2 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8o 



his investigation. The general plan of this was the same but the 

 number of sections seems to have been reduced since New England, 

 New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania were put together as the 

 region of the North Atlantic States. The preliminary discussion of 

 each was reduced to two or three pages, but the tables of figures, 

 which, after all, constitute the most important element in the under- 

 taking, were given in full. 



To his discussion of the 14 areas into which he finally decided to 

 divide the territory under consideration, Mr. INIooney evidently in- 

 tended to supplement a chapter on the causes of the decline of Indian 

 population as indicated by his figures, including such factors as war, 

 spirituous liquors, and disease. He attached the greatest importance 

 to the last mentioned, particularly contagious diseases introduced by 

 the whites. 



The accompanying bibliography, reproduced from Mr. Mooney's 

 manuscript, will indicate in some measure the extent of his reading 

 in connection with the present work. It is known that, in some 

 cases, he carried his investigations back to the original census rolls. 



Mr. Mooney would have been the last to maintain that his figures 

 are final ; modifications will from time to time be found necessary. 

 Indeed, there is a considerable difference between his own earlier 

 and later estimates of the aboriginal population of New England, 

 the former being 32,700 and the latter 25,100, but it is impossible to 

 say whether this represents a general modification of his position 

 or not. Isolated investigations of others seem to indicate that his 

 figures, though conservative as compared with most earlier under- 

 takings of the kind, are still somewhat high. 



Mr. Mooney's work does, however, supply a want long felt by stu- 

 dents of the American Indian : a set of detailed figures that give an 

 approximate understanding of the relative strength of the several 

 tribes, an understanding of the Indian population of the region taken 

 as a whole, and the approximate losses and gains of both. In justice 

 to the author it must be remembered that it re])resents the advance 

 results of a more extensive but never completed enterprise. 



POPULATION 



NORTH ATLANTIC STATES 



In this section we include New England, New Jersey, New York, 

 and Pennsylvania — excepting the western portions of the two latter 

 states formerly held by the Neutrals and the Erie, but including 



