An th ropology 759 



that language, which, under the auspices of the Historical 

 Society of Minnesota, was arranged and edited by the Rev- 

 erend S. R. Riggs. Although primarily prepared to meet 

 the needs of missionaries, it was found to be an interesting 

 contribution to ethnology, and its publication was recom- 

 mended by several of the best philologists of the country. 

 By cooperation with the Historical Society of Minnesota, and 

 the American Board of Missions, which contributed about a 

 third of the cost of the work, the Smithsonian Institution 

 devoted the fourth volume of the " Contributions " to this 

 valuable memoir. 



The appearance of this memoir led to the preparation of 

 others, which, although not all published, showed the wealth 

 of material and the awakening interest in this branch of eth- 

 nographic study. The Institution gave its fostering help to 

 this work, assisting in the elaboration of material, and coop- 

 erated with other institutions in its publication. Among 

 these may be mentioned a " Grammar of the Choctaw," by 

 the Reverend Harvey Byington, which was warmly recom- 

 mended by Professor Felton, of Harvard and George Gibbs. 

 It was published by the American Philosophical Society of 

 Philadelphia, having been much improved by the author and 

 Doctor D. G. Brinton, after the death of Mr. Byington. The 

 growing trade with Oregon rendered timely the publication 

 in 1853 of the "Vocabulary of the Jargon or Trade Lan- 

 guage of Oregon," edited by B. Rush Mitchell, and Professor 

 W. W. Turner, who at that time was librarian of the United 

 States Patent Office. The interest of the latter scholar in 

 philological studies appears also in the " Grammar and Dic- 

 tionary of Yoruba Language," published in the tenth volume 

 of the " Smithsonian Contributions." Yoruba is in West- 

 ern Africa, east of Dahomey, and is peopled with a primi- 

 tive race of simple and harmless character. The Reverend 



