XXX. Indians Of California.
Nowhere among American Indians are more languages found in a smaller space than in California. Those spoken near the Coast, within the area of the Missions, appear to belong to at least nine language families or stocks. In Powell's map the state looks like a piece of patchwork, so many are the bits of color, which represent different languages. These Coast Indians of California were ugly to see. They were of medium stature, awkwardly shaped, with scrawny limbs; they had dull faces, with fat and round noses, and looked much like negroes, only their hair was straight. In disposition they were said to be sluggish, indolent, cowardly, and unenterprising. Some tribes in the interior were better, but none of the California Indians seem to have presented a high physical type or much comfort in life.
We shall say little about the life and customs of the California Indians, and what we do say will be chiefly about the Coahuilla tribe. These Indians live in the beautiful high Coahuilla Valley in Southern California. Formerly at least part of the tribe were “Mission Indians.” Some [pg 202] of them were connected with the San Gabriel Mission near the present city of Los Angeles. They appear to present a better type than many of the Mission Indians, being larger, better built, and stronger. Ramona, who was the heroine of Helen Hunt Jackson's story, is a Coahuilla Indian, still living. If she ever was beautiful, it must have been long ago, although she is not an old woman. These Indians live in little houses, largely built of brush, scattered over the valley. They have some ponies and cattle, and cultivate some ground. Near every house, perched upon big boulders, are quaint little structures made of woven willows and like big beehives in form; they are granaries for stowing away acorns or grain.
Acorns are much used by California Indians. They are bitter and need to be sweetened. They are first pounded to a meal or flour. A wide basket is filled with sand, which is carefully scooped away so as to leave a basin-shaped surface; the acorn meal is spread upon this, and water is poured upon it. The bitterness is soaked out, and the meal left sweet and good.
A fine art among most Californian tribes is the making of baskets. Those made at Coahuilla are mostly what is known as “coiled work.” A bunch of fine, slender grass is taken and treated as if it were a rope. It is coiled around and around in a close coil. Long strips of reed grass are then taken and wrapped like a thread around the coiled rope, sewing the coil at each [pg 204] wrapping to the next coil. In this way the foundation coiled rope of grass is entirely covered and concealed by the wrapping of reed grass, and at the same time firmly united. By using differently colored strips of the reed grass, patterns are worked in. Horses, men, geometrical patterns, and letters are common. Among some Californian tribes such baskets were covered with brilliant feathers, which were woven in during the making.
Among the delicacies of some south Californian tribes was roasted mescal. Mescal is a plant of the desert, with great, pointed, fleshy leaves. At the proper time it throws up a huge flower-stalk, which bears great numbers of flowers. Mr. Lummis describes the roasting of its leaves and stalks: “A pit was dug, and a fire of the greasewood's crackling roots kept up therein until the surroundings were well heated. Upon the hot stones of the pit was laid a layer of the pulpiest sections of the mescal; upon this a layer of wet grass; then another layer of mescal, and another of grass, and so on. Finally the whole pile was banked over with earth. The roasting—or, rather, steaming—takes from two to four days.... When he banks the pile with earth, he arranges a few long bayonets of the mescal so that their tips shall project. When it seems to him that the roast should be done, he withdraws one of these plugs. If the lower end is well done, he uncovers the [pg 205] heap and proceeds to feast; if still too rare, he possesses his soul in patience until a later experiment proves the baking.” This method of roasting mescal is about the same pursued farther north with camas root.
A gambling game common among Californian tribes is called by the Spanish name peon. It is very similar to a game played in many other parts of the United States by many Indian tribes. It consists simply of guessing in which of two hands the marked one of two sticks or objects is held. The game is played by two parties, one of which has the sticks, while the other guesses. Each success is marked by a stick or counter for the winner, and ten counts make a game. Among the Coahuillas there are four persons on a side. Songs are sung, which become loud and wild; at times the players break into fierce barking. Then the guess is made. Great excitement arises, which grows wilder and wilder toward the end of a close game. Violent movements and gestures are made to deceive the carefully watching guessers. Sometimes men will bet on this game the last things they own, even down to the clothes they wear.
