REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 51 



has been applied to the ^^lamlscripts l)elonging to the Algonciuian, the Athapascan, 

 and the Iroquoian stocks. Thie work on these stocks is far advanced. All the cards 

 of the original catalogue have been ,thus copied in duplicate. 



Previous to the death of Maj. J. W. Powell, the late Director of this Bureau, the 

 linguistic material, chiefly Shoshonean, which was collected personally by him in the 

 field, was not placed in the archives of the office; but since that time this material 

 has been incorporated with that already contained in the archives. A part of this 

 material is still uncatalogued. 



I\Ir. Hewitt has lieen t-alled upon to do considerable work on the Iroquoian stock 

 for the Dictionary of Indian Tribes, and much of the correspondence of the Bureau 

 relating to linguistics has been placed in his hands. 



During the year Dr. Cyrus Thomas, ethnologist, was engaged mainly on the Dic- 

 tionary of Indian Tribes, under the direction of Mr. F. W. Hodge. The work con- 

 sisted in preparing for final editing some of the families not finished at the com- 

 mencement of the year, in reexamining the cards which had been previously passed 

 over (to N) for the purpose of inserting any omitted titles and cross references, and in 

 taking general care of the Dictionary cards. During the early part of the year con- 

 siderable time was devoted by Doctor Thomas to the reading of final proofs of his 

 second paper on the Maya calendar systems, which is to appear in the Twenty-first 

 Annual Report. 



Dr. A. S. Gatschet was engaged during the year in his linguistic work, mainly on 

 his Algonquian texts, and some advance has been made in the compilation of his 

 dictionary and grammar of the Peoria language. In addition, Doctor Gatschet has 

 been called upon for information in his particular field for correspondents of the 

 Bureau. 



SPECIAL RESEARCHES AND WORK. 



Under the direction of Dr. Franz Boas, honorary philologist of the Bureau, consid- 

 erable progress has been made in the preparation of the Handbook of American Lan- 

 guages. Doctor Boas has not been able to devote any great portion of his own time 

 to the work during the year, but it has been fully outlined, and a number of collabo- 

 rators have begun the preparation of special papers. The introductory chapters of 

 the work are assigned to Doctor Boas. 



Mr. F. W. Hodge, of the Smithsonian Institution, has continued in charge of the 

 Cyclopedia of Indian Tribes, and substantial progress has l)een made in its compila- 

 tion. Much time has been consumed in revising and verifying the work of former 

 years and in bringing the whole up to a uniform standard of excellence. Mr. Hodge 

 has been assisted by Dr. Cyrus Thomas, ethnologist; Mr. Frank Huntington, edito- 

 rial assistant, and Mrs. Nichols, typewriter, and has received contributions from 

 numerous authors, including members of the Bureau and others intrusted with the 

 treatment of special topics. The Cyclopedia work has been delayed by the lack of 

 sufficient funds for the employment of skilled a.ssistants. 



Dr. Stewart Culin, of the Museum of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, has 

 completed and handed in his mftnograph on American Indian games, and this great 

 work was placed in the hands of the editor of the Bureau at the close of the year. 



The plan of operations for the year included the provision that the Bureau should 

 undertake the preparation of a measure for the preservation of our national antiqui- 

 ties, for submission to Congress. The Institution had jireviously interested itself in 

 this subject, and in order that it might be i)repared with a knowledge of what Gov- 

 ernments of other countries had done in this direction, it was determined to make a 

 study of the entire subject, and Mr. J. D. McGuire was temporarily employed to 

 make investigations and fornnilate a measure. This step was taken, and the measure 

 was in due course presented in the House and Senate. In jirosecuting this work 

 translations were made of the laws of various countries, including Mexico, France, 



