Januaey 17, 1896.] 



SCIENCE. 



87 



hoes possess a well- developed poetry. In a 

 supplementary paper by Professor J. C. Fill- 

 more the characteristics of Navahoe music 

 were described, which showed that in this 

 case also harmony is the underlying prin- 

 ciple of primitive music. 



Dr. Eobert Bell, the indefatigable ex- 

 plorer, to whose zeal we owe much of our 

 knowledge of the topography and geology 

 of northern Canada, related five Algonquin 

 myths which he collected in the region be- 

 tween Ottawa River and Hudson Bay. 

 These have their close analoga among other 

 tribes of the same stock. , Magic and medi- 

 cine came in for a considerable share of at- 

 tention in the papers read on the first day 

 of the proceedings. Mr. Stanbury T. Hagar 

 treated the Micmac of Nova Scotia from 

 this point of view, while Dr. J. H. McCor- 

 mick described the medicine myths of the 

 Cherokee, and Mr. Heli Chatelain made an 

 interesting contribution on the customs of 

 the natives of West Africa. 



On the second day a number of papers 

 were read referring to current superstitions 

 of the whites in America. Mr. Eobert M. 

 Lawrence presented a vast amount of infor- 

 mation on the folk-lore of the horseshoe, 

 in which he dwelt upon the superstitions, 

 referring to its form and material, and those 

 referring to the place at which the horse- 

 shoe is used in order to secure good luck. 

 Mr. W. W. Newell contributed a review 

 of a collection on moon superstitions in 

 America made by Mrs. Fanny Bergen. Dr. 

 D. G. Brinton showed how the tendency 

 to displace sacred words by others has led 

 to a curious development of ' cuss words ' 

 in America. 



A very comprehensive review of the cus- 

 toms of the Spanish in the Rio Grande Val- 

 ley was presented in a paper by Captain 

 John Boui-ke on ' Arabic Survivals in the 

 Rio Grande Valley.' Dr. F. Boas discussed 

 the dissemination of tales in America, bas- 

 ing his argument on a comparative study 



of the myths of the Indians of the North Pa- 

 cific Coast. A noteworthy myth of the Nav- 

 ahoes was told by Dr. Matthews, in which 

 the principle undexiying the secret societies 

 of this tribe was brought forward most 

 clearly. This seems to be identical among 

 all the tribes of North America: An ances- 

 tor of the Indians is taken away by certain 

 supei'natural beings and is taught by them 

 the secrets and particularly the songs of 

 the society. In conclusion. Dr. McCormick 

 read a paper on negro folk-lore in America. 



The work of the Folk-lore Society has 

 shown a marked advance of late years. 

 Although the membership has not as much 

 increased as might be desired, the Society 

 has been able to publish, in addition to its 

 journal, a number of supplementary volumes 

 dealing with special subjects, and has thus 

 succeeded in making valuable contributions 

 to the study of American folk-lore. This 

 work is being carried on as energetically as 

 possible, and in the coming year the Society 

 expects to publish two new volumes, one on 

 current superstitions among the English 

 speaking people of North America, by Mrs. 

 Fanny Bergen, and a second one, a full 

 collection of Navahoe myths, by Dr. Wash- 

 ington Matthews. The Society derives much 

 of its support from local societies which are 

 being organized in a great number of the 

 larger cities of our continent, but most of 

 its success is due to the unflinching perse- 

 verance of its Secretary, Mr. W. W. Newell. 



The ofBcers elected for the coming year, 

 are : Captain John Bourke, President ; 

 Mr. Stewart Culin, First Vice-President ; 

 Dr. F. Boas, Second Vice-President. The 

 next annual meeting will be held in the 

 Christmas week of this year, in Baltimore, 

 Md. F. B. 



ALASKA AS IT WAS AND IS, 1S65-1S95. 



( Concluded. ) 

 At the time of my first visit and until 

 very recently the sole productive industry 



