tablets of white wood, feathers behind his head and behind his shoulders, on his head the antlers of a deer, a heavy war club in his right hand.

3. What is the wish of the great warrior who has come?

4. He wishes to speak to the chief of the numerous aud powerful Taensas. 5. Let the warrior enter the house of the old men. The chief is seated in the midst of the old men. He will certainly hear thee. Enter the house of the old men.

6. Great chief, old man, I enter. Thou comest. Enter; bring him in. What wishes the foreign warrior? Speak, thou who hast come.

7. Old men, ancient men, I am the chief of many men ; at ten days journey up the river there lies the land of poplars, the land of the wild rice, which belongs to the brave warriors, the brothers of the Taensas.

8. They said to me-since thou hast not chosen a bride, go to the Taensas our brothers, ask of them a bride; for the Chactas are strong; we will ask a bride of the Taensas.

9. That is well; but speak, warrior, are the Chactas numerous ?

10. Count; they are six hundred, and I am stronger than ten.

11. That is well; but speak, do they know how to hunt the buffalo and the deer? does the squirrel run in your great forests?

12. The land of the wild rice has no great forests, but cows, stags and elks dwell in our land in great numbers.

13. What plants grow in your country?

14. Poplars, the slupe tree, the myrtle grow there, we have the sugar maple, ebony to make collars, the oak from which to make war clubs; our hills have magnolias whose shining leaves cover our houses.

15. That is well, the Taensas have neither the slupe tree nor the ebony, but they have the wax tree and the vine, has the land of the wild rice these also? 16. The Taensas are strong and rich, the Chactas are strong also, they are the brothers of the Taensas.

17. The Taensas love the brave Chactas, they will give you a bride; but say, dost thou come alone? dost thou bring bridal presents?

18. Twenty warriors are with me, and bulls drag a wain.

19. Let six, seven, twenty Taensa warriors go forth to meet those who come. For thee, we will let thee see the bride, she is my daughter, of me, the great chief; she is young; she is beautiful as the lily of the waters; she is straight as the white birch; her eyes are like unto the tears of gum that distil from the trees; she knows how to prepare the meats for the warriors and the sap of the sugar maple; she knows how to knit the fishing nets and keep in order the weapons of war-we will show thee the bride.

20. The strangers have arrived, the bulls have dragged up the wain. The warrior offers his presents to the bride, paint for her eyes, fine woven stuff, scalps of enemies, collars, beautiful bracelets; rings for her feet, and swathing. bands for her first born.

21. The father of the bride and the old men receive skins, horns of deer, solid bows and sharpened arrows.

22. Now let the people repose during the night; at sunrise there shall be a feast; then you shall take the bride in marriage.

And this is the song of the marriage.

The assurance which has offered this as a genuine composition of a Louisiana Indian is only equalled by the docility with which it has been accepted by Americanists. The marks of fraud upon it are like Falstaff's lies-"gross as a mountain, open, palpable." The Choctaws are located ten days journey up the Mississippi in the wild rice region about the headwaters of the stream, whereas they were the immediate neighbors of the real Taensas, and dwelt when first discovered in the middle and southern parts of the present state of Mississippi. The sugar maple is made to grow in the Louisiana swamps, the broad leaved magnolia and the ebony in Minnesota. The latter is described as the land of the myrtle,

and the former of the vine. The northern warrior brings feetrings and infant clothing as presents, while the southern bride knows all about boiling maple sap, and is like a white birch. But the author's knowledge of aboriginal customs stands out most prominently when he has the up-river chief come with an ox-cart, and boast of his cows! After that passage I need say nothing more. He is indeed ignorant who does not know that not a single draft animal, and not one kept for its milk, was ever found among the natives of the Mississippi valley.

I have made other notes tending in the same direction, but it is scarcely necessary for me to proceed further. If the whole of this pretended Taensa language has been fabricated, it would not be the first time in literary history that such a fraud had been perpetrated. In the last century, George Psalmanazar framed a grammar of a fictitious language in Formosa, which had no existence whatever. So it seems to be with the Taensa; not a scrap of it can be found elsewhere, not a trace of any such tongue remains in Louisiana. What is more, all the old writers distinctly deny that this tribe had any independent language. M. De Montigny, who was among them in 1699, father Gravier who was also at their towns, and Du Pratz the historian, all say positively that the Taensas spoke the Natchez language and were part of the same people. We have ample specimens of the Natchez, and it is nothing like this alleged Taensa. Moreover, we have in old writers the names of the Taensa villages furnished by the Taensas themselves, and they also are nowise akin to the matter of this grammar, but are of Chahta-Muskoki derivation.

What I have now said is I think sufficient to brand this grammar and its associated texts as deceptions practiced on the scientific world. If it concerns the editors and introducers of that work to discover who practiced and is responsible for that deception, let the original manuscript be produced and submitted to experts; if this is not done, let the book be hereafter pilloried as an imposture.

Media, Pa.

D. G. BRINTON.

EDITORIAL.

THE AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN AND ITS STAFF OF ASSOCIATE EDITORS.

We take this occasion to speak about the American Antiquarian and its associate editors. We have been gradually drawing together a class of gentlemen who are acknowledged to be the best scholars in their departments found on the continent of America.

We have recently secured two or three new associates, and yet retain those who have heretofore co-operated with us in conducting the journal, and therefore speak of the work which all are likely to accomplish.

