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NATURAL

THE JOURNAL OF THE
AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

VOLUME XXXI

1931

Published bimonthly by

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

NEW YORK CITY

1931

NATURAL HISTORY

IS SENT FREE TO ALL CLASSES OF MUSEUM MEMBERS
AS ONE OF THE PRIVILEGES OF MEMBERSHIP

AN ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE devoted to the advancement of
natural history, the recording of scientific research, exploration, and
discovery, and the development of museum exhibition and museum
influence in education.

Contributors are men and women eminent in these fields, including the
scientific staff and members of the American Museum, as well as writers con-
nected with other institutions, explorers, and investigators in the several
branches of natural history.

CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXI

jANDAnY-FEBncAliy. NVi. 1

An Inca BnckKround

Ololcolo Cafion on Kauai, Ono of tlio Uiiwuiian lelundB.

Old Empires of the Andes

The Asteroids

liiioo Mixture in Hawaii

Inacnts vs. Tho People

H.iiric Morp Spider Fishermen

Living. wHIHIk- N'ltivcsof MelanoBiii

Jiiliii ( 'liarii|.i.,i. h'Hunthorpc

LcKends

Till

• iiiis

I Mu

t Expeditions and Notes..

.Cov

Fronti»piw«

llONAU) I<. OUION

Wallace J. Eckert

H. L. Shafibo

I'liANK E. I.i-rr

E. W. GiuoKii

, Maiioakbt Mead

Aiixnuii S. Vernav

William H. Cahu

(i. Klsgklky Noble

March-April, No.

At a Mongolian Prayer Wheel

The Inner Gorge of the Grand CaiSon of the Colorado Itivcr .

The Fate of the Rash Platybelodon

How Old Is the Earth?

The Drama of the Skies

Art of the Dutch Guiana Bush Negro

The Great Kalahari Sand Veldt. Part I

The Largest Known Land Tortoise

A Phantom of the Marshes

The Mysterious Natives of Northern Japan

Trails and Tribulations of Bougainville

American Museum Expeditions and Notes

Cov

. . KrcmliBplcee
Y CiIAI'MAN .\XDBEW8

Chester A. Ueedb
Clyde Fisher

. . Morton C. Kahn
.Arthur S. Vernay
. ...Barnit.! Brown

.Alfred M. Bailey
. .Shoichi Ichikawa

Got Richards

May-June, No. 3

Gorillas of the Belgian Congo Forest Cover

The Atlas Mountains, Morocco Frontispiece

Gorilla: The Greatest of All Apes H. C. R.vven 2.31

A Bearded Mystery George C. Vaillant 243

The Fishermen of Gloucester Fhancesca R. LaMonte 2n3

The Great Kalahari Sand Veldt: Part II Arthur S. \ erxay 262

At the Sea Shore Paut, BM.tvx 27o

The Origin of Domestic Cattle ..Vrthub T. Semple 28(

Boa Constrictors and Other Pets Paul Griswold Howes 300

Wild Bees of Morocco T. D. A. Cockerell 310

"Gallant Fox" and "Man O' War" S. H.krmsted Chubb 318

George Fisher Baker, 1S40-1931 Henht Fairfield Osborx 32S

The Proposed Pacaraima-Venezuela Expedition G. H. H T.\te 330

American Museum Expeditions and Notes 331

July-August. No. 4

A Howler Monkey of Panama Cover

The Ruins of Machu Picehu Frontispiece

Seen from a Tropical Air Castle '^^'^'^ '^'- Chapman 347

Camp Life on the Gobi Desert Walter Granger .3.i9

Fortv Tons of Coral Rot Waldo Miner 374

Froi^ Cuzco to Machu Picehu Harold E. Anthony 388

A Day in Nazca Ronald L. Olson 400

Reindeer for the Canadian Eskimo O. S. Fin-nie 409

Sac-a-Plomb Alfred M. Batlet 417

Mountain Peoples of the South Seas Beatrice Blackwood 424

Animals of the Nature Trail Wflliam H. Carr 434

American Museum Expeditions and Notes ""^

September-October, No. 5

Hindu Gypsv of the Nath Tribe Cover

A Ramour Holy Man Frontispiece

Vanishing India ■ ■■ ■■ *JJ

Un the Congo to Lukolela James P. Chapin 474

The United States Naval Observatory Capt. Frederick Hellweg 488

With John Burroughs at Slabsides <^'-'^ Fisher 500

Modern Methods of Carving Jade Herbert P. Whttlock 511

When Winter Comes to the Mammal World Robert T. Hatt 519

Enlivening the Past George C. Vaill.ant 530

The Ascent of Mount Turumiquire George H. H. Tate 539

A Miniature Melanesia Dorothy L. Edwards 549

American Museum Expeditions and Notes ^5°

IV CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXI

November-December, No. 6

The Giant Eland of Southern Sudan „

Easterly Approach to the Roosevelt Memorial, . tA ' ■■'-'Over

The Theodore Roosevelt Memorial /, frontispiece

The Giant Eland of Southern Sudan George N. Pindar 571

Day by Day at Lukolela James LClahk 581

Among the Nomads o£ Tibet .James P Chapin 600

Plant Live in Winter X ■ C' Suydam Cutting 615

Canoe Country. Oliver Perry Medsgek 627

Telling the Beaver Story .■,■.■.■.■.■.■.■.■.■.'.■.■. Francis L. Jaques 634

Under Sail to the Cape Verdes. ... n ' • William H, Carr 640

"Jimmy" Robert H. Rockwell 651

American Museum Expeditions and Notes. ^' .'.'.!.'.'.■..'.■.■.■.■.■.■.'.■.■.■.■.■.■.■.■.■.■■;; .' T. Donald Carter 663

1 3

Jan. -Feb,
1931

Price Fifty
Cents

AN INCA BAChGROUND

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN
MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

NEW YORK, N. Y.

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

SCIENTIFIC STAFF FOR 1931

1. Officers of Administration

Henry Fairfield Osborn. D.Sc, LL.D., President
George H. Sherwood, Ed.D., Director and Executive Secretary
: Chapman Andrews, Sc.D., Vice-Director (In Charge of Exploration and Research)
Jambs L. Clark., Vice-Director (In Charge of Preparation and Exhibition)
M. Faunce, Sc.B., Assistant Director (General Administration) and Assistant Secretary

2. Scientific Staff

Astronomy
Clyde Fisher, Ph.D., LL.D., Curator

Minerals and Gems
Herbert P. Whitlock, C.E., Curator
George F. Kunz, Ph.D., Research
Associate in Gems

Fossil Vertebrates
Henry Fairfield Osborn, D.Sc,

LL.D., Honorary Curator-in-Chief
Childs Frick, B.S., Honoraiy Curator

of late Tertiary and Quaternary

Mammals
Walter Granger, Curator of Fossil

Mammals
Barnum Brown, A.B.. Curator of

Fossil Reptiles
G. G. Simpsox, Ph.D., Associate Cura-
tor of Vertetarate PaUeontology
Charles C. Mook, Ph.D., Associate

Curator of Geology and Palieontologv
Rachel A. Husband, A.M., Staff

Assistant
Walter W. Holmes, Field Associate

in PalLDOiitology

Geology and Fossil Invertebrates-.
Chester A. Reeds, Ph.D., Curator

Living Invertebrates

Roy Waldo Miner, Ph.D., Sc.D.,
Curator

Willard G. Van Name, Ph.D.,
Associate Curator

Frank J. My^ers, Research Associate
in Rotifera

Horace W. Stunk ard, Ph.D., Re-
search Associate in Parasitology

A. L. Treadwell, Ph.D., Research
Associate in Annulata

Insect Life
Frank E. Lutz, Ph.D., Curator
A. J. Mutchler, Associate Curator of

Cole opt era
C. H. Cuhran, M.S.. Assistant Curator
Frank E. Watson, B.S., Staff Assistant

in Lepidoptera
William M. Wheeler, Ph.D., L.LD.

Research Associate in Social Insects
Charles W. Leng, B.Sc. Research

Associate in Coleoptera
Herbert F. Schwahz, A.M., Research

Associate in Hymenoptera

Living and Extinct Fishes

William K. Gregory, Ph.D., Curator-
in-Chief*

John T. Nichols, A.B., Curator of
Recent Fishes

E. W. GuDGER, Ph.D., Bibliographer
and Associate

^i^Also Research AsKociale in Pala-
ontology and -VssuL'iate in I'lij-sieai
Anthropology

Living and Extinct Fishes {con-
tinued)

Francesca R. LaMonte, A.B., Assist-
and Curator

Charles H. Townsend, Sc.D., Re-
search Associate

C. M. Breder, Jr., Research Associate

Louis Huss.^kof, Ph.D., Research
Associate in Devonian Fishes

Van Campen Heilner, M.Sc, Field
Representative

Amphibians and

Experimental

G. KiNGSLEY Noble

Clifford H. Pope,

Curator
Bertr.vm G. Smith,

Associate
William Do uglas

Research Associate
Frank S. Mathews,

Associate

How

W. Sw

Reptiles, and.
I Biology
, Ph.D., Curator
B.S., Assistant

Ph.D., Research

Burden, A.M.,

, M.D., Research
Sc.D., Research

,, Research Asso-

Associate
O. M. Helf
ciate

Frank M. Chapman, Sc.D., Curator-
in-Chief
Robert Cushman Murphy, D.Sc,

Curator of Oceanic Birds
James P. Chapin, Ph.D., Associate

Curator of Birds of the Eastern

Hemisphere
John T. Zimmer, B.S., M.A., Associate

Curator of Birds of the Western

Hemisphere
Elsie M. B. Naumberg, Researeli

Associate

Mammals of the World
H. E. Anthony, M.A., Curator
Robert T. Hatt, A.M., Assistant

Curator
George G. Goodwin, Assistant

Curator
G. H. H. Tate, Assistant Curator of

South American Mammals
William J. Morden, Ph.B., Field

Comparative and Human

William K. Gregory, Ph.D., Curator
H. C. Raven, Associate Curator
S. H. Chubb, Associate Curator
MjUtCELLE Roigneau, StafT Assistant

in Comparative Anatomy
J. Howard McGregor, Ph.D., Re-
search Associate in Human Anatomy
Dudley J. Mohton, M.D., Research
Associate

Anthr

Clark Wissler, Ph.D., LL.D., Cu-

ratui-in-Chief
.\. C, Nelson, .\LL., Curator ..f Vix-
historic Archeology

Anthropology {rotUinued)

George C. Vaillant, Ph.D., Associate
Curator of Mexican Archieology

Harry L. Shapiro, Ph.D., Associate
Curator of Physical Anthropology

M.\hgaret Mead, Ph.D., Assistant
Curator of Ethnology

Ronald L. Olson, Ph.D., Assistant
Curator of South American Archae-
ology

Cl/Uience L. Hay, A.M., Research
Associate in Mexican and Central
American Archaeology

MiLO Hellman, D.D.S., Research
Associate in Physical Anthropology

George E. Brewer, M.D., LL.D., Re-
search Associate in Somatic Anthro-
pology

Asiatic Exploration and Research

Roy Chapman Andrews, Sc.D,.
Curator-in-Chief

Walter Granger, Curator in PaUe-
ontology

Charles P. Berkby, Ph.D., [Columbia
Universityl, Research Associate in
Geology

Amadbus W. Grabau, S.D., [Geological
Survey of China], Research Associate

Preparation and Exhibiiion
Jam es L. Clark, Vice-Director (In

Charge)
Albert E. Butler, Associate Chief

3. Education, Library and
Publication Staff

George H. Sherwood, Ed.D., Cura-
tor-in-Chief

Clyde Fisher, Ph.D., LL.D., Curator
of University, College and Adult
Education

Grace Fisher Ramsey, Associate
Curator

William H. Carr, Assistant Curator

Dorothy A. Bennett, A.B., Staff
Assistant

Paul B. Mann, A.M., Associate in
Education

Fr.\nk E. Lutz, Ph.D., Research As-
sociate in Outdoor Education

Library and Publications
Ida Richardson Hood, A.B., Curator
Hazel Gay, Assistant Librarian
Jannette May Lucas, B.S., Assistant
Librarian — Osborn Library

Printing and Publishing
Hawthorne Daniel, Curator, Editor

of Natural Ilistunj
A. Katherine BBiiGER, Associatc

Editor of Natural History
Ethel J. Timonier, Associaite Editor

of Scientific Publications

Public and J^rcss Information
George N, Pindar, Cluurman

VOLUME XXXI l^^yV 1 v^ rv/vL_i JAN.-FEB.

Number

NATURAL
HISTORY

'T^he your7ial of The American Museum of Natural History

'93'

Hawthorne Daniei. a«^BH ^- Catherine Berger

Editor ^SIIflm/tBBm Associate Editor

CONTENTS

An Inca Background Cover

From a Painting hy Artliur A. Jfinason (See Note, Page 112)

Olokele Canon on Kauai, One of the Hawaiian Island.s Frontispiere

Old Empires of the Andes Ronald L. Olson .'B

Incas and Their Predecessors on the Const iind Higlilanil of Pern

The Asteroids Wallace J. Eckert 23

The Thousand Minor Planets that Float in .Space Between Mars and Jupiter

Race Mixture in Hawaii H. L. Shapiro 31

The Story of the Polyglot Inhabitants of Hawaii

Insects vs. The People Frank E. Lutz 49

The Relationship of Insects to the Maintenance of Life on the Earth

Some More Spider Fishermen E. W. Gudger 58

The Spider's Peculiar Habit of Catching and Eating Fishes

Living with the Natives of Melanesia Margaret :Mead 62

How Ethnological Work is Carried on Among Primitive Peoples of the South Seas

:. John Champion Faunthorpe Arthur S. Vernav 75

Sportsman, Civil Servant, Soldier, Conservationist, and Friend

Indian Beaver Legends William H, Carr 81

Myths About an Animal Which the Indians Imagined Had Supernatural Power

The "Basilisk" G. Kingsley Noble 93

a Yawl Built Especially to Aid Scientific Studies in the West Indies

American Museum Expeditions and Notes 101

Published bimonthly by The American Museum of Natural History, New ^■o^k, N. Y. Sub-
scription price $3.00 a year.

