202 PICTURE-WRITING OF THE AMERICAN INDIANS. 
The most interesting of all the accounts regarding the pictographs 
of the North American Indians published before the last decade was 
contained in the works of Henry R. Schooleraft, issued in 1853 and 
subsequent years, and the most frequently quoted part of his contri- 
butions on this subject describes the pictographs of the Ojibwa. He 
had special facilities for obtaining accurate information with regard to 
all matters relating to that tribe on account of his marriage to one of 
its women, a granddaughter of a celebrated chief, Waub-o-jeeg and 
daughter of a European named Johnson. She was educated in Ireland 
and had sufficient intelligence to understand and describe to her hus- 
band the points of interest relating to her tribe. 
The accounts given by Mr. Schoolcraft, with numerous illustrations, 
convey the impression that the Ojibwa were nearly as far advanced in 
hieroglyphic writing as the Egyptians before their pictorial repre- 
sentations had become syllabic. The general character of his volu- 
minous publications has not been such as to assure modern critics of 
his accuracy, and the wonderful combination of minuteness and compre- 
hensiveness attributed by him to the Ojibwa “hieroglyphs” has of late 
been generally regarded with suspicion. It was considered in the 
Bureau of Ethnology an important duty to ascertain how much of truth 
existed in these remarkable accounts, and for that purpose the writer, 
with Dr. Hoffman as assistant, examined the most favorable points in 
the present habitat of the tribe, namely, the northern regions of Min- 
nesota and Wisconsin, to ascertain how much was yet to be discovered. 
The general results of the comparison of Schoolcraft’s statements 
with what is now found show that he told the truth in substance, but 
with much exaggeration and coloring. The word ‘coloring” is par- 
ticularly appropriate, because in his copious illustrations various colors 
were used freely and with apparent significance, whereas, in fact, the 
general rule in regard to the birch-bark rolls was that they were never 
colored at all; indeed, the bark was not adapted to coloration. The 
metaphorical coloring was also flourished by him in a manner which 
seems absurd to any thorough student of the Indian philosophy and 
religions. Metaphysical concepts are attached by him to some of the 
devices which he calls “symbols,” which could never have been enter- 
tained by a people in the stage of culture of the Ojibwa. While some 
symbolism, in the wide sense of the term, may be perceived, iconog- 
‘aphy and ideography are more apparent. 
The largest part of the bark rolls and other pictographs of the Ojibwa 
obtained by the Bureau, relates to the ceremonies of the Midé’ and of 
the shamanistic orders; another division refers to the Jessakid per- 
formances, which can be classed under the head of jugglery; and a third 
part embraces the more current and practical uses. Examples of all of 
these are given, infra. 
The difficulties sometimes attending the pursuit of ceremonial picto- 
graphs were exemplified to the writer at Odanah, Wisconsin. Very 
one Oneal 
PE 
