Reprinted from the Journal of American Folk-Lore,
October-December, 1890





A CONTRIBUTION TO PASSAMAQUODDY FOLK-LORE.


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