Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 10, 1899.djvu/382

 342 Reviews.

explicitly as to the degree of culture reached by these Indians, but it seems to have been very low, much lower, for instance, than that of the Pueblo Indians in the south, of the Haidahs away to the north-west, or of the great Algonkin and Iroquois stocks in the east of the continent. Incidentally it is stated " that no Wintu has been converted to Christianity ; hence the faith of the nation is undimmed, and its adherence to primitive religion unweakened." This is a point upon which further infor- mation would have been welcome, though as a matter of fact there is nothing in any of these tales to excite that suspicion of Christian influence which has been manifested in the case of many Polynesian and Melanesian myths.

The Wintus and Yanas are, the reader is informed, " not related, and their languages are radically different." A marked difference does make itself felt in passing from the tales of the one to those of the other people, though many are substantially identical, and all exhibit a kindred body of incidents and con- ceptions. Information concerning the racial and hnguistic affini- ties of these tribes would have been welcome, and Mr. Curtin has been far too chary of illustrative comment from the rich storehouse of Indian myth and legend. Moreover, the few paral- lels and references he does vouchsafe are from the great Central and Eastern stocks. We should have expected and been grateful for comparisons with the mythic legends of other Western tribes, notably the North-western stocks, concerning whom Dr. Boas has accumulated such a mass of information. In general it may be said that Mr. Curtin has diminished the usefulness of his col- lection for scientific purposes by the absence of those aids to right intelligence which the student desiderates, and, lacking which, feels unable to form a correct judgment. This is the more to be regretted because the stories are of exceeding inte- rest, and because Mr. Curtin puts forth on their behalf claims of a very far-reaching character marked by great speculative insight and daring. As will be seen, I feel myself unable to accept these claims upon the evidence submitted by him, but I am conscious of the unsatisfactory nature of my criticism. Mr. Curtin must pos- sess a mass of information respecting the dogmatic beliefs and rites of these peoples which would throw a flood of light upon the tales, but, save for an interesting account of magician- making among the Wintus, he withholds it, though it may possibly