November 25, 1904. j 



SCIENCE. 



725 



with respect to such of said ruins as may be upon 

 public lands,, including those temporarily with- 

 drawn with a view to the creation of forest re- 

 serves, or for other purposes, in your territory, 

 and you will render all practicable assistance to 

 the forest reserve and Indian oflBcers in their 

 efforts to protect the ruins upon the lands under 

 their supervision from unauthorized explorations 

 and excavations. 



If in any instance adequate protection to the 

 public interests in connection with these ruins 

 can not be obtained without recourse to legal 

 proceedings, you will at once report the facts and 

 the means of proving them to this office for con- 

 sideration with a view to the institution of such 

 proceedings. Very respectfully, 



(Signed) W. A. Richards, 



Commissioner. 



.Identical orders were sent to all forest 

 supervisors and special agents of tlie_ general 

 land office in the soutliwest. These orders 

 cover not less than three fourths of all the 

 ruins of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and 

 TJtah. 



On or near all the important ruins that are 

 situated on lands controlled by the General 

 Land Office which have been withdrawn either 

 permanently or temporarily the following no- 

 tice, printed in conspicuous type on large 

 sheets of tough white cloth, is kept posted by 

 range riders and other officers : 



WARNING : 



DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, 



GENERAL LAND OFFICE, 



Washington, D. C, May 24, 1904. 



Notice is hereby given that these lands have been 

 withdrawn, for public purposes, from settlement, 

 entry, and other disposal. 



All persons are prohibited, under the penalty 

 of the law, in such eases provided, from committing 

 thereon any trespass whatever, and from working 

 in any manner whatever any injury, waste, or 

 damage of any kind to these public lands and to 

 the timber, natural curiosities, caves, ruins, ob- 

 jects of antiquity, or any other public property 

 thereon, and from removing or in any way dis- 

 turbing the same. W. A. Richards, 



Commissioner of the General Land Office. 

 Approved: E. A^ Hitchcock, 



Secretary of the Interior. 



The following excerpts from a letter from 

 Hon. A. C. Tonner, acting commissioner of 



Indian affairs, set forth the policy of that 

 department on the same subject: 



DEPARTMENT OF THE INTEKIOE, OFFICE OF INDIAN 

 AFFAIRS, WASHINGTON, D. C. 



October 22, 1904. 

 Edgar E. Hewett, Esq., 

 Washington, D. C. 

 Hir : This office is in receipt of your communi- 

 cation of the 17th instant, 



****** 



In reply you are advised that this office has 

 been and is fully alive to the importance of pre- 

 serving the various ruins and remains of antiquity 

 scattered throughout the southwest, and has here- 

 tofore issued stringent orders to many of the 

 Indian officials in charge of the reservations to 

 which you refer— especially to those in charge of 

 the Navajo, Mpqui and Hualapi reservations. 

 Quite recently this office, in order to prevent the 

 spoliation of the prehistoric ruins in the canons of 

 De Chelly and Del Muerto, recommended to the 

 secretary of the interior that a custodian be ap- 

 pointed to have charge of the ruins in the said 

 canons, and authority was granted by the secre- 

 tary therefor and the custodian is now on duty. 



In view of your present request the officials in 

 charge of the various Indian reservations to which 

 you refer have, in letters of this day, been advised 

 relative to preventing further injury to ruins and 

 suppressing the traffic in prehistoric pottery which 

 may be found on the reservations under their care. 



Their attention has been invited to the previous 

 instructions of the office relative to this matter 

 and they have been requested to use their best 

 endeavors to keep out intruders and relic hunters 

 and to see that such of the remains of antiquity 

 as may be located within the reserves under their 

 respective charges are kept intact until such 

 time as proper scientific investigation of the same 

 may be had. Very respectfully, 



(Signed) A. C. Tonner, 

 W.M.W. — L.M. Acting Commissioner. 



Following is a copy of orders sent out from 

 the office of Indian aflFairs October 22: 



DEPABTMENT of the interior, OFFICE OF INDIAN 

 affairs, WASHINGTON, D. C. 



October 22, 1904. 

 James B. Alexander, Esq., 



Superintendent Pima Indian School, 

 Sacaton, Arizona. 



Sir: 



****** 



It has been and is the policy of this office to 

 prevent all unauthorized persons from entering 



