasting fitted
the people for this new life, and the conviviality
at the close expressed the idea that all men are
brothers. The black drink was the symbol of
purification and absolution from sin and offences
of all sorts.*
It is always as dangerous as it is enticing to trace
the symbolism of primitive ceremonials. Whether
all these motives were present in the Creek mind it is
impossible to say. One thing is certain, and that
is that the busk did exert a most salutary effect
upon the participants. Quarrels and feuds were
forgotten and never revived, and, except for murder,
amnesty was declared for all crimes. Houses were
refurbished, utensils and clothing were made anew,
' GaXschct, Migration Legend of the Creek Indians, 182.
172 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1700
and a fresh start was undertaken by all the mem-
bers of the tribe.
There is much in the Creek organization that
suggests the Iroquois, but there are also very-
marked dissimilarities. In the social order of the
Iroquois the woman held a conspicuous and honor-
able position; among the Creek, in spite of strict
maternal inheritance, her individual position was
subordinate. She was not allowed to participate,
except in a most modest manner, in the busk, nor
was she permitted to be present at the councils.
Her occupations were, in general, the household
duties assigned to her sex among all Indian tribes.
The union of these numerous Creek villages or
tribes for purposes of defence is usually called the
Creek confederacy, but its structure was extremely
loose as compared with the systematic working out
of the Iroquois League. Each village remained
strictly independent even when war had been de-
termined upon ; and not only each village but each
individual was free to go upon the war-path or not
as he elected.
An interesting fact regarding the procedure of
these villages was the authority of the civil council
in initiating military measures either of aggression
or defence. The warriors were not members of the
council, though the great warrior sat as a consulting
officer. In spite, however, of a decision of the
council in favor of peace, the great warrior might
persist in "raising his hatchet" against an offending
iQoo] SOUTHEASTERN INDIANS 173
tribe and lead those who chose to follow on the
war-path ; and the council was powerless to prevent
him. In general the attitude of the Creek con-
federacy was strictly defensive, and when any tribe
undertook an independent offensive campaign it
was not sustained by the others. There was a
head chief of the confederacy, but he appears
to have been simply an advisory and presiding
officer without any particular position of com-
mand.
The final downfall of the Creek in the east came
about in the early part of the last century, when,
after a series of disastrous wars with the United
States, they were, in 1832, removed to Indian Ter-
ritory, where they still conduct an independent gov-
ernment similar to that of the Cherokee.
A late offshoot of the Creek was the Seminole tribe
of Florida. Except for certain minor changes in
their industrial life, brought about by their special
habitat, what has been said of the Creek would
apply to them. Their social organization is much
the same, and the green -corn dance is their chief
ceremonial and religious expression. They are con-
spicuous in American history from the war which
resulted from their refusal to be removed to Indian
Territory. This struggle lasted from 1835 to 1842,
and finally resulted in the overthrow of the Semi-
nole and their departure to Indian Territory, where
they still reside as one of the "civilized nations."
A small number remained in Florida and keep up
174 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1700
their old customs in the Everglades of the southern
part of the peninsula.^
The area occupied by the Seminole in the last
century was formerly the seat of the now extinct
Timacua, who may be regarded as the aborigines of
the Floridan peninsula. They are classed as an
independent linguistic stock, but their language as
recorded shows affinities both with the Carib of the
West Indies and the Muskhogean.^
The western branch of the Muskhogean family,
the Choctaw, were much less warlike and restless
than the Chickasaw and Creek. They were agricult-
ural to a high degree, depending little upon hunt-
ing for subsistence. Ethnologically the two factors
of distinguishing interest about the Choctaw are
their custom of flattening the heads of new -bom
infants by fronto - occipital pressure, and certain
peculiar rites concerning the burial of the dead.
The body was disinterred a short time after burial
and the bones stripped of all flesh, after which they
were preserved with religious care in the "bone
houses" which existed in every village.^ This latter
custom was not confined to the Choctaw, but in
one form or another existed among many of the
eastern tribes. The neighbors of the Choctaw on
the east were the Chickasaw, who differed from them
* MacCauley, "The Seminole Indians of Florida" (Bureau of
Ethnology, Fifth Annual Report, 475).
* Gatschet, Migration Legend of the Creek Indians, 11.
^ B. Romans, East and West Florida, 86, cited by Gatschet,
Migration Legend of tlie Creek Indians.
iQoo] SOUTHEASTERN INDIANS 175
very little in language and culture except in the
matter of warlike proclivities mentioned above.
Both tribes were organized with clans and traced
inheritance through the mother; both now reside
in Indian Territory as civilized tribes.
On the eastern and western borders of the Musk-
hogean stock were a few small tribes speaking
totally distinct languages and of diverse families.
In North and South Carolina were the Catawba of
the Siouan family, and to the south of them the
Yuchi or Uchee, an independent stock for whom
thus far no affiliations whatever have been traced.
Their culture was similar to that of the Creek, and
the surviving remnant in Indian Territory is usually
classed with that nation.
On the west as neighbors of the Choctaw were
the Natchez, Tonika, and Chitimacha, all small
tribes near the mouth of the Mississippi, but all
speaking independent tongues. Other small stock
remnants such as the Adaize, Attacapa, Karankawa,
and Tonkawa bring us back to the families of the
southern plains and the peculiar culture of the great
southwest.
CHAPTER XII
INDIAN TRIBES OF THE SOUTHWEST AND OF
MEXICO
(1500-1900)
IN the great arid stretches of the southwest
appear a considerable number of tribes which
may be conveniently grouped into two general
classes according to their manner of living — viz.,
pueblo and non-pueblo peoples. The non-pueblo
group includes representatives of the Athapascan,
Piman, Yuman, and Shoshonean stocks. Of these
the Athapascan are the most numerous and in many
ways the most interesting and comprise the two
well - known tribes of the Navajo and Apache.
How they became separated from their kindred of
the far north and how they reached their present
home is one of the puzzles of American ethnology.*
The Navajo have an interesting legend describing
their origin and early history, according to which
they are not a homogeneous people but a very
mixed one, containing, in addition to the original
' Cf . Boas, "Northern Elements in the Mythology of the
Navajo " (American Anthropologist, X., 371) ; Hodge, "The Early
Navajo and Apache " {American Anthropologist, VIII., 239) .
176
I
1900] SOUTHWESTERN INDIANS 177
Athapascan element, strains of Zuiiian and other
pueblo stocks as well as of Shoshonean and Yuman.
The physical appearance of the people seems to cor-
roborate this tradition, for it is impossible to describe
a purely Navajo type. All varieties of face and figure
appear, from the tall stature and prominent features
of the Indians of the plains to the short body and less
strongly marked lineaments of the pueblo type.*
The coimtry occupied by the Navajo lies in
northern Arizona and southern Utah, with the
adjacent parts of Colorado and New Mexico; it is
arid and in large measure desert, and consists
principally of a lofty table- land, with here and
there moimtain-ranges or volcanic cones, broken in
places by broad, sandy valleys or deep and rugged
cations. Above six to seven thousand feet the up-
lands and mountains are covered with low forests,
while during the rainy season a rich but ephemeral
vegetable growth covers the mesas ; but the rainfall
is too scanty to allow of agriculture, except along
the few permanent streams. The country is, never-
theless, fairly well adapted to the raising of sheep
and goats, of which every family now possesses a
flock, and these form the chief food supply of the
Navajo; though as those animals are not native to
America, these people could not have been shepherds
for very many centuries.
The Navajo are now, in comparison with Indians
generally, a prosperous and wealthy people, but
' Matthews, Navaho Legends, 9.
TOL. n. — 12
178 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1600
their traditions indicate that they were formerly
only poor hunters and lived largely upon the seeds
of wild plants and upon such small animals as they
trapped. To obtain pasturage for their flocks and
bands of horses, they are obliged to live in small
groups and lead a rather nomadic life. This has
had its effect on their social organization into local
groups. The lack of a definite or recognized govern-
ment and authority was reflected in the difficulties
experienced by the United States in its treaty
negotiations with the tribe. In a few of the larger
cafions, where there are small streams and patches
of arable land, permanent settlements exist, seldom
of more than ten or twelve families ; though such
places are often the scenes of large gatherings on
ceremonial occasions. All cultivated or arable land
is held as private property, and while the rest of
the country is free to all, the rights of certain
families or groups to certain localities seem to be
generally recognized. In earlier times the clan
organization was more compact, and the country
was apportioned among the different clans, of
which there were over forty ; but most, if not all, of
the names given to these clans are merely the
designations for certain localities.*
The habitations' of the Navajo are of two sorts:
a simple shelter or brush arbor used during the
' Matthews, Navaho Legends, 31.
' Mindeleff, "Navaho Houses" (Bureau of Ethnology, S^/en-
teenth Annual Report, II.).
iQoo] SOUTHWESTERN INDIANS 179
summer, and a more permanent lodge for the winter
months. The typical winter dwelling, or "hogan,"
is a conical structure made of stout poles inclining
inward at an angle of about forty -five degrees and
covered with bark and earth. A doorway some-
thing like a dormer-window is constructed on one
side, and in cold weather is covered with a blanket
or skin ; and an opening for the escape of smoke is
left at the top. These houses average about seven
feet high by fourteen feet in diameter. When long
poles can be obtained "medicine lodges" are built,
similar in structure but larger. In other places the
medicine lodges are constructed on a rude frame with
walls and roof separate, presenting an appearance
somewhat like that of the earth lodges of the Mandan.
The house and all that it contains, aside from
the husband's weapons and personal possessions,
belong by common consent to the wife. Neither
has the husband any claim upon whatever sheep,
horses, or fields the wife may have acquired by in-
heritance or purchase. The children belong wholly
to the mother and to her clan, and she assumes the
entire direction of the house life. It is the duty of
the men to do most of the field-work, and most of
them are active workers, the care of their fields,
flocks, and herds demanding considerable attention.
Within recent times many of the Navajo men have
become expert silversmiths,* The women are also
* Matthews, "Navajo Silversmiths" (Bureau of Ethnology,
Second Annual Report).
i8o BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [i6oo
very industrious, spinning, weaving, and knitting,
taking most of the time they can spare from house-
hold duties. The Navajo blankets are justly famed
for their durability, fineness of finish, beauty of
design, and variety of pattern. The manufacture
of pottery is on the decline, and most of the baskets
in use among the Navajo have been obtained from
other tribes.
Their mythology is very complex and their relig-
ious practices and beliefs are difficult to comprehend.
They have a large number of ceremonies, some of
which are long and elaborate, and all ostensibly
for the cure of some sick person, and conducted by
the shaman or medicine-man. In connection with
these, very elaborate sand mosaics or paintings,
depicting mystic emblems and groups of various
deities, are made of dry sand of different colors, of
charcoal, and of ochres. A considerable part of the
rites consists in dancing and the singing of sacred
songs, which vary for each ceremonial. They have
in addition, for every important act of their lives,
from birth to death, songs or poems, as they might
be called, which may be numbered by the thou-
sand, handed down from generation to generation.
These rites and ceremonies, while less elaborate
than those of the Pueblos, show general resem-
blance, which suggests the possibility that they are
borrowed. The differences are marked enough,
however, to indicate fairly that the Navajos have
Jield independent development for a considerable
tgoo] SOUTHWESTERN INDIANS i8i
period, even though their ceremonies may come from
the same source as those of their near neighbors.
The Apache, already mentioned as belonging to
the Athapascan stock, formerly lived in south-
eastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico, and
ranged over the surrounding country. They are
divided into various groups, including the Mescalero,
Jicarilla, Lipan (sometimes regarded as separate
tribes), Coyotero, White Mountain Apache, etc.
Most of the Apache at present have stock, and raise
small quantities of com and melons; but they still
subsist largely on wild seeds and fruits, as well as
on grain when they can obtain it. They are skilled
in the making of baskets and water-bottles, the
latter coated with pifion gum to make them water-
tight. They have always been a warlike and pred-
atory people and still retain much of their original
disposition.
Of the Yuman stock there are several tribes in
western Arizona and southern and Lower California,
including the Mohave, Maricopa, Seri, Havasupai,
etc. The picturesque home of the Havasupai lies at
the bottom of Cataract Canon on a tributary of the
Colorado. The widening of the canon leaves a
narrow strip of land between the stream and the
lofty walls which tower hundreds of feet high.
Here, by a careful system of irrigation are raised
corn, melons, pumpkins, beans, peaches, etc., which
flourish in great profusion in the almost tropical
heat. Old houses are found on the cliffs along the
i82 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
walls of the canon, which according to tradition were
once occupied by certain families; hence it is prob-
able that in early days the Havasupai were cUff-
dwellers/
The term "pueblo," a Spanish word meaning
village, has come into general use as the name both
for a certain kind of Indian town or village found
in the southwest and for the inhabitants of those
villages as well. The pueblos are of the communal
type, the houses rising from one to five or six stories
in height and arranged along more or less irregular
passageways or courts. They are usually sub-
stantially built of adobe or of stone laid in a clay
mortar, with square or rectangular rooms and flat
roofs. The larger buildings rise like terraces, the
upper stories being reached from the roof of the one
next below. Formerly at least, the lower tier of
rooms was entered from above from the first terrace,
which was reached by ladders which could be
pulled up in times of danger ; there were no doors on
the ground floor. Since the danger of hostile attacks
has ceased doors are very frequently made open-
ing on the street. While some of the pueblos are
situated on the plain, others are placed on lofty
heights which can only be reached by steep and
difficult trails.
About the middle of the sixteenth century the
number of pueblos was estimated at sixty -five; at
'Gushing, "The Nation of the Willows" {Atlantic Monthly,
L., 362-374, 541-559)-
i9oo] SOUTHWESTERN INDIANS 183
present there are only twenty - seven inhabited
pueblos, with a population of about ten thousand;
and but few of these are supposed to be the same
as those found by the Spanish explorers.^ Many
attempts have been made to identify the sites of
the villages known to these early travellers, but
most of them are still in doubt, except Acoma and
the Hopi towns. The present pueblos, though ex-
hibiting practically the same culture, are distrib-
uted between four different linguistic stocks: the
Tanoan, the Keresan, the Zufiian, and the Shosho-
nean. The Tanoan is the largest, comprising twelve
villages: Taos, Picuris, Tesuque, Santa Clara, San
Juan, San Ildefonso, Jemez, Sandia, Nambe, Isleta
(New Mexico), Isleta (Texas), Senecu (Mexico), and
Tewa or Hano, all but the last three on the upper
Rio Grande in New Mexico. Hano is one of the
Hopi towns in Arizona, and was settled by people
who fled from the Rio Grande for fear of Spanish
vengeance after the native uprising of 1680.
The seven Keresan villages are Chochiti, San
Felipe, Santa Ana, Santo Domingo, Sia, Laguna,
and Acoma, all situated along the Rio Grande or its
tributaries and south of most of the Tanoan towns.
Zuni, the only permanently inhabited village of the
Zuiiian stock, is farther west, near the Arizona
border. Of Shoshonean stock are six of the seven
' Bandelier, "Historical Introduction to Studies among the
Sedentary Indians of New Mexico" (Archasological Institute
of America, Papers, I., 1-33).
i84 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
Hopi or Moki towns in northwestern Arizona — name-
ly, Mashongnivi, Shumopovi, Shupaulovi, Sichu-
movi, Oraibi, and Walpi. Connected with certain
of these towns, especially Zuni, Laguna, and Acoma,
are a number of summer pueblos which are inhabited
during the farming season, as they are nearer the
fields, and hence eliminate the long journeys that
must be taken morning and night by those living
in the older towns. These may in time become
permanent villages, as there is no longer anywhere
necessity for protection from attack which the larger
towns afforded.
Physically, the Pueblo Indians are of short stature,
with long, low head, delicate face, and dark skin.
They are muscular and of great endurance, able to
carry heaxy burdens up steep and difficult trails,
and to walk or even run great distances. It is
said to be no uncommon thing for a Hopi to run
forty miles over a burning desert to his cornfield,
hoe his corn, and return home within twenty -four
hours. Distances of one hundred and forty miles are
frequently made within thirty-six hours. ^ In dis-
position they are mild and peaceable, industrious,
and extraordinarily conservative, a trait shown in
the fidelity with which they retain and perpetuate
their ancient customs.
Though the region inhabited by these peoples is
arid, their main dependence is on agriculture. Fields
of corn, melons, squashes, beans, chile, tobacco, etc.,
* James, Indians of the Painted Desert, 90.
igoo] SOUTHWESTERN INDIANS 185
as well as orchards of peaches, are found in the
neighborhood of most of the pueblos. There is
often a system of irrigation, and dams are built for
the storage of water, not only for irrigating purposes,
but also for domestic use. The fields are frequently
at a distance of many miles from the village; for
land with a sufficient amount of moisture to produce
crops can be found only at scattered spots.
In addition to looking after the fields, the men
do the spinning, weaving, knitting, and making of
garments of cotton and wool, cotton having been
raised by the Pueblo Indians from prehistoric times.
They also have to procure fuel, which must often
be brought from far-distant points. The women,
on the other hand, not only own the house, as among
the Navajo, but also do the building, though it is
the duty of the men to supply the larger wooden
rafters and beams. The women must also carry
the water, which in the case of those living on high
elevations, like the Hopi, is no easy task. The
grinding of meal and preparing of food take a large
portion of their time. In addition to this they
make the pottery, for which the Pueblo region has
become famous.*
The social organization is by villages rather than
' Holmes, "Pottery of the Ancient Pueblos" (Bureau of Eth-
nology, Fowr^/j Annual Report); Gushing, "A Study of Pueblo
Pottery" (ibid.); Fewkes, "Archaeological Expedition to Ari-
zona " (ibid., Seventeenth Annual Report) ; Hough, "Archaeological
Field-Work in Northeastern Arizona". (U. S. National Museum,
Report for igoi).
1 86 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
tribes, each pueblo having a peace-chief or governor,
with a number of councillors, and a war-chief. The
clans,* which are very numerous in proportion to
the population, are at the basis of the entire social
and religious organization. Marriage is monoga-
mous, and the children belong to the clan of the
mother, the daughters inheriting the mother's per-
sonal possessions. Private property in land is not
recognized, though individual occupation is respect-
ed as long as the land is in use.
The Pueblo, as a rule, are very religious, much of
their time being spent in elaborate ceremonials.
The performance of these ceremonies and rites is in
the hands of secret societies or priesthoods, of which
there are several in every village. These have been
studied in a number of villages, but probably those
of the Hopi or Moki are the best known. Here from
four to sixteen days in every month are employed by
one society or another in the carrying out of religious
rites; the public performances are inappropriately
termed "dances" by the whites, as in the case of
the so-called "snake-dance." The secret portion
of these ceremonies takes place in the "kiva," a
rectangular room, usually underground, and always
entered by a trap-door in the roof. The ceremonies
are very complex, some of them lasting over a week,
and abound in details too long for these pages. In
many cases an elaborate structure, usually called
•Hodge, "Pueblo Indian Clans" {American Anthropologist,
IX.. 345).
i9oo] SOUTHWESTERN INDIANS 187
an altar, is constructed in the kiva, the chief feature
being a complicated sand mosaic, reminding one of
the sand paintings of the Navajo. Numerous sym-
bolic figures are represented, especially the symbols
for clouds and rain, and prayer - sticks and other
objects are placed around it. Prayer-sticks are al-
ways used in connection with religious ceremonies,
for without them the supplication would be in-
effectual. In some of the ceremonies, to make the
prayers to the clan ancestors called "katcinas"
more effectual, these deities are impersonated by
men wearing masks and dressed in costumes char-
acteristic of these beings. Nearly all of the ceremo-
nies, though in large part secret, close with a pub-
lic performance, often most brilliant and striking,
of which the snake-dance is a good example.
The purpose of these elaborate ceremonies may
be summed up in one word — rain. The very exist-
ence of the Pueblo Indian is dependent upon his
crops, of which com is the most important. In the
arid region in which he lives it is always a question
whether the rainfall will be sufficient to bring this
to maturity. He believes that there are immense
reservoirs in the heavens where the water is stored
up, and hence every endeavor is made to gain the
favor of the powers above, who control the supply,
that they may grant him sufficient rain and a
bountiful harvest.
In Mexico and Central America appear a great
number of Indian tribes, representing numerous
i88 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
linguistic stocks and all degrees of development.
Some of them reached the highest stages of culture
known to have existed on the western continent.
Many other more primitive tribes are little known
and of small historical importance; of the more
significant groups the best known are doubtless
the Nahua or Aztec, among the different tribes of
which, some living as far south as Nicaragua and
Costa Rica, the most noted composed the famous
Aztec confederacy. This confederacy, with certain
conquered tribes which it held in subjection, is what
has been called the "empire of Montezuma." It
was composed of three towns with the territories
belonging to each ; Tenochtitlan or Mexico, Tezcuco,
and Tlacopan. Mexico or Tenochtitlan was the head
of the confederacy and the seat of government.
Another people who had attained an equal and
in some respects a higher degree of culture were
the Maya-Quiche tribes, most of them living in
Yucatan and Guatemala. Of these the Maya of
Yucatan are the most important. In the region now
included by the Mexican state of Michoacan and
portions of some neighboring districts were found
the Tarascan, who had a somewhat different culture,
though still high. In Oaxaca were the Mixtec and
Zapotec, of whom numerous remains are found.
In Vera Cruz were the Huastec, a branch of the
Maya-Quiche family. Between them and the Nahua
were the Totonac, whose remains also indicate a
distinct culture. These may be regarded as the
I
1900] SOUTHWESTERN INDIANS 189
most advanced in civilization of the Mexican peo-
ples. In northern Mexico remains are found which
indicate a culture intermediate between that of the
Pueblo and that of the groups just mentioned.
Many of the Mexican tribes are still living imder
almost primitive conditions, but practically all of
them have been influenced more or less by the Span-
iards and by later European culture. The present
descendants of the older and more civilized peoples,
including approximately two million Nahua, know
practically nothing of the culture of their forefathers
and lead a relatively simple life, though they still
cling tenaciously to many of their former customs
and refuse to adopt the new civilization around
them.
That a considerable advance towards civilization
had been made by these peoples before the arrival
of the Spaniards is indicated, not only by the ac-
counts of their conquerors, but also by the very
numerous remains that have been discovered, es-
pecially within recent years. The earlier accounts
were painted in glowing colors, and while at first
accepted and later discredited, are now generally
believed to contain a considerable element of truth,
though in many places distorted through lack of
appreciation of native customs and beliefs, and in
other cases exaggerated.
The most important of the remains are found on
the sites of ancient cities, and the architecture of
the buildings themselves is one of the most impor-
I90 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
tant features. The great ruins of the Nahua group
include Tula, Teotihuacan, Xochicalco, Tepoztlan,
Cholula, and Tenochtitlan, now the city of Mexico.
Though this city was destroyed at the time of the
conquest, a vast number of objects were buried
beneath the soil on which the new city arose, and
many of these have recently been brought to light.
