FOOTNOTES:

Wapisianas.Tarumas.Mawackas.Atorais.Macusis.Aged.ft.in.Aged.ft.in.Aged.ft.in.Aged.ft.in.Aged.ft.in.12485â„10144113â„101541035515â„1014}48154616}495â„1015511516511â„10171450

It is more than the average of several other populations.

Neither is the Eskimo skull so wholly different from the American. It is, probably, larger in its dimensions; so that its cavity contains more cubic inches. The measurements, however, which suggest this view, are but few. On the other hand, the relations between thewidthand thedepthof the skull, are considered important and distinctive.

Bywidthis meant the number of inches from side to side, from one parietal bone to the other; in other words, theparietal diameter.

Depthsignifies the length of theoccipito-frontaldiameter, or the number of inches from the forehead to the back of the skull.

Now, in one out of four of the Eskimo crania examined by Dr. Morton, the parietal diameter so nearly approaches the occipito-frontal as for the skull in question to be as much as 5Â·4 inches in width, and as little as 5Â·7 in depth;[237]a measurement which makes the Eskimo brain almost as broad as it is long.Valeat quantum.It is an extreme specimen. The remainder are as 5Â·5 to 7Â·3; as 5Â·1 to 7Â·5; and as 5 to 6Â·7, proportions by no means exclusively Eskimo, and proportions which occur in very many of the undeniably American stocks.

Likeness there is; and variety there is;â€”likeness in physical feature, likeness in language, and likeness in the general moral and intellectual characteristics. And then there is varietyâ€”variety in all the details of their arts; variety in their bows, their canoes, their dwellings, their fashions in the way of incisions and tattooings, and their fashions in the dressing of their hair.

This is as much as can be said about the Eskimo at present. It is, however, preparatory to the general statement thatall the remainingIndians of British North America recede from the Sioux and Iroquois type, and approach that of the family in question. Such, indeed, has been the case, though (perhaps) in a less degree, with one of the classes already consideredâ€”the Athabaskan.

The KolÃºch.â€”The extreme west of the British possessions beyond the Rocky Mountains,northof latitude 55Â° is but imperfectly known. Indeed, for scientific, and, perhaps, for political purposes as well, the country is unfortunately divided. The Russians have the long but narrow[238]strip of coast; and, consequently, limit their investigations to its bays and archipelagoes. The British, on the contrary, though they possess the interior, have no great interest in the parts about the Russian boundary. In the way of trade, they are not sufficiently on the sea for the sea-otter, nor near enough the mountains for other fur-bearing animals.

Now, the mouth of the Stikin River is Russian, the head-waters British. Beyond these, we have the water-system of the McKenzieâ€”for that river, although falling into the Arctic Sea, has a western fork, which breaks through the barrier of the Rocky Mountains, and changes in direction from west and south-west to north. Lake Simpson, Lake Dease, and the River Turnagain belong to this branch; the tract in which they lie being a range of highlands, if not of mountains.

This is the country of the Nehannis; conterminous on the south with that of the Takulli, and on the north-east with that of the Dahodinni. How far, however, it extends towards the Russian boundary and in the north-west direction I cannot say.

The Nehannis are, probably, the chief British representatives of the class called KolÃºch.[75]Assuming thisâ€”although from the want of a[239]special Nehanni vocabulary, the philological evidence is wantingâ€”I begin with the notice of theNehannis, as known to the Hudson's Bay Company, and afterwards superadd a sketch of theSitkans, as known to the Russians of New Archangel; the two notices together giving us the special description of a family, and the general view of the class to which that family belongs.

That the Nehannis are brave, warlike, and turbulent, is no more than is expected. We are far beyond the latitude of the peaceful Eskimo. That they are ruled by a woman should surprise us. Such, however, is the case. A female rules themâ€”and rules them, too, with a rod of iron. Respect for sex has here attained its height. It had begun to be recognized amongst the Athabaskans.

The Nehannis are strong enough to rob; but they are also civilized enough to barter; buying of the inland tribes, and selling to the Russiansâ€”a practice which seems to divert the furs of British territory to the markets of Muscovy. But this is no business of the ethnologist's. They are slavers and slave-owners; ingenious and imitative; fond of music and dancing; fish-eaters; active in body; bold and treacherous in temper; and with the common KolÃºch physiognomy and habits.

Thesewe must collect from the descriptions of the Russian KolÃºchesâ€”the locality where they[240]have been best studied being Sitka Sound, or New Archangel. We must do it, however,mutatis mutandis,i.e., remembering that the Sitkans are KolÃºch of an Archipelago, the Nehanni KolÃºch of a continent.

The KolÃºch complexion is light; the hair long and lank; the eyes black; and the lip and chin often bearded.

TheKonÃ¦giare the natives of the island Kadiak. Now Lisiansky, from whom the chief details of the Sitkan KolÃºch are taken, especially states that, with few exceptions, their manners and customs are those of these same KonÃ¦gi; one of the minor points of difference being the greater liveliness of the Sitkans, and one of the more important ones, their treatment of the dead. Theyburnthe bodies (as do the Takulli Athabaskans) and deposit the ashes in wooden boxes placed upon pillars, painted or carved, more or less elaborately, according to the wealth of the deceased.

