42 
MUSEUM BULLETIN NO. 16. 
not based on mythological subject matter. If to the above 
reasons we add the fact that in the novelette the different ele- 
ments of the plot form a more or less fixed unit, we should expect 
to find a fairly intact transmission, in some cases. Some of the 
versions must then represent old literary forms and old literary 
interests. In order to determine this an exhaustive study would 
have to be made of the mythology-literature of a tribe and a large 
number of variants of each myth would have to be collected . When 
this has been done, we will, I am certain, be in a better position 
to judge of the significance of such features as the star inter- 
pretations of the Pawnee, the human heroes of the Eskimo, 
the explanatory element, etc. 
THE NOVELETTE AS REMODELLED BY THE AUTHOR-RACONTEUR. 
It was formerly assumed that the Indian’s reverence for 
the past bound him in shackles that only the very few could 
break; that cultural possessions were transmitted just as they 
had been received. The apparent deviations were supposed 
to be due to unevenness in the power of transmitting exactly 
what had been heard. This factor in cultural changes has been 
vastly overrated, it seems to me. On no theory of unevenness 
in transmission can certain of the differences between versions 
of the same myth or novelette be accounted for. Even a cursory 
study must make it clear that we are dealing here with factors 
of a very specific kind. Let us see what they are. 
Any one who has spent any time among Indians must have 
been impressed by the fact that only a few Indians in any tribe 
have the reputation of being excellent raconteurs. And it is a 
different kind of excellence with which each raconteur is credited, 
if we are to judge from the Winnebago and Ojibwa. Among 
the former, where I made definite inquiries, one man was famous 
for the humorous touches which he imparted to every tale; 
another, for the fluency with which he spoke and the choice 
of his language; a third, for his dramatic delivery; a fourth, 
for the radical way in which he handled time-worn themes; 
a fifth, for his tremendous memory; a sixth, for the accuracy 
with which he adhered to the “accepted” version; etc. As 