We call attention first to the Notes which Dr. Henry Phillips is furnishing. There is probably no better scholar in America. a linguist, Dr. Phillips is certainly "facile princeps." His acquaintance extends to nearly all modern European languages, as well as to the ancient classics, leaving out only the Hebrew and Semitic tongues. We are happy to have secured his co-operation, and hope to make our exchanges very useful, as we shall place in his hands the reports of European societies and all the material which comes to us so freely. As the secretary of the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society, and as custodian of the American Philosphical Society. Dr. Phillips also has access to many books and periodicals. His department in the American Antiquarian will be European Archæology, and we think that our readers will find his notes very valu able.

Dr. D. G. Brinton has also kindly consented to act as associate in the department of "Aboriginal Literature." His scholarship is well known, and what is more, his style is always interesting. A keen mind which takes in a broad range and at the same time critically discerns an error, is the gift which has distinguished Dr. Brinton. We can congratulate ourselves on having his assistance, and we are sure that our readers will welcome him to the position of associate editor.

Prof. A. C. Merriam, very generously, has concluded to remain in charge of the department of Classic Archæology, notwithstanding solicitations to assume the same position in other journals. There is no contributor whose articles have been quoted so extensively during the past year, and therefore we feel grateful to him for remaining at his post and upholding this department by his thorough scholarship.

Prof. Avery is also increasing his exchanges, and will furnish material concerning the Far East. No man in America is so well acquainted with the literature of that part of the world, and we are happy to know that his articles are being appreciated by scholars everywhere.

We call attention to Mr. Dorsey's articles and notes on Folk Lore, and Mythology. This is a department which is proving very sug

gestive. We hope to publish more material on this subject in the future.

Prof. Thomas has begun a series of articles which promise to be very interesting. The first installment will be found in this numThese articles are the result of personal investigation, and will prove exceedingly valuable. We are happy to announce also that Mr. Horatio Hale, Dr. Washington Matthews and Hon. Wm. Gordon Lillie and many other gentlemen who have been engaged in studying the native languages and myths of America, will also continue to favor us with their contributions-thus making the magazine the chief medium of information on these subjects.

We would say that all the gentlemen who are connected with us in conducting this magazine are specialists of world-wide reputation, and their co-operation must secure a standing to this journal which no other can boast.

Six years of experience and growth, at a time when archeology was in its incipiency, entitles THE AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN to confidence. We are happy to know that the journal is read extensively in Europe, and that it has come to be recognized as authority in all parts of the world. We think that it will take a long time for any other journal to get so near to the workers and, at the same time so near the scholars.

We place these facts before our readers because they understand how difficult it is to make a specialty what it ought to be, and because we are sure of their full appreciation of our success in this direction. All that we ask is that they co-operate with as much earnestness as our associates do, and that they continue the efforts which they have heretofore so generously given to secure to the journal a wide circulation and a more extensive patronage and support.

MEMORIAL NOTICE.

The last report of the American Antiquarian Society contains obituary notices of Dr. R. J. Farquharson and Mr. Stephen Salisbury. Dr. Faquharson was a careful and conscientious investigator and one of the best archæologists. His death will prove a great loss to the Davenport Academy of Science, of which he was a prominent member and formerly president. Mr. Salisbury was well known as the president of the American Antiquarian Society. His benefactions were numerous, and his scholarship was only excelled by his generosity. The Society have properly made this report a memorial of their deceased president.

NOTES ON CLASSICAL ARCHEOLOGY.

By PROF. A. C. MERRIAM.

The Athenæum for December 27th, has a long and interesting letter from Mr. W. S. Ramsay, giving some details respecting his recent tour in Asia Minor, and the general conclusions which he has drawn from his explorations, in relation to Phrygian art and civilization. They are, in the main, such as were published in the ANTIQUARIAN last year, but as he has found reason to alter them somewhat, it may be well to give his summary:

"The race called Phrygian formerly inhabited perhaps almost the whole western part of Asia Minor, certainly those parts of the country that are adjacent to the Northern Aegean and Propontis. In this period must be placed their direct connection with the Peloponnesus, and the historical circumstances that underlie the myths of the Atridæ, of Priam, and of the Iliou-Persis. Various causeslast and decisive among which was the irruption of barbarous European tribes, Bithynians, Maryandini, etc., which Abel places about 900 B. C.-obliged the Phrygians to concentrate in the highlands of the Sangarius. There the Phrygian kings reigned till about 670 B. c., when their kingdom was destroyed by the Cimmerians. During this period there was a considerable amount of intercourse maintained between Phrygia and the Greeks of Cyme, Phocæa and Smyrna. The fact that the daughter of the king of Cyme was married to a king of Phrygia, some time about 700 B. C., proves that I formerly erred in attributing little importance to this intercourse, and a more thorough study of the Phrygian alphabet has led me to change ny former view, and to think that it came to the Phrygians, not via Sinope, but via Cyme. Friendly intercourse and occasional intermarriage are the rule between the great dynasty of the interior and the inhabitants of the coast. Such was the state of things amid which the Homeric poems grew, and such is the picture as reflected back on the mythic subjects of the poems. To this period belong the great Phrygian monuments. The art is essentially decorative, and the analogies to it are to be sought in the oldest Greek bronze work, especially in the deepest layer at Olympia. A very simple kind of engaged column or pilaster, with a resemblance to the Ionic column, is common in the monuments of this time, but it is used purely as a decoration and never in an architectural way. One tomb which is obviously an imitation of woodwork, has the appearance of a series of Ionic columns arranged in rows, tier over tier, but the appearance is produced merely by carving little discs at the corners of each pilaster, represented in relief on the rock wall."

The "Lion Tomb," which has been compared so frequently to the Lion Gate at Mycenæ, since his discovery of it, Mr. Ramsay now describes with greater detail, correcting some points of the previous account, and of the photographs. "The column between the two animals is not of the rough outline suggested in the draw