On the death of atoyon, or chief, one of his slaves is killed and burned with him. If, however, the deceased be of inferior rank the victim isburied. If the death be in battle, the head, instead of being burned, is kept in a wooden box of its own. But it is not with the shaman as with the warrior. The shaman is merely interred; since he is supposed to be too full of the evil[241]spirit to be consumed by fire. The reason why burning is preferred to burying is because the possession of a piece of flesh is supposed to enable its owner to do what mischief he pleases.

Now the KonÃ¦gi are admitted Eskimo.

Notwithstanding the similarity between the Sitkans and KonÃ¦gi there is no want of true American customs amongst them. Cruelty to prisoners, indifference to pain when inflicted on themselves, and the habit of scalping are common to the Indians of King George's Archipelago, and those of the water-system of the Mississippi. On the other hand, they share the skill in painting and carving with the ChenÃºks and the aborigines of the Oregon.

The Digothi.â€”The Dahodinni are Athabaskan rather than KolÃºch; the Nehanni KolÃºch rather than Athabaskan. Now I imagine that the Dahodinni country is partially encircled by KolÃºch populations, and that a fresh branch of this stock re-appears when we proceed northwards. On the Lower McKenzie, in the valley of the Peel River, and at the termination of the great Rocky Range on the shore of the Polar Sea, we find theDigothiorLoucheux; the only family not belonging to the Eskimo class, which comes in contact with the ocean; and, consequently, the only unequivocally Indian population which interrupts the continuity of the Eskimo from Behring's Straits to the Atlantic.[242]Perhaps the alluvium of a great river like the McKenzie, has determined this displacement. Such an occupancy would be as naturally coveted by an inland population, as undervalued by a maritime one. At any rate, the Loucheux have the appearance of being an encroaching tenantry; indeed, few Indians have had their physical appearance described in terms equally favourable. Black-haired and fair-complexioned, with fine sparkling eyes, and regular teeth, they approach the Nehanni in physiognomy, and surpass them in stature. The same authority which expressly states that the Nehanni are not generally tall, speaks to the athletic proportions and tall stature of the Loucheux; adding that their countenances are handsome and expressive.

Whence came they? From the south-east, from Russian America. Their points of contrast to the Eskimo indicate this. Their points of contrast to the Athabaskans indicate it also. Their points of similarity to the KolÃºch do more. The Loucheux possessive pronoun is the same as the Kenay. Thusâ€”

ENGLISH.LOUCHEUX.KENAY.My-sonse-jayssi-ja.My-daughterse-zayssa-za.

Fuller descriptions, however, of both the Loucheux and Nehanni are required before we can decidedly pronounce them to be KolÃºch; indeed,[243]so high an authority as Gallatin places the latter amongst the Athabaskans.

The Fall Indians.â€”In a MS. communicated by Mr. Gallatin to Dr. Prichard, and, by the latter kindly lent to myself, and examined by me some years back, was a vocabulary of the language of the Indians of the Falls of the Saskatchewan. In this their native name was writtenAhnenin. Mr. Hale, however, calls themAtsina. Which is correct is difficult to say.

Gros ventresis another of their designations;Minetari of the Prairieanother. This last is inconvenient, as well as incorrect, since the trueMinetariare a Sioux tribe, different in language, manners, and descent.

Arrapahois a third synonym; and this is important, since there are otherArrapahoesas far south as the Platte and Arkansas Rivers.

The identity of name isprimÃ¢ facieevidence of two tribes so distant as those of Arkansas and the Saskatchewan being either offsets from one another, or else from some common stock; but it is not more. Nothing can be less conclusive. This has just been shown to be in the case of the termMinetari.

The Ahnenin, or Atsina language is peculiar; though the confederacy to which the Indians who speak it belong, is the Blackfoot.

Of the southern Arrapaho we have no vocabulary;[244]neither do we know whether the name be native or not.

A tract still stands over for notice. As we have no exact northern limits for the Nehanni, no exact western ones for the Dahodinni, and no exact southern ones for the Loucheux, the parts due east of the Russian boundary are undescribed.

I can onlycontributeto the ethnology here.

The Ugalentses.â€”Round Mount St. Elias we have a population ofUgalentsesor Ugalyakhmutsi. Though said to consist of less than forty families,[76]as their manners are migratory, it is highly probable that some of them are British.

The Tshugatsi.â€”In contact with the Ugalents, who are transitional between the true Eskimo and the true KolÃºch, the Tshugatsi are unequivocally Eskimo. The parts about Prince William's Sound are their locality.

The Haidah.â€”Queen Charlotte's, and the southern extremity of the Prince of Wales' Archipelago, are the parts to which the Indians speaking the Haidah language have been referred. In case, however, any members of their family extend into the British territory, they are mentioned here.

Three Haidah tribes are more particularly namedâ€”

a.TheSkittegat.[245]

b.TheCumshahasâ€”a name remarkably like that of theChimsheyan, hereafter to be noticed.

c.TheKygani.

The Tungaas.â€”This is the name of the language of the most Northern Indians, with which the Hudson's Bay Company comes in contact. It is KolÃºch; and more Russian than British.

