﻿XXXVI 
  ANNUAL 
  REPORT 
  OF 
  THE 
  DIRECTOR 
  

  

  Dr. 
  W.J. 
  Hoffman 
  worked 
  upon 
  the 
  Shoshonean 
  tribes, 
  aided 
  

   by 
  the 
  Director's 
  personal 
  supervision. 
  Mr. 
  Jeremiah 
  Curtin, 
  

   to 
  whom 
  was 
  assigned 
  the 
  < 
  lalifornia 
  tribes, 
  also 
  gave 
  assistance 
  

   in 
  other 
  sections. 
  

  

  Each 
  of 
  the 
  gentlemen 
  named 
  lias 
  been 
  able 
  to 
  contribute 
  

   largely 
  to 
  the 
  results 
  by 
  his 
  personal 
  experience 
  and 
  investiga- 
  

   tions 
  in 
  the 
  field, 
  there 
  being 
  numerous 
  regions 
  concerning 
  

   which 
  published 
  accounts 
  are 
  meager 
  and 
  unsatisfactory. 
  The 
  

   main 
  source 
  of 
  the 
  material 
  to 
  be 
  dealt 
  with 
  has, 
  however, 
  

   been 
  necessarily 
  derived 
  from 
  books. 
  A 
  vast 
  amount 
  of 
  the 
  

   current 
  literature 
  pertaining 
  to 
  the 
  North 
  American 
  Indians 
  

   has 
  been 
  examined, 
  amounting 
  to 
  over 
  one 
  thousand 
  volumes, 
  

   with 
  a 
  view 
  to 
  the 
  extraction 
  of 
  the 
  tribal 
  names 
  and 
  the 
  his- 
  

   torical 
  data 
  necessary 
  to 
  fix 
  their 
  precise 
  application. 
  

  

  The 
  work 
  at 
  the 
  present 
  time 
  is 
  well 
  advanced 
  toward 
  com- 
  

   pletion. 
  The 
  examination 
  of 
  literature 
  for 
  the 
  collation 
  of 
  

   synonyms 
  may 
  be 
  regarded 
  as 
  practically 
  done. 
  The 
  tables 
  

   of 
  synonymy 
  and 
  the 
  accounts 
  of 
  the 
  tribes 
  have 
  been 
  com- 
  

   pleted 
  for 
  more 
  than 
  one-half 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  linguistic 
  families. 
  

  

  ACCOMPANYING 
  PAPERS. 
  

  

  LINGUISTIC 
  FAMILIES 
  OF 
  NORTH 
  AMERICA. 
  

  

  In 
  harmony 
  with 
  custom, 
  three 
  scientific 
  papers 
  accompany 
  

   this 
  report, 
  designed 
  to 
  illustrate 
  the 
  nature, 
  methods 
  and 
  spirit 
  

   of 
  the 
  researches 
  conducted 
  by 
  the 
  Bureau. 
  The 
  first 
  is 
  on 
  

   the 
  "Classification 
  of 
  the 
  North 
  American 
  Languages." 
  It 
  is 
  

   by 
  no 
  means 
  a 
  final 
  paper 
  on 
  the 
  subject, 
  but 
  is 
  intended 
  

   rather 
  to 
  give 
  an 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  status 
  of 
  the 
  subject, 
  

   and 
  to 
  place 
  before 
  the 
  workers 
  in 
  this 
  field 
  of 
  scholarship 
  the 
  

   data 
  now 
  existing 
  and 
  the 
  conclusions 
  already 
  reached, 
  so 
  as 
  

   to 
  constitute 
  a 
  point 
  of 
  departure 
  for 
  new 
  work. 
  With 
  this 
  

   end 
  in 
  view 
  Mr. 
  Pilling 
  is 
  engaged 
  upon 
  the 
  bibliography 
  of 
  

   the 
  subject 
  and 
  is 
  rapidly 
  publishing 
  the 
  same, 
  and 
  Mr. 
  Hen- 
  

   shaw 
  is 
  employed 
  on 
  the 
  tribal 
  synonymy. 
  Altogether 
  it 
  is 
  

   hoped 
  that, 
  this 
  work 
  will 
  inaugurate 
  anew 
  era 
  in 
  the 
  investi- 
  

   gation 
  of 
  the 
  subject 
  by 
  making 
  available 
  the 
  vast 
  body 
  of 
  

  

  