26 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



large amount of material collected by bim during a residence of several 

 years at Saint Micbaels and in the Aleutian Islands. Wben tbese two 

 reports sball be completed the amount of accurate information concern- 

 ing the singular people to wbom they relate will be materially in^ 

 creased. 



Mr. H. W. Henshaw has continued in charge of the work upon the 

 synonymy of the Indian tribes of the United States, which was alluded 

 to in some detail in the report of last year. This work has been sus- 

 pended for a period, and Mr. Henshaw has assisted the Director in the 

 preparation of a linguistic ma}) of the region north of Mexico, and in 

 the classification of the Indian tribes, a work which properly precedes 

 and forms the basis of the volume on synonymy. 



Col. Garrick Mallery was steadily occupied during the year in the 

 work of the synonymy of the Indian tribes, his special field being the 

 Iroquoian and Algouquian linguistic stocks, and his particular respon- 

 sibility being the careful study of all the literature on the subject in the 

 French language. He also, when time allowed, continued researches 

 in and correspondence concerning sign language and pictographs. 



Mr. James Mooney also has been occupied during the entire year in 

 conjunction with Colonel Mallery in that portion of the work of the In- 

 dian synonymy relating to the Algonquian and Iroquoian families. 



Mr. J. N. B. Hewitt has continued the work left unfinished by Mrs. 

 Erminnie Smith. During the year he has been engaged in recording, 

 translating, and tracing the derivation of Tuscarora-Euglish words for 

 a dictionary. He has thus far recorded about 8,000 words. 



Mr. Albert S. Gatschet has devoted almost the entire year to the 

 synonymy of Indian tribes and has practically completed the section 

 assigned to him, viz, the tribes of the southeastern United States. 



Rev. J. Owen Dorsey continued his work on the Indian synonymy 

 cards of the Siouan, Caddoan, Athabascan, Kusan, Yakouan, and Ta- 

 kilman linguistic stocks. He resumed his preparation of the dictionary 

 cards for Contributions to North American Ethnology, Vol. VI, Part 

 II, and in connection therewith found it necessary to elaborate his ad- 

 ditional (fegiha texts, consisting of more 'than two hundred and fifty 

 epistles, besides ten or more myths gained since 1880. This work was 

 interrupted in March, 1887, when he was obliged to undertake the ar- 

 rangement of a new collection of Teton texts for publicatioi-. Mr. 

 George Bushotter, a Dakota Indian who speaks the Teton dialect, was 

 employed by the Director, from March 23, for the purpose of recording 

 for future use of the Bureau some of the Teton myths and legends in 

 the original. One hundred of these texts were thus written, and it de- 

 volved on Mr. Dorsey to prepare the interlinear translations of the 

 texts, critical and explanatory notes, and other necessary linguistic 

 material as dictated by Mr. Bushotter. Besides writing the texts in 

 the Teton dialect, Mr. Bushotter has been able to furnish numerous 

 sketches as illustrations, all of which have been drawn and colored ac- 



