Particularly interesting are the theories of “Welsh (or white) Indians” and the “Lost Ten Tribes.” The myth of the “Welsh Indians,” reputed to be the descendants of a colony founded about A.D. 1170 by Prince Madoc (well known from Southey’s poem), has been studied by James Mooney (Amer. Anthrop. iv., 1891, 393-394), who traces its development from statements in an article in The Turkish Spy, published in London about 1730. At first these “Welsh Indians,” who are subsequently described as speaking Welsh, possessing Welsh Bibles, beads, crucifixes, &c., are placed near the Atlantic coast and identified with the Tuscaroras, an Iroquoian tribe, but by 1776 they had retreated inland to the banks of the Missouri above St Louis. A few years later they were far up the Red river, continuing, as time went on, to recede farther and farther westward, being identified successively with the Mandans, in whose language Catlin thought he detected a Welsh element, the Moqui, a Pueblos tribe of north-eastern Arizona, and the Modocs (here the name was believed to re-echo Madoc) of south-western Oregon, until at last they vanished over the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The theory that the American Indians were the “Lost Ten Tribes of Israel” has not yet entirely disappeared from ethnological literature. Many of the identities and resemblances in ideas, customs and institutions between the American Indians and the ancient Hebrews, half-knowledge or distorted views of which formed the basis of the theory, are discussed, and their real significance pointed out by Colonel Garrick Mallery in his valuable address on “Israelite and Indian: A Parallel in Planes of Culture” (Proc. Amer. Assoc. Adv. Sci. vol. xxxviii., 1889, pp. 287-331). The whole subject has been discussed by Professor H. W. Henshaw in his “Popular Fallacies respecting the Indians” (Amer. Anthrop. vol. vii. n.s., 1905, pp. 104-113).

Of ways of classifying the races of mankind and their subdivisions the number is great, but that which measures them by their speech is both ancient and convenient. The multiplicity of languages among the American Indians Linguistic stocks. was one of the first things that struck the earliest investigators of a scientific turn of mind, no less than the missionaries who preceded them. The Abbé Hervas, the first serious student of the primitive tongues of the New World, from the classificatory point of view, noted this multiplicity of languages in his Catalogo delle lingue conosciute e notizia della loro affinità e diversità (Cesena, 1784); and after him Balbi, Adelung and others. About the same time in America Thomas Jefferson, who besides being a statesman was also a considerable naturalist (see Amer. Anthrop. ix. n.s., 1907, 499-509), was impressed by the same fact, and in his Notes on the State of Virginia observed that for one “radical language” in Asia there would be found probably twenty in America. Jefferson himself collected and arranged (the MSS. were afterwards lost) the vocabularies of about fifty Indian languages and dialects, and so deserves rank among the forerunners of the modern American school of comparative philologists. After Jefferson came Albert Gallatin, who had been his secretary of the treasury, as a student of American Indian languages in the larger sense. He had also himself collected a number of Indian vocabularies. Gallatin’s work is embodied in the well-known “Synopsis of the Indian Tribes within the United States East of the Rocky Mountains, and in the British and Russian Possessions in North America,” published in the Transactions and Collections of the American Antiquarian Society (ii. 1-422) for 1836. In this, really the first attempt in America to classify on a linguistic basis the chief Indian tribes of the better-known regions of North America, Gallatin enumerated the following twenty-nine separate divisions: Adaize, Algonkin-Lenape, Athapascas, Atnas, Attacapas, Blackfeet, Caddoes, Catawbas, Chahtas, Cherokees, Chetimachas, Chinooks, Eskimaux, Fall Indians, Iroquois, Kinai, Koulischen, Muskhogee, Natches, Pawnees, Queen Charlotte’s Island, Salish, Salmon River (Friendly Village), Shoshonees, Sioux, Straits of Fuca, Utchees, Wakash, Woccons. These do not all represent distinct linguistic stocks, as may be seen by comparison with the list given below; such peoples as the Caddo and Pawnee are now known to belong together, the Blackfeet are Algonkian, the Catawba Siouan, the Adaize Caddoan, the Natchez Muskogian, &c. But the monograph is a very good first attempt at classifying North American Indian languages.

