Page:Journal of American Folklore vol. 12.djvu/384

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5 2 Journal of American Folk-Lore.

independence of totems and gods as shown by the instances of Yetl and Kanuk in Haida mythology. Nor are all the gods and divine animals of sacrifice totems. Dr. Tylor favors Wilken's connection of totemism with the ancestral cult, in favor of which view he cites data from Melanesia and Australia. — In the " American Antiquarian " (vol. xxi. pp. 309-314) for September-October, 1899, Ellen R. C. Webber writes of " An old Kwanthum Village — its People and its Fall." Concerning a mound on the north bank of the Frazer River, about 25 miles from its mouth, an old Indian tells the story em- bodied in the article. Their enemies, the Haidas, and the small-pox ("the breath of a fearful dragon "), were the cause of the extermina- tion of the inhabitants of the ancient village now represented only by the mound.

Pueblos. Dr. F. C. Spencer's " Education of the Pueblo Child : A Study in Arrested Development" (N. Y., 1899, pp. 97), which forms vol. vii. No. 1 of the " Columbia University Contributions to Philosophy, Psychology, and Education," is one of the few recent valuable essays in pedagogical anthropology. It is based largely on personal investigation, and the four chapters treat of the following topics respectively : Geography and History of the Land of the Pueblos, Social and Industrial Life of the Pueblos, Institutional and Religious Life of the Pueblos, Education of the Pueblo Child. A bibliography for each chapter terminates the essay. Dr. Spencer considers that the Pueblos " represent a true type of arrested devel- opment," and that the civilization they have produced is the natural and necessary result of their environmental conditions, which have been : (1.) An arid climate, a fertile soil, and a scarcity of food plants and animals, which forced them to turn to the soil for liveli- hood ; (2.) A human environment of savages whose continued at- tacks led them to segregate and construct fortress dwellings to pro- tect themselves when their agricultural life had more or less unfitted them to cope successfully in battle with their savage foes ; (3.) A sedentary agricultural and village life necessitated cooperation, a long train of social relations, and more systematic organization. In so far as education is concerned, it is held that " the methods em- ployed by the Pueblos are exactly suited to perpetuate a static con- dition," the apprentice method obtaining "in both their industrial and religious instruction, and being reinforced by their superstitious beliefs to such an extent that variation is practically impossible." Trained to follow in the footsteps of their ancestors, the Pueblo children never leave the beaten path. The power of the priesthood and their manipulation of rite and ceremony are emphasized. Dr. Spencer's essay is of a great interest to the folk-lorist, and it is to be hoped that he will some time give us a more elaborate study of

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