REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 71 



magistrates. He also recorded much valuable information relating 

 to the several institutions of the league. 



On June 24, Mr. Hewitt made a short visit to the Onondaga 

 Reservation, lying about 8 miles south of Syracuse, N. Y. He de- 

 voted his time on this reservation to a comparison of the limited 

 knowledge possessed by the only two men who had any definite 

 information of the various institutions and laws and installation 

 rituals of the Iroquois Confederation, with the records which he 

 possesses. The object was to ascertain, if still possible, how much 

 of his Canadian material, if any, could be said to be recent, or 

 whether the differences in the content were due merely to the break- 

 down of the traditions of the New York Onondaga. He convinced 

 himself that the latter was the sole cause. 



Mr. Francis La Flesche, ethnologist, was engaged most of the time 

 during the fiscal year in assembling his notes for the third volume 

 of his work on The Osage Tribe. In this volume are recorded 

 two rituals of the Osage tribal rites. One is entitled Wa-xo'-be 

 A-wa-tho n , Singing of the Wa-xo'-be Songs, and the other, Qa. Tha-ge 

 Ga-xe, Weaving of the Rush. 



SPECIAL RESEARCHES 



In her studies of Indian music during the fiscal year Miss Frances 

 Densmore has included the songs of three tribes living in Arizona, 

 near the Mexican border. These tribes are the Yuma, Mohave, and 

 Papago. One of the manuscripts submitted this year deals with the 

 cremation ceremony of the Yuma, witnessed by Miss Densmore in 

 1922. The ceremonial songs of this rite were recorded and informa- 

 tion given by the oldest man, who has the hereditary right to sing 

 these songs. It is the custom of the Yuma Indians to hold a 

 memorial ceremony within a year after a death, at which an image 

 of the deceased is burned. After this ceremony the name of the 

 dead is never spoken. A full description of this ceremony was sub- 

 mitted, together with transcriptions of its songs. 



The treatment of the sick by these tribes was also studied and 

 healing songs of each tribe were submitted. Among these were the 

 songs of a Yuma medicine man, who claims the power to cure per- 

 sons suffering from wounds in the chest, accompanied by hemor- 

 rhage. This shaman said that he did this by the aid of four insects 

 and birds, one of which has power over the fluids of the body. His 

 songs are cheerful and soothing in character, and it is interesting 

 to note that he forbade the people to weep during his treatment, 

 requiring that they " appear cheerful and act in a natural manner." 



Four manuscripts were submitted by Miss Densmore during the 

 year, bearing the following titles : " Papago medicine and dancing 