Gallatin’s coloured map of the distribution of the Indian tribes in question is also a pioneer piece of work. In 1840 George Bancroft, in the third volume of his History of the Colonization of the United States, discussed the Indian tribes east of the Mississippi, listing the following eight families: Algonquin, Catawba, Cherokee, Huron-Iroquois, Mobilian (Choctaw and Muskhogee), Natchez, Sioux or Dahcota, Uchee. He gives also a linguistic map, modified somewhat from that of Gallatin. The next work of great importance in American comparative philology is Horatio Hale’s monograph forming the sixth volume (Phila., 1846), Ethnography and Philology, of the publications of the “United States Exploring Expedition, during the years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1842, under the Command of Charles Wilkes, U.S. Navy,” which added much to our knowledge of the languages of the Indians of the Pacific coast regions. Two years later Gallatin published in the second volume of the Transactions of the American Ethnological Society (New York) a monograph entitled “Hale’s Indians of North-west America, and Vocabularies of North America,” in which he recognized the following additional groups: Arrapahoes, Jakon, Kalapuya, Kitunaha, Lutuami, Palainih, Sahaptin, Saste, Waiilatpu. In 1853 he contributed a brief paper to the third volume of Schoolcraft’s Information Respecting the History, Condition and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States, adding to the “families” already recognized by him the following: Cumanches, Gros Ventres, Kaskaias, Kiaways, Natchitoches, Towiacks, Ugaljachmutzi. Some modifications in the original list were also made. During the period 1853-1877 many contributions to the classification of the Indian languages of North America, those of the west and the north-west in particular, were made by Gibbs, Latham, Turner, Buschmann, Hayden, Dall, Powers, Powell and Gatschet. The next important step, and the most scientific, was taken by Major J. W. Powell, who contributed to the Seventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, 1885-1886 (Washington, 1891) his classic monograph (pp. 1-142) on “Indian Linguistic Families of America North of Mexico.” In 1891 also appeared Dr D. G. Brinton’s The American Race: A Linguistic Classification and Ethnographic Description of the Native Tribes of North and South America (New York, p. 392). With these two works the adoption of language as the means of distinction and classification of the American aborigines north of Mexico for scientific purposes became fixed. Powell, using the vocabulary as the test of relationship or difference, enumerated, in the area considered, 58 separate linguistic stocks, or families of speech, each “as distinct from one another in their vocabularies and apparently in their origin as from the Aryan or the Scythian families” (p. 26).

The 58 distinct linguistic stocks of American Indians north of Mexico, recognized by Powell, were as follows: (1) Adaizan; (2) Algonquian; (3) Athapascan; (4) Attacapan; (5) Beothukan; (6) Caddoan; (7) Chimakuan; (8) Chimarikan; (9) Chimmesyan; (10) Chinookan; (11) Chitimachan; (12) Chumashan; (13) Coahuiltecan; (14) Copehan; (15) Costanoan; (16) Eskimauan; (17) Esselenian; (18) Iroquoian; (19) Kalapooian; (20) Karankawan; (21) Keresan; (22) Kiowan; (23) Kitunahan; (24) Koluschan; (25) Kulanapan; (26) Kusan; (27) Lutuamian; (28) Mariposan; (29) Moquelumnan; (30) Muskhogean; (31) Natchesan; (32) Palaihnihan; (33) Piman; (34) Pujunan; (35) Quoratean; (36) Salinan; (37) Salishan; (38) Sastean; (39) Shahaptian; (40) Shoshonean; (41) Siouan; (42) Skittagetan; (43) Takilman; (44) Tañoan; (45) Timuquanan; (46) Tonikan; (47) Tonkawan; (48) Uchean; (49) Waiilatpuan; (50) Wakashan; (51) Washoan; (52) Weitspekan; (53) Wishoskan; (54) Yakonan; (55) Yanan; (56) Yukian; (57) Yuman; (58) Zuñian.

