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186 



Extract of a letter from the President of the American Ethnological Society to 

 the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. 



"New York, June 12, 1847. 



"Dear Sir: I have tlie honor to enclose a copy of the proceedings and 

 resolutions of the New York Ethnoloorical Society upon the MS. work on 

 American Antiquities, by Messrs. E. G. Squier and E. H. Davis, submitted with 

 your letter of the •2d inst. 



" I approve entirely of the resolutions and recommendations of the society. 



" Whatever may be the intrinsic value of the remains of former times which 

 are found in the United States, ii is necessary that they should at least be cor- 

 rectly described, and that existing gross errors should be corrected ; and I re- 

 peat my conviction that, though ardent, Messrs. Squier and Davis are animated 

 by that thorough love of truth which renders their researches worthy of entire 

 confidence. 



" I have the honor to be, &c., 



"ALBERT GALLATIN. 

 " Prof. J. Henry, 



" Secretary of Smitlisonian Institution.'' 



At a regular meeting of the American Ethnological Society, held at the 

 house of the Hon. Albert Gallatin, on the evening of the 4th of June, the 

 president laid before the members a communication from Professor J Henry, 

 Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, transmitting, for the examination and 

 opinion of the society, a MS. work on the Ancient Aboriginal Monuments of 

 the United States. On motion, the letter and accompanying MS. were refer- 

 red to a committee consisting of Edward Robinson, D. D., John R. Bartlett, 

 Professor W. W. Turner, Samuel G. Morton, M. D., and Hon. George P. 

 Marsh, to report upon the same. At a subsequent meeting of the society, 

 this committee submitted the following report and resolutions, which were 

 unanimously accepted and adopted : 



REPORT. 



Tlie committee of the American Ethnological Society, to which was referred 

 the communication of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, transmitting 

 a manuscript work, entitled " Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Val- 

 ley, comprising the results of Extensive Original Swveys and Explorations,'' 

 by E. G. Squier and E. H. Davis, beg leave to report, that 



They have examined the work in question, and regard it not only as a new 

 and interesting, but as an eminently valuable addition to our stock of knowl- 

 edge on a subject little understood, but in which is felt a deep and constantly 

 increasing interest, both in our country and abroad. In their judgment, the 

 work is worthy of the subject, and highly creditable to the authors. Its chief 

 features are, a scientific arrangement, simplicity, and directness of statement, 

 and legitimate deduction from facts, while there is no attempt at mejre specula- 

 tion or theory. If published, it will be an enduring monument to connect the 

 names of the investigators in honorable and lasting remembrance with the great 

 subject of American Archajology. 



The existence and progress of these investigations were made known to 

 the society by correspondence early in the year 1846; and in June of that year 



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