I20 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 70 



of the plains Indians whose earher home was in what is now western 

 Montana, while the Tanoans are a typically Pueblo division inhabit- 

 ing the Rio Grande drainage of New Mexico. It is proposed that the 

 linguistic family thus established, including Uto-Aztecan, Tanoan, 

 and Kiowa, be termed Patlan, a name derived from the word mean- 

 ing " water "' or " river '' in all these languages. 



In August Mr. Harrington proceeded to California to continue 

 his studies among the Mission Indians of the Chumashan region of 

 southern California. It was his good fortune to be able to make 

 most important additions to the Ventureho grammar, securing many 

 old words which it had been impossible to obtain at previous visits 

 and which are most important for throwing light on all the related 

 languages. 



A searching ethnological questionnaire was used with the inform- 

 ants, yielding very gratifying results, especially in the field of mate- 

 rial culture. Detailed information on ancient dance regalia and the 

 process of preparing native tobacco and its uses was obtained. An 

 adequate description was procured on ancient traps for ground 

 squirrels and other small animals whose names had been given by 

 various informants, but had never been satisfactorily described. 

 Quite a little new and important information on archery was ob- 

 tained. Mr. Harrington had special success in learning from a 

 couple of aged women the ancient childbirth practices, including a 

 unique description of the method of cutting the navel cord by means 

 of a carrizo knife after the blood had been dried out of the section 

 by the application of warm decoction pcspibata. A bed of warm 

 coals was made on the floor and a layer of medicinal herbs was placed 

 on top of this, on which the mother and child lay for three days after 

 childbirth. Sociological problems were intensively investigated and 

 new information was gathered, especially on mortuary customs. 

 Likewise, a few old songs, among which is an especially pretty quail 

 song which has the refrain ka, ka, imitating the cry of the quail 

 brought out with a peculiar stressed voice. This and some of the 

 other songs doubtless form parts of old cycles, the other songs of 

 which have not been recovered. 



Mr. Harrington obtained from Manuel Chura, who was born in 

 1820, and is therefore nearly lOO years old, much linguistic informa- 

 tion, and 15 very rare songs, such as used to be sung at the Indian 

 fiestas in the thirties or forties of the past century. He also obtained 

 several splendid songs from Jose de los Santos Juncos, who is also 

 nearly a centenarian. 



