Philological Proofs of the Original Unity and Recent Origin of the Human Race

by Arthur James Johnes

Chapter VII. On The Origin Of The American Tribes.

Identity of the American Tribes with the Nations of the other Continents. High Mental and Moral qualities of the North American Indians. Views of Cooper, Du Ponceau, and Catlin. Clear nature of the proofs derivable from Language of the Identity of the N. A. Indians with the European and Asiatic Nations. Catlin's views as to the Identity of the Mandans, a Tribe of N. A. Indians, with the Welsh. Union in the Dialects of the N. A. Indians, of Greek, and other Indo-European and Tartar Inflections, with the Pronouns of the Hebrew and the Welsh. Close Approximation of these Dialects to the Greek and other European Tongues, and to the Languages of the North of Europe and Asia.

That the Tribes of the American Continent are descended from the same stock as the Asiatic and European nations is a proposition with respect to which the evidence contained in Appendix A must, I conceive, be felt to be conclusive when combined with Dr. Prichard's proofs that the Physiology of the Human race in different countries is the result of climate and other external agencies. As regards the mental and moral qualities of the native American nations, there seems to be no solid ground for the inference maintained in some [pg 156] quarters that they are a different, because in these respects an inferior, race. It is impossible to peruse Mr. Catlin's living picture of the manners and social habits of the North American Indians without being deeply impressed with the conviction that these Tribes, both intellectually and morally, are as highly gifted by nature as those nations who have inherited the blessings of a refined civilization. That the same remark applies to the more Southern American populations, such as the Mexicans and Peruvians, may be shown by an appeal to numerous considerations. In this place, however, I shall confine my observations to the Septs generally termed North American Indians, the original inhabitants of the United States and the regions in the same latitude. This race of men has been thus described in a celebrated work of fiction, which owes its chief interest to the vivid portraiture it exhibits of Indian life and manners.[136]

“It is generally believed that the Aborigines of the American continent have had an Asiatic origin. There are many physical as well as moral facts which corroborate this opinion, and some few that would seem to weigh against it.

“The colour of the Indian, the writer believes, is peculiar to himself, and while his cheek-bones have a very striking indication of a Tartar origin, his eyes have not. Climate may have had great influence on the former, but it is difficult to see how it can have produced the substantial difference which exists in the latter. The imagery of the Indian, both in his poetry and his oratory, is Oriental, chastened, and perhaps improved, by the limited range of his practical knowledge. He draws his metaphors from the clouds, the seasons, the birds, the beasts, and the vegetable world. In this, perhaps, he does no more than any other energetic and imaginative race would do, being compelled [pg 157] to set bounds to his fancy by experience; but the North American Indian clothes his ideas in a dress that is so different from that of the African for instance, and so Oriental in itself as to be remarked. His language, too, has the richness and sententious fulness of the Chinese. He will express a phrase in a word, and he will qualify the meaning of an entire sentence by a syllable; he will even convey different significations by the simplest inflections of the voice.

“Philologists who have devoted much time to the study, have said that there were but two or three languages, properly speaking, among all the numerous tribes which formerly occupied the country that now composes the United States. They ascribe the known difficulty one people have in understanding one another to corruptions and dialects.

“The writer remembers to have been present at an interview between two chiefs of the Great Prairies west of the Mississippi, and when an interpreter was in attendance who spoke both their languages. The warriors appeared to be on the most friendly terms, and seemingly conversed much together, yet, according to the account of the interpreter, each was absolutely ignorant of what the other said. They were of hostile tribes, brought together by the influence of the American Government; and it is worthy of remark that a common policy led them both to adopt the same subject. They mutually exhorted each other to be of use in the event of the chance of war throwing either of the parties into the hands of his enemies. Whatever may be the truth, as respects the root and the genius of the Indian tongues, it is quite certain they are now so distinct in their words as to possess most of the disadvantages of strange languages; hence much of the embarrassment that has arisen in learning their histories, and most of the uncertainty which exists in their traditions.”

The traits of character embodied in this passage are not those of an inferior, but of a highly acute and imaginative race!

The Philological objections to the proposition that the North American Tribes are of Asiatic origin have by many writers been regarded as insuperable. Du Ponceau, who has given profound attention to the subject, dwells, 1, On the differences in words among the American languages themselves; 2, On the failure which he imputes to those writers who have attempted to identify the Indians with some one individual Asiatic nation, as the Chinese, the Tartars, or the Jews, &c.; and 3, On the differences in the Grammars of the North American dialects and those of the languages of the Old World, which he treats as a conclusive refutation of all arguments in favour of original unity! Mr. Catlin also lays great stress on the first of these considerations, viz. the great differences he found in the words of the dialects of the Tribes he visited.