Mr. Barrows, who has described the game of peon tells of the bird dances of the Coahuillas. These Indians highly regard certain birds. Of all, the eagle is chief. In the eagle dance the dancer wears a breech-clout; his face, body, and limbs are painted in red, black, and white; his [pg 206] dance skirt and dance bonnet are made of eagle feathers. In his dancing and whirling he imitates the circling and movements of the eagle. At times he whirls about the great circle of spectators so rapidly that his feather skirt stands up straight below his arms. The music of this dance is so old that the words are not understood even by the singers.
They took possession in 1697 and built a Mission at San Dionisio, in Lower California. By 1745, they had fourteen Missions established, all in what is now Lower California. The Jesuits gave way to the Franciscan [pg 207] monks, and these began in 1769 their first Mission in California proper, at San Diego. One after another was added, until, in 1823, there were twenty-one Franciscan Missions, stretching from San Diego to San Francisco. Each mission had a piece of ground fifteen miles square. The center of the Mission was the church, with cloisters where the monks lived. The houses of the Indian converts—which were little huts—were grouped together about the church, arranged in rows. Unmarried men were housed in a separate building or buildings, as were young women also. During the sixty-five years of these Missions about seventy-nine thousand converts were made. Every one at these Missions was busy. The men kept the flocks and herds, sheared the sheep, and cared for the fields and vines. Women cared for the houses and the church. There was spinning, weaving, leather work, and plenty else to be done. Still the Indians were not hard worked, and they ought to have been happy. Their time was regularly planned out for them. At sunrise all rose and went to mass; soon after mass breakfast was ready and sent to the houses in baskets; then every one worked. At noon dinner was sent around again from house to house; then came the afternoon work. After evening mass, there was a supper of sweet gruel. There was a good deal of time left after the services and work were through. The monks allowed the Indians to keep up their native dances [pg 208] and amusements so far as they believed them harmless.
Some persons seem to think that the monks made slaves of the Indians. Rather they considered them children, who needed oversight, direction, and sometimes punishment. However, the Indians were probably better dressed and housed and fed than ever before, and, perhaps, happier. But the Missions are now past. Their twenty-one old churches still stand,—our most interesting historical relics,—but the Indian converts have scattered, and in time they will forget, if they have not already forgotten, that they or their people were ever Mission Indians.
XXXI. The Aztecs.
When the Spaniards reached Mexico, that country was filled with Indians belonging to many different tribes. These differed in language and in customs. Perhaps the most powerful and warlike tribe was that of the Aztecs, who lived in the central high table-land, with a chief city named Tenochtitlan. This city, occupying the same site as the present city of Mexico, was situated upon the shores of, and partly within, the lake of Texcoco. The lake lay in a beautiful valley which was occupied not only by the Aztecs, but also by a number of other tribes related to [pg 209] them in speech. Among these tribes were the Acolhuas, with their chief city of Texcoco, and the Tecpanecans, whose chief city was Tlacopan.
These three tribes spoke about the same language, and, after a great deal of quarreling among themselves, they united in a league or confederacy something like that of the Iroquois. Together, they were so strong that they carried on successful war against their neighbors. When they conquered a tribe, they did not take its land away nor interfere with its government, but compelled the people to pay an annual tribute to the confederacy. At the head of the confederacy was a great war-chief, who was called by the title of the Chief of Men. When Cortez conquered Mexico, the name of this “Chief of Men” was Montezuma.
The Aztecs raised crops of corn, beans, squashes, and chili peppers. Still they got a considerable amount of food from hunting, and they knew how to make snares and traps for capturing animals. Their lake used to be covered with ducks, and to capture these they employed a clever trick. Calabashes are large gourds. The Aztec hunters left calabashes floating at places where ducks were plenty so that the birds should be used to seeing them, and pay no attention to them. When a man wished to catch ducks, he placed a big calabash over his head, and waded cautiously out into the water until it was just deep enough for it to look as if his calabash were floating. Little by little, he moved over toward the swimming [pg 210] ducks, and, when among them, he seized one by the legs and dragged it under water; then another, and another, and so on. Ducks were not the only food taken from the lake. The scum or dirt floating on the water was skimmed off, and pressed into cakes; the eggs of a fly, which were laid in bunches on the rushes, near, or in the water, were gathered and eaten. These eggs are still a favorite food with modern Mexicans.
