REPORT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 15 



Ethnology, made some collections of pottery in the Mississippi Valley 

 and the eastern states. A number of interesting pieces of Mexican and 

 Peruvian work has been acquired by exchange. 



The catalogue records show that 1,022 entries have been made during 

 the year. 



DEPARTMENT OF ARCHAEOLOGY. 



The report of the curator, Dr. Charles Bau, consists chiefly of a geo- 

 graphical review of the principal accessions. Among these may be 

 mentioned as especially valuable the collection of Mr. Thomas Wilson, 

 made in Europe, embracing drift and cave relics of the paleolithic age, 

 objects belonging to the neolithic age and the bronze period, and speci- 

 mens of Etruscan and Eoman origin. 



The curator is writing a work upon North American antiquities, to 

 be entitled, " The Typical Forms of North American Prehistoric Relics 

 of Stone and Copper in the U. S. National Museum." 



There have been 3,863 entries made in the catalogue during the year. 

 The total number of specimens is 101,G59, of which a large proportion 

 has been received through Major J. W. Powell, director of the Bureau 

 of Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution. 



The failing health of the curator has made it necessary for him to be 

 absent during a portion of the year, and but little has been accomplished 

 beyond the necessary routine work of the Department. 



During the year the Museum was so fortunate as to secure a val- 

 uable accession from Easter Island, comprising two of the celebrated 

 stone images, a large number of painted and carved slabs from the 

 rock houses, and a choice collection of objects illustrating the ancient 

 and modern history of the island. The last-named specimens have been 

 lent to the Museum by Paymaster William J. Thomson, U. S. Navy. 



Professor Baird made frequent attempts to secure specimens of the 

 archseology of this island, and in 1885 received from Commodore John 

 G. Walker, Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, the gratifying intelli- 

 gence that the TJ. S. S. Mohican would be sent to Easter Island to 

 relieve some American sailors who had been reported as castaways 

 there. This expedition met with signal success. The Mohican an- 

 chored in Cook Bay in December, and spent twelve days there. A 

 thorough survey of the island was made, and everything was secured 

 which would enable the explorers to make a thorough report. 



The specimens were brought to Panama by the Mohican. The Pana- 

 ma Eailroad Company kindly forwarded the collections across the Isth- 

 mus to Aspinwall, and they were brought to Washington in the U. S. S. 

 Galena. 



Easter Island is a small volcanic projection, 12 miles long and 4 miles 

 wide, isolated from all other habitable parts of the globe, the nearest 

 land being about 2,000 miles away. 



The Easter Island images are the most interesting of the archaeologi- 

 cal enigmas. There are over 600 of them on this island. Formerly 



