ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT XIX 
PROGRESS REPORTS 
OPERATIONS DURING JULY 
The work of the Bureau during the month has been almost 
exclusively confined to such researches as may be prosecuted 
in the office, the only field operations conducted being the 
surveys by Mr Cosmos Mindeleff in the pueblo region of the 
southwest. 
The Director severed his connection with the United States 
Geological Survey at the close of the last fiscal year, : and with 
the beginning of the month of July began to give exclusive 
attention to ie conduct of this Bureau, and to summarizing 
and correlating its past researches and formulating plans for 
future investigation and publication. 
Work in sign language—Colonel Garrick Mallery continued 
during the month the preparation of his report on gesture 
signs and signals, and his comparative studies have been sat- 
isfactorily prosecuted. The numerous inquiries concerning 
this report and the cognate study of pictography which have 
of late reached the office evince the interest in these subjects 
awakened by the appearance of the monograph on “ Picture- 
writing” contained in the recently published Tenth Annual 
Report, and by the prospect of the publication of the forth- 
coming memoir on sign language. 
Work in Indian hieroglyphics—Vhe researches by Dr Cyrus 
Thomas relating to the character and significance of the 
codices and other inscriptions of the Maya and related peoples 
were carried forward during the month. Dr Thomas reports 
that the progress of the work develops many suggestive 
hypotheses and establishes significant coincidences, agree- 
ments, and verifications. It is expected that a bulletin on this 
subject, withheld pending confirmation of provisional conclu- 
sions deduced from these researches, will presently be for- 
warded for publication. 
Work in eastern archeology—Vhe preparation of illustrations 
for the reports by Professor W. H. Holmes on this field was 
continued during the month, and the photographing, in con- 
nection therewith, of the aboriginal groups at Piny branch, 