The chief authority is Dr. Scouler. The whole of his valuable remarks upon the North-western Indians, is a commentary upon the assertion already made as to the extent which we have formed our ideas of the Aboriginal American upon the Algonkins and Iroquois exclusively; and his facts are a correction to our inferences. In what way do the moral and intellectual characters of the Western Indians differ from those of the Eastern? I shall give the answer in Dr. Scouler's only terms. They are less inflexible in character. Their range of ideas is greater. They are imitative and docile. They are comparatively humane.[77]No scalping. No excessive torture of prisoners. No probationary inflictions.

Nowâ€”whether negative or positiveâ€”there is not one of those characteristics wherein the Western American differs from the Eastern, in which he does not, at the same time, approach the Eskimo. In the absence of the scalping-knife, the tomahawk,[246]the council fire, the wampum-belt, the hero chief, and the metaphorical orator, the Eskimo differs from the Ojibway, the Huron, and the Mohawk. True. But the Haidah and the Chimsheyan do the same.

The religion of the Algonkin and Iroquois is Shamanistic; like the Negro of Africa they attribute to some material object mysterious powers. As far as the term has been defined, this is Feticism. But, then, like the Finn, and the Samoeid of Siberia, they either seek for themselves or reverence in others, the excitement of fasting, charms, and dreams. As far as the term has been defined this is Shamanism. Now lest our notions as to the religion of the Indians be rendered unduly favourable through the ideas of pure theism, called up by the missionary termGreat Spirit, we must simply remember, in the first place, that the term isours, nottheirs; and that those who, by looking to facts rather than words, have criticised it, have arrived at the conclusion that the creed of the Indians of the St. Lawrence and Mississippi is neither better nor worse than the creed of the Indians of the Columbia. Both are alike, Shamanistic. And so is the Eskimo.

The names in detail of the Indians of British Oregon, over and above those of the Athabaskan family already enumerated, are as follows; Dr.[247]Scouler still being the authority, and, along with him, Mr. Tolmie and Mr. Hale.

1. TheChimsheyan, orChimmesyan, on the sea-coast and islands about 55Â° North lat. Their tribes are theNaaskok, theChimsheyan Proper, theKitshatlah, and theKethumish.

2. TheBillichula, on the mouth of the Salmon River.

3. TheHailtsa, on the sea-coast, from Hawkesbury Island to Broughton's Archipelago, and (perhaps) the northern part of Quadra's and Vancouver's Island. Their tribes are theHyshalla, theHyhysh, theEsleytuk, theWeekenoch, theNalatsenoch, theQuagheuil, theTtatla-shequilla, and theLequeeltoch. The numerals from Fitz-Hugh Sound will be noticed in the sequel.

4.The Nutka Sound Indiansoccupy the greater part of Quadra's and Vancouver's Island, speak theWakashlanguage, and fall into the following tribesâ€”

a.The Naspatl.

b.The Nutkans Proper.

c.The Tlaoquatsh.

d.The Nittenat.

5.The Shushwah, orAtna, are bounded on the north by the Takulli, belong to the interior rather than the coast, are members of a large family, called theTsihaili-Selish, extending far into the United States. According to Mr. Hale, they present[248]the remarkable phenomenon of an aboriginal stock having increased from about four hundred to twelve hundred, instead of diminishing.

6.The Kitunaha,Cutanies, orFlat-bows, hardy, brave and shrewd hunters on the Kitunaha, or Flat-bow River, and conterminous with the Blackfoots, are the Oregon Indians whose habits most closely approach those of the Indians to the east of the Rocky Mountains.

To some of these I now return, since three points of Algonkin ethnology require special notice.

a.The NascopiorSkoffi.â€”This is a frontier tribe. Much as we connect the ideas of cold and cheerless sterility with the inclement climate and naked moorlands of Labrador, and much as we connect the Eskimo as a population with a similarly inhospitable country, it is only the coast of that vast region which is thus tenanted. On Hudson's Straits there are Eskimo; on the Straits of Belleisle there are Eskimo; along the intervening coast there are Eskimo, and as far south as Anticosti there are Eskimo, but in the interior there are no Eskimo. Instead of them we find the Skoffi, and the SheshatapÃºshâ€”subsections (as stated before) of the same section of the great Algonkin stock. In them we have a measure of the effect of external conditions upon different members of the same class. Between[249]the Skoffi of Mosquito Bay and the Pamticos of Cape Hatteras we have more than 25Â° of latitude combined with a difference of other physical conditions which more than equals the difference between north and south. Yet the contrast between the Algonkin and other inhabitants of Labrador is as evident (though not, perhaps, so great) as that between the Greenlander and the Virginian; so that just as the Norwegian is distinguishable from the Laplander so is the Skoffi from Eskimo.

Dirtier and coarser than any other Algonkins, the Nascopi hunts and fishes for his livelihood exclusively; depending most upon the autumnal migrations of the reindeer; and, next to that, upon his net. This he sets under the ice, during the earlier months of the winter. After December, however, he would set them in vain; the fish being, then, all in the deep water. Woman, generally a drudge in North America, is pre-eminently so with the Nascopis. All that the man does, is thekillingof the game. The woman brings it home. The woman also drags the loaded sledges from squatting to squatting, clears the ground, and collects fuel; whilst the man sits idle and smokes. Of such domestic slaves more than one is allowed; so that as far as the Nascopi recognizes marriage at all, he is a polygamist. In this sense the contracting parties are respectively the[250]parents of the coupleâ€”the bride and bridegroom being the last parties consulted. When all has been arranged, the youth proceeds to his father-in-law's tent, remains there a year, and then departs as an independent member of the community. Cousins are addressed as brothers or sisters; marriage between near relations is allowed; and so is the marriage of more than one sister successively.