Subscriptions should be addressed to James H. Perkins, Treasurer, American Museum of Natural
History, 77th St. and Central Park West, New York, N. Y.

Natural History is sent to all members of the American Museum as one of the priinleges of mejnber-
ship.

Entered as second-class matter April 3, 1919, at the Post Office at New York, New York, under
the Act of August 24, 1912.

Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103 Act of October
3, 1917, authorized on July 15, 1918.

Photograph i

OLOKELE CANON ON KAUAI, ONE OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS

This scene explains why Hawaii is justly famed for its beauty. ^Here we may discern something of

the grandeur that nature has created m the Hawauan Islands

(,See "Race Mixture in Hawaii," Page SI)

VOLUME
XXXI

NATURAL
HISTORY

JANUARY-FEBRUARY, 1931

NUMBER
ONE

OLD EMPIRES OF THE ANDES

The Myron I. Granger Archaeological Expedition — The First of a Projected Series
of Studies by the American Museum Aiming at the Reconstruction
of Culture History in Peru

By RONALD L. OLSON

Assistant Curator of South American Archu'ology, American Museum

I SHALL treat of the government of the Yncas
Yupanquis, who were the ancient kings of
Peru, and of their great deeds and poUcy.
-=...! shall describe the superb and magnifi-
cent temples which they built, the roads of
wonderful size which they made, and other great
things which were found in this kingdom.

So wrote Pedro de Cieza de Leon,
soldier and chronicler of the turbulent
days which followed Pizarro's conquest of
the land of Peru.

When Pizarro and his band of 190
doughty warriors landed at Tumbez in
1532, the greater part of the modern re-
publics of Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and
Chile was a powerful empire — the domin-
ion of the Quechua people. Over it ruled
the Inca, supreme emperor, demi-god,
offspring of the sun.

About the year 1000 the Quechuas
were a small tribe living in the region of
Cuzco, just starting on the career of
conquest which in five centuries cul-
minated in an empire stretching the 2300
miles from northern Ecuador to middle
Chile.

Not alone in size was this empire im-
pressive. The splendor of its templed
pyramids, the grandly conceived works
of irrigation, the well-knit fabric of its

society and government — all these filled
the more thoughtful among the conquer-
ing Spaniards with an admiration which
almost amounted to awe. As a conse-
quence the word "Inca" is surrounded by
a glamor that has resulted in giving the
Quechuas (Incas) credit for more than
their share of the achievements which
mark Andean civilization.

A thousand years before the Incas
began their conquests, Peru's Coast and
Highland had already seen the beginnings
of civilizations take root in their soil.
The next few centuries saw these cultures
flourish for a time, their arts reach a high
plane of excellence, then fade. On the
cold bleak shores of Lake Titicaca arose
the mighty structures of Tiahuanaco — ■
center and probable fount of the MegaHth-
ic Empire whose territory was perhaps as
far-flung as that of the Inca Empire.
But Tiahuanaco was already in ruins
when the early Incas first came that way.
Its heroic sculpture and art had a sub-
sequent flowering far to the north at
Chavin and at other centers. Centuries
before the period of this Megalithic
Empire, the coastal plain of Peru was the
seat of other civihzations. In the region of

NATURAL HISTORY

RUINS OF "LA FORTALEZA," NEAR PARAMONGA
According to tradition this fortress marked the southern boundary of the kingdom of the "Great
Chimu," and was the scene of the decisive battle between the Chimu and the armies of the Incas

Nazca lived a people already versed in
the arts of agriculture, ceramics, and
weaving, and on the northern coast lived
the Chimu, a people equally conversant
with these pursuits. The pottery and
textiles of these early periods excel those
of subsequent epochs in beauty, technique,
and decorative excellence.

Aside from a few vague hints of rude
fisher-folk living along the ocean and of
primitive hunters in the Sierra, we are
in almost complete ignorance of the long
history which must lie back of these com-
plex civilizations of the Nazca and Chimu
peoples. It is against all precedent and
logic that highly developed civilizations
such as these should be without cultural
predecessors.

A number of things have combined to
make Peru one of the richest archaeological
fields that we know. The ruins are
numerous and large. The religious and
cultural background of the people led
them to bury a wide variety of objects
with the dead. The dry, rainless climate
of the coastal zone has preserved these

objects in a most remarkable way. It is
not uncommon to find bodies with the
hair, nails, and tattooing marks almost
unchanged after a thousand years. Pot-
tery vessels exist in all their ancient
polish and color, textiles are often perfect
in their design and color. Food products,
such as peanuts, yucas, potatoes, and
meats, are often found in the pots which
have been placed with the dead. The
original frescoes and impressed designs on
the walls of temples and houses are still
visible. Perhaps only in Egypt is there an
equally remarkable preservation of the
remains of an old civilization.

For more than fifty years the archaeo-
logical remains of Peru have attracted the
attention of students. In most of the
principal museums of the world sizeable
collections of objects from the coastal
belt are on display. It has been esti-
mated that 30,000 pottery vessels have
been taken from graves in the valley of
Nazca alone. Yet the amount of positive
knowledge regarding the development of
civilization in the Andean-Coast region

OLD EMPIRES OF THE ANDES

is in almost inverse ratio to the ainoimt of
materials available. What lies back of the
highly developed cultures of the (Jhiiiiu
and Nazca regions? Do these spring from
a common source? How are they rcilated
to the megalithic cultures of Tiahuanaco
and Chavin? Are the coastal civilizations
derived from the Highland or those of the
Highland from the Coast? Are both re-
lated to the other high cultures of Middle
America in Colombia, the Maya area, and
in the valley of Mexico? These questions
are obviously fundamental to an under-
standing of Peruvian archaeology. Yet
disappointingly little pro-
gress has been made in
answering them. The reason
lies in the fact that most of
the collections available for
study are without adequate
field data. They represent
collectors' purchases from
the "huaqueros" — the pro-
fessional "pot hunters" who
have been for many years
engaged in sacking cemeteries
and pyramids.

Only in recent years have
systematic scientific studies
been made by archaeolo-
gists, notably by Uhle and
Bandelier, more recently by
Kroeber, Tello, Jijon y
Caamano, and others. Their
findings have been used in the
study of older collections by
Means, Lehmann, Joyce,
d'Harcourt, and Schmidt, to
mention only a few. Each
of these has, in one way or
another, tried to sketch in
broad outlines the historical
picture of the past. It seems
worth while to present a com-
posite of these reconstruc-
tions— to pick out the more
salient and more certain fig-
ures in each and unite them

in a running sketch of the various epochs
and peoples which have passed acro.ss the
stage who.se background is the Andean
highland and the Pacific coast of South
America.

As far back as the days when the mam-
moth, the mastodon, and other now
extinct animals roamed the Andes, man
came on the scene. This was five
thousand, po.ssibly ten thou.sand years
ago. It may be that these animals of the
Pleistocene survived in certain favored
regions until well into the Recent period.
The.se early human inhabitants were

THE INCA EMPIRE

Boundaries of the Empire of the Incas at its apogee, about 1500

A.D.
Route of the 1930 Myron I, Granger Archajological Expedition

Just before the Spanish Conquest the Inoa Empire stretched the
2300 miles from northern Ecuador to middle Chile, a region
larger than the Roman Empire at the time of Caesar's birth

NATURAL HISTORY

MODERN FIELDS AMONG ANCIENT RUINS

On the high summits which flank the valley of the Utcubamba are located numerous ruins. Circular
houses, often decorated like the one in the foreground, are more common than other types. Almost
nothing is known of the archaeology of this vast region

probably very primitive in culture. We
know that they hunted the mastodon
and other animals for food, and that they
knew the art of pottery-making, but here
our knowledge ends. Perhaps during this
same period the Coast was inhabited by
rude folk who lived mainly on fish and
shell fish. At any rate, we may assume
that several thousands of years ago the
first settlers were drifting southward from
Central America along the Coast and
Highland in a series of waves. But the
remains of these pioneers are either
difficult to find or we have not yet learned
how to locate them.

A long period of time now passes before
we get the next glimpse of human history
in this area. But the next picture is clear
and surprising. Along the southern
coast of Peru, in the region of Nazca,
and a little later in the Trujillo region of
the northern coast, appear civilizations of

a high order. Here, as elsewhere in the
area, our reconstructions of culture are
based in the main on ceramic and textile
remains, the figures and scenes depicted,
less on the residuum of stray objects, of
refuse deposits, and so on. The definite
characteristics of the artistic elements
enable us to identify the materials of these
civilizations from others with considerable
certainty. Though the early Nazca cul-
ture is probably earher than that of the
Trujillo section (seat of the Early Chimu
civilization), our knowledge of the latter is
more complete.

We can picture the early Chimu as a
people living largely by means of agricul-
ture, with maize, beans, potatoes, and
cotton as the principal domesticated
plants. To bring water to irrigate the dry
alluvial fans, many miles of great canals
and ditches were constructed. The social
structure was a complex one, with chiefs.

OIJ) f'JMPIRI'JS OF Tllli ANDES

l)riosts, warriors, coiiiriionor.s, and slaves
forming the strata of society. A pantheon
of deities was worshiped, with the puma-
god the most important. Great truncated
pyramids were erected to serve as the
bases for temples and the residences of
high dignitaries of state. The art of
weaving was highly developed, decorative
fabrics and a poncho-likc; .shirt being
fairly numerous in the remains which
have been preserved. Pottery is char-
acterized by pleasing forms decorated
chiefly in reds on a cream slip, and by
"portrait jars." The painted decora-
tions, done in graceful lines, often depict
scenes from the life of the period. It is
from these formally realistic decorations
that we are able to reconstruct the culture
of the people.

In the valley of Nazca during a slightly
earlier period there flourished a culture
basically like that of the Chimu. Scarcely

an it(!m in the decorative art of \azca
•seems related to that of the Chimu, but
we can reasonably infer a genetic con-
nection between the two civilizations, for
in features other than art there are many
similarities. Nazca pottery is char-
acterized by elaborate polychrome decora-
tions, the chief motifs being flowers,
birds, fishes, trophy heads, and a monster-
deity with the characteristics of a com-
po.site fehne-serpent. Textiles are often
embroidered with elaborate representa-
tions of this same being. Nazca art is so
much given to conventionalization and to
the depiction of mythological fantasy that
we are unable to reconstruct the everj--
day life of the people with the same sure-
ness as in the case of the early Chimu.

The culture of Nazca is the earliest of
which we have knowledge, but that of the
Trujillo area is only a little later in point
of time. Both seem to be restricted to the

INCA RUINS IN THE COASTAL BELT
The remains of Tambo Colorado in the valley of Pisco are among the best preserved in Peru. The
window-like niches are painted in reds and yellows, and probably served as resting places for various

sacred objects

NATURAL HISTORY

THK RUINS OF "LA CENTINELA" NEAR CHINCHA

Both Inca and Chinca elements are blended in the architecture of these ruins. The size of the mass

may be judged by the figures near the break in the wall. Like in nearly all others of the coastal belt, a

huge cross has been placed at the summit of these ruins

forbidding deserts of the coastal plain — a
region so unpromising that only some-
what civilized peoples could cope with
natural conditions. The next epoch opens
in the Highland, in the great plateaus
which lie between the ranges of the Andes
at elevations of 8000 to 14,000 feet.

We do not know what events took
place in the Highland -during the time of
these early Chimu and Nazca periods.
But somewhere near their end a unique
civilization was arising at Tiahuanaco on
the cold barren shores of Lake Titicaca.
Somewhat crude at first, this culture soon
flourished in the classic style of Tiahuana-
co. The rainy climate of the Sierra soon
destroys such remains as textiles and other
objects which decay under moist condi-
tions, and we must content ourselves with
the study of architectural styles, stone
sculptures, and ceramics. These show
the Tiahuanaco culture to be quite dis-
tinct from that of Early Nazca and Early

Chimu. The feline deity of the Coast was
reverenced as well as the condor-god and
the sun. The "weeping god" of the gate-
way and other stone sculpture of the ruins
of Tiahuanaco are type examples of the
lithic art of the era. The architecture is
massive in design, truly megalithic in
scope. The Tiahuanaco ruins show a city
with its temples and other structures laid
out according to a grand plan, impressive
in a way quite different from the great
adobe brick pyramids of the coast. The
latter exhibit only a prodigious amount of
labor expended to little ultimate avail:
the Megalithic builders would have reared
a splendid city with less effort.

Pottery forms are sometimes remi-
niscent of those of Nazca, but the decora-
tive elements are often human and
animal faces and figures which are very
unlike the Nazca type. The feline and
condor gods are often shown having
human bodies. The colors employed are

OLD EMPIRES OF THE ANDES

reds, blacks, and less often whites. l']ven
where these an; the same biisic hues used
in Chiniu and Nazca ware, their values
and intensities are of a different order.
While Tiahuanaco art is restraincid and
severe, that of Nazca is elaborate, almost
flamboyant. A fairly constant detail of
Tiahuanaco art are the "tear drops" or
"tear streaks" that decorate the cheeks
of faces.

Stone sculpture or pottery remains,
reminiscent of the Tiahuanaco style, are
found from the Diaguita area in the
Argentine to San Augustin in southern
Colombia. At Chavin in central Pei'u a
secondary center sprang up, probably
toward the end of the classical Tiahuanaco
pei-iod. Here severity of line and
simplicity of execution gave way to com-
plex figures with single elements of the
parent motifs often used to decorate a
field. Conventionalized puma and condor
heads executed in the Chavin manner are
found in pottery of the early Chimu

period, giving proof of reciprocal in-
fluences and of commerce between Coast
and Sierra. We have certain proof that
Early Nazca precedes Tiahuanaco.
Chavin art, difficult to analyze as a
predeces.sor of Tiahuanaco, is more ex-
plicable as a derivative. Since the Chavin
style is associated in graves and ruins
with that of Chimu, we are justified in
placing Early Chimu as later than Early
Nazca.