The Aztecs knew how to spin and weave. They had cotton, and they also had a fine, stout fiber from the maguey plant. From these they made good cloths which they sometimes dyed in bright colors. The dress of the men consisted of a sort of blanket or cloak—worn knotted over one shoulder—and the breech-clout. The women wore a skirt, which was only a long strip of cloth wrapped around the body, and held firmly in place by a belt; they also wore a pretty sleeveless waist. Men wore sandals on the feet, but usually went bareheaded. Great officials, however, were finely dressed, and one might tell from the clothing what official he met. Men often wore lip-stones. These were in idea like the lip-plugs of the Haida women, but were different in shape and material. Most of them were made of obsidian,—a fine-grained, glassy, black mineral. Their shape was that of a little stovepipe hat. The brim was inside the lip and prevented the stone from slipping out; the crown projected from the hole in the lower lip.
[pg 211]The common people lived in huts made of mud or other destructible material; but the buildings intended for the government and for religion were sometimes grand affairs, built of stone and covered with plaster. This plastering was sometimes white, sometimes red, and upon it were at times pictures painted in brilliant colors. These pictures generally represented warriors ready for battle, or priests before the altar. Temples were usually built upon flat-topped pyramids. These were often large, and were terraced on one or more sides. Sometimes they were coated with plaster. Flights of steps, or sloping paths, led to the summit. There would be found the temple and the gods. The gods of the Aztecs were like the Aztecs themselves, bloodthirsty and cruel.
In war the Aztecs used clubs, wooden swords, bows and arrows, spears or darts, slings and stones. They had wooden swords with broad, flat blades, grooved along the sides; into these grooves were cemented sharp pieces of obsidian. These were fearful weapons until dulled or broken by use. Spears and darts were often thrown with a wooden stick or hurler called an atlatl. Important warriors carried round or rectangular shields upon their left arms to ward off attack. These shields often bore patterns worked in bright feathers. Sometimes the whole dress of warriors was covered with feathers, and famous braves wore helmets of wood on their heads, from which rose great masses of fine feathers. Often warriors [pg 212] wore a sort of jacket covering the upper part of the body and reaching the knees. This was padded thickly with cotton, and arrows shot with great force could hardly penetrate it.
In battle the Aztecs did not desire to kill the enemy, but preferred to capture prisoners to sacrifice to the gods. When a man was captured he was very well treated until the day for his sacrifice came. He was taken up to the temple on the pyramid and thrown on his back upon a sacrificial [pg 213] stone. He was held by several priests, while the high priest, with a knife of stone, cut open his breast. The heart was torn out, and offered to the gods; some other parts were cut off for them or for the priests. The rest of the body was then thrown down to the soldier who had captured the victim, and who waited below. He and his friends bore it away and ate it, or parts of it, as a religious duty. All the time the sacrifices were being made, the great drum was beaten. It made a mournful noise that could be heard to a great distance. In the National Museum in the city of Mexico is a great carved stone which is believed by many persons to be one of these old sacrificial stones upon which victims were sacrificed.
In the same museum is a great stone idol. It was dug up about a hundred years ago in the central square of the city of Mexico. It probably stood in the great temple of the old Aztecs, which was totally destroyed by Cortez and his soldiers when they finally captured the city of Tenochtitlan. What an ugly thing it is! It is more [pg 214] than eight feet high and more than five feet across, but is cut from a single block of stone. It has a head in front, and another one behind; they look something like serpent heads. While the general form of this great idol is human, it has neither the feet nor hands of a man. The skirt it wears is made of an intertwined mass of rattlesnakes. A human skull is at the front of the belt. Four human hands apparently severed from their bodies are displayed upon the chest. This is only one of many curious and dreadful Aztec gods.
