ABORIGINAL AMERICAN AUTHORS AND THEIR PRODUCTIONS;

ESPECIALLY THOSE IN THE NATIVE LANGUAGES. 

A CHAPTER IN THE HISTORY OF LITERATURE. 

BY DANIEL G. BRINTON, A. M. , M. D. , Member of the American Philosophical Society; the American AntiquarianSociety; the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, etc. ; Vice-Presidentof the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia, and of theCongres International des Americanistes; Delegue-General de l'InstitutionEthnographique for the United States, etc. ; Author of "The Myths of theNew World;" "The Religious Sentiment;" "American Hero Myths, " etc. 

NEW INTRODUCTION

Aboriginal American Authors, published by the Anthropologist Daniel G. Brinton in 1883, is a work that is particularly appropriate for our owntimes. The native American movement has stressed the need for historywritten from the Indian point of view. Interest in native Americanliterature has become an important component in reinforcing a sense ofidentity among American Indians today. 

Brinton's work is a good summary of the better known traditionalwritings of Indians from many regions of the Western hemisphere. Thisbibliographical survey provides information on tribal histories thatwould be particularly useful for Indian Study Programs in the states ofOklahoma, New York and Wisconsin. 

Brinton was aware of the 19th century racism of many who wrote about theAmerican Indian and reacted against it in his writings by taking astance which in some ways anticipates Ruth Benedict's involvement insimilar questions half a century later. Aboriginal AmericanAuthors is written as an early attempt at placing the literature ofthe American Indian with the other great literary traditions of theworld; that is why its usefulness endures. 

 John Hobgood Social Science Department Chicago State College 1970

PREFACE. 

The present memoir is an enlargement of a paper which I laid before the_Congres International des Americanistes_, when acting as a delegate toits recent session in Copenhagen, August, 1883. The changes are material, the whole of the text having been re-written and the notes added. 

It does not pretend to be an exhaustive bibliographical essay, but wasdesigned merely to point out to an intelligent and sympathetic audiencea number of relics of Aboriginal American Literature, and to bespeak theaid and influence of that learned body in the preservation andpublication of these rare documents. 

_Philadelphia, Nov. 1883. _

CONTENTS. 

Section 1. _Introductory_

Section 2. _The Literary Faculty in the Native Mind_

 Vivid imagination of the Indians. Love of story telling. Appreciation of style. Power and resources of their languages. Facility in acquiring foreign languages. Native writers in the English tongue. In Latin. In Spanish. Ancient books of Aztecs. Of Mayas, etc. Peruvian Quipus. 

Section 3. _Narrative Literature_

 Desire of preserving national history. Eskimo legends and narratives. The _Walum Olum_ of the Delawares. The Iroquois _Book of Rites_. Kaondinoketc's Narrative. The National Legend of the Creeks. Cherokee writings. Destruction of Ancient Literature. Boturini's collection. Historians in Nahuatl. The Maya _Books of Chilan Balam_. Other Maya documents. Writings in Cakchiquel. _The Memorial de Tecpan Atitlan_. Authors in Cakchiquel and Kiche. The _Popol Vuh_. Votan, the Tzendal. Writers in Qquichua. Letters, etc. , in native tongues. Tales and stories of the Tupis and other tribes. 

Section 4. _Didactic Literature_

 Progress of natives in science. Their calendars and rituals. Their maps. Scholastic works. Theological writers. Sermons in Guarani. _Las Pasiones_. 

Section 5. _Oratorical Literature_

 Native admiration of eloquence. The Oratorical style. Custom of set orations. Specimens in the Nahuatl tongue. Ancient prayers and rhapsodies. 

Section 6. _Poetical Literature_

 Form of the earliest poetry. Unintelligible character of primitive songs explained. A Chippeway love song. A Taensa epithalamium. Montaigne on Tupi poetry. Ancient Aztec poetry. Maya and Peruvian poems. Tupi songs. 

Section 7. _Dramatic Literature_

 Development of the dramatic art in America. Origin of the serious and comic dramas. The Qquichua drama of Ollanta. The Kiche drama of Rabinal Achi. The Comic Ballet of the Gueegueence. The _Logas_ of Central America. Dramas of the Mangues. 

Section 8. _Conclusion_

 Ethnological value of literary productions. Their general interest to scholars. 

_Footnotes_

_Index_

[Transcriber's Note: Footnotes have been moved from inline to end-of-text, and the above "Footnotes" section added. ]

ABORIGINAL AMERICAN AUTHORS. 

 * * * * *

Section 1. _Introductory_. 

When even a quite intelligent person hears about "Aboriginal AmericanLiterature, " he is very excusable for asking: What is meant by the term?Where is this literature? In fine, Is there any such thing?

To answer such inquiries, I propose to treat, with as much brevity aspracticable, of the literary efforts of the aborigines of thiscontinent, a chapter in the general History of Literature hithertowholly neglected. 

Indeed, it will be a surprise to many to learn that any members of theserude tribes have manifested either taste or talent for scholarlyproductions. All alike have been regarded as savages, capable, at best, of but the most limited culture. 

Such an opinion has been fostered by prejudices of race, by the jealousyof castes, and in our own day by preconceived theories of evolution. That it is erroneous, can, I think, be easily shown. 

Let us first inquire into the existence of

Section 2. _The Literary Faculty in the Native Mind_. 

This faculty is indicated by a vivid imagination, a love of narration, and an ample, appropriate, and logically developed vocabulary. That, asa race, the aborigines of America possessed these qualifications to aremarkable degree, is attested by many witnesses who have livedintimately among them; and is only denied by those whose acquaintancewith them has been superficial, or derived from second-hand and doubtfulsources. 

The red man peoples air, earth, and the waters with countless creaturesof his fancy; his expressions are figurative and metaphorical; he isquick to seize analogies; and when he cannot explain he is ever ready toinvent. This is shown in his inappeasable love of story telling. As a_raconteur_ he is untiring. He has, in the highest degree, Goethe's_Lust zu fabuliren_. In no Oriental city does the teller of strangetales find a more willing audience than in the Indian wigwam. The folklore of every tribe which has been properly investigated has turned outto be most ample. Tales of talking animals, of mythical warriors, ofgiants, dwarfs, subtle women, potent magicians, impossible adventures, abound to an extent that defies collection. [1]

Nor are these narratives repeated in a slip-shod, negligent style. Thehearers permit no such carelessness. They are sticklers for nicety ofexpression; for clear and well turned periods; for vivid and accuratedescription; for flowing and sonorous sentences. As a rule, theirlanguages lend themselves readily to these demands. It is a singularerror, due wholly to ignorance of the subject, to maintain that theAmerican tongues are cramped in their vocabularies, or that their syntaxdoes not permit them to define the more delicate relationships of ideas. Nor is it less a mistake to assert, as has been done repeatedly, andeven by authorities of eminence in our own day, that they are notcapable of supplying the expressions of abstract reasonings. Althoughpure abstractions were rarely objects of interest to these children ofnature, many, if not most, of their tongues favor the formation ofexpressions which are as thoroughly transcendental as any to be found inthe _Kritik der Reinen Vernunft_. [2]

Their literary faculty is further demonstrated in the copiousness oftheir vocabularies, their rare facility of expression, and their naturalaptitude for the acquisition of other languages. Theophilie Gautier usedto say, that the most profitable book for a professional writer to readis the dictionary; that is, that a mastery of words is his most valuableacquirement. The extraordinarily rich synonomy of some American tongues, notably the Algonkin, the Aztec, and the Qquichua, attests howsedulously their resources have been cultivated. Father Olmos, in hisgrammar of the Aztec, gives many examples of twenty and thirtysynonymous expressions, all in current use in his day. A dictionary, inmy possession, of the Maya, one of the least plastic of Americantongues, gives over thirty thousand words, and scarcely a hundred ofthem of foreign extraction. 

This linguistic facility is shown also in the ease with which theyacquire foreign languages. "It is not uncommon, " says Dr. WashingtonMatthews, speaking of the Hidatsa, by no means a specially brillianttribe, "to find persons among them, some even under twenty years of age, who can speak fluently four or five different languages. "[3] Mr. StephenPowers tells us that, in California, he found many Indians speakingthree, four, five or more languages, generally including English;[4] andin South America, both Humboldt and D'Orbigny express their surprise atthe same fact, which they repeatedly observed. [5]

But the most tangible evidence of both their linguistic and literaryability is the work some of these natives have accomplished in Europeantongues. It does not come within the limits of my plan to enter fullyinto an examination of this branch of literature; but it is worth whilementioning some of the more prominent native writers, who have composedin European languages, as their productions are an easy test of what thefaculties of the red race are in this direction. 

As the colonizers of the New World have been chiefly from Spain andGreat Britain, so naturally the English and Spanish languages have beenbrought most widely to the knowledge of the natives. The half-civilizedtribes, within the area of the United States, have produced severalauthors of merit. Perhaps the earliest of these was David Cusick, who, in 1825, printed his _Ancient History of the Six Nations_. He was afull blood Tuscarora, and his English is far from correct. Yet thearrangement of his matter is skillful, and some passages quaintly vividand forcible. Another member of the Iroquois confederacy, PeterDooyentate Clarke, has taken up the _Origin and Traditional History ofthe Wyandotts_, and has made a readable little book (published atToronto, 1870); while still more lately, Chief Elias Johnson, of theTuscaroras, has published a _History of the Six Nations_, verycreditably composed. (Lockport, 1881. )

The tribes of Algonkin lineage can also count some respectable writers. The Rev. William Apess (or Apes), a member of the Pequod tribe ofMassachusetts, wrote and published five or six small books andpamphlets, on questions relating to his people, between 1829 and 1837. The book of George Copway, or Kah-ge-ga-gah-bowh, a chief of theOjibways, on _The Traditional History of the Ojibway Nation_(London, 1850), is a good authority on the topic, and so well writtenthat we can scarcely suppose that it was his unaided effort. Of almostequal merit is the _History of the Ojibway Indians, with especialreference to their Conversion to Christianity_, by the Rev. PeterJones, or Kahkewaquonaby, a full-blood Indian, (London, 1861. )

In the southwest, the _Cherokee Phoenix_ offered a medium throughwhich the native writers of that tribe frequently published originalcontributions; and one of its early editors, Elias Boudinot (named afterthe celebrated philanthropist), published separately a number ofaddresses and other documents, in English. 

But, as we might naturally expect, it is in Spanish that we find thebest work of the native writers. The partly civilized races of Mexico, Central America and Peru, were much better prepared to receive thelessons of European teachers than the barbarous hunting tribes. Had theyhad any fair chance, they would have soon equaled their teachers. FatherMotolinia, one of the earliest missionaries to Mexico, testifies to thereadiness with which the natives acquired both Spanish and Latin, andadds that, in the latter tongue, they became skilled grammarians, andwrote both verse and prose with commendable accuracy. [6] Quite a longlist of such native Latinists, their names and their writings, is givenby Father Augustin de Vetancurt, and he is not sparing in his praise ofthe ability they displayed in the use of both Spanish and Latin. [7]Similar testimony is rendered of the natives of Guatemala, by theArchbishop Garcia Pelaez. He mentions, by name, several Indians whobecame conspicuously thorough Latin scholars, and refers to others whowon honors in all the faculties of the University of Guatemala, anddistinguished themselves in after life by the display of their talentsand education. [8] Nor would it be difficult to find many other suchexamples in Peru and Brazil. 

The list of native Mexicans who wrote in Spanish is a fairly long one;and I need only mention the better known names. At the head should beplaced that of Don Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl. He was a linealdescendant of the sovereigns of Tezcuco, and an ardent student of theantiquities of his race. Among the many works which he wrote are the_Relaciones Historicas_ and the _Historia Chichimeca_, whichwere published by Lord Kingsborough; a _Historia de la NuevaEspana_, a _Historia del Reyno de Tezcuco_, and a _Historia deNuestra Senora de Guadalupe_, which have not had the fortune to beprinted. Such an excellent critic as Mr. Prescott says of his style:"His language is simple, and occasionally eloquent and touching. Hisdescriptions are highly picturesque. He abounds in familiar anecdote;and the natural graces of his manner in detailing the more strikingevents of history and the personal adventures of his heroes, entitle himto the name of the Livy of Anahuac. "

Ixtlilxochitl flourished about the year 1600, and among hiscontemporaries was Fernando de Alvarado Tezozomoc, also of native blood, whose _Cronica Mexicana_ has been preserved, and is considered tobe well written, but less reliable. Of about the same date are the_Relacion_ of Juan Bautista de Tomar, a native of Tezcuco, in whichhe treats of the customs of his ancestors; the _Relaciones_ of DonAntonio Pimentel, grandson of Nezahualpilli, lord of Tezcuco, an authorquoted and praised by the historian Torquemada; the _Historia deTlaxcallan_ of Diego Munoz Camargo, a noble Tlascalan mestizo, ofwhose style Prescott remarks that it compares not unfavorably with thatof some of the missionaries themselves; and the _Relacion de losDioses y Ritos de la Gentilidad_ of Don Pedro Ponce, the cacique ofTzumpahuacan. Somewhat later, about 1625, Don Domingo de San Anton MunonChimalpain wrote his _Historia Mexicana_ and his _Historia de laConquista_, which have been mentioned with respect by variouswriters. 

Along with these examples of literary culture in Mexico may be namedseveral native Peruvian writers who made use of the language of theirconquerors; as Don Joan de Santa Cruz Pachacuti Yamqui, whose_Relacion de Antiguedades de Piru_ is a precious document, thoughcomposed in very uncritical Spanish; as Don Luis Inca, whose_Relacion_, prepared in Spanish, seems now to be lost, but isreferred to, with praise, by some of the older writers; and, above allothers, Inca Garcillasso de la Vega, whose vivid and attractive style, and numerous historical writings place him easily in the first rank ofSpanish historians of America. 

From the above it would seem evident enough that the American aborigineswere endowed, as a race, with a turn for literary composition, and afaculty for it. They were generally, however, an unlettered race. Whatthey composed was for oral use only. This might be carefully arranged, committed to heart, and handed down from generation to generation; butas for recording it in forms which would convey it to the mind throughthe eye, that was a discovery they had but partially made. 