In the Huastecan and Totonacan regions are the
ruins of Papantla, Misantla, Cuetla, Tusapan, and
Cempoalla. The ruins on Monte Alban in Oaxaca
are the most stupendous in all Mexico, and are sup-
posed to represent the seat of the ancient capital of
the Zapotec. Mitla, in the same district, is a noted
example of ancient architecture, and in some ways
the most remarkable in America. Here stones of
many tons have been brought from quarries on the
neighboring mountains, and all have been fitted to-
gether with the utmost nicety and precision. Here,
as in many other places, complicated carved designs
are found, covering whole faces of buildings, and
all accomplished with nothing better than tools of
stone or possibly of hardened copper.
In the Maya region are remains of hundreds of
towns remarkable for their size and elaborate
sculptures. Among the most important may be
mentioned Palenque, Mench6, Tikal, Labna, Kabah,
Uxmal, Chichen Itza, Quirigua, and Copan. One
feature common to most of these ruins is the pres-
ence of pyramids, frequently of immense size, and
usually surmounted by buildings. In Yucatan the
i9oo] SOUTHWESTERN INDIANS 191
pyramids are usually built, or at least faced, with
stone, while among the Nahua they were con-
structed of adobe brick. The pyramid of Cholula,
originally crowned by a temple which was destroyed
by Cortes, was fourteen hundred and forty feet
square at the base and one hundred and seventy-
seven feet high.
The civilization,^ however, which is represented
by these ancient ruins is not to be regarded as any-
thing radically different from that we have met
farther north, but rather as a development along
the same lines, with modifications due to a more
complex organization. There are many points in
common' with the Pueblo culture of the southwest :
we still find the peace-chief, with his councillors, and
the war-chief, though the occupants of these positions
have become more conspicuous because of the in-
creasing complexity and material prosperity of a
higher state of culture. Montezuma, for example, is
now known to have been simply the war-chief of the
Aztec confederation, holder of an elective office,
from which the chief could be deposed for miscon-
duct— a common provision among Indian tribes,
but not ordinarily compatible with hereditary
' Bandelier, " On the Art of War and Mode of Warfare of the
Ancient Mexicans" (Peabody Museum, Tenth Annual Report);
"On the Distribution and Tenure of Lands and the Customs
with Respect to Inheritance among the Ancient Mexicans "
{ibid., Eleventh Annual Report); "On the Social Organization
and Mode of Government of the Ancient Mexicans" (ibid.,
Twelfth Annual Report).
192 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
monarchy. The clan was still the basis of the
social structure, and the method of choosing chiefs
and councillors was quite similar to that found
among the Iroquois. Land was the property of the
clan, and was assigned to the individual, who could
hold it only as long as he cultivated it properly.
The tribes conquered by the confederacy were re-
quired to pay tribute, which was collected by cer-
tain officials of the league and distributed between
its members, Mexico getting two-fifths. The tribu-
tary tribes were also required to furnish warriors
in case of need at the demand of the confederacy.
Among these peoples agriculture was still funda-
mental, but manufactures and trade were also con-
siderably developed. Certain towns and regions
became noted for particular products, and regular
markets imder governmental supervision were held
in specified places. Great skill was displayed in the
carving of wood, shells, and precious stones, and in
gold and silver work. The products and art of the
different regions were usually quite distinctive, es-
pecially in the better grades of pottery, which was
often beautifully ornamented.
The religious system may also be regarded as a
higher development of that found among the north-
ern tribes. The mythology had become more
systematized and the power of the priesthood had
increased. The endeavor to propitiate the gods
and to cause them to grant favoring rains and
abundant crops is still most in evidence; but in
iQoo] SOUTHWESTERN INDIANS 193
connection with other interests and industries many-
new deities with their associated ceremonies and
priesthoods had been introduced. The religious
rites were elaborate and prescribed with minuteness,
and animal and even human sacrifices were not
uncommon.
Systems of picture-writing or hieroglyphics had
also been developed. Among the Nahua there were
numerous books, a few of which have been pre-
served and are still very imperfectly understood.
These works, commonly called "codices," were
painted on prepared paper or skins; some of them
seem to be religious calendars, others historical
records. The Maya had a somewhat different sys-
tem of writing, of which there are a number of
specimens on the monuments and a few codices.
Some of these also, especially those relating to the
calendar, have been partially deciphered. A third
kind of inscription has recently been found in
Zapotec ruins, but nothing has been accomplished
in the way of interpretation. In many places wall
paintings are found, which frequently remind one
strongly of certain figures in the codices, which, like
the figures in the sculptures, throw much light upon
the dress, ornaments, and even the implements and
weapons of the people.
In general it may be said that the culture of
these peoples, especially of the Nahua and Maya, was
much higher than that found farther north, but still
a development indigenous to the country and based
VOL. II. — 13
194 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
upon elements held in common with many other
American tribes.
On the high plateaus of South America a consid-
erable advance towards civilization had also been
made, but not equal to that found in Mexico. It is
also to be regarded as a higher development, under
favorable conditions, of a local culture in no wise
essentially different from that of siurrounding tribes.
CHAPTER XIII
SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF THE INDIANS
(1500-1900)
THE most significant factor in Indian sociology-
is undoubtedly the clan. This is a kinship
group in which the degree of relationship between
the members is not regarded. The fact of kin-
ship is, however, whether traceable or not, always
assumed and is indispensable for the clan con-
ception. Discussion as to the origin of the clan
system has been active for many years and shows
no sign of abating: a common view is that the clan
is an outgrowth of the family; but there are many
facts to support the contention that the family is a
new formation within the clan.
Though actual kinship between members of the
same clan need not necessarily be traceable, there
must be some mode of expressing the idea of kinship
which dominates and binds the group together, and
the usual mode is the custom or institution of
totemism. A totem is a class of objects, usually
animals or plants, with which an individual regards
himself as standing in a special relation.^ This
* Fraser, in Encyclopoedia Britannica, art., " Totemism."
195
196 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
relation may be one of descent from or kindred
with the particular animal or plant, or there may
be no notion of consanguinity. All those who
claim this special relationship with a given totem
are regarded as kin and as standing in the same
degree of kinship to each other. This totemic
clan is a fundamental Indian institution, and ap-
pears everywhere in North America, except in the
far north, on the plateaus, at certain points on the
Pacific coast, and among a few tribes of the plains.
Alongside the numerous important features of
the clan organization, which vary in detail in differ-
ent parts of the continent, stands out the principle
that each clansman has a double relationship: a
religious one to his totem, and a social one to his
fellow - members of the group. Perhaps the most
striking feature of the social aspect, a feature which
is inflexible and shows no tendency to variation, is
the law of exogamy with respect to the clan : mem-
bers of the same totem group must not marry;
violation of this rule was ordinarily punished with
death.
Since the parents of an Indian could not be of the
same clan, it was necessary for one of them to be
disregarded in determining the clan or totem of the
new-bom child ; and it was generally the father who
was passed over, and the child was assigned to the
clan of the mother. This is "female inheritance,"
and is a custom from which much has been inferred
with regard to the early development of the family.
igoo] INDIAN SOCIETY 197
The classical deduction is that descent through the
mother argues a previous condition of sexual
promiscuity in which the paternity of a child would
be uncertain and he must necessarily be assigned
to his mother alone; with increasing stability in
the marriage relation paternity would come to be
reasonably certain, and the child would tend to be
assigned to the father, as the head of the family, and
to the father's clan where there was a clan organ-
ization. Under this theory maternal inheritance
is therefore regarded as preceding, in the evolution
of the family and society, the paternal recognition.
The fundamental error in this plausible line of
argument, as applied to the world in general, lies
in the disturbing fact that society is so complex
in the factors which have contributed to its growth
that it is by no means certain that what may be
true of the development of an institution in one
region will hold good for the entire human race.
In the present chaotic condition of sociological and
ethnological data it is unsafe to assert that a given
tribe on a paternal basis represents a higher stage
of social evolution than one on a maternal system,
even though it may ultimately prove that in gen-
eral the reasoning outlined above holds good. For
example, as has been stated,* the Kwakiutl of
Vancouver Island are in a transition stage from
paternal to maternal institutions instead of the re-
verse, which should be the case according to rule.
* See above, chap. vii.
198 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
Whatever the reason, the majority of the Indian
tribes traced descent through the mother, and
children were assigned to the mother's clan. In
some groups, where the system was less rigid, the
child might, for sufficient reasons, be entered in
the father's clan, even when he would normally
inherit that of his mother. This would occur in
cases where the paternal group was in need of
strengthening. If the rules of exogamy were all,
the clan organization would not be so important a
factor. As a matter of fact, it enters every phase of
the Indian's life : his first obligation is to his clan,
and where its welfare comes into collision with that
of the immediate family the latter gives way.
The wide-spread custom of "blood revenge" was
a clan matter. The entire kinship group of the
murdered man demanded satisfaction, and the en-
tire clan of the murderer was held responsible. The
logical extension of this conception of common
blood is seen in certain South American tribes, where
if an individual by accident injures himself he i's
obliged to pay blood-money to his clan because he
has been guilty of shedding the blood of his clan,*
A real difficulty occurred where an individual mur-
dered a fellow-clansman, which act is in general
among savages the most heinous crime of which
one can be guilty, being both a sacrilegious as well
as a social offence. To put the offender to death
would be to commit a second crime of the same
* Sievers, Reise in der Sierra Ncvdda de Santa Marta, 256.
igoo] INDIAN SOCIETY 199
character. In certain groups the condition was
cleverly met by first formally outlawing or expelling
the murderer from the clan, after which he could
legitimately be hunted down and put to death;*
in other places the tendency seems to have been
rather to condone the oflence, as if in bewilderment
as to the appropriate action,^
The civil functions of the clan are more impor-
tant than those more purely social.^ In most of the
tribes chieftainship and special governmental privi-
leges resided permanently in certain clans. There
were ordinarily among the Indians chiefs of two
kinds, who have come to be termed "sachems"
and ordinary " chiefs." The sachem was essentially
a civil officer and his duties and authority were
confined to times of peace; while the chief might
have duties concerned with war or any other affairs
for which he was peculiarly fitted. The sachem
was primarily an officer of the clan, and the position
was hereditary in that group; a vacancy in the
office was filled by election as often as it occurred.
In tribes with maternal inheritance a brother or a
sister's son was usually chosen to succeed a deceased
sachem, though any male member of the clan was
regarded as eligible. This right of election, and
the corresponding right of deposition for cause,
* Cf. Powell, " Wyandot Government " (Bureau of Ethnology,
First Annual Report, 67).
' Charlevoix, Histoire de la Nouvelle France, 274.
' For a masterly discussion of this whole subject and the
topics which follow, see Morgan, Ancient Society, 62 fif.
200 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
were jealously guarded by the clans, and are the
germs of democracy as expressed by the American
aborigines. Among the Iroquois, however, the tribe
occasionally stepped in and deposed a sachem for
unworthy behavior, without waiting for the action
of the clan. In such cases the latter appears to
have been powerless to resist.
The term "chief," as applied to leading men
among the Indians, is so indefinite as to be almost
meaningless. There was, however, one qualifica-
tion of great significance — namely, personal fitness.
There were, in other words, chiefs rather than
chieftainships, since personal prowess or ability were
the conditions of the position, and the office usually
died with the holder. The number of chiefs in a
clan, or in a tribe without clans, was quite indefi-
nite and depended much upon the personnel of
the group. In stocks such as the Iroquois there
was one chief to about every seventy-five or one
hundred persons, but this cannot be taken as a
criterion. In tribes with well-organized councils one
of the main functions of the chief was to sit officially
as a member of that body. In other more loosely
constructed tribes, such as appear in the west, his
duties and authority were very indefinite.
There is much misconception regarding Indian
chieftainship in general. The chief was the pre-
eminent figure only in times of great emergency,
such as war ; and as those were precisely the occasions
Upon which the Indians were usually seen by the
i9oo] INDIAN SOCIETY 201
whites, an exaggerated idea of the chief's impor-
tance has grown up. With the passing of the
emergency the chief tended to lapse back to the
level of the other members of the tribe, and special
authority often did not exist for him. The Indian
is essentially individualistic and will not brook
authority except where long-continued custom has
proven its necessity. On the northwest coast, the
essential condition of chieftainship is wealth, which
is acquired for the purpose of making great feasts
and gifts and thereby attaining increased rank
in the order of nobles or chiefs. There is in that
region, too, a sharp line drawn between the social
classes, which makes it almost impossible for a ple-
beian, and quite so for a slave, to rise to the rank
of chief. These social differences do not appear so
much in manner of life or in the intercourse of every
day as in ceremonials and in questions of marriage.
In Indian society, therefore, the privileges per-
taining to the clan were the main heritage of any
individual — name, position, and ceremonial rights
were perhaps the most valued of all these privileges ;
but that of ownership of property as such seems
often to depend upon the clan organization. Where
clans existed, land was the common property of
that group; where clans were absent it belonged
to the band or tribe. It is said that in certain
regions of the northwest individual proprietorship
existed in the case of fishing and hunting locations,
but such a condition was exceptional.
202 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
The combination of common ownership and
universal hospitality made the accumulation of per-
sonal property unnecessary and unusual, so that
the disposition of the goods and chattels of the
deceased individual did not raise a question of
much importance. It was, however, bound to arise,
and, as might be expected, it appears to have been
the clan in which the right of inheritance lay.
The most cherished and intimate of the personal
effects were ordinarily buried with the deceased.
The rest of his personal property went to his near-
est of kin, but remained within the clan. In a
maternal group a man's brothers and sisters and
maternal uncles were usually his heirs; his children
took nothing, since they belonged to a different
clan. In the case of a woman's death her chil-
dren received the bulk of her property; husband
or wife inherited nothing from the other. It ap-
pears as if the individual or the family were thus
the custodian rather than the actual owner of the
estate.
A striking characteristic of Indian society, and
one difficult for us to understand, is the great
stress laid upon the name. In most groups cer-
tain names resided in certain clans and were used
by no others, so that the personal name of an in-
dividual was indicative of the clan to which he be-
longed. The customs relating to name giving and
acquisition varied widely in North America, but
it was not usual for a person to receive his adult
i9oo] INDIAN SOCIETY 203
name, the one by which he would afterwards be
known, until puberty, or until he had gained the
right to bear it by some act of distinguished prowess
or service. In certain regions, as in the northwest,
ceremonial privileges go with the name, and the
right of bestowal is vested in the hereditary owner
or custodian. Under such conditions the name be-
comes true property and the regard for it is much
more than a mere matter of sentiment. Among
the Kwakiutl a man who is in financial difficulties
and imable to meet his potlatch obligations may
even pawn his name for a longer or shorter period,
and an excessive rate of interest is charged for the
accommodation.* During such time as his name
is thus in pawn he must not use it in any way,
and his social position is thereby lowered. It is,
further, during that period the property of the
money-lender, and his position is heightened by
whatever the value or rank of the pledged name
may be.
Among nearly all tribes the acquisition or change
of names was a matter of public ceremonial, and
was regarded as an event of prime importance in
the life of the individual. Occasionally a name
would be discarded after a severe illness or other
misfortune, but among the eastern tribes at least
such action required the consent of the clan. Names
might also be lent as a mark of particular favor or
friendship, the beneficiary having the privilege of
' Boas, Social Organization of the Kwakiutl Indians, 341.
204 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
using it for a limited time, or for life, as the case
might be.
One of the chief concerns of the clan was to keep
and increase its strength. Under the conditions
of almost unceasing warfare in which the Indians
lived, the loss of members by death was a constant
menace to the life and vitality of the clan. To meet
this danger grew up the custom of adoption. An
adopted person became in every sense a member
of the clan or family or tribe into which he was
received. The strangers thus adopted were, as a
rule, captives in war or stray members of other
tribes. The act was carried out by an individual,
but had to be ratified by the clan, and sometimes by
the tribe, in a ceremonial manner. Adoption was
also a means of atoning for accidental homicide,
and thus avoiding blood revenge. The offender
in such a case would ofler himself, for example, to
the mother of his victim, and, being accepted by
her, would assume in every form the duties and
obligations of the dead son.
The settlement of disputes and all matters of
debate which pertained to the clan exclusively were
in the hands of the chiefs, or when they could not
decide, devolved upon the council. This institu-
tion of the council was again practically universal
among the Indians. Its structure might vary from
that of the Iroquois clan, where the women had an
equal right with men, to that of tribes of the west,
where the former were not consulted; but it was
i9oo] INDIAN SOCIETY 205
always pre-eminently a place of free speech. Its
deliberations were calm and unhurried and its deci-
sions were usually accepted without question. This
latter fact is surprising when we remember that lit-
tle or no provision was made for the execution of
its decrees. As was noted in the case of the Iroquois,
the council depended upon public opinion for sup-
port and was seldom disappointed. The council
of the clan was the prototype of that of the tribe or
confederacy where such existed. Where clans were
absent the local band or tribe held its coiincil in
the same way and to the same ends. It was the
comer-stone of Indian civil procedure, and will be
discussed again presently in connection with the
larger organizations.
These, then, are the main features of the clan as
it is found in America. It must be remembered,
however, that, hampered as the Indian might be by
tradition, by custom, by clan or other obligation, he
always insisted upon and retained his formal free-
dom of action. His sachems and his chiefs were his
representatives and leaders in times of emergency,
but except in such regions as the northwest coast
equality and independence were the characteristics
of American savage life.
A social institution of some importance was
slavery, which has several times been mentioned
in connection with the tribes of the Pacific coast,
where the institution found its stronghold. Cap-
tives in war were the usual victims, but their
2o6 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
children were also doomed to slavery, and the con-
sequence was the formation of a class in the com-
munity as distinct as that of the nobility and
nearly as permanent. While these slaves were the
absolute property of their owners, and could be sold
or put to death at will, their life does not appear
to have been particularly hard except in unusual
cases. The e very-day life of the owners was not
such as to permit much lowering without ex-
tinction, and the slave had about the same food
and shelter as his master. Slavery of a sort
also existed in the southeast; and in more mod-
ern times certain of the Muskhogean tribes, im-
itating the whites, became the owners of ne-
groes.
The clans of any given tribe were ordinarily
gathered into two or more classes known as phratries,
which were also exogamous groups and still further
restricted the choice of the individual in marriage.
The phratry was probably an overgrown clan which
had become unwieldy, and upon subdivision the
constituent groups still retained a memory of their
mutual relationship and consequent inability to
intermarry. The functions of the phratry are some-
what indefinite but are distinctly social and cere-
monial rather than governmental. It is seen at its
best among the tribes of the east and in Mexico,
but is also present in Alaska and British Colimibia
as well as in certain parts of the western United
States.
i9oo] INDIAN SOCIETY 207
Among the Algonquian and Iroquoian Indians
the phratry appears most prominently in such
social affairs as public games. In ball-games, for
example, the phratries are pitted against each other
and the clan disappears in the united enthusiasm.
In councils of the tribe the sachems and chiefs sat
by phratries and not by clans, but this arrangement
was purely formal and without real significance.
Among the Iroquois the influence of the phratry
was sometimes invoked by a constituent clan to
arrange the condonation of a murder or other
offence, and often with a successful result which
might not have been reached had the clan acted
independently. At the funerals of important per-
sons the phratry also appeared prominently. The
members of the phratry of the deceased were the
mourners, and the opposite phratry took charge
of the ceremonies.
In matters of government the phratry had the
right of confirming or rejecting an election of sa-
chem or chief made by the clan. Following such
an election among the Iroquois, councils of both
phratries were called and each acted upon the
choice. If either phratry refused to acquiesce in
the nomination it was thereby null and void, and
the clan was obliged to proceed to a second election.
If both phratries approved the choice it was re-
garded as final.
In Mexico, among the Aztec, the phratry seems
to have had a distinct military function as well as
2o8 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
to have been a social and religious group.* The
warriors of the tribe were divided into four bands,
each corresponding to a phratry and each under the
leadership of a phratry captain. Such a military
subdivision was probably not present, however, in
any of the northern tribes.
The next step in the social organization of the
Indians was the tribe. It has already been re-
marked that this is an indefinite term, referring
sometimes to a single village and sometimes to a
number of such local groups. In certain stocks
where the social system is closely knit there is no
difficulty in drawing the tribal lines. In others,
where the organization is looser — ^for example, on
the plateaus — definition becomes difficult if not
impossible. The features which are generally re-
garded as characteristic of a tribe, in distinction to
any other group, larger or smaller, are the possession
of a dialect and territory, and sometimes of a name
and separate government.^ Of these characteristics
the dialect may be regarded as determinant. Con-
tinuity of territory will, naturally, exist for the
tribe in the vast majority of cases, since geographical
separation of related bands is exactly the factor
which tends to bring about dialectic as well as
general independence, and hence favors the forma-
tion of new tribes.
* Bandelier, " On the Art of War and Mode of Warfare of the
Ancient Mexicans " (Peabody Museum, Tenth Annual Report) .
* Morgan, Ancient Society, 102.
i9oo] INDIAN SOCIETY 209
It is impossible to lay down a strict criterion for
drawing the line between tribe and band, but there
is no doubt that the linguistic consideration is the
most important. The habit of authorities in the
case of Indian tribes has been to follow the native
usage, and where the Indians recognized relation-
ship and grouped themselves under a given name,
to regard that particular aggregation as a distinct
tribe. Common customs will also aid in the de-
termination of the tribal limits, particularly where
the clan organization exists and where the exoga-
mous and endogamous regulations can be clearly
stated. On the other hand, a supreme government
cannot be regarded as distinctive, since in many
groups recognized by every one as tribes there are
any number of smaller component groups or bands,
each of which is entirely independent in every sense
of the word.* Such a condition may be seen among
the Shahaptian tribes of the west, as well as in
other regions.^ The few cases in which the above-
mentioned characteristics of common dialect and
common institutions do not occur are temporary
conditions, where one tribe may be undergoing ab-
sorption by another.
It appears as if there had been a constant ten-
dency towards disintegration among the Indian
tribes; and the process was no doubt hastened by
the chances for segmentation due to the wide
* Morgan regards the central government as distinctive; see
Ancient Society, 102. * See above, chap, viii,
VOL. II. — 14
210 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
geographical dispersion of certain groups. The
physical features of the continent and the exi-
gencies of the food quest are enough to account
for the process. The development of agriculture
doubtless tended to arrest the dispersion, since it
immediately increased the number of individuals
who were able to obtain subsistence from a given
area; but it could never have proved more than a
temporary check. The point of greatest signifi-
cance in the present discussion is the place of the
tribe in the development of government; and, as
was brought out in the last chapter, those tribes or-
ganized on a basis of clans are the ones in which the
evolution towards confederation and centralization
seem to have taken place most clearly.
While in most tribes the right of electing sachems
and chiefs pertained to the clan, certain tribes —
e.g., the Iroquois, demanded the privilege of ratifica-
tion of such elections. This meant that a chief -
elect was not recognized officially until ceremonially
invested with authority by the council of the tribe,
and unfit elections could be and were nullified by
tribal action. The right of deposition for cause,
which was also held by the tribe as well as by the
clan, was a further safeguard in insuring good be-
havior after election.
Undoubtedly, the most interesting development
of the tribe was the council of chiefs, which was
organized on much the same plan as that of the
clan. Chiefs of the clans, where such existed, were
igoo] INDIAN SOCIETY 211
ex-offlcio members of the tribal council, and that body-
held ultimate authority over tribal affairs. The
democratic spirit was evident here as well as in the
clan, since the meetings of the council were open to
address by any adult male member of the tribe ; and
among the Iroquois any woman could express her
views through an orator chosen by herself. The
tribal council determined upon military campaigns,
had the power to make peace, and conducted all
negotiations with other tribes.
