14 EEPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



Another paper intended for the Contributions is on the Haida Indians 

 of Queen Charlotte's Islands, by James Q. Swan. These islands con- 

 sist of a group in the Pacific Ocean, lying off the northwest coast of 

 America, seventy-five miles northwest from Vancouver's Island, and at 

 a distance from the main-land varying from sixty to a hundred miles. 

 They are inhabited by a tribe of Indians who in manners and customs 

 are somewhat different from the neighboring tribes on the main-land 

 and from those of Vancouver's Island. In general appearance they 

 resemble the natives of the northwest coast of Asia. Their distinctive 

 features are apparent to the most casual observer. They are as a gen- 

 eral rule of large stature, with better ijroportions and lighter complexion 

 than the Selish tribe of Flatheads, inhabiting Washington Territory 

 and British Columbia. This difference is particularly marked among 

 the females. Those of the Haida tribe are tall and athletic, while the 

 Selish women are shorter, with a greater tendency to corpulency. These 

 people are especially distinguished for their carvings in stone and wood, 

 and also for their tattooing. 



The memoir is illustrated with drawings of specimens of these carvings, 

 some of which are colored, and also with samples of tattooing, the lat- 

 ter copied by photography from the bodies of the Indians themselves. 

 Some of the carvings re}3resent posts or pillars placed in front of the 

 houses of the chiefs, and are sometimes from 40 to 50 feet high. They 

 are not intended as objects of worship, but as representations of the 

 '' toten " or heraldic insignia of the family occupying the house before 

 which they are erected. As the house generally contains several fami- 

 lies, the carving maybe said to indicate the family names of all the occu- 

 pants. It is important to state that these carvings have a general like- 

 ness to those found in Central America. 



The paper will be an interesting addition to ethnology, as affbrding 

 data for the comparison of the imitative art among the present and ex- 

 tinct races along the Pacific coast of America. It is by the author of 

 the work on the Makah Indians, of Cape Flattery, i^ublished not long- 

 since by the Smithsonian Institution. 



Besides the eighteenth volume of Contributions to Knowledge, the 

 tenth volume of Miscellaneous Collections has been published. It con- 

 sists of 913 octavo pages, and contains the following articles : 



I. The Mollusks of Western North America ; by Philip P. Carpenter, 

 B. A., Ph. D., embracing the second report made to the British Associa- 

 tion on this subject, with other papers ; reprinted by permission, with a 

 general index ; pp. 446. 



II. Arrangement of the ffwnilies of Mollusks 5 prepared for the Smith- 

 sonian Institution by Theodore Gill, M. D., Ph. D., pp. 65. 



III. Instructions for observations of thunder-storms, by Prof. Joseph. 

 Henry, p. 1. 



IV. Circular relative to heights ; by Prof. Joseph Henry, pp. 2. 



