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Field Columbian Museum — ^^Reports, Vol. II. 



In the last Report mention was made of the expedition of Assist- 

 ant Curator Owen among the Hopi, through the generosity of 

 Mr. Stanley McCormick. The expedition returned in November 

 after a most successful summer's work, during which time eight ruins 

 were visited, all of which yielded large collections of the highest 

 interest and value. Mr. McCormick's further interest in this work 

 made possible its continuation this spring, with the result that a large 

 amount of material was obtained frpm the ruins of old Walpi and 

 Mishongnovi, the specimens secured from the former ruin numbering 

 about two thousand, amongst which were hundreds of bahos or 

 prayer sticks, painted stoneslabs, effigies, and many forms of pottery 

 new to science, both in their form and decoration. Objects illustra- 

 tive of the religious life of the Hopi, of which probably the most 

 interesting was the reredos of the altar of the Drab Flute Society of 

 Mishongnovi, were procured on this expedition. Two months' collect- 

 ing of Ethnological specimens from the White Mountain Apache and 

 Navajo resulted in the acquisition of over five hundred objects illus- 

 trating the daily and religious life of the tribes mentioned. Early in 

 January of this year Assistant Curator Simms was dispatched to 

 Arizona where he remained three months, pursuing ethnological 

 investigations among the various tribes of the Piman and Yuman 

 stocks. Owing to the fact that these tribes had not been previously 

 represented in the collections of the Museum to any considerable 

 extent, the material and information obtained by Mr. Simms are of 

 unusual value. During the past year J. W. Hudson became asso- 

 ciated with the Department of Anthropology and was assigned to 

 work in California. His work will continue through this and the fol- 

 lowing year, and will have for its object the careful study of certain 

 little-known tribes. An extremely large collection, embracing many 

 categories of objects of the tribes of the region that he has thus far 

 visited, has already been catalogued and accessioned. It is also 

 highly probable that as a result of his investigations much new light 

 will be thrown upon many heretofore obscure problems of the eth- 

 nology of this region. During the five summer months M. L. 

 Miller, from the University of Chicago, investigated for the depart- 

 ment certain Shahaptian tribes of the Columbia River basin. This 

 region was practically unrepresented in the collections of the Museum, 

 and as a result of Mr. Miller's work a very large collection of the 

 highest interest and value has been secured, thus filling an im- 

 portant gap in the collections illustrating the Ethnology of North 

 America. The department has also secured many valuable specimens 

 from the Haida Indians of the Queen Charlotte Islands, through an 



