Appendix II. 



REPORT OF THE DIEECTOR OF THE BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 

 FOR THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1898. 



Sir: I have the honor to submit the report of the Bureau of Ethnology for the 

 year ending June 30, 1898. 



In response to your request that the report shall begin with the following state- 

 ments : — 



1. The amount, kinds, and classes of property belonging to the Bureau; 



2. The amount of such property acquired during the twelve months covered by 

 the report; 



3. The extent and kind of improvements made in the building and grounds during 

 the past year, and the estimated cost; 



4. The extent and character of the losses of property, and the origin and causes — 

 I have the honor to say that the property of the Bureau is, with the exception of 



one or two items, small in amount and value. By far the most important and valu- 

 able property in the custody of the Bureau is the collection of manuscript records, 

 representing a considerable part of the work of the collaborators and the contribu- 

 tions of correspondents during the last twenty years, as well as the collection 

 originally acquired from the Smithsonian Institution. The greater part of the manu- 

 scripts are linguistic, and these are not in condition for publication, though invalu- 

 able for purposes of study and comparison. The entire collection, embracing more 

 than 2,000 titles, is catalogued and arranged in fireproof vaults in the offices of the 

 Bureau. A strict custody is maintained, under the immediate supervision of the 

 Director. 



A related class of property comprises photographs of Indian subjects. So far as 

 practicable, these are represented by the original negatives with a systematic series 

 of prints. The collection comprises about 5,000 negatives, with about 3,000 prints, 

 including 800 prints from negatives which are not in the possession of the Bureau. 

 The collection is in constant use in connection with the preparation of illustrations 

 for the reports; its custody is vested in the illustrator of the Bureau. 



Among the minor items the most important is the library of 7,900 volumes and 

 over 5,000 pamphlets, with plain wooden cases sufficient to accommodate them. The 

 greater part of the library represents the product of exchange, and in addition 

 there is a fair collection of books of reference and standard works on ethnologic 

 subjects obtained by purchase. The library is in immediate charge of Mr. F. W. 

 Hodge. 



A class of property of some importance is the accumulated residue of publications. 

 The greater part of the edition of the reports available for distribution by the 

 Bureau is sent to exchanges and correspondents immediately on issue, but a limited 

 number of copies of each edition remains for distribution in accordance with subse- 

 quent demand s. The residue of the several editions not completely exhausted is kept 

 under the supervision of Mr. F. W. Hodge. The editions of most of the reports are 

 exhausted; the undistributed residue numbers about 4,300 volumes. 



A somewhat important class of property, though of limited value, is office furni- 

 ture, with the requisite stationery for current use, as well as photographic apparatus 

 and material. The aggregate value of the furniture and apparatus is less than 

 $2,500. The custody and use of furniture, apparatus, stationery, and other materials 

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