which prevails among the North American Indians. It is not universal, as
it does not seem to be known among the widely scattered bands of the
Crees and the Athapascans, or among the Indians of Oregon. [Footnote:
See _Ancient Society_, pp. 167, 175, 177.] It was found, however,
among the great majority of tribes in the region north of Mexico and
east of the Rocky Mountains, and was sufficiently alike in all to
indicate a common origin. Mr. Morgan finds this origin in a kinship,
real or supposed, among the members of each clan. He considers the clan,
or gens, and not the single family, to be the natural unit of primitive
society. It is, in his view, a stage through which the human race passes
in its progress from the savage state to civilization. It is difficult,
however, to reconcile this theory with the fact that among some races,
as for example, the Polynesian and Feejeean, which are in precisely the
same stage of social advancement as the North American Indians, this
institution is unknown; and even among the Indians, as has been said, it
is not everywhere found. There are many indications which seem to show
that the system is merely an artificial arrangement, instituted for
social convenience. It is natural, in the sense that the desire for
association is natural to man. The sentiment is one which manifests
itself alike in all stages of society. The guilds of the middle ages,
the masonic and other secret brotherhoods, religious organizations,
trade unions, clubs, and even political parties, are all manifestations
of this associative instinct. The Indian clan was simply a brotherhood,
an aggregate of persons united by a common tie, sometimes of origin,
sometimes merely of locality. These brotherhoods were not permanent, but
were constantly undergoing changes, forming, dividing, coalescing,
vanishing. The names of many of them show their recent origin. The
Chicasas have a "Spanish clan." [Footnote: _Ancient Society_,
p. 163.] The Shawnees had a "Horse clan." [Footnote: Ibid, p. 168.] The
Iroquois, of Eastern Canada, made up of fragments of all the Five