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  INDIAN 
  LINGUISTIC 
  FAMILIES. 
  

  

  American 
  Indian 
  tribes 
  were 
  nomadic. 
  The 
  picture 
  presented 
  by 
  

   these 
  writers 
  is 
  of 
  a 
  medley 
  of 
  ever-shifting 
  tribes, 
  to-day 
  here, 
  

   to-morrow 
  there, 
  occupying 
  new 
  territory 
  and 
  founding 
  new 
  homes 
  — 
  

   if 
  nomads 
  can 
  be 
  said 
  to 
  have 
  homes 
  — 
  only 
  to 
  abandon 
  them. 
  Such 
  

   a 
  picture 
  however, 
  is 
  believed 
  to 
  convey 
  an 
  erroneous 
  idea 
  of 
  the 
  

   former 
  condition 
  of 
  our 
  Indian 
  tribes. 
  As 
  the 
  question 
  has 
  signifi- 
  

   cance 
  in 
  the 
  present 
  connection 
  it 
  must 
  be 
  considered 
  somewhat 
  at 
  

   length. 
  

  

  INDIAN 
  TRIBES 
  SEDENTARY. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  first 
  place, 
  the 
  linguistic 
  map. 
  based 
  as 
  it 
  is 
  upon 
  the 
  ear- 
  

   liest 
  evidence 
  obtainable, 
  itself 
  offers 
  conclusive 
  proof, 
  not 
  only 
  that 
  

   the 
  Indian 
  tribes 
  were 
  in 
  the 
  main 
  sedentary 
  at 
  the 
  time 
  history 
  

   first 
  records 
  their 
  position, 
  but 
  that 
  they 
  had 
  been 
  sedentary 
  for 
  a 
  

   very 
  long 
  period. 
  In 
  order 
  that 
  this 
  may 
  be 
  made 
  plain, 
  it 
  should 
  

   be 
  clearly 
  understood, 
  as 
  stated 
  above, 
  that 
  each 
  of 
  the 
  colors 
  or 
  

   patterns 
  upon 
  the 
  map 
  indicates 
  a 
  distinct 
  linguistic 
  family. 
  It 
  

   will 
  be 
  noticed 
  that 
  the 
  colors 
  representing 
  the 
  several 
  families 
  are 
  

   usually 
  in 
  single 
  bodies, 
  i. 
  e., 
  that 
  they 
  represent 
  continuous 
  areas, 
  

   and 
  that 
  with 
  some 
  exceptions 
  the 
  same 
  color 
  is 
  not 
  scattered 
  here 
  

   and 
  then' 
  over 
  the 
  map 
  in 
  small 
  spots. 
  Yet 
  precisely 
  this 
  last 
  state 
  

   of 
  things 
  is 
  what 
  would 
  be 
  expected 
  had 
  the 
  tribes 
  representing 
  the 
  

   families 
  been 
  nomadic 
  to 
  a 
  marked 
  degree. 
  If 
  nomadic 
  tribes 
  

   occupied 
  North 
  America, 
  instead 
  of 
  spreading 
  out 
  each 
  from 
  a 
  

   common 
  center, 
  as 
  the 
  colors 
  show 
  that 
  the 
  tribes 
  composing 
  the 
  

   several 
  families 
  actually 
  did, 
  they 
  would 
  have 
  been 
  dispersed 
  here 
  

   and 
  there 
  over 
  the 
  whole 
  face 
  of 
  the 
  country. 
  That 
  they 
  are 
  not, 
  so 
  

   dispersed 
  is 
  considered 
  proof 
  that 
  in 
  the 
  main 
  they 
  were 
  sedentary. 
  

   It 
  has 
  been 
  stated 
  above 
  that 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  extensive 
  migrations 
  of 
  

   some 
  tribes 
  over 
  the 
  country 
  had 
  taken 
  place 
  prior 
  to 
  European 
  

   occupancy. 
  This 
  fact 
  is 
  disclosed 
  by 
  a 
  glance 
  at 
  the 
  present 
  map. 
  

   The 
  great 
  Athapascan 
  family, 
  for 
  instance, 
  occupying 
  the 
  larger 
  

   part 
  of 
  British 
  America, 
  is 
  known 
  from 
  linguistic 
  evidence 
  to 
  have 
  

   sent 
  off 
  colonies 
  into 
  Oregon 
  ( 
  Wilopah, 
  Tlatskanai, 
  Coquille), 
  Cali- 
  

   fornia 
  (Smith 
  River 
  tribes, 
  Kenesti 
  or 
  Wailakki 
  tribes, 
  Hupa), 
  and 
  

   Arizona 
  and 
  New 
  Mexico 
  (Apache, 
  Navajo). 
  How 
  long 
  before 
  

   European 
  occupancy 
  of 
  this 
  country 
  these 
  migrations 
  took 
  place 
  

   can 
  not 
  be 
  told, 
  but 
  in 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  most 
  of 
  them 
  it 
  was 
  undoubtedly 
  

   many 
  years. 
  By 
  the 
  test 
  of 
  language 
  it 
  is 
  seen 
  that 
  the 
  great 
  

   Sionan 
  family, 
  which 
  we 
  have 
  come 
  to 
  look 
  upon 
  as 
  almost 
  exclu- 
  

   sively 
  western, 
  had 
  one 
  offshoot 
  in 
  Virginia 
  (Tutelo), 
  another 
  in 
  

   North 
  and 
  South 
  Carolina 
  (Catawba), 
  and 
  a 
  third 
  in 
  Mississippi 
  

   (Biloxi); 
  and 
  the 
  Algonquian 
  family, 
  so 
  important 
  in 
  the 
  early 
  

   history 
  of 
  this 
  country, 
  while 
  occupying 
  a 
  nearly 
  continuous 
  area 
  

   in 
  the 
  north 
  and 
  east, 
  had 
  yet 
  secured 
  a 
  foothold, 
  doubtless 
  in 
  

   very 
  recent 
  times, 
  in 
  Wyoming 
  and 
  Colorado. 
  These 
  and 
  other 
  

  

  