Toward or at the end of the Nazca
period, pottery and textiles in the style of
Tiahuanaco are to be found in coastal
sites from northern Chile to northern
Peru. Certain of these exhibit the style
in all its vigor, but other finds show a
degeneration in both technique and
execution. To this period on the coast
the name "Epigonal" (derived from
Tiahuanaco) or "Tiahuanacoid" has
been given. Perhaps this degeneration is
to be explained by lack of further stimula-
tion from the parent culture. A puzzling

THE GATEWAY TO THE FORTRESS OF CUELAPE IN THE VALLEY OF THE UTCUBAMBA

The area within the towering walls was filled and leveled and an inner fortress built. The ruins of some
200 circular houses are scattered about the main compound

NATURAL HISTORY

feature of the Tiahuanaco-Chimu-Chavin
relationship is that both Tiahuanaco and
Chavin ware are found with Early Chimu.
This might seem to indicate that Chavin
and Tiahuanaco are contemporaneous.
But the Tiahuanaco forms probably came
as an influence from along the coast to the
south, while those of Chavin had only to
traverse the short distance across the
western range of the Andes. The Tia-
huanaco influence started to spread earlier
but the time-distance element resulted in
its reaching the Chimu area at roughly the
same time as the Chavin influence.
The Tiahuanaco culture (or its hypo-

A WEAVER OF THE ECUADOKIAN HIGHLAND

In Peru and Ecuador both men and women weave, but only women

spin. The looms used are identical with those of more than a

thousand years ago. This photograph was taken on a day of fiesta,

when European clothes are usually worn by the men

thetical predecessors) had enriched its
world by the cultural gifts of bronze, the
potato, the domesticated llama, a distinc-
tive architecture and art, and then passed
into oblivion until resurrected by the
archseological studies of a stranger race.
At the present time we are able to recon-
struct but little of the series of events
which had been taking place in the north-
ern Highland of Peru during the Tia-
huanaco period. In that area there has
been little archseological work done, and
the probable relationship of the megaUthic
cultures of Tiahuanaco and Chavin to
those of Colombia and beyond is indi-
cated largely by infer-
ence. We are without
data which might give
clues to the possible
spread of the megalithic
culture over this northern
region of the Peru^dan
Highland.

In the northern Sierra
almost all of the ruins are
found at high altitudes,
in a belt of dense vegeta-
tion which makes explor-
ation and excavation
difficult. Pottery remains
are hard to find, undis-
turbed graves are harder.
A preliminary reconnais-
sance in this region in
1930 by the writer yielded
the following results :

Fortresses, temples,
houses, and other struc-
tures are in a type of
stone architecture
basically like that of
Tiahuanaco and Chavin.
Certain villages are com-
posed entirely of circular
stone structures some ten
to thirty feet in diameter
with stone roofs of a
corbelled dome type.

OLD EMPIRES OF THE AXDES

Other villages show both
round and square houses
with similarly domed
roofs. Since a domed
stone roof is more in
keeping with a circul.ii
than a square house, w
may assume the formi i
to be the earlier type
The dead were buried in
niches in the walls, in
caves, or in houselike
tombs built against the
faces of cliffs. Burials
were flexed, the bodies
wrapped in cloth. Con-
tacts with the tropical
forest or with the coastal
belt are indicated by thr
presence of cotton fabrics
and of coca. The pottery
is a heavy, somewhat
crude ware, usually un-
decorated. Decoration is
by appliqued strips of
clay, by crudely modellei 1
animal figures, or by
curious spiral designs in
a dark red on a creamy-
red background. These
bits of data permit no
more than the bare state-
ment that this northern highland culture
represents that of Chavin-Tiahuanaco in
an attenuated form. The round house
forms are reminiscent of the "chuUpas"
of the Titicaca region which seem to relate
to a period following Tiahuanaco.

Following the decline of the Tia-
huanaco period in the southern Highland
and later on the Coast, the picture is once
more obscured. The coastal cultures seem
to have gone through a period of stagna-
tion. The refinements of the Chimu and
Nazca arts and the strength of the Tia-
huanaco-Epigonal style are lacking in the
new forms which appear. On the north-
em and central coast from Chicama to

THE WEAVER AND THE (.,o,->IP

A woman of Marcamachay and her friend enjoy a bit of sun while

working on a new skirt. Wool from sheep, llamas, and alpacas makes

imported clothes a raritj'. A woman is seldom seen mthout her

spindle and bimdle of carded wool

Lurin there appears a red-white-black
pottery which seems related to that of
Recuay in the Callejon de Huaylas. This
is perhaps best interpreted as a later
counterpart of the early Cha\'in-Chimu
influence. The classical (Early) Chimu
style shows little affinity to these later
coastal styles. It seems that the Recuoid
ware, a peculiar cursive style, and the
later polished black ware may be influ-
ences radiating from the Chiclayo-Leche
region. Unfortunately there has not been
sufficient work in this section to establish
relationships with the Chimu-Chavin
style.

About this time the Chimu culture had

POTTERY OF THE TIAHUANACO-EPIGONAL PERIOD
Tn point of time pottery of this type follows that of the Early Chimu and Early Nazca. The decorative
elements are commonly pumas, condors, and human faces, but traits of all three are often combined in

a single figure

POTTERY OF THE EARLY NAZCA PERIOD

Aside from some rather dubious materials, this style marks the earliest known epoch of Peruvian

history, and dates from about the beginning of the Christian era. The two jars at the left

show elaborate conventional representations of the feline-monster deity

CERAMICS OF THE MIDDLE AND LATE CHIMU I'EHIODS
At the left two vessels represent men carrying mummy hurdles to the cemetery. At the right a rather
oafish man lounges under a rude shelter. The kneeling figure in the center gives an idea of the ap-
pearance and dress of a man of affairs of the time

POTTERY OF THE EARLY CHIMU PERIOD

A warrior in full regaUa is depicted on the vessel at the left. In his right hand he holds a mace, in his

left a shield, spear thrower, and javehns. The central piece is a "portrait" jar. The vessel at the

right shows a hand to hand combat between mythical beings

NATURAL HISTORY

LOADED LLAMAS CROSSING THE BARREN PUNA BETWEEN TAKMA AND OROYA

A llama can carry about sixty pounds, and serves best when allowed to feed as he travels. Favorite
beasts have their ears pierced and decorated with gay ribbons and yarns

a revival. Perhaps a new political organi-
zation under the kings known as "Great
Chimu" was related to the conquests
which carried the Late Chimu culture over
the entire coast from Huacho to Piura.
This is the period of the building of Chan
Chan, "capital" of the Chimu kingdom
and largest city in prehistoric Peru. This
late Chimu period persisted until the
irresistible conquests of the Incas carried
them to the northern coast about a
century before the coming of the
Spaniards.

On the southern coast the fading of the
Tiahuanaco influence was followed after a
time by the growth of a new culture which
was centered in the valley of lea, just
north of Nazca. Here careful work and
analysis by Uhle, Kroeber, and Strong
have enabled us to establish the sequence ;
Nazca-Epigonal-Middle Ica-Late Ica-
Inca with considerable certainty. In
some respects the characteristics of each
style show blended or attenuated forms in
the succeeding style or styles. Accord-

ingly we may suppose a continuous
history, with the arts of previous periods
serving to shape the new cultures. The
lea styles include a number of new vessel
forms. Like their predecessors, the lea
vessels are decorated in three or four
colors, with red, black, white, and slate
predominating but often blended with still
others. lea decorations, like those of the
Epigonal, lack the firmness and precision
which characterize the Nazca style. The
designs are mainly geometric, probably
textile patterns applied to pottery.
Traces of the lea influence may be found
as far north as Chincha. Like Late
Chimu, the Late lea civilization persists
down to the Inca period.

About the same time as Middle lea
new developments were taking place in the
region of Chincha-Canete to the north of
Pisco. The pottery forms vary, exhibiting
Late Chimu and lea traits with other
forms in a local "Chincha" style. Back
of this period undoubtedly lie others as
yet undiscovered or at best unplaced as to

OLD EM FIRES OF TIIK ANDES

iri

time. The (^hincha period iit its end
merges with tiic Inca.

It is now necessary to return again to
events in the Highland. Tiahuanaco
had been lying in ruins for probably
several centuries. The Megalithic Empire
had, however, enjoyed a brief renaissance
at Chavin and other centers. Now these
centers of influence as well had gone the
way of their cultural mother. A period
about which we know almost nothing
had endured for a long span of time in
the Highland.

But there was living in the upper valley
of the Urubamba a small tribe, the Que-
chua, which was destined to play a bril-
liant, though ultimately unfortunate,
part in the history of the native races.
Perhaps the Quechuas (Incas) had been a

subject p(!ople under the Megalithic
JOmpire. I'radition concerning them
begins about the year 1000, when the
more or less mythical Manco Ccapac was
"Inca." (The word "Inca" was the
title of the ruler, but through an errone-
ous popular usage has come to apply to
the entire Quechua people and to the
empire which they conquered). This was
only some five hundred years before the
Spanish conquest — sufficiently close to the
horizon of history to permit us to place
some faith in Inca history as set forth in
their oral traditions.

Manco Ccapac and his successor made
their people supreme in the vicinity <jf
Cuzco. The third Inca, Lloque Yupanqui,
extended his territory to the south as far
as Lake Titicaca. There followed a

POST-EUKOPEAN

PERIOD

-INCA-

INCA

■

/MCA

CARA

CHIMU

CHACHA'
/

,CA,

J /

'QUITO"

y' 5
1

"A"?.?'?

•tahbu-

§5
II

%?ffZ,

OLD
BMPIPB

A.D.

(.EARLY
EARLY

'' ?

•^

•}

PROTO-
MAYA

B.C-

'i:

' 7

■

1000

/' ?

•p

>- o

< <

> UJ

< [t
5: <

z
g
o

O
<

^ERN

rpAL

COAST

soul

HERN

x-i
hi

THE SEQUENCE OF CULTURES IN THE ANDEAN HIGHLAND AND PACIFIC COAST

OF SOUTH AMERICA

The diagram is designed to give a tabulated summary of known and inferred developments during the

fifteen centuries of which we have knowledge. The two columns at the left cover the Valley of Mexico

and the Maya areas

NATURAL HISTORY

THE FIESTA OF SAN ANTONIA AT CHUQUITEN
For seven days and seven nights the music and dancing are kept up. Great quantities of food and
chicha are consumed. An abundance of firecrackers and rockets add to the din of the "orchestra."
Only one tvme is played throughout

series of notable rulers each of whom ex-
tended the boundaries of empire during
his reign. At the end of the reign of
Pachacutec, who died about 1478, the
empire had been extended well into what
is now the Argentine, into northern Peru
to Cajamarca, and on the coast over the
territory of the Chimu. Under the next
Incas, Tupoc Inca Yupanqui and his
successor Huaya Ccapac, successful
campaigns brought the boundaries of the
empire nearly to Colombia in the north
and to the Rio Maule, perhaps to the Rio
Bio Bio, on the central coast of Chile —
a distance of some 2300 miles, an empire
larger than that of Rome at the time of
Caesar's birth. Huayna Ccapac died at
Quito in 1525. His heir, Ninan Cuyuchi,
died soon after, and Huascar, second in
line, now became Inca. But his right to
the throne was disputed by the ill-fated
Atahualpa, an illegitimate son. The civil

war which followed weakened the empire
and divided the loyalty of the people.
Atahualpa was finally successful, but at
the moment of victory news came to him
at Cajamarca that a body of strange and
mighty men had landed on the coast.
This was November, 1532. Pizarro
marched to Cajamarca, took Atahualpa
prisoner by a ruse, and within a year had
captured Cuzco and was in complete
control of the Inca realm. Except for a
series of increasingly futile rebellions,
resistance was over, the Inca part in the
drama was ended. The New World had
lost its last chance to remain for a time
free from the devastating effects of
European civilization.

The Inca genius was one for conquest
and political organization rather than of
excellence in arts and crafts. Their
pottery has a certain grace of form but is
not so pleasing as the best of Chimu or

OLD KMl'IliI<:S OF THE ANDES

Tiiihuanaco ware. 'J'oxtilcM mv colorful
in a Kaudy sort of way. Inca architocturc
may ha said to follow the rnegaiithic tradi-
tion without showing the restrained
grandeur of Tiahuanaco. In the coastal
belt the structures of the pei'iod are far
inferior to the impn^ssive masses of the
( 'himu pyramids.

In some respects the Inca scheme of
|)(ilitical organization was like that of the
H.oinans. A vast system of roads was
built in both the rugged highland and
desert coast land. At regular intervals
along these highways "tambos" oi'
storehouses were built where supplies for
travelers and for the army were kept.
Messengers were constantly on duty at
these points ready to relay messages from
one part of the country to another.
When a new area was conquered, a part
of the inhabitants were transplanted to
older parts of the empire and loyal sub-

jects were moved in to take their place.
This wa.s to guard against rebelli(jn and to
di.sseminate the Quechua tongue over the
conquered territorj'. Tlie I'cligious and
social institutions of subject tribes were
allowed to persist. A temple to the sun
was usually erected near the foreign
places of woi-ship but there wa.s never an
attempt to stamp out the prevalent Iw-
liefs. This is in keeping with the tolerant
attitude of most peoples other than those
of the white race toward other beliefs.

A hierarchy of religious and civil
officials served as mentors of social,
political, and religious activities. At the
head of these stood the Inca, the ruler-
god, descendant of the sun-god, and
supreme authority in all matters. The
empire and its people were his by divine
right. Aside from houses and personal
effects, there was little private ownership.
Since long before the daj's of the Incas,

THE BED MARKET AT HUANCAYO

Every Sunday thousands of people from the surrounding country come to sell their wares and buy

from others. Native products from the hot Amazonian forests and from the cold puna as well as the

latest European gew-gaws are among the things displayed

NATURAL HISTORY

^=«.

THK l;l IN:- or "EL PURGATORIO, LAMBATEQUE

A few of the huge adobe pyramids wliieh flank the rocky hill on every side. In the distance is the

modern \allage of Tiicume with another truncated p>Tamid towering above it at the left

the people of the empire had been organ-
ized in "allyiis" or clans which owned the
lands. The leaders of these alljTis as-
signed certain fields to individuals to till
for one year only. The following 3^ear
there was a reassignment. The Incas
wove this ancient social organization into
their pohtical sj^stem. A portion of the
produce of each community was taken
over by the state to satisfy the needs of
rehgion and government.

