XXXVI ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 



The last stop was made among the Modoc at Quapaw 

 Agency, at the agency buildings. About ninety are left of 

 those brought there for having taken part in the Modoc war of 

 1872-73. Five mythic tales were gathered from the natives 

 within the short time of three weeks, one of them being of 

 considerable length and of importance. It is called " The birth 

 of Aishish." " The birth of this astral deity resembles in most 

 particulars that of Bacchus from the thigh of Jupiter after his 

 mother, Semele, had been burned to death. The terms, phrases, 

 and sentences gathered, besides the myth mentioned, amount 

 to over fifteen hundred items, which will prove useful for com- 

 pleting the work on the Klamath Indians of Oregon now in 

 preparation. 



Of the Shawnee language several hundred words were 

 gathered from the Indians of that tribe settled around the 

 agency. 



Mr. Gatschet returned to Washington in April, 1885. 



WORK OF REV. J. OWEN DORSET.. 



Rev. J. Owen Dorsey visited the Siletz Agency, Oregon, in 

 August, 1884, to gain linguistic and other information respect- 

 ing the tribes in that region. When he returned, in November, 

 he brought back as the result of his work the following 

 vocabularies: — Athapascan family: Applegate Creek, Galice 

 Creek, Chasta Costa, Miko-no-tunne, Chetco, Smith River, 

 Cal, and Upper Coquille. — Yakonan family: Yaquina, Alsea, 

 Siuslaw, and Lower Umpqua. — Kusan family: Mulluk or Lower 

 Coquille. — Takilman family: Takilma or Upper Rogue River. — 

 Shahaptian family: Klikitat. — Sastean family: Shasti — total, 

 nineteen vocabularies, ranging from fifty to three thousand 

 entries, exclusive of phrases and grammatical notes. 



He also obtained materials for an account of the social or- 

 ganization into villages of some of these Indians, the basis for 

 which appears to have been the clan or gens. Rough maps, 

 showing the localities of the villages, were made. Mr. Dorsey 

 also obtained fi'om several tribes the corresponding Indian 

 names of about sixty vegetal products, specimens of which 

 were brought to Washington for identification. 



