THE STORY OF THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON'

BY DANIEL S. LAMB

One of the duties of the President of this Society is to deliver, at the first meeting in February, an address on some anthropological subject. Inasmuch as a history of the Society has never been written and as this is the twenty-seventh year of its existence, I have prepared a brief account of its activities during that period to serve as my presidential address.

Omitting the National Institute, which was founded in 1841 and passed out of existence twenty years later, there was only one scientific society in Washington, so far as I am aware, prior to 1871. This was the Medical Society, incorporated in 1819 and therefore approaching its centennial. The Philosophical Society was established in 1871, and the Anthropological Society in 1879. In 1880 the Biological Society was founded; the Chemical and Entomological Societies in 1884; the National Geographic Society in 1888, the Geological Society in 1893, the Columbia Historical Society in 1894, the Society of Foresters in 1900, the Botanical Society in 1901, and the Washington Society of the Archæological Institute of America in 1902, making twelve scientific societies, all of which are now affiliated with the Washington Academy of Sciences. It is not difficult to understand how the successive establishment of other societies, the functions of some of which are more or less related to anthropology, drew away a portion of the membership of the Anthropological Society of Washington.

The following advertisement appeared in the newspapers of Washington, February 7, 1879:

"Many persons interested in American Archæology have expressed a desire for an organization in this city to promote study and diffuse knowledge upon the subject. All willing to join an archæological associ

1 Presidential address, somewhat abbreviated, delivered May 9, 1905.

ation are requested to attend a meeting at the Smithsonian Institution on Monday evening the 10th inst. at 71⁄2 o'clock for a conference upon the subject and the formation of such a Society.”

This announcement was signed by Dr J. M. Toner, Prof. Otis T. Mason, and Col. Garrick Mallery, U. S. A.

Twenty-five persons, responding to the call, met in the regent's room in the South Tower of the Smithsonian building on the date named. Those who attended were Dr A. Wellington Adams, then living in Washington, but soon afterward removed to St Louis ; Mr S. Yorke Atlee; Prof. Spencer F. Baird, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution; Mr Otis Bigelow, a banker; Mr George H. Boehmer, of the Smithsonian International Exchanges; Mr E. A. Burdick, of the Pension Office; Mr Frank Hamilton Cushing, of the Bureau of Ethnology; Dr Wills de Hass, temporarily connected with the same bureau; Dr Robert Fletcher, of the Library of the Surgeon General's Office; Prof. G. Brown Goode, assistant secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in charge of the National Museum; Mr John C. Lang, an antiquarian; Col. Garrick Mallery, of the Bureau of Ethnology; Prof. Otis T. Mason, then of Columbian College, afterward and now curator in the National Museum; Dr James E. Morgan, a well-known physician; Mr P. W. Norris, of the Bureau of Ethnology; W. W. Reisinger, then Lieutenant, afterward Commander, U. S. N.; Dr Elmer E. Reynolds, of the Pension Bureau; Mr William J. Rhees, of the Smithsonian Institution; Dr Miles Rock, a civil engineer; Mr Lenox W. Simpson; Dr J. E. Snodgrass, well-known in Washington; Dr J. M. Toner, a celebrated physician, historian, and bibliophile; Mr Edwin P. Upham, of the Smithsonian Institution; Prof. Lester F. Ward, of the Geological Survey; and Mr Joseph M. Wilson.

Dr Toner presided at the meeting and Professor Mason acted as secretary. Messrs Toner, De Hass, Mason, and Mallery were appointed a committee to draft a constitution and to report at a meeting to be conducted at the same place, February 17th. The meeting was held, the committee reported, and the constitution was in part adopted. There was some discussion as to a name for the society; some favored the title "The Archeological and Ethnolog

ical Society," but the name "The Anthropological Society of Washington" was finally adopted, the fact that the Archæological Institute of America was then in process of organization in Boston lending weight to the selection of our present designation.

The object of the Society, as stated in the constitution, was "to encourage the study of the natural history of man, especially with reference to America," and included Archeology, Somatology, Ethnology and Philology. Afterward Archeology and Ethnology were dropped, and Sociology, Psychology, and Technology were substituted. Still later the sections were rearranged as: a, Somatology; b, Psychology; c, Esthetology; d, Technology; e, Sociology; ƒ, Philology; g, Sophiology.

