EEPORT OF THE SECEETAEY. 45 



the near future to the new National Museum building. In the same connection 

 the chief carried forward the preparation of his Handbook on the Stone Imple- 

 ments of Northern America. 



In October the chief was called on to make an official visit to the Jamestown 

 Exposition for the purpose of examining the exhibits of the Institution and 

 superintending necessary repairs. In April he was assigned the very pleasant 

 duty of visiting Detroit, Mich., in company with the Secretary, for the purpose 

 of inspecting the great collection of art works recently presented to the Smith- 

 sonian Institution by Mr. Charles L. Freer. On this occasion he availed himself 

 of the opportunity of examining the interesting collections of art and ethnology 

 preserved in the Detroit museum of art. 



In June the chief was selected to represent the Institution as a member of the 

 delegation of Americans appointed by the Department of State to attend the Pan- 

 American Scientific Congress to be held in Santiago, Chile, beginning December 

 25, 1908, and he began at once the preparation of a paper to be read before the 

 congress, the subject chosen being " The Peopling of America." 



At the beginning of the year Mrs. M. C. Stevenson, ethnologist, was in the 

 office engaged in preparing reports on her recent researches in the field. Her 

 work at Taos, Santa Clara, and other Rio Grande pueblos was not so well ad- 

 vanced as to admit of final treatment, but progress was made in the classification 

 and elaboration of the data thus far collected. Principal attention was given while 

 in the office to the completion of papers relating to the medicinal and food plants 

 of the Zuiii Indians, the pantheon of the Zurii religious system, the symbolism of 

 Pueblo decorative art, and the preparation of wool for weaving among the 

 Pueblo and Navaho tribes. 



On May 28 Mrs. Stevenson again took the field in the Rio Grande Valley 

 with the view of continuing her investigations among the Taos, Santa Clara, 

 San Ildefonso, and other Pueblo groups, and at the close of the year she was 

 able to report satisfactory progress in this work. 



Mr. F. W. Hodge, ethnologist, was engaged during the year on the Handbook 

 of American Indians, the editorial work of which has proved extremely arduous 

 and difficult. This work is in two parts: Part 1, A-M, was issued from the 

 press in March, 1907, and the edition became practically exhausted in a few 

 months. Indeed the demand for the work has been so great that the bureau 

 has found it impossible to supply even a third of the copies requested by cor- 

 respondents. The quota under control of the Superintendent of Documents 

 also was soon exhausted, necessitating the reprinting of an edition of 500 

 copies (the limit allowed by law) in order to fill the orders received. The 

 main body of part 2 was in type at the close of the fiscal year, and about 

 250 pages had been finally printed, though progress in proof reading was ex- 

 ceedingly slow on account of the great diversity of the topics treated and the 

 difficulty of preparing or of bringing to date numbers of articles relating often 

 to obscure tribes and subjects. It is expected that the second part will be 

 ready for distribution during the coming winter. In the editorial work Mr. 

 Hodge had the assistance of all the members of the staff of the bureau, and 

 especially of Mrs. Frances S. Nichols, who devoted her entire time to the task. 

 In addition the following specialists rendered all possible assistance in their 

 particular fields: Mr. S. A. Barrett, of the University of California; Rev. 

 W. M. Beauchamp, of Syracuse; Dr. Franz Boas, of Columbia University; 

 Dr. Herbert E. Bolton, of the University of Texas; Mr. D. I. Bushnell, jr.; 

 Dr. Alexander F. Chamberlain, of Clark University; Mr. Stewart Culin, of 

 the Brooklyn Institute Museum ; Dr. Roland B. Dixon, of Harvard University ; 

 Dr. George A. Dorsey, of the Field Museum of Natural History; Mr. J. P. 

 61782—08 4 