A head chief of the tribe did not exist as a rule;
though in certain cases one of the sachems was
recognized as of higher rank and authority than
the others, and upon him would devolve the duty
of representing the tribe when the coimcil was not
or could not be convened. In such circumstances
his action was always subject to ratification by the
coimcil, and his authority depended almost wholly
upon his personal capacity and influence. The
early designation of some of these leading chiefs as
" kings" is absurd, as there was little in the position
of an executive character. Among the Aztec the
head war -chief, Montezuma, naturally became a
figure of prominence owing to the necessities of the
military situation at the time of the Spanish in-
vasion ; but among the tribes farther north the so-
called king was nothing more than the elective and
often temporary chief of a tribe, or possibly of a
confederation. Among the Iroquois, who, as we
have seen, carried the idea of representative govern-
212 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
merit to a high degree of expression, no head chief
at all was recognized.
Where segmentation, from whatever cause, has
brought about the formation of new dialects and
tribal bonds, the relationship between the tribes
thus formed will often be recognized although the
fact of former unity may not be remembered even
in tradition. When to this relationship be added
geographical contiguity, it is evident that the in-
terests of the given tribes will often be common.
Among the Indians generally the constant fear
was of attack from hostile groups, and the suggestion
of tinion of related tribes for mutual defence would
be as natural as the occasion was frequent. This
was tuiquestionably the origin of the confederacy,
which may also be regarded as a typical Indian
institution. In the confederacy as well as in the
tribe the clan influence persisted and was the basis
of organization. In cases where clans were un-
known the leagues have usually been of a more
fragile and temporary character, a fact which em-
phasizes the importance of the kinship bond in
the civil unions.
The two confederacies of highest type in North
America were those of the Iroquois and the Aztec,
both of which have been briefly described. Others
which were of considerable permanence were the
Creek, Dakota, Moki, and Blackfoot. The last-
named is especially interesting, since it includes a
tribe of Athapascan stock, the Sarcee, while the
1900] INDIAN SOCIETY 213
other and presumably original members of the
league are of Algonquian lineage. The confederacies
to which reference is often made in the history of
the colonies and the western movement were gen-
erally temporary unions for special emergencies,
and were rather loose alliances than true con-
federations. Such, for example, were the various
leagues among the tribes of New England, the
Powhatan in Virginia, the Illinois in the state of
that name, and others.
One of the most valuable results of modern
ethnological research is the proof, now indisputa-
ble, that practically all of these confederacies were
similar in general character. The reaction from
the extravagances and inaccuracies of the Spanish
recorders and their later interpreters produced a
swing of the pendulum of authority which reduced
the Aztec to the level of the Mohawk, and be-
littled the advances in all directions which the
Mexicans and Maya had achieved. The more mod-
erate opinion is probably correct — viz., that the
Aztec political and industrial systems had devel-
oped further, but along much the same lines, as in
the more northern tribes.
The process and to a certain extent the causes
of the higher attainments of the Aztec are not hard
to understand. The development of agriculture by
the elaboration of irrigation naturally produced a
greater density of population. With the increas-
ing munbers in a limited area organization became
214 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
a necessity. The pressure on the food supply
brought about a system of organized plunder from
tribes which had been conquered and were held in
subjugation by the efficiency of the confederation.
The collection of this tribute and its equable distri-
bution demanded an executive, and it was provided
by increased dignity and authority vested in the
war-chief, who was gradually assuming civil as well
as military functions. Coincident with this growth
of the chief executive, which must be considered
the most significant phase of the Aztec government,
came an increase in the number of subordinate
civil officers and consequent differentiation in their
functions. It is not unlikely that with time the
two war - chiefships of the Iroquois,* created for
special military operations, would have been con-
solidated and a more permanent executive with
civil functions have been developed. In other
words, the Iroquois were probably following the
very course of civil evolution through which the
Aztec had already passed, though the progress was
necessarily slower, by reason of the local dispersion
of the former as compared with the compact village
commimities of the latter.
* See above, chap. x.
CHAPTER XIV
INDIAN HOUSES, HOUSE LIFE, AND FOOD
QUEST
( 1 500-1 900)
TWO facts stand out clearly from the earliest
authentic information regarding the Indians:
the first is that the continent was sparsely settled
in pre-Columbian times; the second that the in-
habitants were sedentary rather than nomadic in
manner of life. The fact that Indians were every-
where encountered by the early settlers means
nothing, except that the same natural features
which attracted the white attracted the Indian as
well. Practically everywhere the natives were
gathered together in villages, the sites of which
were determined by natural advantages. These
villages were almost invariably small, seldom with
more than a few hundred inhabitants, and usually
with less. With the inevitable growth and ex-
tension of these groups new villages were formed,
the inhabitants of which naturally retained dialec-
tic and cultural affiliations, and thus afforded an
opportunity for the confederations which were
brought about by common interests. Language
215
2i6 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
and geographical proximity were the pre-eminent
factors in binding together the tribes and con-
federacies.
Furthermore, these villages were almost always
permanent, although the seasonal changes of resi-
dence brought about by the necessities of the food
quest often gave to the early observers the impres-
sion of an unstable and nomadic habit. Scattered
at intervals along the coasts of both oceans, and
on the waterways of the continent and about the
shores of the lakes of the interior, it is not strange
that the white immigrants encountered these vil-
lages at every turn and supposed that the vast
intervening territories were as thickly peopled as
the natural routes of travel which they happened
to be following; whereas, as a matter of fact, large
areas were nearly as destitute of Indian as of white
inhabitants.
For this and other reasons, gross misconceptions
have arisen regarding the number of Indians at
the discovery; and with them equally erroneous
ideas as to the rapid decrease and inevitable ex-
tinction of the race.* Such calculations as can be
made would show nothing but a gradual diminish-
ing of their numbers, except in special groups; and
in some cases an increase can be proven. So far as
the evidence is attainable, it indicates that sparse
and scattered population has been the condition
from time immemorial.
* S^e above, chap, vi.
1900] INDIAN LIFE 217
To return to the villages — the dwellings of which
they consisted naturally varied widely in character
both with the environment and with the culture and
social organization of the inhabitants. The archi-
tectural characteristics show many variations and
are not distributed with geographical regularity;
some of the most characteristic types have been
described in the preceding chapters, and we need
do nothing more than sum up at this point. The
most widely distributed Indian houses were un-
doubtedly the light and not very durable shelters
of brush, bark, and skin. These were sometimes
elaborate, Hke the Iroquois "long houses," or rude
and simple, like the "wickiups" of the southern
Shoshone. .
The bark and brush wigwams which are regarded
as typical of the eastern tribes were, however,
permanent dwellings, and were modified by the
buffalo-htrnting and rapidly moving Indians of the
plains to meet their own conditions. These con-
ditions brought about the device of the tipi al-
ready described,^ which has been adopted so widely
in the open country of the west. On the border
between the eastern and western group one of
those curious transitions in type is sometimes seen,
such as a wigwam built on tipi lines or a tipi adapted
to the woodland life. The eastern Sioux construct
a lodge of bark like the Iroquois, but with far less
skill and finish. Lodges covered in with woven
* See above, chap, ix.
2i8 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
mats were also common in many tribes, but usually
as summer shelters. The Nez Perce of Idaho were
described by the early explorers as living in houses
as much as one hundred and fifty feet in length
and built of straw and mats, the idea having been
borrowed, it was supposed, from the wooden houses
of the Pacific coast. The evidence is fairly good,
however, that such were not the common Shahaptian
dwellings but sporadic foreign introductions.
The simpler type of the more permanent dwell-
ings is seen in the underground lodges of the north-
western plateaus, which were devised to afford pro-
tection in the severe winters of that region, and
are simply a modification of the more temporary
shelters of brush and bark just described. A
shallow excavation, circular in form, was covered
in with a conical roof of poles, and that with brush
or mats, and often with earth. These earth houses
are typically western and appear chiefly on the
plateaus, in Oregon and central California, on the
southern plains, and in the southwest, among such
tribes as the Navajo and Pomo, They occur
sporadically, but not generally, in other parts of
the continent. The details of construction vary:
they are sometimes round, sometimes square, some-
times large, and sometimes small, but almost always
embody the three features of excavation, particularly
where the winters are hard ; of a frame-work of poles
or beams; and of a covering of earth or sod. The
snow houses of the Eskimo are adaptations of the
iQoo] INDIAN LIFE ^ig
same idea to their frozen environment, but the
rafters are lacking and the blocks of snow are wedged
tight by the key-block at the summit of the roimded
arch.
The greatest development of wooden houses, that
of the northwest coast, has already been described.^
In that region the attempt was made to roughhew
the planks, but in other parts of the continent
wooden houses were usually built of poles, or some-
times, as among the Cherokee, of logs.
The highest form of native architecture is reached
in the southwestern states and in Mexico. Within
the limits of the United States the Pueblo dwellings
of Arizona and New Mexico are the best and most
durable. The typical Pueblo village is a cluster of
rectangular houses, or rather rooms, arranged about
a central court, or in a row, and usually placed one
over the other in terraces. The walls of the older
Pueblo houses are of undressed stone, and the
roofs are formed of beams, with successive layers
of smaller sticks, brush, and packed earth. Lad-
ders give access to the terraces, and the rooms of
the ground floor were entered by holes in the roof.
In these modem days, doors, stone stairways, chim-
neys, and drains are being introduced with rapidity,
and modify the more primitive character of the
houses.
The ancient cliff - dwellings of the cations were
nothing more than these Pueblo houses built in
* See above, chap. iii.
220 BASIS OP AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
great niches of the canon walls, with the overhanging
cliffs to give protection and incidentally to preserve
the ruins. There is good evidence that they are
no older in type than the Piieblo houses of to-day,
and that they were contemporaneous with the
villages built on the flats. It is also thought by
some writers that the peculiar elevated sites were not
chosen primarily for purposes of defence, but simply
as affording favorable lookout places during the
seasons when the fields were in cultivation. Doubt-
less both considerations contributed to the choice
of site.
The massive architectural remains of Mexico and
Central America can only be mentioned. They
unquestionably mark the apex of Indian develop-
ment, and their magnificence has led to very wrong
ideas as to the general level of culture to which
the Aztec and their neighbors had attained. Some
of these Central American structures were of
enormous size, a thousand feet or more in ground
diameter and as much as two hundred feet high.
They were built of large blocks of stone, laid in mor-
tar, and finished in various wa^'^s. It is a remarkable
fact that with this skill in construction the principle
of the arch was never used.
There can be no doubt that in the local form of
Indian houses, the continent over, social organiza-
tion had a determining influence.^ The type of con-
struction may have been the result of physical en-
* Morgan, Houses and House Life.
i9oo] INDIAN LIFE 221
vironment, but the group organization undoubtedly
led to the communal houses of the Iroquois and
the Pueblo, of the Kwakiutl and the Mandan, and of
numerous other tribes as well ; and where communal
houses did not exist a similar local chistering of
individual lodges on a basis of relationship tended to
appear.
Moreover, the system of social organization de-
termined other arrangements still more domestic in
character. The position and influence of the woman
in the " long house" of the Iroquois have been noted.
It was not an exceptional case ; much nonsense has
been written and believed regarding the "squaw"
in Indian society. She is pictured as a drudge and
slave, while her lord and master, dignified and
lazy, is supposed never to lift his hand to work
except under stress of direst necessity. Such ideas
are very far from the truth. The division of labor
between the sexes is not very unequal in the majority
of tribes, where the hunting-life entails prolonged
and strenuous exertion on the part of the men ; and
the independence and authority of the woman in
household affairs are usually recognized and often
exerted. The lines separating the work of the men
from that of the women are sharply drawn, and
interference from either side is seldom brooked.
The care of the lodge, preparation of food, and
making of clothing and household utensils fall to
the woman ; while the arts of hunting and war, with
the manufacture of weapons, are the peculiar care of
222 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
the man. With the inroads of civilization the labor
of the man has become less and less and his energy
has decreased at an equal rate. The task of the
woman, on the other hand, has rather been added to
than lightened, and the disproportion thus brought
about affords a certain basis for the popular notions
on the subject.
In the every-day life of the Indian the satisfaction
of his hunger was naturally his most important need.
The means to this end were as varied as the en-
vironment in which he Hved. While it is justifiable
to speak of the Indians in general as hunting and
fishing folk, it is clear from the descriptions already
given that a large proportion of them practised
agriculture. It was only in the north and among
some of the western tribes that hunting formed the
chief means of subsistence. As soon as the latitude
permits the growth of berries, seeds, and edible
roots, we find the himting people turning more
and more to such vegetable food as can be found in a
wild state; and as still more southern climates are
reached, agricultiu'e appears and increases as we
go south, until it practically affords the sole means
of subsistence. The wild foods were numerous;
berries and roots of all sorts are the staples in the
north, where lichens and the inner bark of certain
trees are also used. In the Columbia Valley and
on the plateaus the root of the camass {Camassia
esculenta) is sought and obtained in great quantities,
and eaten either roasted or in cakes made from its
iQoo] INDIAN LIFE 223
meal. In central California the acorn is the great
source of food, and is likewise made into a meal
and subsequently prepared in various ways. In the
southwest, besides the cultivated plants, the mes-
quite and the prickly -pear yield food; and in this
region mescal is generally eaten to produce a kind
of intoxication much in favor among the Indians.
In the northeast the wild - rice provision of the
Ojibwa has already been mentioned,* and wild
cranberries and the other small fruits of the Great
Lake region were also added to their diet.
East of the Mississippi and south of the St.
Lawrence basin, agriculture diminished the impor-
tance of wild fruits, but they still contributed to
the Indian's larder. It is needless to specify in
detail, for it can truly be said that every edible
plant was made use of by the natives ; and it was only
in certain regions where a given variety exerted a
marked influence on the residence, such as the
water-lily among the Klamath, the camass on the
plateaus, and the wild rice among the Ojibwa and
other eastern tribes, that it deserves especial men-
tion. Of cultivated plants, maize, beans, squash-
es, and tobacco must be accorded the first place,
particularly in the southeast. In certain regions,
notably the southwest, these plants were supple-
mented by the seeds of the sunflower.
Of animal food, what might be termed the transi-
tion form consisted of insects, for in the dry regions
* See above, chap. x.
224 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
of the west numerous species such as the grasshopper
and various larvae are dried, pounded into a meal,
and mixed with vegetable products. Snakes and
reptiles of all kinds are also eaten, unless religious
considerations compel abstinence, as happens in a
number of groups. The larger mammals were
very naturally the chief contribiitors to the animal
supply in areas where they existed. The seal,
walrus, and polar-bear, the various members of the
deer family, bears, mountain-sheep, mountain-goat,
antelope, and, above all, the bison, have been the
mainstay of the tribes living in the same habitats
as those animals. Small mammals of every jiort
are eaten everywhere, and the importance of fish
in such regions as the north Pacific coast cannot
be over-estimated.
The Indian methods of hunting were in general
crude, except that much ingenuity was shown in
devising traps for small mammals and for fish.
With the bow and arrow and various spears and
clubs as the chief weapons, success depended upon
close range, and as a consequence stalking and
driving were the ordinary means of approach to the
larger land animals. Clever disguises of animal
heads and skins were quite generally adopted to
deceive the quarry in stalking. The advent of the
horse gave a new method of hunting the buffalo,
which was quickly seized upon by the tribes of the
plains; and the introduction of fire-arms has of
course revolutionized the hunting customs of the
i9oo] INDIAN LIFE 225
Indians from one side of the continent to the other.
The harpoons and spears in use by the Eskimo and
tribes of the northwest coast for hunting whales and
the other large sea mammals were particularly in-
genious in the devices of detachable points and
floats, which afforded safety to the hunters without
diminishing the efficiency of the weapons.
In preparing the foods thus obtained, roasting
and boiling were the common methods of cooking.
Boiling was ordinarily done by dropping heated
stones into vessels filled with water, the receptacles
being of wood, basketry, or pottery, occasionally
of stone. Smoking and drying as methods of pre-
serving meat were practised widely. The best-
known process of drying was the so-called "jerking,"
which consisted of cutting the flesh into long, thin
strips, which were then thoroughly dried in the sun.
Meat thus prepared would keep indefinitely, and
was cooked as needed. The jerked meat was some-
times pounded up and mixed with fat, the result
being known as "pemmican," and was much used
in the north. In the northwest, among the salmon-
fishing tribes, the fish are split and thoroughly
dried and smoked, after which they are stored for
later use. Salt was obtained from natural deposits
or from springs, and was generally known in the
west and as far east as the Ohio Valley.
Domesticated animals can be disregarded as
a source of food supply in early days, since it is
probable that the dog was the only animal which
VOL. n. — IS
226 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
would come under that head in pre-Columbian
times. Dogs were eaten by certain tribes, but
their chief usefulness was in other lines. It is
almost certain that the horses which play so im-
portant a part in the life of the plains Indians are
the descendants of those introduced by the first
Europeans; and the sheep and goats which now
afford the Navajo his chief means of subsistence are
known to have come from the Spaniards.
Cannibalism as a practice can hardly be said to
have existed in North America, certainly not north
of the Mexican border. In certain tribes there were
ceremonials in which the rite of eating human flesh,
or at least the pretence, formed a part; and it has
been thought that this expressed a survival from
days when the custom was general. It was prob-
ably nothing more than the symbolic acquisition of
the victim's powers, and there is no evidence that
it ever had other significance. In practically all
cases it was an empty form.
As among all peoples, food taboos occur in be-
wildering variety, especially among the Eskimo,
and hardly an Indian group can be found that
does not practise some kind of abstinence for re-
ligious reasons. These taboos are sometimes tem-
porary, but sometimes permanent; in the latter
cases there is always a traditional or mythological
basis which gives the custom the strength of a
religious principle.
CHAPTER XV
INDIAN INDUSTRIAL LIFE AND WARFARE
(1500-1900)
THE Indian's acquaintance with metal was
little more than accidental, and his smithery
was usually a rude beating out into the desired
shape, with designs applied by etching or hammer-
ing. In Mexico, as was noted in a previous chapter,
the art of casting metals had been attained, but it
was practically unknown in the northern parts of
the continent. Copper and gold were most com-
monly used, as the two metals most adaptable to
the primitive technique of the savage.
Thrown back upon stone and wood as the chief
sources of raw material, it is not strange that there
developed that infinite variety of weapons, tools,
and vessels of those substances which archaeological
research has brought to light. Where stone and
wood were ill adapted, bone, antler, shell, and other
durable materials were made to do service in the
arts.
For certain necessaries, however, neither stone,
wood, nor horn will answer. Clothing must be pro-
vided, and some workable substance was called for
227
228 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
as material for the various vessels and receptacles
of e very-day life. The solution of these difficulties
was found in the arts of skin-dressing, pottery, and
weaving, in all of which the Indian reached a high
degree of perfection. The unevenness of the dis-
tribution of these arts is, however, most striking.
The knowledge of skin-dressing was widely diffused,
but pottery-making was entirely absent in many
regions ; and while weaving in some form was prac-
tically universal, the degree of skill in the textile
art varied from area to area in an inexplicable
manner.
For the preparation of skins the treatment of
buffalo hides by the Indians of the plains may be
taken as an example. As soon as removed, the skin
was spread, stretched, and pegged to the ground,
with the flesh side up, and thus exposed to the
blazing sun it soon became dry and hard. The
subsequent manipulation depended upon the end
in view. For robes, the woman began to chip away
the surface with an adze of flint or other hard
material, so as to reduce the skin to uniform thick-
ness as well as to render it more pliable. It was
here that the chief care was necessary, in order not
to cut through at any point and yet to produce
the desired thinness. To facilitate the process and
to render the skin as soft as possible, it was con-
stantly smeared with a mixture of buffalo brains
and fat, which was thoroughly rubbed in with a
smooth stone. The final product was as pliable as
i9oo] INDIAN INDUSTRIES 229
cloth. For tipi coverings the hair was removed by-
soaking the hide in water mixed with wood-ashes
or some other alkaline substance, and both sides
were treated as described above. For making
parfleches or packing-cases, the hide was taken
green, the hair removed, and a piece of the desired
size was stretched upon a form, where it dried in
the proper shape; and the rawhide product was
practically indestructible.
Among all tribes in whose neighborhood deer
were found, the skins were dressed more or less as
above, and the resulting buckskin was wonderfully
soft and workable. From the far north to the ex-
treme south this buckskin was the chief material used
for clothing. The women of many tribes attained
great skill in cutting and fitting, as well as in sewing
the garments with sinew thread, which was the
method universally practised. The typical man's
clothing consisted of a breech-cloth, a hunting-shirt,
leggings, and moccasins. The Indian woman wore
a loose, short-sleeved upper garment, a waist-cloth
or apron, leggings, and moccasins, the last two
articles often being made in one piece. Young
children usually went entirely naked. On the
northwest coast, where the climate is wet and
rainy, capes and aprons of woven cedar bark have
been devised to meet the conditions. Among the
Eskimo, where the climate necessitates the wearing
of furs during a large part of the year, and where
during the milder season the men are forced to be
230 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
much in the water, a very efficient water-proof suit
is made from the intestines of seals.
The costume mentioned above as typical had
nearly as many modifications as there were tribes.
In certain parts of the far west the Indians wore
practically nothing, and in Mexico elaborate dresses
of different woven fabrics were in use. There was
also great variety and magnificence in the differ-
ent ceremonial costumes where symbolism had full
sway. With the advent of the European and his
manufactures, the clothing of the Indians has been
affected along with the rest of his culture. The
bead-work ornamentation, which is now regarded as
peculiarly Indian, is of course a modern growth,
though the designs may follow ancient motives.
Embroidery with porcupine quills, which is still
practised extensively in certain groups, was prob-
ably the forerunner of this type of embellishment.
In nearly all parts of the United States the native
clothing has given place to that of the whites ; and
it is only in the ceremonial costumes, where religious
conservatism makes itself felt, that the Indian dress
can be expected to survive for any time.
Much has been written of the modes of hair-
dressing, and the subject is worth mention. In
the eastern states generally the men shaved the
head, leaving a crest along the centre, with a long
scalp-lock, which was braided and decorated with
great care. The arrangement of the scalp - lock
varied among different groups, but in one form or
i9ool INDIAN INDUSTRIES • 231
another it was found over the greater part of the
United States except along the Pacific coast. Most
of the plains tribes did not shave the head, but
wore the hair either braided or flowing, but always
with the scalp-lock in evidence. The southwestern
Indians usually cut the hair straight across the fore-
head in front and at the shoulders behind.
The Indians were fond of bodily ornament both
permanent and temporary; of the permanent form
were the flattened heads and other deformations.
Tattooing was much more widely practised among
the western tribes than in the east, but it is im-
possible to say what may have determined its
presence or absence in a given group. In the ex-
treme northwest, where it was more elaborate than
elsewhere, the designs are often of a totemic or
other symbolic character. In many regions, how-
ever, the marks are simple lines and dots and
evidently purely decorative in purpose.