This has been the working-list of students of American Indian languages, but since its appearance the scientific investigations of Boas, Gatschet, Dorsey, Fletcher, Mooney, Hewitt, Hale, Morice, Henshaw, Hodge, Matthews, Kroeber, Dixon, Goddard, Swanton and others have added much to our knowledge, and not a few serious modifications of Powell’s classification have resulted. With Powell’s monograph was published a coloured map showing the distribution of all the linguistic stocks of Indians north of Mexico. Of this a revised edition accompanies the Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, published by the Bureau of American Ethnology in 1907-1910, now the standard book of reference on the subject. The chief modifications made in Powell’s list are as follows: The temporary presence in a portion of south-west Florida of a new stock, the Arawakan, is now proved. The Adaizan language has been shown to belong to the Caddoan family; the Natchez to the Muskogian; the Palaihnian to the Shastan; the Piman to the Shoshonian. The nomenclature of Powell’s classification has never been completely satisfactory to American philologists, and a movement is now well under way (see Amer. Anthrop. vii. n.s., 1905, 579-593) to improve it. In the present article the writer has adopted some of the suggestions made by a committee of the American Anthropological Society in 1907, covering several of the points in question.

In the light of the most recent and authoritative researches and investigations the linguistic stocks of American aborigines north of Mexico, past and present, the areas occupied, earliest homes (or original habitats), number of tribes, subdivisions, &c., and population, may be given as follows:—

Stock.Area.Earliest Home.Tribes, &c.Population.
1. Algonkian.Most of N. and E. North America, between lat. 35° and 55°; centred in the region of the Great Lakes and Hudson’s Bay.N. of the St Lawrence and E. of Lake Ontario (Brinton); N.W. of the Great Lakes (Thomas).Some 50-60, with many minor groups.About 90,000, of which some 50,000 in Canada.
2. Arawakan.Within the territory of the Calusas in S.W. Florida.Central South America.Small colony from Cuba.Extinct about end of 16th century.
3. Atakapan.Louisiana and N.E. Texas.In part of S.W. or N.E. Texas.2.Practically extinct; in 1885 4 individuals living in Louisiana, and 5 in Texas.
4. Athabaskan.Interior of Alaska and Canada; W. of Hudson’s Bay and N. of the Algonkian; also represented in Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and northern Mexico.Interior of Alaska or N.W. Canada.Some 50, with numerous minor groups.About 54,000, of which some 20,000 in Canada.
5. Beothukan.Newfoundland.Some part of Newfoundland or Labrador.Local settlements only.Extinct; last representatives died in 1829.
6. Caddoan.Country between the Arkansas and Colorado rivers in Louisiana, Texas, &c., particularly on the Red River and its affluents; later also in Kansas, Nebraska Dakota, and OklahomaOn the lower Red River, or, perhaps, somewhere to the S.W.Some 12-15.About 2000.
7. Chemakuan.On the N.W. shore of Puget Sound, Washington; also on Pacific coast near Cape Flattery.Some part of N.W. Washington.2.About 200.
8. Chimarikan.In N. California, on Trinity river, N.W. of the Copehan.Somewhere in N. California.1.Practically extinct; in 1903 only nine individuals reported living.
9. Chinookan.On the lower Columbia river, from the Cascades to the Pacific Ocean; on the coast, N. to Shoalwater Bay and S. to Tillamook Head, in Washington and Oregon.N. of the Columbia, in W. Washington.Some 10 or 12 with numerous villages.About 300.
10. Chitimachan.Part of S.E. Louisiana.Region of Grand Lake and river, Louisiana.1.Nearly extinct; in 1881 only 50 individuals surviving.
11. Chumashan.In S.W. California, S. of the Salinan and Mariposan; in the basins of the Sta Maria, Sta Inez, lower Sta Clara,&c., on the coast, and the northern Sta. Barbara Islands.Somewhere in S.W. California.7 or more dialects, with many settle ments.Nearly extinct; only 15-20 individuals still living.
