The Native Races [of the Pacific states], Volume 3, Myths and Languages by Bancroft

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The Native Races [of the Pacific states], Volume 3, Myths and Languages by Bancroft

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By Betty Young Posted on Dec 25, 2025

In Category - Digital Minimalism

Authors: Bancroft, Hubert Howe, 1832-1918 Published By : Bancroft, Hubert Howe, 1832-1918

Book Language: English

Ever wonder what stories people told before Netflix? Imagine a massive, dusty book from 1882 that feels like a time machine. This isn't a dry history text. It's Bancroft's attempt to capture the living heart of Indigenous cultures across the Pacific states—their creation myths, ghost stories, and the very structure of their languages—right as those traditions were under immense pressure. The real tension here isn't in a plot, but in the race against time and cultural erasure. It’s a deeply flawed but fascinating snapshot, a rescue mission in book form. You can practically hear the crackle of the campfire tales he worked to preserve.

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been preserved. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. Italics in the footnote citations were inconsistently applied by the typesetter. Italic text is denoted by _underscores_. ^a represents a superscripted character (a for example). {_v} represents a subscripted v. [_c_] represents a backwards c. Footnote II-11: "Reads" should possibly be "Reade." Footnote VI-43: "por bien de abirle los ojos, y darle luz, y abridle ... " should possibly be "por bien de abrirle los ojos, y darle luz, y abrirle ..." Footnote IX-7 is missing a starting quote. Footnote X-65: "rook" should possibly be "rock." Footnote XI-5 is missing a starting quote. Footnote II'-29: "queer" should possibly be "quer." Footnote II'-60 is missing a starting quote. Footnote III'-2: "îsles" should possibly be "îles." Footnote III'-7: "Kaigáni" or "Kaigani" may be spelled incorrectly. Footnote IV'-16: "Entferten" should possibly be "Entfernten." Footnote V'-7: "Schlusstein" should possibly be "Schlussstein." Footnote XII-75: The ending page should possibly be 302. Page 569: "Irritilia" should possibly be "Irritila." Page 634: The periods after "from us", and "masahchie" are possibly typos. Page 703: "kiokame" is a possible typo for "hiokame." _Erman_, _Archiv_ is variously numbered with Roman and Arabic numbers. THE WORKS OF HUBERT HOWE BANCROFT. VOLUME III. THE NATIVE RACES. VOL. III. MYTHS AND LANGUAGES. SAN FRANCISCO: A. L. BANCROFT & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS. 1883. Entered according to Act of Congress in the Year 1882, by HUBERT H. BANCROFT, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. _All Rights Reserved._ CONTENTS OF THIS VOLUME. MYTHOLOGY. CHAPTER I. SPEECH AND SPECULATION. PAGE. Difference between Man and Brutes -- Mind-Language and Soul-Language -- Origin of Language: A Gift of the Creator, a Human Invention, or an Evolution -- Nature and Value of Myth -- Origin of Myth: The Divine Idea, a Fiction of Sorcery, the Creation of a Designing Priesthood -- Origin of Worship, of Prayer, of Sacrifice -- Fetichism and the Origin of Animal-Worship -- Religion and Mythology 1 CHAPTER II. ORIGIN AND END OF THINGS. Quiché Creation-Myth -- Aztec Origin-Myths -- The Papagos -- Montezuma and the Coyote -- The Moquis -- The Great Spider's Web of the Pimas -- Navajo and Pueblo Creations -- Origin of Clear Lake and Lake Tahoe -- Chareya of the Cahrocs -- Mount Shasta, the Wigwam of the Great Spirit -- Idaho Springs and Water Falls -- How Differences in Language Occurred -- Yehl, the Creator of the Thlinkeets -- The Raven and the Dog 42 CHAPTER III. PHYSICAL MYTHS. Sun, Moon, and Stars -- Eclipses -- The Moon Personified in the Land of the Crescent -- Fire -- How the Coyote Stole Fire for the Cahrocs -- How the Frog Lost His Tail -- How the Coyote Stole Fire for the Navajos -- Wind and Thunder -- The Four Winds and the Cross -- Water, the First of Elemental Things -- Its Sacred and Cleansing Power -- Earth and Sky -- Earthquakes and Volcanoes -- Mountains -- How the Hawk and Crow Built the Coast Range -- The Mountains of Yosemite 108 CHAPTER IV. ANIMAL MYTHOLOGY. Rôles Assigned to Animals -- Auguries from their Movements -- The Ill-omened Owl -- Tutelary Animals -- Metamorphosed Men -- The Ogress-Squirrel of Vancouver Island -- Monkeys and Beavers -- Fallen Men -- The Sacred Animals -- Prominence of the Bird -- An Emblem of the Wind -- The Serpent, an Emblem of the Lightning -- Not Specially connected with Evil -- The Serpent of the Pueblos -- The Water-Snake -- Ophiolatry -- Prominence of the Dog, or the Coyote -- Generally though not always a Benevolent Power -- How the Coyote let...

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Continue Reading Full Book

Okay, let's be clear: this isn't a novel. The Native Races, Volume 3: Myths and Languages is a piece of 19th-century anthropology. Bancroft and his team compiled everything they could find about the belief systems and languages of Indigenous peoples from Alaska down to Central America. Think of it as a giant, organized scrapbook of creation stories, explanations for natural phenomena, and linguistic notes.

The Story

There's no traditional narrative. Instead, the book is built from countless fragments: a Haida story about how Raven stole the sun, a Paiute tale explaining the constellations, grammatical notes on Nahuatl. Bancroft presents these not as fiction, but as the foundational truths of the cultures he's documenting. The 'story' is the collective worldview of dozens of nations, laid out side-by-side.

Why You Should Read It

Reading this today is a complex experience. On one hand, it’s an incredible repository. These myths are powerful, clever, and beautiful. On the other, you can't ignore Bancroft's 1880s perspective—it's a product of its time, with all the baggage that implies. The value for a modern reader is in peering through that lens to hear these voices at all. It’s like listening to a very old, slightly scratchy recording of something precious.

Final Verdict

This is for the curious and patient reader. Perfect for anyone interested in the deep roots of folklore, mythology, or early anthropology, with a critical eye. It’s not a breezy read, but dipping into a few chapters feels like uncovering a hidden layer of the American landscape. Approach it as a primary source, a historical artifact that holds both priceless cultural data and the fingerprints of its own era's biases.

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