Labrets, or studs of bone, ivory, and wood, were
worn in the lower lip by the Indians of the north-
west coast, and the custom persists in an attenu-
ated form among the Eskimo at the mouth of the
Mackenzie River, by whom it was doubtless bor-
rowed from Alaska.^ The septum of the nose was
pierced by some tribes, notably on the plateaus and
the Pacific coast, and pendants of various forms
were inserted. Ear ornaments of one form or
* Dall, " On Masks, Labrets, and Certain Aboriginal Customs"
(Bureau of Ethnology, Third Annual Report).
232 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
another were worn nearly everywhere. The varieties
of necklaces, armlets, and ornaments of that type
are innumerable: shell, bone, teeth, and claws being
the materials most in favor.
Painting of the face and body was universal
among the Indians, and was regarded as an indis-
pensable adjunct to dress and adornment. The
original pigments before the coming of the whites
were red and yellow ochre, powdered charcoal,
different earths, and the juices of many roots and
plants. The two colors most in use were red and
black. The application varied with the tribe as
well as the occasion — every ceremonial required its
particular form of painting, and every important
event in the life of the individual was marked in
the same way.
An important branch of industrial art was
pottery. Durable, water-tight vessels are conven-
iences everywhere, and in some regions absolute
necessities. It was probably then in response to a
pressing condition of the environment that the
potter's art reached its height in the arid regions of
the southwest. The discovery of the process of
pot-making was doubtless aided by the fact that
in precisely that climate sim-dried clay would occur
naturally and give the needed suggestion to the
early inventor. The ruder examples of pottery are
vessels modelled roughly and quickly with the fin-
gers. Even the Eskimo had attained this knowl-
edge, and mixed clay with blood and hair to form
I90O] INDIAN INDUSTRIES 233
a primitive but serviceable lamp, which hardened
quickly under its own heat. The crudely modelled
type of pottery is found widely distributed in
North America, though great areas of the north
and west are destitute of even that.
Among the tribes of the eastern woodlands, the
gulf coast, and the southwest, pottery was seen at
its best, and we may take the ware of the Pueblo as
the most perfect type. The Indians had discovered
that unmixed clay was brittle, and had devised the
remedy as well; the Pueblo woman almost inva-
riably introduces sand and powdered potsherds
into her raw material ; and even the pottery
of the ancient mounds of the Mississippi drain-
age shows that the clay was tempered by mixt-
ure with mica, pulverized shells, and other ingre-
dients.
Besides the simple modelling of the soft material,
the commonest method of pottery making is by
"coiling." The woman rolls out a long, slender
fillet of clay varying in thickness according to the
size of the vessel to be made. This strip is coiled
on itself to form a disk and the bottom of the
vessel. The edges are then curved upward and
strip after strip added, each one slightly over-
lapping the one next beneath until the desired size
is reached. The rough surface is then smoothed
out with the fingers or an appropriate instrument.
Where the vessel is to be decorated, a slip or wash
of fine clay mixed with water is often applied. The
234 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
potters' wheel had never been invented by any
people of the Western Hemisphere.
The aesthetic value of Indian pottery is either in
the form or the surface decoration. In the older
examples from the mounds there appears to have
been a tendency to model the vessels in imitation
of natural forms — animals, men, and the like. In
the southwest the artistic impulse finds its chief
expression in the coloring and surface decoration,
which latter is painted on and fixed by firing.
Of textile industries basketry and matting are
not only the most primitive, they are also the most
wide-spread. In the study of savage technique bas-
ketry has afforded the best basis for comparisons,
and the distribution of types of manufacture and
designs in this particular art in North America is so
striking that much has been learned regarding the
cultural relations of the Indian tribes from whom
collections of basketry have been made.* The uses
of basketry cannot be enumerated. It appears in
every phase of the Indian's life ; and being, in one
form or another, distributed over practically the
whole of the continent, it may be regarded as one
of the most significant objects of Indian industry.
Woven and coiled basketry are the two types of
technique, the former built on a warp foundation
and the latter on a basis of rods or splints. Woven
basketry is seen in its simplest form among the
' For an exhaustive and excellent account of Indian basketry,
see Mason, Aboriginal American Basketry.
h
1900] INDIAN INDUSTRIES 235
tribes of the northeastern woodlands, where strips
of some hardwood, of uniform width and thickness,
are woven in a plain , checker-board pattern . As soon
as the strips are varied in width and coloring the
possible patterns are numerous and the beauty-
much increased. Such an advance is seen in the
cedar -bark weaving of the north Pacific coast.
The great variety in form and pattern which woven
basketry presents in different parts of the country
is brought about by the treatment of the warp and
weft strands, as well as by the different materials
and pigments employed.
Coiled basketry is produced by sewing over a rod
foundation with some flexible material, each stitch
interlocking with the one beneath. This type is
essentially a western and southwestern production.
The art of weaving cotton and wool into cloth
was also an Indian accomplishment. The looms
were of a simple sort, but the product was often of
remarkable fineness and beauty, as in the blankets
of the Tlingit and Navajo and the cloths of Central
and South America.
It has already been noted that the exigencies
of the food quest called for frequent changes of
residence on the part of the Indian, and the journeys
thus undertaken were often of considerable length.
Modes of travel and means of transportation, there-
fore, were not only a matter of concern to the Ind-
ian himself, but are of interest as an additional
expression of his adaptation to his environment.
236 BASIS OP AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
On land, the narrow trail worn by the travellers on
foot and in single file was the line of communication
from point to point; and south of the arctic the
means of transporting goods was on the backs of
men and women. The dog, as the only domesticated
animal, gave some assistance. In the open country
of the west he was harnessed to tw o trailing poles,
and was thus able to drag loads of seventy-five to
one hundred pounds; and when the horse arrived,
the same device on a larger scale was employed
and the process of moving greatly facilitated.
Innumerable inventions were in use to lighten
the labor of the human pack-animal. Baskets
and receptacles of every kind, frames of various
shapes were employed, but, above all, there was the
" tump-line," or carrying-strap, which passed around
the forehead or chest and supported the burden
on the back. Snow-shoes are in use from the
Eskimo domain to the latitude of the northern
states. The size of the shoe and the fineness of the
mesh increase as the temperature rises and the snow
becomes softer and less compact.
Among the Eskimo and certain tribes of the far
north, where the snow is deep and lasts for many
months of the year, sledges drawn by men and dogs
are the means of transportation. The runners are
of drift-wood or bone, and shod with walrus, ivory,
or whalebone; and in order to make them glide
still more smoothly, a thin coating of ice is allowed
to form. The dog harness is simple but effective,
igoo] INDIAN INDUSTRIES 237
and the thongs which draw the sledge are attached
by a toggle which can readily be cast oflf.
Travel by water saves much time and energy,
and as a consequence navigation is practised by ev-
ery known people. The typical boat of the Ameri-
can Indian is undoubtedly the bark canoe, found
at its best in the northeast, where the necessary ma-
terials are plentiful arid the demand for a portable
craft is greatest. This canoe is built of several
pieces of bark stretched over a frame of ribs and
sewn together, as well as rendered water-proof at
the seams with pitch.
It is not known whether the Eskimo skin canoe
is a derivation of the bark canoe or not, but it
would seem plausible that he carried the notion
with him from his more southern home, and met
the difficulty of lack of bark by utilizing the skins,
of which he had great plenty. The "umiak," or
women's boat, among the Eskimo is a large, open
affair, built somewhat on the lines of an Indian
canoe, and is the craft which carries the women,
children, and household effects whenever the sea
is open. The "kayak," or hunting-canoe, which is
strictly the man's type, is entirely covered with skin,
except for the small opening where the paddler sits.
Another type of skin boat is the coracle, or " bull
boat," made by certain tribes of the plains and
mentioned in the chapter descriptive of that group.*
It was constructed of a buffalo hide stretched over a
' See above, chap. ix.
238 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
frame-work of poles, and though a clumsy, unwieldy
craft, was a great aid in ferrying the Indians across
such wide streams as the Missouri.
The dugouts are characteristic of the northwest
Pacific and southeast Atlantic coasts, but reached
their highest development in the former region.
While difficult for the uninitiated to manage, and
of no use where portages are frequent, the Indian
skilled in their navigation can handle them with
surprising ease and quickness.
The universal means of propulsion is the paddle.
Oars were probably known to the Eskimo alone of
all American peoples, and the culture of that race
is constantly under the suspicion of having been
affected by contact with Europeans. Sails of woven
cedar bark from five to ten feet square were in com-
mon use along the north Pacific coast, where sea
navigation was common and the wind could be
utilized to great advantage. These primitive sails
seem to have been used only with fair winds, as
there was no device for shifting them after they
had once been set.
The great obstacles to inland canoe navigation,
the portages, have been discussed in an earlier
chapter.* We need only emphasize once more the
great importance of the Indian carrying-places in
marking out the lines along which communication
took place between the tribes and subsequent
population tended to flow.
' See above, chap. ii.
tgoo] INDIAN INDUSTRIES 239
Of an importance second to none were the
methods of obtaining fire/ The great use of fire
is of course for cooking, but light and heat become
conditions of necessity in certain climates, and we
find the Eskimo with their lamps, the northwestern
Indians with their torches of candle-fish, and the
eastern tribes with their blazing pine-knots making
an attempt at illumination; and wherever fuel per-
mitted, the burning fire became the centre of family,
clan, and tribal life.
The simplest device for fire-making is the well-
known "fire-drill," which is a vertical wooden rod
twirled in a horizontal piece of dry wood. The
friction produces a fine dry -wood dust which pres-
ently ignites from the heat, and by gentle treat-
ment the spark is transferred to some inflammable
material held ready for the purpose. The com-
mon method of operation is to twirl the upright or
"spindle" between the palms of the hands, while
the horizontal piece or "hearth" is held firmly on
the ground by the knee or foot. This invention
is found everywhere in North America, and was
used with great facility by all Indians. Improve-
ment in the apparatus was made by certain tribes
by winding a cord once or twice around the upright
and pulling it back and forth, thus creating a rapid
and even rotary motion which hastened the result.
' Hough, " Fire-Making Apparatus," U. S. National Museum,
Report, 1888, pp. 531-588; ibid., 1890, pp. 395-409; Mason,
Origins of Invention, 84.
240 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
Both hands being nt3ded to operate the cord,
several devices were made to keep the upright in
place and still x^ermit the work to be done by one
individual. The Eskimo method was to hold in
the mouth a bone or ivory socket into which the
upper end of the spindle fitted and which held it in
place while allowing it to rotate freely. Another
way out of the difficulty was to attach the cord to
a curved stick like a bowstring and work this back
and forth or up and down, both of which actions
can be carried out with one hand, leaving the other
free to hold the spindle in position. The former
of these methods is known as the bow -drill, the
latter as the pump-drill. Both devices were used
for boring holes in different materials by simply
placing a hard, sharp point on the spindle. The
pump is specifically a southwestern contrivance,
though it has been reported among Indians of the
east.
Fire-making by "ploughing" was also practised
by some tribes, and consists in running the up-
right rapidly back and forth in a groove of its own
making, and producing a dust which is then treated
in exactly the same way as in the case of the drill.
The Eskimo and northern Indians had also dis-
covered that sparks and fire could be obtained by
percussion, and made use of two pieces of pyrites, or
of pyrites and flint, in exactly the same way that
civilized man formerly operated with flint and steel.
The organization and distribution of the Indians
iQoo] INDIAN INDUSTRIES 241
resulted in a continual state of war. Every tribe
was practically at war with every other with which
there was not an express treaty of peace. It is not
strange then that the military virtues came to hold
the highest place in the popular regard. To die in
battle was glorious ; bravery, strength, and skill gave
the most envied positions to their possessors, and
cowardice was everywhere execrated. It was an
easy matter to arouse the warlike enthusiasm of the
boy, and among most tribes his early training was
directed chiefly to that end. The child's toys were
miniature weapons, and the games were usually
contests which practised the boys in their use.
The most widely distributed implements of war
were the bow and arrow, and were found everywhere.
The bow was made of the toughest, most elastic
wood to be found in the vicinity of the maker, and
in a few places a capable substitute was found in
horn. In the extreme north, where growing wood
was scarce, drift-wood was utilized and strengthened
by a backing of sinew. The use of sinew as a
reinforcement was seen at its best among the
northwestern tribes, where it was shredded out and
applied by means of fish or other animal glue, with
such skill that the union with the wood appears
complete. The length and form of the bow varied
with the locality. It was usually short, however,
not much over three feet as a rule. Bows manu-
factured from the horns of buffalo and mountain-
sheep were occasionally used by tribes of the plains
VOL. 11. — 16
242 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
and the plateaus. The ordinary bowstring was of
sinew, twisted and braided to a point of great
strength.
As much care and attention were given to the
arrow as to the bow. The shaft was of hard wood
or cane, the point of stone, flint, obsidian, or jasper
(in more modem days of iron or glass), and the
arrow was tipped with eagle feathers. Poison was
sometimes applied to the points.
The hatchet or tomahawk was a characteristic
weapon of the Indians, except in the far north,
and was especially in favor in the east, where the
forest made hand-to-hand fighting a constant
necessity. The tomahawk came to be used as a
symbol of war, and in many tribes was constructed
so as to form a pipe as well, and as such was em-
ployed in many ceremonies.
Short lances or javelins were used in Mexico and
on the Pacfic coast, as well as by the Eskimo.
Their efficiency was increased by the "throwing
stick," which gave a much longer range than could
be reached by hand. War-clubs were used every-
where, and knives or short cutting weapons of vari-
ous sorts were also universal.
Thrusting-lances or spears were apparently not
common, though they were used extensively by the
tribes of the plains, whose battles were waged on
horseback. These Indians also made use of shields,
light but tough affairs of rawhide, which were
mainly for parrying the opponent's lance. Much
I900] INDIAN INDUSTRIES 243
attention was given to the decoration of these
shields, the designs being symbohc and of a deep
reHgious significance to the owners. Other de-
fensive armor was practically confined to the
Pacific coast and the plateaus, where a cuirass of
wooden slats or sticks was the means of protection.
Thick hide was also used in some places.
Military art can hardly be said to have existed.
Besides the natural advantages of land formations,
fortifications consisted only of stockades, or occa-
sionally of a rampart of earth reinforced by a ditch.
Campaigns were little more than sudden raids
carried out by small bodies of warriors brought
together for the particular occasion. Surprises and
ambuscades were the limit of the Indian devices.
Massacre without mercy was the rule, though
prisoners were sometimes taken, and either put to
death at some later time or adopted into the tribe
of the captors, or made slaves, as the case might be.
Adoption following capture was much more com-
mon among the tribes of the eastern woodlands
than in other parts of the continent; and slavery,
as has been shown, was more prevalent in the
extreme west than elsewhere.
Torture of prisoners was also more common in the
east, but even there was not as general as is pop-
ularly supposed. Selected individuals were taken
for the purpose, and there was usually a religious
motive behind the practice. It was also a custom
in many tribes to eat the flesh of one of the victims
244 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
after a victory. This was done with the idea of
assimilating the powers and desirable qualities of
the slain, and was as far as the practice of canni-
balism ever went.
Scalping was a custom over the whole continent
north of Mexico, except at certain points on the
Pacific slope and among the Eskimo. The chief
value of the scalp was as a trophy and proof of the
warrior's prowess, though there was also, probably, a
deeper reason behind the custom. The possession of
the scalp may have signified a certain power over
the soul of the victim, in a way analogous to similar
customs in other parts of the world. Scalps were
variously worn and displayed by the takers, and
often figured in religious ceremonials.
Among many Indians, notably in the middle west,
a warrior's reputation rested upon the number of
''coups'' which stood to his credit in the records
of the tribe. A coup was a deed of special prowess,
and the particular acts which enabled a man to
count coup were definitely laid down and universally
recognized. The most usual acts which carried the
privilege were killing and scalping an enemy, being
the first to touch an enemy in an attack, rescuing
a wounded fellow, and stealing a horse from the
enemy's camp.
The organization of a campaign was usually
informal in its beginning. An individual would
announce his intention to conduct a raid and ask
for volunteers to accompany him. His success in
igoo] INDIAN INDUSTRIES 245
mustering a band would naturally depend upon his
reputation as a warrior and his powers of persuasion.
It must be remembered that all military service was
ever5rwhere voluntary, the only force compelling
an unwilling man to join a war-party being public
opinion and the dread of being considered a coward.
Among the more highly organized tribes and con-
federacies extensive campaigns for purposes of
defence were decided upon by the tribal or con-
federation council, and the execution of the decision
was left to the recognized war-chief or chiefs, but
even in such cases the service of the individual was
voluntary. Occasionally war would be declared
with considerable formality, and notice sent by
means of belts or symbolic objects, and treaties of
peace were made and sealed in the same way.
The authority of the leader was vague, though
usually recognized while the campaign was in
progress. Punishment for disobedience was seldom
anything more than expulsion from the band and
ridicule at the hands of the women and children
upon the culprit's return home.
Before leaving on the war-path a dance was par-
ticipated in by the intending warriors, the obvious
purpose being to inflame their passion and increase
their enthusiasm ; and upon the return from a suc-
cessful raid, dances and ceremonies of celebration
and thanksgiving were held, and often developed
into the wildest orgies.
While the wars of the Indians among themselves
246 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
were constant they were usually on a small scale.
Nevertheless, the formation of confederacies brought
about a condition which united large bodies of men,
and sometimes produced active hostilities of such
magnitude and duration that they exerted a pro-
found influence on the distribution of the tribes.
Such, for example, was the effect of the Iroquois
League, whose struggle with surrounding Algonquian
tribes lasted for centuries and determined the native
occupancy of the entire northeastern portion of the
United States. The same was true of the Creek
confederacy in the southeast; while the Cherokee
were strong enough in themselves to form a barrier
to all encroachment. The Sioux or Dakota con-
federacy was the dominant power in the middle
west and completely controlled the northern por-
tions of the great plains. The tribes of the Pacific
slope were more sedentary and less warlike than
those of the east, and their wars were probably
always of a petty sort. In the south the Aztec
confederacy conducted elaborate campaigns and
held permanent sway.
It is quite evident that the two chief incentives
to war among the Indians were defence and revenge.
Disputes regarding the indefinite territory between
recognized tribal limits were also a fruitful cause
of hostilities, the Indian violently resenting any
encroachment upon what he regarded as his own
province. Offensive campaigns were sometimes
undertaken as preventive measures to anticipate
iQoo] INDIAN INDUSTRIES 247
attacks and to Inspire fear, and thus to insure free-
dom from outside interference. Whatever the ex-
citing cause of actual hostilities, when once begun
it was difficult to bring them to a close. The
universal law of blood revenge demanded satisfac-
tion for every death, and a retaliatory act simply
shifted the side of the obligation, so that, unless
an understanding was reached, the only outcome
was mutual extinction. This principle undoubtedly
lay at the root of much of the Indian warfare.
With the coming of the whites the entire aspect
changed. The common enemy encouraged inter-
tribal alliances before undreamed of, as was shown
in many of the early struggles between the colonists
and the Indians in New England and other parts of
the east. Rapid and violent shiftings of location
were also necessitated by the new pressure, and
these met determined resistance from the occupants
of the territory which was thus invaded. Coalitions
with the whites were sought as a means of success-
fully dealing with Indian enemies, and the more
effective weapons thus obtained added to the de-
structiveness of the wars. The history of the Indian
tribes since the arrival of Europeans is the history
of constant struggle, movement, and change, and
still remains to be written.
CHAPTER XVI
INDIAN RELIGION. MYTHOLOGY, AND ART
(1500-1900)
IT has come to be generally recognized that the
universal characteristic of religion in its more
primitive expression is a belief in spirits. The
conceptions which underlie the beliefs are usually
crude but none the less distinct. This animism, to
use the convenient term now commonly employed,'
is variously expressed in beliefs and consequent rites
and ceremonies. Among the American Indians, who
are no exception to the rule, the animistic con-
ception includes all nature. Every individual, ev-
ery animal, every object, every concrete phenom-
enon has its soul or spirit. In the case of men
and lower animals these souls are regarded as ex-
isting after the death of the body, and hence there
has arisen a vast collection of souls or spirits with-
out bodies, which take an interest in worldly affairs
and are capable of interfering to the advantage or
detriment of mankind. The supplication and pro-
pitiation of these spirits in their various forms and
functions constitute the religious ceremonials of the
Indian.
* Cf. Tylor, Primitive Culture, I., 435
248
I900] INDIAN RELIGION 249
There is a difficulty in analyzing the beliefs which
underlie such outward manifestations, because the
religion of the Indian is interwoven with every other
phase of his life. It is impossible, for example, to
disentangle the religious from the social aspect of
totemism, or the religious from the aesthetic in art.
The two sets of ideas are in every case inevitably
and inextricably associated and the exact delimita-
tion of either is impossible.
To the mind of the Indian anything which was
strange was "mystery," and to "mystery" was re-
ferred in all the languages, everything incompre-
hensible. This is the meaning of the word "mani-
tou," of Algonquian origin, now so widely used for
corresponding conceptions throughout the tribes of
the continent. Primarily an adjective, it has come
to be employed as a noun, and spirits are called
"manitous" as personifications of this quality. As
a matter of course, some of these spirits are more
powerful than others, and there are, therefore,
grades of manitous, and sometimes one in par-
ticular, who will be venerated or feared more than
any other. There is not, however, any conception
of an all-powerful deity or "great spirit."
It was the misapprehension of the character of
the manitou by the early missionaries and observers,
and their tendency to read their own ideas into
the Indian religions, that gave rise to the error.
The particular manitou which would hold the first
place in any given group was naturally determined
2SO BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
by the general mode of life. Among the plains
Indians the spirit of the buffalo was the one to be
considered above all others ; while among other tribes
the sun, rain, spirits of various crops, etc., were the
powers to be propitiated. In the cult of these great
or class manitous the tribal rites and ceremonies
developed, reaching the elaboration already de-
scribed in preceding chapters. They were charac-
terized by dancing and symbolic dramatic per-
formances of great complexity, often lasting for
weeks. Hysterical manifestations of all sorts were
usual and the excitement was often intense. In-
toxicants and narcotics were employed to aid in the
production of the nervous state, which was regarded
as indispensable for intimate association with the
spirits. These dances were usually invocations for
abundant harvests, for rain, for success in hunting
or war, or were festivals of thanksgiving for favors
already bestowed. In the more highly developed
of the ceremonials the custom of sacrifice had been
introduced, reaching in Mexico a point where human
beings were made the victims.
The religious customs relating to death and burial
form a class by themselves, but are based upon the
same animistic ideas which underlie all the religious
beliefs. The soul of the dead man was believed
to exist after death and to have needs similar to
those of the body in life ; consequently, offerings of
all sorts were made at the grave, which could be
utilized by the soul in its spirit life. A curious
1900] INDIAN RELIGION 251
conception of a multiplicity of soul was also present
in some of the tribes. Each individual was believed
to be animated by several spirits which had differ-
ent functions after death. One, for example, would
remain near the body, one would haunt the village,
one would go to the land of the dead, the so-called
"happy hunting-grounds," etc.
Methods of burial were many and various. Graves,
stone-pits or cists, caves, or huts were used by
many tribes. Mummification was practised in some
regions, and cremation was also employed by certain
groups. An interesting mode in fairly common use
was the disposal of the corpse in a tree or on a scaf-
fold, and in some cases the body was exposed to be
devoured by beasts and birds. No matter what the
method might be, it was carried out with rigid cere-
mony and the most religious care.
