DEPARTMENT OF ETHNOLOGY. 139 



During the last few weeks of the fiscal year the curator lias given 

 much time and attention to preparing for the Chicago Exposition. A 

 plan proposed is as follows: 



To show at Chicago, as accurately as possible, the aboriginal life of 

 North America at the time the natives were first visited by the whites 

 and before they were changed by contact Avith our civilization. Such 

 an exhibit has never been attempted for any continent before, because 

 the means were not at hand to carry it out. It is true that in all the 

 great expositicms much attention has been ]>aid to primitive arts. The 

 Paris Exposition of 1889 had a section devoted to the French colonies 

 in Africa and in southeastern Asia, and there was a most interesting 

 series of structures illustrative of human habitations in all grades of 

 culture. In the Palais des Industries Di verses, fourteen groups of lay- 

 figures were arranged to illustrate the progress of art, commencing with 

 the rude cave-dweller and ending with the Chinese cloissonne worker. 

 In many of the exhibits sent by our Institution to Philadelphia, London, 

 Berlin, New Orleans, and Cincinnati, single arts or a single people have 

 been exhaustively treated. At Philadelphia, under the direction of my 

 distinguished predecessor. Prof. Charles Ran, assisted by Mr. Frank 

 Cushing, the arclijipology of America was well set forth with attractive 

 collections from the northwest coast. All these efforts were successful 

 in their way, and it is now designed to follow them up with acom])re- 

 hensive disiilay Avhich will enable the spectator to see the continent as 

 it appeared to the first explorers. At the same time the exposition 

 will furnish an appropriate culmination of a series of investigations 

 which have been prosecuted for a century. Not that these investiga- 

 tions were pursued for the ])urpose of bringing them together in an en- 

 cyclopsedic work or display, but the World's Ex])osition furrnshes the 

 happy occasion of crowning the distinguished scholars who imve for a 

 hundred years been doing their best to make a great histoiic and eth- 

 nographic exhibit possible, J 



During the year the material gathered from various parts of the 

 earth, without lefereuce to the elucidation of any especial art, have 

 been collected and arranged in a series of courts after the manner of 

 the European museums. This has been only partially carried out on 

 account of the great lack of space. 



At the close of the year 1890-'91 the dei)artinent became so crowded 

 for space, that it was deemed necessary to entirely reconstruct the 

 system of caring for the material, but this will furnish only temporary 

 relief. Any one v isiting the halls and space allotted to this department 

 will see how entirely inadequate is tlie room, either for exhibition, stor- 

 age, or for the study series. It is now necessary to box up a great 

 many things, so that the curator can have no access to them without 

 the gTeatest diflicnilty. 



I beg that this matter be taken into consideration at the earliest 

 moment, as it will soon be impossible to do anything but re(teive and 



