In spite of persevering search it was not possible to find any of the Bidai or the Tonica in Texas, although it is probable that some of them survived in that State as late as 1850.
Mr. Gatschet then passed a whole month among the Atakapa at Lake Charles, the county seat of Calcasieu parish, Louisiana. Of the two dialects traceable, only the western one seems to exist now, being still spoken by a few women living at the town. The language is sonorous, but strongly nasal.
Returning to the Indian Territory, after a fruitless search for the Tonica and Adai, he stopped at Eufaula, Creek Nation, to meet a Na'htchi Indian named Lasley, about sixty years old, who had represented his tribe in the councils of the Creek Nation. This man explained his Na'htchi terms and phrases by Creek equivalents, and these had to be translated into English to obtain full light concerning the Na'htchi terms. One legendary text was also obtained. The language is rather consonantal and has a multiplicity of verbal forms.
Among the Yuchi tribe on Middle Arkansas river, southwestern bank, and over 40 miles from Muscogee Station, Indian Territory, he remained but a week, too short a time to obtain full information respecting this interesting language. There are five or six hundred Yuchi still living on this tract. Two texts and a few popular songs, with one thousand terms of the language, were obtained.
The last stop was made among the Modoc at Quapaw Agency, at the agency buildings. About ninety are left of those brought there for having taken part in the Modoc war of 1872-'73. Five mythic tales were gathered from the natives within the short time of three weeks, one of them being of considerable length and of importance. It is called "The birth of Aishish." The birth of this astral deity resembles in most particulars that of Bacchus from the thigh of Jupiter after his mother, Semele, had been burned to death. The terms, phrases, and sentences gathered, besides the myth mentioned, amount to over fifteen hundred items, which will prove useful for completing the work on the Klamath Indians of Oregon now in preparation.
Of the Shawnee language several hundred words were gathered from the Indians of that tribe settled around the agency.
Mr. Gatschet returned to Washington in April, 1885.
WORK OF REV. J. OWEN DORSEY.
Rev. J. Owen Dorsey visited the Siletz Agency, Oregon, in August, 1884, to gain linguistic and other information respecting the tribes in that region. When he returned, in November, he brought back as the result of his work the following vocabularies:—Athapascan family: Applegate Creek, Galice Creek, Chastā Costa, Miko-no-tunne, Chetco, Smith River, Cal., and Upper Coquille.—Yakonan family: Yaquina, Alsea, Siuslaw, and Lower Umpqua.—Kusan family: Mulluk or Lower Coquille.—Takilman family: Takilma or Upper Rogue River.—Shahaptian family: Klikitat.—Sastean family: Shasti—total, nineteen vocabularies, ranging from fifty to three thousand entries, exclusive of phrases and grammatical notes.
He also obtained materials for an account of the social organization into villages of some of these Indians, the basis for which appears to have been the clan or gens. Rough maps, showing the localities of the villages, were made. Mr. Dorsey also obtained from several tribes the corresponding Indian names of about sixty vegetal products, specimens of which were brought to Washington for identification.