One of the most important practices, if not
the fundamental religious custom of the Indian,
was the acquisition of a personal protecting spirit
or manitou by the individual.* The details of the
methods by which this supernatural helper was ob-
tained varied from tribe to tribe, but the essential
features remained the same. The individual who thus
put himself in an especially close relation with a
spirit became a shaman or medicine-man, and the
more powerful his protecting manitou the more
powerful was the shaman. Among certain tribes, as
in the northwest, almost any one could, with per-
* See above, chap. viii.
252 BAvSIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
sistence, acquire one of these guardian spirits ; while
in other regions comparatively few were favored,
and the successful ones were proportionally feared
and respected.
In this communication with the spirits the shaman
obtained by practice and piety great influence over
them, and was therefore the person called in to ex-
pel a spirit of illness from an invalid or to conduct
a ceremony of wider import. The procedure in the
cure of sickness was much the same in all parts of
the continent. The shaman danced and sang his
particular songs, performed various manipulations
of a special and symbolic character, and thus forced
the spirit of the disease to leave the body of the
sick person. The successes were surprisingly num-
erous, for the Indian is markedly hysterical in
temperament, and suggestion has in him a most
favorable soil on which to operate. Failures were
easily explained by the counter influences of hostile
spirits or shamans. A few striking cures would of
course add to the effectiveness of all future sugges-
tive treatments, and particular shamans in this way
gained reputations which spread far beyond the
borders of their own tribes.
In most of these cases the shaman was guided
and assisted by his own particular supernatural
helper. Some shamans would acquire more than
one guardian, and with time would come to stand
in a particularly close relation with the spirit world
in general. They would then possess rather the
i9oo] INDIAN RELIGION 253
character of priests, though the essentials of their
equipment were still strictly those of the primitive
shaman or sorcerer. In the carrying out of elabo-
rate ceremonies, like those of the southwest, or-
ganization was necessary, and there arose shaman-
istic societies or brotherhoods which gained great
power and influence. These societies were often
secret in character, which increased their popular
prestige.
The character of the chief ceremonials of the
Indians has been referred to in the various de-
scriptive chapters. The most elaborate of these
ceremonies are in the southwest, and it is possible
to trace a gradual modification from that region as
a base. Passing north over the great plains the
importance and complexity of the religious rites
are still great, but become progressively less, until
the elaborate ceremonies disappear in the forests of
the north. Tracing the characteristics eastward
along the gulf coast we find the green-corn dance
playing an all important role in the lives of the
southeastern tribes, but its complexity is not to be
compared with that of similar ceremonies in the
Pueblo region, and it decreases as the northern
tribes are reached.
Northwest from the Pueblo the plateau tribes
exhibit little that even remotely suggests the cere-
monies of the southwest ; and in California a sim-
ple type also exists, though more intricate than
on the plateaus. A certain amount of contact be-
254 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
tween California and the southwest is undeniable.
The north Pacific coast has its distinctive religious
rites, just as it is peculiar in its other phases of
culture. The underlying ideas are not, however,
essentially different from those of the rest of the
continent. There is, then, a progressive simplifica-
tion northward, but whether the process has been
one of degeneration in that direction or of elabora-
tion in the other it is impossible to say. The
s\m-dance and similar rites of the plains, and the
green -com dance of the southeast, give the im-
pression of degeneration; but beyond that there is
little to indicate the direction of development.
Certain religious movements of a relatively new
character occur from time to time and demon-
strate the extreme suggestibility of the Indian,
which has been mentioned above. These upheavals
usually follow the appearance of a prophet, and
often spread over vast areas and include diverse
stocks. The ghost-dance religion, which has swept
the west in recent years, is a good example of such
movements. They are usually characterized by a
Messianic idea which is especially strong in Indian
tradition.
The mythology of the Indians is voluminous and
interesting. It is also important as affording the
most available means of tracing contact and inter-
communication between tribes and stocks. The most
wide-spread and characteristic myths are those re-
lating to the genesis of the tribes and their trans-
igoo] INDIAN RELIGION 255
formation from an early condition of misfortune
and misery to a better state. Creation myths as
such can hardly be said to exist, though in California
and a few other regions stories are told which
might properly come under that term. The usual
genesis myth is of a period when the earth was
wholly different from what it is now. People ex-
isted then, but not in their present fbrm. There
was no particular differentiation between men and
animals. People were ignorant, poor, and miserable,
and the world was harried by monsters with which
the people could not cope. There was no daylight
and no fire and no knowledge of the arts. It was a
period pre-eminently of mystery and magic.
In this world of mystery appears the transform-
er or wanderer or culture hero, as he is variously
termed, who travels about working wonders, chang-
ing the existing order of things, and bringing affairs
more or less into the condition in which they are at
present. The account of the transformer's journeys,
adventures, and achievements is the typical Indian
myth, and usually forms a cycle about which the
other stories cluster. There is usually an intro-
duction treating of the birth and early life of the
transformer, and this is followed by the history of his
deeds, which forms the main part of the myth.
After his work is ended the transformer disappears
in a miraculous manner, or is turned into stone, or
terminates his career in some extraordinary way.
His return is confidently expected by the Indians,
256 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
and it is this Messianic doctrine which gives the
numerous Indian prophets their main hold and
influence. In many tribes there are several trans-
formers, who appear successively but whose func-
tions are similar.
It is this being who is the great hero of the Indians
and who was the great spirit or manitou to whom
the early writers so frequently refer. A puzzling
incongruity in his character is the fact that he is
almost invariably a trickster and one who gains
his ends by petty and despicable means. While
usually triumphant in iiis various encounters, he is
nevertheless often worsted or made ridiculous. In
short, he is not at all the venerable personage one
might expect.
Two explanations have been offered to account
for this psychological incongruity, neither of which
is sufficient. One holds that the buffoonery and
trickery are late introductions and that the present
myths are in a state of degeneration from a higher
and purer form ;* and the other that the transformer
devises the arts and obtains the benefits for his own
ends, to assist him in his own difficulties, and that
man is only incidentally the beneficiary; and that
the Indian feels himself under no obligation to
venerate the transformer, since the latter had no
altruistic purpose in mind.^ With regard to the
' Brinton, Alyths of the New World.
' Boas, in introduction to Teit, Thompson River Indian Tra-
ditions.
igoo] INDIAN RELIGION 257
first theory, that of degeneration, there is not the
slightest evidence of such a lowering in the majority
of the myths; and in reply to the last it may be
said that in many, if not most, of the transformer
stories the hero does bestow his favors for the
express benefit of mankind, and for no other ap-
parent reason. In other words, the incongruity
still remains a problem.
An immense number of stories are also told which
usually have to do with the animals in the days
when they lived and acted like men; and these
myths supplement the transformer cycles in the
explanation of present conditions. Natural phe-
r^mena, social institutions, customs and ceremonies
of all sorts are thus accounted for, and in the re-
hearsal of the myths the children were instructed
and trained in the rules and duties which awaited
them as adult members of society. Many of the
elements in these myths can be traced from tribe
to tribe for immense distances, some stories being
found in practically every comer of North America.
Some of these coincidences may doubtless be ac-
counted for by independent growth under the in-
fluence of similar psychological conditions; but in
other cases dissemination from a common source is
the only reasonable explanation.
It is to be expected that the esthetic expression
of the Indian will vary with the environment, and
that different types of art will develop in dif-
ferent areas. In decorative art it is natural that a
VOL. II. — 17
258 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
pottery-making group, for example, should possess
a type of decoration and design sharply differenti-
ated from that in use where pottery is imknown.
There is nevertheless a wide distribution of certain
types of design which requires notice.
Primitive art in general serves a useful as well
as a strictly aesthetic end, and the fact that orna-
mentation, apparently purely decorative, often has
a significance of another sort is now universally
recognized. The development of geometrically sym-
metrical patterns from pictorial designs has been
much discussed in recent years, and the art of the
American Indian is a good example of the process.
In many cases the realistic element in the patterns
is no longer traceable, while the design yet carries a
meaning easily recognized by the native. This
symbolic character of Indian art is its most strik-
ing feature. In many cases the symbolism is un-
doubtedly read into the design, while in others it
has developed through a gradual course of con-
ventionalization.
The art of the west is much richer than that of
the east, and it is on the north Pacific coast, the
plains, and in the southwest that we find the most
considerable aesthetic development. The north-
west coast art is unique. It exhibits itself both in
carving and in painting, as well as, to some extent, in
weaving. In this region realism is never entirely
lost sight of, and in the portrayal of animals, which
form their motives, a certain resemblance is always
I goo] INDIAN RELIGION 259
discernible. Conventional modifications have nat-
urally arisen, and strict rules which the artist may
not transgress in his creation seem to have been
developed. In a word, the aim of the north Pacific
decoration seems to be to portray as much of the
pattern animal as possible; and in order to accom-
plish this, the method employed is such dissection
and distribution of the parts as may be necessary.
South of Vancouver Island and east of the coast
mountains the t3rpe of decorative art changes com-
pletely. New ntotives are introduced and geometri-
cal designs are substituted for the type just described.
On the plateaus and in California basketry is the
chief vehicle of decoration, and plants, artificial
objects, and geographical features offer most of the
suggestions for designs. The decorative art of the
eastern tribes was meagre, and practically nothing
is known of its significance.
On the plains the decorative impulse expends
itself mainly on the rawhide parfleches and in
bead -work, the designs in both fields having a
symbolic and often intricate character. The point
of interest here is the variation in method of inter-
pretation of designs of the same general type. In
each group the symbolism seems to be determined
by the mental character of the people, and we find
religious, military, hunting, or industrial interpreta-
tions as the case may be. In the southwest the
opportunities are more numerous, pottery, basketry,
and blankets offering a field for artistic creation
26o BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1500
which has produced a rich variety in expression.
Little is known of the meanings of these patterns,
but the symbohsm is probably mainly religious.
In the personal decorations used in dances and
ceremonials of all sorts much ingenuity is displayed,
and as these performances are for the most part
dramatic in character the dress and decoration
usually indicate a particular mythological being
whom the actor is impersonating. In this way has
grown up the use of the grotesque masks of the
northwest and the bizarre decorations and disguises
of the plains and the southwest.
The most immediate expression of aesthetic im-
pulse is probably the dance, and the passion with
which primitive peoples indulge in this form of
excitement is well known. The variety of Indian
dances is of course very great and they cannot be
described in detail. The influence of the dance,
however, in bringing a group of individuals under
the sway of a single emotion with their energies
directed towards a single end, as in the war-dance,
and its consequent importance as a social factor,
can easily be imagined.
Indian music is distinguished by rhythm, often
extremely complex, rather than by melody. In-
strumental music is little more than the beating of
time in accompaniment to the songs. The ritualistic
songs are usually long chants or recitatives rehears-
ing the traditions or myths connected with the
particular ceremony. Songs of war, love, ridicule,
i9oo] INDIAN RELIGION 261
and those which accompany gambling and the
incantations of shamans are the main forms besides
the religious chants. Musical instruments are limit-
ed to drums of various sorts, whistles, and rattles.
It is evident from the preceding survey of Indian
sociology, religion, and art that these three aspects
of their life are always interwoven. It is impossible
to interpret the expressions of any one of them
except in the light of the others. While this close
association of divergent classes of ideas is charac-
teristic of lower levels of culture in all parts of the
world, it comes out with exceptional clearness in
North America, and is the most striking charac-
teristic of Indian psychology.
CHAPTER XVII
CHARACTER AND FUTURE OF THE INDIANS
(1904)
THE most striking facts with regard to the
American Indian are his physical uniformity
and his cultural diversity. In physical type the
differences which characterize the tribes are slight,
when compared with the common features of the
natives of both North and South America. The
causes of such physical variations as do appear must
be sought in the causes of zoological variation every-
where, and it is impossible to come to a conclusion
as to the exact and immediate influences.
Environment and mode of life, moreover, so
affect physical types that when a general truth
seems to emerge, a contradictory fact is sure to be
forthcoming. The Eskimo of the arctic are usually
cited, for example, as proofs of the stunting effects
of excessively rigorous climate and life, and it is
certainly true that as a rule they are undersized;
but the Eskimo of the Mackenzie region are tall,
active, and muscular, and remain so under exactly
the same conditions as their shorter relatives, a
local trait which may be of as much significance
262
igoo] FUTURE OF THE INDIANS 263
as the more general feature. It can hardly be a
mere accident, however, that the tribes of the north-
west coast are short and heavily built, while the
Indians of the plains are tall and lithe. The sea-
faring life of the former, which is spent mainly in
canoes, and the active hunting and, in modem days,
equestrian habits of the latter have undoubtedly
contributed to the selection of the physique. The
shape and dimensions of the skull, which are studied
with great assiduity by anthropologists, indicate
nothing striking with regard to the Indian;^ he is
ordinarily of the mesocephalic type, though ex-
hibiting extremes of long-headedness and broad-
headedness in special instances.
Skull measurements are chiefly interesting as
giving some information with respect to the brain
within, and capacity is therefore of more significance
than shape. The possible discrepancy, however, be-
tween the size of the skull and that of the brain it
contains is so great that examination of the brain
itself is the only safe basis for conclusions. It is,
therefore, unfortunate that thus far there is not a
single authentic record of a North American Ind-
ian brain ever having been scientifically examined.
The indications from skull measurements would
be that the Indian brain is, on the average, slightly
smaller than that of the European, but any infer-
ences with regard to consequent mental inferiority
are unsafe. As a matter of fact, the evidence in
' See above, chap. x.
264 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1900
the psychological field tends to show that such
mental differences as occur are due to experience
and environment rather than to innate differences
of mental capacity.*
The common statement and popular belief that
the Indian has senses more acute than the white
man has been shown to mean nothing more than
that the Indian is trained in certain fields of ob-
servation, for wherever the European is practised
under the same conditions he acquires the same
skill as the native. The usual belief that Indian
ethics and art are lower than those of the whites
carries us no further, for in conformity to the
standards which he recognizes, the Indian compares
favorably with his white competitor. The few
cases which have occurred in which an Indian has
been entirely removed from his natural environ-
ment at an early age and educated amid civilized
surroundings seem to show no particular inferiority
in mental capacity.
Whatever the truth with respect to innate abil-
ity, tradition and social environment are the de-
termining forces in the expression of Indian char-
acter as in that of all other races. It is hard to
understand the numerous misconceptions in even
the educated mind with regard to Indian character
and habits. Probably the commonest conception
of the Indian is of a grave, gloomy, taciturn, and
» Boas, " The Mind of Primitive Man " {Science, N. S., XIII.,
381).
I900] FUTURE OF THE INDIANS 265
sullen individual. On the contrary, he is in his
ordinary life a cheerful, talkative, gossipy person,
with a great fondness for society. It is a matter of
Indian training and social convention to be dig-
nified and deliberate on all occasions of a public
character, and as meetings with whites have most
frequently been of that nature, the popular error
arose, and persists in spite of the abimdant testi-
mony to the contrary from competent observers.
The stoicism with respect to pain which has been
celebrated for centuries was simply another example
of this conventional training. In his home life the
Indian often exhibits the most childish behavior
over physical pain, while he would submit to public
torture without a moan. In his nervous make-up
he is very hysterical, and the suggestive phenom-
ena of religious excitements as witnessed in Indian
gatherings are the counterparts of those seen on
similar occasions among the negroes and certain
elements of our own white population.
It has already been remarked that this suggesti-
bility is the secret of the success and influence of
the medicine - man, or shaman.^ It also explains
the presence of many disorders admirably adapted
to suggestive treatment. Many observers have re-
marked the ease with which the Indian succumbs to
disease and misfortune, and the hysterical tempera-
ment is undoubtedly the chief factor in this weak-
ness.
* See above, chap. xvi.
266 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1900
The lack of immunity against infectious and
epidemic diseases must be laid to a different source.
These come from the whites, and the Indians have
not yet acquired the racial immunity. As a con-
sequence, measles, scarlet - fever, and small - pox
have a mortality among the aborigines which
greatly exceeds that among the whites — a single
epidemic of measles will sometimes almost extin-
guish an Indian village or tribe. Whether or not
epidemic diseases of any sort existed before the
coming of the Europeans is doubtful. At the
present time tuberculosis is creating havoc on
many of the reservations, particularly on the
Pacific slope, where the wet climate creates con-
ditions favorable for its progress. In some tribes
tuberculosis is so prevalent that practically every
individual shows evidence of it. Syphilis and other
venereal diseases also contribute to the deteriora-
tion of many stocks.
Another Indian trait which has been widely
noted is hospitality. This was undoubtedly the out-
come of the communal life where property was
common and individual ownership hardly existed.
The term is, therefore, somewhat misapplied, since
food was regarded as free, and the individual owner
nothing more than a custodian by force of cir-
cumstance.
The misconception with regard to the position
of woman has also been noticed. In tribes where
the matriarchate was fundamental, as among the
igoo] FUTURE OF THE INDIANS 267
Iroquois, it is not strange that the woman should
have demanded and received thorough recognition
and respect; but it is noteworthy that in loosely
organized tribes, where the clan does not obtain,
and where the will of the stronger male might be
expected to operate as the only law, she also as-
serts her rights with success. The applause of the
women is often as much sought as the approval of
the men, and an individual's social position can
easily be made quite untenable by the opposition of
the weaker sex. In general the highest ambition of
the Indian is social regard and rank ; and ridicule and
ostracism are correspondingly feared and avoided.
It was this sensitiveness to public opinion which
enabled the tribal and other cotincils to remain as
successful instruments of government without the
establishment of a recognized executive.
These popular misconceptions are not merely
of academic interest. They have played an im-
portant part in the chapter of American history
which covers the relations of the white man and his
government towards the Indians. Leaving entirely
out of account the dishonesty and oppression which
have been too frequent in the administration of
Indian affairs, the failure to understand and ap-
preciate the workings of the Indian mind and the
nature of many of his customs, has led to well-in-
tended interference, which has often produced serious
disturbance, unrest, and revolt. Such, for example,
has been the history of the attempts of the United
268 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1900
States to establish the ownership and succession of
Indian lands. To impose a system of male inher-
itance upon a group accustomed to reckoning de-
scent through the mother is not only incompre-
hensible but revolutionary, and inevitably meets
with the stoutest resistance except from those who
may be thereby unexpectedly benefited. The owner-
ship of land in severalty is an idea repugnant as it is
novel to many tribes, and, as experience has shown,
is requiring generations of cautious management to
bring about.
Much undeserved censure has been imposed upon
the Indian department of the government by en-
thusiastic but badly informed friends of the aborig-
ines. The difficulties of administration are enor-
mous and are naturally not lessened by ignorance.
Probably the most serious error, as it is the most
difficult to avoid, is legislation for a heterogeneous
population as if it were a homogeneous group.
To apply the same rules and regulations to the
Sioux as to the Zuni is as inadvisable as it is in
practice impossible. Even the same stocks exhibit
such wide differentiations in culture that linguistic
relationship cannot be used to mark the limits of
uniform groups for purposes of administration.
When a family like the Shoshonean can exhibit such
extremes as the degraded bands commonly known
as "Digger Indians," and a people capable of such
heights of development as the Aztec of Mexico, all
principles of classification must give way to that of
iQoo] FUTURE OF THE INDIANS 269
progress in culture, in devising means of dealing
with the Indian problem of the day.
The reservation method of handling the Indians
was probably the only feasible one, but it has en-
tirely changed the distribution of linguistic families.
The disturbance has been much more marked in
the east, where white immigration quickly crowded
the territory, than in the west, where the Indians
could be allowed to remain at least in the gen-
eral neighborhood of their former seats. Most of
the southeastern tribes were transferred bodily to
Indian Territory, though in some cases small reser-
vations were established near their old homes. In
the west, reservations were formed at many different
points ; and are being kept up as far as Indian ne-
cessity demands and political pressure will permit.
Of the Algonquian group, most of the eastern
tribes have disappeared entirely. The Canadian
tribes of this family have not suffered as did the
representatives in the United States, and still remain
fairly numerous. The great Ojibwa division has
bands both in Canada and in several of the northern
states of the middle west. The western representa-
tives, the Blackfeet, Arapaho, and Cheyenne, are all
on western reservations or in Indian Territory and
Oklahoma. The remnants of the eastern and the
central Algonquians are, for the most part, in the
last-named territories.
The Iroquoians, with the exception of the Cherokee,
are divided between the United States and Canada.
270 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1900
They have all adapted themselves measurably to
the methods of civilized life. Reservations for some
of the Six Nations were established in New York
state, and are still kept up, while the remainder
of the tribes are in Ontario, Wisconsin, and Indian
Territory. The Cherokee, with the representatives
of the Muskhogean family, the Creek, Choctaw,
Chickasaw, and Seminole, make up the so-called
civilized tribes in Indian Territory, and are all self-
supporting and prosperous.
The Siouan family occupies numerous reserva-
tions in Wisconsin, Minnesota, North and South
Dakota, Montana, Nebraska, Kansas, and Indian
Territory, with a considerable number in Canada;
they do not exhibit great adaptability to civilized
life. The Athapascan Indians have remained com-
paratively untouched in the far north; while the
southern representatives, the Apache and Navajo,
in Arizona, New Mexico, and Mexico, have been
much in contact with Europeans. The Navajo are
self-supporting and prosperous, but the Apache are
still primitive in life, though of late years peace-
ful enough in disposition. The Shoshonean tribes
are distributed on reservations in Idaho, Utah,
Nevada, California, and Arizona, with the Comanche
in Indian Territory, The Pawnee are mainly in
Indian Territory. The Pacific coast tribes, nearly
all small and rapidly diminishing, are on numerous
small reservations, usually near their original hab-
itats.
iQoo] FUTURE OF THE INDIANS 271
The future of the Indians cannot be predicted
with confidence. It has been shown that while de-
creasing in numbers, the diminution is not rapid/
It is quite conceivable, even if not probable, that
more thorough adaptation to a civilized environ-
ment might check the process of extinction and
place the birth-rate higher than the death-rate.
Absorption by the whites is regarded by many as
the natural and ultimate outcome ; and the increas-
ing number of mixed bloods on the reservations
indicates such a possibility. The product of such
mixture seems also to be well adapted to survive.
There is no evidence that the often described
undesirable qualities of the mixed blood are in-
herent in the crossing, but in most cases they are
traits fostered by the unfortunate social environ-
ment in which such an individual finds himself.
Virtually an outcast from both the higher and
lower groups, it is not strange that the adult half-
breed should exhibit questionable characteristics.
The half-blood woman is also more prolific than the
full-blood, which is a point of great significance in
forecasting the future. In the light of the proc-
esses now in operation, gradual absorption by the
surrounding whites seems to be the Indian's most
probable fate.
* See above, chap, vi.
CHAPTER XVIII
CRITICAL ESSAY ON AUTHORITIES
PHYSIOGRAPHY
THERE are several trustworthy works describing the
general physical features of North America. J. D.