I say, "partially, " because graphic methods, of some kind, were widelyused. We may as well omit from consideration, in this connection, themerely pictographic signs of the hunting tribes, although they were usedfor mnemonic purposes. Let us rather proceed, at once, to the highestspecimens of the graphic art in ancient America, and inquire theirscope. In Mexico, in Yucatan, in Nicaragua, and in one or two districtsof South America, the early explorers found systems of writing whichseemed to resemble that to which they were accustomed. 

The Aztecs manufactured, in large quantities, a useful paper from theleaves of the maguey, and upon it they painted numerous figures andsigns, which conveyed ideas, and sometimes also sounds. An earlyauthority informs us that their books were of five kinds. The firstdetailed their method of computing time; the second described their holydays, festivals and religious epochs; the third gave the interpretationof dreams, omens and signs; the fourth supplied directions for namingchildren; and the fifth rehearsed the rites and ceremonies connectedwith matrimony. [9] Besides these, we know they wrote out tribute rolls, the ancient history of their tribes, the fables of their mythology, thegenealogy of their sovereigns, and the geographical descriptions ofterritories. Of all these we have examples preserved, and many of themhave been published. 

Quite another and a more perfect method of writing prevailed among theMayas of Yucatan and Central America. Their books were exceedingly neat, and strongly resembled an ordinary quarto volume, such as appears onEuropean bookshelves. I have so lately discussed their manufacture, andthe so-called alphabet in which they were written, and in a work of sucheasy access, that it is enough if I quote the conclusions there arrivedat. [10] They are:--

1. The Maya graphic system was recognized, from the first, to bedistinct from the Mexican. 

2. It was a hieroglyphic system, known only to the priests and a fewnobles. 

3. It was employed for a variety of purposes, prominent among which wasthe preservation of their history and calendar. 

4. It was a composite system, containing pictures (figuras), ideograms(caracteres), and phonetic signs (letras). 

The ruins of Palenque, Copan, and other Maya cities, abound in suchhieroglyphs. 

The natives of Nicaragua, those, at least, of Aztec lineage, made use ofparchment volumes, folded into a neat and portable compass, in whichthey painted, in red and black ink, certain figures, "by means ofwhich, " says the chronicler Oviedo, "they could express and understandwhatever they wished, with entire clearness. "[11]

In South America the Peruvians had their _quipus_, cords ofdifferent lengths, sizes and colors, knotted in various ways, andattached to a base cord, an arrangement that was a decided aid to thememory, though it could not be connected with the sounds of words. Thereare also faint traces of figures, with definite meaning, among theMuyscas of Colombia; and the Moxos of Western Bolivia are said to haveemployed, as late as the last century, a method of writing, consistingof lines traced on wooden slabs. [12]

Section 3. _Narrative Literature_. 

Of all forms of sustained discourse, we may reasonably suppose that ofnarration to have been the earliest. The incidents of the hunt wererelated at the return; the experiences of the past were told as a guideto the present; and the first efforts of the imagination are thedepicting of fictitious occurrences, tradition and myth, story andhistory; these make up most of the entertainment of conversation tosimple minds. 

Hence, in this primitive literature which I am describing, the narrativeportion is the most abundant. There was a natural aspiration on the partof the natives, as soon as they had learned the art of writing, topreserve in permanent form the records, more or less authentic, of theirtribes and ancestors. This desire of preserving the national history isshown by the works of Copway, Jones, Cusick, Ixtlilxochitl, and others, to whom I have already referred, who wrote in European tongues. 

If we begin our survey at the extreme north, we find the Eskimo, amidhis depressing surroundings of eternal frost and months-long nights, anunwearied chatterbox, reciting his own and his ancestors' adventures, and weaving from his fancy the most extraordinary web of fictitiousexperiences. Once taught to write, hundreds of these tales werecommitted to paper by native hands. The manuscript collection of such inthe possession of the learned and indefatigable Dr. Heinrich Rinkcontains considerably over two thousand pages, and the charmingrendering into English, which has been published by his efforts, is astorehouse of weird conceptions and partly historic traditions about thepast of Greenland and Labrador. What adds to their interest is that mostof the illustrations are wood-cuts by native artists, truthfully settingforth their own mental pictures. [13]

Another Eskimo composition, in the dialogue style, is before me as Iwrite. It is the description by Pok, a Greenlander, of his journey toEurope and his return. The narrative forms a pamphlet of eighteen pages, with several quaint colored illustrations, and it is one of the rareproducts of the Godthaab press in Greenland to which we can assign agenuine native origin. [14]

Another, which reveals still more distinctly the artistic andimaginative capacities of that strange race, was published at Godthaab, in 1860. Mr. Field remarks of it:--"An Esquimau of Greenland, with hispencil, has, in this work, attempted to give representations of thetraditions, manners, weapons and habits of life of his own race. "[15]

Among the tribes of the eastern United States there were a fewindividuals who attempted to compose somewhat extensive records in theirnative languages. 

One of the most curious examples is that known as the _Walum Olum_, a short account of the early history of the Delaware tribe, written inthat idiom, with mnemonic symbols attached. Its history is not verycomplete. A "Dr. Ward, of Indiana" is said to have obtained it from amember of the nation, in 1822. From him it passed into the hands ofProf. C. S. Rafinesque, an eccentric and visionary Frenchman, who passedthe later years of his life in Philadelphia. He undertook to translateit, and after his death the translation, together with the original, came into the possession of Mr. E. G. Squier. By him it was firstpublished, but in a partial and incomplete manner, much of the originaltext and many of the mnemonic symbols being omitted, and no effort beingmade to improve Rafinesque's translation. [16]

The _Book of Rites_[17] of the Iroquois or Six Nations, latelyedited by Mr. Horatio Hale, is one of the most remarkable nativeproductions north of Mexico. Its authenticity and antiquity areindisputable. The rites it describes are the ceremonies and setspeeches, the chants and formulas, of what is called "The Council ofCondolence, " whose function is to express the national sense of loss atthe death of a chief, and to conduct the inauguration of his successor. The publication of this ritual, supported as it is with the learnednotes of Mr. Hale, and an introduction by him, on the history, formationand purpose of the famous League of the Iroquois, has thrown aremarkable light, not merely on the ethnology of the district where theIroquois were located, but on the mental characteristics of the red racein general. It is a refutation of the unscientific assumptions of a goodmany would-be scientific men, who are self-blinded by their theories ofdevelopment to obvious facts in the mental powers of uncultivatedtribes. 

Of less general importance, but admirable also for competent editorship, is the short narrative of the Nipissing Chief, Francois Kaondinoketc, which was published a few years ago, both in the original and with aFrench translation, by a Canadian missionary, eminent alike for hispiety and his learning. It recites the journey of a half-breed ChristianIndian into the country of the heathen tribe of Beaver Indians, and themiraculous interposition by which his life was saved when these Paganshad caught him. They told him he must kill an eagle flying far abovethem; at his prayer, the bird descended and came within the reach of hissabre. In turn, he asked them to shoot their arrows into a tree; but byrubbing it with holy water, the bark was so hardened that not one oftheir shafts could pierce it. So they confessed the greatness of theChristian's God. [18]

This charmingly naive narrative makes us doubly regret that the editor'sprojected _Chrestomathie Algonquine_ has not been carried out infull. 

The southern Atlantic coast of the United States was principallyoccupied by the Muskokee or Creek tribe, who occupied the territory asfar west as the Mississippi. Their language was first reduced to writingin the Greek alphabet, by the Moravian missionaries, about 1733; but atpresent a modified form of the English alphabet is in use. They had avery definite and curious tribal history, full of strange metaphors andobscure references. It was, according to old authorities, "written inred and black characters, on the skin of a young buffalo, " and was readoff from this symbolic script by their head-chief, Chekilli, to theEnglish, in 1735, and skin and translation were both sent to London, andboth lost there. But, luckily, the Moravian missionaries preserved afaithful translation of it, and this, some years ago, I brought to thenotice of students of these matters. [19]

Its authenticity is beyond question, and to this day the chiefs of theCreeks recollect many of the points it contains, and have repeated it tothe eminent linguist, Mr. A. S. Gatschet, who has taken it down afreshfrom their lips, and is preparing it for publication. Collateralevidence is also furnished by "General" Milfort, a French adventurer, who lived among the Creeks several years, toward the close of the lastcentury, and testifies that they preserved, "by beads and belts, " thememory of the adventures of their ancestors, and recited to him a longaccount of them, which he repeats with that negligence which everywheremarks his carelessly prepared volume. [20]

Their northern neighbors, the Cherokees, use an alphabet invented bySequoyah, one of themselves, in 1824. It is syllabic, of eighty-fivecharacters, and is used for printing. Sequoyah had no intention ofaiding the missionaries; he preferred the "old religion, " and when hesaw the New Testament printed in his characters, he expressed regretthat he had ever invented them. What he wanted was to teach his peopleuseful arts, and to preserve the national traditions. I have littledoubt they were written down; but here, again, I have failed of successin my inquiries. 

This is a poor showing of native literature for all the tribes in thevast area of the United States. But, except some orations and poems, hereafter to be mentioned, it is almost all that I can name. Passingsouthward the harvest becomes richer. When Bishop Landa, in Yucatan, andBishop Zumarraga, in Mexico, made bonfires, in the public squares ofMani and Tlaltilulco, of the priceless literary treasures of the Mayasand Aztecs, their maps, their parchment rolls, their calendars on wood, their painted paper books, their inscribed histories, it is recordedthat the natives bewailed bitterly this obliteration of their sciencesand their archives. [21] Some of them set to work to recover the memoriesthus doomed to oblivion, and to write them out, as best they could. 

Most fertile of these were those who wrote in the Nahuatl tongue, otherwise known as the Aztec or Mexican, this being most widely spokenin Mexico, and the first cultivated by the missionaries. Many of thesememoirs were short descriptions of towns or tribes, with theirtraditional histories. Others narrated the customs and mythologies ofthe race before the arrival of the whites. None were printed, and littleor no care was taken to collect or preserve the manuscripts, so thatprobably most of them were destroyed. At length, in 1736-45, anenthusiastic Italian archaeologist, the Chevalier Lorenzo BoturiniBenaduci, devoted nearly ten years to collecting everything of the kindwhich would throw light on ancient Mexican history. He was quitesuccessful, and his library, had it been preserved intact, would havebeen to-day an invaluable source of information. But the jealous Spanishgovernment threw Boturini into prison; his library was scattered andpartly lost, and he died of chagrin and disappointment. Yet to him weprobably owe the preservation of the writings of Ixtlilxochitl, Tezozomoc, and others who wrote in Spanish, and whose volumes have sinceseen the light in the collections of Bustamente, Lord Kingsborough, Ternaux-Compans, and elsewhere. 

The Nahuatl MSS. Have remained unedited. Few took an interest in theircontents, fewer still in the language. The science of linguistics isvery modern, and that even so perfect an idiom as the Nahuatl couldcommand the attention of scholars for its own sake, had not dawned onthe minds of patrons of learning. 

Boturini catalogues some forty or fifty more or less fragmentaryanonymous MSS. In Nahuatl, which he had gathered together. [22] I shallrecall only those whose authors he names. Some three or four historicalworks were written in Nahuatl by Don Domingo de San Anton MunonChimalpain, whom I have already mentioned as an author in Spanish also. Of his Nahuatl works his _Cronica Mexicana_, which traces thehistory of his nation from 1068 to 1597, would be the most worthy aneditor's labors. It is now in the possession of M. Aubin. 

The _Cronica de la muy noble y leal Ciudad de Tlaxcallan_, by DonJuan Ventura Zapata y Mendoza, cacique of Quiahuiztlan, extends from theearliest times to the year 1689. A copy of it, I have some reason tothink, is in Mexico. Boturini possessed the original, and it should, byall means, be sought out and printed. 

The ancient history of the same city was also treated of by one of theearliest native writers, and his work, in Nahuatl, alleged to have beentranslated by the interpreter Francisco de Loaysa, was obtained from thelatter by Boturini. 

An account of Tezcuco and its rulers, after the Conquest until 1564, wasthe work of a native, Juan de San Antonio; while Don Gabriel de Ayala, anative noble of that city, composed a history of the Tezcucan andMexican events, extending from 1243 to 1562. [23]

Of the anonymous MSS. In Boturini's list, I shall mention only one, asit alone, of all his Nahuatl records, has succeeded in reachingpublication. He called it a _History of the Kingdoms of Culhuacan andMexico_. A copy of it passed to Mexico, where it was translated bythe Licentiate Faustino Chimalpopocatl Galicia, but in a very imperfectand incorrect manner. The Abbe Brasseur de Bourbourg copied the originaland the translation, and bestowed on the document both a new name, _Codex Chimalpopoca_, and a whimsical geological signification. In1879, the Museo Nacional of Mexico began in their _Anales_ thepublication of the original text, this time under still another title, the _Anales de Cuauhtitlan_, with two translations, that ofGalicia, and a new one by Profs. G. Mendoza and Felipe Sanchez Solis. Upto the present time, 1883, the work is not completed; but its signalimportance to ancient history and mythology is amply indicated by thepart in type. 

Doubtless there were many MSS. Which Boturini did not find, and thereare, probably, to this day, going to dust in private and publiclibraries in Spain, valuable documents in the Nahuatl tongue. [24] For along time it was supposed that the Nahuatl original of Father Bernardinode Sahagun's _History of New Spain_ was lost; but at the meeting ofthe _Congres des Americanistes_, in Madrid, in 1881, a part of it, at least, was exhibited. This work almost belongs to aboriginalliterature, for a considerable portion of it, notably the third, sixthand twelfth books, treating, respectively, of the origin of the gods, the Aztec oratory, and their ancient history, are mainly nativenarratives and speeches, taken down, word for word, in the originaltongue. Spanish scholars could not render a greater service to Americanethnology and linguistics than in the publication of this valuablemonument. 

There is, also, or, at any rate, there was, in the Royal Library atMadrid, a Mexican hieroglyphic work, "all painted, " with a translationapparently into the Nahuatl tongue. [25] I would inquire of the learnedlinguists of Spain whether that document cannot be unearthed. Andfurther, I would ask whether all trace has been lost of the writings ofDon Gabriel Castaneda, Chief of Colomocho, who wrote, in Nahuatl, anaccount of the conquest of the Chichimecs by the Viceroy Antonio deMendoza, in 1541. That Manuscript was last heard of in the library ofthe Convent of San Ildefonso, in Mexico. [26] Perhaps it would tell us whothe Chichimecs were, about which there is disagreement enough amongethnologists. 

