UC Merced The Journal of California Anthropology Title J. P. Harrington - California's Great Linguist Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0qw7g2qf Journal The Journal of California Anthropology, 2(2) Author Callaghan, Catherine A Publication Date 1975-12-01 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California J. p. Harrington — California's Great Linguist CATHERINE A. CALLAGHAN . and anybody who knows anything about Since adequate recording equipment was figures can tell you exactly when the last Ka­ unavailable, field workers relied on their ears. naka will be in Abraham's bosom and his The concept of the phoneme had not yet islands in the hands of the whites. It is the evolved. Consequently, hnguists strove for ac­ same as calculating an eclipse .... curate, narrow transcription. But the result was — Mark Twain usually an over-emphasis on details that are functionally important in familiar languages. This was most evident in their rendering of ark Twain was referring specifically vowels, which abounded with fine qualitative Mto the Hawaiian Islands, but his re­ distinctions and often omitted length. Unfor­ marks apply equally well to the California In­ tunately, many California Indian languages dians, whose way of hfe was being similarly had small inventories of vowel phonemes in destroyed by the time-honored combination of which length was lexically and morphologi­ missionaries, merchants, and settlers.' But un­ cally significant. Retroflexion and aspiration like Hawaii, aboriginal California supported of consonants were likewise often neglected. several diverse culture areas and at least 100 Under such circumstances, the only person distinct languages. The devastation was so who could accurately preserve large numbers rapid that the synthesis of native and Spanish of exotic languages would be someone with an structure characteristic of Latin American extraordinary ear who was physically robust Indian languages did not take place. As a re­ and wilhng to devote 18 hours a day to data sult, there was a whole generation of older In­ collection, and who cared so little for academic dians in the early part of the twentieth century prestige that he would not spend the time ne­ who remembered their language when it was cessary to prepare his material for publication. largely in its precontact form. In addition, he would have to find an institu­ Such a situation could easily have provided tion that would support him. full-time careers for 200 trained investigators, Americanists can thank the gods for provid­ but funds were available for only a few at a ing them with such an impossible combination time. Since most scholars also led normal hves, in the person of John Peabody Harrington.^ they were forced to choose between rapid sur­ Harrington was born at Waltham, Massa­ veys of many languages, like Alfred L. Kroeber, chusetts April 29, 1884, and his immediate or absorption in a single language family, like family was of modest means, despite his middle L. S. Freeland.2 name. He graduated from Stanford University 184 THE JOURNAL OF CALIFORNIA ANTHROPOLOGY pal rated him as excellent. Yet, he spent all his spare time working with Chumash, Yuman, and Mohave Indians. Between 1909 and 1915, he worked as an ethnologist under Edgar L. Hewitt at the Archaeological Institute of America at Santa Fe, but he did not stop teach­ ing. He gave several courses at the University of Colorado and the University of Washing­ ton and went on one lecture tour through Colorado. There is little evidence at this point of the isolation that characterized his later life. This appears to have been a gradual development that started after his appointment with the Bureau of American Ethnology at the Smith­ sonian Institutionin Washington, D.C. in 1915. Matthew Stirling, one of Harrington's few professional friends, believed that his behavior resulted from ever-increasing anxiety as he watched the last speakers of numerous lan­ guages approach old age. When Stirling chided him for his secretiveness with his colleagues, Harrington explained that he did not want to John Peabody Harrington, 1927. waste precious time in argumentation. Mrs. Stirling sometimes invited him to dinner. Even­ in 1905, having specialized in classical lan­ tually, Harrington requested through a friend guages and anthropology. He attended sum­ that she not do so in the future, since he felt that mer school at the University of California at he did not have the time to spare from his work.'' Berkeley in 1903, where Alfred L. Kroeber and He likewise had no time for Government Pliny Earle Goddard introduced him to Cali­ reports and would often spend his own money fornia Indian languages. for transportation rather than fill out the pro­ During this period, he gave evidence of a per form. He was equally inattentive to his natural gift for phonetics. He translated Rus­ personal appearance, and on at least two occa­ sian for the Immigration Service and tutored sions he was questioned by the District police, students in French and German. His associates who thought he was a prowler.