546 



THE LIVING RACES OF MANKIND 



American Indians what the blow-pipe is to his distant cousin of Guiana, or the bolas to the 

 native of the Argentine pampas. Among the tribes of the prairies the bow is a feeble- 

 Jooking instrument, remarkable for its shortness, though capable of driving an arrow well 

 through the massive hide of the bison at close quarters. Stone tomahawks were the original 

 type of axe, but even in Catlin's time these were replaced by metal weapons made in 

 Sheffield; and the same is true of the war-club, which was originally of wood with a spike 

 of bone or iron, but was subsequently exchanged for a brass-studded European article. 

 Similarly Sheffield steel scalping-knives, with ornamental sheaths, were substituted for the 

 primitive stone-bladed implements. A lance or spear was also frequently used. Boomerangs 

 from New Mexico are shown in the British Museum. Long pointed snow-shoes were used in 

 winter by the Chippewyans and Siouans. 



Among the tribes dwelling on the coast or large rivers, the canoe (which, by the way, is 

 another native term) was the characteristic aboriginal vessel, which, however, varied considerably 

 in construction in different districts. The best known, and at the same time the most 

 graceful, is the birch-bark canoe of the Chippewyans and other northern tribes. But among 

 many of the Siouans, as well as the Sac and Foxes among the Algonquiaus, the canoe was 

 dug out from a log, although so thinned down as to be very light. Again, among the Siouans 

 the Dakota squaws (women) made broad coracles of bison-hide, in which they transported 

 themselves, their families, and their goods. These vessels were, however, despised by the men, 

 who preferred to make their journeys by land. 



Of the picture- writing practised by the North American Indians, limits of space allow 

 merely the bare mention, but it was once largely used. In addition to this there was a 

 "sign-language," by means of which information was conveyed through pantomimic gesture; 

 some of the Siouans displaying extraordinary proficiency in this mode of communication. Mats 

 and baskets of remarkably neat manufacture were made by the women of all the tribes, the 

 Vancouver Islanders excelling in this respect; while embroidery with quills and beads on 



buckskin or bark was also a familiar art, as 

 was the making of wooden bowls. On 

 journeys water was, however, generally carried 

 in bags made from the stomachs of deer 

 and other animals. 



Although the Indians of the country 

 eastwards of the Mississippi grew maize, 

 beans, pumpkins, melons, gourds, tobacco, 

 and sunflowers, agriculture was not practised 

 at all by the majority of the tribes, who 

 obtained such vegetable food as they required 

 from wild plants and trees, and devoted their 

 energies to the pursuits of hunting and fish- 

 ing. Previous to the introduction of the 

 horse the dog was the sole domestic animal 

 possessed by the aborigines of the districts 

 under consideration; in addition to being 

 used as a beast of burden and draught, dogs 

 were also eaten as food, although by the 

 time of Lewis and Clark, to whom it was 

 offered, such meat appears to have been used 

 only on special occasions of ceremony. But 

 the great food-supply of many tribes, espe- 

 cially those of the Siouan stock, was the 

 bison, some depending entirely upon this 

 animal alike for food, clothing, and the other 



Photo lii/ \\'m. /tan] \r/iltaile//i/ii. 



GUANAJUATO WATEU-CAHRIEISS, MEXICO. 



