Septembek 11, 1885.] 



SCIENCE. 



231 



their villages, of which two hundred and seventy- 

 have been located, have local names; as, 'the peo- 

 ple of the ash-trees,' 'the people by the hill, 'the 

 people of the caiion,' etc. A man must marry a 

 woman from another village, and his children belong 

 to the village of their father. They will not mention 

 the names of the wild-cat, field-mouse, and some 

 other animals before their children, lest they bring 

 sickness and death upon them. Five is the mystic 

 number among them. The paper closed with the Si- 

 letz myth of the creation. Following the paper were 

 remarks by several members of the section. Atten- 

 tion was called to two popular errors concerning 

 the Indians: one, that amoDg them women are de- 

 graded, and mere slaves. Miss Fletcher and others 

 showed very emphatically that women have great 

 influence in the tribe ; and, when married, they lose 

 nothing of their identity, not even their names. 

 Another error is, that the Indian is stolid, unemo- 

 tional, and even sullen; whereas, in truth, he is im- 

 pulsive, fond of a joke, and keen to appreciate it; 

 sympathetic, and grateful for any kindness shown 

 him. One speaker mentioned some of the customs 

 of the Pawnees, who were divided into four clans 

 or groups; and these were so distinct from each 

 other, that formerly the members of different clans 

 scarcely knew each other, and they married only 

 within their own group. 



jS'ext came a paper by Eev. W. M. Beauchamp, on 

 the permanence of early Iroquois clans and sachem- 

 ships. The speaker showed that many of the institu- 

 tions of the tribes forming the Iroquois league were 

 far from being so unchangeable as had been sup- 

 posed. He believed that historical evidence showed 

 that the famous league was itself formed gradually, 

 and not very long before the advent of the whites ; 

 and he showed, that, in the time of Cliamplain and 

 other early explorers, it was only a loose confedera- 

 tion. The use of wampum is not of very remote 

 antiquity, and had been known for no long time 

 when the country was discovered. Changes had oc- 

 curred both in the number of sachems and in the 

 mode of electing them. Although the general rule, 

 that the chieftainship was not hereditary in the line 

 of the father, was usually followed, there were excep- 

 tions, — the son succeeding his father in office, and, 

 in at least one case, his son following him. 



Mr. A. TV. Butler then read a paper on the remains 

 at San Juan Teotihuacan. These ruins are about 

 twenty-seven miles from the city of Mexico, near a 

 small station on the new railway. After proceeding 

 a short distance from the station, the ground is cov- 

 ered with obsidian flakes, spear-points, knives, bits 

 of pottery, heads and figures of pottery; while here 

 and there appear ruins of houses, with the walls 

 decorated in figures of bright red and yellow. The 

 chief ruins appear first as huge masses covered with 

 bushes and other vegetation. Only upon close exam- 

 ination does the pyramidal form appear. The first 

 and largest pyramid is called 'the house of the sun.' 

 Its base is 682 feet long and a Httle less in width, 

 while its height is 221 feet. About the base are nu- 

 merous small mounds; and on the eastern side is a 



path, which, in zigzag-fashion, passes to the top. In 

 this path are what appear to be steps made of vol- 

 canic rock fixed in cement. From the top a great 

 number of ruins may be seen in every direction. On 

 the top are several larger stones than any about the 

 pyramid; and it may be that these are what is left of 

 the temple of the sun, which, according to early 

 writers, stood there. North-west from this pyramid, 

 and distant about a thousand yards, is a smaller 

 pyramid, 'the house of the moon.' The rectan- 

 gular base of this is 511 feet long and 426 wide, and 

 the height is 137 feet. Both pyramids are truncated 

 at the summit, and built in three terraces, each ter- 

 race receding six feet from that below. Each of the 

 three terraces was built by itself, and made of earth 

 covered with a coating of cement, varying in thick- 

 ness from three to six inches ; and finally, when the 

 full height was reached, another coating of cement was 

 spread over the whole. Imbedded in this outer layer 

 are numerous fragments of volcanic rock. The author 

 described the profusion of objects of obsidian and 

 earthenware which were strewn over the ground about 

 the pyramids, and urged a speedy and diligent study 

 of the region by competent archeologists. In the 

 discussion following the paper, the pyramids named 

 were compared with that of Cholula, and some of 

 the points of difference were mentioned. The pyra- 

 mid of Cholula is a mass of earth like those de- 

 scribed in the paper; but, while these are covered 

 with cement, that is built up on the outside with 

 adobe brick. 



Following this paper was one on the significance 

 of flora to the Iroquois, by Mrs. E. A. Smith. The 

 paper was a study of the names given to various trees 

 and plants in the different nations of the Iroquois, 

 and a comparison of these names, thus tracing them 

 up to the parent stock. 



Prof. JST. H. Winchell exhibited a sheet of what he 

 believed to be an alloy of copper and silver, as very 

 careful analysis and examination showed it to be. 

 The author first showed that no such alloy was known 

 as a natural product, and that hitherto nothing like 

 it had been found among the remains of the aborigines. 

 The sheet was about half an inch thick, of triangular 

 shape, partly rolled up, and weighs eight pounds. It 

 was found near Temperance Kiver, Minn. In the 

 remarks which followed this paper, Mr. F. W. Putnam 

 said that he believed that all the copper objects found 

 in the United States were made of beaten copper not 

 cast. He also described certain ornaments made of 

 silver and copper beaten together; but none of alloy 

 were ever found in North America, although in 

 South America silver and copper alloyed to form 

 bronze had been found. 



On Friday morning the opening paper was by Miss 

 A. C. Fletcher, on the sacred war-tent, and some war 

 customs of the Omahas. Like all of Miss Fletcher's 

 papers, this was a very clear, minute, and valuable 

 account, and was received by the section as a most 

 welcome contribution. The sacred tent is used for 

 the storing of the sacred objects of the tribe, such as 

 are used in its rituals and ceremonies. These objects 

 were held in great reverence, and most sedulously 



