524 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1921. 



of Curtis's Indian bards, and to hear that Motana and Naida, chil- 

 dren of chiefs, address each other as "prince" and "princess." 

 Notwithstanding these little defects both books are well written and 

 very instructive, even for adult readers. 



The posthumous work of Dr. Emil Bessels, "Aniligka " eine poeti- 

 sche Erzlihlung aus dem hohen Norden," treats, as I have already 

 stated, not of Indians but of Eskimo. It was published by Otto 

 Baisch (Stuttgart, 1891). Bessels, the naturalist of the ill-fated 

 Polaris expedition, spent nine months among the Eskimo at Ita in 

 northwestern Greenland. Analigka is the pretty heroine of this 

 poetic tale. She is portrayed from life as well as Aversuak, Ulajok 

 and other characters of the story. Around Aniligka the poet-ethnol- 

 ogist centers his plot, which ends dramatically (Der Eisgang). Bes- 

 sels also gives much attention to the description of the natural 

 phenomena and the atmospheric conditions as the influence of these 

 on Eskimo life is obvious. An appendix with explanatory notes of 

 more than thirty pages renders Bessel's work, which in many respects 

 is of great merit, especially valuable. 



VI. 



As already stated in the introduction, the literary works relating 

 to the South American Indian are much less numerous, but com- 

 paratively they contain much of ethnologic value. 



When Alexander von Humboldt and Aime Bonpland visited the 

 grotto of Ataruipe on the Orinoco they found the skeleton remains 

 of many hundreds of Ature Indians, a tribe, according to tradition, 

 long since extinct. Except an old parrot at Maypures, no living be- 

 ing then understood or spoke the Ature language. Ernst Curtius, a 

 friend of Humboldt, chose the "Aturen-Papagei " as the subject for 

 a delightful little poem which Humboldt published in the first vol- 

 ume of his Ansichten der Natur. The following quotations will give 

 an idea of it : 



In der Orinoco-Wildniss 



Sitzt ein alter Papagei, 



Halt und Starr, als ob seiu Bildniss 



Aus dem Stein gehauen sei. 



Der Aturen allerletzter, 



Trauert dort der Papagei ; 



Am Gerstein der Schnabel wetzt er, 



Dureh die Liifte tout sein Schrei. 



• ••••• 



Einsam ruf er, unverstanden, 

 In die fremde Welt hinein ; 

 Nur die Wasser hort er branden, 

 Keine Seele achtet sein. 



