- 250 Resemblances in Arts widely separated. [March 
strength and number. Admitted that all human arts whatever 
start from natural objects, endowments and relations, it follows 
that in their pristine condition men took the causes of their 
activity immediately from nature—flint flakes for knives ; sharp 
sticks for spears and spades ; gourds and conchs for music; ejacu- 
lations for words; consanguinity for social bond; animism for 
theology, and dreams for revelation. These are so natural and 
necessary that we need not be astonished to find men flying to 
them in emergencies and inventing over and over again all the 
devices and methods of the primeval world. If a stone knife 
has functions peculiar to itself, if cutting is dependent on stone 
knives, then the stone knife will often be invented independently. 
If almost any vocal combination will recall an idea; if almost 
any vocal combination may stand for innumerable objects, then 
the possibilities of associating any object with a particular vocal 
combination will be feebler, and similarities in language in differ- 
ent localities will be more likely to arise from the same people, 
either by migration or by literary influence. But words fly with 
such ease and rapidity over the earth that we are in quite as great 
a dilemma regarding them, whether we shall say that those who 
use them are of the same blood, or whether in one case they are 
evidence of tuition. 
Since we are thus almost always the sport of three rival theo- 
ries, I would prefer to adopt a new plan. Laying aside predilec- 
tions I would adopt the inductive method. There must be a 
great many resemblances in things from different times and places 
about which there exists positive information. 
Resemblance by independent invention being the least proba- 
ble, I would scrutinize with great care such examples to ascertain 
the degree of complexity in the things invented, which we are 
allowed to suppose. It is my pleasure to bring before the society 
two inventions about whose independence of origin there can be 
no question. One is a type of basket-weaving found only at 
Cape Flattery, in Washington Territory, and on the Congo. The 
_ other is the throwing-stick, occurring only in Australia, Brazil 
and Eskimo land. ioe 
The basket weaving may be called the bird-cage type, that is, 
_ a series of horizontal rods is crossed either at right angles of 
diagonally by another series of vertical rods, just like the wires 1" 
a bird cage, These rods are firmly lashed in place by a continu- 