Of the strictly hieroglyphic records I shall not take account. Theirinterpretation is yet uncertain, and, as linguistic monuments, theyhave, at present, no standing. 

Equal, or superior, in culture, to the Aztecs were the Maya tribes. Their chief seat was in Yucatan, but they extended thence southwardly tothe shores of the Pacific, and westward along the Gulf coast to theRiver Panuco. The language numbered about sixteen dialects, none veryremote from the parent stem, which linguists identify as the Maya properof the Yucatecan peninsula. While there are a number of verbalsimilarities between Maya and Nahuatl, the radicals of the two idiomsand their grammatical structure are widely asunder. The Nahuatl is anexcessively pliable, polysyllabic and highly synthetic tongue; the Mayais rigid, its words short, of one or two syllables generally, and isscarcely more synthetic than French. This contrast is carried out in thestyle of their writers. Those in Nahuatl were lovers of amplification, of flowing periods, of Ciceronian fullness; the Mayas cultivatedsententious brevity, they are elliptical, often to obscurity, and may becompared rather to Tacitus, in his _Annals_, than to Cicero. 

All the Maya tribes had strong literary tastes, but with characteristictenacity they clung entirely to their native tongues; and I know not asingle instance where one has left compositions in Spanish. Theirlanguage is easy to learn; to a stranger to both, Maya comes easier thanSpanish, as intelligent writers in Yucatan have testified; and thisaided its survival. Their passion for learning to read and write wasstrong, and had it been fed, instead of rigidly suppressed, there islittle doubt but that they would have become a highly enlightenednation. The wretched system which smothered free thought in Spain killedit in Yucatan. [27]

The principal literary monument in the pure Maya is the collection knownas "The Books of Chilan Balam. " I have described this collection atlength in previous publications, and shall content myself with a briefreference to it. [28] The title "Chilan Balam" means, in this connection, "the interpreting priest;" that is, the sacred official who, in theancient religion, revealed the will of the gods. There are at leastsixteen collections under this name in Maya, copies, probably, in part, of each other. Their contents may be classified under four headings:--

1. Chronology, calendars, and history, before and after the Conquest. 

2. Prophecies and astrology. 

3. Medical recipes and directions. 

4. Christian narratives. 

Of these, the last two are modern. The Christian portions are lives ofsaints, and prayers. The medical directions are often found separate, under the title "The Book of the Jew. " Its language is modern andcorrupt--_mestizado_, as the Spaniards express it. 

The "Prophecies" are alleged to have been delivered one or severalgenerations before the Conquest. Their style is extremely obscure, andmany of the forms are archaic. If not genuine originals, they areunquestionably very early and faithful imitations of the oraculardeliveries of the ancient Maya priests. 

The historical portions include rude annals since the Conquest, and aseries of Chronicles, extending back to about the third century of theChristian era. There are five versions of these, all of which I havepublished, with translations and copious notes, as the first volume ofmy "Library of Aboriginal American Literature. "

Another class of Maya historical documents embraces the surveys and landtitles, many of which date from the sixteenth century. I have in mypossession a copy of one as far back as 1542, unquestionably the oldestmonument of the Maya language extant. Sometimes these titles wereaccompanied by a family history. Such is "The Chronicle of Chac XulubChen, " written by the Chief Nakuk Pech, in 1562, which I have published. It gives, in a confused style, a history of the Conquest, and throwslight on the methods by which the Spaniards succeeded in overcoming thevarious native tribes. [29]

We owe the preservation of most of the Maya MSS. To the enlightenedlabors of Don Juan Pio Perez, a distinguished Yucatecan scholar, and thecompiler of the best printed dictionary of the Maya tongue. [30] The mostcomplete collection now in existence is that of the Canon CrescencioCarrillo y Ancona, a learned archaeologist, and author of an excellenthistory of Maya literature. [31]

After the Maya, the most important of these associated dialects was theCakchiquel. It was, and still is, spoken in Guatemala; and the Kiche(Quiche), also current there, is so nearly allied to it that they may betreated as one idiom. The Cakchiquel possesses an extensive Christianliterature, as it was cultivated assiduously by the early missionaries. Indeed, there was, for many years, a chair in the University ofGuatemala created for teaching it, and it is often referred to as the_lengua metropolitana_, Guatemala having been the see of anarchbishop. There are in existence extensive lexicons of Cakchiquel, andin it, besides various collections of sermons, was written the oncecelebrated work of Father Domingo de Vico, the _Theologia Indorum_, probably the most complete theological treatise ever produced in anative American tongue. [32]

The most notable aboriginal production in Cakchiquel is one frequentlyreferred to by the Abbe Brasseur de Bourbourg as the _Memorial deTecpan Atitlan_, The Records from Tecpan Atitlan. [33] It is anhistorical account of his family and tribe, written in the sixteenthcentury by a member of the junior branch of the ruling house of theCakchiquels. His name was Don Francisco Ernantez Arana Xahila, and apassage of the MS. Informs us that he was writing in 1581. After hisdeath the work was continued by Don Francisco Tiaz Gebuta Queh. Thestyle is familiar and often vivid, and the work is addressed to hischildren. It begins with the earliest myths and traditions of the tribe, and follows their fortunes to the lifetime of the writer. In respectboth to mythology, history and language, it is one of the mostnoteworthy monuments of American antiquity. A loose paraphrase of it wasmade by Brasseur de Bourbourg, based upon which, a Spanish rendering waspublished by the "Sociedad Economica de Guatemala, " under the auspicesof Senor Gavarrete. Neither the original nor any correct translation hasbeen printed. 

A copy of this MS. Is in my collection, and both the original and asecond copy are in Europe; but there were a number of similar historicalaccounts, committed to writing by this people and their immediateneighbors, of which we know little but the titles and a few extracts. Thus, the historian of Guatemala, Don Domingo Juarros, quotes from theMSS. Of Don Francisco Gomez, _Ahzib Kiche_, or Chief Scribe of theKiches, of Don Francisco Garcia Calel Tzumpan, of Don Juan Macario, nephew, and Don Juan Torres, son, of the Chief Chignavincelut, and "thehistories written by the Quiches, Cakchiquels, Pipils, Pocomans, andothers, who learned to write their tongues from their Spanish teachers. "These MSS. Gave the genealogies of their families and the migrations oftheir ancestors "from the time when the Toltecs, from whom they tracedescent, first entered the territory of Mexico, and found it inhabitedby the Chichimecs. "[34]

One of the motives prompting to the composition of these works was tovindicate the claims of families to the sovereignty, or to thepossession of land. They were, in fact, a sort of briefs of titles toreal estate. One such is preserved, in the original, in the Brasseurcollection, and is catalogued as "The Royal Title of Don FranciscoIzquin, the last Ahpop Galel, or King, of Nehaib, granted by the lordswho invested him with his royal dignity, and confirmed by the last Kingof Quiche, with other sovereigns, November 22, 1558. "[35] A Spanishtranslation of the title of a female branch of this same family wasprinted at Guatemala in 1876, but the original text has never been putto press, although it is said to be still preserved in one of theancient families of the Province of Totonicapam. [36]

Another Kiche work, which has excited a lively but not very intelligentinterest among European scholars, is the _Popol Vuh_, NationalBook, a compendious account of their mythology and traditional history. A Spanish translation of it by Father Francisco Ximenez was edited inVienna, in 1857, by Dr. Carl Scherzer. [37] The Abbe Brasseur followed, in1861, by a publication of the original text, and a new translation intoFrench. [38] This text fills 173 octavo pages, so that it will be seenthat it offers an ample specimen of the tongue. 

Neither of these translations is satisfactory. Ximenez wrote with allthe narrow prejudices of a Spanish monk, while Brasseur was a Euhemeristof the most advanced type, and saw in every myth the statement of ahistorical fact. There is need of a re-translation of the whole, withcritical linguistic notes attached. A few years ago, I submitted thenames and epithets of the divinities mentioned in the Popol Vuh to acareful analysis, and I think the results obtained show clearly howerroneous were the conceptions formed regarding them by both thetranslators of the document. [39] I shall not here go into the question ofits age or authorship, about which diverse opinions have obtained; but Iwill predict that the more sedulously it is studied, the more certainlyit will be shown to be a composition inspired by ideas and narrativesfamiliar to the native mind long before the advent of Christianity. 

I have been told that there are other versions of the _Popol Vuh_still preserved among the Kiches, and it were ardently to be desiredthat they were sought out, as there are many reasons to believe that thecopy we have is incomplete, or, at any rate, omits some prominentfeatures of their mythology. 

One branch of the Maya race, the Tzendals, inhabited a portion of theprovince of Chiapas. One of their hero-gods bore the name of_Votan_, a word from a Maya root, signifying the breast or heart, but from its faint resemblance to "Odin, " and its still faintersimilarity to "Buddha, " their myth about him has given rise to manywhimsical speculations. This myth was written down in the native tongueby a Christianized native, in the seventeenth century. The MS. Came intothe possession of Nunez de la Vega, Bishop of Chiapas, who quotes fromit in his _Constituciones Diocesanas_, printed in Rome, in 1702. The indefatigable Boturini tells us that he tried in vain to find it, about 1740, and supposed it was lost. [40] But a copy of it was seen anddescribed by Dr. Paul Felix Cabrera, in 1790. [41] Possibly it is still inexistence, and there are few fragments of American literature whichwould better merit a diligent search. As to the meaning of the Votanmyth, I have ventured an explanation of it in another work. [42]

In South America, the only native historical writers who employed theirown tongue appear to have been of the Peruvian Qquichua stock. None oftheir productions have been published, but one or more are in existenceand accessible. Prominent among them and deserving of early editing bycompetent hands, is an anonymous treatise, partly translated by Dr. Francisco de Avila, in 1608, on the "Errors, False Gods, Superstitionsand Diabolical Rites" of the natives of the provinces of Huarochiri, Mama and Chaclla. The original text is in Madrid, and Avila'stranslation, as far as it goes, has been rendered into English by Mr. Clements R. Markham, and published in one of the Hackluyt Society'svolumes. [43]

A member of the Inca family, already referred to, Don Luis Inca, isreported to have written a series of historical notes, _Advertencias_, "with his own hand and in his own tongue;" but what became of hismanuscript is not known. [44]

There is another class of historical documents, which profess to be theproduction of native hands, and which are moderately numerous. These arethe official letters and petitions drawn up by the chiefs in their owntongues, and forwarded to the Spanish authorities. Of these, twointeresting specimens, one in the "Abolachi" tongue (a dialect ofMuskokee), and the other in Timucuana, were published in fac-simile bythe late Mr. Buckingham Smith, but in a very limited number of copies(only fifty in all). Others in Nahuatl and Maya, also in fac-simile, appear in that magnificent volume, the _Cartas de Indias_, issuedby the Spanish Government in 1880. Doubtless more examples could befound in the public Archives in Spain, and they should all be collectedinto one volume. They were probably prompted by the Spanish localauthorities; but it is likely that they show the true structure of thelanguage, and, of course, they have a positive historical value. 

It is related in the Proceedings of the Municipal Council of Guatemalathat, in 1692, the Captain Antonio de Fuentes y Guzman laid before theCouncil seven petitions, written in the native language, on the bark oftrees. [45] Whatever of interest they contained was, no doubt, extractedby that laborious but imaginative writer, and included in his_History_, which has never been published, though severalmanuscript copies of it are in existence. 

It will be seen that some of the so-called historical literature I havementioned rests uncertain on the border line between fact and fancy. These old stories may be vague memories of past deeds, set in a frame ofmythical details; or they may be ancient myths, solar or meteorological, which came to receive credence as actual occurrences. The task remainsfor special students of such matters to sift and analyze them, andsettle this debateable point. 

There is another class of narrations, about which there can be no doubtas to their purely imaginative origin. These are the animal myths, thefairy stories, the fireside tales of giants and magicians, with whichthe hours of leisure are whiled away. Several collections of these havebeen made, the words and phrases taken down precisely as the nativestory-teller delivered them, and thus they come strictly within thelines of aboriginal literature. They are the spontaneous outgrowth ofthe native mind, and are faithful examples of native speech. 

Over a hundred such tales have been collected by Dr. Couto de Magalhaes, as narrated by the Tupis of Brazil, andmany of them have been published with all desirable fidelity, and with a philosophical introduction and notes, in a volumeissued by the Brazilian government, under his editorial care. [46]

A similar collection of Tupi stories was made by the late Prof. CharlesF. Hartt, whose early death was a loss to more than one branch ofscience. It was his intention to edit them with the necessary notes andvocabularies; but, so far as I know, the only specimens which appearedin print were those he laid before the American PhilologicalAssociation, in 1872. [47] The inquiries I have instituted about his MSS. Have not been successful. 

Numerous texts of this description have been obtained from the KlamathIndians by Mr. A. S. Gatschet, and from the Omaha by the Rev. J. OwenDorsey, both of which collections are in process of publication by theBureau of Ethnology at Washington. Scattered specimens of stories ofthis kind have also been obtained by a number of travelers, and they arealways a welcome aid to the study both of the psychology and language ofa tribe. 

Section 4. _Didactic Literature_. 

The more civilized American tribes had made considerable advances insome of the natural sciences, and in none more than in practicalastronomy. By close observation of the heavenly bodies they hadelaborated a complicated and remarkably exact system of chronology. Theyhad determined the length of the year with greater accuracy than thewhite invaders; and the different cycles by which they computed timeallowed them to assign dates to occurrences many hundreds of yearsanterior. 

Although there are local differences, the calendars in use in Centraland Southern Mexico and in Central America were evidently derived fromone and the same original. A great deal has been written upon them, butfor all that many questions about them remain unanswered. We do not knowthe Maya method of intercalation; we do not understand the uses of theshorter Mexican year, of 260 days; we are at a loss to explain thepurpose of doubling the length of certain months, as prevailed among theCakchiquels; we are in the dark about the significance of the names ofmany days and months; we cannot see why the nations chose to begin thecount of the year at different seasons; and there are ever so many moreknotty problems about this remarkable system and its variations. 

