Article December 6, 1900 Issue

Indians' Queer Ways

Their Primitive Life in British Columbia.

When a new Longfellow arises western America will constitute his Arcadia. Folk lore a-plenty, traditions the most far-reaching, relics, and sombre reminders of ancient glory and greatness abound in the extreme Northwest.

During the last three years the American Museum of Natural History has conducted extensive investigations among the native tribes of the Pacific coast. The valleys of the high mountains are inhabited by an endless number of tribes, and hundreds of distinct languages are spoken.

It is a fascinating problem to unravel the history of the tribes inhabiting this region, and to trace the obscure origin of these tongues that are doomed to early extinction. Many a one that was spoken thirty or forty years ago by hundreds or thousands of individuals is now known only to a piteous remnant of a few souls. There are even languages which are now extinct, and others the knowledge of which is confined to a single living person.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

Wednesday Evening Meeting at Winchester, Mass.