ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT ie 
large body of sacred formulas, written in the Cherokee 
language and alphabet, which he had obtained from the native 
priests and their surviving relatives some years ago, and 
about one-third of which he had already translated, with ex- 
planatory notes. In connection with this work a large num- 
ber of plants noted in the formulas as of medicinal or other 
value were collected and transferred to the division of botany 
of the National Museum for scientific identification. In this 
collection were several specimens of the native corn of the 
Cherokee, still cultivated as sacred by a few of the old con- 
servatives. On examination by the experts of the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture this corn was found to be a new and 
hitherto undescribed variety of special food importance under 
cultivation. Return was made from the field early in 
October, 1913. 
In June, 1914, a brief trip was made into Prince Georges and 
Charles Counties, Maryland, for the purpose of investigating 
the status and origin of some persons of supposedly Indian 
descent, concerning whom several inquiries had come to the 
bureau. Mr. Mooney found, as he had supposed, that these 
people, numbering in all several hundred, were, like the 
Pamunkey of Virginia and the so-called Croatan of North 
Carolina, a blend of the three races, Indian, Negro, and White, 
with the Indian blood probably predominating. They con- 
stitute and hold themselves a separate caste, distinct from 
both white and negro. They probably represent the mongrel- 
ized descendants of the Piscataway tribe, and are sometimes 
locally distinguished among themselves as “ We-Sort,’’ that 
is, “Our Sort.” 
On June 22, 1914, Mr. Mooney again started for the East 
Cherokee to continue work on the sacred formulas, with a 
view to speedy publication. 
His time in the office during the winter and spring was 
occupied chiefly with the extended investigation of former 
Indian population, together with routine correspondence and 
replies to letters of inquiry. On request of the Department 
of Justice he prepared an extended deposition on tribal 
ranges and Indian depredations in northern Mexico and 
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