Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-11-05

was busy among the Maidu. Pit River and
Shasta Indians Unfortunately. Howard
i. Wilson. DIR. Dixon's assistant. who had
shown great promise as worker In an
thropolOgy, was attacked by typhoid fever,
contracted through drinking bad water
while dwelling among the tribes. When
apparently convalescent. he suffered a re-
lapse and died-one of not few martyrs
&c science in this difficult and dangerous
line of work.
Myths and Folk Lore.
DIR. Dixon brought back a mass of valu-
able Information. which is now attracting
wide interest among ethnologists. He made
q remarkable collection of Maidu myths
and folk tales. which proves that these In
dams. although by no means the highest
of the red men in the scale of civilization.
possess a literature and a poetry OF their
own of no mean order.
DR.. Wissler. famous German scientist.
spent 1893 and part of the present year In
Montana and Canada among the Sioux.
eros Nentres and Blackfeet. His eXpedi-
ton was in the joint interests of the Royal
Ethnographical Museum of Berlin and the
American Museum of Natural History. He
made valuable collections Illustrating the
development of decorative art among these
Indians-a problem that has hitherto puz-
zled ethnologists.
William Jones about the same time. was
doing similar work among the OjibWa of
Canada. the MenOminee. the Sioux and the
Fox. and James Teit gathered mass of
interesting information about the tribes OF
the Lower Frazer, the Upper Thompson and
Nicola valleys. IN British Columbia DR.
a. l.. kroeber of the University of Cali
fornia has been spending much time among
the Arapahos. with the result that he has
published monograph completely explain
ing their ceremonial obseryances. which
We're hitherto almost a sealed book to sci
ence.
Valuable Discoveries.
At least one woman has made valuable
contribution to the work. Miss Constance
Goddard Du Bots visited the Diegueno. of
southern California, last year. and obtained
Information with regard to their ceremon-
falls The Rev. j. w. Chapman and Dr.
John r. Swanton have been working among
the Indians of Alaska, and Henry w Tate
among the Tsimshian Indians of the North
Pacific coast.
There have also been many recent expedi-
tons among the Indians of Mexico Tho, re-
suits of which go to show the close afiin-
ity between them and the red men of the
southwest United States.
The most interesting of these expeditions
was that of Carl Lumholtz He was I'm
Mexico from 1894 to 1897, closely studying
various tribes. and he lived for ten months
among the almost unknown Huichols and
their neighbors. the Coras.
The governor of the state of Coahuila
corner Of this very state race of absolute
savages who wear their hair long and re-
fuse to pay taxes to the government
Hardly anything Is known about them ex-
ccpt their name-the Huichols, which means
gods of fire. "
Lived With the Huichols.
Naturally. Lumholtzs exploring spirit
was fired by this news. and he immediately
set out to find the Huichols and live among
them. He reached their country after a
hard and adventurous Journey. and found
that 1t was tiny little territory about
forty miles long by twenty miles broad
rugged and mountainous. There the tribe
successfully babe defiance to the Mexicans
as they had always done.
At first the Huichols were suspicious of
the explorer, and his life was frequently
in danger. But after a few weeks they got
used TO him, and allowed him to live among
the tribe long as he liked and find on;
all he wanted to.
He discovered that. although they were