0 0
19. 5-10 7.5
20. 0 0
21. large "20" 10
22. several 4
23. many 8
24. many 8
25. several 4
26. several 4
27. several 4
28. several 4
29. no statement
30. many 8
31. inhabited 2
32. many 8
---
Total 139

THE KAROK

The village distribution of the Karok was treated briefly by Kroeber in
the Handbook, pages 99 to 102, and far more exhaustively in a later
paper (1936). For the latter he secured the services of two good
informants, a very elderly Indian man named Ned and a woman, Mary
Jacops, with whom he examined the area carefully. The list set forth on
pages 30 to 34 of his publication must be regarded as definitive. It is
true that Merriam has a very complete list of Karok villages but his
names vary linguistically from those of Kroeber to such an extent that,
save in a few instances, it is extremely difficult to reconcile them.
However, since Merriam's total is 115 for the same territory where
Kroeber finds 108 and since Merriam does not give house counts the
Kroeber list may be used exclusively.

Ned gave house counts but Mrs. Jacops did not. Kroeber amplified
wherever possible with data from Curtis (cited by Kroeber, p. 30, as
The North American Indian, 13:222). Ned's counts were very cautious
since he distinguished frequently between the number of houses he had
seen at a given site and the number he had heard were there. On the
basis of such distinctions Kroeber reduces the total count by a factor
of one-sixth. He states (p. 35):

Among the Yurok ... two occupied houses may be reckoned for each
three house sites recognized when full detailed data are at hand.
They are obviously not detailed for the Karok.

I must take issue with two points. With the Karok the counts were not
based upon house sites recognized but on the memory of _inhabited
houses_ by informants. Hence the house site or pit theory cannot
apply. In the second place, a reasonably thorough examination of the
_published_ material on the Yurok