56 NATURAL SCIENCE. January. 



aridity of soil. The " cavate " lodges were evidently applied 

 largely to purposes of defence. Mr. Mindeleff refers the occupancy of 

 this region, as indicated by the ruins, to a comparatively late period. 

 Many excellent photographs and sketches are reproduced. 



The Rev. J. O. Dorsey supplies a study of the Omaha tribe, or 

 rather a description of their dwellings and implements, the result of 

 personal observations dating from 1878. The Omahas were a truly 

 warlike and hunting people, migratory in their habits, a characteristic 

 which is at once revealed by the merest glance at their various 

 appliances. For them, as for so many North American tribes, the 

 extinction of the bison has led perforce to a gradual change in habits. 

 The paper contains much information in a condensed form, and the 

 descriptions notice details too often omitted in ethnographical 

 accounts. 



A second paper by Mr. C. Mindeleff is devoted to a description of 

 the important "Casa Grande Ruin" of Arizona, discovered in 1694 by 

 Padre Kino, and in ruins even then. It is, perhaps, the best known 

 example of aboriginal architecture on a large scale in the United 

 States, and is now being carefully preserved with its walls 

 strengthened and supported, a special grant of money having been 

 voted by the Senate for that purpose. 



The last paper is one on " Outlines of Zufii Creation-Myths " by 

 Mr. Frank Hamilton Gushing, who is, perhaps, the chief authority 

 upon matters connected with the inner life and philosophy of the 

 natives of New Mexico. Few modern primitive peoples have received 

 so much and such careful study as have the inhabitants of this region, 

 and Mr. Cushing's initiation into a tribe, even into its " priesthood," 

 has given him unrivalled opportunities for the investigation of the 

 doctrines and folk-lore of the people. The importance of a study of 

 myths and legends rests largely upon the light, shadowy it is true, 

 which is thrown upon the early history and migrations of a tribe ; and 

 the cosmogony of the Zuhis is interesting, not only per se, but also 

 because of the side-lights which illumine the often ill-defined 

 transitional periods of culture. The creation-myths of the Zuhis are, 

 in fact, highly suggestive, and have a value apart from their mere 

 intrinsic interest. Mr. Cushing's style of writing is admirably 

 adapted to the description and translation of the legends and folk- 

 tales of the Zufii Indians. Throughout them runs a truly poetic 

 strain, and the primitive, though often somewhat intricate, philosophy 

 is tempered with many a graceful conception and poetical allusion, 

 whose quality can only be rendered by a sympathetic writer. The 

 paper is but a portion of a wider survey of the subject, and its author 

 promises fresh communications upon the cultural characteristics 

 of the Zuhis, with a view to elucidating further the meaning of the 

 Myths of Creation. H. Balfour. 



British Archeology. 



The Reliquary and Illustrated Archaeologist. Edited by J. Romilly Allen. 

 New series, vol. ii. 410. 260 pp. Plates and many illustrations. London: 

 Bemrose & Sons, 1896. Price 12s. nett. 



This exceedingly interesting and well-illustrated quarterly, which has 

 now reached the second volume of a new series, is devoted to the 

 study of the early pagan and christian antiquities of Great Britain ; 

 mediaeval architecture and ecclesiology ; the development of the arts 

 and industries of man in the past ages ; and the survivals of ancient 

 usages and appliances in the present. 



As might be expected, we have a valuable paper on the Cup- 



