62 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 40 



Sauk and Fox by Dr. William Jones are remarkable on account of the 

 thorough understanding that the author has reached, owing to his 

 mastery of the language. Similar in character, although rendered 

 entirely in English, are the observations of Mr, James Teit on the 

 Thompson Indians. 



In some cases it has been possible to interest educated natives in 

 the study of their own tribes and to induce them to write down in 

 their own language their observations. These, also, are much superior 

 to EngUsh records, in which the natives are generally hampered by 

 the lack of mastery of the foreign language. 



While in all these cases a collector thoroughly famihar with the 

 Indian language and with English might give us the results of his 

 studies without using the native language in his pubUcations, this is 

 quite indispensable when we try to investigate the deeper problems 

 of ethnology. A few examples will show clearly what is meant. 

 When the question arises, for instance, of investigating the poetry of 

 the Indians, no translation can possibly be considered as an adequate 

 substitute for the original. The form of rhythm, the treatment of the 

 language, the adjustment of text to music, the imagery, the use 

 of metaphors, and all the numerous problems involved in any thorough 

 investigation of the style of poetry, can be interpreted only by the 

 investigator who has equal command of the ethnographical traits of 

 the tribe and of their language. The same is true in the investigation 

 of rituals, \\'ith their set, more or less poetic phrases, or in the investiga- 

 tion of prayers and incantations. The oratory of the Indians, a sub- 

 ject that has received much attention by ethnologists, is not ade- 

 quately known, because onl}^ a very few speeches have been handed 

 down in the original. Here, also, an accurate investigation of the 

 method of composition and of the devices used to reach oratorical 

 effect, requires the preservation of speeches as rendered in the original 

 language. 



There are also numerous other features of the life of the Indians 

 which can not be adequatel}^ presented without linguistic investigation. 

 To these belong, for instance, the discussion of personal, tribal, and 

 local names. The translations of Indian names which are popularly 

 known — like Sitting-Bull, Afraid-Of-His-Horse, etc. — indicate that 

 names possess a deeper significance. The translations, however, are 

 so difficult that a thorough linguistic knowledge is required in order 

 to explain the significance adequately. 