The Incaic sj^stem was a form of com-
munism curiously blended with a thorough
but benign despotism. One governmental
department looked after the conservation
of wild animals, another safeguarded the
forests from needless exploitation. A
corps of engineers planned and built
cities, temples, and bridges. Census
takers annually noted the amount of a
man's crops, the number of his children,
his abihty for work. Certain Ukely
children were trained to be soldiers.

others to be priests, still others to fill
posts in the administrative service of the
government. The sj^stem seems to be one
instance where the theor}^ of state com-
munism was apphed with a measure of
success. It was, of course, built upon
concepts of property and personal rights
quite different from our own.

Mam^, perhaps most of "the great things
which were found in this kingdom" (to
use Cieza's words) , were not the works of
the Incas but, as we have seen, are to be
ascribed to ci^ohzations which existed
long before. Indeed, the entire course of
Peruvian history almost seems to have
run contrary to progressive evolution.
The earhest ci-^ahzation, that of Nazca,
excels aU subsequent cultures in the
numbers of colors used in ceramics and
textiles, in control of technical processes
in those arts, and in complexity of design.
The somewhat later Early Chimu potterj-
excels in grace of decorative lines and

Ol.l) KMI lUKS OF rill<: AShliS

delicacy of color. The art of th(,' next
major period, that of Tiahuanaco, has the
merit of strength in architecture and in
pottery design, but more often the
strength of design in ceramics becomes
crudity or downright sloppiness. In
both highland and coast its later examples
run to flamboyancy or to original motifs
brfiken up so that conventionalized parts
of earlier figures serve to decorate an
entire field. The objects surviving from
the Inca period can lay small claim to
artistic excellence.

In its broader outlines there is hardly
any doubt of the correctness of the
sequence: Nazca-Early Chimu-»Tiahua-
naco-Epigonal-Chavin— >Late Chimu-Ica
— >Inca. The sequences and relationships
within these periods may be, and are,
still open to some question. But regard-
less of how we place these minor epochs
the larger development still remains one

of retrogression from the superior to the
inferior. On the material side of life this
is true only in part. The early (but not
the earliest) pj'ramids of the Chimu period
excel tho.se of the later, and the Tia-
huanaco style has claims to superiority.
But on the other hand, grander irrigation
works, cities of larger size, and a more
varied food supply characterize the later
periods. We cannot, of course, subject
the social, political, and religious institu-
tions of the several periods to a similar
analy.sis because of the difficulty of recon-
structing intangibles from archajologicai
data.

We can dismiss the retrogressive evolu-
tion of the cultures of Peru by stating that
evolution does not always result in
progress. But we must still account for
the appearance of the Early Chimu and
Nazca cultures. Spontaneous and sudden
generation does not take place in the

A PYRAMID OF THE CHIMU PERIOD AT SIPAN
Atop these truncated pyramids were built temples to the gods and houses for high dignitaries. The
entire structure measures about SCO by 900 feet and is, roughly, 75 feet high. It is composed entirely
of sun-dried adobe bricks

NATURAL HISTORY

CLIFF TOMBS IN THE VALLEY OF THE UTCUBAMBA
These houselike tombs are reminiscent of the structures of the chff-dwellers of our own Southwest.
By wedging poles into crevices the ancient inhabitants were able to build these sepulchers hundreds of
feet up the face of these vertical cliffs. The structures in this picture average aliout 7 feet in height

cultural sphere any more than in the
biological. It must be, therefore, that
back of the Early Chimu and Early Nazca
periods lie long epochs of growth and
development. The search for remains
from these preceding periods has so far
proved fruitless, though various individu-
als have laid claim to the discovery of an
"archaic" period. But these finds have
so far proved readily resolvable in terms
of direct relationship with the familiar
types.

There is, of course, the possibility that
Early Nazca and Early Chimu were born
and reared to their ripe old age on foreign
soil, then suddenly transplanted to the
Peruvian scene. But the most likely
parent sources, Mexico and Central
America, seem utterly lacking in remains
related to them in other than a hazy
generic way. Peru shares with these
other high cultures the same basic mode of

life — an agriculture based on maize,
beans, squash, peppers, cotton. The
pyramids of Mexico have their counter-
part in Peru, and certain stone sculptures
of the Aztec and Maya areas bear
resemblances to those of Chavin and
Tiahuanaco. Some items in religion,
mythology, and social pattern are alike
in the regions in question. Farther than
this it is difficult to go, and there seems no
alternative but to seek for the types
ancestral to Peruvian early civilizations on
Peruvian soil. The tropical forest of
eastern South America is a most unlikely
source, for it was and is peopled by
savage, ill-cultured tribes. Certain
authors have sought to derive the high
civilizations of Middle America from
Polynesia, ultimately from Asia and the
Mediterranean. But these theories are
hopelessly fantastic — Peru boasts of a
civilization which goes back a thousand

OLD KMI'IlilCS OF THE ANDES

years before tlic Pacific islands ware
populated.

One l'ea.tiir(\ of tiie archa!olou;ical re-
mains in Peru which makes the recon-
struction of its prehistory very difficult
is the rarity, often complete lack, of
stratified refuse deposits. First applied io
the Paleolithic remains of PJurope, his-
torical reconstruction by means of (Ukki'ik
in stratified deposits has been uscul with
great success in our Southwest, in Mexico,
and elsewhere. Obviously where there is
an accumulation of refuse the older ob-
jects lie in the lower strata, the more
recent in the upper. But in Peru, the
bulk of the population seems to have
lived in small scattered settlements in the
arable areas where subse-
quent cultivation has de-
stroyed the remains, or
along the margins of the
valleys where occasional
floods, excavations for
graves, or other causes
have disturbed the accu-
mulations of debris. A
great portion of refuse
seems to have been sys-
tematically saved to be
used as a tempering or
binding agent in the
manufacture of adobe
bricks. Because of the
absence or rarity of other
than minor refuse heaps,
the main dependence on
chronological determina-
tion has been on cemetery
and grave association.

It is for this reason that
there are so many "ifs,"
" probablys " and
"seems" in any cautious
reconstruction of the
development of culture
in Peru. Grave associa-
tions as the key to inter-
relation.ships are depend-

ent upon careful and exuct, often minute,
data and well-documented evidence. A
thousand graves may be opened before one
is found that contains items bearing on the
li n kag(;s between two periotls or even on t he
minor developments within a period. As
stated before, mo.st collections from Peru
are sadly wanting in just this type of docu-
mentation. Nearly all have been made
by purchases from the "huaqueros" —
the professional grave plunderers of Peru
who throw away or destroy all objects not
dir(;ctly salable. Until a long series of
carefully planned and executed researches
are made, our knowledge of even the more
splendid epochs promises to remain in its
present obscure, guessed-at state.

A HOUSE OF THE RUINS OF TORTDEA CUNGA,

NEAR UCHUMARCA

Both round and square houses occur in this ruin. The corbelled dome

roof of the structure shown here rises high above the squared walls:

Sheep are now kept in the ancient llama corral a short distance away

NATURAL HISTORY

At the time of the Spanish conquest,
Peru seemed ready to enter upon a new
era of development. We have already
mentioned how the Inca Empire had
welded together a large number of smaller
states, related yet distinct in their
civilizations. Perhaps the best of the
arts of these would have been conserved
and unified. Trade by sea with Central
America and Mexico seems already to
have been established. Peruvian civiliza-
tions excelled in the manual arts, those
of the Maya area in the intellectual, and a
closer contact would have stimulated
developments in both areas. The north-
erners had already benefited by borrowing
knowledge of the bronze technique, per-
haps the Incas would have learned the
art of writing and erecting dated monu-
ments. A slight expansion to the north
would have brought the Inca and
Chibcha civilizations into contact and
this might have resulted in still greater
acceleration.

The civilizations of Middle America —
Aztec, Maya, Chibcha, and Inca — had
advanced far without possessing certain
rather fundamental arts and inventions.
Nowhere in Middle America was iron
known. Bronze furnished a substitute

but is inferior for most purposes. Trans-
port was handicapped by lack of knowl-
edge of the wheel. The task of moving
the great stones of the megalithic struc-
tures, some weighing twenty or thirty
tons, was accomplished without it. The
New World was lacking in any animals as
tractable and sturdy as the horse and ox
of the Old World. The llama was used as
a pack animal but it can carry only small
burdens, is not adapted for riding and is
not suited to low altitudes. The Aztec
and Mayas possessed the rudiments of
writing, an elaborate system of numera-
tion, and a splendid calendric scheme,
but knowledge of them had only begun to
filter into South America. Splendid as
were the achievements of the civiliza-
tions of prehistoric Peru in the way of
agriculture, the arts, and political and
social schemes, they were hindered by
ignorance of these basic traits. Except
for these they were perhaps as civilized
as their European conquerors. But take
these traits — writing, iron, the wheel —
out of our own cultural scheme and we
find ourselves unable to carry on our
modern life. The wonder is that the
ancient Peruvians, lacking these, had
progressed so far.

>* ^> A ^^ 4r ^^^'.N^ c *

A DEC3BATED WaLL IN A RoOM AT La CenTINELA

THE ASTEROIDS

The Thousand Minor PhmclH that I'loat hi Sinicc Between .Mars and Jupiter-
Astronomers' Phins for .Studying Kros at Its Closest Approach to the Earth

By WALLACE J. ECKERT

Dcpartmont of Astronomy, Colutiibiu Univorfiity

THE discovery of the asteroids (jr
minor planets instead of the miss-
ing major planet in the space
between Mars and Jupiter was another
one of those happy
disappointments
where a scientist
failed to find the
thing for which he
was looking, but
found instead some-
thing unexpected
and much more val-
uable. Had another
major planet been
found instead of the
fifteen hundred or
two thousand minor
planets which have
been discovered, the
loss to Astronomy
probably would
have been great.

Kepler had shown
how to calculate a
planet's distance
from the sun from
the number of days required for the planet
to travel around the sky ; and on examining
the distances thus obtained for the vari-
ous planets he noticed that they increased
in a regular manner, with the exception
of an unusually large gap between Mars

COMPARATIVE SIZES OF LARGE JIIXOR

PLANETS AND THE MOON
The diameters of these four asteroids were meas-
ured with the 40-ineh telescope of the Yerkes
Observatory. Reproduced from "The Splendour
of the Heavens" by T. E. R. Phillips and W. H
Steavenson, through the courtesy of Robert
McBride & Co.

and Jupiter. This gap was even more
noticeable from Bode's Law, which is a
simple empirical formula for representing
these distances. The application of this
formula consists
simply in writing a
series of fours as
shown in the table
at the bottom of
this page and add-
ing to each succes-
sively numbers
0X3, 1X3, 2X3,

4X3, . The

sums thus obtained
when di\'ided by
ten give the dis-
tances of each of the
planets in terms of
the earth's distance,
the so-called astro-
nomical unit.

This table shows
excellent agreement
with the exception
of the fact that
there is no planet at
a distance 2.8. This was immediately
noticed, and the agreement for the known
planets was sufficient to persuade astron-
omers to make an organized search for
the missing one.

Ceres, the first asteroid to be dis-

Mer-

Venus

E.4RTH

Maks

Jupi-

Sat-

Ur.4-

cury

ter

urn

NUS

192

100

196

Bode's Distance

0.4

1.0

1.6

2.8

5.2

10.0

19.6

Actual Distance

0.39

1.0

1.5

5.2

9.5

19.2

NATURAL HISTORY

Courtesy of Yerkes Obf^ervatory
TRAIL OF THE ASTEROID EGERIA
The elongated white object just above the middle of the picture is the trail of the asteroid. This
photograph was taken November 15, 1904, by Mr. Parkhurst, with the 2-foot reflector at Yerkes

Observatory

covered, was found by Piazzi on the first
night of the Nineteenth Century and was
hailed as the missing member of the solar
system, though its smallness was rather
disappointing. Three more turned up in
the next six years and gave ample evi-
dence that these small objects were of a
new and unexpected nature. The search
has been continued until the present time
and more are being found every year.

The asteroids are small and faint and so
are hard to distinguish from the near-by
stars. The first ones were discovered by
accurately measuring the positions of all
the fixed stars in a given region and
comparing them with the positions of the
same stars as determined at some other
time. The planetoids which move with
respect to the stars will have different

positions from day to day. Since the
invention of photography the task is
greatly simplified, for now it is only
necessary to take a long-exposure photo-
graph of a given region. On the plate
thus obtained the star images will appear
as round dots while any moving object,
such as a planet, will leave a streak. The
illustration on page 28 is a reproduction
of a photograph of the asteroid Eros taken
in 1894. The photographic method of
search has been so effective that well over
a thousand have been found and observed
over long enough intervals of time to
have their orbits computed, and several
hundred more have been found and lost
again. Curiously enough the average
distance turns out to be approximately
the 2.8 of Bode's Law.

THE ASTJCkO/JJS

'J'hcse lj{j(lies iiro so siritdl thut it i.s im-
possible to sc3e any details of their surface
even with the most powerful telescopes.
The diameters of the four largest ones
have been measured by Barnard and are
shown in cf)mparison to that of the moon
in the illustration on page 23. The light
from these objects is all reflected sunlight,
so on the assumption that their reflecting
power averages about the same as the
four larger ones whose sizes have been
measured, it is possible to estimate the
size of the smaller ones from the amount
of light they reflect. Such observations
indicate that about a dozen have
diameters between 100 and 150 miles,
about one hundred and fifty have
diameters greater than 50 miles, and most
of them range from 10 to 50. Some are

even smaller than this, and since the
brightest and hence the biggest ones are
discovered first, it is not unlikely that
there are many very small objects a.s j'et
undiscovered floating in this region of
space. Their masses are also minute: the
combined mass of all the asteroids both
known and unknown is probably between
1/500 and 1/1000 of that of the earth.
The force of gravity on a body depends
upon the mass, and for one of the smaller
asteroids is so feeble that a boj' standing
on one of them could throw a stone into
space with .such speed that it would never
return but continue to circulate around
the sun as a new asteroid. Of cour.se such
a small body could not hold an atmosphere.
Since these objects are so small that
the diameters of only the largest can be

Courtesy of Yerkes Observatory

TWO ASTEROID TRAILS

Two separate trails can be distinctly seen here, one represented bv an elongated streak thinner than

theother. The brighter trail is that of Bellona. Photographed December 28, 1908, with the lOTinch

Bruce lens, and an exposure of one hour

NATURAL HISTORY

DETERMINING THE DISTANCE TO AN INACCESSIBLE POINT BY TRIANGULATION

Here the "base line" AB is measured as are also the angles at A and B. From these measurements

the distance BC is computed. The same method is used to determine the distance of a planet

measured, it is hopeless to try to see any
surface details, and they therefore have
practically no telescopic interest. The
question of life on them can be dismissed
even more easily than in the case of our
moon because of the lack of atmosphere.
Their interest lies in the nature of their
orbits and in their great importance in
such questions as the origin and the
stability of the solar system, for any
theory which is to explain the past history
of the major planets cannot ignore the
swarm of similar though smaller bodies.

