KEPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 59 



nearly five hundred specimens of medicinal and food plants were col- 

 lected and their Indian names and uses ascertained. The general result 

 of this investigation shows that the medical and botanical knowledge 

 of the Indians has been greatly overrated. A study was made of Cher- 

 oki personal names, about five hundred of which were translated, 

 being all the names of Indian origin now existing. The most impor- 

 tant results of Mr. Mooneyes investigation were the discovery of a large 

 number of manuscripts containing the sacred formulae of the tribe, 

 written in Cheroki characters by the shamans for their own secret use, 

 and jealously guarded from the knowledge of all but the initiated. The 

 existence of such manuscripts had been discovered during a previous 

 visit in 1887, and a number had been procured. This discovery of gen- 

 uine aboriginal material, written in an Indian language by shamans for 

 their own use, is believed to be unique in the history of aboriginal 

 investigation, and was only made possible through the invention of the 

 Cheroki syllabary by Sequoia in 1821. Every effort was made by Mr. 

 Mooney to obtain all the manuscripts possible, with the result of secur- 

 ing nearly all such material in the possession of the tribe. The whole 

 number of formulae obtained is about six hundred. They consist of 

 prayers and sacred songs, explanations of ceremonies, directions for 

 medical treatment, and underlying theories. They relate to medicine, 

 love, war, hunting, fishing, self-protection, witchcraft, agriculture, the 

 ball play, etc., thus forming a complete exposition of an aboriginal re- 

 ligion as set forth by its priests in the language of the tribe. 



Early in October Mr. Jeremiah Curtin left Washington for the Pacific 

 Coast. During the remainder of the year he was occupied in Shasta 

 and Humboldt Counties, Cal., in collecting vocabularies and data con- 

 nected with the Indian system of medicine. This work was continued 

 in different parts of Humboldt and Siskiyou Counties until June 30, 

 1889. Large collections of linguistic and other data were gathered and 

 myths were secured, which show that the whole system of medicine of 

 these Indians and the ministration of remedies originated in and is 

 limited to sorcery practices. 



The field of work of Mr. Albert S. Gatschet during the year was of 

 limited duration. It had been ascertained that Mrs. Alice M. Oliver, 

 now in Lynn, Mass., formerly lived ou Trespalacios Bay, Texas, near 

 the homes of the Karankawa, and Mr. Gatschet visited Lynu with a view 

 of securing as complete a vocabulary as possible of their extinct lan- 

 guage. Mrs. Oliver was able to recall about one hundred and sixty 

 terms of the language, together with some phrases and sentences. She 

 also furnished many valuable details regarding the ethnography of the 

 tribe. Ten days were spent in this work. 



Mr. J. N. B. Hewitt was occupied in field work from August 1 to No- 

 vember 8, as follows : From the 1st of August to September 20 he was 

 on the Tuscarora Keserve, in Niagara County, in which locality fifty- 

 five legends and myths were collectkd. A Penobscot vocabulary was 



