814 The American Naturalist. [October, 
No such power has ever been given by Congress, and our 
position to-day upon this subject is such that the Smithsonian 
Institution, which may fairly claim to be the representative 
scientific institution of the Government, cannot purchase any 
of our numerous prehistoric monuments for the preservation 
(as was done in the case of the Serpent Mound in Ohio) for 
want of the necessary legal authority: More than that, it 
cannot accept and hold the title to any such monument, how- 
ever great its value or necessity of its preservation, even if 
presented as a gift. 
In all the investigations and publications made by or in the 
United States concerning prehistoric man, the almost sole 
object of their investigation and report has been the Ameri- 
can Indian. It was Indian first, last, and all the time. The 
Indian which they investigated was as modern and historic aS 
he was ancient and prehistoric, and in the investigations the 
former view was kept more prominent than the latter ; indeed 
the latter has been almost entirely overlooked. Even much 
- of the investigation among the mounds has been to prove 
their modern construction, their relation to the modern Indian, 
and to show that if not entirely made since the discovery of 
the continent by Columbus, they have continued from such a 
short time previous as to be practically of that epoch. 
These comments are not made in a spirit of complaint or 
reproach, but to confirm the statement that our Government 
and people have not taken the interest in prehistoric researches 
that has been exhibited by those of Europe. And the com- 
parison has been forced upon the attention of the writer from 
a personal observation made during several yearsin European 
countries. 
_ The duty of investigating prehistoric man of the United 
States clearly belongs to the scientists of our country. It is 
the history of our own people and country depending upon 
the investigations to be made upon our own soil; a studying, 
and if need be the excavation of monuments erected upon our 
own territory. If it is to be done at all it should be done by 
us. True, there is no legal obligation requiring us to make 
these investigations or perform this labor, and naught but 