It would take a book larger than this to describe the Aztecs properly. It would take another to describe the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards. Cortez had only a handful of men to fight against many thousands. But he had guns, powder, and horses, all of which were unknown before to the Aztecs and which they greatly feared. Sometime you must read Bernal Diaz del Castillo's story of the Conquest. He was one of Cortez's soldiers. He tells us that he was present in one hundred and nineteen battles and engagements. He also says: “Of the five hundred and fifty soldiers, who left the island of Cuba with Cortez, at the moment I am writing this history in the year one thousand five hundred and sixty-eight, no more than five are living, the rest having been killed in the wars, sacrificed to idols, or died naturally.”
XXXII. The Mayas And The Ruined Cities Of Yucatan And Central America.
Of all North American tribes the Mayas were perhaps the most advanced in culture, the nearest to civilization. They lived in the peninsula of Yucatan and in the adjacent states of Tabasco and Chiapas in Mexico, and in Honduras and Guatemala in Central America. While true Mayas did not occupy the whole of this district, it was practically occupied by them and peoples speaking languages closely related to theirs.
There are many Mayas now alive. It is a common but serious mistake to imagine that Aztecs, Mayas, and other tribes of Mexico and Central America at the time of the Conquest are extinct. Many tribes have died out; but the famous Aztecs and Mayas are still numerous. The Mayas to-day are short, well-built, broad-shouldered peoples with unusually dark skin. They have much energy and are notable for their independent spirit. Within the last few years they have given the Mexican government much trouble. They have not given up their own language, but have learned to write it, and a considerable number of books and papers have been printed in it. They retain their ancient dress to some degree. Almost every one who sees the [pg 216] modern Mayas speaks well of them,—as clean, neat, straightforward, and reliable.
It is not the Mayan peoples of to-day, but those of the past, of whom we desire to speak. They were the best builders in North America, and the ruins of their cities testify to their skill. More than fifty years ago, John L. Stephens, with an artist named Catherwood, traveled in Honduras, Guatamala, Chiapas, and Yucatan. Mr. Stephens described their travels and the ruins they explored, and Mr. Catherwood drew pictures of them. Americans were astonished at these researches. These travelers visited forty ruins of ancient cities in Yucatan alone. Since that time many other travelers have been there, and much is known of Mayan architecture.
Most of the ruins appear to be those of buildings intended for governmental or religious purposes. Few, if any, were houses for individuals. Probably these fine, large buildings were at the center of towns, the dwelling houses of which were frail huts of poles, branches, canes, etc. These have disappeared, leaving no sign of their former existence. All through Mexico, to-day, in Indian towns, the only permanent constructions which would leave ruins are the church and the town house. Everything else is frail hut.
Nearly every one of these old towns presents some peculiarity of interest. We can, however, only briefly describe three. Palenque appears to be one of the oldest. It is in the most southern [pg 217] state of Mexico, Chiapas. The more important ruins are those of the “palace” and five temples near it. The buildings were all raised upon terrace platforms; they were long and narrow; the walls were thick, and built of stones and mud, with cement. The walls were faced with slabs of stone, often carved with figures of gods, hieroglyphic characters, etc. Usually two long corridors ran lengthwise, side by side, through the building. These open upon the supporting platform by a line of rectangular doorways of uniform size. There were no true arches, but the corridors had pyramidal arched vaultings. The roof went up from all four sides, at a low and then at a sharper angle. A curious crest or roof-comb surmounted the roof. Much plastering was used in these buildings; the walls were sometimes thickly and smoothly covered. Stucco figures were worked upon some of the walls. One temple, called the “Temple of the Beau Relief,” had a great tablet of stucco work, with the figure of a man seated upon a sort of rounded stone seat; he wore a coiled cap, with great waving plumes. His hands were making some sort of signs; he wore a necklace of beads, with a pendant carved with a human face. The stone upon which he sits is supported on a bench, the arms at the ends of which are lion heads, and the supports of which are four heavily carved, but well-made, lion feet. In other temples there were tablets of carved stone. Two of these are famous. One represents the sun, as [pg 218] a human face, placed upon two crossed shafts; on either side of this central object stands a profile figure, one of which appears to represent a priest, the other a worshiper. Both stand on curiously bent human figures. In the second tablet, two similar figures are shown, but they stand at the two sides of a cross, upon which perches a bird. On these tablets of the sun and cross are many curious hieroglyphs forming an inscription.