12. Copehan (Wintun).In central N. California, W. of the Pujunan; W. of the Coast range, from San Pablo and Suisun Bays N. to Mount Shasta.Somewhere in N. California.2 chief divisions, with many small settlements.About 130 at various villages, and as many on Round Valley Reservation.
13. Costanoan.In the coast region of central California, N. of the Salinan; from about San Fransisco S. to Point Sur and Big Panoche Creek, and from the Pacific Ocean to the San Joaquin river.Somewhere in central California.No true tribes, but 15-20 settlements.Nearly extinct; only 25-30 individuals still living.
14. Eskimoan.Greenland and some of the Arctic islands, the whole northern coast N. of the Algonkian and Athabaskan, from the straits of Belle Isle to the end of the Aleutian Islands; also in extreme N.E. Asia W. to the Anadyr river; in E. North America in earlier times possibly considerably farther south.Interior of Alaska (Rink); in the region W. of Hudson’s Bay (Boas); preferably the latter.9 well-marked groups, with 60-70 “settlements,” &c.About 28,000, of which there are in Greenland 11,000 Alaska 13,000, Canada 4500, and Asia 1200.
15. Esselenian.On the coast of W. California, S. of Monterey, N. of the Salinan.Somewhere in W. or central California.Many small settlements.Extinct; last speaker of language died about 1890.
16. Haidan (Skittagetan).The Queen Charlotte Islands, off the N.W. coast of British Columbia, and part of the Prince of Wales Archipelago, Alaska.Interior of Alaska or N.W. Canada.2 dialects; about 25 chief “towns,” and many minor settlements.About 900, of which 300 are in Alaska.
17. Iroquoian.The region about Lakes Erie and Ontario (Ontario, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, &c.), and on both banks of the St Lawrence, on the N. to beyond the Saguenay, on the S. to Gaspé; also represented in the S.E. United States by the Toscarora, Cherokee, &c. (now chiefly in Oklahoma).Somewhere between the lower St Lawrence and Hudson’s Bay (Brinton, Hale); in S. Ohio and Kentucky (Boyle, Thomas).Some 15 chief tribes with many minor subdivisions.About 40,000, of which 10,000 are in Canada; of those in the United States 28,000 are Cherokee.
18. Kalapuyan.In N.W. Oregon in the valley of the Willamette, above the Falls.Somewhere in N.W. Oregon.About 15-18, with minor divisions.Only some 140 individuals still living.
19. Karankawan.On the Texas coast, from Galveston to Padre Island.Somewhere in S. Texas.5-6, with minor divisions.Extinct probably in 1858; a few survived later, possibly, in Mexico.
20. Keresan.In N. central New Mexico, on the Rio Grande and its tributaries, the Jemez, San José, &c.Somewhere in the New Mexico-Arizona region.17 “villages” (pueblos); earlier more.3990, in 6 pueblos (some 150 at Isleta).
21. Kiowan.On the upper Arkansas and Canadian rivers, in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, &c.; formerly on the head-waters of the Platte, and still earlier on the upper Yellowstone and Missouri, in S.W. Montana.At the foot of the Rocky Mountains in S.W. Montana.1.1219 in Oklahoma.
22. Kitunahan.In S.E. British Columbia, N. Idaho, and part of N.W. Montana.Somewhere E. of the Rocky Mountains in Montana or Alberta.2 chief divisions and 3 others.About 1100; half in Canada and half in the United States.
23. Koluschan (Tlingit).On the coast and adjacent islands of S. Alaska, from 55° to 60° N. lat.; also some in Canada.Somewhere in the interior of Alaska or N.W. Canada.Some 12-15.About 2000.
24. Kulanapan (Pomo).On the coast in N.W. California (Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino counties), W. of the Yukian.Somewhere in N.W. California.About 30 local divisions, &c.; no true tribes.About 1000.
25. Kusan.On the coast of central Oregon, on Coos Bay and Coos and Coquille rivers, S. of the Yakonan; now mostly on Siletz Reservation.Somewhere inland from Coos Bay, Oregon.4, earlier more.About 50.
