516 ANNUAL REPOliT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1921. 



Two of Edward S. Curtis' books ought perhaps to be mentioned 

 here, as they also were written for youthful readers. From the eth- 

 nologist's point of view, however, there is such a marked contrast 

 between these books and those of Aimard and similar writers, that 

 one cannot very well class them together. Moreover, Curtis' work is 

 much more recent and will be briefly noted later on. 



IV. 



To American readers much need not be said about the life and works 

 of Joaquin Miller. I shall only bring to mind here that in several of 

 his poems he sings of the West and the Pacific coast from Oregon to 

 Nicaragua, and in these poems the Indian not infrequently figures. 

 Much of his poetry and prose work was published in London be- 

 tween 1871-1878. 



In The Last Taschastas, which appeared in the volume, Songs of 

 the Sierras, Miller describes the "war chief's daughter" as follows: 



Taller than the tassel'd corn, 

 Sweeter than the kiss of morning, 

 Sad as some sweet star of morn, 

 Half defiant, half forlorn. 



In the same poem an Indian brave is depicted thus : 

 His hreast was like a gate of brass, 

 His brow was like a gather'd storm ; 

 There is no chisel'd stone that has 

 So stately and complete a form, 

 In sinew, arm and every part, 

 In all the galleries of art. 



As in Miller's poems, we find truth and fancy also mixed in his 

 prose works, such as his Life Amongst the Modocs. Ethnologically 

 both have hardly any value. Nevertheless his descriptions of west- 

 ern types, scenes, and scenery in this book, as well as in several of 

 his western poems, are often interesting, bearing the stamp not only 

 of a strong individuality but also of things really seen and felt. 



On the well-known novel, Ramona, of Mrs. Helen Hunt Jackson 

 I need not dwell either for American readers. While I fully ac- 

 knowledge the noble aim and effort of the authoress of A Century 

 of Dishonor, as well as the great merits of Eamona, the California 

 Mission Indians she depicts hardly interest the ethnologist, deeply 

 as their sad history may move the philanthropist. 



Although much has been written about Tecumseh, I know of only 

 one literary work concerning the great Indian patriot, namely, a 

 drama, Tecumseh, by Charles Mair (London, 1886). On the whole, 

 Mair would seem to be historically correct, with the exception of 

 certain dramatis personse and of some assertions contained in the 

 explanatory notes. Moreover, the way in which his Indians speak 

 sounds rather un-Indianlike, but possibly this could not well be 



