36 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



material collected, relating to crania, specimens of art, &c,, names of 

 tribes, geographical position, number, physical constitution, picture- 

 writing, dress, food, dwellings, arts, trade, religion, government, social 

 life, war, medicines, literature, calendar, and astronomy, history, and 

 antiquities. Under the head of philology he gave a brief account of 

 some of the peculiarities of the Indian languages, with general direc- 

 tions for the best methods of collecting certain words, a simple and 

 practical alphabet, and a comparative vocabulary in English, Spanish, 

 French, and Latin. This vocabulary contains 211 words. The whole was 

 followed by an Appendix A, " Physical Character of the Indian Races," 

 with a tabulated statement on particulars of inquiry, and alsoau Appen- 

 dix B, relative to " Numeral Systems." 



This paper has been distributed widely among the missionaries, Indian 

 agents, travelers, and local collectors in ethnolog^^, and has served a val- 

 uable purpose, resulting in the collection by various persons of the large 

 number of vocabularies previously mentioned, and which comprise 

 nearly all, the languages and dialects of the Indian tribes of the 

 United States, and many in British America and Mexico. It served 

 also to direct inquiry in the several branches of ethnography, resulting 

 in the collection of many valuable notes and minor papers on this subject 

 and many articles illustrating the industries, arts, means of subsistence, 

 &c., among the Indian tribes. It has stimulated investigation through- 

 out the country, giving direction to inquiry, while the results have abun- 

 dantly proved the value of the instructions and the wisdom of their pub- 

 lication. 



The demand for this work has been such that it is deemed important 

 to publish a new edition of it, more comprehensive in plan and more 

 elaborate in detail. 



First. It is found necessary to enlarge the alphabet so as to include a 

 wider range of sounds which have been discovered in the North Ameri- 

 can languages. 



Second. It is necessary to enlarge the vocabulary so as to modify it 

 somewhat as experience has dictated, and that new words may be col- 

 lected. 



Third. It is desirable that many simple sentences should be given, so 

 chosen as to bring out the more important characteristics of grammatic 

 structure. 



This work, which will form a manual of ethnography, has been 

 undertaken in behalf of the Institution by Prof. J. W. Powell, aided 

 by several eminent ethnologists and philologists, and is well under way. 



In this connection I may mention that John Howard Payne, author 

 of " Home, Sweet Home," in 1848 presented to the Institution for pub- 

 lication a large amount of manuscript giving an account of the manners, 

 customs, myths, and religion of the Cherokee Nation previous to its 

 removal from Georgia. He was shortly afterward re-appointed Ameri- 