26. Lutuamian (Klamath).In the region of the Klamath and Tule lakes, Lost and Sprague rivers, &c., in Oregon (chiefly) and N.E. California; now on Klamath Reservation, Oregon, with a few also in Oklahoma.In S. Oregon, N. of the Klamath lakes.2, with local subdivisions.1034; of these 755 Klamath, and 279 Modoc (56 in Oklahoma).
27. Mariposan (Yokuts).In S. central California, in the valley of the San Joaquin, on the Tule, Kaweah, King’s rivers, &c.; E. of the Salinan, S. of the Moquelumnan.Somewhere in central California.30-40 groups with special dialects.About 150, at Tule river reservation, &c.
28. Moquelumnan (Miwok).In central California, in three sections: the main area on the W. slope of the Sierras, from the Cosumnes river on the N. to the Fresno on the S.; a second on the N. shore of San Francisco Bay, and a third (small) S. of Clear Lake on the head-waters of Putah Creek.Somewhere in central California.7 dialects, no true tribes; about 20 local groups with numerous minor ones.Several hundred; much scattered.
29. Muskogian (Muskhogean).In the Gulf States, E. of the Mississippi, most of Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, part of Tennessee, S. Carolina, Florida and Louisiana; now mostly in Oklahoma.Somewhere W. of the lower Mississippi.About 12, with many minor divisions.About 40,000; of these 38,000 in Oklahoma, 1000 in Mississippi, 350 in Florida, and a few in Louisiana.
30. Pakawan (Coahuiltecan).On both banks of the Rio Grande in Texas and Mexico, from its mouth to beyond Laredo; at one time possibly E. to Antonio, and W. to the Sierra Madre.Some part of N.E. Mexico.20-25, some very small.Practically extinct; in 1886 about 30 individuals still living, mostly on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande.
31. Pujunan (Maidu).In N.E. California, E. of the Sacramento river, between the Shastan and Moquelumnan.N.E. California.No true tribes; several larger and very many smaller local divisions, “villages,” &c.About 250 full-bloods.
32. Quoratean (Karok).In extreme N.W. California, on the Klamath river, &c.; W. of the Shastan.Somewhere in N. California.Many “villages,” &c.In 1889 some 600; much reduced since; possibly 300.
33. Sahaptian.In the region of the Columbia and its tributaries, in parts of Washington, Idaho and Oregon; between lat. 44° and 47°, and from the Cascades to the Bitter Root Mountains.Somewhere in the region of the Columbia, or farther N.5-7.About 4200.
34. Salinan.On the Pacific coast of S.W. California, from above S. Antonio, to below S. Louis Obispo; W. of the Mariposan.Somewhere in S.W. California.2 or 3 larger divisions; no true tribes.Practically extinct; in 1884 only 10-12 individuals living.
35. Salishan.A large part of S. British Columbia and Washington, with parts of Idaho and Montana; also part of Vancouver Island, and outliers in N. British Columbia (Bilqula), and S.W. Oregon.Central or N. British Columbia.Some 60-65, of which a number are merely local divisions.About 15,000 in Canada, and some 6300 in the United States.
36. Shastan.In N. California and S. Oregon, in the basins of the Pit and Klamath rivers, on Rogue river and to beyond the Siskiyou Mountains; S. of the Lutuamian.In N. California or Oregon.6 or more linguistic divisions.Less than 40 Shasta full-bloods; some 1200 Achomawi.
37. Shoshonian.In the W. part of the United States; most of the country between lat. 35° and 45° and long. 105° and 120°, with extensions N., S., and S.E. outside this area; represented also in California, and in Mexico by the Piman, Sonoran and Nahuatlan tribes.Foot-hills and plains E. of the Rocky Mountains in N.W. United States or Canada, but residence in Plateau region long-continued.Some 12-15 in the United States; many more in Mexico, ancient and modern.In the United States, some 24,000.
38. Siouan.In the basin of the Missouri and the upper Mississippi; from about N. lat. 33° to 53° and, at the broadest, from 89° to 110° W. long.; also represented in Wisconsin (Winnebago), Louisiana, the Carolinas, and Virginia (formerly).In the Carolina-Virginia region.Some 20 large and many minor ones.About 38,000; of which some 1400 in Canada.