The orbits or the paths in space of these
objects present a great variety of inter-
esting cases for the celestial mechanician.
Each of the major planets revolves about
the sun in an ellipse which is nearly
circular and all of which lie very nearly in
the same plane; and for these reasons
present comparatively simple problems.
The asteroid orbits, on the other hand,
may be inclined to this plane by as much

as 48° and be so far from circular that the
greatest distance from the sun is five times
the least. While these orbits practically
all lie between the orbits of Mars and
Jupiter, their sizes, shapes, and positions
in space are so varied that they form a
complete tangle. If each orbit were a
material hoop, and any one was lifted out
of place it would take along with it all the
others as well as those of Mars and
Jupiter. The illustration on page 30
shows the orbits of five of them, and it is
easy to imagine the effect of a thousand
more crowded into the same region of
space. With such an assortment at hand
it is possible to find one to test almost any
theory.

Probably the most useful orbit for a
special purpose is that of Eros, with which
can be obtained the scale of miles of the
solar system, and thence of the sidereal
universe. The laws of Kepler and later
that of Newton made it possible to draw a

TIIK ASTI'JUOIUS

map of the solar system with all the rela-
tive distances correct, but with the scale
of miles absent. To make such a map
generally useful it is necessary to
determine one distance with accuracy,
and it turns out that the distance from
the earth to Eros is the most suitable for
this purpose.

The method of measurement employed
is that known as geodetic triangulation
used by surveyors in determining the
distances of inaccessible points. If, for
instance, the surveyor wishes to measure

the distance to the opposite side of a river,
he choose.s two accessible points A and B
(illustration, page 26) on his own side
and a third point C on the opposite side.
After measuring the angles at A and B and
the distance AB, called the base line, he
can compute the distance BC. The .same
iiKithod is used in astronomy for determin-
ing the distances of the sun, moon, and
planets, and here the points A and B are
two astronomical observatories situated
at remote points of the earth, and the
inaccessible point C is the distant celestial

PALLAS

300""

480'"'

CERES

15011

•EROS

SATURN
ISO"

MOON'

JUNO
And
JUPITER $
VSTMMOON
JtOmi

ASTEROIDS COMPARED WITH THE BRITISH ISLES

The'sizes of the four brightest asteroids are here shown in relation to a map of the British Isles. In

part after A. C. D. CrommeUn. Reproduced through the courtesy of Robert McBride & Co., from

"The Splendor of the Heavens"

NATURAL HISTORY

PHOTOGRAPH
SHOWING AIOVE-
MENT OF AN AS-
TEROID AMONG

THE STARS
The camera is'care-
fully guided on the
stars so that their
images are small
round dots. The
asteroid in the
center of the plate
moved during the
exposure and so left
a trail

object. The difficulty in measuring the
distance of a planet is that the distance is
very great in comparison to the length of
the base line. The two observatories
are chosen as far apart as possible, but
this must necessarily be less than 8000
miles. Accurate measurement, therefore,
requires the nearest possible object, and
it so happens that the planetoid Eros at
times comes closer to the earth than any
other planet.

The distance at any time depends upon
the positions of the earth and of Eros in
their orbits, and hence there are rare
occasions when the two are unusually
close together. Such a close approach is
the one which occurs during the present
winter. On January 30 the distance is
about 16,200,000 miles which is somewhat
greater than the least possible value of
13,840,000 miles but which is less than it
has been during this century. Of course,
many observatories with the proper

kind of equipment have planned to make
observations to determine this distance.
The observations will extend over several
months, and the reduction will probably
take several years: the end in view being
to add another decimal place to the
present value of the "solar parallax" or
the scale of the solar system. The thing
which limits the accuracy of this
determination of distance is the fact that
at the time of close approach Eros is
moving very rapidly with respect to the
earth, and to be able to compute its
relative position in space with the neces-
sary accuracy, the time of each observa-
tion must be very accurately known. In
order to obtain suitable photographs of
Eros and the near-by stars with which to
compare its position, the exposure time
will be comparatively long, and hence the
mean time of exposure which depends
upon such uncertain things as passing
mist, etc., can be determined with a

THE ASTEIiOIDS

limited accuracy only. 0\j make inutt(!r.s
worse for those observatories best suited
for the undertaking, namely those situated
north and south of each other, the object
is moving almost due south at the critical
time, and so any error in the time will
enter directly in the results. The illus-
tration on this page is a drawing bv Oom-
melin to show the apparent path of Eros
from October to March, and shows the
path to be almost due south during the
month of January.

While the orbits of many individual
asteroids show striking
properties, the entire
group taken as a whole
are even more interest-
ing. One such peculiar
property is the fact that
out of a thousand there
are practically none
which have periods com-
mensurable with that of
Jupiter. This is ex-
plained by the fact that
if an asteroid had a
period of ji, %, % etc. of
that of Jupiter, it would,
after a few revolutions,
be back in the same
part of its orbit when
it passed Jupiter and
the gravitational dis-
turbances due to that
body would be always
in the same direction,
with the result that the
orbit of the asteroid
would be altered until
this condition no longer
existed. Curiously
enough those which
have periods exactly
equal to that of Jupiter
have stable orbits and
continue to oscillate
about one or the other
of the two points which

with the sun and Jupiter form an equi-
lateral triangle. Seven such asteroids are
known and constitute the .so-called Trojan
Group.

Another striking feature of the orbits
taken as a whole is that the orientation in
space of the individual ellipses tends to be
the same as that of Jupiter.

The question of the origin of these
bodies has received considerable atten-
tion, but the problem is by no means
solved.
Two alternative hypotheses advanced are

GREAT BEAR

. • D«c4,

No
• No«IB .., -H

„2 Ociir

CHARIOTEER

• D -'' '

LYNX

. y-*ZAmll.

•

Castor*

»•

J»r.5j(l9m.ll •
LION/* ^

* Pollu»«
CRAB

TWINS

;', Sickle

•^PrawjEt— — "■ "^

"-^

Ian2l<^l6mill.

LITTL
• DOG

E ,

rSr^lfu^*"'"' HYDRA

•

Equator

Feb,6\l6mill. •Alphard

GREAT

DOG •S"-i"s

'-J, \ Feb.22
, ^ >J9inill.

\ ^Mar.lO

•

THE PATH OF EROS AMONG THE STARS

Opposite each date appears the distance of the asteroid from the

earth in millions of miles. After A. C. D. Crommelin. Reproduced

through the courtesy of Robert McBride & Co. from "The Splendor

of the Heavens"

NATURAL HISTORY

(1) That they are the debris of a planet
which exploded.

(2) That they are the makings of one
that never formed.

Many attempts have been made to
verify the former by carrying back the
orbits to show that they all intersected at
some past time, but the effects of the
other planets, especially Jupiter, are so
great that such a phenomena could
probably^not now be recognized. There

are certain peculiarities of the orbits
which would not be changed by the effect
of Jupiter, and these seem to indicate that
most of the asteroids belong to about five
distinct families. The existence of these
five families may indicate the origin of
the asteroids from the disruption of five
larger bodies or it may indicate five prin-
cipal condensations in a ring of matter
which has thus showed a tendency to
collect and form a planet.

THE ORBITS OF THE MINOR PLANETS AND JUPITER
Mars and the earth drawn to scale. The planets move around the sun in
the direction of the arrow, and as seen from the north side of the plane of the
earth's orbit. Parts of orbits lying below this plane are shown in dashed
lines. The orbit of Eros crosses that of ISlars, but the planes being inclined
to each other, the two bodies are actually many millions of miles apart at
the points where the orbits apparently cross

RACE MIXTURE IN HAWAII

The Story of the Polyglot Inhabitunts of Hawaii, with a Discussion of a Few of the
Resulting Pof)ulatiori Problems

By II. L. SHAPIRO

Associate Curator of I liyMical Anthropo'gy, American Mueciim

NOTHING is so sad to the
romanticist nor so fruitful for the
scientist as change. The student
of nature observes it everywhere as the
objective expression of the very laws he
seeks to discover. Yet we cannot help
but contemplate with regret the destruc-
tion of a simple and harmonious culture
by a more complex and alien civilization.
In few places has so relatively great a
revolution in population and culture
taken place as in the Hawaiian Islands
within the brief span of a century and a
half since their discovery by Captain
Cook in 1778.

We may best see what has occuri'ed by
contrasting the conditions existing in
1778 with the situation at the present
time. When Cook first visited the islands,
he estimated that they were comfortably
populated by about 400,000 natives of the
Polynesian race — a stock full of health
and vigor, admirably adapted to an out-
door, semi-aquatic life, and splendid in its
physical development. Local sources
supplied the simple needs of the popula-
tion, and without too much labor there
were materials for a joyous and complete
existence. Food, consisting mainly of
fish, pork, a few vegetables and tropical
fruits, was abundant. Houses were neatly
and easily constructed of thatch. From
the bark of the paper niulberry tree tapa
was manufactured, and pTovided an ade-
quate clothing, the beauty a,njd quantity
of which depended upon indiV'idual skill.
There were some restrictions imposed by
religious ritual and social custom^ but

they were negligible in the daily life of the
Hawaiian.

Today, after a .serious decline in the
native population, the 1929 Report of the
Registrar General estimates about 357,000
inhabitants for the Hawaiian Islands.
But only some 20,000 of these are
Hawaiians. The major replacement has
been by Japanese, who now number 137,-
000. In addition there are 63,000
Filipinos, 38,000 Ameripan.^ and others of
north European origin, 29,000 Portuguese,
25,000 Chinese, and smaller contingents
of Spaniards, Porto Ricans, and Koreans.
An important element in this heterogene-
ous conglomeration is the hybrid group
which has inevitably arisen from contact
between these various stocks. The digni-
fied simplicity of the old life has disap-
peared except as degraded remnants in
remote corners of the islands; and in its
place is a commercial, mechanical civiliza-
tion which, having destroyed the beauty
of a more primitive existence, has made
the graces of its own culture unattainable
for the vast majority of those who sup-
port it.

But the important fact is that a large
group of people has been virtually dis-
possessed and replaced by new stocks
which have been thrown into a more
intimate contact with each other than
they have ever before experienced. Not
only has Hawaiian culture been grafted
with European civilization, but on to the
same tree have been added the cultures of
the various people who have immigrated
into the islands. Consequently a situation

Z'..

Photograph by Burton

Holmes
Courtesy of Matson

THE PALI

The cliffs of the
Pali are among the
most magnificent of
the many beautiful
scenes on the island
ofOahu. According
to a legend, Kame-
hameha drove an
opposing army over
these cUffs to their
destruction

rotlAL feather

CAPE
These capes are
made of small
feathers, usually
red and ^ ellow In
former times they
were insignia of
rank The head-
gear which IS remi-
niscent of a Gieek
helmet w as also
covered with teath-

A CANON ON
KAUAI
Kauai is the fourtli
largest island in tlie
in the Hawaiian
archipelago, and is
considered the n\ost
beautiful of the
group. This was
the first of the
Hawaiian Islands to
be visited bv Cook
in 1778

NATIVE HAWAI-
IAN HOUSE
The type of house
shown below is no
longer used in Ha-
waii, although it is
ideally suited to the
climate. The thatch
is laid over a frame-
work of light poles
lashed together

34 NATURAL HISTORY

A CI.Mlin Ol (ilAXCI, INIIAWAII.S l'( )Pl i, A I ION

' eePElSCrtTS T/fte — ^iXTfCAt PfJ

r'X'

1' 1 1

rtR

;gM.ER)CAN.BRlfi5H,ETC.

A N - - »H

A GRAPHIC PICTUHE OF HAWAII'S POPULATION
The changing racial composition of Hawaii from 1820 to 1920 is graphically illustrated above. Be-
ginning in the last quarter of the Nineteenth Century, the islands have received large numbers of
European and Oriental immigrants

has developed which is profoundly sig-
nificant for all students of population
problems. For in Hawaii it is possible to
observe the result of various kinds of
culture contact and to note changes in
old conservative groups such as the
Chinese. Equally interesting is the
stability of certain culture traits in spite
of economic and social pressure. For
example, the Japanese women have re-
mained faithful to their native costumes
and diet, while their daughters born in
Hawaii have largely abandoned the
kimono except ceremonially. Rice has
been adopted by Hawaiians as an im-
portant element in their diet, while the
native poi has been added to the dishes
of the foreign groups.

Just as the physician finds answers to
his problems of the normal in the abnor-
mal, so may we expect to discover in these
unusual conditions in Hawaii clues to the

perplexing problems of continental popu-
lations. With commendable zeal the
University of Hawaii has inaugurated a
series of researches on some of the many
problems which demand solution. In one
aspect of this research — race mixture —
the American Museum of Natural History
has welcomed the opportunity to co-
operate.

