xII ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 
the Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region, and a bureau of 
ethnology was thus practically organized. 
In the Annual Report of the Geographical and Geological 
Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region for 1877, the following 
statement of the condition of the work at that time appears: 
ETHNOGRAPHIC WORK. 
During the same office season the ethnographic work was more thor- 
oughly organized, and the aid of a large number of volunteer assistants 
living throughout the country was secured. Mr. W. H. Dall, of the 
United States Coast Survey, prepared a paper on the tribes of Alaska, 
and edited other papers on certain tribes of Oregon and Washington 
Territory. He also superintended the construction of an ethnographic 
map to accompany his paper, including on it the latest geographic de- 
termination from all available sources. His long residence and extended 
scientific labors in that region peculiarly fitted him for the task, and he 
has made a valuable contribution both to ethnology and geography. 
With the same volume was published a paper on the habits and cus- 
toms of certain tribes of the State of Oregon and Washington Territory, 
prepared by the late Mr. George Gibbs while he was engaged in scien- 
tific work in that region for the government. The volume also contains 
a Niskwalli vocabulary with extended grammatic notes, the last great 
work of the lamented author. 
In addition to the map above mentioned and prepared by Mr. Dall, 
a second has been made, embracing the western portion of Washington 
Territory and the northern part of Oregon. The map includes the re- 
sults of the latest geographic information and is colored to show the 
distribution of Indian tribes, chiefly from notes and maps left by Mr. 
Gibbs. 
The Survey is indebted to the following gentlemen for valuable con- 
tributions to this volume: Gov. J. Furujelm, Lieut. E. De Meulen, Dr. 
Wm. F. Tolmie, and Rev. Father Mengarini. 
Mr. Stephen Powers, of Ohio, who has spent several years in the 
study of the Indians of California, had the year before been engaged to 
prepare a paper on that subject. In the mean time at my request he 
was employed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to travel among these 
tribes for the purpose of making collections of Indian arts for the Inter- 
national Exhibition. This afforded him opportunity of more thoroughly 
accomplishing his work in the preparation of the above-mentioned 
paper. On his return the new material was incorporated with the old, 
and the whole has been printed. : 
At our earliest knowledge of the Indians of California they were di- 
vided into small tribes speaking diverse languages and belonging to 
radically different stocks, and the whole subject was one of great com- 
plexity and interest. “Mr. Powers has successfully unraveled the diffi- 