39. Takelman.In S.W. Oregon, in the middle valley of Rogue river, on the upper Rogue, and to about the California line or beyond.In some part of S. Oregon.2.Practically extinct; perhaps 6 speakers of the language alive.
40. Tanoan.In New Mexico, on the Rio Grande, &c., from lat. 33° to 36°; also a settlement with the Moqui in N.E. Arizona, and another on the Rio Grande at the boundary line, partly in Mexico.Some part of New Mexico.Some 14-15 pueblos.About 4200 in 12 pueblos.
41. Timuquan.In Florida, from the N. border and the Ocilla river to Lake Okeechobee, perhaps farther N. and S.Some part of Florida.Some 60 or more settlements.Extinct in 18th century.
42. Tonikan.In part of E. Louisiana and part of Mississippi; in Avoyelles parish, La., &c.Somewhere in the Louisiana-Mississippi region.3.Practically extinct; in 1886 some 25 individuals living at Marksville, La.
43. Tonkawan.In S.E. Texas, N.W. of the Karankawan; remnants now in Oklahoma.Somewhere in S. or W. Texas.1.Nearly extinct; in 1884 only 78 individuals living; in 1905 but 47, with Ponkas, in Oklahoma.
44. Tsimshian (Chimmesyan).In N.W. British Columbia, on the Nass and Skeena rivers, and the adjacent islands and coast S. to Millbank Sound; also (since 1887) on Annette Island, Alaska.On the headwaters of the Skeena river.3 main and several minor divisions.About 3200 in Canada, and 950 in Alaska.
45. Wailatpuan.A western section (Molala) in the Cascade region between Mounts Hood and Scott, in Washington and Oregon; an eastern (Cayuse) on the headwaters of the Wallawalla, Umatilla and Grande Ronde rivers.In Oregon, S. of the Columbia river.2.Language practically extinct; 405 Cayuse (in 1888 only 6 spoke their mother tongue) are still living; in 1881 about 20 Molalas.
46. Wakashan (Kwakiutl-Nootka).Most of Vancouver Island (except some 2⁄3 of the E. coast) and most of the coast of British Columbia from Gardner channel to Cape Mudge; also part of extreme N.W. Washington.Somewhere in the interior of British Columbia.3 main divisions, with more than 50 “tribes.”4765, of which 435 are in the United States.
47. Washoan.In E. central California and the adjoining part of Nevada, in the region of Lake Tahoe and the lower Carson valley.In N.W. Nevada.1.About 200, in the region of Carson, Reno, &c.
48. Weitspekan (Yurok).In N.W. California, W. of the Quoratean.In N. California or S. Oregon.6 divisions; no true tribes.A few hundreds; in 1870 estimated at 2000 or more.
49. Wishoskan (Wiyot).In N.W. California, in the coast region, S. of the Weitspekan.In N. California.3-5 divisions; no true tribes.Nearly extinct.
50. Yakonan.In W. Oregon, in the coast region and on the rivers from the Yaquina to the Umpqua.W. central Oregon.4 chief divisions, with numerous villages.About 300, on the Siletz Reservation
51. Yanan.In central N. California in the region of Round Mountain. &c., S. of the Shastan.Somewhere farther E.1.Practically extinct; in 1884 but 35 individuals living.
52. Yuchian.In E. Georgia, on the Savannah river from above Augusta down to the Ogeechee, and also on Chatahoochee river; remnants now in Oklahoma.Somewhere E. of the Chatahoochee.1.About 500, with Creeks in Oklahoma.
53. Yukian.In N.W. California, E. of the Copehan, with a N. and a S. section; in the Round Valley region.N. or central California.5 divisions; no true tribes.About 250.
54. Yuman.In the extreme S.W. of the United States (lower Colorado and Gila valley), part of California, most of Lower California, and a small part of Mexico.N.W. Arizona.9-10.In the United States about 4800.
