ORIGINS L55 



to have relatives to the cast in the Woodlands through 

 Indiana, Ohio, and New York. Possibly this represents 

 the influence of some older parent group whose blood 

 gradually worked its way across the continent through 

 many languages and several variel ies of culture. On the 

 other hand, the shorter, less long-headed tribes were 

 massed around the Plains in the Southwest, the Pla- 

 teaus, and part of the Woodlands almost engulfing the 

 taller group. Now, while it seems clear that migrations 

 of blood are in evidence, there is, as yet, no satisfactory 

 it leans of determining the point of origin and the 

 direction of movement for these t} T pes. Turning from 

 physical type to language, we have several large masses 

 impinging upon the Plains and while it seems most 

 likely that the parent speech for each stock arose 

 somewhere outside the Plains, we are not yet clear as 

 to the impossibility of their arising in the Plains and 

 spreading to other cultures. It does not seem probable 

 that all of them would arise within this small area, but, 

 on the other hand, it is impossible to give satisfactory 

 proof for any particular tribe. Thus, language gives 

 us but a presumption in favor of migrations into the 

 Plains of the Siouan, Caddoan, and Shoshonean speak- 

 ing tribes. It is true that many tribes have migration 

 legends some of which are consistent with a few details 

 of culture; but as these nearly always take the forms 

 of other myths, they cannot be given much historical 

 weight. The plain fact is that the moment we get 

 beyond the period of exploration in the Plains, historical 

 data fail use. We know where the tribes were when 



