REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 71 



In June, 1924, Mr. Hewitt visited the Six Nations of Iroquois 

 dwelling near Brantford, Ontario, Canada; the Onondaga dwelling 

 near Syracuse, N. Y. ; the Tonawanda dwelling near Akron, N. Y. ; 

 the Tuscarora dwelling near Sanborn, N. Y. His obje<;t on this trip 

 was to obtain a better knowledge of the music of the ritual chants 

 of the Condolence and Installation Council. He also secured a 

 quantity of purple wampum which is used in these league rituals 

 and which has now become so scarce that its cost is well-nigh pro- 

 hibitive. 



Mr. Hewitt was also able to secure from the very few persons who 

 still retain some definite knowledge of the principles and insti- 

 tutions of the league additional interpretative and confinnatory in- 

 formation concerning certain critical passages in the native texts 

 which he recorded in former field trips, 



Mr. Francis La Flesche, ethnologist, gave most of his time to the 

 assembling of his notes on the child-naming rites and ceremonies 

 of the Osage Indians. Tliese ancient rites, with their ceremonies, are 

 now practically obsolete, and it was fortunate that Mr. La Flesche 

 succeeded in securing two of the remaining versions. The first was 

 obtained from Wa-xthi'-zhi, a member of the I"-gtho"'-ga or Puma 

 gens. Tliis version will form the first part of the volume on this 

 subject. 



The other version is that used by the Tsi'-zhu Wa-shta-ge, Peace- 

 maker, gens. It was with considerable difficulty obtained from old 

 Sho"'-ge-mo"-i", a member of the gens, who was very conservative 

 and opposed to having any of the tribal rites go to strangers. Since 

 the recording of these ancient rites that had been transmitted 

 through many generations, both these No°'-ho"-zhi°-ga, Wa-xthi'-zhi 

 and Sho^'-ge-mo^-i", have died, and it is now doubtful if any member 

 of the tribe could be found who is able to recite the rituals and go 

 through the ceremonial forms in their entirety. 



Tsi'-zhu Wa-shta-ge vereion will form the second part of the 

 volume, now nearing completion, which is to be called " Osage Child 

 Naming Rites," 



Mr. W. E. Myer, special archeologist, on his return from field work 

 in Tennessee, took up the preparation of his report on the remains 

 of the great prehistoric Indian settlement known as the Great Mound 

 Group in Cheatham County, Tenn., a preliminary account of which 

 was given in last year's report. This town is situated on the Har- 

 peth River near Kingston Springs and is found in two clusters about 

 a mile apart in the bend of the Harpeth River, covering about 500 

 acres. The fortification of the Great Mound Group was one of the 

 finest prehistoric structures for defense made by the Indians of 

 Tennessee. 



