56 KEPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



part of March, when be was seut to Tennessee to examine certain mound 

 groups, and to determine, so far as possible, the exact locations of the 

 old Cheroki " Over-hill towns." The result of this last-mentioned in- 

 vestigation was one of the most valuable of the year, as it indicated 

 that each of these " Over-hill towns" was, with jjossibly one unimi)or- 

 tant exception, in the locality of a mound group. 



Near the close of October Mr. Reynolds, having already examined 

 the inclosnres of the northern, eastern, and western sections of the 

 mound region, was sent to Ohio and West Virginia to study the differ- 

 ent types found there, with reference to the chapters he is preparing 

 on the various forms of inclosnres of the United States. While thus 

 engaged he explored a lar^e mound connected with one of the typical 

 works in Paint Creek Valley, obtaining unexpected and important 

 results. The construction of this tumulus was found to be quite dif- 

 ferent from most of those of the same section examined by Messrs. 

 Squier and Davis. 



Mr. Eramert devoted the few months he was employed to the suc- 

 cessful exploration of mounds in eastern Tennessee. Some important 

 discoveries were made, aud additional interesting facts were ascertained 

 in regard to the customs of the mound builders of that section. 



General field studies. — Early in the month of July Gol. Garrick Mal- 

 lery proceeded to Maine, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, to con- 

 tinue investigation into the pictographs of the Abnaki and Micmac 

 Indians, which had been commenced in 1888. He first visited rocks on 

 the main-land, near Machiasp<n't, and on Hog Island, in Holmes Bay, a 

 part of Machias Bay. In both localities pecked petroglyphs were 

 found, accurate copies of which were taken. Some of them had not 

 before been reported. They were probably of Abnaki origin, either of 

 the Penobscot or the Passamaquoddy divisions, the rocks lying on the 

 line of water communication between those divisions. From there he 

 proceeded to Kejemkoojik Lake, on the border of Queen's and Annap- 

 olis counties. Nova Scotia, and resumed the work of drawing and trac- 

 ing the large number of petroglyphs found during the previous summer. 

 Perfect copies were obtained of so many of them as are amply suffi- 

 cient for study and comparison. These petroglyphs were etched and 

 were made by Micmacs. The country of the Malecites, on the St. 

 John's Kiver, New Brunswick, was next visited. No petroglyphs were 

 discovered, but a considerable amount of information upon the old 

 system of pictographs on birch bark and its use was obtained. Illus- 

 trative specimens were secured, together with myths and legends as- 

 sisting in the elucidation of some of the pictographs which had been 

 obtained elsewhere. 



Dr. W. J. Hoffman proceeded in July to visit the Ked Lake and White 

 Earth Indian reservations in Minnesota. At Red Lake he obtained 

 copies of birch-bark records pertaining to the Midewiwin or Grand Medi- 



