ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT XVII 



texts obtained at Masset, Queen Charlotte islands, during 

 the same expedition. 



On December 16 Doctor S wanton returned to the North- 

 west coast to engage in field work, particularly among the 

 Tlingit Indians of Alaska. From January 9 to March 21 

 he was at Sitka among the northern Tlingit, and from 

 then until May 5 among the southern members of that 

 family. On the way thither he engaged in some inci- 

 dental work among the Haida, and during the season col- 

 lected about one hundred Tlingit myths, as well as much 

 ethnologic material in other branches. One of Doctor 

 Swanton's main objects in this expedition was to define 

 the relations between the Haida and Tlingit peoples, 

 looking to the i^ossibility of a genetic relationship between 

 them. A final conclusion on this point can not yet be 

 given, but it was discovered that many of the resem- 

 blances noted between the two languages are due to an 

 early residence of the Tlingit opposite the Haida on the 

 coast now occupied by the Tsimshian. This fact, already 

 partially recognized, and now practically demonstrated by 

 Doctor S wanton, results in limiting the origin of much 

 of the culture on this coast to the immediate neighlior- 

 hood of Hecate strait, northern British Columbia. An 

 important contribution to the general subject of clan 

 organization was made by the discovery of a small Tlingit 

 group who practise marriage with either of the two great 

 clans. 



Since his return to the ofl&ce Doctor Swanton has been 

 engaged, first, in revising the Tlingit material for the 

 Handbook of Indian Tribes, in the light of the fresh 

 information gained during his recent trip; and, second, 

 in copying the texts taken among the Tlingit. 



Mr H. H. St Clair, 2d, special assistant in philology, 

 visited northern California and southern Oregon early in 

 the year, for the purpose of collecting data among the 

 Rogue River, the Coos, and other tribal remnants of which 

 a few individuals survive in that region, and a number of 

 valuable vocabularies were recorded. 