What we imperatively need is a supply of authentic aboriginal calendars, accurately reproduced, for purposes of comparison. Boturini collected anumber of these, which he describes, and long before his day somespecimens had been published by Valades and Gemelli Carreri. [48] Theywere, in ancient times, usually depicted by circular drawings, called bythe Spaniards, Wheels (_ruedas_). After the Conquest they werewritten out, more in the form of our almanacs. One such, in the Mayatongue, with a translation, was contributed to Mr. Stephens' _Travelsin Yucatan_, by the eminent Maya scholar, Don Juan Pio Perez. [49]Several others were in his collection, and are accessible. Dr. Berendtsucceeded in securing _fac similes_ of Kiche and Cakchiquelcalendars, written out in the seventeenth century, and these are now inmy possession. I fear we have no perfect examples of the Zapoteccalendar, nor of that of the Tarascos of Michoacan, although ananonymous author, most of whose MS. Has been preserved, reduced thelatter to writing, and it may some day turn up. [50] The Aztec calendarscollected by Boturini would, were they published, give us sufficientmaterial, probably, to understand clearly the methods of that tribe. 

One momentous purpose which the calendar served was for supplying omensand predictions; another was for the appointment of fasts and festivals, for the religious ritual. The calendar arranged for these objects wascalled, in the Nahuatl, _tonalamatl_, "the book of days, " and inMaya _tzolante_, "that by which events are arranged. " So intimatelywere all the acts of individual and national life bound up with thesesuperstitions, that an understanding of them is indispensable to asuccessful study of the psychology and history of the race. 

After the Conquest some of the notions about judicial astrology, thenprevalent in Europe, crept into the native understanding, and notably, in the _Books of Chilan Balam_ we find forecastes of lucky andunlucky days, and discussions of planetary influence, evidently borrowedfrom the Spanish almanacs of the seventeenth century. 

Most of the Aborigines of the Continent possessed a keen sense oflocality, and often a certain rude skill in cartography. The relativeposition of spots and proportionate distances were approximatelyrepresented by rough drawings. They knew the boundaries of their lands, the courses of streams, the trend of shores, and could display themintelligently. These maps, as they are called, present a very differentappearance from ours. Those of the Aztecs are rather pictured diagrams, something like those we find in fifteenth century books of travel. Afair specimen, though of date later than the Conquest, was published notlong since, in Madrid. [51]

The Maya maps are even more conventional. A central point is taken, usually a town, around which is drawn either a circle or a square, onthe four sides of which are placed the figures of the four cardinalpoints, and within the figures are the various symbols which denote thevillages, wells, ponds, and other objects which are to be designated. Specimens of some of these, all after the Conquest, however, have beenpublished by Mr. Stephens and Canon Carrillo, [52] and others are found inthe various _Books of Chilan Balam_. 

Very few strictly scholastic works seem to have been produced by thenatives. Nearly all those which I have seen for use in the Missionschools appear to be the productions of the white instructors, generally, of course, aided by some intelligent native. I have in mypossession an _Ortografia en Lengua Kekchi_, picked up by Dr. Berendt in Vera Paz, which was the work of Domingo Coy, an Indian ofCoban (MS. Pp. 32). But on examination it proves to be merely anadaptation of a _Manual de Ortografia Castellana_, in use in theschools, and not an original effort. For all that, it is not withoutlinguistic value. In Mexico a useful little book of instruction inNahuatl has been prepared by the licentiate Faustino ChimalpopocaGalicia, a scholar of indigenous extraction. [53] An older work, of asimilar character, by Don Antonio Tobar, a descendant of the Montezumas, is mentioned by bibliographers, but never was printed, and has probablyperished. [54]

It has always been part of the policy of both Catholic and Protestantmissions to permit the natives to enter the career of the church; in theterritories of both confessions instances are moderately numerous ofpriests and preachers of half or full Indian blood. Most of theseeducated men, however, rather shunned the cultivation of their maternaltongues, and preferred, when they wrote at all, to choose that of theirwhite brethren, the Spanish, Portuguese or English. The extensivetheological literature which we possess, printed or in manuscript, inAmerican tongues, and in many it is quite ample, is scarcely ever theresult of the efforts of the Christian teachers of indigenousaffiliations. 

A notable exception was the licentiate Bartolome de Alva, a nativeMexican, descended from the Tezcucan kings, who composed, in Nahuatl andSpanish, a _Confessionario_, which was printed at Mexico in 1634. It contains some interesting references to the mythology andsuperstitions of the natives. [55]

The Indian Elias Boudinot and other Cherokees have printed many essaysand tracts in that tongue, but whether original or merely translated Ido not know. The sermons of the native Protestant missionaries to theirfellows were probably extempore addresses. At any rate, I have not seenany in manuscript or print. A volume of the kind exists, however, inmanuscript, in the Library of the _Instituto Historico_ of RioJaneiro, which it would be very desirable to have printed. It is the_Sermones e Exemplos em lengua Guarani_, by Nicolas Japuguay, curaof the Parish of San Francisco in 1727. [56] But when it is edited, let ushope that it will be a more favorable example of critical care than the_Crestomathia da Lingua Brasilica_, edited by Dr. Ernesto FerreiraFranca (Leipzig, 1859), which, according to Professor Hartt, is "badlyarranged, carelessly edited, and disfigured by innumerable typographicalerrors. "[57]

A curious variety of religious literature is what are called thePassions, _Las Pasiones_, which are found among the natives of theIsthmus of Tehuantepec. These prose chants took their rise at an earlyperiod among the sodalities (_cofradias_), organized under the nameof some particular saint. Each of these societies possessed a volume, called its Regulations (_Ordenanzas_), containing, among othermatters, a series of invocations, founded on the history of the Passionof Christ. During Holy Week, certain members of the fraternity, called_fiscales_, gather in the church, around one of their number, whoreads a sentence in a loud voice. The fiscales repeat it in a chantingtone, with a uniform and monotonous cadence. It is probable that thesechants are the compositions of the Indians themselves. Dr. Berendtobtained several copies of these, some in the Chapaneca of Chiapas, andothers in the Zoque of the Isthmus, which are now in my hands. 

Section 5. _Oratorical Literature. _

The love of the American Indian for oratorical display has beencommented on by almost all writers who have studied his disposition. Specimens of native eloquence have been introduced into school books, and declaimed by many an aspiring young Cicero. Most of them are, doubtless, as fictitious as Logan's celebrated speech, which was exaltedby the great Jefferson almost to a level with the outbursts ofDemosthenes, to be reduced again to very small proportions by thecriticisms of Brantz Mayer. [58]

In fact, in spite of all that has been said about the native oratory, we are in a very inadequate position to judge of it correctly, and thisbecause we have no accurate reports in the original tongues of theirspeeches. Translations, more or less loose, more or less imaginary, we have in abundance; but, for critical purposes, they are simplyworthless. 

Yet that even the ruder tribes in both the northern and southerncontinents, attached great weight to the cultivation of oratory, isamply evident. James Adair, who is competent authority, tells us thatthe southern Indians studied public speaking assiduously, and that theirspeeches "abound with bolder tropes and figures than illiterateinterpreters can well comprehend or explain. "[59] Mr. Howse writes that, among the Crees, those who possess oratorical talent are in demand bythe Chiefs, who employ them to deliver the official harangues. [60] Amongthe Aztecs, the very word for chief, _tlatoani_, literally means"orator" (from the verb _tlatoa_, to harangue). In the far south, among the Araucanians of Chili, and their relatives the migratory hordesof the Pampas, no gift is in higher estimation than that of an easy andperspicuous delivery. This alone enables the humblest to rise to theposition of chieftain. [61] So it was over the whole continent. 

In most of their languages, the oratorical was markedly different fromthe familiar or colloquial style. The former was given to antithesis, repetition, elaborate figures, unusual metaphors, and more sonorous andlengthened expressions. The Rev. Mr. Byington gives a number of theoratorical affectations in the Choctaw, as _akakano_ for _ak_, _okakocha_ for _ok_, etc. [62]

Some genuine specimens of the oratory of the northern tribes arepreserved by Mr. Hale, in the Iroquois _Book of Rites_, to which Ihave referred on a previous page. The speeches it contains were learnedby heart, and transmitted from generation to generation, long beforethey were committed to writing, and long after some of the words andexpressions they contain had become lost to the colloquial language ofthe tribe. 

The ancient Mexicans were much given to this sort of formalspeech-making. They had a large number of cut-and-dried orations, whichprofessional rhetoricians delivered on all important occasions in life. The new-born child was harangued at, in good set terms, when it was buta few days old. Betrothals, marriages, festivals, the commencement ofpuberty and of pregnancy, etc. , were all celebrated by the delivery ofdiscourses. Fathers taught their children, teachers their pupils, monarchs their vassals, war chiefs their soldiers, by such declamations. The general name for these speeches was _huehuetlatolli_, ancientorations. [63]

Many have been preserved, and a tolerably complete collection could bemade in the original tongue. To effect this, we should have to haverecourse to the original Nahuatl MS. Of Sahagun's history, which, I havealready said, exists in Madrid; next, to the extremely rare work of theeminent Nahuatl scholar, Father Juan Baptista, _Platicas Morales_, in which, according to Vetancurt, he gives, in the original, the ancientaddresses of fathers to their children, and of rulers to theirsubjects;[64] and lastly, to the recently published, though very earlywritten, _Mexican Grammar_, of the Franciscan Andre de Olmos, whichcontains a number of these discourses, carefully edited and translatedby the accomplished scholar, M. Remi Simeon. [65]

The numerous prayers to the heathen gods, preserved by Sahagun, are, doubtless, faithfully recorded, and are accurate examples of theelevated literary style of the ancient Aztecs. They should, by allmeans, be printed, so that they could be accessible to those who wouldacquaint themselves with the genius of the language and the psychologyof the people. 

In the Qquichua of Peru, a few similar prayers to Viracocha have beensaved from oblivion, in the pages of Cristobal de Molina. One or morecopies of his _Relacion_ are in the United States, but it has onlyappeared in print through a translation by Mr. Markham, in the HackluytSociety's publications. [66] Some modern prayers of the Mayas are to befound in the collection of Brasseur, [67] and, doubtless, several of theso-called ancient "prophecies, " preserved in the _Books of ChilanBalam_, are, in fact, specimens of the impassioned and mysticrhapsodies with which the priests of their heathendom entertained theirhearers, as Cortes and his followers heard, one day, on the island ofCozumel. [68]

Section 6. _Poetical Literature. _

Man, remarks Wilhelm von Humboldt, belongs to the singing species ofanimals. True it is, that wherever found, he has some notion of music, cultivates the accord of sounds by some sort of instrument, and givesexpression to his most acute emotions in modulations of vocal tone. 

The earliest and simplest poetry is nothing more than such modulatedsounds; it is not in definite words, and hence, is not capable oftranslation; it is but the expression of feeling through the voice, asis the wail of the infant, the rippling laughter of youth, the crooningof senility, the groans of pain or sorrow. 

Perhaps this first is also the highest expression of the aestheticsense. The most admired cantatrices of to-day drown the words in awealth of vocalization, and the meaning is lost, even were the languageone known to their hearers, which it usually is not. I have heard aliving poet, himself of no mean eminence, maintain that the harmony ofversification is a far higher test of true poetic power than the ideasconveyed. 

These principles must be borne in mind when we apply the canons ofcriticism to the poetry of the ruder races. It is not composed to beread, or even recited, but to be sung; its aim is, not to awaken thoughtor convey information, but solely to excite emotion. It can have ameaning only when heard, and only in the surroundings which gave itbirth. 

Hence it is, that the notices of the poetry of American nations are soscant and unsatisfactory. While all travelers agree that the tribes havesongs and chants, war songs, peace songs, love songs, and others, fewsatisfactory specimens have been recorded. Those who have examined thesubject most accurately have found that many so-called songs are mererepetitions of a few words, or even of simple interjections, over andover again, with an endless iteration, in a chanting voice. The Dakotasongs which have been preserved by Riggs, the Chippeway songs obtainedfrom the interpreter Tanner, and the numerous specimens of nativeCalifornian chants recorded by Powers, as well as many others of thisclass which might be mentioned, are mainly of this character. 

Consequently, they show very poorly in a translation, andare apt to convey an unjustly depreciatory notion of thenations which produce them. To estimate them aright, themeter and the music must be taken into consideration, and alsotheir suitability to the minds to which they were addressed. [69]

But the anthology of America is not limited to specimens of this kind. In the Iroquois _Book of Rites_ there are funeral dirges ofconsiderable length, expressive and touching in meaning; and in theAlgonkin a few have been preserved in the original, which are authenticand pleasing. Here, for instance, is a nearly literal version of aChippeway love song:--

 "I will walk into somebody's dwelling, Into somebody's dwelling will I walk. 

 To thy dwelling, my dearly beloved, Some night will I walk, will I walk. 

 Some night in the winter, my beloved, To thy dwelling will I walk, will I walk. 

 This very night, my beloved, To thy dwelling will I walk, will I walk. "[70]

Much more striking, and to me strangely so, are the songs of the Taensa, a small tribe who dwelt on the banks of the lower Mississippi. They arenow extinct, but a very curious account of their language, by a Spanishmissionary, has been preserved and recently published. The earlytravelers speak of them as an unusually cultivated people, but onecannot but be surprised to find them capable of composing anepithalamium like the following:--

 "Tikaens, thou buildest a house, thou bringest thy wife to live in it. 

 "Thou art married, Tikaens, thou art married. 

 "Thou wilt become famous; thy children will name thee among the elders. Think of Tikaens as an old man!

 "By what name is thy bride known? Is she beautiful? Are her eyes soft as the light of the moon? Is she a strong woman? Didst thou understand her signs during the dance?

 "I know not whether thou lovest her, Tikaens. 

 "What said the old man, her father, when thou askedst for his pretty daughter?

 "What betrothal presents didst thou give?

 "Rejoice, Tikaens! be glad, be happy!

 "Build thyself a happy home. 

 "This is the song of its building!"

