Section 2. _The Literary Faculty in the Native Mind_
Vivid imagination of the Indians. Love of story telling. Appreciation of style. Power and resources of their languages. Facility in acquiring foreign languages. Native writers in the English tongue. In Latin. In Spanish. Ancient books of Aztecs. Of Mayas, etc. Peruvian Quipus.
Desire of preserving national history. Eskimo legends and narratives. The _Walum Olum_ of the Delawares. The Iroquois _Book of Rites_. Kaondinoketc's Narrative. The National Legend of the Creeks. Cherokee writings. Destruction of Ancient Literature. Boturini's collection. Historians in Nahuatl. The Maya _Books of Chilan Balam_. Other Maya documents. Writings in Cakchiquel. _The Memorial de Tecpan Atitlan_. Authors in Cakchiquel and Kiche. The _Popol Vuh_. Votan, the Tzendal. Writers in Qquichua. Letters, etc., in native tongues. Tales and stories of the Tupis and other tribes.
Progress of natives in science. Their calendars and rituals. Their maps. Scholastic works. Theological writers. Sermons in Guarani. _Las Pasiones_.
Native admiration of eloquence. The Oratorical style. Custom of set orations. Specimens in the Nahuatl tongue. Ancient prayers and rhapsodies.
Form of the earliest poetry. Unintelligible character of primitive songs explained. A Chippeway love song. A Taensa epithalamium. Montaigne on Tupi poetry. Ancient Aztec poetry. Maya and Peruvian poems. Tupi songs.
Development of the dramatic art in America. Origin of the serious and comic dramas. The Qquichua drama of Ollanta. The Kiche drama of Rabinal Achi. The Comic Ballet of the Gueegueence. The _Logas_ of Central America. Dramas of the Mangues.
Ethnological value of literary productions. Their general interest to scholars.
[Transcriber's Note: Footnotes have been moved from inline to end-of-text, and the above "Footnotes" section added.]
When even a quite intelligent person hears about "Aboriginal American Literature," he is very excusable for asking: What is meant by the term? Where is this literature? In fine, Is there any such thing?
To answer such inquiries, I propose to treat, with as much brevity as practicable, of the literary efforts of the aborigines of this continent, a chapter in the general History of Literature hitherto wholly neglected.