SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, I93O I_'5 



collections. The latter was carried on with the full knowledge of the 

 natives and often in their view and with their assistance. They were 

 told that I wanted only the old " heathen " remains, in which no living 

 person had any interest ; that the bones were needed for studies and 

 for comparisons of the development, the type, and the diseases of the 

 old with those of the present people ; and that they would be treated 

 with all possible consideration. The results both with the living and 

 with the skeletal remains were very gratifying. They comprise the 

 measurements of every fullblood male that could be found along the 

 lower 400 miles of the river and bay; observations on many of the 

 women, children, and mixedbloods ; and collections filling over 50 

 boxes of precious old skeletal material. An unexpected but welcome 

 feature was the willingness of all the natives to be photographed, but 

 unfortunately the prevalent drizzles and cold weather of this year pre- 

 vented full success in this direction. 



At Bethel, thanks especially to Mrs. Heron and Miss Martin, con- 

 tingents of Eskimo were obtained from a much larger territory than 

 could be visited. There were numerous individuals from the " tundra " 

 (Johnson River) and some from as far as Nelson Island and Good- 

 news Bay. This gave valuable insight into conditions over a large and 

 hitherto unknown region. 



More in detail, the results of the work were manifold. They may 

 briefly be enumerated as follows : 



Population. — The native population of the Kuskokwim River is re- 

 stricted to the lower 350 miles of the stream with its affluents and to 

 its bay. It is estimated collectively at 3,000 individuals. It extends 

 up to the Stony River. In the 200 miles between the Stony and 

 McGrath there live now but three families of about 25 persons, a 

 large proportion of whom are young children, with very few if any 

 of the adults native to that region. 



Race. — The entire region, up to near the Stony River and includ- 

 ing the Hoolitna River, is now and has apparently always been occu- 

 pied by the Eskimo. Only three Indians were encountered in this 

 region, all close to Stony River and all from elsewhere. The current 

 notion that the Eskimo reached to Sleitmute and the Indians began 

 above that was not borne out by the finds ; the present extension of the 

 Eskimo certainly reaches to and includes the Hoolitna, and there 

 are no old sites between this and the Stony River which would show 

 a previous existence here of the Indian. The Indian territory if it 

 may be so called — for there are hardly any of them there — begins 

 close to the Stony River. But an occasional Indian type of face may 

 be noticed as far down as Napaimute and there are indications that 



