* AMERICAN ABORIGINES. 
Continued from’ second page. 
x 
Ocean there are upward of three hundred tribe 
and tribal groups, speaking nearly that man 
languages ag, distinct from one another astthe 
several tongues Ci Europe @nd having’ tiibal 
his customs, religions and social 
i stories, habits, 
organizations, arts and industries as diversified 
as the peoples and the languages. The problem 
as a compiex and a difficult one. It was: mani- 
festly impossible to investigate all of the tribes 
fully, and it was decided to select a few promi- 
|these to stand as types for all. 
_ ey 
7 
nent examples and make exhaustive studies of 
But this meant 
,{the devotion of the'life of a particular student 
to each tribe, for it is the work of a lifetime to 
learn a language and master all that pertains to 
the history, the traditions, the institutions and 
the life of a tribe. 
For the more practical requirements of the 
government studies were made of the location, 
number and condition of the tribes, their rela- 
tion to one another and to the whites, especially 
Ss Sprceentea by wars, treaties and cessions of 
land that lost them a continent. Other studies 
were undertaken with the view of aiding in the 
treatment of the tribes and in adjusting them 
to the conditions imposed by civilization. These 
include their social organizations, religious be- 
liefs, modes of life, “occupations, resources, ys- 
ical and mental characters and their capa ity 
for education. Attention has been given also to 
their physiology, medical practices, sanitation 
and other matters relating to their material 
welfare. 
Another important branch of the labors of the / 
bureau is the examination of the antiquities of 
the country, the collection of relics, the map- 
ping and description of the ancient mounds, 
cliff dwellings, pueblos and other monuments, 
and, under the law recently passed for the pres- 
ervation of these monuments, the uncovering, 
repair and restoration of the important ruins in 
order that they may be preserved to the public 
for all time. The recent operations of Dr. 
Fewkes gion the Casa Grande ruins of Ari- 
zona is & g56u éxamrple of this work, a ruined } 
town of great interest having been brouguc to (| 
light and made available to students, tourists — 
and the people generally. In order to assist the . 
government departments having custody of the | 
public domain in preserving the antiquities, the | 
work of compiling a descriptive catalogue of the 
sites has been undertaken, and several bulletins d 
relating to this work have already been puny | 
lished. 
It happens that at present the majority of the 
members of the bureau’s staff are in Washing- 
ton working up their field operations and pre- 
paring the results for publication. The re-" 
searches of the last summer extended to tribes 
and -antiquities in Alaska, British Columbia, 
Ontario, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas 
Oklahoma, Minnesota, Louisiana and Florida 
A large part of the force has been engaged in 
preparing articles for the ‘‘Handbook of the 
Indians,’ which is a review or summary of all 
that has been so far collected concerning 
tribes. This work is regarded as preliminary to- 
a series of handbooks treating of several im- 
portant subdivisions of the subject in greater 
detail, some of these being already far advanced 
toward completion. These handbooks relate to 
the history of the tribes, to the languages, to 
the arts and industries, to social and govern- 
mental institutions, to the religious, to the folk- 
lore, to the physical and mental characteristics, 
to the sign languages, land cessions, arche- 
f ology, etc. The “Handbook of Languages” is 
now nearly ready for the press, and several 
others are well advanced. Meantime, the field 
investigations are going on in various directions, 
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