55. Zuñian.In N.W. New Mexico, on the Zuñi river.Some part of the New Mexico-Arizona region.1.1500.

Of these 55 different linguistic stocks 5 (Arawakan, Beothukan, Esselenian, Karankawan and Timuquan) are completely extinct, the Arawakan, of course, in North America only; 13 (Atakapan, Chimarikan, Chitimachan, Chumashan, Costanoan, Kusan, Pakawan, Salinan, Takelman, Tonikan, Tonkawan, Wishoskan, Yakonan) practically extinct; while the speakers of a few other languages or the survivors of the people once speaking them (e.g. Chemakuan, Chinookan, Copehan, Kalapuyan, Mariposan, Washoan, Yukian), number about 200 or 300, in some cases fewer. Of the Wailatpuans, although some individuals belonging to the stock are still living, the language itself is practically extinct. The distribution of the various stocks reveals some interesting facts. Among these are the stretch of the Eskimoan along the whole Arctic coast and its extension into Asia; the immense areas occupied by the Athabaskan and the Algonkian, and (less notably) the Shoshonian and the Siouan; the existence of few stocks on the Atlantic slope (from Labrador to Florida, east of the Mississippi, only 8 are represented); the great multiplicity of stocks in the Pacific coast region, particularly in Oregon and California; the extension of the Shoshonian, Yuman and Athabaskan southward into Mexico, the Shoshonian in ancient, the Athabaskan in modern times; the existence of an Arawakan colony in south-western Florida, a 16th-century representative in North America of a South American linguistic stock. Some stocks, e.g. Atakapan, Beothukan, Chemakuan, Chimarikan, Chitimachan, Kiowan, Kitunahan, Lutuamian, Takelman, Tonkawan, Wailatpuan, Yanan, Yuchian, Zuñi, &c., were not split up into innumerable dialects, possessing at most but two, three or four, usually fewer. Of the larger stocks, the Athabaskan, Algonkian, Shoshonian, Siouan, Iroquoian, Salishan, &c., possess many dialects often mutually unintelligible. In marked contrast with this is the case of the Eskimoan stock, where, in spite of the great distance over which it has extended, dialect variations are at a minimum, and the people “have retained their language in all its minor features for centuries” (Boas). As to the reason for the abundance of linguistic stocks in the region of the Pacific (from Alaska to Lower California, west of long. 115°, there are 37: Eskimoan, Koluschan, Athabaskan, Haidan, Tsimshian, Wakashan, Salishan, Kitunahan, Chimakuan, Chinookan, Sahaptian, Wailatpuan, Shoshonian, Kalapuyan, Yakonan, Kusan, Takelman, Lutuamian, Quoratean, Weitspekan, Wishoskan, Shastan, Yanan, Chimarikan, Yukian, Copehan, Pujunan, Washoan, Kulanapan, Moquelumnan, Mariposan, Costanoan, Esselenian, Salinan, Chumashan, Yuman) there has been much discussion. Of these no fewer than 18 are confined practically to the limits of the present state of California. Dialects of Athabaskan, Shoshonian and Yuman also occur within the Californian areas, thus making, in all, representatives of 21 linguistic stocks in a portion of the continent measuring less than 156,000 sq. m. In explanation of this great diversity of speech several theories have been put forward. One is to the effect that here, as in the region of the Caucasus in the Old World, the multiplicity of languages is due to the fact that tribe after tribe has been driven into the mountain valleys, &c., by the pressure of stronger and more aggressive peoples, who were setting forth on careers of migration and conquest. Another view, advocated by Horatio Hale in 1886 (Proc. Amer. Assoc. Adv. Sci.; also Proc. Canad. Inst., Toronto, 1888), is that this great diversity of human speech is due to the language-making instinct of children, being the result of “its exercise by young children accidentally isolated from the teachings and influence of grown companions.” A pair of young human beings, separating thus from the parent tribe and starting social life in a new environment by themselves, would, according to Mr Hale, soon produce a new dialect or a new language. This theory was looked upon with favour by Romanes, Brinton, and other psychologists and ethnologists. Dr R. B. Dixon (Congr. intern. des. Amér., Quebec, 1906, pp. 255-263), discussing some aspects of this question, concludes “that the great linguistic and considerable cultural complexity of this whole California-Oregon region is due to progressive differentiation rather than to the crowding into this restricted area of remnants of originally discrete stocks.” How far two dialects of one stock can go in the way of such differentiation without becoming absolutely distinct is illustrated by the Achomawi branches of the Shastan family of speech, which Dr Dixon has very carefully investigated.