Whitney, The United States (1889), published in
part in the ninth edition of the Encyclopoedia Britannica,
is a comprehensive, authoritative account of the physical
geography and material resources of that portion of the
continent. N. S. Shaler, United States of America (2 vols.,
1897), by various authors, considers the economic develop-
ment of the nation in relation to the natural resources,
and will be found useful. Shaler's chapter on " Physiogra-
phy of North America," in Justin Winsor, Narrative and
Critical History of America, IV. (1884), is also good.
The chapters on "North America" and "The United
States," by W. M. Davis, in Mill, International Geography
(1900), are admirable condensed descriptions, and em-
phasize the relation of the physical features to the growth
of population. J. B. Tyrrell's chapter on the "Dominion
of Canada" in the same work is along the same lines.
Most of the modem encyclopaedias also contain well-
digested general accounts. On the subject of drainage,
Israel Russell, Rivers of North America (1898), may be
relied upon. The reports of the geological and other
surveys of the United States government and of the several
272
1580J AUTHORITIES 273
states are the great sources of information on special
physiographic topics.
WATERWAYS, PORTAGES, TRAILS, AND MOUNTAIN-PASSES
On the general subject of the effect of geographical
conditions on exploration and settlement in North America
there are two books: E. C. Scrapie, American History and
Its Geographic Conditions (1903), and A. P. Brigham,
Geographic Influences in American History (1903). They
are both good, the former emphasizing tne historical stand-
point and the latter the geographical. F. Ratzel, Politische
Geographic der Vereinigten Staaten von America (1903),
should also be consulted. Archer Butler Hulbert, Historic
Highways of America (11 vols., 1902-1904), offers much
interesting information of a somewhat sketchy character
regarding early routes of travel. The volumes thus far
published are: I. Paths of the Mound-Building Indians and
Great Game Animals (1902), 11. Indian Thoroughfares
(1902), III. Washington's Road (Nemacolin's Path) (1903),
IV. Braddock's Road (1903), V. The Old Glade (Forbes' s)
Road (1903), VI. Boone's Wilderness Road (1903), VII.
Portage Paths (1903), VIII. Military Roads of the Mississippi
Basin (1904), IX. Waterways and Western Expansion
(1903), X. The Cumberland Road (1904), XI. Pioneer
Roads and Experiences of Travellers (1904). The accounts
of the early travellers and traders are the sources of in-
formation regarding the routes of the north and northwest.
Alexander Mackenzie, Voyages from Montreal to the Frozen
and Pacific Oceans (1801), gives a good, detailed account
of the fur-trader's routes from Montreal to Winnipeg. The
Reports of the Geological Survey of Canada also contain
much accurate information regarding the early trails and
portages of that region.
For the routes from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi,
Justin Winsor, Mississippi Basin (1895), and J. G. Shea,
Discovery and Exploration of the Mississippi (1853), in-
dicate authorities, and the Jesuit Relations (Thwaites*
VOL. II. 18
274 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1450
ed., 1900) are full of indispensable information. Justin
Winsor, C artier to Frontenac (1894) and Westward Move-
ment (1898), are also very useful, and F. A. Ogg, The
Opening of the Mississippi (1904), is a recent work of value.
Special studies of importance are E. J. Benton, The
Wabash Trade Route (1903), G. A. Baker, The St. Joseph-
Kankakee Portage, and F. H, Severance, Old Trails on the
Niagara Frontier (2d ed., 1903). The histories of Park-
man and others indicate many of the more important
routes in the regions, with the special history of which
they deal.
For the northern Appalachian routes, B. Willis, The
Northern Appalachians (1895), is admirable. It is essen-
tially a physiographic monograph, but considers historical
relations and contains maps and diagrams. C. W. Hayes,
The Southern Appalachians (1895), is a companion work
to the preceding and is likewise excellent for the southern
region. The majority of the important trails, portages,
and passes of the east are dealt with in the numerous
general histories of the colonies. For the south, besides
the works of Hulbert, may be recommended T. Speed,
The Wilderness Road (1886), and J. S. Johnston, First
Explorations of Kentucky (1898). For the western routes
the following works cover the ground: H. M. Chittenden,
The American Fur Trade of the Far West (3 vols., 1902), a
particularly good account of pioneer trading-posts in the
Missouri Valley; E. Coues, History of the Lewis and Clark
Expedition (4 vols., 1893), an authoritative account based
on the journals of those explorers; H. Inman, The Old
Santa Fe Trail (1897), a popular description of that route;
J. C. Fremont, Narrative of Exploring Expedition to the
Rocky Mountains, etc. (1846); W. H. Emory, Notes of
a Military Reconnaissance from Fort Leavenworth in
Missouri to San Diego in California (1848), an invaluable
record of the work of the topographical engineers in their
explorations in the Rocky Mountains and the southwest;
and the historical works of H. H. Bancroft, History of
California (7 vols., 1884-1890), History of the Northwest
iS8o] AUTHORITIES 275
Coast (2 vols., 1884), History of Oregon (2 vols., 1886-1888),
and Arizona and New Mexico (1889). Francis Parkman,
Oregon Trail (1872), is a fascinating account of the life
along that route, and is fairly accurate.
TIMBER AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
As general descriptive works on the flora of the continent,
the following are recommended: C. S. Sargent, The Silva
of North America (14 vols., 1891-1902) ; E. Bruncken, North
American Forests and Forestry (1900) ; N. L. Britton and A.
Brown, Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and
Canada (3 vols., 1896); J. K. Small, Flora of the South-
eastern United States (1903). These are all authoritative.
On the economic relations and value of the various agri-
cultural products the publications of the United States
Department of Agriculture are the best sources of in-
formation. The Year-Book of the department, published
annually since 1894, contains much condensed statistical
information. The department also publishes special mono-
graphic studies from time to time, of which the following
are notable: The Cotton-Plant (1896); C. Mohr, The Timber
Pines of the Southern United States (1897); V. M. Spalding
and B. E. Fernow, The White Pine (1899); H. W. Wiley,
The Sugar -Beet (1899).
ANIMAL LIFE
On the distribution of the fauna, the two chief authori-
ties are J. A. Allen and C. H. Merriam. The most impor-
tant of their papers are: J. A. Allen, "The Geographical
Distribution of North American Animals" (American
Museum Natural History, Bulletin, 1892); C. H. Merriam,
"The Geographic Distribution of Life in North America"
(Biological Society, Proceedings, Washington, 1892); C.
H. Merriam, "Laws of Temperature Control of the Geo-
graphic Distribution of Terrestrial Animals and Plants"
{National Geographical Magazine, IW., 1894); J. A. Allen,
276 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1450
"The Geographic Origin and Distribution of North Amer-
ican Birds." {The Auk, 1893). Good general works on
American natural history are few. W. Stone and W. E.
Cram, American Animals (1902), limited to mammals in
its subject matter, and the latest work, W. T. Hornaday,
The American Natural History (1904), are the best in the
.field. Hornaday is particularly good on mammals, but
not so strong on the other orders.
Of special studies, those on the bison and the fur-seal are
the most important. J. A. Allen, "The American Bison,
Living and Extinct " (Museum of Comparative Zoology,
Memoirs, Cambridge, 1876), and W. T. Hornaday, "The
Extermination of the American Bison" (National Museum,
Report, 1889), contain most of the available information
regarding the buffalo. David S. Jordan et al. Report of
the Ftir-Seal Investigation (4 vols., 1898), is a model of
what such reports should be and is an exhaustive treatment
of the whole subject. The best treatment of the deer is
by Theodore Roosevelt and others. The Deer Family.
The Reports of the United States Commission of Fish and
Fisheries are recommended for information bearing on the
economic value of the fisheries of the United States.
ARCHEOLOGY OF NORTH AMERICA
The best bibliography of the extensive literature on
this subject is that of Justin Winsor in his Narrative and
Critical History of America, vol. I. (1889), excellent up to
1889. Another useful but uncritical bibliography is by
G. Fowke in his Archceological History of Ohio (1902).
The best general book on the subject is probably Cyrus
Thomas, Introduction to the Study of North American
ArchcBology (1898). H. W. Haynes, in Winsor, Narrative and
Critical History of America, I., chap, vi., limits his discussion
to the evidence as to man's antiquity. W. K. Moore-
head, Prehistoric Implements (1900) is a good reference-
book on the smaller objects which have been found.
The best publications on American archaeology have
is8o] AUTHORITIES 277
been monographs, and to the various writings of W. H.
Holmes must be given the first place. These have ap-
peared mainly under government auspices in Washing-
ton. The recent works of C. B. Moore on the mounds of
Florida and the southeastern states are also model studies.
These and other researches will be found noted in the
special bibliographies mentioned above.
GENERAL WORKS ON THE INDIANS
There is no satisfactory comprehensive work on the
American Indians. D. G. Brinton, American Race (1891),
covers the tribes of both continents, but is so condensed
that many groups of importance are not noticed and many
points of fundamental significance are not even considered.
While systematic in form the treatment is discursive
and unsatisfactory. It is nevertheless a work of great
learning and will be found useful by the student. T.
Waitz, Die Amerikaner, in his Anthropologie der Natur-
volker, pt. iii. (1862), is out of date, but still remains
one of the best books on the subject. G. B. Grinnell,
Story of the Indian (1896), is based on personal obser-
vations among the tribes of the west, but does not
give a general survey. F. S. Dellenbaugh, North Ameri-
cans of Yesterday (1901), is a pleasantly written, popu-
lar work, but is unsystematic in treatment. The author
has, however, utilized the results of modem research.
A good brief review is the article, "Indians," in the New
International Encyclopcedia (1904), and the articles in the
same work on the individual tribes are, in general, ex-
cellent.
The older works which attempt to treat the sub-
ject in a general way are usually untrustworthy except
where they relate to groups of which the authors had
personal knowledge. The best -known books of this
character are: J. Adair, History of the American Indians
(1775). good for the southeastern tribes, but marred by
certain absurd general theories; H. R. Schoolcraft, His-
278 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1450
iorical and Statistical Information Respecting the History,
Condition, and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United
States (1851), and the same author's American Indians
(1851), strongest for the Iroquois and eastern Algonquian
Indians. G. Catlin, Letters and Notes on the Manners,
Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians
(1841), excellent for the tribes of the northern plains;
J. L. McKenney and J. Hall, History of the Indian Tribes
of North America (1836-1844); S. G. Drake, Aboriginal
Races of North America (i860). Full references to the
numerous other works of general scope will be found in
Pilling, Bibliographies, noted below. For the last twenty-
five years researches of great importance have been appear-
ing, the bulk of which are contained in the Annual Reports
of the Bureau of American Ethnology. This series will be
found a storehouse of information on all subjects connected
with the Indians, and while the value of the papers is very
unequal they are in general well done. They will be re-
ferred to more in detail below.
INDIAN LINGUISTICS
The modem linguistic study of the Indians dates from
the publications of Albert Gallatin issued at intervals
from 1836 to 1853. A valuable bibliography of Gallatin
arid the authors who followed him in this field will be
found in J.W. Powell, " Indian Linguistic Families" (Bureau
of Ethnology, Seventh Annual Report, 1891). This paper
of Powell's is the most important single publication on
the subject which has yet appeared, its value resting largely
on the linguistic map which accompanies it and which is
reproduced in this volume. The best recent work on
Indian languages has been done by A. S. Gatschet, J. O.
Dorsey, and F. Boas, whose researches have been made
chiefly under the auspices of the Bureau of Ethnology.
Exhaustive linguistic bibliographies by J. C. Pilling have
been issued by the same institution as follows: "Bibli-
ography of the Eskimo Language " (Bulletin, 1887) ; " Bibli-
1580] AUTHORITIES 279
ography of the Siouan Languages" (Bulletin, 1887); Bibli-
ography of the Iroquoian Languages" (Bulletin, 1888);
"Bibliography of the Muskhogean Languages" (Bulletin,
1889); "Bibliography of the Algonquian Languages"
(Bulletin, 1891); "Bibliography of the Athapascan Lan-
guages" (Bulletin, 1892); " Bibliography of the Chinookan
Languages" (Bulletin, 1893) ; " Bibliography of the Salishan
Languages" (Bulletin, 1893); "Bibliography of the Waka-
shan Languages" (Bulletin, 1894). While Filling's bibli-
ographies are primarily linguistic, they include references
to nearly all the early works of general description and
are quite indispensable to the student.
THE ESKIMO
The best of the early accounts of the Eskimo is D.
Cranz, History of Greenland (2 vols., 1767; 2d ed., 1820).
The book is written from the point of view of the mission-
ary, but contains much shrewd and accurate observation.
The best later works are: E. Petitot, Vocabulaire Francais-
Esquimau (1876); H. Rink, Tales and Traditions of the
Eskimo (1876), The Eskimo Tribes (1887); F. Boas, "The
Central Eskimo " (Bureau of Ethnology, Sixth Annual
Report, 1888); J. Murdock, "Ethnological Results of the
Point Barrow Expedition" (Bureau of Ethnology, Ninth
Annual Report, 1892); E. W. Nelson, "The Eskimo about
Bering Strait " (Bureau of Ethnology, Eighteenth Anmial
Report, 1899). A full bibliography up to 1887 will be
found in Pilling, Bibliography of the Eskimo Language.
INDIANS OP THE NORTHWEST COAST
The literature on the North Pacific tribes has become
quite extensive during recent years. This is largely due
to the systematic observations which have been made by
the British Association for the Advancement of Science.
W. F. Tolmie and G. M. Dawson had previously published
papers incidental to their geological work for the Canadian
28o BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1450
government, but the researches of F. Boas, under the
auspices of the British Association, published in the
Reports of that body (1885-1898), are the great sources of
information. Other works of importance are: A. Krause,
Die Tlinkit Indianer (1885); I. Petroff, Report on the
Population, etc., of Alaska (1884); W. H. Dall, Alaska
and Its Resources (1870); "The Distribution of Native
Tribes of Alaska" (American Academy for the Ad-
vancement of Science, Proceedings, 1870); F. Boas, Social
Organization of the Kwakiiitl Indians (1897), Indianische
Sagen von der Nord-Pacif. Kiiste Amerikas (1895); A. P,
Niblack, "The Coast Indians," etc. (United States Na-
tional Museum, Report, 1898).
INDIANS OF THE MACKENZIE RIVER BASIN
The literature on the Indians of the northern interior
is scanty. The best authority is E. Petitot, whose works —
Grammaire comparee et Dictionnaire polyglotte des Dialectes
Uetie-Dindjie (1875), Monographic des Dene-Dindjie (1875),
Ethnographic des Americains Hyperhoreens (1878), and
Traditions Indienncs du Canada Nordoucst (1886) — contain
much accurate description. Father Morice, who has
published papers in the Transactions of the Canadian
Institute and in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of
Canada, is also a good first-hand authority. Of the early
descriptions, S. Hearne, Journey from Prince of Wales
Fort in Hudson Bay to the Northern Ocean (1795), is
the best. Sir A. Mackenzie, Voyages from Montreal, etc.
(1801), should also be read.
INDIANS OF THE PLATEAUS
For the Salishan tribes, J. A. Teit, The Thompson
River Indians (1898), is the best source of information.
This is an exhaustive monograph based on personal ob-
servation, and is trustworthy. For the Shahaptian and
neighboring stocks of the interior, the descriptions by
iS8o] AUTHORITIES 281
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, contained in their
Journal, and the books which emanated from their ex-
pedition, are the sources of information with regard to the
early conditions. P. J. de Smet, Letters and Sketches, etc.
(1843), 3.nd Oregon Missions and Travels (1847), are also
of value. An excellent account of the distribution of the
tribes of the Columbia basin will be found in J. Mooney,
"The Ghost -Dance Religion" (Bureau of Ethnology,
Fourteenth Annual Report, 1896).
INDIANS OF WASHINGTON, OREGON, AND CALIFORNIA
The reports of F. Boas to the British Association for the
Advancement of Science, mentioned above, include ob-
servations on the Indians of the coast of Washington and
Oregon. The same author's Chinook Texts (1894) also
contains general information of value. J. G. Swan, "The
Indians of Cape Flattery" (Smithsonian Institution, Con-
trilnitions to Knowledge, 1869); M. Eels, "The Twana,
Chemakum, and Klallam Indians of Washington Territory"
(Smithsonian Institution, Reports, 1887); and G. Gibbs,
"Tribes of Western Washington and Northwestern Oregon "
{Contributions to North American Ethnology, 1887), are all
works of importance. For the early condition of the
Chinook in the lower Columbia, the reports of the Lewis
and Clark expedition are the main sources. A. S. Gatschet,
"The Klamath Indians of Southwestern Oregon {Con-
tributions to N orth American Ethnology, 1890), is an excel-
lent study of the Klamath and Modoc tribes. Modern
research in California is all based on the classical
work of S. Powers, "Tribes of California" {Con-
tributions to North American Ethnology, 1877). H. H.
Bancroft, The Native Races of the Pacific States (5 vols.,
1 874-1 882), is also a standard work. Two institutions —
the American Museum of Natural History and the Uni-
versity of California — are now carrying on systematic
researches among the Indians of California, and the
results are appearing in their regular publications. At-
282 BASIS OP AMERICAN HISTORY [1450
tention should also be called to the work of H. Hale on
the languages of the Pacific coast, in connection with the
United States Exploring Expedition under Wilkes, pub-
lished in vol. VI. of the Report of that expedition (1846).
INDIANS OF THE GREAT PLAINS
The literature on this region is now extensive. The
best work on the Siouan family has been done by J. O.
Dorsey, whose most important papers are, "Omaha
Sociology " (Bureau of Ethnology, Third Annual Report,
1885), "The Cegiha Language" {Contributions to North
American Ethnology, 1892), "A Study of Siouan Cults'*
(Bureau of Ethnology, Eleventh Annual Report, 1894), and
"Siouan Sociology" (Bureau of Ethnology, Fifteenth
Annual Report, 1897). A paper by J. Mooney, "The Siouan
Tribes of the East " (Bureau of Ethnology, Bulletin, 1894),
gives a full discussion of the evidence regarding the original
eastern habitat of the Sioux. Valuable reports have also
been published by S. R. Riggs, A. C. Fletcher, and others.
The best early authorities are Jonathan Carver, Travels
through the Interior Parts of North America (1778); George
Catlin, Letters and Notes, etc. (1841); and Prince Maxi-
milian zu Wied, Travels in the Interior of North America
(1843). An exhaustive bibliography up to 1887 will be
found in Pilling, Bibliography of the Siouan Languages (1887).
On the Blackfoot, consult H. Hale. " Report on the Black-
foot Tribes" (British Association for the Advancement of
Science, Reports, 1886); and for a popular account, G. B.
Grinnell, Blackfoot Lodge Tales (1903).
For the Pawnee or Caddoan family the available material
is slight. The early travels already mentioned give some
information; and of more modem work may be noted J.
B. Dunbar, in Magazine of American History, IV. ,V., VIII.;
G. B. Grinnell, Paivnee Hero Stories and Folk Tales (1889) 5
and several papers by A. C. Fletcher on Pawnee ceremonials
and myths, published in the Journal of American Folk-
Lore, Reports of the Peabody Museum, and under the auspices
1580] AUTHORITIES 283
of the Bureau of Ethnology. G. A. Dorsey is also publish-
ing elaborate monographs on the myths and ceremonials, /
in the Field-Columbian Museum Reports. For the Kiowa
the best information will be found in J. Mooney's admira-
ble study, "The Calendar History of the Kiowa Indians "
(Bureau of Ethnology, Seventeenth Annual Report, 1898).
ALGONQUIAN TRIBES
The bibliography of the Algonquian tribes is enormous.
It will be found exhaustively treated in Pilling, Bibliography
of the Algonquian Languages (1891). Of early works which
may be especially recommended to the student are the Jesuit
Relations; S. de Champlain, Les Voyages de la Nouvclle
France Occidentale (1632); Jonathan Carver, Travels,
etc. (1778); P. F. X. Charlevoix, Histoire et Description
Generale de la Nouvelle France (1744) ; J. F. Lafitau, Mceurs
des Sauvages Ameriquaines (1724). Most of these deal
primarily with the Iroquois but have much of interest
regarding the Algonquian tribes of the northeast. The
Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society afford
invaluable information regarding the New England tribes.
J. G. E. Heckewelder, History of the Indian Nations
Who Once Inhabited Pennsylvania and the Neighboring
States (181 8; later ed., 1876), is the standard authority
on the Delaware and contiguous tribes. Captain John
Smith, Generall Historie of Virginia (1624), is the best early
account of the southern tribes of the family.
For the Ojibwa, T. L. McKenney, Sketches of a Tour
of the Lakes (1827); C. At water, Indians of the Northwest
(1850) ; G. Copway, Traditional History of the Ojibway
Nation (1850); and W. W. Warren, "History of the
Ojibway" (Minnesota Historical Society, Collections, 1885),
are recommended. W. J. Hoffman, "The Midewiwin, or
'Grand Medicine Society' of the Ojibwa " (Bureau of Eth-
nology, Seventh Annual Report, 1891), is excellent on the
religious ceremonials of the tribe. For the central Algon-
quian tribes consult, in addition to the above, H. N. Beck-
284 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1450
with, The Illinois and Indiana hidians (1884). This work
covers particularly the historical period.
For the Iroquois, J. C. Pilling, Bibliography of the Ir-
oquoian Languages (1888), should be consulted. Of the
early writers, the Jesuit Relations and the descriptions
of Lafitau, Charlevoix, and Champlain, mentioned above,
as well as G. Sagard, Le grand voyage du pays des Htirons
(1632), are the best. The most authoritative work is
of later date. Cadwallader Colden, History of the Five
Indian Nations (1727), and D. Cusick, Sketches of Ancient
History of the Six Nations (1828), are two important
early accounts of the league. Incomparably the most
notable of all the researches on the Iroquois are the works
of L. H. Morgan, of which League of the Ho-de-no-satt-
nee, or Iroquois (1851), "Systems of Consanguinity," etc.
(Smithsonian Institution, Contributions to Knowledge, 1871),
and Ancient Society (1877), are the chief. These are all
masterly treatises; and, while many of Morgan's more
general theories and conclusions cannot be accepted, he
remains practically unassailed in his statements of facts.
H. Hale, Iroquois Book of Rites (1883), is also a scholarly
piece of work and indispensable for the student. Both
Morgan and Hale had the great advantage of intimate
personal acquaintance with the Iroquois. W. M. Beau-
champ has also published a number of papers of interest
on the Iroquois, in the New York State Museum Bulletins.
The introduction to F. Parkman, The Jesuits in North
America (1867), gives a general discussion of the Indians
with whom the Jesuits came in contact, and the whole
book refers liberally and critically to the Relations. For the
southern branch of the Iroquois family, the Cherokee, the
monographs of C. C. Royce, "The Cherokee Nation of
Indians " (Bureau of Ethnology, Fifth Anmial Report,
1887), J. Mooney, "The Sacred Formulas of the Chero-
kee " (Bureau of Ethnology, Seventh Annual Report,
1891), "Myths of the Cherokee" (Bureau of Ethnology,
Nineteenth Annual Report, 1900), cover the ground and
refer to the sotirces.
1580] AUTHORITIES 285
The Muskhogean family in the southeast can best be
studied through A. S. Gatschet, Migration Legend of the
Creek Indians (1884), an excellent monograph with critical
references to the sources. J. C. Pilling, Bibliography of
the Muskhogean Languages (1889), is, of course, invaluable
for the literature. Of the early writers, James Adair,
History of the American Indians (1775), is based largely on
personal observation and is the best known, but should
be read with caution. C. MacCauley, "The Seminole
Indians of Florida " (Bureau of Ethnology, Fifth Annual
Report, 1887), describes the Florida Seminoles of to-day.
