National Republican., 1883-10-04
chronological RECORD.
Second Annual Report Of The Operations Of the
American Bureau.
Recent Researches Among the North
American Indians,

MAI, y, w. IOWbl mas Jubb COInpleleu anu
will shortly submit to the secretary of the in
terror his second annual report of the opera
tions of the bureau Of othnology. Researches
among the North American Indians have been
diligently prosecuted during the fiscal year,
and large amount Of valuable information
has been collected with regard to people and
n state of culture now rapidly disappearing
under the influence of civilization. Two largo
quarto volumes were issued by the bureau
during the year, namely an enlarged and inn
proved edition of the Introduction to the
Study of Indian Languages" by Mai. J.
w. Powell, and an important and COM
prehensive work, entitled Houses and
House Lifo of the American Aborignes,"
by the late Louis ii. Morgan of Rochester,
N. Y. The contents of the latter volume,
which is illustrated by many plans and
sketches, include social and governmental
organization, the law of hospitality and its
general practice, communism in living,
usages and customs with respect TO land and
food, and descriptions of the houses of In
diaus, classed as, first, those north of New
Mexico; second those of the sedentary In
dians of New Moxico; third, houses in ruins
of the sedentaTy Indians of the San Juan
river and its tributaries; fourth, houses of the
mound builders; fifth, of the Aztecs or an
cient Mexicans; and, sixth, Of the sedentary
Indians of Yucatan and Central America.
"The work." Mai Powell says, sis of the
highest value in correcting errors and exagger-
tions still prevalent in removing the miscon-
Ceptions and erroneous interpretations encum-
boring the original records made by incompe-
tent observers, and in directing further re-
search on philosophic principles"
Three important contributions to the
worlds knowledge of Indian languages have
been partly prepared, and in part printed,
during the year, namely, "rhe Cegiha Lam
hy-t hs, I n,,nn ha
klamath Language" by Mr. A. S. Gatschet,
and the photography of North American
Philology," by Mr.. J. G. Pilling. The work
last named is an attempt to give in alpha
bette arrangement by authors the full titles,
in chronologc order, of all editions of works
written in or upon any of tho languages Of
North America 1T for the first time" Mai
Powell says, "affords to students the essential
information of all that has been done by their
predecessors in the several directions toward
which their studies may be turned"
Tho miscellaneous work in progress at the
close of the fiscal year, under the auspices of
the bureau, is as follows: Col Garrick NAL
lory has continued the study of gesture
Speech which has already been so fruitful in
results, and has attracted so much attention
among ethnologists, and has begun IAN Intro
duction to the Study of Photographs"
DIR. IL. g. Yarrow has continued his re-
searches into the mortuary customs of the
North American Indians, and Mr.. G. 9. Royce
has been engaged in the preparation of u his
torical atlas OF Indian affairs, designed to
show by series of charts the boundaries of
the different cessions of land made TO the
United States from time to time by the va
rious Indian tribes from the organization of
the federal government to the present time.
This work will also include within its scope q
historical text, giving the date of each treaty,
name of tribe or tribes with whom concluded,
an abstract of the principal provisions thereof,
Nui tNnr ftxrn of fhn itA,i1 nnig
connected with its negotiations and the causes
leading thereto 1t is thought that this work
when completed will be of special use to law
yers and officials concerned in the investiga-
tion of original titles to land throughout the
greater part of the United States.
Prof. Otis I. Mason was engaged during the
year in q presentation of the important sub
ject of education among the Indians en- brac-
ing historically all the attempts made in that
direction and their several results, together
with the present condition of advance in
literacy and general culture.
large amount of valuable field work was
done during the year by IL. w. Henshaw, the
Rev. S. ID. Herman, the Rev. Clay MaoCauley,
Mrs. Erminnie A. Smith, Mr.. Frank Cushing,
and Mr.. James Stevenson.
Anumber of valuable scientific monographs
accompany Maj. Powells report, among them
the following: Myths of the Iroquois," by
Mrs. Erminnie A. Smith; "Animal Carvings
from Mounds of the Mississippi Valley" by
Mr. Henry w. Henshaw Navajo Silver
Smiths" by DIR. Washington Matthews, u. s.
A.; "Art in Shell of the Ancient Americans, "
by Mr.. III. w. Holmes, and I" "Zuni Fetiches, 4"
by Frank H. Cushing.
Perhaps tho most generally interesting of
these scientific papers is the one by Mr.. Cush-
ing, the young ethnologist of Washington,
who recently made visit with u party OF
Zunis TO the Ocean of the Sunrise" at Bos-
ton, for the purpose of obtaining sea water
to be used by the Indians in their religious
ceremonies. Speaking of this paper, Mai.
Powell says: THE results obtained by Mr..
Cushing's explorations in Zuni, where he still
remains, have been worthy of tho industry
and ability, the courage and self donial with
which they have been prosecuted. Important
facts of the most varied character have been
brought to light, many of them substantiated
or illustrated by objects discovered and trans
mitted to the bureau. Copious notes on the
several branches of study have been made by
him. and ON some of them he has commenced t.
write treatises, which he has withheld from
publication only TO insure their completeness:
and accuracy. The paper now presented on
, Zuni tetiches is specimen of the novel and
curious information which his researches fur
nish. The fetiches most valued by the
Eunis are natural concretions or eroded rocb
forms, having an obvious or fancied resem
blance to certain animals, or objects of tha
nature in which the evident original rosem
! blance has been heightened by artiticia
I means II is supposed that these fetchGs arr
actual petriactions of tho animals repre-
Z iented by them, which retain their vita
forces for certain magic powers and religious
(purposes.
This belief is explained in q remarkabl,
epic, metrical aud sometimes rhythmical
which is in part translated by Mr.. Cushing
"A noticeable point in the paper is the elab
orate and systenati2ed relationship shown il
Huni religion among aud between tht
animals, the animal gods, and other super
natural beings having animal or combined
animal and human personalities. This con
stitutes atheistic society with an elaborat,
hierarchy, and regulated domains, powers
and obligations. Such minuteness in multi
formity, as well as the precision of the be
liefs and ceremonials stated, will be surpris
ing, not only to persons who have beer
taught the old fiction of the Indians mono
theism, but to those who have regarded hi
religious philosophy as vague and chaotic
The faets are presented by Mr. Cushing will
the same corroboration of etymologes in Ian
guage used so successfully by scholars in th
study of Euratian myths, and with furthc
Veriicaton by objects in the national mu
scum figured in tho illustrations"
Maj. Powell further says in describing Mr.
Cushing's work that the latter has discovered
about fifteen miles from the village o
n Bardeto q long line of caverns, used by tn
ancestors of the Iunis in prehistoric times a
sacrincinl dOnositOrios From thAso cavern