838 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



on the Science of Ethnography (New York, 1890) ; and has no-w- 

 in press a work entitled The American Race ; a Linguistic Classi- 

 fication and Ethnographic Description of the Native Tribes of 

 North and South America. It is the first attempt ever made to 

 classify all the Indian tribes by their languages, and it also treats 

 of their customs, religions, physical traits, arts, antiquities, and 

 traditions. The work comprises the results of several years of 

 study in this special field. 



Of the ethnological papers by Dr. Brinton the National 

 Legend of the Chahta-Muskokee Tribes, Notes on the Codex 

 Troano, The Lineal Measures of the Semi-civilized Nations of 

 Mexico and Central America, On the Xinca Indians of Guatemala, 

 and The Books of Chilan Balam, are specially prominent, as are 

 the strictly archaeological papers, such as The Probable Nation- 

 ality of the Mound-builders, in which the author favors the 

 theory that the mound-builders of the Ohio Valley were of the 

 same race as the Choctaws, and probably their ancestors ; On the 

 Cuspidiform Petroglyphs, or Bird-track Sculpture of Ohio ; and 

 the later Review of the Data for the Prehistoric Chronology of 

 America. Dr. Brinton has given attention, too, to folk-lore, as a 

 subject worthy of scientific treatment, and published The Journey 

 of the Soul, a comparative study of Aztec, Aryan, and Egyptian 

 mythology, and also The Folk Lore of Yucatan. 



This goodly list, of which any scientific worker might well be 

 proud, if the results of a long life, by no means covers the ground 

 of Brinton's scientific and literary activity. He has been both 

 publisher and editor of the Library of Aboriginal American Lit- 

 erature, of which eight volumes have appeared, six of which are 

 edited by Brinton. The titles, given in order of their publication, 

 are: The Chronicles of the Mayas, The Comedy-Ballet of Gue- 

 giience, The Lenape* and their Legends, The Annals of the Cak- 

 chiquels, Ancient Nahuatl Poetry, and The Rig Veda Americanus. 

 These works are all of unquestionable merit, notwithstanding 

 they have been subjected to considerable adverse criticism. This 

 is not to be wondered at, as works of this character, if edited in a 

 pronounced manner, by one having strong opinions that are 

 plainly expressed, are sure to meet with some opposition, which 

 reflects, however, nothing upon the skill with which they are 

 edited, and is, we hold, a pretty certain indication of their value 

 as contributions to knowledge. Were further testimony to this 

 wanting, it is shown in the fact that this series obtained for its 

 author the prize medal of the SociCte* Ame'ricaine de France ; this 

 being the only instance in which it has been decreed to an Ameri- 

 can writer. 



In linguistics Dr. Brinton has published during the past 

 two decades, Grammar of the Choctaw Language, by Rev. Cyrus 