The Paganism of the Nascopi is that of the other Cree tribes; their Christianity still more partial and still more nominal. Sometimes rolling in abundance, sometimes starving, they are attached to the Whites by but few artificial wants; the few fur-bearing animals of their country being highly prized, and, consequently, going a long way as elements of barter. Their dress is almost wholly of reindeer skin; their travelling gear a leathern bag with down in it, and a kettle. In this bag the Nascopi thrusts his legs, draws his knees up to his chin, and defies both wind and snow.

This account has been condensed from M'Lean's "Five and Twenty Years' Service in the Hudson's Bay Territory." I subjoin the remainder in his own words: "The horrid practice still obtains among the Nascopis of destroying their parents and relatives, when old age incapacitates them for further exertion. I must, however, do[251]them the justice to say, that the parent himself expresses a wish to depart, otherwise the unnatural deed would probably never be committed, for they, in general, treat their old people with much care and tenderness. The son, or nearest relative, performs the office of executionerâ€”the self-devoted victim being disposed of by strangulation."

b.The Aborigines of Newfoundland.â€”Sebastian Cabot brought three Newfoundlanders to England. They were clothed in beasts' skin, and ate raw flesh. This last is an accredited characteristic of the Eskimo; and, thus far, the evidence is in favour of the savages in question belonging to that stock. Yet it is more than neutralized by what follows; since Purchas states that two years after he saw two of them, dressed like Englishmen, "which, at that time, I could not discover from Englishmen, till I learned what they were."

Now as the Bethuckâ€”the aborigines in questionâ€”have either been cruelly exterminated, or exist in such small numbers as not to have been seen for many years, it has been a matter of doubt whether they were Eskimo or Micmacs, the present occupants of the island. Reasons against either of these views are supplied by a hitherto unpublished Bethuck vocabulary, with which I have been kindly furnished by my friend Dr. King,[252]of the Ethnological Society. This makes them aseparate sectionof the Algonkins. Such I believe them to have been, and have placed them accordingly.

c.The Fitz-Hugh Sound Numerals.â€”These are nearly the same as the Hailtsa. On the other hand, they agree with the Blackfoot in ending in -scum.

Now if the resemblance go farther, so as really to connect the Blackfoot with the Hailtsa, it brings the Algonkin class of languages across the whole breadth of the continent, and as far as the shores of the Pacific.

The Moskito Indians are no subjects of England, any more than the Tahitians are of France, or the Sandwich Islanders of America, France, and England conjointly. The Moskito coast is a Protectorate: and the Moskito Indians are the subjects of a native king.

The present reigning monarch was educated under English auspices at Jamaica, and, upon attaining his majority, crowned at Grey Town. I believe that his name is that of the grandfather of our late gracious majesty. King George, then, king of the Moskitos, has a territory extending from the neighbourhood of Truxillo to the lower part of the River San Juan; a territory whereof, inconveniently for Great Britain, the United[253]States, and the commerce of the world at large, the limits and definition are far from being universally recognized. Nicaragua has claims, and the Isthmus canal suffers accordingly.

The king of the Moskito coast, and the emperor of the Brazil, are the only resident sovereigns of the New World.

The subjects of the former are, really, the aborigines of the whole line of coast between Nicaragua and Hondurasâ€”there being no Indians remaining in the former republic, and but few in the latter. Of these, tooâ€”the Nicaraguansâ€”we have no definite ethnological information. Mr. Squier speaks of them as occupants of the islands of the lakes of the interior. Colonel Galindo also mentions them; but I infer, from his account, that their original language is lost, and that Spanish is their present tongue; just as it is said to be that of the aborigines of St. Salvador and Costa Rica. This makes it difficult to fix them. And the difficulty is increased when we resort to history, tradition, and archÃ¦ology. History makes them Mexicansâ€”Asteks from the kingdom of Montezuma, and colonists of the Peninsula, just as the PhÅ“nicians were of Carthage. ArchÃ¦ology goes the same way. A detailed description of Mr. Squier's discoveries, is an accession to ethnology which is anxiously expected. At any rate, stone ruins and carved decorations have been[254]found; so that what Mr. Stephenson has written about Yucatan and Guatemala, may be repeated in the case of Nicaragua. Be it so. The difficulty will be but increased; since whatever facts makes Nicaragua Mexican, isolates the Moskitos. They are now in contact with Spaniards and Englishmenâ€”populations whose civilization differs from their own; and populations who are evidently intrusive and of recent origin. Precisely the same would be the case, if the Nicaraguans were made Mexican. The civilization would be of another sort; the population which introduced it would be equally intrusive; and the only difference would be a difference of stage and degreeâ€”a little earlier in the way of time, and a little less contrast in the way of skill and industry.

