NO. 3 SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, IQI5 We 
mine in many of the contested cases who was, and who was not, a 
full-blood indian. There was no difficulty in this respect where the 
amount of white blood was considerable or the mixture fairly recent ; 
but in many instances the mixture first took place many generations 
ago, and the proportion of white blood in the present representatives 
of some such families is so small that it is difficult, 1f not impossible, 
to determine the degree of white infusion by ordinary observation. 
It was with a view of assisting, as far as possible, in the solving of 
the problem as to who are full-bloods and who are mixed-bloods 
among the Chippewa, that Dr. Hrdlicka was asked to visit the reser- 
vations ; and he undertook the task with the expectation of coming in 
Fre. 88.—A family of Chippewa mixed-bloods, Leech Lake. All the individuals 
are mixed, but in some the proportion of white blood is small. 
contact with many interesting conditions which usually are not 
directly related to regular anthropological work. 
The method of procedure was to drive from dwelling to dwelling 
over the reservations, and to examine the Indians whose blood status 
was in doubt by all the means at the disposal of the anthropologist, 
practicable in field work of this nature. Particular attention was 
directed to the skin of the body, especially that of the chest, to the 
hair and eyes, physiognomy, and a number of other features, such as 
the nails, gums, and teeth, which may be of assistance in determina- 
tions of thisnature. Furthermore, stress was laid on the examination, 
in all important cases, of all the living members of the family, for it 
frequently happens that the brothers and sisters of an individual 