Some of the songs of war and death are quite Ossianic instyle, and yet they appear to be accurate translations. [71]

The comparatively elevated style of such poems need not cast doubt uponthem. The first European who wrote about the songs of the natives ofAmerica, who was none other than the witty and learned Montaigne, paid ahigh tribute to their true poetic spirit. Montaigne knew a man who hadlived among the Tupis of Brazil for ten or twelve years, and had learnedtheir language and customs. He remembered several of their songs of warand love, and translated them to gratify the insatiable thirst forknowledge of the famous essayist. The refrain of one of them, supposedto be addressed to one of those beautiful serpents of the tropicalforests, ran thus:--

 "O serpent, stay! stay, O serpent! that thy painted skin may serve my sister as a pattern for the design and form of a rich cord, which I may give to my love; for this favor, may thy beauty and grace be esteemed beyond those of all other serpents. "

"I have had enough to do with poetry, " comments Montaigne on thiscouplet, "to say about this that not only is there nothing barbarous inthis fancy, but that it is altogether worthy of Anacreon. " Such is hisenthusiasm, indeed, that he finds in this simple and faithful expressionof sentiment the highest form of poesy; "the true, the supreme, thedivine; that which is above rules and beyond reasoning. "[72]

Scarcely can we call these words extravagant, when, in our own century, another Frenchman, eminent as a scientific observer, and speaking fromthe results of personal study on the spot, has said of the songs of atribe of this same Tupi stock, the Guarayos, that they cannot besurpassed for grace of language and delicacy of expression. [73]

Many interesting Klamath, Omaha and Zuni verses have been collected bythe efforts of Gatschet, Dorsey, Cushing and other zealous laborersconnected with the Bureau of Ethnology at Washington, and these willshortly be accessible to all through the accurate publications of thegovernment press. 

The melodious Nahuatl tongue lent itself readily to poetic composition, and was cultivated enthusiastically in this direction long before theConquest. Apparently the poetic dialect never freed itself from the useof unmeaning particles thrown in to complete the meter; as, indeed, mayalso be said of the English popular song dialect, which retains to thisday very many such. [74]

With this exception the Tezcucan poets, for it was in that province thatthe muses were most assiduously worshiped, made use of a pure, brilliant, figurative style, and had developed a large variety ofmetrical forms. 

One of the most famous disciples of the lyre was Nezahualcoyotl, himselfsovereign of Tezcuco about the year 1460. He left seventy odes onphilosophical and religious subjects, which were borne in memory andrepeated after the Conquest. Translations of a few of them have comedown to us, but my inquiries as to the whereabouts of the originals, if, indeed, they exist, have been fruitless. [75] The Jesuit, Horatio Carochi, published some ancient verses in his grammar of the Nahuatl (Mexico, 1645). Several which appear in later works do not seem to merit thecredit of antiquity. They are more like those which Sahagun wrote andpublished, in Nahuatl, at a very early period, [76] Christian songs, intended to take the place of the ditties of love and chants of war, which the natives had such a passion for singing. 

Under the title _Cantares de los Mexicanos_, there was longpreserved in the library of the University of Mexico a manuscript of thesixteenth or seventeenth century, with a large number of supposedancient Aztec songs; but what has become of it now, nobody knows. [77]Thus it is that these precious monuments of antiquity are allowed to lieuncared for, through generations, until, at length, they fall a prey toignorance or theft. 

A few other fragments of Nahuatl poetry, all probably modern, but someof them the versification of native bards, might be named; but the wholeof it, as now existing, could give us but a faint idea of the perfectionto which the art appears to have attained in the palmy days of the greatTezcucan poet-prince. 

In the literature of the Maya group of dialects, there have beenpreserved various sacred chants, some in the _Books of ChilanBalam_, others in the Kiche _Popol Vuh_. What are known as the"Maya Prophecies" are, as I have said, evidently the originals, orechoes of the mystic songs of the priests of Kukulkan and Itzamna, deities of the Maya pantheon, who were supposed to inspire theirdevotees with the power of foretelling the future. 

The modern Maya lends itself very readily both to rhyme and rhythm, andI have in my possession some quite neat specimens of versification init, from the pen of the Yucatecan historian, Apolinar Garcia y Garcia. 

When we reach Peru we find a race not less poetical in temperament thanthe cultured Mexicans. Nothing but their ignorance of an alphabet, andthe indifference or fanatical hatred of the early explorers for theproductions of the native intellect, prevented the perpetuation of aQquichua literature, both extensive and noble. As it is, we may expectmany valuable examples of it when the learned Peruvian scholar, SenorGavino Pacheco Zegarra, shall publish his long promised _Tresor de laLangue des Incas_. Among them he has announced the first appearanceof a number of _Yaravis_, or elegiac chants, composed by theIndians themselves, and sung in memory of their departed friends. 

We know, from the testimony of Garcillaso de la Vega, that the Incabards formed a separate and highly respected class, and that in theirhands the supple Qquichua tongue had been brought under well recognizedrules of prosody. He mentions the different classes and subjects oftheir poems, compares them to similar compositions in Spanish, and evengives specimens of two short ones, of undoubted antiquity, and addsthat, when a boy, he knew many others. "What would not one now give, "exclaims Mr. Markham, "for those precious relics of Inca civilization, which the half-caste lad allowed to slip from his memory. "[78] All thatMr. Markham could collect, in his extensive journeys in Peru, were notabove twenty songs of ancient date, and I regret to say that these havenot yet been published. 

Of those charming Tupi songs, to which I have already referred, I fearthat we have but very few preserved in the original tongue. Not thatthere is any lack of poems in the _lingoa geral_, or "commonlanguage" of Brazil, as the ordinary and corrupt Tupi there spoken iscalled. It is a melodious idiom, lending itself easily to rhyme andrhythm, and several Brazilian writers of European blood have gainedreputation by their compositions in it. But of genuine aboriginalproductions, there are not many. 

The entertaining old voyager, Jean de Lery, who visited Brazil withVillegagnon in 1557, has recorded a few simple airs, which appear to bemerely choruses or refrains of songs, the delivery of which was, however, so effective, that to hear them carried him out of himself; andever, when his memory recalled them, his heart beat, and it seemed thathe heard the wild cadence once again resounding in his ears through thetropical forests. [79]

Some strange old poetic invocations in archaic Tupi addressed to themoon and to the god of love, Ruda, who dwells in the clouds, have beencollected and printed by Dr. Couto de Magalhaes, a writer whose studieson Tupi poetry, its character and development, merit high praise. [80]Both the songs and music of the modern natives of that country attractedthe attention of the learned Von Martius, and in his volumes of_Travels in Brazil_ an appendix is devoted to their discussion. [81]Many excellent hints for preparing a Tupi anthology are also containedin an erudite note of Ferdinand Denis to his description of the visit offifty native Tupis to France, in 1550. [82]

Section 7. _Dramatic Literature_. 

The development of the dramatic art can be clearly tracedin the American nations. When the Spaniards first exploredthe West Indian Islands they found the inhabitants muchgiven to festivals which combined dancing with chanting, and the introduction of figures with peculiar costumes. Thenative name of these representations was adopted by theSpaniards, and applied to such performances elsewhere. Theword is _areytos_, and is derived from the Arawack verb, _aririn_, to rehearse, recite. [83]

Such dramatic recitations were found among most of the tribes of Northand South America, and have been frequently described by travelers. Often they were of a religious nature, having something to do withdevotional exercises; but not seldom they were simply for amusement. Occasionally they were mere pantomimes, where the actors appeared incostume and masks, and went through some ludicrous scene. Thus, to quoteone example out of many, Lieutenant Timberlake saw some among theCherokees, about the middle of the last century, which he speaks of as"very diverting, " where some of the actors dressed in the skins of wildanimals, and the simulated contest between these pretended beasts andthe men who hunted them, were the motives of the entertainment. [84]

From the solemn religious representations on the one hand and thesediverting masquerades on the other, arose the two forms of tragedy andcomedy, both of which were widely popular among the Americanaborigines. [85] The effete notion that they were either unimaginative orinsusceptible to humor is, to be sure, still retained by a few writers, who are either ignorant or prejudiced; but it has been refuted so oftenthat I need not stop to attack it. In fact, so many tribes were of a gayand frolicsome disposition, so much given to joking, to playing onwords, and to noticing the humorous aspect of occurrences, that theyhave not unfrequently been charged by the whites best acquainted withthem, the missionaries, with levity and a frivolous temperament. 

Among the many losses which American ethnology has suffered, that of thetext of the native dramas is one of the most regretable. Is is, however, not total. Two have been published which claim to be, and I think are, faithful renditions of the ancient texts as they were transmittedverbally, from one to another, in pre-Columbian times. 

The most celebrated of these is the drama of _Ollanta_, [86] in theQquichua language of Peru. No less than eight editions of this have beenpublished, the last and best of which is that by the meritoriousscholar, Senor Gavino Pacheco Zegarra. The internal evidence of theantiquity of this drama has been pronounced conclusive by all competentQquichua students. [87]

The plot is varied and ingenious, and the characters agreeablycontrasted. Ollanta is a warrior of low degree, who falls in love withCusi Coyllur, daughter of the Inca, who returns his affection. Thelovers have secret meetings, and Ollanta asks the sovereign to sanctiontheir union. The proud ruler rejects the proposal with scorn, and theaudacious warrior gathers his adherents and attacks the State, at firstwith success. But Cusi Coyllur is thrown into prison and her child, thefruit of her illicit love, is separated from her. The Inca dies, andunder his successor Ollanta is defeated and brought, a prisoner, to thecapital. Mindful, however, of his merits, the magnanimous victor pardonshim, restores him to his honors, and returns to his arms Cusi Coyllurand her child. Minor characters are a facetious youth, who is constantlypunning and joking; and the dignified figure of the High Priest of theSun, who endeavors to dissuade the hero from his seemingly hopelesslove. 

The second drama to which I refer is that of _Rabinal Achi_, in theKiche tongue of Guatemala. The text was obtained by the Abbe Brasseur deBourbourg, and edited with a French translation. The plot is lesscomplete than that of the _Ollanta_, and the constant repetitions, while they constitute strong evidence of its antiquity and nativeorigin, are tedious to a European reader. [88]

Rabinal-Achi is a warrior who takes captive a distinguished foe, Canek, and brings him before the ruler of Rabinal, King Hobtoh. The fate of theprisoner is immediate death and he knows it, but his audacity andbravery do not fail him. He boasts of his warlike exploits, and tauntshis captors, like an Iroquois in his death song, and his enemies listenwith respect. He even threatens the king, and has to be restrained fromattacking him. As his end draws near, he asks to drink from the royalcup and eat from the royal dish; it is granted. Again, he asks to beclothed in the royal robe; it is brought and put about him. Once more hemakes a request, and it is to kiss the virgin mouth of the daughter ofthe king, and dance a measure with her, "as the last sign of his deathand his end. " Even this is conceded, and one might think that it was hisuttermost petition. But no; he asks one year's grace, wherein to bidadieu to his native mountains. The king hears this in silence, and Canekdisappears; but returning in a moment, he scornfully inquires whetherthey supposed he had run away. He then, in a few strong words, bids alast farewell to his bow, his shield, his war-club and battle-axe, andis slain by the warriors of the king. 

The love of dramatic performances was not crushed out in the natives bythe Conquest. In fact, in the Spanish countries, it was turned toaccount and cultivated by the missionaries as a means of instructingtheir converts in religion, by "miracle plays" or _autossacramentales_, as they are called. It was even permitted to the moreintelligent natives to compose the text of plays. One such, manifestly, I think, the work of a native author, in the mixed Nahuatl-Spanishdialect of Nicaragua, I have prepared for publication. The original wasfound by Dr. Berendt in Masaya, and his copy, without note ortranslation, came into my hands. 

The play is a light comedy, and is called "The Ballet of the Gueegueenceor the Macho-Raton. " The characters are a wily old rascal, Gueegueence, and his two sons, the one a chip of the old block, the other a bittercommentator on the family failings. They are brought before the Governorfor entering his province without a permit; but by bragging and promisesthe foxy old man succeeds both in escaping punishment and in effecting amarriage between his scapegrace son and the Governor's daughter. Theinterest is not in the plot, which is trivial, but in the constant playon words, and in the humor, often highly Rabelaisian, of the anythingbut venerable parent. 

The "Zacicoxol, " or Drama of Cortes and Montezuma, written in Kiche, ofwhich I have a copy, may possibly be the work of an Indian, but isprobably largely that of one of the Spanish curas, and appears to havelittle in it of interest. 

Another and peculiar form of dramatic recitation is what are called theLoas or _Logas_, of Central America. In these, a single individualappears in some quaint costume, in a little theatre erected for thepurpose, and recites a burlesque poem, acting the different portions ofit to the best of his ability. At present, most of these _Logas_are of a semi-religious character. The one I have is entitled "The Logaof the Child-God, " _Loga del nino Dios_, and is written in Spanishintermingled with words from the Mangue or Chorotegan language. Thistongue, spoken by a few persons in Nicaragua, is closely akin to theChapanec of Chiapas, and was a sonorous and rich idiom. Those who spokeit were much given to scenic representations, as we learn from thehistorian Oviedo, who lived among them for nearly a year, about 1527. None of these remain, though as late as about 1820, one of greatantiquity, believed to be an original native production, continued to beacted. Its title was _La Ollita_ or _El Canahuate_, the formerword meaning the peculiar musical instrument of that locality, the"whistling jar. " The subject was a tale of love, and one of theseprimitive flutes was used as an accompaniment to the songs. 

Section 8. _Conclusion_. 

Thus do I answer the questions which I proposed at the outset of mythesis. If I have failed to justify the expectations which I may haveraised, at least I have thrown into strong relief the cause of myfailure, to wit, the utter and incredible neglect which, up to thishour, has prevailed with regard to the preservation of what relics ofnative literature which we know have existed, --which do still exist. 

Time and money are spent in collecting remains in wood and stone, inpottery and tissue and bone, in laboriously collating isolated words, and in measuring ancient constructions. This is well, for all thesethings teach us what manner of men made up the indigenous race, whatwere their powers, their aspirations, their mental grasp. But closer tovery self, to thought and being, are the connected expressions of men intheir own tongues. The monuments of a nation's literature are morecorrect mirrors of its mind than any merely material objects. I have atleast shown that there are some such, which have been the work of nativeAmerican authors. My object is to engage in their preservation andpublication the interest of scholarly men, of learned societies, ofenlightened governments, of liberal institutions and individuals, notonly in my own country, but throughout the world. Science iscosmopolitan, and the study of man is confined by no geographicalboundaries. The languages of America and the literary productions inthose languages have every whit as high a claim on the attention ofEuropean scholars as have the venerable documents of Chinese lore, themysterious cylinders of Assyria, or the painted and figured papyri ofthe Nilotic tombs. 