Copan in Honduras is another famous location of ruins left by some Mayan people. The most interesting objects there are great stone statues or figures with stone altars before them. These statues are taller than a man and are cut from single blocks of stone. They differ so much in face and dress that they have been believed by some writers to be portraits. The persons ate usually beautifully dressed and ornamented. They wear beads, pendants, tassels, belts, ear ornaments, and headdresses. The headdresses are usually composed of great feathers. The sides and sometimes the back of these figures are covered with hieroglyphics of the same kind as those at Palenque. The “altars” in front of these stone figures, differ in form and size, but are cut from single blocks of stone. One which is nearly square has at the sides a series of figures of human beings sitting cross-legged; there are four of these on each side, or sixteen in all.
At Chichen Itza, the buildings are remarkable [pg 219] for the mass of carved stone work with which they are decorated, outside and inside. Great horrid masks, geometrical patterns, intertwined snakes, occur. At some corners of buildings are curious hook-like projections, which some persons have thought were meant to represent elephant trunks. Mr. Holmes describes carefully carved pillars resting upon gigantic snake-head carvings. One room in the “Temple of the Tigers” has the inside wall composed of blocks of stone, each of which is sculptured. The carvings represent persons richly dressed. When [pg 220] the building was first made, these figures were brightly painted and traces of the colors still remain.
We can tell a good deal about the lives of the builders of these old buildings from a study of the figures and carvings. These show their dress and modes of worship. The ruins themselves show how they built. Figures on tablets at Palenque show that they changed their head forms by bandaging like some tribes of whom we know.
At Lorillard City, ruins explored by Mr. Charnay, are some curious figures. Among them one represents a person kneeling, with his tongue out, and a cord passed through a-hole in it. The old Mayas really used to torture themselves this way to please their gods. They pierced their tongues and passed a rough cord through the hole, and drew it back and forward.
No one can read the characters on the tablets of Palenque and the stone figures at Copan. Similar characters occur at other ruins. At Tikal some were cut upon beautiful wooden panels. They were carved on greenstone ornaments, scratched upon shells, and painted upon pottery, There were plenty of books among the Mayas, Some of these still exist, and four have been quite carefully studied. They contain many quaint pictures of priests, gods, worshipers, etc. They also contain many numbers and day names. There are also in them many of the same strange hieroglyphs, already mentioned. These are called [pg 221] “calculiform” or “pebble-shaped” characters, because they present a generally roundish outline, as of a pebble cut through. It is plain that they were at first simply pictures. Some of them, no doubt, are still simple pictures of ideas; others convey ideas different from those at first pictured; many can no longer be seen to be pictures at all; some, perhaps, represent sounds, and are not now pictures for ideas. It is possible, in a general way, to make out something of the sense of parts of Mayan books and inscriptions, but it is quite likely that they will never be exactly read as we read our own written books.
XXXIII. Conclusion.
An old Pani, in speaking of what was perhaps the first official visit by whites to his tribe, said:
“I heard that long ago there was a time when there were no people in this country except Indians. After that the people began to hear of men with white skins; they had been seen far to the east. Before I was born they came to our country and visited us. The man who came was from the Government. He wanted to make a treaty with us, and to give us presents—blankets and guns and flint and steel and knives.
“The head chief told him that we needed none [pg 222] of those things. He said, ‘We have our buffalo and our corn. These things the Ruler gave us, and they are all that we need. See this robe. This keeps me warm in winter. I need no blanket.’
“The white men had with them some cattle, and the chief said, ‘Lead out a heifer here on the prairie.’ They led her out, and the chief, stepping up to her, shot her through behind the shoulder with his arrow, and she fell down and died. Then the chief said, ‘Will not my arrow kill? I do not need your guns.’ Then he took his stone knife and skinned the heifer, and cut off a piece of fat meat. When he had done this, he said, ‘Why should I take your knives? The Ruler has given me something to cut with.’