But the evidence in favour of the Mexican origin of the Nicaraguans, is doubtful; and so is the fact of their having wholly lost their native tongue; and until one of these two opinions be proved, it will be well to suspend our judgment as to the isolation of the Moskitos. If, indeed, either of them be true, their ethnological position will be a difficult question. With nothing in Honduras to compare them withâ€”with nothing tangible, or with an apparently incompatible affinity in Nicaraguaâ€”with only very general miscellaneous affinities in Guatemalaâ€”their ethnological affinities are as peculiar as their political constitution.[255]Nevertheless, isolated as their language is, it has undoubtedgeneral affinities with those of America at large; and this is all that it is safe to say at present. But it is safe to saythis. We have plenty of data for their tongue, in a grammar of Mr. Henderson's, published at New York, 1846.

The chief fact in the history of the Moskitos, is that they were never subject to the Spaniards. Each continent affords a specimen of this isolated freedomâ€”the independence of some exceptional and impracticable tribes, as compared with the universal empire of some encroaching European power. The Circassians in Caucasus, the Tshuktshi Koriaks in North-eastern Asia, and the Kaffres in Africa, show this. Their relations with the buccaneers were, probably, of an amicable description. So they were with the Negroesâ€”maroon and imported. And this, perhaps, has determined theirdifferentiÃ¦. They are intertropical American aborigines, who have become partially European, without becoming Spanish.

Their physical conformation is that of the South rather than the North American; and, here it must be remembered, that we are passing from one moiety of the new hemisphere to the other. With a skin which is olive-coloured rather than red, they have small limbs and undersized frames; whilst their habits are,mutatis mutandis,[256]those of the intertropical African. This means, that the exuberance of soil, and the heat of the climate, makes them agriculturists rather than shepherds, and idlers rather than agriculturists; since the least possible amount of exertion gives them roots and fruits; whilst it is only those wants which are compatible with indolence that they care to satisfy. They presume rather than improve upon the warmth of their suns, and the fertility of the soil. When they get liquor, they get drunk; when they work hardest, they cut mahogany. Canoes and harpoons represent the native industry.Wulashais the name of their Evil Spirit, andLiwaiathat of a water-god.

I cannot but think that there is much intermixture amongst them. At the same time, thedatafor ascertaining the amount are wanting. Their greatest intercourse has, probably, been with the Negro; their next greatest with the Englishman. Of the population of the interior, we know next to nothing. Here their neighbours are Spaniards.

They are frontagers to the river San Juan. This gives them their value in politics.

They are the only well-known extant Indians between Guatemala and Veragua. This gives them their value in ethnology.

The populations to which they were most immediately allied, have disappeared from history. This isolates them; so that there is no class to[257]which they can be subordinated. At the same time, they are quite as like the nearest known tribes as theAmericanethnologist is prepared to expect.

What they were in their truly natural state, when, unmodified by either Englishman or Spaniard, Black or Indian, they represented the indigenous civilization (such as it was) of their coast, is uncertain.

That the difference between the North and South American aborigines has been over-rated, is beyond doubt. The tendency, however, to do so, decreases. An observer like Sir R. Schomburgk, who is at once minute in taking notice, and quick at finding parallels, adds his suffrage to that of Cicca de Leon and others, who enlarge upon the extent to which the Indians of the New World in general look "like children of one family." On the other hand, however, there are writers like D'Orbigny. These expatiate upon the difference between members of the same class, so as to separate, not only Caribs from Algonkins, or Peruvians from Athabaskans, but Peruvians from Caribs, and Patagonians from Brazilians.

Now it is no paradox to assert that these two views, instead of contradicting, support each other. A writer exhibits clear and undeniable differences between two American tribes in geographical[258]juxtaposition to one another. But does this prove a difference of origin, stock, or race? Not necessarily. Such differences may be, and often are, partial. More than thisâ€”they may be more than neutralized by undeniable marks of affinity. In such a case, all that they prove is the extent to which really allied populations may be contrasted in respect to certain particular characters.

Stature is the chief point in which the North American has the advantage of the Southern,e.g., the Algonkin over the Carib. Such is Sir R. Schomburgk's remark; and such is the general rule. Yet a vast number of the Indians of the Oregon, are shorter than the South American Patagonian and Pampa tribes. The head is large as compared with the trunk, and the trunk with the limbs; the hands small; the foot large; the skin soft, though with larger pores than in Europe.

Indians of British Guiana.â€”These are distributed amongst four divisions, of very unequal magnitude and importance.â€”1. The Carib. 2. The Warow. 3. The Wapisiana. 4. The Taruma.

The number of vocabularies collected by Sir R. Schomburgk was eighteen.

1. The greatCaribgroup falls into three divisions:â€”

a.The Caribs Proper.[259]

b.The Tamanaks.

c.The Arawaks.

Of these, it is only members of the first and last that occupy British Guiana.

The Arawaks.â€”The Arawaks are our nearest neighbours, and, consequently, the most Europeanized. Sir R. Schomburgk says, that they and the Warows amount to about three thousand, and from Bernau we infer, that this number is nearly equally divided between the two; since he reckons the Arawaks at about fifteen hundred. Each family has its distinctive tattoo, and these families are twenty-seven in number.

