Mr. [Charles C. Royce], although no longer officially connected with the Bureau, devoted much time during the year to the completion of his work upon the former title of Indian tribes to lands within the United States and the methods by which their relinquishment had been procured. This work, delayed by Mr. Royce’s resignation from the Bureau force, is reported by him as nearly completed.
Mr. [William H. Holmes] has continued the archeologic work begun in preceding years, utilizing such portions of his time as were not absorbed in work pertaining to the U.S. Geological Survey. A paper upon the antiquities of Chiriqui and one upon textile art in its relation to form and ornament, prepared for the Sixth Annual Report, were completed and proofs were read. During the year work was begun upon a review of the ceramic art of Mexico. A special paper, with twenty illustrations, upon a remarkable group of spurious antiquities belonging to that country, was prepared and turned over to the Smithsonian Institution for publication. In addition, a preliminary study of the prehistoric textile fabrics of Peru was begun, and a short paper with numerous illustrations was written. As in former years, Mr. Holmes has superintended the preparation of drawings and engravings for the Bureau publications. The number of illustrations prepared during the year amounted to 650.
He has also general charge of the miscellaneous archeologic and ethnologic collections of the Bureau, and reports that Prof. Cyrus Thomas, Mr. James Stevenson, and other officers and agents of the Bureau have obtained collections of articles from the mounds of the Mississippi Valley and from the ruins of the Pueblo country. A number of interesting articles have also been acquired by gift. Capt. J. G. Bourke, U.S. Army, presented a series of vases and other ceremonial objects obtained from cliff dwellings and caves in the Pueblo country; Mr. J. B. Stearns, of Short Hills, N.J., made a few additions to his already valuable donations of relics from the ancient graves of Chiriqui, Colombia, and Mr. J. N. Macomb presented a number of fragments of earthenware from Graham County, North Carolina. Some important accessions have been made by purchase. A large collection of pottery, textile fabrics, and other articles from the graves of Peru was obtained from Mr. William E. Curtis; a series of ancient and modern vessels of clay and numerous articles of other classes from Chihuahua, Mexico, were acquired through the agency of Dr. E. Palmer; a small set of handsome vases of the ancient white ware of New Mexico was acquired by purchase from Mr. C. M. Landon, of Lawrence, Kansas, and several handsome vases from various parts of Mexico were obtained from Dr. Eugene Boban.
Mr. [Victor Mindeleff] was engraved during the fiscal year in the preparation of a report on the architecture of the Tusayan and Cibola groups of pueblos, which appears in the present volume. This report contains a description of the topography and climate of the region, in illustration of the influence of environment upon the development of the pueblo type of architecture. It also contains a traditionary account of the Tusayan pueblos and of their separate clans or phratries. A description in detail of the Tusayan group treats of the relative position of the villages and such ruins as are connected traditionally or historically with them. A comparative study is also made between the Tusayan and Cibola groups and between them and certain well preserved ruins in regard to constructive details, by which means the comparatively advanced type of the modern pueblo architecture is clearly established. Maps of the groups discussed and of the topography of the country and ground plans of houses and apartments were prepared to illustrate the report and give effect to the descriptions and discussion.
Mr. [Cosmos Mindeleff] devoted the early part of the fiscal year to the preparation of a report upon the exhibits of the Bureau of Ethnology and the Geological Survey at the Cincinnati Industrial Exposition, 1884; the Southern Exposition at Louisville, 1884; and the Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition at New Orleans, 1884-’85. The report includes a descriptive catalogue of the various exhibits. As these consisted largely of models, and as the locality or object represented by each model was described in detail, the report was lengthy. It was finished in October and transmitted to the Commissioner representing the Department of the Interior. During the remainder of the year the portion of time which Mr. Cosmos Mindeleff was able to devote to office work was employed in assisting Mr. Victor Mindeleff in the preparation of a preliminary report on the architecture of Zuñi and Tusayan. The portion assigned to him consists of an introductory chapter devoted to the traditionary history of Tusayan, arranged from material collected by Mr. A. M. Stephen, of Keam’s Canyon, Arizona.
The modeling room has remained in charge of Mr. Cosmos Mindeleff. The preparation of a duplicate series of the models made in the last few years and now deposited in the National Museum was continued, a large portion of the time being given to that work. During the year the following models were added to this series: (1) model of Shumopavi, Tusayan, Arizona; (2) model of Etowah mound, Georgia; (3) models of Mashongnavi; (4) model of Zuñi; (5) model of Peñasco Blanco; (6) models of Etruscan graves, being a series to illustrate ancient Etruscan graves, from material furnished by Mr. Thomas Wilson.
Mr. [E. W. Nelson], during 1886, and continuously to the end of the fiscal year, has devoted much time to preparing a report upon the Eskimo of northern Alaska, for which his note books and large collections obtained in that region furnish ample material. During 1886 the vocabularies, taken from twelve Eskimo dialects for use in Arctic Alaska, were arranged in the form of an English-Eskimo and Eskimo-English dictionary. These dictionaries, with notes upon the alphabet and grammar, will form one part of his report. The other part will consist of chapters upon various phases of Eskimo life and customs in Alaska, and will be illustrated by photographs taken by him on the spot and by specimens collected during his extended journeys in that region. His notes upon Eskimo legends, festivals, and other customs will form an important contribution.
Mr. [Lucien M. Turner] is also engaged in the preparation of a similar report upon the Eskimo, in the form of a descriptive catalogue of the large amount of material collected by him during a residence of several years at St. Michaels and in the Aleutian Islands. When these two reports shall be completed the amount of accurate information concerning the remarkable people to whom they relate will be materially increased.
Mr. [Henry W. Henshaw] has continued in charge of the work upon the synonymy of the Indian tribes of the United States, which was alluded to in some detail in the annual report of last year. This work has been temporarily suspended, and Mr. Henshaw has assisted the Director in the preparation of a linguistic map of the region north of Mexico and in the classification of the Indian tribes, a work which properly precedes and forms the basis of the volume on synonymy.
Col. [Garrick Mallery] was steadily occupied during the year in the work of the synonymy of the Indian tribes, his special field being the Iroquoian and Algonquian linguistic stocks, and his particular responsibility being the careful study of all the literature on the subject in the French language. He also, when time allowed, continued researches in and correspondence concerning sign language and pictographs.