“Then, taking the firesticks, he kindled a fire to roast the meat; and while it was cooking, he spoke and said, ‘You see, my brother, that the Ruler has given us all that we need: the buffalo for food and clothing; the corn to eat with our dried meat; bows, arrows, knives, and hoes—all the implements that we need for killing meat or for cultivating the ground. Now go back to the country from whence you came. We do not want your presents, and we do not want you to come into our country.’ ”
And the old chief was right. The Indians were supplied with all they needed; what the white man offered them was unnecessary, often it was harmful. They were happy and contented. They were doing very well in their own way.
[pg 223]But the old times are gone. To-day the Indians are few in number, and they are growing fewer. There are many ingenious arguments to prove the contrary. Three facts, however, are perfectly plain. First, there were whole tribes that have disappeared. The Beothuks and the Natchez are but two tribes which are gone; such tribes may be numbered by scores. Their names are on record; their old locations are known; sometimes we have some knowledge of their customs and ways, but they are dead. Secondly, many tribes are rapidly dwindling. The Pani, between 1885 and 1889, a period of five years, fell from one thousand and forty-five to eight hundred and sixty-nine. When I knew the Tonkaways in the Indian Territory, they numbered but thirty-five persons, and had been disappearing at the rate of one-third of the population in eight years. The Haidas of Queen Charlotte Islands are becoming fewer. Dawson says: “One intelligent man told me that he could remember the time—which by his age could not have been more than thirty years ago—when there was not room to launch all the canoes of the village in a single row, the whole length of the beach, when the people set out on one of their periodical trading expeditions to Port Simpson. The beach is about half a mile long, and there must have been from five to eight persons in each canoe.” There are to-day less than five hundred people in that village, Skidgate. Thirdly, there are some tribes, like [pg 224] the Cherokees and Sioux, which are large, prosperous, and wealthy. It is a money advantage to belong to such tribes, and a great many men who should be considered white men are counted with such tribes and help to make them look as if they were not dwindling. It is quite certain that true Indians of pure blood are rapidly diminishing.
The whites have brought them whisky, which has killed thousands. They have brought vices and diseases which have swept off thousands more. They have put an end to the old free, open-air life. They have taught them unwholesome means of cookery that cause scrofula and other diseases. They have taught them to build close, stuffy houses, which cause consumption, which is fearfully destructive to the Indians. It seems to make little difference whether it is an open foe with the whisky bottle, or an apparent friend with money for a “civilized home” (“a nice, comfortable, little house”) who comes; the white man's touch destroys the Indians.
Whether the Indians really die out or not, their old life will surely disappear. One after another many of the things we have here read of together have, disappeared. Others will soon die out. The houses, dress, weapons, games, dances, ceremonials, will go. It is only a matter of time. But they ought always to be interesting to us as Americans.
The condition of the Indians to-day is a sad and pathetic one. They may all echo the words [pg 225] of Red Jacket. They have been crowded upon by the white man's hunger for land until now they have little left. Not long ago they held the continent; to-day they are almost prisoners upon a few patches of land called reservations. They are secure of these only until the white man wants them. Time after time Indians have given up their lands and removed to distant places because their old homes were wanted by white men. Every time they have been promised that in their new homes they should be undisturbed. Yet whenever, in their onward march, white men came to be neighbors, the old troubles came again. Encroachment, aggression, then perhaps open warfare, and then, another removal. Helen Hunt Jackson's Century of Dishonor tells only a part of the story. Every boy and girl in the United States should read it.
