REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 21 
bia, Maryland, Virginia, and the Ohio \ alley, which determined among 
other points of interest that the implication of great antiquity to forms 
of stone implements of America which have hitherto been classed with 
European paloliths in age as well as in fabrication has not been sub- 
stantiated by the ascertamed facts. 
Careful exploration of the Verde Valley in Arizona followed that be- 
fore made of other parts of the large southwestern region of the United 
States in which the presence of many extensive ruins has given rise to 
fanciful theories. The data as classified and discussed has shown that 
the hypothesis of a vanished race enjoying high civilization, which has 
been proposed to account for the architecture of the ruined structures, 
is unnecessary. 
The attention already given to Indian languages has been continued, 
in recognition of the fact that some of them are fast passing beyond the 
possibility of record and study and that the ethnie classification of all 
of the Indian tribes can be made accurate only through the determina- 
tion of their linguistic divisions and connections. The studies upon 
aboriginal mythology and religious practices has also been continued, 
with special attention to the ghost dances and ‘ Messiah religion,” 
which have produced important consequences bearing upon the prob- 
lem of proper national dealing with the Indians. Official misconcep- 
tion of their religious philosophy, which has been forcedly transfigured 
by the absorption of Christianity so as to present more apparent than 
actual antagonism to civilization, has occasioned needless loss of life 
and treasure. 
Further details respecting the work of the Bureau will be found in 
the report of its director, given in full in the Appendix. 
NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK. 
The primary object for which Congress was asked to establish a 
National Zoological Park was to secure the preservation of those 
American animals that are already nearly extinct, and this object it 
was thought would be best seeured by the establishment of a large 
inclosure in which such animals could be kept in a seclusion as nearly 
as possible like that of their native haunts. It was believed that, 
except for initial expenses for buildings and roads for the public, 
this could be done with an outlay comparatively small, probably not 
exceeding $50,000 a year; for, after the necessary land was once acquired 
and fenced in, smaller inclosures and paddocks could be set off and 
inexpensive barns erected at about this yearly charge. 
It was, in the nature of things, inevitable that some provision should 
be made for the convenience of a curious and interested public, as well 
as for the care and well being of animals unaccustomed to the pres- 
ence of man. For the first of these it was intended to set aside a con- 
siderable area, on which the principal buildings should be placed and 
