The study of aboriginal folk-lore cannot reach its highest scientific
value until some method is adopted by means of which an accurate
record of the stories can be obtained and preserved. In observations
on the traditions of the Indian tribes, the tendency of the listener
to add his own thoughts or interpretations is very great. Moreover, no
two Indians tell the same story alike. These are sources of error
which cannot be eliminated, but by giving the exact words of the
speaker it is possible to do away with the errors of the translator.
I believe that the memory of Indians for the details of a story is
often better than that of white men. There may be a reason for this,
in their custom of memorizing their rituals, stories, and legends. The
K[=a]klan, a Zuñi ritual, for instance, which is recited by the priest
once in four years, takes several hours to repeat. What white man can
repeat from memory a history of equal length after so long an
interval?
Phonetic methods of recording Indian languages are not wholly
satisfactory. It is very unlikely that two persons will adopt the same
spelling of a word never heard before. Many inflections, accents, and
gutturals of Indian languages are difficult to reduce to writing.
Conventional signs and additional letters have been employed for this
purpose, the use of which is open to objections. There is need of some
accurate method by which observations can be recorded. The
difficulties besetting the path of the linguist can be in a measure
obviated by the employment of the phonograph, by the aid of which the
languages of our aborigines can be permanently perpetuated. As a means
of preserving the songs and tales of races which are fast becoming
extinct, it is, I believe, destined to play an important part in
future researches.
In order to make experiments, with a view of employing this means of
record among the less civilized Indians of New Mexico,[1] I visited,
in the month of April, the Passamaquoddies, the purest blooded race of
Indians now living in New England. The results obtained fully
satisfied my expectations. For whatever success I have had, I must
express my obligation to Mrs. W. Wallace Brown, of Calais, Me., whose
influence over the Indians is equalled by her love for the study of
their traditions.
[Footnote 1: This work was undertaken as a preparation for similar
observation in connection with the Hemenway Archæological Expedition.
I am indebted to Mrs. Mary Hemenway, of Boston, for opportunities to
make these observations.]
The songs and stories were taken from the Indians themselves, on the
wax cylinders of the phonograph. In most cases a single cylinder
sufficed, although in others one story occupied several cylinders.
None of the songs required more than one cylinder.
I was particularly anxious to secure the songs. The Passamaquoddies
agree in the statement that their stories were formerly sung, and
resembled poems. Many tales still contain songs, and some possess at
this day a rhythmical character. I am not aware that any one has tried
to set the songs to music, and have had nothing to guide me on that
head.
In sacred observances it is probable that the music of the songs
preserves its character even after other parts have been greatly
modified, while the song retains its peculiarity as long as it
continues to be sung. The paraphernalia of the sacred dance may be
modified, as in the case of many New Mexican pueblos, into church
festivals, but the songs must remain unchanged until superseded. It is
noteworthy in this connection that in many of the songs archaic words
occur.