234 REPORTS ON INVESTIGATIONS AND PROJECTS. 



looking through the papers in the State archives to discover these 

 letters is of course arduous and time-consuming. Thus far (Octo- 

 ber, 1905) we have examined thoroughly only the archives of Vir- 

 ginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The letters found there 

 have been carefully copied. A few have, by diligent inquiry, been 

 found in private hands and copies have been made of them. It is 

 certain that such materials must be hunted out and published some 

 time, and in consequence, though the job is long and not an easy 

 one, it is best to begin it and to carry it forward in connection with 

 the work of calendaring the transcripts from British archives. 



IV. Another task, in some ways even greater than those already 

 reported on, is that of gathering general information concerning 

 manuscript sources of American history. Such manuscript sources 

 as are in this country are of course widely scattered and will remain 

 so; but their extent, character, and location should, it seems, be 

 known to American historical scholars, or at least the investigator 

 should be able to turn to one central place of information to learn 

 of the whereabouts of manuscripts that he may desire to use. It 

 seemed well to begin the gathering of information by examining 

 the collections of historical societies. Something has been done in 

 this direction and considerable information has been gathered con- 

 cerning private collections, especially in the Southern States. 



V. Prof. W. R. Shepherd, of Columbia University, spent the sum- 

 mer in Spain preparing a report on the materials in Spanish archives 

 relating to American history. For this task Dr. Shepherd was well 

 prepared, inasmuch as he had already spent a year working in these 

 archives and had made a number of important discoveries. It is 

 now difficult to say whether, as the result of one summer's work, he 

 will be able to complete a general survey of the whole field ; prob- 

 ably another special examination will be necessary for at least the 

 period before 1550. 



VI. Mr. Luis M. Perez has been engaged for about four months 

 in preparing a report on the archives of Cuba. The materials have 

 been fully gathered and in the course of the winter the report will 

 be put into final form. 



VII. An examination has been made of the Schoolcraft papers in 

 the Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress. This work 

 has been done by Mr. J. H. Russell, Mr. E. D. Lewis, and Mr. J. S. 

 Fox, each of whom was busy several weeks. The two collections 

 are large and have up to the present been practically unknown to 

 historical investigators. The papers, while well cared for, have not 

 been in a condition for use, being unarranged and unlisted. They 



