REPORT OP THE SECRETARY. 37 



are regulated by a custodial system devised for tlie purpose, which, has beeu found to 

 work satisfactorily. 



A considerable number of original engravings used for the illustration of reports 

 are catalogued and arranged in cases in the office of the Bureau, while the original 

 copy for illustrations is also preserved, so far as practicable, in charge of the illus- 

 trator. The stereotyped plates from which the reports are printed are from time to 

 time turned over to the" Bureau by the Public Printer. These are stored partly in 

 the Smithsonian building, partly in the basement of the building in which the office 

 is located. 



Experience has shown that, under existing conditions, it is inexpedient to acquire 

 field property in any considerable amount, since the cost of purchase and mainte- 

 nance of animals, vehicles, and camp equipage exceeds the charges for hire ; accord- 

 ingly, there is practically no field property in the possession of the Bureau. 



The collaborators engaged in field operations collect ethnological material, in 

 greater or less quantities, for purposes of study. All such material is transferred 

 to the National Museum, and commonly the requisite studies are conducted within 

 that building. 



During the last fiscal year satisfactory progress was made in enriching the manu- 

 script collections, the series of photographs, and the collections of material objects 

 for the Museum, as indicated in other paragraphs. The aggregate expenditures for 

 stationery and laboratory supplies were $1,900; for furniture, $750, and for the pur- 

 chase of necessary books of reference and standard works, $850. 



The Bureau is domiciled in rented quarters, i. e., the sixth floor of the Adams 

 Building, 1333-1335 F street, Washington. These quarters are limited, hardly meet- 

 ing the requirements of the work. During the winter, when office work is in active 

 progress, it is sometimes necessary for as many as two or three collaborators to work 

 in private quarters, while some of the permanent property (stereotype plates, etc.) 

 of the Bureau is stored in the Smithsonian and National Museum buildings, and the 

 publications are stored in and distributed from the basement of the building occu- 

 pied by the United States Geological Survey, through the courtesy of the Director, 

 Hon. Charles D. Walcott. 



Ethnologic researches have been conducted during the fiscal year ending June 30, 

 1898, in accordance with the act of Congress making provision " for continuing 

 researches relating to the American Indians, under the direction of the Smithsonian 

 Institution," approved June 4, 1897. 



The work has been carried forward in accordance with a plan of operations sub- 

 mitted on June 14, 1897. The field operations of the Director and the collaborators 

 have extended into Arizona, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Indian Territory, Maine, New 

 Brunswick, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Ontario, and Texas, while special 

 agents have conducted operations in Alaska, Argentina, British Columbia, Califor- 

 nia, Chile, Greenland, Oregon, and Washington State. The office work has included 

 the collection of material from Indian tribes in Arizona, Idaho, Indian Territory, 

 Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, New York, Oklahoma, 

 Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Texas. The researches in the office have dealt 

 with material from nearly all of the States and from other portions of the American 

 continent. 



The organization of the work has grown out of a classification of ethnic science 

 based on the researches of the Bureau. It is worthy of note that, while the science 

 of man has advanced rapidly during the last twenty years through the efforts of 

 able investigators in different countries, the advance has been particularly rapid in 

 the United States. No small part of this advance must be ascribed to the farsighted 

 governmental policy of maintaining researches among the aboriginal tribes of the 

 American continents, yet a part of the progress would seem to be due to the wide 

 range in ethnic phenomena with which American students are favored. The inves- 



