REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 57 



cine Society of the Ojibwa, an order of shamans or priests professing the 

 power of prophesy, the cure of disease, and the ability to confer success 

 in the chase. The introductory portion of the ritual of this society per- 

 tains particularly to the Ojibwa ideas of creation. At the same place 

 several mnemonic charts were secured, consisting of birch-bark records 

 of hunting expeditions, battles with neighboring tribes ot Indians, maps, 

 and songs. He also investigates the former and present practice of 

 tattooing, and the Ojibwa works of art in colors, beads, and quills. 



At White Earth Reservation two distinct charts of the Grand Medi- 

 cine Society were obtained, together with full explanations by two of 

 the chief mide" or shamans, one of whom was the only fourth degree 

 priest in either of the reservations. Although a considerable amount 

 of difference between these three charts is apparent, the principles are 

 common to them all as well as the general course of the initiation of 

 candidates. An interesting fact appears in the survival of archaic forms 

 in the charts and ritual, seemingly indicating a considerable antiquity. 

 A large number of mnemonic songs was also obtained at this reservation- 

 In addition to much of the ritual, secured directly from the priests, in 

 the original language, translations of the songs were also recorded in 

 musical notatiou. After the completion of his labors at the above reser- 

 vations, Dr. Hoffman proceeded to Pipestone, Minn., to secure copies 

 of pictographs reported to occur upon the cliffs of that well known 

 locality. The reports of the great number of petroglyphs were found 

 to have been greatly exaggerated, though a number of what appeared 

 to be personal names were found on the rocks. He then returned to 

 St. Paul, Minn., to search the records of the library of the Minnesota 

 Historical Society for copies of pictographs reported to have been made 

 near La Poiute, Wis. Little information was gathered, although it is 

 well known that such records existed upon conspicuous cliffs and rocks 

 near Lake Superior at and in the viciaity of Bayfield and Ashlaud. 



Dr. Hoffman afterwards made a personal examination of the " pic- 

 tured cave" 8 miles northeast of La Crosse,, Wis., to obtain copies of 

 the various characters occurring there. These are rapidly being de- 

 stroyed by the disintegration of the rock. The colors employed in de- 

 lineating the various figures consisted of dark red and black. The fig- 

 ures represented deer, human beings, and various animals and forms 

 not now distinguishable. 



Mr. H. W. Henshaw spent the months of August, September, and 

 October on the Pacific coast, engaged in the collection of vocabularies 

 of certain Indian languages, with a view to their study and classifica- 

 tion. The Umatilla Reservation in Oregon was first visited with the 

 object of obtaining a comprehensive vocabulary of the Cay use. Though 

 there are about four hundred of these Indians on the reservation prob- 

 ably not more than six speak the Cayuse tongue. The Cayuse have 

 extensively intermarried with the Umatilla, and now speak the language 

 of the latter, or that of the Nez Perce. An excellent Cayuse vocabulary 



