REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 33 



The additional distribution of copies of these reports by Congress 

 serves still more widely to make known the character and operations 

 of the Institution, and to diffuse a species of useful knowledge which 

 cannot otherwise be readily obtained. 



Etlinology. — From the previous reports it will have been seen that 

 the Institution has endeavored to promote various branches of the 

 science of ethnology. Besides the works on Indian Archseology, it has 

 presented to the world several papers which relate to language. In the 

 report for I860 a list of original manuscripts was given, relating 

 to the languages of the western coast of North America, which had 

 been received through the assistance of Mr. Alexander S. Taylor, of 

 Monterey, California. Several of these have been carefully copied, 

 at the expense of the Institution, with the intention of insuring their 

 preservation and their subsequent publication. It has been suggested 

 that the publication of a grammar and dictionary of one at least of 

 each of the representative languages of North America would much 

 facilitate the investigation of the general relations of the several parts 

 of this branch of ethnology. With a view to carrying out this sug- 

 gestion, means have been adopted to obtain information as to all the 

 manuscripts which may possibly exist; and we have been so fortunate 

 as to enlist the co-operation, in this important work, of a number of 

 valuable collaborators. Among these are Mr. Alexander S. Taylor, 

 of California; the Catholic clergymen of the western coast of North 

 America; Mr. George Gibbs, of Washington Territory; Mr. Buck- 

 ingham Smith, late Secretary of Legation to Spain, and Mr. J. G. 

 Shea, of New York. 



Mr. Shea, who has devoted much attention to the subject of com- 

 parative philology, has commenced the publication at his own expense 

 of a "Library of American Linguistics," which he is desirous of con- 

 tinuing as a labor of love; and since it would not be in accordance 

 with the policy of this Institution to interfere with so praiseworthy 

 an undertaking, but on the contrary to facilitate it by all the means 

 in its power, it has been thought proper to present to Mr. Shea copies 

 of all the collections which the Institution has yet made relative to 

 this subject, and to purchase from him for distribution to learned 

 societies a certain number of copies of all the works which he may 

 publish. By adopting this course, which has been warmly recom- 

 mended by some of the principal ethnologists of this country, more 

 3 



