38 REPOET OF THE SECRETARY. 



more or less strictly aboriginal type; accordingly the installation afforded an excel- 

 lent opportunity for the study of native house-building, and of the ceremonies con- 

 nected with the highly interesting house-cult of the native tribes. Among the lodges 

 were two Blackfeet skin tents, made and decorated in aboriginal fashion in every 

 respect, save that cow hides were substituted for l)uffalo hides. A lodge of special 

 nature was a Wichita grass house, which faithfully exemplified the aboriginal con- 

 struction, since the structure was an actual example, the oldestin the Wichita village 

 in Indian Territory, repaired, taken down, and reconstructed by aged men and women 

 conversant with the house-cult of the tribe. At the close of the exposition this spec- 

 imen was obtained for the National Museum. These and other structures erected at 

 Omaha and carefully studied by Mr. Mooney have added materially to the knowl- 

 edge of aboriginal houses. 



The researches in California by Messrs. McGee and Holmes extended to basketry 

 and added materially to knowledge of the processes of basket making, especially 

 among the Pomo and Yokai tribes. The Hudson l)asketry collection comprises exam- 

 ples of twelve different weaves, which have been carefully studied by the collector, 

 Dr. J. W. Hudson, and are described fully in his catalogue; and, in addition, several 

 processes were critically studied in actual use by basket makers. The functions or 

 purposes of the baskets also received careful attention. In this region they form the 

 common utensils of the householders, taking the place sometimes filled by fictile ware 

 and serving various other purposes. They are used as cui)s, canteens, and other water 

 vessels, as pt)ts for boiling acorn meal and meats (by means of heat(Ml stones), as 

 receptacles for stored foods and liquids, and especially as ceremonial and sacramental 

 objects. The researches concerning the aboriginal basketry of California promise 

 important results along different lines as the work proceeds. 



WORK IN SOCIOLOGY. 



The synthesis of activities by the Director extended into the domain of institutions 

 during the year, and the science was characterized and formulated in a preliminary 

 way; but, since the institutional activities are still more complex than the industrial 

 activities, and since the data available in the archives of the Bureau are exceedingly 

 voluminous, the formulation was not completed at the end of the fiscal year, and the 

 results are reserved for future presentation. 



In the course of his researches among the California Indians, Mr. McGee obtained 

 certain data tending to explain the linguistic diversity which so strongly distinguishes 

 the Pacific coast province fi-om the major portion of the continent — a diversity 

 expressed by the fact that four-jfifths of the area of the continent are represented on 

 linguistic maps by only about one-fifth of the linguistic stocks, while the remaining 

 four-fifths of the stocks are concentrated in less than one-fifth of the area skirting 

 the Pacific coast. In the first place, various indications were found that the human 

 period in this region has been relatively short, or at least relatively uniform and 

 uneventful; for, while most portions of the country reveal some evidences of culture 

 succession, the Californian region reveals but a single culture type in the relatively 

 rare artifacts scattered over the surface or still in use among the tribal remnants; so 

 that, on the whole, the region impresses the student as one of either short or slow, 

 and, in any event, relatively slight, demotic development. In the second place, it 

 was ascertained that the tongues of the several tribes are in exceptional degree held 

 as esoteric or sacred. It is common among all primitive peoples to surround personal 

 names and ceremonial terms with more or less secrecy or mystery, but it is not 

 common to similarly guard and sanctify ordinary speech; but the Californian tribes 

 subjected to study apparently hold as sacred not merely personal names, but the 

 name of the tribe and many if not all the common terms of their language — indeed, 

 it would appear that they regard language as forming the primary basis of their 



