American Indians. The aborigines of America, taken together, form one of the most definitely marked-off and strongly characterised of the different races of men. Their physical and mental characters are much the same from the Arctic Ocean to Fuegia. The Eskimo of the far North alone differs widely in appearance and habits from the so-called 'Red Indian'; but they both agree in having a polysynthetic language. Indeed the real Indian tribes and the Eskimos alike possess languages which, while they may differ greatly in sound and in vocabulary, are almost identical in structure. True polysynthesis consists in the more or less complete amalgamation of the prominent elements of the different words of a sentence, or clause, into one long complex word. Something approaching this process is observable in the language of the Basques in Europe; but with this exception, it is quite unknown in the languages of the eastern hemisphere. The American languages (excepting the Aleut of the North-west, which appears to be North Asiatic) all are marked by this strong family likeness or common feature. Yet some languages are more strongly polysynthetic than others, and one or two (like the Oñomi of Mexico) appear to have a minimum of polysynthesis. The unity of the American language-type is exactly matched by the essential unity and sameness of the mental, moral, and physical types of the red men. True, some tribes are warlike, and others cowardly; some live by the chase, others by agriculture or horticulture; some are fish-eaters, others hunters; but they are essentially one and the same people throughout, the Eskimos alone excepted.
Their physical characters are a certain tallness and robustness, with an erect posture of the body; a skull narrowing from the eyebrows upward; prominence of the cheek-bones; the eyes black, deep set, and having, it is thought, a slight tendency, in many cases, to strabismus; the hair coarse, very black, and perfectly straight; the nose prominent or even aquiline; the complexion usually of a reddish, coppery, or cinnamon colour, but with considerable variations in this respect. They have seldom much beard. In physical qualities, the Indians thus make a somewhat close approximation to the Mongolian type. There is also a certain remarkable feebleness of constitution, combined, it may be, with vigour, suppleness, and strength of body. At least, the aboriginal races do not resist well the epidemics introduced by the whites; and many tribes have been exterminated by the effects of the 'firewater' and the vicious
Copyright 1888 in U.S.
by J. B. Lippincott
Company.