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April 6, 1904.

Mr. C. H. Townsend,
Room 632 Post Office Bld'g.,
Washington, D. C.

Dear Sir:-

Yours of the 7th inst. just received and would say in regard to same that Prof. Mason spoke of the blanket that you mention, when I was in Washington last week. I expressed an opinion at that time concerning your "Chinde" blanket which was to the affect that according to my investigations, no blankets with large designs were made by the Navajos until recent years, and that if such a blanket was used in ceremonies, it must be a recent intrusion, which would be interesting merely in the way of showing modern influences that have affected their ceremoniology. 

I wish I might have seen this blanket, as it is no doubt a very interesting specimen. If blankets of this nature have been in use in the past, it is a fact well worth recording in our scientific literature, but we would hardly be justified in such an assumption without further investigation. 

I expect to be in Washington within a week or so, and if you still have the blanket, I hope that I may have the pleasure of seeing it. I shall also make a point to see Dr. Washington Matthews concerning the blanket, as it is certainly a "rare find" as he says, if it is a survival of old [[strikthrough]] processes [[/strikethough]] practices.

Thanking you for bringing this matter to my attention, and