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Show ^ 1900] INDIAN SOCIETY 209 It is impossible to lay down a strict criterion for drawing the line between tribe and band, but there is no doubt that the linguistic consideration is the most important. The habit of authorities in the case of Indian tribes has been to follow the native usage, and where the Indians recognized relationship and grouped themselves under a given name, to regard that particular aggregation as a distinct tribe, y^ ommon customs will also aid in the determination of the tribal limits, particularly where the clan organization exists and where the exoga-mous and endogamous regulations can be clearly stated. \ On the other hand, a supreme government cannot bs regarded as distinctive, since in many groups recognized by every one as tribes there are any number of smaller component groups or bands, each of which is entirely independent in every sense of the word. 1 N § uch a condition may be seen among the Shahaptian tribes of the west, as well as in other regions. 3 The few cases in which the above-mentioned characteristics of common dialect and common institutions do not occur are temporary conditions, where one tribe may be undergoing absorption by another. It appears as if there had been a constant tendency towards disintegration among the Indian tribes; and the process was no doubt hastened by the chances for segmentation due to the wide 1 Morgan regards the central government as distinctive; see Ancient Society, 10a. s See above, chap. viii. • oi » . 11.- 14 |