REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 33 



At the beginning of the year Dr. Truman Michelson, ethnologist, 

 was engaged in working out the phonetic shifts of Natick on the 

 basis of the material contained in Trumbull's Dictionary. With 

 very few exceptions these are now satisfactorily solved, and have 

 been indexed on file cards. When a few remaining obscure points 

 are elucidated it will be possible to present a complete paper for 

 publication. During the year a number of technical papers were 

 prepared for publication in certain professional periodicals. Among 

 these is a series of papers solving certain difficulties in Algonquian 

 sound-shifts and etymologies as well as showing that some sound- 

 shifts took place in Proto-Algonquian times. An article on Winne- 

 bago social and political organization should also be noted. The 

 data extracted from Caleb Atwater's writings, previously neglected, 

 are important. A new technique of determining the gentes of some 

 tribes at certain times is given. Since gentes often own personal 

 names, it is clear that personal names occurring as the signers of 

 treaties and in early documents can be utilized in determining the 

 gentes. Of general ethnological interest will be Dr. Michelson's 

 communication, shortly to be published in the American Anthropol- 

 ogist, on Miss Owen's Folk-Lore of the Musquakie Indians. Since 

 the book deals with the Musquakie Indians, we have a right to 

 suppose that the Indian words cited are Musquakie. However, Dr. 

 Michelson shows that several are not even Algonquian but Siouan. 

 Dr. Michelson has prepared and submitted for publication two 

 papers : " Further Notes on Algonquian Kinship Terms " and 

 " What Happened to Green Bear Who Was Blessed with a Sacred 

 Pack." 



Dr. John P. Harrington, ethnologist, continued during the year 

 his researches on the Indians of California and other related western 

 Indians, both in the field and in Washington. At the beginning of 

 the year he was engaged in work in southern California with an 

 aged Indian, reviewing with him the ethnology contained in Father 

 Boscana's unique report on the culture of the southern California 

 coast Indians, written in 1822, the manuscript of which Dr. Harring- 

 ton recently discovered. The rehearing and annotating of this im- 

 portant manuscript was continued with other informants until well 

 into the fall, resulting in the elucidating of practically every passage 

 of the old text. On the completion of this work Dr. Harrington 

 returned to Washington, D. C, to continue the annotation of the 

 Boscana manuscript. Owing to the presence of Mission Indians in 

 the city of Washington during all the latter part of the year, as 

 delegates in connection with legislative work, Dr. Harrington 

 availed hiinself of this opportunity to amplify the work. Legends 

 and other materials from these Indians were reheard, discussed, and 

 edited. This work was still in continuation on June 30. 