The children may marry into their father's family, but not into that of their mother. Now as the caste is derived from their mother, this is an analogue of the North Americantotem. Polygamy is chiefly the privilege of the chiefs. ThePe-i-manis the ArawakShaman. He it is who names the childrenâ€”for a consideration. Failing this, the progeny goes nameless; and to go nameless is to be obnoxious to all sorts of misfortunes.

Imposture is hereditary; and as soon as the son of a conjuror enters his twentieth year, his right ear is pierced, he is required to wear a ring, and he is trusted with the secrets of the craft.

In imitating what they see, and remembering what they hear, the Arawak has, at least, an average capacity. Neither is he destitute of[260]ingenuity. Notation he has none; and the numeration is of the rudest kind.

Aba-da-kabo=once my hand=five.Biama-da-kabo=twice my hand=ten.Aba-olake=one man=twenty.

Perfect nudity is rare amongst the women; and some neatness in the dressing of their hair is perceptible. It is tied up on the crown of the head.

The nearer the coast the darker the skin; the lightest coloured families being as fair as Spaniards. This is on the evidence of Bernau, who adds, that, as children grow in knowledge and receive instruction, the forehead rises, and the physiognomy improves.

The other Guiana Indians, so far as they are Carib at all, are Caribs Proper, rather than Arawaks. Of these, the chief areâ€”

The Accaways,â€”occupants of the rivers Mazaruni and Putara, with about six hundred fighting men. They are jealous, quarrelsome, and cruel; firm friends and bitter enemies. When resisted, they kill; when unopposed, enslave.

The law of revenge predominates in this tribe; forâ€”like certain Australiansâ€”they attribute all deaths to contrivances of an enemy. Workers in poison themselves, they suspect it with others.

Their skin is redder than the Arawaks', but[261]then their nudity is more complete; inasmuch as, instead of clothing, they paint themselves; arnotto being their red, lana their blue pigment. They pierce theseptumof the nose, and wear wood in the holes, like the Eskimo, Loucheux, and others. They paint the face in streaks, and the body variouslyâ€”sometimes blue on one side, and red on the other. They rub their bodies with carapa oil, to keep off insects; andoneof the ingredients of their numerous poisons, is a kind of black ant calledmuneery.

Their forehead is depressed.

They give nicknames to each other and to strangers, irrespective of rank; and the better their authorities take it the greater their influence.

It is the belief of the Accaways that the spirit of the deceased hovers over the dwelling in which death took place, and that it will not tolerate disturbance. Hence they bury the corpseinthe hammock, andunderthe hut in which it became one. This they burn and desert.

The CarabÃsi.â€”Twenty years ago the CarabÃsi (Carabeese,Carabisce) mustered one thousand fighting men. It would now be difficult to raise one hundred. But the diminution of their numbers and importance began earlier still. Beyond the proper CarabÃsi area, there are numerous CarabÃsi names of rivers, islands, and[262]other geographical objects. Hence, their area has decreased.

Omnivorous enough to devour greedily tigers, dogs, rats, frogs, insects, and other sorts of food, unpopular elsewhere, they are distinguished by their ornaments as well. The under-lip is the part which they perforate, and wherein they wear their usual pins; besides which they fasten a large lump of arnotto to the hair of the front of the head.

In ordinary cases the hammock in which the death took place, serves as a coffin, the body is buried, and a funeral procession made once or twice round the grave; but the bodies of persons of importance are watched and washed by the nearest female relations, and when nothing but the skeleton remains, the bones are cleaned, painted, packed in a basket and preserved. When, however, there is a change of habitation they areburned; after which the ashes are collected, and kept.

Here we have interment and cremation in one and the same tribe; a circumstance which should guard us against exaggerating their value as characteristic and distinguishing customs.

Again. TheMacusiis closely akin to the CarabÃsi; yet the Macusi buries his dead in a sitting posture without coffins, and with but few ceremonies. Now the sitting posture is common to[263]the Peruvians, the Oregon Indians, and numerous tribes of Brazil; indeed, Morton considers it to be one of the most remarkable characteristics of the Red Man of America in general.

The Arawak custom is peculiar. When a man of note dies his relations plant a field of cassava; just as the Nicobar Islanders plant a cocoa-nut tree. Then they lament loudly. But when twelve moons are over, and the cassava is ripe, they re-assemble, feast, dance, and lash each other cruelly, and severely with whips. The whips are thenhung upon the spot where the person died. Six moons later a second meeting takes placeâ€”and, this time, the whips areburied.

TheWaikaare a small tribe of theAccaways; theZaparaof theMacusis. Besides these, the following Guiana Indians are Carib.

TheArecuna; of which theSoerikongare a section.

TheWaiyamara.

TheGuinau.

TheMaiongkong.

TheWoyawai.

TheMawakwa, or Frog Indiansâ€”a tribe that flattens the head.

ThePiano-ghotto; of which theZaramataandDrioare sections.

TheTiveri-ghotto.

2.The Warow,Waraw,Warau, orGuarauno.â€”These[264]are the Indians of the Delta of the Orinoco, and the parts between that river and the Pomaroon. Their language is peculiar, but by no means without miscellaneous affinities. They are the fluviatile boatmen of South America. Their habit of taking up their residence in trees when the ground is flooded, has given both early and late writers an opportunity of enlarging upon their semi-arboreal habits.