In 1882, and again in 1899, some radical changes were made in the constitution, and minor modifications during the interim. The duties of the officers were much the same as they are now, except in the case of the curator, who had charge of all the anthropological material contributed to the Society, and not deposited in either the National Museum or the Army Medical Museum; he preserved all books, pamphlets, photographs, and clippings (keeping a record of them) and kept a card index of anthropologic data to which members were expected to contribute. Later the card index was discontinued. The constitution made it the duty of all members to seek to increase and perfect the materials for anthropological study in the national collections at Washington; after having been shown to the Society and a record made of them, they were to be deposited as stated the crania and other somatic specimens in the Army Medical Musem, the remaining objects in the National Museum. A few years ago, however, the crania and other specimens sent by the Society to the Medical Museum, except such as exhibited disease or injury, were transferred to the National Museum.

It was provided that all business of the Society should be conducted by a council, afterward called a board of managers. In this way the Society's meetings, except the annual meetings when officers were elected, have been devoted entirely to anthropologic work, and precious time has not been wasted in discussing business

matters.

Theoretically the vice-presidents were then, as now, the officers on whom mainly depended the work of the Society. They presided over their respective sections and represented them in the council, and papers pertaining to the subject of a particular section were referred to the council by the vice-president representing that section. Through him also the section was required to keep the Society informed as to the progress of research in its particular field, to make special investigations when required by the council, to announce interesting discoveries, to collect specimens, manuscripts, publications, newspaper clippings, etc., and in every way to foster its own branch of the work.

Later, the constitution was so amended as to require each vicepresident to deliver annually an address on some subject pertaining to his special field. At present he is required to keep the Society informed of the progress of research in his section, to make special investigations when requested by the board of managers, and to foster in every way the work of the Society; and he is made responsible for the program of one meeting each year, to be devoted to the particular subject intrusted to his section. While the rule is an excellent one in theory, in practice it has not always been strictly adhered to.

At the initial gathering there was much discussion as to the frequency of meetings; it was finally decided to meet twice a month. The season began October 1st and ended July 1st, but this arrangement was not a success, and later the period was changed to include from November to May inclusive. The meetings were originally held on the first and third Tuesdays of the month; in recent years these were changed to every alternate Tuesday, beginning with the first Tuesday in November. The first meeting in February was set apart for the address of the president of the previous year; at first, he was limited in subject to the work of the Society during his incumbency, but afterward his choice of subjects was unrestricted.

At the third preliminary meeting, February 24, 1879, the constitution was adopted as a whole and the following officers were elected: President, Major J. W. Powell; Vice-presidents, Dr J. M. Toner, Dr George A. Otis, U. S. A., Col. Garrick Mallery, and Mr Wills De Hass; Corresponding Secretary, Prof. O. T. Mason; Re

cording Secretary, Dr E. R. Reynolds; Treasurer, Mr John C. Lang; Curator, Mr Frank H. Cushing; Members of the Council at Large, Mr A. S. Gatschet, Lieut. W. W. Reisinger, U. S. N., Mr G. K. Gilbert, Dr Charles A. White, Dr Thomas Antisell, and Mr J. M. Wilson.

The office of President has been occupied as follows: Major Powell served nine terms in all, 1879-1883, 1884-1887, and in 1895; Col. Garrick Mallery in 1883; Dr Robert Fletcher, three terms, 1888 to 1890; Dr J. C. Welling, two terms, 1891-1892; Prof. O. T. Mason, two terms, 1893-1894; Prof. Lester F. Ward, 1896; Dr Frank Baker, 1897; Dr W J McGee, three terms, 1898-1900; Prof. W. H. Holmes, two terms, 1901-1902; Miss Alice C. Fletcher, 1903; and the writer in 1904 and for the first session of 1905.

I have said that the tenth of February is the date from which the Society counts its anniversaries, this being the date of its initial meeting in 1879. The Directory of the Washington Academy of Sciences and its Affiliated Societies gives February 17th as the date of organization, which is true only in so far that the constitution was partially adopted on that day.

The Directory states also that there were 17 original members, but as a matter of fact there is no record of any membership before February 24, 1879, for which date I find recorded the names of 28 persons. Apparently each of these 28 was as much a founder as any other of the number. At least 16 of the original members are dead, namely, Adams, Antisell, Bigelow, Cushing, De Hass, Goode, Lang, Mallery, Morgan, Norris, Otis, Powell, Reisinger, Rock, Shoemaker, and Toner. Nine are known to survive: Burdick, Robert Fletcher, Gatschet, Gilbert, Gore, Mason, Reynolds, Ward, and White.

The Society having been duly organized, the first regular meeting was held March 4, 1879. The first paper was read by Frank H. Cushing on "Relic Hunting," and Professor Mason was the first to pay dues. The meetings at first were held, by courtesy of Secretary Baird, in the Regent's room of the Smithsonian Institution, but on February 1, 1881, they were transferred to the lower lecture hall of the Medical department of Columbian University, or, as the de