﻿NO. 10 



SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, I923 



119 



FIELD STUDIES OF INDIAN MUSIC 



In July, 1923. Miss Frances Densmore went to Neah Bay, Wash- 

 ington, to continue her study of Indian music for the Bureau of 

 American Ethnolog}-. The purpose of the trip was to record the songs 

 of Pacific Coast Indians for comparison with the songs of desert and 

 plains tribes. The ]\Iakah were selected for this comparison as they 

 are particularly efficient in the catching of whale and seal. The result 

 fully justified the undertaking. Proof of the efl:'ect of environment 

 and occupation on Indian song was obtained, together with descrip- 

 tions of musical customs not found in tribes previously studied. The 



Fig. 116. — Neah Bay village, Ohmpic Alts, in distance. (Photograph by 



Miss Densmore.) 



resultant material comprised phonographic records of 103 songs, more 

 than 200 pages of manuscript notes, 26 specimens of plants with 

 descriptions of their use, 5 portraits of singers and numerous photo- 

 graphs of the locality. A considerable number of specimens relating 

 to the material were obtained, and several specimens which the owners 

 refused to sell were photographed with their permission. 



Neah Bay is on the Strait of Juan de Fuca and lies within a few 

 miles of the end of Cape Flattery. Across the Strait can be seen the 

 mountains of \"ancouver Island while back of the village rise the 

 Olympic mountains (fig. 116). Communication between Neah Bay 

 and the outer world is entirely by water. Long ago, the Spaniards 