INDIANS OF THE SOUTHWEST AND MEXICO
The literature of this region is voluminous. A general
discussion of the tribes, somewhat old but with many
references to the early writers, is H. H. Bancroft, The
Native Races, etc. (1874). For a general description of
the Navajo, W. Matthews, Navaho Legends (1897), may
be recommended. Special articles on the Navajo by the
same writer will be found in the second, third, and fifth
Reports of the Bureau of Ethnology. A study of "Navajo
Houses," by C. Mindeleff (Bureau of Ethnology, Seven-
teenth Annual Report), should also be consulted. General
popular works containing interesting descriptive matter are
by G. W. James, Indians of the Painted Desert Region
(1903); and G. A. Dorsey, Indians of the Southwest (1903).
Neither of these works is critical.
For the Yuman stock, W. J. McGee, "The Seri Indians"
(Bureau of Ethnology, Seventeenth Annual Report, 1898),
may be noted. For the Pueblo group, A. F. Bandelier,
"Final Report of Investigations among the Indians of the
Southwestern United States" (Arch^ological Institute of
America, Papers, 2 parts, 1890-1892), V. Mindeleff, "A
Study of Pueblo Architecture " (Bureau of Ethnology,
Eighth Annual Report, 1891), M. C. Stevenson, "The Sia "
(Bureau of Ethnology, Eleventh Annual Report, 1894),
and the various publications of F. H. Gushing and of J.
286 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [1450
W. Fewkes, should be consulted. Cushing's studies on the
Zuni are especially brilliant, the best being "My Adventtires
in Zuni" {Century Magazine, December, 1882, February,
1883, and May, 1883), "Zuni Fetiches" (Bureau of Eth-
nology, Second Annual Report, 1S83), "Pueblo Pottery as Il-
lustrative of Zuni Culture Growth " (Bureau of Ethnology,
Fourth Annual Report, 1886), and "Outline of Zuni Crea-
tion Myths" (Bureau of Ethnology, Thirteenth Annual
Report, 1896). Fewkes's papers are careful and detailed,
and refer particularly to the ceremonials. The following
may be noted: "Provisional List of Annual Ceremonies at
Walpi" (Internationales Archiv fiir Ethnographie, VIII.,
1895), "Tusayan Katchinas " (Bureau of Ethnology, Fif-
teenth Annual Report, 1897), and a series of studies on
Tusayan ceremonies, in the sixteenth and nineteenth
Annual Reports, Bureau of Ethnology.
The Mexican literature can only be indicated. One of
the best works on Mexican architecture is W. H. Holmes,
"Archaeological Studies among the Ancient Cities of
Mexico" (Field-Columbian Museum, Publications, 1895-
1897). On the general culture of the Aztec , A . F. B andelier' s
epoch-making studies contain critical references to the
sources and should be the starting-point of all work on
that subject. They are: "On the Art of War and Mode
of Warfare of the Ancient Mexicans " (Peabody Museum,
Tenth Annual Report, 1877), "On the Distribution and
Tenure of Lands, etc., among the Ancient Mexicans"
(Peabody Museum, Eleventh Annual Report, 1878), and
"On the Social Organization and Mode of Government of
the Ancient Mexicans" (Peabody Museum, Twelfth An-
nual Report, 1880), An Archceological Reconnoissance into
Mexico (no date) ; G. Brtihl, Die Cultur-volker Alt-Amerikas
(1875), will also be found useful.
INDIAN HOUSES, HOUSE-LIFE, AND THE FOOD QUEST
The information in this field is usually included in
general descriptive studies. L. H. Morgan, "Houses and
is8o] AUTHORITIES 287
House -Life of the American Aborigines" (Contributions
to North American Ethnology, 1881), sums up the facts
with regard to Indian dwellings as far as they were avail-
able at the time it was written. A general review will
also be found in F. Ratzel, History of Mankind, II.
(1897). Ratzel's treatment is not exhaustive and is un-
satisfactory, but the work is very well illustrated.
The food quest is, of course, noticed in all the general
works which have been mentioned. A. P. Jenks, "The
Wild -Rice Gatherers of the Upper Lakes," etc. (Bureau
of Ethnology, Nineteenth Annual Report, 190a), is a good
study of a single phase of the subject. Indian economics
is a problem much in need of special investigation.
INDIAN INDUSTRIAL LIFE
The best authority on this subject is O. T. Mason, and
his books. Woman's Share in Primitive Culture (1894) and
The Origins of Invention (1901), while not confined to
America in their scope, are trustworthy and especially
satisfactory in their treatment of the Indians. A number
of studies by the same author, and by C. Rau and others,
on special topics in this field, will be found in the pub-
lications of the Smithsonian Institution. F. S. Dellen-
baugh, The North Americans of Yesterday (1901), also
considers Indian industrial life at some length.
On pottery the numerous papers of W. H. Holmes, in
the Reports of the Bureau of Ethnology, are the best ; and
on basketry, O. T. Mason, Aboriginal American Basketry
(1904), is exhaustive and authoritative.
There is no good work on Indian warfare.
INDIAN SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
The chief authority on social organization is L. H.
Morgan, whose Ancient Society (1877) is still the best work
in the field. Morgan's other publications. Houses and
House-Life, noticed above, and his Systems of Consanguinity,
288 BASIS OP AMERICAN HISTORY [1450
etc. (1871), also contain much information. For Mexico
the works of A. F. Bandelier, already mentioned, are the
best, and for the northwest the studies of F. Boas are
the authorities. The general reader will find a remarkable
condensation of the work of Morgan and Bandelier in the
introduction to John Fiske, Discovery of America (1892).
In his treatment of the Iroquois and Aztec, Fiske is
judicious; but his more general views are open to much
objection. Special studies of significance are J. W. Powell,
"Wyandot Government" (Bureau of Ethnolog}', First
Annual Report, 1881); J. O. Dorsey, "Omaha Sociology"
(Bureau of Ethnology, Third Annual Report, 1884), and
" Siouan Sociology," Bureau of Ethnology, Fifteenth Annual
Report, 1897).
INDIAN RELIGION AND MYTHOLOGY
E. B. Tylor, Primitive Culture (2 vols., 187 1), is the
standard work on primitive religion, and is good in its
treatment of American religious ideas. It also gives full
references. The special studies on Indian religion are all
in connection with inquiries bearing on mythology and
ceremonials. D. G. Brinton, Myths of the New World
(1868), and American Hero Myths (1882), are the only
comprehensive works of value. They are dogmatic and
untrustworthy, though learned. The American Folk-
Lore Society, organized in 1888, publishes a Journal and
a series of Memoirs, in which there is much material
of great value. Several institutions, particularly the
American Museum of Natural History and the Field-
Columbian Museum, are also devoting attention to the
collection of myths from special stocks, and the results
may be found in their regular publications. Of the
published collections, the following may be especially
recommended: S. T. Rand, Legends of the Micmacs (1894);
E. Petitot, Traditions Indiennes du Canada Nord-Ouest
(1886); F. Boas, Indianische Sagen (1895); W. Matthews,
Navaho Legends (1897); J. A. Teit, Thompson River Indian
iS8o] AUTHORITIES 289
Traditions (1898) ; and J. Mooney "Myths of the Cherokee "
(Bureau of Ethnology, Nineteenth Annual Report, 1900).
Descriptions of ceremonials will be found in the works
noted under special regions and in the publications of
the Bureau of Ethnology, the American Museum of
Natural History, and the Field-Columbian Museum. The
literature is too extensive to be cited in detail.
On the practices of shamans, J. G. Bourke, "Medicine-
Men of the Apache " (Bureau of Ethnology, Ninth Annual
Report, 1892), will be found instructive; and on customs
connected with death and burial, H. C. Yarrow, Intro-
duction to the Study of Mortuary Customs among the North
American Indians (1880), and " A Further Contribution
to the Study of Mortuary Customs " (Bureau of Eth-
nology, First Annual Report, 1881) should be consulted.
INDIAN ART
There is no general review of Indian art. The best
special studies are: F. W. Putnam, "Conventionalism in
Ancient American Art" (Essex Institution, Bulletin, 1886) ;
W. H. Holmes, "Origin and Development of Form and
Ornament in Ceramic Art " (Bureau of Ethnology, Fourth
Annual Report, 1886), "Study of Textile Art in Its Relation
to the Development of Form and Ornament " (Bureau of
Ethnology, Sixth Annual Report, 1888), also other papers
by the same author in the Reports of the Bureau of Eth-
nology; F. Boas, "Decorative Art of the Indians of the
North Pacific Coast " (American Museum of Natural
History, Bulletin, IX., 1897); A. L. Kroeber, "Decorative
Symbolism of the Arapaho " {American Anthropologist,
III., 308, 1901).
INDEX
Abnaki, Algonquian, 150.
Adaize family, 175.
Adoption custom, 204, 243.
Agriculture, fruits, 45; cereals,
46-50; sugar products, 50;
hay, 51; cotton, 51; tobacco,
52; vegetables, 53; influence
of products on national de-
velopment, 53; Sioux, 135;
Pawnee, 142; Algonquian,
151, 152; Pueblo, 184; Aztec,
213; Indian, 222, 223; bibli-
ography, 275.
Algonquian family, tribes, 92;
migrations, 98; plains tribes,
143, 144; seat, 148, 149;
location of tribes, 149, 150;
physique, 1 50 ; divergent cult-
ure, 151; agriculture, 152;
houses, 152; social organiza-
tion, 152; religion, mythol-
ogy, 153; southern tribes,
163, 164; western tribes,
165; picture-writing, 165;
present condition, 269; bibli-
ography, 283.
Alligator, economic value, de-
crease, 67.
Animal life, wild, range, 54;
relation with Eurasian
fauna, 55-58; deer family,
58-61; sheep, 61; musk-ox,
62; buffalo, 62-64; fur-bear-
ing animals, 65-67; animals
valuable for hide, 67; birds,
67; fish, 68; Indian domestic
226; bibliography, 275, 276.
Antiquity of man. See
Archaeology.
Apache, Athapascan, culture,
181.
Apalache, Muskhogean, 167.
Appalachian system, extent and
character, 9; Hudson River
gap, 9; northern group, 9;
central division, 9; central
valley, 10; age, 14; portages
over, 29; land routes over,
30-34.
Arapaho, plains Algonquian,
144.
Archaeology, evidences of gla-
cial man, 70; palagolithic re-
mains, 71, 78; cave deposits,
73 ; status of mound-builders,
73, 81; distribution of re-
mains, 73, 74; classification,
74; mounds, 75; enclosures,
76; hut-rings, 76; garden-
beds, 77; quarries and work-
shops, 77, 78; copper-mining,
77; graves, 78; shell mounds,
78; comparative study, 79;
ornaments, 79; stone objects,
80; human images, 80;
weapons, 80; tools and uten-
sils, 81; remains of Indian
origin, 8r, 85, 86; cliff-
dwellings, 83; cave-dwellings,
84; pueblos, 84; Great Houses,
85; irrigation, 85; origin of
man, 87; bibliography, 276.
Art, Eskimo, 107 ; of northwest
coast tribes, 115; conven-
291
292
BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY
tionalized animal motives,
116, 258; of northern interior
tribes, 121; Sioux, 137;
Navajo, 179; Mexican, 190,
192 ; personal ornamentation,
230-232, 260; interwoven
with religion and sociology,
249, 261; development of
decorative, 257; distribution
of types of design, 258;
decoration and symbolism,
258-260; dance, 260; music,
260; bibliography, 289.
Athapascan family, tribes, 92,
118; migration, 96, 97; name,
117; distribution, 117; uni-
formity, 118; culture, 119;
social organization, 119, 120;
religion, 120, 121; art, 121;
mythology, 122; industrial
life, 122, 123; physique, 124;
in California, 129; south-
western tribes, 176-181 ; pres-
ent condition, 270; bibliog-
raphy, 280, 285.
Atlantic coast, peninsulas, 5;
indentations, 5-7 ; plain, 1 1 ;
drainage, 13; climate, 17;
islands, 19 ; portages to Missis-
sippi Valley, 29; land routes
to Mississippi Valley, 30-34;
to Great Lakes, 31; forests,
40-43-
Attacapan family, 93, 175.
Aztec. See Mexico.
Band, Pawnee, 142; Kiowa,
143; and tribe, 209.
Barley, crop, distribution, 49.
Basketry, development, im-
portance, 234; methods, 234,
235; decoration, 259.
Beaver, extinction, 66.
Bella Coola. See Northwest
coast.
Beothukan family, 93.
Bibliographies of Indians, 278.
Birds, extinction of game, 67.
Bison. See Buffalo.
Blackfoot, plains Algonquian,
143, 148; confederacy, 144;
culture, 144; bibliography,
282.
Blood revenge, 198, 247.
Braddock's Road, 3^.
Buckwheat crop, 49.
Buffalo, tracks, 31; original
range, 62; extermination, 62;
economic value, 64; influence
on Siouan culture, 134 ; plains
manitou, 250; bibliography,
276.
Burial customs, Choctaw, 174;
general, 250, 251; bibliogra-
phy, 289.
Burning ceremony, Maidu, 131.
Busk, Creek, 170-172.
Caddoan family, 93. See also
Pawnee.
Calaveras skull, 70.
California, aboriginals, 70, 82;
Indian stocks, 130; physique,
130; groups, 130, 131; Maidu
ceremonial, 131; laibliography
on Indians, 281.
California Trail, 38.
Cannibalism, 226, 243.
Canoe, bark, 24, 237; skin, 106,
237-
Catawba, Siouan, 175.
Cave-dwellings, remains, 83.
Cayuga, Iroquoian, 153.
Central America. See Mexico.
Central basin, 8; variations, 10;
plains, 10; prairies, 11 ; drain-
age, 13. See also Mississippi
Valley.
Cereals, com, 46-48; wheat, 48;
oats, 49; barley, 49; rye, 49;
buckwheat, 49; rice, 50.
Ceremonials, northwest coast,
115; Maidu burning, 131;
Sioux sun-dance, 138-140;
Pawnee sacrificial, 142 ; Creek
green -corn dance, 170-172;
Navajo, 180; Pueblo, 186, 1S7;
Mexican, 192; relating to
INDEX
293
names, 203; dress, 230, 260;
war-dance, 245; develop-
ment, 253; manitou invoca-
tions, 250; ghost-dance, 254;
importance of dance, 260;
bibliography, 289. See also
Religion.
Cherokee, and mound-builders,
82; Iroquoian, 155, 166; size,
166, 246; civilization, 166;
present condition, 270; bibli-
ography, 284.
Cheyenne, plains Algonquian,
144; and whites, 146, 147.
Chickahotniny, Algonquian,
confederation, 164;
Chickasaw, Muskhogean, 167,
174-
Chief, Sioux, 141; Pawnee, 142;
Algonquian, 152; Iroquois,
156, 159; Creek village, 168,
169; Mexican, 191; duties,
199, 200; indefinite term,
200; qualifications, 200; im-
portance, 200; election, 210;
existence and authority of
tribal, 211; Aztec confeder-
acy, 214; evolution, 214.
Chilcotin, Athapascan, 118.
Chimakuan family, 93.
Chimarikan family, 93.
Chimmesyan family, 93.
Chinookan family, tribes, 93;
seat, contact with plateau
tribes, 125; importance, 125;
divisions, 125; culture, 126,
127; physique, 126; head-
deforming, 126; jargon, 126;
bibliography, 281.
Chippewyan, Athapascan, n8.
Chitimachan family, 93, 175.
Choctaw, Muskhogean, 167; ag-
ricultural, 174; head-deform-
ing, 174; burial customs, 174.
Chumashan family, 93.
Clan, no Eskimo, 108; north-
west coast, 112; lacking in
northern interior, 119, 120;
Sioux, 140; and band, 142,
143; Algonquian, 152; Iro-
quois, 157-161; importance,
161, 168, 195, 198, 201; Creek,
168; Pueblo, 186; Mexico,
192; and family, 195; totem,
195; double relationship ,196;
exogamy, 196; female de-
scent, 196-198, 268; blood
revenge, 198; civil functions,
199; sachem and chief, 199-
201 ; inherited privileges, 199;
ownership of real property,
201, 268; inheritance of per-
sonal property, 202; adop-
tion, 204; council, 204; con-
trol of elections, 207, 210;
basis of confederacy, 210,212.
Class distinctions, 114, 129,
201.
Cliff-dwellings, race, 73, 85,
86; remains, 83, 219.
Climate, severity, 4; variety,
17; rainfall, 17.
Coahuiltecan family, 93.
Coal, importance and distri-
bution, 15.
Coast-line, influence on history, J
4; peninsulas, 5; indenta- •'^^
tiona,- :5-. ^
Colt^bia River tribes, i?s-
127; bibliography, 281. '
Comanche, plains Shoshonean,
119; characteristics, 144; and
whites, 146, 147. ,'
Conestoga, Iroquoian, 155.
Confederacies, Blackfoot, 144;
Iroquois, 155- 157, 161;
Powhatan, 164; Illinois, 166;
Creek, 172; Aztec, 188, 213;
origin, 212, 215; basis, 212;
number, 212; temporary,
213; general similarity, 213:
evolution, 213; military ef-
fect, 246.
Connecticut Path, 31.
Copehan family, 93.
Copper, aboriginal mining, 77.
Coracle, 137, 237.
Cordillera, general character,
294
BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY
7; ranges, 7; volcanic, 8;
highest peak, 8; plateau, 12;
age, 14; forests, 40, 43, 44.
Corn, crop, 46; nativity, 46;
distribution, yield, 47.
Costanoan family, 93.
Costume, clothing, 229, 230;
ceremonial dress, 231, 260;
hair-dressing, 230; personal
ornaments, 231; painting,
232.
Cotton, beginning of culture,
51; growth of production,
52; crop, 52; seed products,
52.
Council, Iroquois league, 155-
157; Iroquois clan, 159; Iro-
quois tribe, 160; Creek village
168, 172; clan, universal in-
stitution, 204; free speech,
205; authority, 205, 267;
importance, 205; tribal, 210.
Cree, Algonquian, 149.
Creek, Muskhogean, physique,
167; social organization, 168;
war titles, 169; classes, 169;
arrangement of village, 169;
" Great House" and " Council
House," 169, 170; green-corn
dance, 170-172; position of
woman, 172; confederacy,
172, 246; initiation of mili-
tary measures, 172; down-
fall, 173; present condition,
173. 270.
Culture hero, Algonquian, 153:
general, 255-257.
Cumberland Gap, importance,
30. 32, 34-
Cumberland Road, 33.
Dance, importance, 260. See
also Ceremonials.
Deer family, economic im-
portance, 58; white-tailed,
59; mule-deer, 59; elk, 59;
moose, 60; caribou, 6 1 ; prong-
horn antelope, 61; bibliog-
raphy, 276.
Delaware , Algonquian , 150;
seat, 163.
Descent, Eskimo male, 108;
mixed, of northwest coast
tribes, 112, 129; Sioux male,
140; Pawnee male, 142; Al-
gonquian female, 152; Iro-
quois female, 157; Creek
female, 168; Pueblo female,
186; general female, 196-
198.
Disease, Indian susceptibility,
266.
Dog, Eskimo use, 106; Sioux
use, 134; Indian domesti-
cated, 225; in harness, 236.
Dogrib, Athapascan, 118.
Drainage, systems, 13, 14; con-
tinental watershed, 14; bibli-
ography, 272.
Dugout, III, 238.
Eastern woodland groups. See
Algonquian, Cherokee, Iro-
quoian, Muskhogean.
Economic life, Indian, charac-
ter of trails, 31; value of
buffalo, 64; not nomadic, 96,
99, 215, 216; number, 99,
100, 216; Eskimo, 105-107;
of northwest coast tribes,
no; their credit system,
113; of northern interior
tribes, 122-124; migration of
culture, 124; Sioux, 134-137;
Pawnee, 142; Kiowa, 143;
Algonquian, 151, 152; Na-
vajo, 177-180; Havasupai,
181 ; Pueblo, 184, 185; houses,
217-221 ; woman's work, 221;
food, 222—224, 226; hunting,
224; cooking, 225; domes-
ticated animals, 225; canni-
balism, 226, 243; acquaint-
ance with metals, 227; raw
materials, 227; uneven dis-
tribution of arts, 228; skin-
dressing, 228, 229; clothing,
229; pottery, 232-234; bas-
INDEX
295
ketry, 234, 235; weaving, 235;
transportation, 235-238; use
of fire, 239; fire-making, 239,
240; war, 240-247; bibliog-
raphy, 286, 287.
Eskimauan family, groups, 94;
origin of name, 103; dis-
tribution, homogeneity, 103,
108, 109; origin, 104; phy-
sique, 105; dependence on
sea animals, 105; houses,
106; lamp, 106; sledge and
canoe, 106, 236, 237; art,
107; music, 107; religion,
107; social organization, 108;
fire - making, 240; bibliog-
raphy, 279.
Esselenian family, 94.
Ethnology, Indian, classifica-
tions, 88; physical charac-
teristics, 89, 90, 262-264;
variations, 90, 262; linguistic
characteristics, 90; linguistic
stocks, 91-96; dispersion,
family migrations, 96-98;
number, 99, 100, 216; gradual
decrease, 100; stocks and
culture, 100; grouping by
geography and culture, loi;
Eskimo, 105; of northwest
coast tribes, no; of northern
interior tribes, 124; Chinook,
126; of California tribes, 130;
inequality of linguistic dis-
tribution, 132; Sioux, 133;
Pawnee, 141; Kiowa, 143;
Algonquian, 150; Muskho-
gean, 167; Navajo, 177;
Pueblo, 184; individualistic,
201, 205; ideas not segre-
gated, 249, 261; suggestibil-
ity, 252, 254; innate ability,
263, 264; senses, 264; ethics,
264; character, 264 ; stoicism
and hysterical temperament,
265; siisceptible to disease,
266 ; hospitality, 266 ; in-
fluence of public opinion,
267.
Family, Eskimo basis, 108; and
clan, 195.
Fire-making, 239, 240.
Fisheries, economic importance,
68; salmon, 68; cod, 68;
other salt-water, 68; fresh-
water, 69.
Five Nations. See Iroquoian.
Food, Eskimo, 106; northwest
coast tribes, in; influence
on migration and culture,
125, 130, 134, 151, 216;
Klamath, 128; California
tribes, 131; Sioux, 135;
Ojibwa wild rice, 151; wild
vegetable, 222, 223; cul-
tivated plants, 223; animal,
223; hunting, 224; cooking,
225; cannibalism, 226, 243;
taboos, 226; bibliography,
287. 5(?e a/50 Agriculture.
Forbes's road, 33.
Forests, extent, 39, 40; north-
em belt, 40; division of
Pacific belt, 40; eastern coni-
fers, 41; eastern hardwoods,
41; destruction, 42; southern
conifers, 42; Florida, 42;
Pacific conifers, 43; Pacific
hardwood, 44; Cordilleran,
44; southwestern, 44; his-
torical importance, 44; nuts,
^45-
Fox, Algonquian, 150.