3.The Wapisianasfall intoâ€”

a.TheWapisianasProperâ€”

b.TheAtorai, of which theTaurai, orDauri(the same word under another form), and the extinct, or nearly extinct,Amaripasare divisions.

c.TheParauana.

4. TheTarumas, on the Upper Essequibo, have their probable affinities with the uninvestigated tribes of Central South America.

The Indians of Trinidad are Carib. So are those of St. Vincents. In no other West Indian islands are there any aborigines extant.

FOOTNOTES:[71]Dinni,tinni,din,tin, &c.=manin the Athabaskan tongues.[72]Called alsoCarriers,Nagail, andChin Indians; though whether the last two names are correct is uncertain.[73]By no means to be confounded with theChepewyans.[74]The Mohawks, Senekas, Onondagos, Cayugas, Oneidas, Tuskaroras, and Hurons.[75]See a paper of Mr. Isbester's in the "Transactions of the British Association," 1847, p. 121.[76]Thirty-eight.[77]This requires modification. The Sitkan practices have already been noticed.

[71]Dinni,tinni,din,tin, &c.=manin the Athabaskan tongues.

[72]Called alsoCarriers,Nagail, andChin Indians; though whether the last two names are correct is uncertain.

[73]By no means to be confounded with theChepewyans.

[74]The Mohawks, Senekas, Onondagos, Cayugas, Oneidas, Tuskaroras, and Hurons.

[75]See a paper of Mr. Isbester's in the "Transactions of the British Association," 1847, p. 121.

[76]Thirty-eight.

[77]This requires modification. The Sitkan practices have already been noticed.

FINIS.

LONDON:Printed bySamuel BentleyandCo.,Bangor House, Shoe Lane.

WORKS BYDr.R. G. LATHAM.MAN AND HIS MIGRATIONS. In foolscap 8vo. Price 5s.A HAND-BOOK OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE; for the Use of Students preparing for the University of London, &c. 1 vol. large 12mo.THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, &c. Third Edition. 8vo. 15s.AN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS. Fifth Edition. 12mo. 4s.6d.cloth.AN ENGLISH GRAMMAR, FOR THE USE OF LADIES' SCHOOLS. Foolscap 8vo. cloth, 1s.6d.THE HISTORY AND ETYMOLOGY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FOR THE USE OF CLASSICAL SCHOOLS. Foolscap 8vo. cloth, 1s.6d.A GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FOR THE USE OF COMMERCIAL SCHOOLS. Foolscap 8vo. cloth, 1s.6d.FIRST OUTLINES OF LOGIC, Applied to Grammar and Etymology. 12mo. cloth, 1s.6d.THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE VARIETIES OF MAN. In 1 vol. 8vo. illustrated, price 21s."The truly masculine minds of England, of continental Europe, and of Anglo-Saxon America, will prize it as the best book of its time, on the best subject of its time."â€”Weekly News.In the Press.THE GERMANIA OF TACITUS; with Ethnological Notes.

WORKS BYDr.R. G. LATHAM.

MAN AND HIS MIGRATIONS. In foolscap 8vo. Price 5s.

A HAND-BOOK OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE; for the Use of Students preparing for the University of London, &c. 1 vol. large 12mo.

THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, &c. Third Edition. 8vo. 15s.

AN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS. Fifth Edition. 12mo. 4s.6d.cloth.

AN ENGLISH GRAMMAR, FOR THE USE OF LADIES' SCHOOLS. Foolscap 8vo. cloth, 1s.6d.

THE HISTORY AND ETYMOLOGY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FOR THE USE OF CLASSICAL SCHOOLS. Foolscap 8vo. cloth, 1s.6d.

A GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FOR THE USE OF COMMERCIAL SCHOOLS. Foolscap 8vo. cloth, 1s.6d.

FIRST OUTLINES OF LOGIC, Applied to Grammar and Etymology. 12mo. cloth, 1s.6d.

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE VARIETIES OF MAN. In 1 vol. 8vo. illustrated, price 21s.

"The truly masculine minds of England, of continental Europe, and of Anglo-Saxon America, will prize it as the best book of its time, on the best subject of its time."â€”Weekly News.

In the Press.

THE GERMANIA OF TACITUS; with Ethnological Notes.

