50 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 19 3 8 



Brame, nothing was found, there being, in fact, a singular dearth 

 of Indian remains in this county in the section "where it would be 

 natural to look for Mabila. In the southwestern part of the county, 

 however, there is a spot to which the Indians resorted for salt, one 

 noted on early French maps, and here a considerable collection of 

 potsherds was made and a number of pictures of the site taken. 

 While Dr. Swanton was engaged in this investigation, the Choctaw 

 Hunting and Fishing Club kindly extended the use of its camp at 

 Choctaw Bluff. 



After returning to Montgomery, Dr. Swanton proceeded to Tus- 

 caloosa and David De Jarnette, assistant to Prof. Walter S. Jones, 

 took him to Scottsboro and afterward on a number of trips along 

 the part of the Tennessee River valley believed to have been traversed 

 by De Soto. It seems to be indicated rather clearly that the Span- 

 iards crossed and recrossed this several times. Before returning to 

 Washington Dr. Swanton attended a meeting on October 29-30 called 

 by the De Soto Committee of the Society of the Colonial Dames of 

 America in preparation for a celebration of the quadricentennial of 

 the passage of the Mississippi by De Soto, and he delivered an 

 address at one of the sessions. 



Dr. Swanton has also added some further material to his large 

 paper on the Indians of the Southeast. 



In December he presided as vice-president over several sessions 

 of Section H, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 

 at Indianapolis. 



In March he was appointed to the United States Board on Geo- 

 graphical Names to occupy the place made vacant by the death of 

 J. 1ST. B. Hewitt, and he attended the twelfth annual meeting on 

 May 23. 



Dr. Truman Michelson, ethnologist, left Washington early in July 

 1937 to undertake field work among the Montagnais-lSTaskapi Indians 

 of the northern shore of the St. Lawrence River and vicinity. This 

 work was made possible through a generous grant-in-aid made by 

 the American Council of Learned Societies. He arrived at Natash- 

 quan July 12 and spent 18 days there, following which he continued 

 his investigations at Seven Islands, Moisie, and Bersimis. Owing to 

 the migratory habits of the Indians Dr. Michelson was able to get 

 data not only on Indians of the localities named but also others in 

 this region, including Mingan, St. Margeret's River, Godbout, Shel- 

 terbay, and Sheldrake. He was also able to check up his previous 

 information on the Indians of Davis Inlet, far north on the Labra- 

 dor coast ; and by good fortune came in contact with an Indian of a 

 band from the northeast corner of Lake Kaniapiskau — a band barely 

 laiown to the scientific world. The principal object was to complete 