Frontier, influences on advance-
ment, 29, 34.
Fruits, distribution, variety, 45.
Fur-bearing animals, carnivora,
65 ; historical importance,
65; weasel family, 66; ro-
dents, 66; beaver, 66; seal,
66; sea-otter, 67.
Geology, age of North Amer-
ica, 14. See also Physiog-
raphy.
Government. See Clan, Con-
federacies, Social organiza-
tion, Tribal.
296
BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY
Grand Pass portages, 28.
Great Indian War Trail, 32.
Great Lakes, system, 12; as
route of travel, 24; portages
to northwest, 24-26; to Mis-
sissippi Valley, 24, 26, 27;
to Ottawa River, 25; to
Hudson River, 27; Indian
trail to Hudson, 31.
Great plains, character, 10;
Indian stocks, 132; Sioux,
133-141; Pawnee, 141-143;
Kiowa, 143; Algonquian
tribes, 143, 144; societies,
144; sign language, 145: and
whites, 146, 147; bibliog-
raphy, 281.
Haida. See Northwest coast.
Hair-dressing, 230.
Harbors, Atlantic, 5-7 ; Pacific,
S. 6.
Hare, Athapascan, 118.
Havasupai, Yuman, home, 181.
Hay crop, 51.
Head-deforming, Chinook, 126,
Choctaw, 174; practice, 231.
Heiltsuk. See Northwest
coast.
Hiawatha and Iroquois league,
155-
Hopi Indians, and cliff-dwell-
ers, 86; pueblos, 183.
Horse, among Nez Perce, 124;
among Sioux, 124; among
Kiowa, 143; Indian acquire-
ment, 226; use for transpor-
tation, 236.
Hospitality, 202, 266.
House, cliff -dwelling, 83, 219;
cave-dwelling, 84; pueblo,
84, 85, 182, 219; Eskimo,
106, 218; of northwest coast
tribes, in; of northern in-
terior tribes, 123, 124; Kla-
math, 128; Sioux; 135, 136;
tipi. 135. 217; Pawnee, 142;
Kiowa, 143; Algonquian,
152; Irot^uois long house, 157,
161, 217; Cherokee, 167;
Creek, 169, 170; Navajo, 178;
Mexican, 190, 220; types,
217-220; wigwam, 217; un-
derground lodges, 218; in-
fluence of social organization,
220.
Hudson River, gap, 9; portages
to Great Lakes, 27; to St.
Lawrence, 28; trail to Great
Lakes, 31.
Human sacrifice, 142, 193, 250.
Hunting method, 224.
Hupa, Athapascan, 118.
Huron, Iroquoian, 155.
Illinois, Algonquian, 150; con-
federacy, 165.
Indians, archceology, ethnology.
See these titles.
Culture by groups: Eskimo,
103 - 109; northwest coast
tribes, 109 -116; northern
interior tribes, 11 7-1 25; Ore-
gon tribes, 125-129; Cali-
fornia, tribes, 130, 131; great
plains stocks, 132 - 147;
Algonquian, 148-153, 163-
166; Iroquois, 153-162; Cher-
okee, 166; Muskhogean, 167-
175; southwest non - pueblo
tribes, 176-182; Pueblo, 182-
187; Mexico and Central
America, 187 - 194; South
America, 194. For details,
see these titles and families
and tribes by name.
Economic and social life.
See these titles, also Agricult-
ure, Art, Clan, Confederacy,
Military affairs. Mythology,
Religion, Tribe.
Relation with whites: plains
tribes, 146, 147; effect on
military affairs, 247; present
relations, effect of miscon-
ception of character, 267 ; es-
tablishment of private prop-
erty, 268; wrong - headed
INDEX
397
enthusiasm, 268; difficulties
of administration, 268; gen-
eral legislation, 268; reser-
vation system, 269; present
condition of stocks, 269, 270;
probable absorption, 271.
Bibliography: general, 277;
on linguistics, 278; on special
divisions, 279-286; on houses
and home life, 286; on food,
287; on industrial life, 287;
on social organization, 287;
on religion and mythology,
288, 289; on art, 289.
Industrial life. See Economic
life.
Inheritance. See Descent.
Iron, importance and distribu-
tion , 15.
Iroquoian family, war trail, 31 ;
tribes, 93, 153; migrations,
seat, 98, 148, 153; origin of
league, 155; council of
league, 155, 156; lack of
executive, 156, 157, 211;
success and effect of league,
157, 161, 246; destruction of
outlying tribes, 157; social
organization, 157-161; long
houses, 157, 158; position of
woman, 158, 159; clan, 159;
phratries, 160, 207; tribe,
160; military operations, 160,
evolution of league, 214;
present condition, 269; bibli-
ography, 284.
Irrigation, remains of systems,
85; Pueblo, 184; Aztec, 213.
Islands, 19, 22.
Kalapooian family, 94; in
Willamette Valley, 127.
Karankawan family, 94, 175.
Keresan family, 94; pueblos,
183.
Kickapoo, Algonquian, 150.
Kiowan family, 94; charac-
teristics, 143; and Shosho-
Xieans, 143; secret organiza-
tions, 145; sign language,
145; and whites, 146, 147;
bibliography, 283.
Kitunahan family, tribes, 94;
culture, 118; religion, 121.
Klamath, Lutuamian, culture,
127.
Klikitat, Shahaptian, in Willa-
mette Valley, 127.
Koluschan family, tribes, 94.
See also Northwest coast.
Kulanapan family, 94.
Kusan family, 94.
Kutchin, Athapascan, 118.
Kwakiutl, mixed inheritance,
112; name-pawning, 203. See
also Northwest coast.
Lakes of North America, 12.
Language, Indian, character,
90; classification by, 91, 92;
families, 92-96; Chinook jar-
gon, 126; unequal distribu-
tion of families, 132; sign,
145; bibliography, 278.
Lewis and Clark route, 35.
Lutuamian family, tribes, 94;
culture, 127, 128.
Mackenzie River tribes. See
Athapascan.
McKinley, Mount, highest
peak, 8.
Maidu, burning ceremonial, 131.
Manatee, economic value, pro-
tection, 67.
Mandan, Sioux, agriculture,
135; houses, 136; stockade,
136.
Manibozho, Algonquian cult-
ure hero, 153.
Manitou, 138, 153, 249, 250,256.
Maricopa, Yuman, 181.
Mariposan family, 94.
Marriage, Eskimo, 108; exoga-
my, 1X2, 140, 157, 196; Sioux
polygamy, 140; Pueblo mo-
nogamy, 186.
Maskoki. See Muskhogean,
298
BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY
Massachusset, Algonquian, 150.
Maya-Quiche. Sec Mexico.
Medicine-man, training, 120,
121,251 ; cure of sickness, 152,
265; development of priest-
hood, 252; bibliography 289.
Menominee, Algonquian, 150.
Messianic ideas, 254-256.
Metals, in United States, 16;
aboriginal acquaintance, 79;
Indian acquaintance, 227.
Mexico, Gulf of, climatic in-
fluence, 7,17; plains, 12.
Mexico tribes, variety, 187;
Aztec confederacy, 188, 211,
213; Maya-Quiche, 188; in-
fluence of European culture,
189; culture at conquest,
189, 191, 193; ruins, 189-191,
220; social organization, 191;
industrial life, 192; art, 192;
religion, 192; hieroglyphics,
193; function of phratry,
207; human sacrifice, 250;
bibliography, 286.
Miami Trail, 2,3-
Micmac, Algonquian, 150.
Migrations, indications of early,
96; Athapascan, 97; Sioux,
97; Algonquian, 98; Indians
not nomadic, 99, 216.
Military affairs, war-trails, 31-
33; campaign organization
and initiative, 160, 172, 211,
244; Creek war titles, 169;
continual state of war, 241;
training, 241; weapons, 241-
243; art, 243; adoption, tort-
ure, 243; scalping, 244;
warrior's reputation, 244;
voluntary service, 245 ;
formal declaration of war,
245; authority of leaders,
245; war-dance, 245; return
from war-path, 245; charac-
ter of inter-tribal wars, 245;
effect of confederations, 426;
incentive to war, 246; in-
fluence of whites, 247.
Minerals, variety and distribu-
tion, 15, 16; sufficiency, 16.
Mississippi Valley, variations,
10; great plains, 10; prairies,
11; drainage, 13; portages to
Great Lakes, 24, 26, 27; to
Atlantic slope, 29; land
routes to Atlantic slope,
30-34 ; north and south trails,
32, T,T,; routes to Pacific
slope, 35-38. For Indians,
see Great plains, Eastern
woodland.
Modoc, Lutuamian, culture,
127.
Mohave, Yuman, 181.
Mohawk, Iroquoian, 153.
Mohegan, Algonquian, 150.
Moquelumnan family, 94.
Mound-bmlders, race, 73, 81;
remai n s , 7 5 . See also Archae-
ology.
Mountain-sheep, 61.
Mountain systems, Cordillera,
7; Appalachian, 8-10; and
settlement, 23.
Music, Eskimo, 107; Indian,
260; instruments, 261.
Musk-ox, 62.
Muskhogean family, tribes, 94,
167; Creek, 168-173; Semi-
nole, 173; Timacua, 174;
Choctaw, 174; Chickasaw,
174; present condition, 270;
bibliography, 285.
Mythology, northwest coast,
115, 129; northern interior,
121; Algonquian, 153;
genesis, 254; culture hero,
255; his incongruous charac-
ter, 256; animal, 257; dis-
tribution of myths, 257;
bibliography, 288. See also
Religion.
Nahane, Athapascan, 118.
Nahua. See Mexico.
Names, customs concerning,
202-204.
INDEX
299
Narraganset, Algonquian, 150.
Natchesan family, 94, 175.
Navajo, Athapascan, and cliflf-
dwellers, 86; origin, 176;
physique, 177; character of
seat, 177; prosperous, 177;
earUer condition, 178; social
organization, 178; houses,
178; position of woman, 179;
industrial life, 179; blankets,
180; ceremonials, 180; bibli-
ography, 285.
Nemacolin's Path, 32; becomes
Braddock's Road, ^^.
Neutral Nation, Iroquoian, 155.
New England, portages to St.
Lawrence basin, 28; land
routes to New York, 31.
New York harbor, importance,
6.
Nez Perce, Shahaptian, ii8;
houses and horses, 124, 218.
Northern interior tribes, dis-
tribution of culture, 117-
119; social organization, 119;
religion, no, 121; art, 121;
mythology, 122; industrial
life, 122-124; houses, 123,
124; migration of culture,
124; physique, 124; bibliog-
raphy, 280.
Northwest coast tribes, reason
for grouping, 109; tribes,
no; physique, no; depend-
ence on sea-life, no; dugout,
in, 238; houses, in; totem
poles, in; social organiza-
tion, 112; credit system, 113;
desire for wealth, 114; classes,
114, 129; religion, 114, 115,
129; ceremonials, 115; my-
thology, 115, 129; art, 116;
transition, 116, 129; bibliog-
raphy, 279-281.
Oats, crop, distribution, 49.
Ojibwa, Algonquian, 149; in-
dustrial life, 151; wild rice,
151; secret society, 151;
survival, 269; bibliography,
283.
Oneida portage, 27.
Oneida tribe, Iroquoian, 153.
Onondaga, Iroquoian, 153.
Oregon Trail, 37.
Oregon tribes, contact with
plateau tribes, 125; Chinook,
125-127; in Willamette Val-
ley, 127; Klamath and Modoc,
127, 128; coast tribes, 128,
129; bibliography, 281.
Ornamentation, of costume,
230; bodily, 231.
Ottawa, Algonquian, 150.
Pacific coast, peninsulas, 5;
indentations, 6; valleys, 12;
drainage, 14; climate, 17-19;
islands, 22; forests, 40, 43;
routes to Mississippi Valley,
35-38-
Painting of face and body, 232.
Palaihnihan family, 94.
Pamunkey, Algonquian, con-
federation, 164; survival, 164.
Parfleches, decoration, 137,259;
manufacture, 229.
Pawnee, Caddoan, 93; seat,
141; physique, 141; social
organization, 141; agricult-
ure, 142; houses, 142; re-
ligion, 142; secret organiza-
tions, 145; sign language,
145; and whites, 146, 147;
present condition, 270; bibli-
ography, 282.
Peninsulas, 5.
Pequot, Algonquian, 150.
Phratry, in northwest coast
tribes, 112; Iroquois, 160;
origin, functions, 206-208.
Physiography , in fluence on cul t-
ure, 3, 4, 22, 38; climate, 4,
17; coast-line, 4-7; moun-
tain systems, 7-10; central
basin, 8, lo-ii; Atlantic
plain, n; Gulf plain, 12;
great plateau, 12; Pacific
300
BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY
valleys, 12; lakes, 12; drain-
age, 13, 14; watershed, 14;
geological age, 14; mineral
wealth, 15-17; rainfall, 17;
islands, 19, 22; portages, 24-
30; land routes, 30-38;
forests, 39-45; bibliography,
272; bibliography on his-
torical importance, 273; bib-
liography on routes, 273-
275; bibliography on forests,
.275- ,
Piman family, 94.
Pipe, symbolic decoration, 137.
Population, Indian, 92, 100, 216.
Portages, importance, 24, 25;
Great Lakes- Northwest, 24-
26; Great Lakes-Mississippi,
24, 26, 27; Huron - Ottawa,
25; Ontario - Mohawk, 27;
Hudson - St. Lawrence, 28;
St. Lawrence-New England,
28; Atlantic-Mississippi, 29;
bibliography, 273, 274.
Potato, crop, distribution, 52.
Potlatch, 113.
Potomac tribe, Algonquian,
confederation, 164.
Pottawotomi, Algonquian, 150.
Pottery, archaeological, 79;
Pawnee, 142; Pueblo, 185;
development, 232; clay-tem-
pering, 233; method, 233;
form and decoration, 234;
bibliography, 287.
Powhatans, Algonquian, con-
federacy, 164; characteris-
tics, 164.
Priesthood, development, 252.
Property, Sioux private, 140;
Navajo private, 178, 179;
Pueblo real, 186; Mexico
clan, 192; clan ownership of
real, 201; personal, 202; at-
tempt to establish private,
268. See also Descent.
Pueblo Indians, archaeological
remains, 84; and cliff-dwell-
ers, 86, 2 19; meaning of word,
182; pueblos, 182, 219; num-
ber of pueblos, 182; stocks
represented, 183; physique,
184; agriculture, 184; irri-
gation, 185; duties of the
sexes, 185; social organiza-
tion, 185; religion, 186; cere-
monials, 187, 253; pottery,
233; bibliography, 285.
Pujunan family, 94.
Rainfall, 17.
Religion, Indian, Eskimo, 107;
of northwest coast tribes,
114, 115, 129; supernatural
helper, 114, 120, 129, 251;
Athapascan, 120, 121; Maidu
burning ceremony, 131;
Sioux, 138-140; manitou,
138, 153, 249; Pawnee, 142;
human sacrifice, 142, 193,
250; Kiowa, 143; Algon-
quian, 153; Creek ceremo-
nials, 170-172; Navajo cere-
monials, 180; Pueblo, 186,
187; Mexican, 192; canni-
balism, 226, 243; animism,
248, 250; interwoven with
sociology and religion, 249,
261; manitou and great
spirit, 249; cult of class
manitous, 250; ceremonials,
250; burial customs, 250,
251; multiplicity of souls,
251 ; medicine-man, 251 ; cure
of sickness, 252; develop-
ment of priesthood, 252;
development of ceremonials,
253; prophets. Messianic
ideas, 254-256; bibliography,
288, 289. See also Mythol-
ogy.
Rice, wild, 50, 151, 233; cul-
tivated, introduction, 50;
crop, distribution, 50.
Rivers, drainage sj'stems, 13,
14; factor in settlement, 23,
24; portages, 24-29.
Rocky Mountain goat, 61.
INDEX
301
Rocky Mountains, system, 7;
watershed, 14.
Rye crop, 49.
Sachem, Iroquois league, 155,
156; Iroquois clan, 159, 160;
civil officer, 199; hereditary
in clan, 199; election and
deposition, 199, 210.
St. Lawrence River, as route
of travel, 24; portages to
Hudson, 28; to New Eng-
land, 29.
Salinan family, 95.
Salishan family, tribes, 95;
culture, 118, 119; social or-
ganization, 119; houses, 123.
Santa Fe Trail, 36.
Sarcee, plains Algonquian, con-
federacy, 144.
Sastean family, 95.
Sauk, Algonquian, 150.
Scalp-lock, 230; scalping, 244.
Scioto Trail, 32.
Seals, importance of fisheries,
66; protection and exter-
mination, 66; bibliography,
276.
Secret societies, of plains Ind-
ians, 145; Mid6, of Ojibwa,
151; Pueblo, 186; general,
253-
Seminole, Muskhogean, 167;
offshoot of Creeks, 173; and
whites, 173.
Seneca, Iroquoian, 153.
Senses, Indian acuteness, 264.
Seri, Yuman, 181.
Shahaptian family, tribes, 95;
seat, ii8;culture, 118, 119; so-
cial organization ,119; salmon
fisheries, 124, 125; houses,
124; horses, 124; physique,
125; in Willamette Valley,
127; bibliography, 280.
Shawnee, Algonquian, 150;
social organization, 165; salt
manufacture, 161;; warlike,
X65.
Shoshonean family, tribes, 95;
migrations, 98; distribution,
118; culture, 119; social or-
ganization, 119; influence
of salmon fisheries, 124;
physique, 125; plains tribes,
144-147; pueblos, 183; pres-
ent condition, 270.
Shuswap, Salishan, 118.
Siouan family, tribes, 95; mi-
gration, 97; physique, 133;
seat, 133, 175; origin, 134,
137; influence of buffalo,
134; horse and dog, 134;
industries, 134; utensils, 135;
food, 135; houses, 135, 136;
coracle, 137, 237; art, 137;
religion, 138; ceremonials,
138; mythology, 138; sun-
dance, 138-140; social or-
ganization, 140; property,
140; government, 141; secret
organizations, 145; sign lan-
guage, 145; and whites, 146,
147; confederacy, 246; pres-
ent condition, 270; bibliog-
raphy, 282.
Skin-dressing, 228, 229.
Skittagetan family, 95.
Slave tribe, Athapascan, 118.
Slavery among Indians, 205.
Sledges, 236.
Snow-shoes, 236.
Social organization, Indian, Es-
kimo, 108; of northwest
coast tribes, 1 12-114, 126,
129; classes, 114, 129, 201;
Athapascan, 119, 120; Sioux,
140, 141; Pawnee, 142; secret
societies, 145, 151, 186, 253;
Algonquian, 152, 164, 165;
Iroquois, 1 55-161; Creek,
168-170, 172; Navajo, 178;
Pueblo, 186; Mexico, 191;
clan, 195-205; exogamy, 196;
female inheritance, 196-198;
blood revenge, 198; clan
government, 199-201, 205;
property, 201, 202; impor-
302
BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY
tance of name, 202-204:
adoption, 204; settlement of
disputes, 204; slavery, 205;
phratry, 206-208; tribe, 208-
212; confederacy, 212-214;
development of tribe and
confederacy, 215; and form
of house, 220; position of
woman, 221, 266; inter-
woven with religion and art,
249, 261; social ambition,
267 ; influence of public opin-
ion, 267; bibliography, 287.
See also Art, Mythology',
Religion.
Sources, on travel, 273, 274;
on plains Indians, 282; on
Algonquian, 283; on Iro-
quois, 284; on myths, 288.
South American Indians, cult-
ure, 194.
Southwest tribes, bibliography,
285. See also Apache,
Navajo, Pueblo, Yuman.
Spanish Trail, 36.
Sugar, maple, 45, 151; cul-
tivation of cane, 50; of beets,
50-
Sun-dance of plains stocks,
138-140.
Susquehannock, Iroquoian, 155.
Taculli, Athapascan, 118.
Takilman family, 95.
Tanoan family, 95 ; pueblos, 183.
Tattooing, 129, 231.
Thompson tribe, Salishan, 118.
Timuquanan family, 95, 174.
Tipi, 135. 217.
Tlingit, tribes, 94. See also
Northwest coast.
Tobacco crop, distribution, 52.
Tonikan family, 95, 175.
Tonkawan family, 95.
Tools, achaeological, 80.
Torture, 243.
Totem, poles, in; and clan-
ship, 195.
Travel, importance of rivers,
23, 34; St. Lawrence basin
route, 24; portages, 24-29;
Atlantic - Mississippi land
routes, 30-34; character of
Indian trails, 31, 236; New
England - New York land
routes, 31; Atlantic - Great
Lakes land routes, 31 ; routes
in Mississippi Valley, 32-
35; Mississippi - Pacific
routes, 35-38; Eskimo modes,
106; Indian land transpor-
tation, 236; water trans-
portation, 237, 238; bibliog-
raphy, 273-275.
Tribal organization, no north-
em Athapascan, 119; Sioux,
141; Algonquian, 152; Iro-
quois, 156, 160; control over
clan elections, 160, 210; and
Creek village, 168; and
Pueblo village, 185; charac-
teristics, 208; and band, 209;
tendency towards disintegra-
tion, 209; council, 210; chief,
21 1 ; intertribal relationship,
212.
Tribute in Mexico, 192.
Tsimshian. See Northwest
coast.
Tuscarora, Iroquoian, 155; join
league, 157.
UcHEAN family, 95, 175.
Union. See Confederacies.
Ute, Shoshonean, 119.
Utensils, archaeological, 80;
Siotix, 135; material of Ind-
ian, 227.
Village, Eskimo, 108; Creek
relation to tribe, 168; ar-
rangement, 169; Pueblo, 185;
permanent Indian, 216.
Waiilatpuan family, 95.
Wakashan family, 95.
Walrus, economic value, 67.
Wampanoag, Algonquian, 150.
INDEX
303
War. See Military affairs.
Warrior's Path, 32.
Washoan family, 96.
Waterways, and settlement, 23 ;
means of transportation, 24,
106, III, 137, 237. See also
Great Lakes, Portages,
Rivers.
Weapons, archeeological, 80;
Indian bow and arrow, 241,
242; tomahawk, 242; javelin,
242; spear, 242; shield, 242;
armor, 243.
WeavinjT, Navajo, 180; Pueblo,
185; Indian, 235.
Weitspekan family, 96.
West Indies, physiography, 19.
Wheat, introduction, 48; crop,
distribution, 48; export, 49.
Wilderness Road, ^S-
Wishoskan family, 96.
Woman, position and duties,
Sioux, 140; Iroquois, 15S,
159; Creek, 172; Navajo,
179; Pueblo, 185; Indian,
221, 266.
Writing, Algonquian picture,
165; Mexican hieroglyphics,
193-
Wyandot, Iroquoian, 155.
Yakima, Shahaptian, 118.
Yakonan family, 96; culture,
128, 129; mythology, re-
ligion, 129; classes, 129; in-
heritance, 129.
Yanan family, 96.
Yellow Knives, Athapascan,
118.
Yukian family, 96.
Yuman family, 96; tribes, 181;
bibliography, 285.
ZuNiAN family, 96 ; pueblo, 183.
END OP VOL. II.
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