Appendix II. 



REPORT ON THE BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY. 



Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the operations of the 

 Bureau of American Ethnology for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1904, conducted 

 in accordance with the act of Congress making provisions for continuing researches 

 relating to the American Indians under the direction of the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion. The work has been carried out, with some minor modifications, in accordance 

 with plans of operations submitted, the first on June 11 and the second on Septem- 

 ber 26, and duly approved by the Secretary. The first plan provided for the month 

 of July only. The Smithsonian Institution was engaged in an examination into the 

 affairs of the Bureau, and until this was brought to a conclusion it was not regarded 

 as feasible to formulate plans for the year. The plan for July was extended to the 

 months of August and September, and on the 1st of October a plan of operations for 

 the remaining nine months of the year was submitted and duly approved by the 

 Secretary. 



On July 31 Mr. W J McGee, ethnologist in charge, tendered his resignation, which 

 was accepted, and the position of ethnologist in charge was discontinued. 



The research work has been carried forward by a permanent force of eight 

 scientific employees, and a number of temporary assistants have been engaged for 

 periods of varying lengths, both in the office and among the tribes. Field operations 

 were interfered with to some extent during the early months of the year, the presence 

 of the various ethnologists being required in the office in connection with the exami- 

 nation referred to above. 



During the year five members of the staff prosecuted systematic researches in the 

 field, and the sections of the country visited by these and by special assistants include 

 Alaska, British Columbia, Oregon, California, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Indian 

 Territory, and the West Indies. Mr. James Mooney was in the field eleven months, 

 Mrs. M. C. Stevenson nearly six months. Dr. J. W. Fewkes five months, Dr. John 

 R. Swanton six months, and Mr. H. H. St. Clair, 2nd, four months — a total of 

 thirty-two months. 



The researches have dealt more or less directly with a large part of the anthropolog- 

 ical field, and more especially with the history and archeology of the pre-Columbian 

 tribes of the West Indies; with the social, religious, and esthetic activities of the 

 tribes of the Great Plains; with the mythology, social institutions, ceremonies, and 

 art of the Pueblo Indians; with the languages, mythology, and art of the Alaskan 

 tribes, and with the languages of certain vanishing tribal remnants dwelling in 

 northern California. The collecting of ethnological and archeological specimens 

 and of data relating thereto, especially in the field of symbolism as embodied in art, 

 has received special attention from the field workers. 



The scientific researches and work carried on in the office were of exceptional 

 importance, particularly in connection with the preparation of a cyclopedia of the 

 Indian tribes, the writing of a handbook of American languages, the compilation of 

 an archeological map of the United States, the study of visiting delegations of Indians, 

 and the preparation of exhibits for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. The edi- 

 torial and library work, the cataloguing of manuscripts, the preparation of illustra- 

 tions, and the general clerical work have been carried forward in the usual manner. 

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