To define more clearly what we may
hope to achieve as a result of this in-
vestigation, it might be helpful to outhne
briefly the racial history of Hawaii which
has produced the present conditions so
rich for students of human genetics.
Up to 1820, Contacts between Hawaiians
and Europeans were intermittent and
scattering. Early voyagers such as Cook,
La Perouse, Vancouver, and others, made
brief visits to these islands. And follow-
ing them came the early whalers and
sandalwood traders. Although a numerous

Photograph from Broun Broi'.
A NATIVE LUAU
The ]n-incii)al dish in a native feast is roast pig. Hawaiians are always ready to enjoy this delicacy,
which is justly famous

Photograph from Underwood and Underwood
EATING POI
Poi is a staple Hawaiian food made from baked taro. It is slightly fermented and varies in consistency,
but is usually soft and viscous and requires considerable skill to manipulate gracefully

NATURAL HISTORY

Fhotuuiafiii hj hu

From Ewing Galloway

A NATIVE OVEN

Hawaiian feasts or luaus are properly baked in outdoor ovens, which are simply holes in the ground ini
which red-hot stones are placed and then covered to preserve the heat

mixed progeny undoubtedly sprang from
these casual contacts, a more serious
result was the introduction of European
diseases which decimated the native
inhabitants. In this respect the history of
Hawaiian intercourse with Europeans re-
peats the monotonous story of other
Polynesian islands. In the forty years
after the discovery of the Hawaiian
Islands by Captain Cook the population
declined with alarming rapidity. Even
if the estimate of 400,000 inhabitants in
1778 is shghtly high, nevertheless the
missionaries' estimate of only 142,050
in 1823 indicates an exceedingly rapid
depopulation. The writings of early ob-
servers such as Mr. Bishop and David
Malo, a Hawaiian, picture the ravages of
syphilis, alcohol, cholera, measles, small-
pox, and other introduced scourges. War
also contributed largely to the steady

decrease of population. For soon after the
discovery of the islands, Kamehameha I
began his famous series of conquests by
which he consolidated all the islands into
one kingdom over which he reigned. The
following table gives the official census
returns for the years 1832 to 1860.

Year

Foreign

Native

Total

1832

130,315

1836

108,579

1850

1,962

82,203

84,165

1853

2,119

71,019

73,138

1860

2,716

67,084

69,800

These figures vividly show the extent to
which the native population decreased
even before the major immigration of
foreigners began.

The earliest white settlers recorded
were Isaac Davis and John Young.
These men were sailors from a ship which
had been wrecked about the year 1790

I'huhiiii'il'li Cuurl.s,, „( Mal^oii Naniialion Co.

FISHING WITH SPEAR AND NET
A favorite method of catching fish in Hawaii is by spearing Skillful fishermen are able to dive into

the sea and transfix their prey under water

Photogra-ph fwjn Underwood S- Underwood
SURFING AT WAIKIKI
The most characteristic sport in Hawaii is surfing. In this picture the great skill necessary to ride the ■
surf is evident. The young men spend much of their time in the water, engaged in this exciting game

NATURAL HISTORY

Photograph J I om Pubhbhcis Photo Strom

A HAWAIIAN CANE FIELD

Sugar is the principal source of wealth in the Hawaiian Islands and a large part of the population is
concerned in its production

by natives who plundered her and slew
all the crew except these two men, who
were taken under the protection of the
king and later became influential in
island affairs. But the first considerable
.invasion came in 1820, when the first
party of missionaries arrived from Boston,
fired with zeal to convert the heathen
savage to Christianity. The launching
of this endeavor is said to have been the
result of a visit of Obookiah, a native
Hawaiian, to New Haven in 1808, where
Mr. Edwin W. D wight found him "sitting
on the doorsteps of one of the buildings
[of Yale College], weeping because the
treasures of knowledge were open to
others, but were not open to him." Soon
after, Hiram Bingham and Asa Thurston,
two young ministers, aroused enthusiastic
interest in missionary efforts in Hawaii.
Accompanied by a group of zealots, they
sailed in 1819 for Hawaii. In the succeed-
ing thirty-four years, they were followed
by thirteen other parties from New

England. Very early the affairs of the
islands fell into the hands of the mission-
aries, who attempted to recreate another
New England in this tropical setting. The
old Chamberlain house, solidly con-
structed of stone, still stands in Honolulu
— a veritable New England farmhouse
and a monument to the unswerving
loyalty of the missionaries who would not
compromise with a softer and more
gracious climate. That phase has for-
tunately passed, except for a lingering
sentiment among the descendants of
the missionaries for the home of their
ancestors.

Until the decade from 1860 to 1870,
the small foreign population was mainly
composed of Americans. But the pros-
perity of the sugar industry injected a
new factor which has been responsible for
the present racial complex in Hawaii.
The following figures are instructive of
the growth of sugar in the economy of the
islands. According to Anderson, 257 tons

Photouraph Courleay •>/
Matson Navioation ('<i

SCALING A CO-

COANUT TREE
Natives are able 1,o
climb the almuHt.
perpendicular trunk
of the eocoanut
tree, to reach the
fruit forty or fifty
feet above the
ground

AN EXAMPLE OF
AN INTRODUCED

CULTURE
The water buffalo is
native to southern
Asia but has been
brought to Hawaii
to be employed in
the cultivation of
rice

Phoiogra

,fn

jBi£

HAWAIIAN TYPES

These photographs illustrate some of the types found among Hawaiians of unmixed origin. Note the

differences between the two women figured above

if 11^

RECENT ADDITIONS TO HAWAII

The newer immigrants to Hawaii.-Upper left-hand corner Portuguese; upper right corner, Chinese.

Below, on the left, Fihpmo, and on the right Japanese

NATURAL HISTORY

of sugar were exported in 1814. This
figure increased to about 2647 tons in
1863. The 1927 crop of sugar cane
yielded 811,333 tons. Native Hawaiian,
as well as other Polynesian and Microne-
sian , labor in the increasing acreage of the
sugar plantations proved unsatisfactory
and insufficient for the demand for cheap
and efficient workers. Anderson reported
that in 1864 Chinese were being actively
discussed as a source for cheap labor.
Although a few Chinese had reached
Hawaii as early as 1852, some from

Pl-oUjrapl. bj Join Ldain Hogg Courtesy Maison Navigatinn Co.

A JAPANESE LABORER

The most numerous group in Hawaii is the Japanese, who form an

industrious and ambitious section of the population

Californian gold fields, it was not until
the decade of 1870-80 that large numbers
were imported to work in the cane fields.
"When, after 1876, sugar became the
principal source of the wealth of Hawaii
as a result of the reciprocity treaty nego-
tiated between the Hawaiian monarchy
and the United States, the demands for
labor became ever more pressing and
various groups were imported in increas-
ing numbers. Portuguese, in 1878,
entered in as an assisted immigration. A
small group of Scandinavians were in-
troduced in 1881-1885.
Toward the end of the
last century Japanese
were induced to migrate
to Hawaii in such large
numbers that they soon
became the dominant
group in size. Koreans
about 1901 and a few
years later Spaniards
and Porto Ricans en-
tered in smaller num-
bers. The most recent
people to be imported
are the Filipinos, who
are at the present time
the principal source of
labor for the sugar
planters.

It has been in this
fashion, in response to
demand for labor on
vast sugar fields, that
the present rapidly in-
creasing population was
introduced to Hawaii.
As the earlier of the for-
eign stocks tended to
set themselves up in
other occupations, new
groups were sought to
replace them in the
fields. The Chinese, for
example, are no longer
employed as field labor.

From Ewino Galloway

Photograph by Burton Holmes

A JAPANESE TEMPLE
Shinto temples such as these may be found in Honolulu. One can find many examples of foreign
bmnto tempies^suc^^ transplanted in Hawaii, where they frequently become modified

TYPES OF HAWAIIAN MIXTURES
The man at the left is Hawaiian-Chinese; the woman is Hawaiian-Japanese

CHILDREN OF HAWAII
These three brothers and sister are the offspring of German and Japanese parents

TYPES OF HAWAIIAN MIXTURES
The^ boy nt the left is Hawaiian-American; the girl is Hawaiian-Chinese

A FAMILY GROUP OF MIXED ORIGIN
The father is German; the mother (at the extreme right) is Hawaiian

NATURAL HISTORY

For the most part they are merchants in
the towns, and a certain proportion have
been educated in the professions which
they practise successfully. A similar move-
ment is discernible among the Japanese
who, as they adjust themselves to new
opportunities, leave an agricultural em-
ployment they consider inferior.

At the present time the following groups
are found in Hawaii in appreciable num-
bers: Hawaiian, Chinese, Japanese,
Korean, Filipino, Porto Rican, Spanish;
English, Scotch, German and other north
Europeans, and Americans of diverse
origin. Illustrations of some of these
types will be found on pages 40 and 41. In
these people, two major racial groups are
represented: the white stock by Ameri-
cans and Europeans, the Mongoloid by the
Chinese, Koreans and Japanese. The
Porto Ricans and some Portuguese have,
in addition to their south European
blood, negro admixture in varying degree.
The Filipinos in Hawaii are probably of
mixed origin but principally of Malay
derivation. The Hawaiians themselves
are by no means of pure descent. Recent
studies indicate that they have both
Mongoloid and Caucasian racial traits
among their group characteristics. But
the mixture is very old and may be
regarded as a subtype.

Although mixture between these vari-
ous stocks was inevitable and might have
been foreseen, the system of labor hire
increased the mixture to a much greater
extent than might have normally taken
place. The labor imported consisted
almost entirely of young unmarried men
or of men without their wives. The
natural result of such a situation was a
large number of marriages with Hawaiian
women, who are without race prejudice
and mingle as easily with one group as
with another. The Registrar General's
report for 1929 gives these figures for the
mixed groups: 10,598 Asiatic-Hawaiian
and 16,687 Caucasian-Hawaiian. Both

these groups combined constitute roughly
about 8 per cent of the population. In
spite of this high percentage of hybrids,
there is a real tendency to group solidarity
and when it is possible to select wives
from their own group, the men tend to do
so.

The attitude in Hawaii toward racial
miscegenation has also been effective in
the growth of the hybrid population.
Very little prejudice has been directed
against individuals of mixed blood. In
fact, it is said that some Hawaiian blood
is a distinct advantage politically. Con-
sequently the disabihties so frequently
attached to mixed unions in other parts
of the world are absent here, and mar-
riages between high-grade individuals of
different races are more common and
more successful. At the same time the
more conservative and cohesive groups
such as the Japanese and Chinese still
regard with disfavor marriages outside
the group, especially since the sex ratio
has become more nearly equalized. Al-
though race contacts are on the whole very
friendly in Hawaii, the picture has been
frequently idealized. Each group tends
to be judged by the others who form a
more or less crystallized opinion about it.
It is interesting to hear the curiously mo-
notonous judgments rendered on various
groups, often based on misconceptions.
But this is a natural phenomenon and
need not elicit any particular surprise.

In spite of the favorable conditions
which exist in Hawaii for studying the
results of race mixture, comparatively
little work has been done on the subject.
In 1920 Dr. Louis R. SulHvan, of the
American Museum of Natural History,
began collecting data for an exhaustive
investigation, but unfortunately his un-
timely death prevented the execution of
his program a,S projected. Somewhat
earlier, in 1916, Dr. A. M. Tozzer, of
Harvard University, made, I believe, the
first anthropometric examination of

RACE MIXTUHE IN HAWAII

hybiids in Hawaii. Later,
in .1920, ho added more
data, all of which were
turned over to Dr. Leslie
C. Dunn, now of Colum-
bia University. The prin-
cipal part of the material
consisted of pure Hawai-
ians and Hawaiian-
" White" crosses. Un-
fortunately the number
of subjects obtained was
insufficient in some of
the classifications, but
enough evidence was se-
cured to reveal the po-
tentialities of further
studies. Doctor Dunn,
in his paper "An Anthro-
pometric Study of Ha-
waiians of Pure and
Mixed Blood," published
by the Peabody Museum
of Harvard University,
concluded that offspring
of Hawaiians and Euro-
peans resemble the Ha-
waiians in corpulence, in
brachycephaly (round-
headedness), in breadth
of nose and in the dark
pigmentation of eye, hair,
and skin. On the whole,
the first generation pro-
geny of such crosses are
more like the Hawaiian. Such European
traits as blue eyes, fair pigmentation,
and narrow noses reappear in the second
and later generations as recessive charac-
ters. The hybrid group showed evidence,
as we should expect, of greater variabili-
ty. Some evidence for hybrid vigor
among the first generation offspring
is seen in their increased stature. Pure
Hawaiians average about 171.3 cm.,
North Europeans about 172 cm., while
the hybrids have a mean stature of 173.5
cm. A similar phenomenon occurred as a

Photograph hy Fred J. Hallon frum .

SCENE NEAR WAILUKU, MAUI
A lover of nature will find many beautiful vistas in the Hawaiian
Islands. The islands are volcanic, rugged, and cut by many spec-
taciJar valleys

result of a cross between Tahitian women
and the English mutineers of the
"Bounty."

The study of human genetics for which
the University of Hawaii is sponsor was
begun last summer and is expected to
continue for two years. The group which
is being investigated first is the Chinese-
Hawaiian. There are several reasons for
this selection with which to begin a series
of similar studies on other groups. The
great majority of Chinese-Hawaiian
crosses do not antedate 1870 and are

NATURAL HISTORY

therefore still within the memory of
living people. The Caucasian-Hawaiian
crosses, on the other hand, frequently are
so old that the essential genealogical data
is obscured and frequently lost. In addi-
tion, the Chinese reached Hawaii before
the present enormous diversity of races
had been achieved, and consequently
many of the Chinese mixtures were with
Hawaiians unmixed with other strains.
A further advantage in the Chinese-
Hawaiian group is that it has been estab-
lished long enough for a second generation
to have reached maturity. Therefore a
full range of Mendelian combinations

exist and permit a more complete analysis
than is possible among the Japanese-
Hawaiians, who are few in number and
are still largely of the first generation.
Finally, the number of Chinese-Hawai-
ians is great enough to provide adequate
material.

It is the hope of the author that such a
study will enable him to make analyses
of the genetic behavior of human traits
and that, together with psychological,
sociological, and physiological studies, a
complete picture of a mixed group in its
biological and social setting may be
presented.

Photograph from Brown Brox.

A bee at work — a vital aid in the biology of the higher plants

INSECTS vs. THE PEOPLE

The Relationship of Insects to the Maintenance of Life on the Earth, and
Their Contributions to the Processes of Nature

By frank E. LUTZ

Curator, Department of Insect Life, American Museum

FOR hundreds of years there has been
a case before the Court of Pubhc
Opinion. It is the case of Insects vs.
The People. From the nature of things,
the insects have had nothing to say about
it and, unfortunately, they have had very
few witnesses or active advocates on their
side.

