536 



THE FLAT-HEADS. 



seekers of Upper Mexico, and the American journals frequently con- 

 tain accounts of their incursions, their acts of brigandage, and cruelty. 

 The most characteristic features of the Red Skin type are, in 

 addition to the colour of the skin and the pyramidal form of the 

 head, the prominency and arched outline of the nose, the greatness 

 of the nasal openings, corresponding to a singular development of the 



INDIAN WOMEN- OK NORTH AMERICA. 



olfactory nerve, and the absence of beard. Several tribes subject 

 the head of the new-born to a systematic mis-shapement by compress- 

 ing it. Hence has arisen the nickname of Flat-heads, popularly 

 bestowed on the Choctaws. The same custom existed among the 

 Atacapas, the Creeks, the Muskogis, and the Catawhas, and is found 

 among most tribes of the Californian stock. 