Here on a map you see the present location of most of the Indians. The reservations vary in size and in quality. Some of them have little that can attract the whites. In these the Indians may be left in peace. The present idea of what to do with the Indians is shown by the Dawes Bill. This is apparently a benevolent scheme for happily settling the Indians on individual farms. Imagine a reservation belonging to some tribe. A part of the reservation is cultivated by the more progressive Indians. The rest is not used except perhaps for hunting or fishing, or wandering over. The whole belongs to the tribe absolutely, [pg 226] and we have promised that it shall never be taken away from them. But now the Dawes Bill is passed. It is said, a little farm apiece is all that is necessary for these Indians. It would be much better to give each of them just what he needs and then to buy the balance of the land (cheap of course), and give it to white people. Whenever the Indians agree to it, we will divide up the land, allot each his land in severalty, and the Indian problem is solved. All this sounds very well, but it is enough to make one's heart bleed to see the way in which it is carried out. Many times the Indians do not wish to take their land in severalty. Certainly they ought not to be forced to do so against their will. Yet commission after commission, special agent after special agent, is sent to tribes to persuade, beg, and harass them into accepting allotment. Many times half threats are made; hints are vaguely thrown out as to what may happen if they don't take their little farms and sell the balance of their reservation. Surveyors are hired to go and survey within the reservation so as to make the Indians think their land will be taken away anyway. At last the poor harassed tribe yields. The men take their farms; they give up the balance of their land for a small price. Those who were industrious before take care of their land as they did before, no better, no worse. But the unprogressive Indian is not made industrious. He rents his land to some white man and spends his [pg 227] money in strong drink. As long as they were on the reservation there were laws to protect them from bad neighbors and whisky. But on his little farm the Indian may be next door to bad white men who sell him liquor whenever it is to their advantage.
There are many persons who think that missions and schools will make the Indians good and happy. So far as schools are concerned there are many. Some of them are simple day schools at the agency. Others are boarding schools still at the agency. Still others are great industrial schools at a town more or less distant. Of all these schools we think that those at the agency are the best kind. Such schools, well managed by thoroughly good teachers, ought to do the most good. They ought not to try to teach high branches, but to speak, read, and write English, a little arithmetic and a little knowledge of the great world. They ought to be industrial schools to the extent of teaching handiness in all the little things that need to be done about the house or the farm. They ought to aim to reach the parents and to interest them in their work. Progress in such schools is slow, but it is better for all to make a little progress, than for a few to get a great mass of information that they cannot use.
Glossary Of Indian And Other Foreign Words Which May Not Readily Be Found In The English Dictionary.
The spellings of Indian words vary much with different authors: in the following list the word as spelled in this book is first given, then the pronunciation, then the number of a page on which the meaning of the word will be found.
Single and combined consonants have their usual English sounds except c, which is equal to sh; s is always as in so; final s as in gems is represented by z; soft g is represented by j.
Vowels are as follows:—
Abalone [á-ba-lōn], 77.
Acolhua [ā-kōl'-wā], 209.
Adobé [a-dō'-bā], 163.
Algonkin [al-gón-kin], 108.
Alibamu [ál-i-ba-mū], 128.
Apache [a-pá-chā], 39.
Apalache [a-pā-lá-chā], 128.
Arapaho [ä-rá-pä-ho], 60.
Arickara [a-rí-kä-rä], 64.
Assinaboin, [a-sí-nä-boin], 57.
Athapaskan [āth'-ä-pás-kan], 3.
Atlatl [át-la-tl], 211.
Atotarho [át-ō-tä'r-hō], 116.
Aztec [az-tek], 208.
Beothuk [bē-ō'-thuk], 223.
Burro [bū'r-o], 91.
Busk [busk], 133.
Caddo [ká-dō], 134.
Cañon [kán-yun], 176.
Cassine [kás-sēn], 133.
Catolsta [ka-tō'l-stä], 144.
Cayuga [kā-yū-gä], 116.
Chelley [cā], 176.
Cherokee [che-rō-kē], 140.
Cheyenne [cī'-en], 60.
Chiapas [chē-á-pas], 215.
[pg 230]Chicasaw [chi-kä-sâ], 128.
Chichen Itza [chē'-chen ē'-tsu], 218.
Chilkat [chíl-kat], 21.
Chinook [chi-nū'k], 182.
Choctaw [chók-tâ], 128.
Chunkey [chún-kā], 132.
Coahuilla [kō-wē'-yä], 201.
Cochiti [kō'-chē-tē'], 178.
Comanche [kō-mán-chē], 94.
Copan [kō-pan'], 218.
Corral [kō-rál], 165.
Coup [kū], 42.
Cree [krē], 108.
Creek [krēk], 128.
Estufa [es-tū-fä], 165.
Frijoles [frē-hō-lāz], 178 (means beans).
Glooskap [glōs-kap], 32.