 * * * * *

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: What Dr. Washington Matthews says of one of the Siouxtribes is, in substance, true of all on the Continent:--

"Long winter evenings are often passed in reciting and listening tostories of various kinds. Some of these are simply the accounts given bythe men, of their own deeds of valor, their hunts and journeys; some arenarrations of the wonderful adventures of departed heroes; while manyare fictions, full of impossible incidents, of witchcraft and magic. Thelatter class of stories are very numerous. Some of them have been handeddown through many generations; some are of recent origin; while a feware borrowed from other tribes. Some old men acquire great reputation asstory tellers, and are invited to houses, and feasted, by those who aredesirous of listening to them. Good story tellers often originate tales, and do not disclaim the authorship. When people of different tribes meetthey often exchange tales with one another. An old Indian will occupyseveral hours in telling a tale, with much elegant and minutedescription. "--_Ethnography and Philology of the Hidatsa Indians_, pp. 62-3. (Washington, 1877. )]

[Footnote 2: That these assertions are not merely my own, but those ofthe most profound students of these tongues, will be seen from thefollowing extracts, which could easily be added to:--

"This language [the Cree] will be found to be adequate, not only to themere expression of their wants, but to that of every circumstance orsentiment that can, in any way, interest or affect uncultivatedminds. "--Joseph Howse, _A Grammar of the Cree Language_, p. 12. (London, 1865. )

"J'ai affirme que nos deux grandes langues du Nouveau Monde [theIroquois and the Algonkin] etaient tres claires, tres precises, exprimant avec facilite non seulement les relations exterieures desidees, mais encore leur relations metaphysiques. C'est ce qu' outcommence de demontrer mes premiers chapitres de grammaire, et cequ'achevera de faire voir ce que je vais dire sur les verbes. "--Rev. M. Cuoq, _Jugement Errone de M. Ernest Renan sur les LanguesSauvages. _ p. 32 (2d Ed. Montreal, 1869. )

"Affermo che non e facile di trovare una lingua piu atta della Messicanaa trattar le materie metafisiche; poiche e difficile di trovarneun' altra, che tanto abbondi, quanto quella, di nomi astratte. "--Clavigero, _Storia Antica del Messico_, Tomo IV, p. 244. (Cesena, 1781. )

"Todos los bellisimos sentimientos que se albergan en los noblescorazones en ninguna otra de aquellas lenguas (Europeas) puedenencontrar una expresion tan viva tan patetica y energica como la quetienen en Mexicano. ?En cual otra se habla con tanto acatamiento, conveneracion tan profunda, de los altisimos mysterios de ineffable amorque nos muestra el Cristianismo?"--Fr. Agustin de la Rosa, in the _Ecode la Fe_. (Merida, 1870. )

Alcide d'Orbigny argues forcibly to the same effect, of the SouthAmerican languages:--"Les Quichuas et les Aymaras civilises ont unelangue etendue, pleine de figures elegantes, de comparaisons naives, depoesie, surtout lorsqu'il s'agit d'amour; et il ne faut pas croirequ'isoles au sein des forets sauvages ou jetes au milieu des plainessans bornes, les peuples chasseurs, agriculteurs et guerriers, soientprives de formes elegantes, de figures riches et variees. "--_L'HommeAmericain_, Tome I, p. 154. 

For other evidence see Brinton, _American Hero Myths_, p. 25. (Philadelphia, 1882. ). Horatio Hale, _The Iroquois Book of Rites_, p. 107. (Philadelphia, 1883. )]

[Footnote 3: _Ethnography and Philology of the Hidatsa Indians_, p. 18. ]

[Footnote 4: _The Tribes of California_, p. 73. (Washington, 1877. )]

[Footnote 5: "Il n'est pas rare de trouver des individus parlant jusqu'atrois ou quatre langues, aussi distinctes entr'elles que le francais etl'allemand. "--Alcide D'Orbigny, _L'Homme Americain_, Tome I, p. 170. The generality of this fact in South America was noted by Humboldt, _Voyage aux Regions Tropicales_, T. III, p. 308. ]

[Footnote 6: "Hay muchos de ellos buenos gramaticos, y componenoraciones largas y bien autorizadas, y versos exametros ypentametros. "--Toribio de Motilinia, _Historia de los Indios de laNueva Espana_, Tratado III, cap. XII. ]

[Footnote 7: _Menologio Franciscano de los Varones mas Senalados de laProvincia de Mexico_, Tomo IV, pp. 447-9. (Mexico, 1871. )

In the Prologue to the _Sermonario Mexicano_ of F. Juan de Bautista(Mexico, 1606), is a well-written letter, in Latin, by Don AntonioValeriano, a native of Atzcaputzalco, who was professor of grammar andrhetoric in the College of Tlatilulco. Bautista says of him that hespoke extempore in Latin with the eloquence of a Cicero or a Quintilian;and his contemporary, the academician Francisco Cervantes Salazar, writes: "Magistrum habent [Indi] ejusdem nationis, Antonium Valerianum, nostris grammaticis nequaquam inferiorem, in legis christianaeobservatione satis doctum et ad eloquentiam avidissimum. "--_TresDialogos Latinos de Francisco Cervantes Salazar_, p. 150 (Ed. Icazbalceta, Mexico, 1875). ]

[Footnote 8: Francisco de Paula Garcia Pelaez, _Memorias para laHistoria del Antiguo Reyno de Guatemala_, Tomo III, pp. 201 and 221(Guatemala, 1852). ]

[Footnote 9: _Ritos Antiguos, Sacrificios e Idolatrias de los Indiosde la Nueva Espana_, in the _Coleccion de Documentos Ineditos parala Historia de Espana_, Tom. 53, p. 300. ]

[Footnote 10: _A Study of the Manuscript Troano_. By Cyrus Thomas, Ph. D. , with an Introduction by D. G. Brinton, M. D. , p. Xxvii. (Washington, 1883. )]

[Footnote 11: "Tenian libros de pergaminos que hacian de los cueros devenados, tan anchos como una mano o mas, e tan luengos como diez o docepassos, e mas e menos, que se encogian e doblaban e resumian en eltamano e grandeza de una mano por sus dobleces uno contra otro (amanera de reclamo); y en aquestos tenian pintados sus caracteres ofiguras de tinta roxa o negra, de tal manera que aunque no eran leturani escritura, significaban y se entendian por ellas todo lo que querianmuy claramente. "--Oviedo, _Historia General y Natural de Indias_, Lib. XLII, cap. I. ]

[Footnote 12: "Une ecriture consistant en raies tracees sur de petitesplanchettes. "--Alcide D'Orbigny, _L'Homme Americain_, Tomo L, p. 170, on the authority of Viedma, _Informe general de la Provincia deSanta Cruz, MS_. ]

[Footnote 13: _Legends and Tales of the Eskimo_. (Edinburgh andLondon, 1875. )]

[Footnote 14: _Pok, Kalalek avalangnek, etc. _, Nongme, 1857; or, _Pok, en Groenlaender, som har reist og ved sin Hjemkomst, etc. Eftergamle Handskrifter fundne hos Groenlaendere ved Godthaab. _ Godthaab, 1857. ]

[Footnote 15: _Kaladlit Assilialit, etc. _ See Thomas W. Field, _Indian Bibliography_, p. 199. (New York, 1873. )]

[Footnote 16: First printed in _The American Whig Review_, New York, Feb. 1849; reprinted in _The Indian Miscellany_, edited by W. W. Beach, Albany, 1877. I have not been able to find the original. ]

[Footnote 17: Horatio Hale, _The Iroquois Book of Rites_. (Philadelphia, 1883. ) It is No. II of my "Library of Aboriginal AmericanLiterature. "

The introductory essay, in ten chapters, treats at considerable lengthof the ethnology and history of the Huron-Iroquois nations, the IroquoisLeague and its founders (Hiawatha, Dekanawidah, and their associates), the origin of the Book of Rites, the composition of the Federal Council, the clan system, the laws of the League, and the historical traditionsrelating to it, the Iroquois character and public policy, and theIroquois language. A map prefixed to the work shows the location of theUnited Nations and of the surrounding tribes. ]

[Footnote 18: _Recit de Francois Kaondinoketc, Chef des Nipissingues(tribu de race Algonquine) ecrit par lui-meme en 1848. --Traduit enFrancais et accompagne de notes par_ M. N. O. , 8vo. Pp. 8. (Paris, 1877. )]

[Footnote 19: _The National Legend of the Chata-Muskokee Tribes_. ByDaniel G. Brinton, M. D. Morrisania, N. Y. , 1870. 4to. Pp. 13. Reprintedfrom _The Historical Magazine_, February, 1870. ]

[Footnote 20: "Les chefs des vieillards m'avoient souvent parle de leursancetres, des courses qu'ils avoient faites, et des combats qu'ilsavoient eu a soutenir, avant que la nation put se fixer ou elle estaujourd'hui. L'histoire de ces premiers Creeks, qui portoient alors lenom de Moskoquis, etoit conservee par des banderoles ou chapelets, "etc. --_Memoire ou Coup-d'Oeil Rapide sur mes different Voyages et monSejour dans la Nation Creck, _ Par le Gen. Milfort, pp. 48, 229. (Paris, An. XI, 1802). ]

[Footnote 21: "We burned all we could find of them, " writes Bishop Landa, "which pained the natives to an extraordinary degree. "--_Relacion delas Cosas de Yucatan_, p. 316. For a discussion of what was destroyedat Mani see Cogolludo, _Historia de Yucatan_, 3d Ed. , Vol. I, p. 604, note by the Editor. The efforts which have of late been made bySenor Icazbalceta and the Reverend Canon Carrillo to modify the generalopinion of these acts of vandalism cannot possibly be successful. Theruthless hostility of the Church to the ancient civilization, anhostility founded on religious intolerance, could be proved by hundredsof extracts from the early writers. ]

[Footnote 22: Boturini's work is entitled _Idea de una Nueva HistoriaGeneral de la America Septentrional fundada sobre material copiosodefiguras, Symbolos, Caracteres, y Geroglificos, Cantares y Manuscritosde Autores Indios_. Madrid, 1746. The fate of his collection issketched by Brasseur de Bourbourg, in the introduction to his_Histoire des Nations civilisees de Mexique et de l'AmeriqueCentrale_, Vol I. ]

[Footnote 23: The following extract from Ixtlilxochitl sums up the nativeauthorities on which he relied for the particulars of the life of thelast prince of Tezcuco, and merits quotation as a bit of literaryhistory:--

"Autores son de todo lo referido, y de los demas de su vida y hechos losinfantes de Mexico Ytzcoatzin y Xiuhcozcatzin, y otros Poetas yHistoricos en los anales de las tres cabezas de esta Nueva Espana, y enparticular en los anales que hizo el infante Quauhtlazaciulotzin, primerSenor del pueblo de Chiauhtla; y asimismo se halla en las relaciones queescribieron los infantes de la ciudad de Tezcuco, Don Pablo, DonToribio, Don Hernando Pimentel y Juan de Pomar hijos y nietos del ReyNezalhualpiltzintli de Tezcuco, y asimismo el infante Don AlonsoAxiaicatzin Senor de Itztapalapan, hijo del rey de Cuitlahuac, y sobrinodel rey Motecutzomatzin. "--Ixtlilxochitl, _Historia Chichimeca_, cap. XLIX. ]

[Footnote 24: In the celebrated library of J. F. Ramirez, were two foliovolumes, containing 1022 pages, entitled _Anales Antiguos de Mexico ysus Contornos_. They included, besides various Spanish accounts, 27fragments in the Nahuatl language, some translated and some not. Thetitles of all are given by Don Joaquin Garcia Icazbalceta, in hisvaluable and rare _Apuntes para un Catalogo de Escritores en LenguasIndigenas de America_, pp. 140-142. (Mexico, 1866. )]

[Footnote 25: _Memorial del Pueblo de Teptlaustuque, en la NuevaEspana; en que se refiere su Origen i Poblacion, i de los Tributos iServicios, antes i despues de la Conquista; todo pintado, i M. S. _ Enla Libreria del Rei. Antonio de Leon i Pinelo, _BibliothecaOccidental_. The district of Tepetlaoztoc belonged to Tezcuco. ]

[Footnote 26: "Don Gabriel Castaneda, Indio principal, natural deMichuacan Colomocho en la Provincia de Mejico. Escribio en LenguaMegicana, _Relacion_ de la Jornada que hizo Sandoval Acaxitli, Cacique y Senor de Tlalmanalco, con el Sr. Visorey Don Antonio deMendoza en la Conquista de los Chichimecas de Xuchipila, 1541. "--Beristain y Souza, _Biblioteca Hispano-AmericanaSeptentrional_, s. V. ]

[Footnote 27: For testimony to this interesting fact see _The MayaChronicles_, Introduction, p. 28, note. ]

[Footnote 28: _The Books of Chilan Balam, The Prophetic and HistoricRecords of the Mayas of Yucatan_. By Daniel G. Brinton, M. D. , Philadelphia, 1882. Reprint from the _Penn Monthly_, March, 1882. ]

[Footnote 29: _Library of Aboriginal American Literature_, Vol. I, p. 189. (Philadelphia, 1882. )]

[Footnote 30: An intelligent appreciation of the linguistic labors of PioPerez was written by Dr. Berendt, in 1871, and printed inMexico. --_Los Trabajos Linguisticos de Don Juan Pio Perez_. 8vo. Pp. 6. ]

[Footnote 31: _Disertacion sobre la Historia de la Lengua Maya oYucateca_. Por Crescencio Carrillo. Published in the _Revista deMerida_, 1870. ]

[Footnote 32: A fine manuscript of Vico's work, as well as a number ofother productions in Cakchiquel, by the missionaries, are in the libraryof the American Philosophical Society, at Philadelphia. ]

[Footnote 33: Tecpan Atitlan is a village on the shore of Lake Atitlan, in the province of Solola, Guatemala. ]

[Footnote 34: Don Domingo Juarros, _Compendio de la Historia de laCiudad de Guatemala_, Tomo, II pp. 6, 7, 12, 16, et al. (Ed. Guatemala, 1857). A copy of Tzumpan's writings is said to be in aprivate library in the United States. 

