Part 1

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Bulletin 43. Indian Tribes of the Lower Mississippi Valley and Adjacent Coast of the Gulf of Mexico (J. R. Swanton).

Bulletin 44. Indian Languages of Mexico and Central America and their Geographical Distribution (Cyrus Thomas and J. R. Swanton).

Bulletin 45. Chippewa Music (Frances Densmore).

Bulletin 50. Preliminary Report on a Visit to the Navaho National Monument, Arizona (J. Walter Fewkes).

Bulletin 51. Antiquities of the Mesa Verde National Park: Cliff Palace (J. Walter Fewkes).

ILLUSTRATIONS

The preparation of the illustrations for the publications of the bureau and the making of photographic portraits of the members of visiting deputations of Indians were in charge of Mr. De Lancey Gill, illustrator. Of the 246 negatives made, 120 comprise portraits of visiting Indians. In addition, 372 photographic films, exposed by members of the bureau in connection with their field work, were developed and printed. Photographic prints for publication and exchange were made to the number of 1,469, and 22 drawings for use as illustrations were prepared. Mr. Gill was assisted, as in the past, by Mr. Henry Walther.

LIBRARY

The library of the bureau has continued in the immediate charge of Miss Ella Leary, librarian. During the year that part of the southeastern gallery of the lower main hall of the Smithsonian Building which was vacated by the National Museum was assigned to the use of the bureau library, and three additional stacks were built, providing shelf room for about 2,500 volumes. Nearly that number of books which had been stored, and consequently made inaccessible, were placed on the new shelves. The policy carried out from year to year of increasing the library by exchange with other institutions has been continued, and special effort made to complete the collection of serial publications. Especially to be noted is the completion of the sets of publications of the Maine Historical Society and the Archives of Pennsylvania, both rich in material pertaining to the Indians. As in the past, it has been necessary for the bureau to make use of the Library of Congress from time to time, about 200 volumes having been borrowed during the year. Twelve hundred books and approximately 650 pamphlets were received, in addition to the current numbers of more than 600 periodicals. Of the books and pamphlets received, 148 were acquired by purchase, the remainder by gift or exchange. Six hundred and eighty-nine volumes were bound by the Government Printing Office, payment therefor being made from the allotment “for printing and binding * * * annual reports and bulletins of the Bureau of American Ethnology, and for miscellaneous printing and binding,” authorized by the sundry civil act. This provision has enabled the bureau, during the last two years, to bind many volumes in almost daily use which were threatened with destruction. The catalogue of the bureau now records 17,250 volumes; there are also about 12,200 pamphlets, and several thousand unbound periodicals. The library is constantly referred to by students not connected with the bureau, as well as by various officials of the Government service.

PROPERTY

As noted in previous reports, the principal property of the bureau consists of its library, manuscripts, and photographic negatives. In addition, it possesses a number of cameras, phonographic machines, and ordinary apparatus and equipment for field work, stationery and office supplies, a moderate amount of office furniture, typewriters, etc., and the undistributed stock of its publications. The sum of $304.62 was expended for office furniture (including bookstacks at a cost of $205) during the fiscal year.

RECOMMENDATIONS

For the purpose of extending the systematic researches of the bureau and of affording additional facilities for its administration, the following recommendations are made:

A question having arisen in the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives as to the purpose for which an increase of $2,000 in the bureau’s appropriation in 1909 was intended, the work of excavating and repairing antiquities existing in national parks and monuments has been curtailed. The importance of elucidating the archeological problems connected with these ancient remains and of repairing the more important of them for visitors and for future students is so apparent that the need of continuing this work is generally recognized; consequently an estimate of $4,000 “for the exploration and preservation of antiquities” has been submitted for the next fiscal year.

Ethnological research in Alaska is urgently needed by reason of the great changes taking place among the Indians and the Eskimo since the influx of white people a few years ago. Unless this investigation is undertaken at once the aboriginal inhabitants will have become so modified by contact with whites that knowledge of much of their primitive life will be lost. It is recommended that the sum of $4,500 be appropriated for this work.

The more speedy extension of ethnological researches among the remnants of the Algonquian tribes formerly occupying the Middle West is desired. In a number of cases these tribes are represented by only a few survivors who retain any knowledge of the traits, language, and customs of their people; hence it will be impossible to gather much of this information unless the work is extended more rapidly, as the funds now at the bureau’s disposal for this purpose are inadequate. The additional sum of $1,000 is recommended for this purpose.

As previously stated, the demand for the Handbook of American Indians has been so great that many schools and libraries have necessarily been denied. The need of a revised edition is urgent, but the revision can not be satisfactorily undertaken and the latest information incorporated without the employment of special ethnologic assistants—those who have devoted special study to particular tribes—and editorial and clerical aid. It is recommended that the sum of $3,800 be appropriated for this purpose.

The bureau is constantly in receipt of requests from schools, historical societies, compilers of textbooks, etc., for photographic prints of Indian subjects, since it is generally known that the bureau possesses many thousands of negatives accumulated in the course of its investigations. As no funds are now available for this purpose, it is recommended that a reasonable sum, say $1,000, be appropriated for the purpose of furnishing prints for educational purposes. In most cases applicants would doubtless be willing to pay the cost, but at present the bureau has no authority for selling photographs.

The manuscripts accumulated by the bureau form a priceless collection; indeed many of them, if lost, could not be replaced, since they represent the results of studies of Indians who have become extinct or have lost their tribal identity. It is therefore urgently recommended that the sum of $1,350 be appropriated for fireproofing a room and for providing metal cases for the permanent preservation of the manuscripts.

F. W. Hodge, Ethnologist-in-Charge.

ACCOMPANYING PAPER

SENECA FICTION, LEGENDS, AND MYTHS

## Part 1 Collected by JEREMIAH CURTIN and J. N. B. HEWITT; edited by J. N. B. HEWITT

CONTENTS

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Introduction 43

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