Haida [hī-dä], 182.
Haliotis [ha-lē-ō-tis], 77.
Hano [hä-nō], 169.
Hayenwatha [hī-en-wä-thä], 116.
Hayoneta [hoi-ä-nā-tä], 145.
Hupa [hū'-pä], 76.
Itztapalapa [ēt's-tä-pä-lä'-pä], 55.
Kiowa [kī'-ō-wä], 60.
Kisi [kē'-sē], 170.
Kwakiutl [kwä'-kē-ū'tl], 182.
Lenape [le-nä'-pā], 109.
Lipan [lē-pan'], 56.
Maguey [ma-gā'], 71.
Mandan [man'-dan], 159.
Maya [mī'-yä], 215.
Mendoza [men-dō'-zä], 73.
Mesa [mā'-sä], 161.
Mescal [mes-cal'], 204.
Metate [mā-tä'-tā], 180.
Micam [mē'-câm], 66.
Miko [mē'-kō], 131.
Moki [mō'-kē], 168.
M'teoulin [m'tā-ū'-lin], 84.
Muskoki [mus-kō'-kē], 128.
Nanabush [na'-nä-būc], 112.
Navajo [na'vä-hō], 21.
Neeskotting [nē'-sko-ting], 51.
Nekilstlas [ne-kils'-tläs], 189.
Ojibwa [ō-jib'-wä], 108.
Oneida [ō-nī'-dä], 116.
Onondaga [on'-on-dä'-gä], 116.
Oolachen [ū'-la-chen], 191.
Oraibe [ō-rai'-bā], 169.
Otoe [ō'-tō], 92.
Pani [pâ-nē'], 60.
Pemmican [pĕ'-mi-kan], 57.
Pima [pē'-mä], 59.
Plaza [pla'-zä], 171.
Ponka [pon'-kä], 96.
Pueblo [pweb'-lō], 161.
Puskita [pus'-kē-tä], 133.
Rito [rē'-tō], 178 (means brook)
Sac [säc], 54.
Santee [San-tē'], 155.
Saponie [sa'-pō-nā], 119.
Seneca [se'-ne-kä], 116.
Senel [sā'-nel], 95.
Sequoyah [se-kwoi'-yä], 146.
Shawnee [câ-nē'], 107.
Shenanjie [ce-nan'-jā], 126.
Shonko [con'-kō], 151.
Shoshoné [co'-cō-nā'], 169.
Sioux [sū], 155.
Sipapu [sē-pä'-pū], 171.
Sisseton [si'-se-ton], 155.
Skil [skēl], 187.
Skowl [skōl], 197.
Succotash [su'-kō-tac], 56.
Tabasco [ta-bas'-kō], 215.
Taos [tows], 162.
Tecpanecan [tek'-pan-ē'-kan], 209.
Tenochtitlan [te-nōch'-tē-tlan'], 208.
Teton [tē'-ton], 155.
Texcoco [tec-kō'-kō], 208.
Tikal [tē'-kal], 220.
Tirawa [tē-rä'-wä], 136.
Tlacopan [tla-kō'-pan], 209.
Tlingit [tlin'-git], 189.
Tonkaway [ton'-kä-wā], 134.
Totem [tō'-tem], 98.
Tshimpshian [tcim'-cē-an], 182.
Tuscarora [tus'-kā-rō'-rä], 118.
Tutelo [tū'-tu-lō], 119.
[pg 231]Umane [ū-mä'-nā], 156.
Uncpapa [unk-pä'-pä], 151.
Ute [yūt], 109.
Wahpeton [wä'-pē'-ton], 155.
Wakantanka [wä'-kän-tän'-kä], 156.
Walam Olum [wä'-läm ōl'-um], 111.
Walpi [wäl'-pē], 169.
Wampampeog [wäm'-päm-pē-og], 74.
Wichita [wi'-chi-tä], 134.
Winnebago [wi'-nē-bā'-gō], 155.
Yanktonnais [yank'-ton-ā], 155.
Yētl [yātl], 189.
Zizania [zē-zā-nē-ä], 109.
Zuñi [zūn'-yē], 89.