126 THE SERI INDIANS [eth.ann.17 



The Papago, of the same region aud linguistic .stocli, have a racing 

 game in "which a ball of wood or stone caught on the foot is thrown, 

 followed, and thrown again until the two or more rival racers have 

 covered 20 to 40 miles in the course of a few hours; and their feats 

 as couriers and trailers are quite up to those of the Opata. Yet 

 among all these tribes, and among the Mexicans as well, the Seri are 

 known as the runners par excellence of the Sonoran province; and it 

 is but natural that their astounding swiftness and lightness of foot 

 should have brought them an appellation among contemporaries to 

 whom these qualities peculiarly appeal. 



Accordingly, both derivation and connotation give meaning to the 

 name, and warrant the rendering (much weakened by linguistic infelic- 

 ities) of "spry'' or "spry-moving'', used in substantive sense and with 

 an intensive implication. 



The chronicles of the tribe, especially those written during the seven- 

 teenth aud eighteenth centuries, indicate that the alien designation 

 was applied loosely and with little appreciation of the tribal organiza- 

 tion, just as was the case elsewhere throughout the continent. Grad- 

 ually the chroniclers took cognizance of intertribal and intratribal 

 relations, and introduced various distinctions in nomenclature exjjress- 

 iug tribal or subtribal distinctions of greater or less importance. One 

 of the earliest distinctions was that between the Seri and the Tepoka, 

 and this distinction has been consistently maintained by nearly all later 

 authorities, despite the commonly accepted fact (brought out most 

 authoritatively by Hardy i that the tongues of the tribes are substan- 

 tially alike. Another early distinction was that made betweeu the Seri 

 and the Guayma; it was based primarily on diversity of habitat and 

 persistent enmity, though all the earlier authorities agreed, as well 

 shown by Kamirez, that the tongues were essentially identical. The 

 distinction has been maintained by most authorities and strongly empha- 

 sized by one (Pinart, as quoted by Bandelier), and since the Guayma 

 are extinct, and hence beyond reach of direct infjuiry, the early inter- 

 pretation of tribal relation must be pert)etuated.' Still another distinc- 

 tion was that made between the Upauguayma and the Guayma, and 

 inferentially the Seri also ; although the grounds for this disiincition were 

 not specifically stated, it seems to have grown out of diversity in habitat 

 merely; but there were clear implications that the tribe or subtribe was 

 affiliated linguistically with the Guayma, and hence with the Seri, and 

 this assignment has been adopted by leading autliorities, including 

 Pimentel and Orozco. Among the earlier distinctions based on indus- 



•In view of the clear indications, botb a priori and a posteriori, tliat the latest Guayma survivors 

 must have taken tlte lanjjuage of the Piman (Yaqui) tribesmen witli whom tliey found refuge, and in 

 view of his failure thus i;ir to ])reseut his data for public consideration, M Piuart's inference that the 

 Guayma belonged linguistically to the Piman stock can hardly be admitted to hold ag:iitist the specitic 

 statements of the Jesuit missionaries and such accomplished inquirers as Kamirez aud I'imeutel. 