The native Cakchiquel writers were also the authorities on which FatherVazquez depended, in part, in composing his history of Guatemala. Hegives a partial translation of one, beginning the passage: "Los Indiosde Zolola dizen en sus escritos, " etc. --Fray Francisco Vazquez, _Cronica de la Provincia de Guatemala_, Lib. III, Cap. XXXVI. (Guatemala, 1714, 1716. )]

[Footnote 35: Brasseur de Bourbourg, _BibliothequeMexico-Guatemalienne_, p. 142. (Paris, 1871. )]

[Footnote 36: _Titulos de la Casa de Ixcuin-Nehaib, Senora delTerritorio de Otzoya_. Guatemala, 1876. 8vo. Pp. 15. Reprint from the_Boletin de la Sociedad Economica de Guatemala_. ]

[Footnote 37: _Las Historias del Origen de los Indios de esta Provinciade Guatemala, traducidas de la lengua Quiche al Castellano_. Por elR. P. F. Francisco Ximenez. 8vo. Vienna, 1857. ]

[Footnote 38: _Popol Vuh. Le Livre Sacre et les Mythes de l'AntiquiteAmericaine, avec les livres heroiques et historiques des Quiches_. Par l'Abbe Brasseur de Bourbourg. (Paris, 1861. )]

[Footnote 39: _The Names of the Gods in the Kiche Myths of CentralAmerica_. By Daniel G. Brinton, M. D. 8vo. Pp. 37. (Philadelphia, 1881. ) Reprint from the _Proceedings_ of the American PhilosophicalSociety, 1881. ]

[Footnote 40: Boturini, _Idea de una Nueva Historia de la AmericaSeptentrional_, p. 115. ]

[Footnote 41: Cabrera, _Teatro Critico Americano_, p 33. ]

[Footnote 42: _American Hero-Myths_, pp. 213-217. (Philadelphia, 1882. )]

[Footnote 43: On this Qquichua MS. See Marcos Jimenez de la Espada, _Tres Relaciones de Antiguedades Peruanas_. Introd. P. 34. ]

[Footnote 44: _Relacion de las Costumbres Antiguas de los Naturales delPiru_, printed in the work last quoted, p. 142, note. ]

[Footnote 45: "En cabildo de 29 de Julio de 1692, el capitan Don Antoniode Fuentes y Guzman trajo a esta sala siete peticiones escritas encortezas de arboles. "--Francisco de Paula Garcia Pelaez, _Memoriaspara la Historia del Antiguo Reyno de Guatemala_, Tom. II, p. 267. (Guatemala, 1852. )]

[Footnote 46: _O Selvagem. Trabalho Preparatorio para aproveitamento deSelvagem e de solo por elle occupado no Brazil_. Rio de Janeiro, 1876. ]

[Footnote 47: _Notes on the Lingoa Geral, or Modern Tupi of theAmazonas_, in the _Transactions_ of the American PhilologicalAssociation, for 1872. ]

[Footnote 48: Boturini, _Idea de una Nueva Historia_, etc. , App. Pp. 57 et seq. ; Didacus Valades, _Rhetorica Christiana_, Pars Secunda(Perusia, 1579); Gemelli Carreri, _Giro del Mundo_. ]

[Footnote 49: Stephens, _Travels in Yucatan_, Vol. I, p. 449(London, 1843). ]

[Footnote 50: _Relacion de las Ceremonias y Ritos de Mechoacan_. TheMS. Of this work, in the Library of Congress, does not contain theCalendar which the author, in the body of the work, promises to append;nor apparently does the copy in Madrid, from which the work was printed, in Vol. 53 of the _Coleccion de Documentos Ineditos para la Historiade Espana_. ]

[Footnote 51: _Pintura del Gobernador, Alcaldes y Regidores de Mexico. Codex en Geroglificos Mexicanos y en lengua Castellana y Azteca. _First published at Madrid, 1878. A specimen of the map, "CarteGeographique Azteque, " is given by Professor Leon de Rosny, in _LesDocuments Ecrit de l'Antiquite Americaine_, p. 70 (Paris, 1882). ]

[Footnote 52: Stephens, _Travels in Yucatan_, Vol. II, p. 265, givesa Maya map of Mani. A more complete study of the subject is that ofCarrillo, _Geografia Maya_, in the _Anales del Museo Nacional deMexico_, Tom. II, p. 435. ]

[Footnote 53: _Silabario de Idioma Mexicano, dispuesto por el_ Lic. Faustino Chimalpopocatl Galicia, Mexico, 1849, 8vo. Pp. 16. Secondedition, Mexico, 1859, 8vo. Pp. 32. Also _Epitome o Modo Facil deAprender el Idioma Nahuatl_, 12mo. Pp. 124, Mexico, 1869. ]

[Footnote 54: _Elementos de la Gramatica Megicana_, por Don AntonioTobar Cano y Moctezuma. Written about 1642. ]

[Footnote 55: _Confessionario Mayor y Menor en Lengua Mexicana, yPlaticas contra las Supersticiones de Idolatria, que el dia de oy anquedado a los Naturales desta Nueva Espana_. Ano de 1634. Mexico. Acopy of this scarce volume is in my library. ]

[Footnote 56: Dr. Couto de Magalhaes remarks: "Como o nome indica, estemissionario devia ser algum mestico que, com o leite materno, beben osprimeiros rudimentos da grande lingua Sul-Americana. "--_Origens, Costumes e Regias Selvagem_, p. 62 (Rio de Janeiro, 1876). In 1876 M. Varuhagen published, at Vienna, a _Historia da paixao de Christo etaboa dos parentescos em lingua Tupi_, written by Yapuguay, anextract, apparently, from the volume mentioned in the text. The editionwas only 100 copies. ]

[Footnote 57: C. F. Hartt, _On the Lingoa Geral of the Amazonas_, p. 3, in the _Transactions_ of the American Philological Association, 1872. ]

[Footnote 58: _Tah-gah-jute; or, Logan and Cresap. An HistoricalEssay. _ By Brantz Mayer. (Albany, 1867. )]

[Footnote 59: _History of the American Indians_, pp. 52, 63. (London, 1775. )]

[Footnote 60: James Howse, A Grammar of the Cree Language, p. 11. (London, 1865. )]

[Footnote 61: "Piensan que un hombre que habla sin cortarse y con solturadebe ser de una naturaleza superior y privilegiada. Por solo estacircumstancia ascienden el grado de Ghulmenes o caciques, u hombresnotables. " Federico Barbara, _Manual o Vocabulario de la LenguaPampa_, p. 164. (Buenos Aires, 1879. )]

[Footnote 62: Rev. Cyrus Byington, _Grammar of the ChoctawLanguage_, p. 20 (Philadelphia, 1870. )]

[Footnote 63: _Huehue_, ancient; _tlatolli_, words, speeches. Aspecial variety were the _calmecatlatolli_, the declamations whichthe youths of noble families were taught to deliver in the spacioushalls of the _calmecac_, or public schools. "Calmeca tlatolli, palabras dichas en corredores largos. E tomase por los dichos yfictiones de los viejos antiguos. " Molina, _Vocabulario de la LenguaMexicana, sub voce_. The word _calmecac_ is a compound of _calli_, house, and _mecana_, to give, it being the building furnished bythe State for purposes of public instruction. ]

[Footnote 64: Fr. Juan Baptista (or Bautista), _Platicas Morales enLengua Mexicana, intitulados Huehuetlatolli_, 8vo. Mexico (1599? or1601?). This work is not mentioned by Icazbalceta, but is described inBerendt's notes, and a copy was sold in Paris in 1869. It is enumeratedby Vetancurt, _Menologio Franciscano_, p. 446 (2d ed. ). ]

[Footnote 65: Olmos, _Grammaire de la Langue Nahuatl_, pp. 231 sqq. (Paris 1875. )]

[Footnote 66: _Narratives of the Rites and Laws of the Incas. _Translated by C. R. Markham. Printed for the Hackluyt Society (London, 1873). ]

[Footnote 67: _Chrestomathie de la Langue Maya_, in _Etude sur leSysteme Graphique et la Langue des Mayas. _ (Paris, 1870. )]

[Footnote 68: Bernal Diaz gives an interesting account of this "blacksermon, " as he calls it. The incident is significant, as it shows thatthe natives were accustomed to gather around their places of worship, tolisten to addresses by the priests. See the _Historia Verdadera de laConquista de la Nueva Espana_, Cap. XXVII. (Madrid, 1632. )]

[Footnote 69: Some judicious remarks on the origin and development ofaboriginal poetry are offered by Theodore Baker, in his excellentmonograph on the music of the North American Indians, but his field ofview was somewhat too restricted to do the subject full justice, as, indeed, he acknowledges. _Ueber die Musik der Nord-AmericanischenWilden_, von Theodor Baker, pp. 6-14. (Leipzig, 1882. )]

[Footnote 70: Schoolcraft, _History, Condition and Prospects of theIndian Tribes of the United States_, vol. V, p. 559. ]

[Footnote 71: _Grammaire et Vocabulaire de la Langue Taensa, avecTextes traduits et commentes_. Par J. D. Haumonte, Parisot, et L. Adam. Paris, 1882. ]

[Footnote 72: "Or, i'ay assez de commerce avec la poesie pour juger cecy, que non seulement il n'y a rien de barbaric en cette imagination, maisqu'elle est tout a faict anacreontique. "--_Essais de Michel deMontaigne_, Liv. I, cap. XXX, and comp. Cap. XXXVI. ]

[Footnote 73: "Chez les Guarayos, ces hymnes religieux et allegoriques, si riches en figures. --Il est impossible de trouver rien de plusgracieux. "

"Quant a leurs poetes, le charme avec lequel ils peignent l'amour, annonce, certainement en eux, une intelligence developpee et autantd'esprit que de sensibilite. "--Alcide D'Orbigny, _L'HommeAmericain_, Tome I, pp. 155, 170. ]

[Footnote 74: "Negli avanci, che si restano della lor Poesia, vi sonoalcuni versi, ne'quali tra le parole significative si vedono frappostecerte interjezioni, o sillabe prive d'ogni significazione, e soltantoadoperate, per quel ch'appare, per aggiustarsi al metro. Il linguaggiodella lor Poesia era puro, ameno, brilliante, figurato, e fregiato difrequenti comparazioni fatte colle cose piu piacevoli della natura, siccome fiori, alberi, ruscelli, &c. "--_Clavigero, Storia diMessico_. Tom. II, p. 175. ]

[Footnote 75: The originals of some of these poems were in the hands ofIxtlilxochitl, as is evident from his _Historia Chichimeca_, cap. XLVII. ]

[Footnote 76: Sahagun, _Psalmodia Xpiana_. (Mexico, 1583?) Anextremely rare book, which I have never seen. Clavigero saw a copy, andthinks it was printed about 1540. _Storia di Messico_, Tom. II, p, 178, Note. ]

[Footnote 77: It is mentioned by Icazbalceta, _Apuntes para un Catalogode Escritores en Lenguas Indigenas de America_, p. 146. (Mexico, 1866. ) There are, however, two copies of it extant, somewhere. ]

[Footnote 78: See Mr. Clements R. Markham's Introductions to his editionof the _Ollanta_ drama (London, 1871); and to his _QquichuaGrammar and Dictionary_ (London, 1864). ]

[Footnote 79: "I'en demeurai tout rauy; mais aussi toutes les fois qu'ilm'en ressouuient, le coeur m'en tressaillant, il me semble que ie lesaye encor aux oreilles. "--Jean de Lery, _Histoire d'un voyage faict enla terre du Bresil, autrement dite Amerique_, pp. 258, 286. (Geneve, 1585. )]

[Footnote 80: See his _Origens, Costumes e Regiaeo Selvagem_, pp. 78-82, 140-147. (Rio de Janeiro, 1876. )]

[Footnote 81: Spix and Martius, _Reise in Brasilien, BrasilianischeVolkslieder und Indianische Melodien, Musikbeilage_. ]

[Footnote 82: _Une Fete Bresilienne celebree a Rouen en 1550 suivied'un Fragment du XVI'e Siecle roulant sur la Theogonie des anciensPeuples du Bresil et des Poesies en Langue Tupique, de ChristovamValente_. Par Ferdinand Denis, pp. 36-51, 98, sqq. (Paris, 1850. )]

[Footnote 83: The Arawack language, which is now spoken in Guiana only, at the time of the discovery extended over the Greater and LesserAntilles and the Bahama Islands, as I have shown in an essay on _TheArawack Language of Guiana in its Linguistic and EthnologicalRelations_, in the _Transactions_ of the American PhilosophicalSociety, 1870. ]

[Footnote 84: _The Memoirs of Lieutenant Henry Timberlake_, p. 80(London 1765). ]

[Footnote 85: In the ancient Qquichua literature the tragic dramas werecalled _huancay_; those of a comic nature, _aranhuay_. Bothwere composed in assonant verses of six and eight syllables, which werenot sung or chanted, but repeated with dramatic intonation. ]

[Footnote 86: On the bibliography of the drama see Zegarra, _Ollantai, Drame en Vers Quechuas du temps des Incas_, Introd. P. CLXXIII. (Paris, 1878. ) The English translation is by Clements R. Markham, _Ollanta, an Ancient Ynca Drama_ (London, 1871). ]

[Footnote 87: The recent attempt of General Don Bartolome Mitre, ofBuenos Ayres, to discredit the antiquity of the Ollanta drama (in the_Nueva Revista de Buenos Ayres_, 1881), has been most thoroughlyand conclusively refuted by Mr. Clements R. Markham, in the volume ofthe Hackluyt Society's Publications for 1883. ]

[Footnote 88: _Rabinal-Achi, ou le Drame Ballet du Tun_, publishedas an appendix to the _Grammaire de la Langue Quiche_ (Paris, 1862). The Abbe Brasseur asserts that he wrote down this drama from verbalinformation, at the village of Rabinal in Guatemala; but a note by Dr. Berendt in my possession characterizes this statement as incorrect, andadds: "Brasseur found the MS. All written, in the hands of an hacendado, on the road from Guatemala to Chiapas. The original exists still in thesame place. " It was a weakness with the Abbe to throw, designedly, considerable obscurity about his authorities and the sources of hisknowledge. ]

 * * * * *

INDEX. 

Names of native authors and productions are in _italics_. 

AbolachiAdair, JamesAdam, L. Algonkins_Alva, B. De__Anales de Cuauhtitlan_Anales del Museo Nacional_Apes, Rev. Wm. _AraucaniansArawacksAtitlan, LakeAubin, M. Avila, F. De_Ayala, G, de_AymarasAztecs

Baker, T. Barbara, Fed. Bautista, J. DeBeach, W. W. Beaver IndiansBerendt, C. H. Beristain y Souza_Book of the Jew__Book of Rites__Books of Chilan Balam_Boturini, L. _Boudinot, Elias_Brasseur de Bourbourg, AbbeBrinton, D. G. Byington, Rev. C. 

