Anthropology 7 6 3 



scholars. The valuable memoir of Lewis H. Morgan on 

 " Systems of Consanguinity and Affinity of the Human 

 Family" was a remarkable work by a profound scholar. 

 Having been led by his studies of the system of relationship 

 among the Iroquois Indians to certain conclusions in regard 

 to consanguinity, Morgan was able to develop the fact that 

 the same law holds likewise among other Indian tribes of 

 America, and at his request circulars asking for information 

 on these points were distributed to consuls, missionaries, and 

 ethnologists by the Smithsonian Institution. This work was 

 officially facilitated by General Cass, Secretary of State, by 

 whom it was commended to diplomatic agents of the gov- 

 ernment in various lands. The effect of this circular in ad- 

 vancing anthropological knowledge was great not only in the 

 special line of inquiries which it specially concerned, but also 

 in other branches germane to social organization of primitive 

 society. 



The National Museum has accumulated enormous collec- 

 tions of objects illustrating the ethnography of different races 

 of man. This material has served as the basis of many 

 valuable researches, furnishing valuable data on technology, 

 mythology, and many other departments of anthropology. 

 Several monographic accounts of different races from the 

 ethnographic standpoint enrich the publications of the Smith- 

 sonian Institution. 



At the request of the Institution James G. Swan, an 

 agent of the government, prepared an account of "The 

 Indians of Cape Flattery," opposite Vancouver Island, in 

 the northwestern corner of what was then Washington Ter- 

 ritory. This article, published as a memoir, contained a full 

 description of the manners and customs, myths, and cere- 

 monials of these people, with a detailed account of imple- 

 ments, clothing, houses, and mortuary customs, and beliefs. 



