proceedings: anthropological society 493 



except the great deposits of volcanic ash, which may later have some 

 value as abrasives. 



Discussion: J. B. Umpleby spoke of several points Avhich had 

 interested him because of his work in the Mackay district. The 

 general sequence of formations in the two districts was quite similar, 

 and the sequence noted by Lindgren in the Boise district was also 

 similar, but the thickness of meml^ers of the Paleozoic rocks and cer- 

 tain other characteristics were quite unlike, and in the Hailey district 

 there is little in common. R. B. Sosman spoke of the vanadium con- 

 tent of the phosphate rock and asked if this was deleterious in using 

 as a fertilizer. There seemed to be no information on this point. 



C. N. Fenner, Secretary. 



ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



The 485th meeting of the Society was held in the Public Librarj^, 

 INIarch 16, 1915, the program consisting of a paper by Dr. Manuel 

 v. Arguelles, University of the Philippines, Manila, P. I., entitled, 

 The Filipino r-acial complex. The lecturer defined the present Filipino 

 race as a mixture of Malay stock from the South, with an infusion of 

 Chinese and Hindu, their early culture being largely of Chinese origin. 

 The aboriginal occupants of the islands were represented by the sur- 

 viving Negrito remnant, a black dwarfish race of lowest culture status. 



At the 486th meeting of the Society, held April 6, 1915, in the Public 

 Library, Dr. Gudmund Hatt, of the University of Copenhagen, read 

 a paper entitled At home with Lapps and reindeer, which was illustrated 

 with lantern slides. The Lapps, or Samoyed (Samid), live in the 

 northern part of Norwaj^, Sweden, and Finland, and on the Kola 

 peninsula in Russia. Of the total number of 30,000, about 6000 are 

 reindeer nomads. The nomadic Lapps are a factor of economic value, 

 for by means of their large reindeer herds they utilize vast stretches of 

 mountain land which otherwise would be of no value. Although the 

 Lapps have for centuries been under strong influences from the sur- 

 rounding peoples, they retain much of their old culture. This is due to 

 the fact that old thoughts and habits are closely and necessarily con- 

 nected with their nomadic life as reindeer herders. They cannot 

 further their business by imitating sedentary populations. The inner 

 life of the mountain people, therefore, although they are thoroughly 

 Christianized, still retains important old traits, which, however, are 

 not easily noticed by foreign observers. The younger generation 

 does not retain much of the old thought, but among the middle-aged 

 and the old are still found beliefs, customs, and tales that supplement 

 and interpret their early mythologj'. 



According to Lappish beliefs, the world is full of supernatural powers, 

 which are not clearlj^ defined or classified. These seem to have been 

 recruited from the ghosts of the dead. A belief in an underground 

 people is prominent. These are called by some Lapps "saivo, '" and are 



