REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR I915 55 



exhibited the articles and utensils collected among the New York 

 Indians during the past three-fourths of a century. The section 

 of the hall containing the life groups is to be known as the Myron 

 H. Clark Hall of Iroquoian Ethnology and it is suggested that the 

 ethnological hall be given the name of Lewis H. Morgan Hall, in 

 appreciation of the work done by Morgan, not only for the 

 Museum, during its early history, but for the sciences of 

 ethnology and sociology. To provide properly the exhibition 

 material for the hall of ethnology, the entire collection of 

 ethnological specimens has been carefully examined. The col- 

 lection consisted almost entirely of the articles collected by 

 Lewis H. Morgan, 1848 to 1854; articles collected by Mrs Harriet 

 Maxwell Converse, 1895 ^o 1899; ^^d those collected by the 

 present archeologist of the Museum. Nearly one-half of the 

 Morgan collection perished in the Capitol fire of 191 1 and almost 

 all of the Converse collection except the silver articles. Thus, the 

 specimens available consist largely of the more recent acquisitions. 

 These have been divided into six classes for the purpose of exhi- 

 bition: (i) articles used and worn by women and children; (2) 

 articles used and worn by men and boys; (3) textile and wood- 

 working industries and the various tools -used in these pursuits ; 

 (4) articles, utensils and tools employed in the gathering and prep- 

 aration of food; (5) paraphernalia of the various rites and cere- 

 monies; (6) articles used in games and pastimes. Beside these, 

 several other exhibits have been arranged for installation, the 

 most notable of which is the valuable collection of wampum belts 

 that constituted the national memorials of the Iroquois Confed- 

 eracy. It has been the plan to display these in a special case and 

 to have a suitably engraved inscription. Minor exhibits depicting 

 various features of the disintegration of Iroquois material culture 

 have been arranged. This includes the comparative exhibits of 

 prehistoric implements and those derived from Europeans and 

 contrast between the decorative art of purely aboriginal character 

 and that made by Indians in native design but with European 

 material ; silver-working and the tools used therefor ; and a series 

 of mission pamphlets, hymn books, tracts and bibles used by the 

 missionaries in their work among the New York Indians. By 

 means of this exhibit the visitor will be able to compare the Indians 

 before contact and the various stages of his progress thereafter 

 in the acquisition of European customs. When this report has 

 been printed the exhibition will have been installed and the series 

 of six habitat groups completed. 



