THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



and statutes were adopted which estabHshed the broader organ- 

 ization on a firm basis. Biennial meetings were held at first, and 

 the place was selected by the council of the " Societe Americaine 

 de France" ; later, the place and time of the meeting were deter- 

 mined by the Council of the Congress. Sessions of the Congress 

 have been held at irregular intervals, first at Nancy, then at 

 Luxemburg, Brussels, Madrid, Copenhagen, Turin, Berlin, Paris, 

 Huelva, Stockholm, Mexico and again at Paris in 1900. 



In acknowledgment of the international character and im- 

 portance of these gatherings of students of ancient American 

 history, the Congress has in several instances been directly under 

 royal patronage, and everywhere great consideration has been 

 accorded to the members, and high honor bestowed upon the 

 Congress. The Presidents of the Congress have been men dis- 

 tinguished for their work in some of its sections. A volume is 

 published after each meeting containing a resume of the proceed- 

 ings of the Congress and a number of the important papers read 

 at the meeting. 



With a full appreciation of all that the meeting of the Con- 

 gress implies, the American Museum of Natural History will 

 strive to do its part, as host, to make the coming meeting a suc- 

 cessful one. The great collections in American archseology and 

 ethnology, and the opportunities for comparative study which 

 the Museum offers, with its corps of workers to give assistance, 

 should induce many foreign Americanists to visit this conti- 

 nent, which is the field of their investigations, while to all who 

 come, whether from this country or abroad, a most hearty wel- 

 come will be extended. 



Last month the Department of Vertebrate Palaeontology 

 placed on exhibition in its hall a remarkable specimen of an 

 extinct Dog from Skillet Cik Donley Co., Texas, which has been 

 described by Dr. W. D. Matthew under the name Dinocyon 

 Gidleyi. The animal is the largest of the dog family thus far 

 described and belongs to an extinct race resembling in many 

 respects the bears. It must have equalled or exceeded the polar 

 bear in size. The specimen consists of the skull with a con- 



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