442 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXI. No. 534. 



ous Races, (&) Physical Measurements of 

 Philippine Groups,' by R. S. AVoodworth 

 and Frank G. Bruner. 



Over a thousand individuals, belonging 

 to twenty-two groups and nine races, were 

 measui'ed, and most of these were subjected 

 also to sensory and mental tests. Among 

 the results may be mentioned : the superi- 

 oi'ity of some groups, especially the Fili- 

 pino, in eyesight, and the inferiority of 

 others, the Ainu, Negrito and African 

 pigmy ; the presence of red-green blindness 

 among Filipinos to about the same extent 

 as among whites ; the general inferiority of 

 other races to the white in fineness of color 

 perception, but no special deficiency in per- 

 ception of the violet end of the spectrum. 



A comparison of the height, cephalic, 

 facial and other indices of several Filipino 

 groups was obtained which showed that, on 

 the whole, the population of the islands is 

 remarkably uniform in physical measure- 

 ments. 



After the presentation of Professor 

 Woodworth's paper, the society adjourned 

 to attend the discussion on 'Mutation 

 Theory of Evolution,' in Dental Hall. 



THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29. 



The meeting was opened by the vice- 

 president, Walter Hough. The first paper 

 was, 'The Story of a Shield,' by James 

 Mooney. 



Professor IMooney said in part : 

 In the old days all men between twenty- 

 five and fifty years of age, in the Kiowa 

 tribe, had shields. They were the personal 

 property of the mounted warriors and, on 

 the plains, this object was the most prized 

 pos.session of the Indians. "When a warrior 

 was killed his shield was usually buried 

 with him. Each shield had a distinct 

 origin, although a number might be made 

 of the same form and from the same dream. 

 Out of 300 Kiowa shields there might have 



been 50 shield origins. One man might 

 make many shields, which came from a 

 dream, and the wearers would form a small 

 clan-like body. One of the old shields was 

 that of the buffalo. Its origin was from the 

 butfalo and it had buffalo medicine. It 

 was worn by the medicine men who knew 

 how to cure arrow and gun-shot wounds. 

 As shields were used in warfare, they could 

 be made for no other purpose. 



The bird shield w'as of special interest 

 to the speaker, as he had been more closely 

 associated with it than with any other. A 

 story was related of a Kiowa boy who en- 

 deavored to get medicine from a water 

 monster formed like a horned alligator. 

 He approached a pool and looked into the 

 water. He heard the voice of a boy who 

 finally invited him to his father's tent. 

 The young man went in. He saw seven 

 men seated against the wall of the tent. 

 These men turned into birds. Each had 

 a shield which was fastened above his 

 head. They told the young man that they 

 had heard his longings and that they would 

 give him medicine. They would give him 

 a shield. They also gave him nine songs. 

 The shrike gave him the song that was to 

 be sung when he went into battle. The 

 call of each bird was to be used in battle 

 in connection with the proper shield and 

 accompanying the song of the particular 

 bird. 



A model of the original bird shield was 

 shown. It had a rainbow, the sunlight and 

 dots representing the ashes thrown down 

 by the old men in the sky. These objects 

 w^ere considered to be great medicine. The 

 inside of the shield contained the secret 

 medicine known only to the ow^ner. This 

 was revealed at the moment that the owner 

 made a charge in battle. Each shield had 

 a number of taboos, the breaking of which 

 was a misfortune; there were, however, 

 many ways of propitiation and thereby 

 overcoming the harm that had been done. 