BOOKS PUBLISHED BYMr.VAN VOORST DURING 1850.THE PORTRAIT OF PROFESSOR HARVEY, due to Purchasers of his "Manual of British Marine AlgÃ¦," may now be had in exchange for the "Notice" prefixed to the volume.AN INTRODUCTION TO CONCHOLOGY; or, Elements of the Natural History of Molluscous Animals. ByGeorge Johnston, M.D., LL.D., Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh; Author of "A History of the British Zoophytes." 8vo. 102 Illustrations, 21s.AN ELEMENTARY COURSE OF GEOLOGY, MINERALOGY, AND PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. ByDavid T. Ansted, M.A., F.R.S., &c., Professor of Geology at King's College, London; Lecturer on Mineralogy and Geology at the H.E.I.C. Mil. Sem. at Addiscombe; late Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge. Post 8vo. illustrated, price 12s.GAME BIRDS AND WILD FOWL: their Friends and their Foes. ByA. E. Knox, M.A., F.L.S. With Illustrations byWolf. Post 8vo. price 9s.Mr.KNOX'S ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES IN SUSSEX. Second Edition, with Four Illustrations. Post 8vo. 7s.6d.AN ARCTIC VOYAGE TO BAFFIN'S BAY AND LANCASTER SOUND, in search of Friends with Sir John Franklin. ByRobert A. Goodsir, late President of the Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh. Post 8vo., with a Frontispiece and Map, price 5s.6d.EVERY-DAY WONDERS; or, Facts in Physiology which all should know. With Woodcuts. 16mo. 2s.6d.And, by the same Author,DOMESTIC SCENES IN GREENLAND AND ICELAND. With Woodcuts. Second Edition. 16mo. 2s.INSTRUMENTA ECCLESIASTICA. Edited by the Ecclesiological, late Cambridge Camden, Society. Second Series. Parts 1 to 3, each 2s.6d.THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE VARIETIES OF MAN. ByRobert Gordon Latham, M.D., F.R.S., Fellow of King's College, Cambridge; Vice-President of the Ethnological Society of London; Corresponding Member of the Ethnological Society of New York. 8vo. illustrated, price 21s.A HISTORY OF BRITISH MOLLUSCA AND THEIR SHELLS. ByProfessor Edward Forbes, F.R.S., andSylvanus Hanley, B.A., F.L.S. Parts 25 to 34. 8vo. 2s.6d.plain, or royal 8vo. coloured, 5s.each.This Work is in continuation of the series of "British Histories," of which the Quadrupeds and Reptiles, by Professor Bell; the Birds and Fishes, by Mr. Yarrell; the Birds' Eggs, by Mr. Hewitson; the Starfishes, by Professor Forbes; the Zoophytes, by Dr. Johnston; the Trees, by Mr. Selby; and the Fossil Mammals and Birds, by Professor Owen, are already published. Each Work is sold separately, and is perfectly distinct and complete in itself.JOHN VAN VOORST, 1, PATERNOSTER ROW.

BOOKS PUBLISHED BYMr.VAN VOORST DURING 1850.

THE PORTRAIT OF PROFESSOR HARVEY, due to Purchasers of his "Manual of British Marine AlgÃ¦," may now be had in exchange for the "Notice" prefixed to the volume.

AN INTRODUCTION TO CONCHOLOGY; or, Elements of the Natural History of Molluscous Animals. ByGeorge Johnston, M.D., LL.D., Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh; Author of "A History of the British Zoophytes." 8vo. 102 Illustrations, 21s.

AN ELEMENTARY COURSE OF GEOLOGY, MINERALOGY, AND PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. ByDavid T. Ansted, M.A., F.R.S., &c., Professor of Geology at King's College, London; Lecturer on Mineralogy and Geology at the H.E.I.C. Mil. Sem. at Addiscombe; late Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge. Post 8vo. illustrated, price 12s.

GAME BIRDS AND WILD FOWL: their Friends and their Foes. ByA. E. Knox, M.A., F.L.S. With Illustrations byWolf. Post 8vo. price 9s.

Mr.KNOX'S ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES IN SUSSEX. Second Edition, with Four Illustrations. Post 8vo. 7s.6d.

AN ARCTIC VOYAGE TO BAFFIN'S BAY AND LANCASTER SOUND, in search of Friends with Sir John Franklin. ByRobert A. Goodsir, late President of the Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh. Post 8vo., with a Frontispiece and Map, price 5s.6d.

EVERY-DAY WONDERS; or, Facts in Physiology which all should know. With Woodcuts. 16mo. 2s.6d.And, by the same Author,

DOMESTIC SCENES IN GREENLAND AND ICELAND. With Woodcuts. Second Edition. 16mo. 2s.

INSTRUMENTA ECCLESIASTICA. Edited by the Ecclesiological, late Cambridge Camden, Society. Second Series. Parts 1 to 3, each 2s.6d.

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE VARIETIES OF MAN. ByRobert Gordon Latham, M.D., F.R.S., Fellow of King's College, Cambridge; Vice-President of the Ethnological Society of London; Corresponding Member of the Ethnological Society of New York. 8vo. illustrated, price 21s.

A HISTORY OF BRITISH MOLLUSCA AND THEIR SHELLS. ByProfessor Edward Forbes, F.R.S., andSylvanus Hanley, B.A., F.L.S. Parts 25 to 34. 8vo. 2s.6d.plain, or royal 8vo. coloured, 5s.each.

This Work is in continuation of the series of "British Histories," of which the Quadrupeds and Reptiles, by Professor Bell; the Birds and Fishes, by Mr. Yarrell; the Birds' Eggs, by Mr. Hewitson; the Starfishes, by Professor Forbes; the Zoophytes, by Dr. Johnston; the Trees, by Mr. Selby; and the Fossil Mammals and Birds, by Professor Owen, are already published. Each Work is sold separately, and is perfectly distinct and complete in itself.

JOHN VAN VOORST, 1, PATERNOSTER ROW.

Back to Index Next