Cabrera, P. F. CakchiquelsCalifornian Indians_Camargo, D. M. _Carochi, H. Carreri, G. Carrillo, Rev. C. _Cartas de Indias__Castaneda, G. __Chac Xulub Chen_, Chronicle ofChahta-MuskokeesChapanec language_Chekilli__Cherokee Phoenix_CherokeesChiapasChichimecsChignavincelut_Chilan Balam, Books of_Chili, Tribes of_Chimalpain, D. Munon__Chimalpopoca, F, Lic. _ChippewaysChoctawsChorotegan language_Clark, P. Dooyentate_Clavigero, F. S. _Codex, Aztec__Codex, Chimalpopoca_Cogolludo, D. _Copway, George_Couto de Magalhaes, Dr. _Coy, Domingo_CreeksCreesCuoq, M. Cushing, F. H. _Cusick, David_

DakotasDelawaresDenis, F. Diaz, B. D'Orbigny, A. Dorsey, J. O. 

Eskimo

Field, T. W. Franca, Dr. E. F. Fuentes y Guzman

Garcia, A. Gatschet, A. S. Gavarrete, Sr. _Gomez, F. _Guarani languageGuarayos_Gueegueence, The_

Hale, H. Hartt, C. F. HiawathaHidatsa IndiansHowse, J. Humboldt, A. Humboldt, W. VonHuron-Iroquois

Icazbalceta, J. G. IroquoisIroquois Book of Rites_Ixtlilxochitl, F. De A. __Izquin, F. _

_Japuguay, Nic. __Jew, The Book of the_Jimenez de la Espada_Johnson, Elias__Jones, Rev. Peter_Juarros, Dom. 

Kaladlit_Kaondinoketc, F. _Kekchi languageKichesKlamaths

Landa, BishopLatinists, Indian_La Vega, Garcilasso de_Leon i Pinelo, Ant. Lery, Jean deLingoa Geral_Loaysa, F. De__Logan's Speech__Logas, The__Luis Inca_

_Macario, J. __Macho-Raton, The_Mangue language_Maps, Native_Matthews, Dr. W. Mayer, BrantzMarkham, C. R. Martius, C. VonMayas_Maya Chronicles, The_Mendoza, Ant. , deMendoza, G. MexicansMichoacanMilfort, Gen. Mitre, B. Molina, A. Montaigne, M. Motolinia, T. DeMoxosMuskokeesMuyscas

Nahuatl LanguageNahuatl-Spanish Dialect_Nakuk Pech__Nehaib, Titles of__Nezahualcoyotl__Nezahualpilli_NicaraguansNipissingsNunez de la Vega. 

Ojibways_Ollanta, The__Ollita, The_Olmos, Andre deOmahasOviedo, F. 

_Pachacuti, Don J. _Pampas, Tribes of_Pasiones, Las_Pelaez, F. P. GarciaPequodsPerez, Juan PioPeruvians_Pimentel, Ant. __Pimentel, H. _PipilsPocomans_Pok__Ponce, Pedro__Pomar, J. De__Popol Vuh, The_Powers, S. _Prophecies of Mayas_

_Queh, F. T. G. _Quiches, see _Kiches_QquichuasQuipus

_Rabinal Achi_Rafinesque, C. S. Ramirez, J. F. Rink, Dr. H. _Rosa, A. De la_Rosny, Leon de

Sahagun, B. DeSalazar, F. C. _San Antonio, J. De_Sanchez Solis, F. Scherzer, C. Schoolcraft, H. R. _Sequoyah_Simeon, RemiSiouxSix NationsSmith, B. Solola, ProvinceSquier, E. G. 

Taensas_Tanner, J. _Tarascos_Tecpan Atitlan_Tezcuco_Tezozomoc, F. De A. _Theologia IndorumThomas, C. Timberlake, H. TimucuanaTlatilulco, College of_Tlaxcallan, History of__Tobar, Ant_. _Tomar, J. B. De__Tonalamatl, The__Torres, J. _TupisTuscaroras_Tzolante, The_Tzendals_Tzumpan, F. G. C. _

Valades, D. _Valeriano, Antonio_Varnhagen, M. Vazquez, F. Vetancurt, A. DeVico, Domingo deViracocha_Votan_

_Walum Olum_Ward, Dr. Wyandotts

_Xahila, F. E. A. _Ximenez, F. 

_Zacicoxol, the__Zapata y Mendoza, J. V. _ZapotecsZegarra, G. P. Zoque languageZunis

 * * * * *

Library of Aboriginal American Literature. 

General Editor and Publisher, DANIEL G. BRINTON, M. D. , 115 South Seventh St. , Philadelphia, Pa. , United States. 

The European Market will be supplied by

NICHOLAS TRUeBNER & CO. , 57 & 59 Ludgate Hill, London, England. 

_The aim of this series is to put within the reach of scholarsauthentic materials for the study of the languages, history and cultureof the native races of North and South America. Each of the worksselected will be the production of a native author, and will be printedin the original tongue, with an English translation and notes. Most ofthem will be from unpublished manuscripts, and they will form a seriesindispensable to the future student of American archaeology, ethnology orlinguistics. They will be printed FROM TYPE, AND IN LIMITED EDITIONSONLY. The volumes will be sold SEPARATELY, at moderate prices, either inpaper or bound in cloth. They will all be planted on heavy laid paper, of the best quality. The following have already appeared_:--

 * * * * *

NO. I. THE MAYA CHRONICLES. 

Edited by DANIEL G. BRINTON, M. D. 

1 vol. , 8vo, pp. 279. Price, paper, $3. 00; cloth, $3. 50. 

This volume contains five brief chronicles in the Maya language ofYucatan, written shortly after the Conquest, and carrying the history ofthat people back many centuries. To these is added a history of theConquest, written in his native tongue, by a Maya Chief, in 1562. Thetexts are preceded by an introduction on the history of the Mayas; theirlanguage, calendar, numeral system, etc. ; and a vocabulary is added atthe close. 

NOTICES OF THE PRESS. 

"We hope that Dr. Brinton will receive every encouragement in his laborsto disclose to Americans these literary antiquities of the Continent. Heeminently deserves it, both by the character of his undertaking and thequality of his work. "--_The American_ (Phila. )

"It would be difficult to praise too highly the task Dr. Brinton has setbefore him. Prepared by long studies in the same field, he does notundertake the work as a novice. ... There should be no hesitation amongthose who wish well to American antiquarianism in subscribing to theseries edited and published by Dr. Brinton. "--_The Critic_. 

"Dr. Brinton's work upon the history of the Mayas or Aborigines ofYucatan [the "Maya Chronicles"] is a most important contribution to theliterature of American antiquities. ... Comparative linguists, as wellas archaeologists, will find a new and very interesting subject of studyin these remains. "--_The Saturday Review_ (London). 

"The efforts of Dr. Brinton will be welcomed by all antiquarianstudents, for they are not only original contributions, but are alsopresented in a readable and interesting manner. "--_The AmericanAntiquarian_. 

 * * * * *

No. II. The IROQUOIS BOOK OF RITES. 

Edited by HORATIO HALE, Esq. 

1 vol. , 8vo. Price, paper, $3. 00; cloth, $3. 50. 

The "BOOK OF RITES" is a native composition, which was preserved orallyfor centuries, and was written down about a century ago. It gives thespeeches, songs and ceremonies which were rehearsed when a chief diedand his successor was appointed. The fundamental laws of the League, alist of their ancient towns, and the names of the chiefs who composedtheir first council, are also comprised in the work. It may be said tocarry the authentic history of Northern America back to a period fiftyyears earlier than the era of Columbus. The introductory essay treats ofthe ethnology and history of the Huron-Iroquois League and its founders, the origin of the Book of Rites, the composition of the Federal Council, the clan system, the laws of the League, and the Iroquois character, public policy, and language. 

NOTICES OF THE PRESS AND OF EMINENT WRITERS. 

"This work may be said to open a field of Indian research new toethnologists. ... These precious relics of antiquity are concise intheir wording, and full of meaning. ... The additions made by Mr. Hallare almost as valuable as the texts themselves. " --_The Nation_ NewYork, September 13, 1883. 

"The reputation of the author, added to this fascinating title, willinsure its favorable reception, not only by ethnologists, but also, thereading public. ... A remarkable discovery, and indisputably of greatethnological value. ... A book which is as suggestive as this must beargood fruit. "--_Science_, August 31, 1883. 

"The work contains much new material of permanent interest and value tothe historical scholar and the scientist. ... "--_The Magazine ofAmerican History_, September, 1883. 

"In this Book of Rites we have poetry, law, history, tradition andgenealogy, interesting and valuable for many reasons.... "--_GoodLiterature_, August 18, 1883. 

"The Book of Rites is edited by the eminent philologist, Mr. HoratioHale, who has done so much to elucidate the whole subject of Indianethnography and migrations, with the argument derived from language inconnection with established tradition; and especially to disentangleIroquois history from its complications with the legends of theirmythology. "--_Auburn Daily Advertiser_, July 21, 1883. 

"The book is one of great ethnological value, in the light it casts onthe political and social life, as well as the character and capacity, ofthe people with whom it originated. "--_Popular Science Monthly_, November 1883. 

"It is a philosophical and masterly treatise on the Iroquois league andthe cognate tribes, their relations, language, mental characteristicsand polity, such as we have never had of any nation of thisContinent.... "--_Dr. J. Gilmary Shea_. 

"It is full of instructive hints, particularly as bearing on the stateof so-called savages before they are brought in contact with so-calledcivilized men. Such evidence is, from the nature of the case, verydifficult to obtain, and therefore all the more valuable.... "--_Prof. F. Max Mueller_. 

"It gives us a much clearer insight into the formation and workings ofthe Iroquois league than we before possessed. "--_Hon. George S. Conover_. 

"It contains more that is authentic and new, of the Iroquois nations, than any other single work with which I am acquainted. "--_Rev. CharlesHawley, D. D. _

 * * * * *

No. III. THE COMEDY-BALLET OF GUeEGUeENCE. 

Edited by DANIEL G. BRINTON, M. D. 

1 vol. , 8vo. Paper, $2. 00; Cloth, $2. 50. 

A curious and unique specimen of the native comic dances, withdialogues, called _bailes_, formerly common in Central America. Itis in the mixed Nahuatl-Spanish jargon of Nicaragua, and showsdistinctive features of native authorship. The Introduction treats ofthe ethnology of Nicaragua, and the local dialects, musical instruments, and dramatic representations of that section of our continent. A map anda number of illustrations are added. 

Other important works, in various native languages, are in the course ofpreparation, under competent editorship. 

Of these may be mentioned--

THE NATIONAL LEGEND OF THE CREEKS. Edited by A. S. GATSCHET. 

The original account, written in 1735; an English translation, and are-translation into the Creek language, in which it was originallydelivered, by an educated native, and into the Hitchiti, a dialectcognate to the Creek. 

THE ANNALS OF THE KAKCHIQUELS. By ERNANTEZ XAHILA. 

These chronicles are the celebrated _Memorial de Tecpan Atitlan_ sooften quoted by the late Abbe Brasseur de Bourbourg. They are invaluablefor the ancient history and mythology of Gautemalan nations, and are ofundoubted authenticity and antiquity. 

THE ANNALS OF QUAUHTITLAN. Edited by A. F. BANDELIER. 

The original Aztec text, with a new translation. This is also known asthe _Codex Chimalpopoca_. It is one of the most curious andvaluable documents in Mexican archaeology. 

ABORIGINAL AMERICAN ANTHOLOGY. Edited by DANIEL G. BRINTON, M. D. 

A collection of the songs, chants and metrical compositions of theIndians, designed to display the emotional and imaginative powers of therace and the prosody of their languages. 

 * * * * *

_The following two works are not portions of the series, but arerelated to it by their contents. They may be obtained from the samepublishers_. 

AMERICAN HERO-MYTHS. 

A STUDY in the NATIVE RELIGIONS of the WESTERN CONTINENT. 

By DANIEL G. BRINTON, A. M. , M. D. , etc. 

1 vol. , 8vo, pp. 251. (Philad'a, 1882. ) Cloth, Price, $1. 75. 

NOTICES OF THE PRESS. 

"Dr. Brinton writes from a minute and extended knowledge of the originalsources. ... His work renders a signal service to the cause ofcomparative mythology in our country. "--_The Literary World_(Boston). 

"This study of certain of the most remarkable stories of Americanmythology is exceedingly interesting. "--_The Saturday Review_(London). 

"In his 'American Hero-Myths' Dr. Brinton gives us the clue to thereligious thought of the aboriginal Races. ... It is a learned andcareful book, clearly written, popular in style though scientificin method, and must be a good deal fresher than a novel to mostreaders. "--_The American_ (Philadelphia). 

"This volume is the first attempt at what is entitled to be regarded asa critically accurate presentation of the fundamental conceptions foundin the native beliefs of the tribes of America. "--_The New EnglandBibliopolist_. 

"This is a thoughtful and original contribution to the science ofcomparative religion. "--_The Boston Journal_. 

"We regard the 'Hero Myths' as a valuable contribution to the history ofreligion and to comparative mythology. "--_The Teacher_ (Philadelphia). 

"... These few extracts give no idea of the mass of legends in thisvolume, and the queer, out-of-the-way information it supplies concerningthe ideas and usages of races now extinct or hastening toextinction. "--_The Dublin Evening Mail_. 

"Dr. Brinton, in his 'American Hero-Myths, ' has applied the comparativemethod soberly, and backed it by solid research in the originalauthors. "--_The Critic_ (New York). 

ABORIGINAL AMERICAN AUTHORS, AND THEIR PRODUCTIONS. 

Especially those in the Native Languages. A Contribution to the History of Literature. 

By DANIEL G. BRINTON, A. M. , M. D. , etc. 

1 vol. , 8vo, pp. 63. Boards. Price, $1. 00. 

An essay founded on an address presented to the Congress ofAmericanists, at Copenhagen, in 1883. It is an extended review of theliterary efforts of the red race, in their own tongues, and in English, Latin and Spanish (both manuscript and printed). An entirely novel fieldof inquiry is opened to view, of equal interest to ethnologists, linguists and historians.