One of the charges against insects is
that they destroy or appropriate to their
own use about twenty per cent of our
fruit crop. In this connection I beg to
present to the Court the following hypo-
thetical question:

Suppose we had never had any apples,
pears, plums, peaches, oranges, straw-
berries, or anything of that sort. Sup-
pose, however, that a group of strangers
brought us delicious samples of a great
variety of such fruits and told us that
they, the strangers, could make it possible
for us to grow all of these things. Sup-
pose that, in return for this possibility

which only they could grant, the}' asked
that a twenty per cent commission be
paid to their relatives. Does the Court
think that this would be an unfair proposi-
tion? I am sure that we would be glad to
accept the bargain and then, later, we
would try very hard to beat the relatives
out of their twenty per cent.

Although I have stated this in more
figurative language than Science is apt
to use, it expresses rather exactly the rela-
tion between insects and our fruit crop.
There is no disputing that certain insects
do immense damage, in the aggregate,
to our orchards, but it is not fair to forget
that we would not have any of those
orchards if it had not been for other
insects that carried pollen from flower to
flower, enabling the plants to set the seed
in connection with which the fruits
develop.

This process of carrying pollen from
one flower to another is called cross-

PEONIES IN
BLOOM
Without the bene-
ficial activities of
certain insects —
bees, flies, butter-
flies, and others —
— the most beauti-
ful of our flowers
would largely dis-
appear. We owe to
insects not only the
fragrant gems of our
gardens and green-
houses but also
those of our way-
sides and meadows

A CEYLON BLACK

PEPPER VINE
Plants with incon-
spicuous flowers
such as the grasses,
secure cross-poUen-
ation by inefficient,
wasteful methods.
Those plants that
attract insects have
their pollen carried
by these insects to
other plants with a
minimum of waste

Publishers Photo Sen:

A FLOCK OF NEW
ZEALAND SHEEP
When white »■! I l.-is
introduced slicip
into New Zcrlimd
the animals did not
thrive owing to the
absence of clover.
Red clover was in-
troduced, but lack-
ing a cross pollen-
izing agent, did
not produce seed.
Finally bumblebees
were imported.Now
sheepand clover are
firmly established

Publishers Photo Si

A TRTNIDAD CO-
COA TREE
Our fruits and
berries, as well as
flowers, benefit by
the activities of
insects. Without
insects the seeds
found in these pods
would not have
formed, and choco-
late and cocoa
would not be avail-
able for use

NATURAL HISTORY

I Pjiblishers Photo Service

A NEW ENGLAND APPLE TREE IN BLOOM

Every nature lover has noticed the activities of bees about blooming

apple trees. Their labors result in the enormous crops of apples

that are an important factor in agriculture

pollenatioD in contrast to self-pollena-
tion, the process by which certain flowers
fertilize their seed with their own pollen.
Whatever may be the possibilities of self-
poUenation either as a regular practice
of some plants or as a last resort with
others, cross-pollenation is exceedingly im-
portant in the biology of the higher plants.
Plants with inconspicuous flowers, such
as the grasses, and trees like maples and
oaks, secure cross-pollenation by the in-
efficient, wasteful method of producing
vast quantities of pollen and allowing the
wind to blow it over the landscape on the
chance that here and there a grain will
fall on another flower. Plants such as our

fruit trees and berry
bushes have flowers which
are attractive to hundreds
of kinds of native bees,
to flies, to butterffies, and
to other insects. These
insects, fljdng directly
from flower to flower ac-
cidentally, so far as they
are concerned, carry pol-
len on their bodies and
bring about the cross-
pollenation which makes
possible future genera-
tions of the plants visited.
If we were asked what
fabrics we owe to insects
most of us would quickly
mention silk but we would
be hkely to stop there.
In the Court of Pubhc
Opinion we have heard
much about the cotton
boll weevil, the pink boll
worm, and perhaps half a
dozen other insects which
injure cotton plants, but
mention is rarely made
of the scores of insects
busily flying from cotton
flower to cotton flower
carrying the pollen that
enables the plant to set the seed from
which we get not only one of our most
important fabrics but a UteraUy astound-
ing lot of by-products made from cotton
seed.

Linen in all of its varieties is woven from
flax, the fibers of insect-pollenated plants.
But the fabric which shows in the most
interesting way both the complexity of
biological relations and fundamental im-
portance of poUenating insects is wool.

Sheep may be raised exclusively on
grasses, such as timothy, that are wind-
pollenated, but no practical sheep-grower
would try to do it. He wants clovers of
some sort and all kinds of clover, includ-

INSECTS vs. THE PEOPLE

ing alfalfa, are inscct-poUenated. The
sheep-growers of New Zealand imported
red-clover seed to improve their pastures.
The red clover grew, but the New Zealand
sheep-men could not get any seed from
their clover plants for the next year's
crop because New Zealand did not have
the proper insects to pollenate red clover.
Bumblebees were introduced from Eng-
land. These insects became established
in New Zealand and are now year after
year poUenating clover, making possible
continuous and rich grazing for the New
Zealand sheep. Just as we never miss the
water 'till the well runs dry, so we in
America have most thoughtlessly taken
our clover for granted and have over-
looked our debt to the native insects
which have made it possible.

Of course, what is true of wool is true
of the mutton which it covers. Also, the

same thing is true of cattle, the beef we
eat, the milk, the butter, the cheese, and
even the leather on which we walk.

I am certain that anyone who has not
already done so — and that means prac-
tically everyone — will be surprised at the
long and important list of things which
we owe to these pollenating insects.
Every important vegetable in your
garden, except corn, came directly or in-
directly from a seed that was fertihzed by
pollen which insects carried; also your
roses and the other beautiful flowers,
cultivated and wild; the tobacco you
smoke, if you do smoke; the coffee, tea,
and cocoa that you drink. These are just
some of the things we owe to flower-
visiting insects.

But even wind-poUenated plants must
have good soil in which to grow. Darwin
rightly praised the soil-making activities

AX Al'PLK TKEK LADEX WITH FRUIT
As a result of the activities of the insects among the blossoms, such crojis as this tree offers become

available to mankind

Publishers Photo Service

A HEED OF CAT-
TLE IN HOLLAND
These cattle are
feeding on grass
that is cross-pol-
lenated largely by
the wind. Never-
theless, the activi-
ties of earthworms
and ground-bur-
rowing insects bring
about the soil con-
ditions best suited
for growing plants.
Thus, indirectly be-
cause of insects,
mankind benefits
through obtaining
meat and dairy
products

PICKING TEA IN

JAPAN
Tea and coffee, as
well as cocoa, are
benefited by the
activities of insects
just as all agricul-
ture is. That in-
sects cause some
damage must be
admitted, but the
benefits that result
from their activi-
ties are preponder-
ant

I'mi-iUem J'lwin Sniiir,'

A FIELD OF LILIES

IN BERMUDA
Tlio heiivy pollcni
of such flowoi'S us
thest! Ih ciiiTiiMl ;il-
mOHl. cxcliisivrK ll\
inscrls, .-iikI l-licNuil
in whicli Uic.y fi;iu\v
is improved by tlio
activities of othei-
insects. Affi-icul-
turo's greatest ullies
are citizens of tlic
insect world

SILK COCOONS,
MOTHS, AND EGGS
These insects sup-
ply us directly with
one of the most
important of our
materials for use in
the manufacture of
textiles. Silk and
honey are two in-
sect products that
are in almost uni-
versal use

NATURAL HISTORY

AN AUSTRALIAN ^l^L■iAKD

Throughout the world the beneficial activities of insects are vital and constant. Yet rarely do

these results of their labors obtain a hearing. The harmful results of certain insects are widely

discussed and condemned, but the constructive work they do is seldom enlarged upon

of earthworms and became their most
effective press agent. Risking the false
impression that I think the value of
earthworms is overrated, I would like to
point out that ground-burrowing insects
are more widely — in fact, universally —
distributed than are earthworms, that
they are more numerous in any given
locality, and that they are much more
active. Furthermore — and this is a
generally overlooked fact — an additional
reason for their being more effective soil-
makers than earthworms is that they
carry beneath the surface not only decayed
leaves but rich nitrogenous plant-food
such as manure and the dead bodies of
animals.

Time will not permit even a sketchy
continuation of this line of thought, but
perhaps you are already about to ask how
land-plants of any kind ever existed with-
out insects. Others have asked that

question and a part of the answer is that
geological history shows that there was no
extensive growth of land plants and no
flowering plants at all before insects
became well established on earth.

Let us barely mention one or two other
items in our tremendous debt to insects.
Do you like trout fishing? What do you
try to imitate when you tie brightly
colored things to your hooks. What
makes up practically the entire food of
our fresh-water fishes? You know the
answer. You owe your fishing to insects.

Do you enjoy the song and the sight
of birds? Some of these birds are in-
sectivorous. Others are seed-eaters but,
since even the seed eaters are largely in-
debted to insects for the seeds they eat,
you are indebted to insects for the birds
themselves.

Birds are of immeasurable value to us in
their beauty of sight and sound and this

INSECTS vs. 77/ /i' PEOPLE

value, which is reiil, should Ix; a sufficient
reason for tiieir protection, allowing us to
drop the sordid and, as we now know,
largely fictitious reason that they stand
between us and the menace of injurious
insects.

Not more than half of one per cent of
the tens of thousands of kinds of insects
in the United States arc now seriously in-
jurious to man or to his property, and
even the best of birds are not economic
entomologists distinguishing between
man's insect enemies and his insect
friends.

Of the relatively few kinds of insects
that are now our serious enemies prac-
tically all have been brought here by man
from foreign countries. Why are these
introduced insects so injurious here al-
though they were not particularly in-
jurious in their native homes? Because

birds kept them in check there? Not at all,
but because they were kept in check by
other iasects that were not brought to this
country with them. The outstanding
feature of modern economic entomology is
the discovery that our greatest protection
against insects which are either poten-
tially or actively injurious is the host of
other insects which are the special enemies
of those that we rightly fear.

How, then, stands the case of Insects vs.
The People? Some insects are, from the
viewpoint of the people, undoubtedly
guilty of great damage. It is right that
we should do everything in our power to
control these guilty kinds. But it is not
right that we should condemn all kinds
becau.se of a few. Furthermore, it would
clearly be wise for us to learn more abou t
our insects friends and to cultivate their
friendship more carefully.

I Fiihli hii-, Phoio ben ice
OKANGt BLOfaSOMb AKD OEANGEfe
For the protection of certain crops, such as oranges, insects have been widelj' used. A destructive
scale, formerly very harmful to orange trees, is largely controlled by introduced insects

The Capture

SOME MORE SPIDER FISHERMEN

Fresh Data on the PecuHar Habit of Spiders of Catching and Eating Fishes
By E. W. GUDGER

Bibliographer and Associate, Department of Fishes, American Museum

It has long been held that spiders, while known to be carnivorous animals, are insect
eaters only. That they can and do feed on vertebrate animals was very much scouted.
However, in previous issues o/Natural History Magazine {1922, Vol. XXII, No. 6
and 192-5. Vol. XXV, No. 3) Doctor Gudger has brought together, with illustrations,
some interesting accounts of spiders which have not only caught and fed upon fish,
but also upon tadpoles and frogs, snakes and lizards, birds, and {among mammals)
mice and bats. In the following article Doctor Gudger presents to the readers of
Natural History further accounts of the capture of fishes by spiders, that have
come to his notice since the publication of the earlier articles. — The Editors.

EARLY in September, 1925, Mr.
Eugene A. Fuchs of Atlanta,
Georgia, while following along a
small brook in a ravine in a wooded section
of the suburbs of Atlanta, came upon a
small pool about twelve feet wide and
fifteen long, in which the water was
perhaps two and one half feet deep and
very clear. Across the brook below the
pool was a fallen log on which he sat down
to rest. Presently his attention was
attracted by a splashing in the pool ten

feet away. Drawing near, he found that
this was caused by a small fish about one
and one-fourth inches long, which had
been caught by a large spider. The
spider was endeavoring to drag the fish
up on a leaf floating near the center of the
pool and the fish was violently resisting.

Eventually the spider succeeded in
drawing the little fish on to the leaf,
where it held tightly to its prey in
straddling fashion. Mr. Fuchs then
brought to shore the leaf with its burden.

SOMK MORE SPIDER FISHERMEN

The fish wus dcud but the spider was very
much ahvo, iind, fearing that it might bite
him if he attempted to catch it, Mr. Fuchs
struck at it witii a twig. The spider then
for the first time let go of the fish and ran
out on the water for a short distance, but it
was soon killed with a stick. It was re-
placed on the fish in its original position
and photographed. This photograph
appeared later in the photogravure sec-
tion of the Atlanta Journal of September
20, 1925, where it was seen by a member
of the American Museum, Mr. L. B.
Robeson, of Atlanta, who sent it to me.
A letter to Mr. Fuchs brought the spider,
the fish, the leaf from which the fishing
was done, a copy of the original photo-
graph, and very careful notes. From
these Mr. Arthur Jansson, one of the
Museum artists, has made the excellent
drawing which serves as the headpiece to
this article. There is no doubt that the

spider killed the fish by sinking its fang.s
into the body and injecting poison. The
little fish is a common minnow and the
spider belong.s to the genus Dolortiedes.
This genus, noted for the large size and
activity of its species, has been accused
before of catching fishes.

The latest record of a fishing spider is a
note in the Bulletin of the New York
Zoological Society for 1927 (page 77)
from Mr. Wallace Adams of the Stein-
hart Aquarium in San Francisco. He
writes as follows :

A year or more ago we had a number of i)igmy
sunfish in one of the balanced aquarium.s in our
.swam)) room. The sjiecimens kept disapjjearing
in a most unaccountable manner until one morn-
ing I found the remains of two in the folds of an
overhanging leaf in which a spider had made a
nest. Unfortunately I was unable to capture the
spider for identification but at least the fish
stopped disappearing as soon as the overhanging
leaf was removed.

