EEPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 43 



The so-called "Croatan Indians" of southeastern North Carolina 

 were found to be an important and prosperous community, number- 

 ing about 8,000, evidently of Indian stock with admixture of negro 

 and white blood, and closely resembling the Pamunkey Indian rem- 

 nant tribe in Virginia, but with no survival of Indian language or 

 custom and with almost no knowledge of their own history. After 

 years of effort they have secured definite State recognition as an 

 Indian people. There is no foundation in fact for the name "Croa- 

 tan Indians," which they themselves now repudiate, and in all prob- 

 ability they represent the mixed-blood descendants of the aboriginal 

 tribes of the region which they now occupy. The existence was also 

 established, and the location ascertained, of several smaller bands of 

 similar mixed-blood stock, but without official recognition, in the 

 eastern section of the two Carolinas. 



The remainder of the year was devoted by Mr. Mooney to the com- 

 pilation of material in connection with his pending study of Indian 

 population. By reason of the shifting, disintegration, and new com- 

 binations of tribes, no one section can be treated separately or finally 

 as apart from others. Considering the difficulties met in a study 

 of this kind, the work is making satisfactory progress. 



Dr. John R. Swanton, ethnologist, devoted most of the year to field 

 researches among the Creek Indians in Oklahoma. These investi- 

 gations continued from the middle of September, 1911, to the middle 

 of May, 1912, during which period excursions were made into Texas 

 to visit the Alibamu Indians and for the purpose of endeavoring to 

 trace remnants of other Texas tribes, and to the Caddo Indians of 

 southwestern Oklahoma. No remains of Texas tribes, of ethnologic 

 value, other than the Alibamu, were located, but a considerable mass 

 of material was obtained from the latter. Dr. Swanton 's visit to the 

 Caddo was with the view of learning how many of the old Caddo 

 dialects were still spoken, and some valuable documentary material 

 was obtained in Natchitoches, Louisiana. No words of Haiish, sup- 

 posed to be quite distinct from the other Caddo dialects, could be 

 gathered, but evidence was obtained that it resembled Adai. In the 

 course of his Creek investigations Dr. Swanton visited and made 

 photographs of every busk ground of the Creeks and Seminole still 

 maintained, and information was gathered regarding the organiza- 

 tion of the " big house " in each, as well as in those that have been 

 abandoned. Dr. Swanton devoted July and August, 1911, mainly to 

 the study of the Hitchiti and Natchez languages, and the period sub- 

 sequent to his return to Washington in May, 1912, was occupied in 

 copying his field notes and in incidental work on the Timucua 

 language of ancient Florida, as preserved in Father Pareja's writings, 

 with the view of determining whether Timucua bears any relation 

 to the languages of the Muskhogean' stock. 