^ testified to his fluency and the accuracy of But he was noted for his generosity to the his pronunciation. Indians and unexpected gifts to his other In 1905, he went to Germany and pursued friends. His general kindliness may have partly his studies of linguistics and anthropology at accounted for another recurrent difficulty with the Universities of Leipzig and Berlin. He was his colleagues, that of breaking his promises. apparently an excellent student, but he left Not liking to refuse a request, he would agree after two years, without a degree, to continue and then disappear when pressed to keep his field work. his commitments. He taught modern languages from 1906 to During my graduate years at Berkeley, 1909 at Santa Ana High School, and his princi­ Harrington had already become a legend. He J. P. HARRINGTON 185 %.-. John Peabody Harrington and Cahuilla informants F. Echeveria and Angel and Juan Chutnikat, left to right, photographed at the mouth of Palm Canyon, Colorado Desert. Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. had retired from the Bureau and was then in­ pointment to sort his material. But the wildest firm and still a recluse, living in Santa Barbara. legends did not prepare me for what I found. He ignored overtures by colleagues, partly be­ It was Harrington's custom to record his cause he resented the fact that they were pri­ data on specially cut oversized sheets of heavy marily interested in his data. On our part, we paper, often one word per sheet. He used a set were justifiably apprehensive over what would of abbreviations that would have to be deci­ become of his material after his death. We knew phered before the language could be identified. that he had extensive recordings of extinct lan­ After filling up a room through this space- guages. The more pessimistic of us feared he consuming process, he would have the entire might order his notes burned.^ contents stored and start over. As a result, per­ Harrington died in October, 1961. and a sonal letters, old shirts, and other parapher­ few months later, 1 went to work for the Bureau nalia were included in his storage boxes. of American Ethnology on a temporary ap­ On my arrival, stacks of his material were 186 THE JOURNAL OF CALIFORNIA ANTHROPOLOGY piled in the Smithsonian itself and in two ware­ Harrington paid a heavy price for his isola­ houses. Additional bundles started arriving tion, both professionally and personally. He from remote parts of the country. 1 estimate ignored theoretical advances in hnguistics, and that I sorted six tons of material that spring, his pubhcations were dated early in his career. and we have no assurance that it has all been His marriage to Carobeth Tucker ended in di­ located even today. vorce, apparently because he was unwilhng to Only a fraction of the material was original make any accommodation to domestic life.' data. Harrington was obsessed with collector's Yet, despite his idiosyncracies, or more mania. He copied every manuscript he could probably because of them, we now have infor­ find on American Indian languages. In addi­ mation on almost a dozen extinct coastal lan­ tion, 1 found literature on atheism, politics, guages. Both A. L. Kroeber and Edward Sapir and weird theories of the universe, to mention a attested to his phonetic accuracy, and a com­ few topics. He even stored a case of prune juice parison of his Karok material with modern in one warehouse. It exploded years later, for­ recordings substantiates their judgement.'" tunately before I began working there. Under the circumstances, it will be possible to Yet the survey was not without a tragic di­ perform the phonemic and morphological mension. I watched Harrington's strong hand­ analyses necessary to compile grammars and writing waiver in his later manuscripts as Par­ dictionaries. kinson's disease set in, which, in those days, I will conclude this account with my most was a slow death sentence. unexpected discovery. On his death bed, Har­ There were projects in every stage of com­ rington claimed that he had recorded a lan­ pletion from rough draft to galley proofs, guage no one knew existed and gave some which Harrington had abandoned along the name ending in -eno (Awona Harrington, per­ way. Not all of them involved American Indian sonal communication). He was probably refer­ languages. He wanted to retranslate the Rubi- ring to several packets labelled "Choch" (Cho- yat of Omar Khayyam, to cite one example, cheiio), which turned out to be the Niles dia­ and left behind several binders of notes, includ­ lect of East Bay Costanoan. It is ironic that ing a copy of the Persian manuscript.^ even the aboriginal language of what is now Even his original data must be carefully Berkeley, California was ultimately salvaged evaluated.