The test of vocabulary is not the only means by which the languages of the North American aborigines might be classified. There are peculiarities of phonetics, morphology, grammar, sentence-structure, &c., which suggest groupings of the linguistic stocks independent of their lexical content. Some languages are harsh and consonantal (e.g. the Kootenay and others of the North Pacific region), some melodious and vocalic, as are certain of the tongues of California and the south-eastern United States. Some employ reduplication with great frequency, like certain Shoshonian dialects; others, like Kootenay, but rarely. A few, like the Chinook, are exceedingly onomatopoeic. Some, like the northern languages of California, have no proper plural forms. Of the Californian languages the Pomo alone distinguishes gender in the pronoun, a feature common to other languages no farther off than Oregon. The high development and syntactical use of demonstratives which characterize the Kwakiutl are not found among the Californian tongues. A few languages, like the Chinook and the Tonika, possess real grammatical gender. Some languages are essentially prefix, others essentially suffix tongues; while yet others possess both prefixes and suffixes, or even infixes as well. In some languages vocalic changes, in others consonantal, have grammatical or semantic meaning. In certain languages tense, mood and voice are rather weakly developed. In some languages syntactical cases occur (e.g. in certain Californian tongues), while in many others they are quite unknown. Altogether the most recent investigations have revealed a much greater variety in morphological and in grammatical processes than was commonly believed to exist, so that the general statement that the American Indian tongues are all clearly and distinctly of the “incorporating” and “polysynthetic” types needs considerable modification. Using criteria of phonetics, morphology, grammar, &c., some of the best authorities have been able to suggest certain groups of North American Indian languages exhibiting peculiarities justifying the assumption of relationship together. Thus Dr Franz Boas (Mem. Intern. Congr. Anthrop., 1893, pp. 339-346, and Ann. Archaeol. Rep. Ontario, 1905, pp. 88-106) has grouped the linguistic stocks of the North Pacific coast region as follows: (1) Tlingit (Koluschan) and Haida; (2) Tsimshian; (3) Wakashan (Kwakiutl-Nootka), Salish, Chemakum; (4) Chinook. In the same region the present writer has suggested a possible relationship of the Kootenay with Shoshonian. In the Californian area Dr R. B. Dixon and Dr A. L. Kroeber have made out these probable groups among the numerous language stocks of that part of the United States: (1) Chumashan and Salinan; (2) Yurok (Weitspekan), Wishoskan, Athabaskan, Karok (Quoratean), Chimarikan; (3) Maidu (Pujunan), Lutuamian, Wintun (Copehan), Yukian, Pomo (Kulanapan), Costanoan, Esselenian, Yokuts (Mariposan), Shoshonian, Shastan, Moquelumnan and possibly Washoan; (4) Yanan; (5) Yuman. Suggestions of even larger groups than any of these have also been made. It may be that, judged by certain criteria, the Kootenay, Shoshonian, Iroquoian and Siouan may belong together, but this is merely tentative. It is also possible, from the consideration of morphological peculiarities, that some if not all of the languages of the so-called “Palaeo-Asiatic” peoples of Siberia, as Boas has suggested (Science, vol. xxiii., n.s., 1906, p. 644), may be included within the American group of linguistic stocks. Indeed Sternberg (Intern. Amer.-Kongr. xiv., Stuttgart, 1904, pp. 137-140) has undertaken to show the relationship morphologically of one of these languages, the Giliak (of the island of Saghalin and the region about the mouth of the Amur), to the American tongues, and its divergence from the “Ural-Altaic” family of speech. Here, however, more detailed investigations are needed to settle the question.