Photograph by E. A. Fuchs
WITH FANGS SUNK IN ITS PREY
Spiders have been known to attack not only fishes but many other members of the vertebrate
kingdom, from amphibians to mammals

NATURAL HISTORY

Seeking fuller information, I wrote Mr.
Adams who kindly replied in considerable
detail. It seems that 15 pigmy sunfish
(Elassoma zonata) were placed in a
balanced aquarium 12X14X54 inches in
size. This was set on a concrete base
three feet above the floor and isolated
from everything around it with one excep-
tion. The aquarium was covered with a
glass plate resting on wooden strips which
held it about one quarter of an inch above
the frame. Back of this aquarium was a
bird-of-paradise plant and the base of
one of its leaves overhung and rested
against the glass cover noted above.
Furthermore, in the crease along the mid-
rib of the leaf a spider-web tunnel had
been built. The remainder of the story
follows in Mr. Adams' own words.

During the early part of the following month,
it was noticed that several of these fishes had
disappeared and shortly afterward the dried
remains of one of them was found on top of the
glass cover near the plant leaf. It was quite
apparent that this fish could not have reached
this position unaided. A careful investigation
failed to disclose other remains. A day or so
later fragments of two of these fishes were found
in the tunnel of the spider and carefully removed.
Search was made for the spider but it was not
found at this time. However, careful watch was
kept and a small spider was discovered between
the glass cover and top of the tank frame. It
eluded capture and the following morning
another fish was found in the tunnel. The spider
was feeding on this specimen but got away. The
remains of four more fishes were found on the
ground below the plant leaf where they had
evidently been dropped.

The janitor, m dusting off the top of the tank,
destroyed the web and possibly killed the spider
for it was never again seen.

The spider that caught these little fish
was only about three quarters of an inch
long, and was thought to be one of the
Lycosidse or wolf spiders, which are known
to be fishermen.

In my 1925 paper I quoted accounts of
the fish-catching activities of South
African spiders of the genus Thalassius.
These accounts ranged in time from 1911

to 1923. However, this habit of this
spider had been long known, for in 1903
F. Pickard-Cambridge (Proceedings Zoo-
logical Society, London, Pt. 1, p. 158)
refers to it, says he had had no personal
experience, but quotes McCook (see my
1922 paper) that spiders do catch fishes.
He then says that this account

has recently received confirmation by Mr. A.
N. Stenning in South Africa. He tells us that
Thalassius . . . has been often observed by
himself in the act of devouring the small fry of a
species of trout, and calls the attention of pisci-
culturists in those regions to the fact, and begs
them to keep an eye on these spiders.

Pickard-Cambridge seems to have had
full confidence in Stenning's statements
for he remarks (p. 152) that they "are
likely to be trustworthy" — as they have
been shown to be in the articles referred
to in my 1925 paper.

In the Revue Britannique for 1835
(Vol. 17, p. 177) a Doctor Morsten is said
to have discovered in the forests of
Australia a huge spider which catches
fishes. He is quoted as saying that

I have several times seen them enter the
marshes and then descend to the bottom of the
pools whence they presently reappeared bearing
small fishes. I have, however, never seen them
eat any of these.

No source for this citation is given and
all endeavors to run down and verify it
have been fruitless. It is given here for
what it is worth.

To these accounts may be added a
"left-handed" one as follows:

In the Transactions and Proceedings
of the New Zealand Institute for 1877
(Vol. 10, pp. 200-201), Mr. C. H. Robson
records the collecting at Cape Campbell of
a spider which, after the fashion of our
fresh-water diving spiders, lives under
water. However, this marine arachnid
appropriates the deserted holes left by
the rock-boring mollusk, Lithodomus.
To close the mouth of the hole and keep
out the water, the spider weaves a water-

HOME MO HE SJ'WEJi FISHERMEN

proof web. But the point of interest just
li('re is Mr. Robson's statement that

When a small fish is ))hiced in a bottle of water
with one of these spiders, the hitter will attack
at once, driving its long sharp falees into the
fish near the head and killing it instantly.

Nothing is known of its feeding habits,
but one may conjecture that it eats fishes.
In my first article (1922), I quoted five
separate and distinct accounts of spiders
catching fishes. These observations had
all been made in the United States and
ranged in time from 1859 to 1921. In the

second article (1925) four new and recent
accounts were given^ — two from South
Africa, one from Panama, and one from
the United States. The present article
includes three well attested accounts,
two from the United States and one from
South Africa; and to these are added a
reported (but not verified) case from
Australia, and a presumed case from New
Zealand. Omitting the.se latter, there are
in all ten well attested accounts of spiders
which have deliberately .sought and
captured fishes.

TTTTTTn

The"ll(

:)thei' wliitp men

;i|), " l)uilt by government order to accommodate traveling "flicials

LIVING WITH THE NATIVES
OF MELANESIA

How Ethnological Work Is Carried on by Representatives of the American
Museum among Primitive People of the South Seas

By MARGARET MEAD

Assistant Curator of Ethnology, An

IN the cases of the South Seas Hall of
the American Museum hang many
specimens, pieces of costumes, cere-
monial staves, ornaments, weapons, canoe
models, the outer and visible symbols of
the civilizations which have been built up
by the patient brown peoples of the Pacific
Islands. To the hall in the Museum it is
only possible to bring these physical
things, the carved float and net, the kava
bowl with its opalescent tint testifying
to the generations of kava drinkers which
it has served, the child's grass skirt,
tightly bound to preserve the carefully
crinkled waves against the day when it
was to be worn. But if these lifeless
specimens are to be placed in their true
setting, if we are to understand the uses to
which they were put, the difficulties under
which they were manufactured, the
human needs which they satisfied, it is
necessary to go to these island communi-

ties and learn meticulously those aspects
of their lives which can never be enclosed
wit" ■ 1 1 wall case, nor caught more than
SI 3ially in a model. It becomes the

taoiv of Museum ethnologists to make ex-
peditions into primitive communities
just as those who are to prepare the great
habitat groups of animals have to follow
the elephant and the tiger into their
native haunts.

We are accustomed to think of expedi-
tions as large groups of scientists equipped
to the teeth with scientific paraphanalia.
Such expeditions carry preparators,
camera men, guides, shooters, beaters, in
addition to the central quota of scientists.
They march across deserts or into jungles,
carrying their food and their tents with
them, setting up a microscopic world of
their own wherever they go. Such are the
ideal conditions for an expedition in the
natural sciences other than ethnology.

LIVINd WITH Tf/K NAT I Vies OF MELANESIA

Tkit the othnoloffist caiinol, iiiurcli upon a
native community like an invading army,
for that community is going to be not
only a source of labor and food, but also
the very stuff of his investigation. He
must slip in quietly, lower himself or
herself as gently as possible into the
placid waters of native life, make the un-
precedented arrival of an inquiring white
person as inconspicuous as possible. For
such an expedition there are no camera
men, no preparators, no army of carriers,
not even servants, because to take
servants from another community causes
friction and upsets the nice balance of
native life. An ethnological expedition is
limited to one, unless it be that a husband
and wife or father and daughter can go
together and take their place in native
society. Two members of the same sex

would wcjrk against each other, vying
for the attention of the same informants,
and the natives would not be slow to play
them off against each other. Upon our
last field trip my husband and I went
together, a felicitous scientific arrange-
ment, as there are such strong sex
antagonisms in Melanesia that no
member of one sex can hope thoroughly to
win the confidence or understand the
point of view of the other.

As one cannot take an army of helpers
neither can one take too bulky an amount
of equipment. Tents and pavilions would
stand out too sharply on the nativ'e scene,
tend to distinguish the investigator from
the native at the very points at which the
investigator wishes to blur the differences.
We therefore took with us only a
minimum amount of equipment, two

PUNTING UNDER DIFFICULTIES

The woman whose back is turned and whose cotton cloak is blown out in the wind, is trying to punt
the canoe and at the same time keep her head decently covered against a possible encounter with her

father-in-law

lIIhY ROLL THEIK OWN
A gioup ol small girls under
tho siippi vision ot a young
male ot eight aie i oiling for
themselves cigarettes from a
stick of Louisiana twist and
squares of newspaper

PLAYING AT BEING
A WHITE MAN
In the native conception a
white man is always sitting
on a chair writing or reading
a book. Ponkob, aged three,
is attempting to imitate these
alien manners. His left foot
betrays the intense strain un-
der which he is laboring

PLUCKING PIGEONS
[Plucking pigeons was beneatli
the male dignity of the little
tiouse boys, so they drew
upon their weekly allowance
of tobacco and bribed the
small girls to do it for them

A STRANGLE HOLD
Native children are trained to
ride in this fashion on their
parents' backs and taught
that no matter what happens
they must never slacken their
hold. This small girl who is
■ riding on Doctor Mead's back
'is anticipating a grave
emergency

NATURAL HISTORY

THE VERANDA AT HIGH TIDE

The houses are built upon high piles, and at low tide starid some ten to twelve feet above water level.

But at high tide, the lagoon deepens and the veranda becomes a convenient land platform for the

canoes which are the only means of transportation in this water Venice

stretchers, two tables, two chairs, a
typewriter, camera, developing apparatus,
and a shotgun. The rest of our luggage
was packed with note paper, drawing
paper for the children — I took a thousand
sheets and the supply ran out in the first
month — baubles by the gross, beads, toys,
balloons, paper flowers, etc. and large and
bulky amounts of rice and tobacco.
Everything had to be packed into cedar-
wood boxes with double locks, one of
which sang when it was turned like a
tnusical clock to warn the owner of the
prowling thief, the other put on for safety,
as there were many duplicate keys about.
The tobacco had to be unpacked from the
telltale crates in which it is shipped from
Louisiana and repacked in ambiguous
cedar boxes.

' In Rabaul, the capital of the Mandated
Territory, we had acquired a Manus boy

from the village of Pere, who spoke excel-
lent pidgin and would serve as an inter-
preter in his own village. As he was a
government servant and therefore allowed
by ordinance to wear a shirt, he was of no
use whatsoever for any more menial tasks.
In Lorengau, the seat of the Manus
district government, we acquired a second
boy from the village of Pere, and our
insidious approach was by now well
begun.

The next step was taken by the District
Officer, who summoned Gizikuk, so-called
headman of the South Coast Manus, be-
cause he was the one man who could
make the ten independent little democ-
racies cooperate to the extent of providing
canoes when these were needed by the
government. Gizikuk came, very proud
and bedezined with bead work, and was
presented with preliminary "grease," no

LIVING WITH rfff<: NA TIVES OF MELANESIA

less than twenty sticks of tobacco. He
looked over our luggage and decided that
it would take nine canoes to transport it
the day's journey to Pere. This proved
to be just four and a half times as many
canoes as would really have been needed.
We agreed to pay five shillings a canoe,
and Gizikuk went away to muster the
fleet. Meanwhile with the aid of Banyalo
and Manawai, the two Manus boys, and
through the medium of pidgin English, a
start was made on the Manus language.

The fleet which Gizikuk had declared
necessary arrived, and a box or so was
allotted to each craft, slender dugouts
built up with wide side-
strakes, the whole topped
by a wide platform, up-
on which small dome-
shaped houses are con-
structed. As it was im-
possible to foresee what
the attitude of the natives
would be concerning
questions of food,
whether they would ex-
pect us to share their
meal, resent our eating
in their presence, or tabu
eating in mixed company
altogether, we took no
provisions, but prepared
to tighten our belts for
the day. And so it
proved, for with charac-
teristic Melanesian man-
ners, our boat's crew
cooked messes of sago
and cocoanut oil on the
small fireplaces on the
edge of the platform, and
feasted happily, com-
pletely ignoring our
famished presence. En-
trance into native life is
always accompanied by
just such delicate situa-
tions, into which the

average white trader or government
official can step without trepidation, mak-
ing the native custom bend to hLs whim
but toward which the ethnologist has to
act with the greatest circumspection. A
misstep at the start may result in weeks
or even months of delay. So on a Poly-
nesian island, to take one's own food in-
stead of relying upon the hospitalitj' of the
natives which is alwaj's tendered with the
grand manner, would be to insult one's
hosts irrevocably.

After traveling all day along the edges
of the mangrove swamps, sometimes
crossing the reef, more often poling our

THE BXTTLER IN HIS "TIME OFF"

Pomat, who as the "boy belong make 'im table," preserved during

meals the decorum of a well-trained butler, is now out, enjojdng a

cigarette and stalking a few fish with his bow and arrow. He is

fourteen

NATURAL HISTORY

MAKING CAT'S CRADLES
Manus children do not have to work and, although the water provides them with a perfect playground,
they weary of rollicking all day in their canoes. When they become bored with their strenuous play,
they climb up on the little island and play at making cat's cradles, of which they know many varieties

way through the shallow reef-bound
lagoons, we arrived at about eight in the
evening at Bunei, the village of Gizikuk.
Here another situation arose. Gizikuk
wished us to stay in his village; but
Bunei was smaller than Pere — this had
been ascertained from the census — and
as I wanted particularly to study children,
it was necessary for the village to be
large. Furthermore, we had two boys
from Pere who might be miserable in
Bunei. But if Gizikuk were really a
chief, as he claimed to be, to offend him
by refusing to make his capital our head-
quarters would have been fatal. However,
we bet on his authority being a mere
matter of personality and government
backing (a guess which subsequent ex-
perience proved to be correct), and we in-
sisted, to his great disgruntlement, upon

pushing ahead to Pere. At midnight the
fleet of canoes, under full sail, swept into
the moonlit lagoon village, between the
rows of pile-built houses, up to the doors
of the "House Kiap," the government
barracks, where we took up our temporary
abode.

The "House Kiap" is in the village,
built by government order to accommo-
date traveling officials and other white
men, but it is distinctly not of it. From
its narrow walls, 14 X 12, we again tempor-
ized, learned more of the language, tried
to get an accurate enough picture of the
social scene, so as to know whom to trust,
and whom it was dangerous to displease.
Meanwhile, through our two boys, and
another and then another who were
speedily added to our menage, we let it be
known that we wished to learn the

LIVING WITH Till': NATlVliH OF MELANESIA

language and witness all the inipr>rtaiit
events in the lives of the people. For one
to understand the onslaught to which we
were subjected by such an invitation it is
necessary to remember that these people
have had only one kind of contact with
white people, as inferiors, either as work
boys or merely as native British subjects
dealing with occasional government
officials very much on their dignity.
The house of a white man, any house in
which a white man took up temporary
quarters, was forbidden to the native,
except in his servant capacity as cook or
house boy. Missionaries,
who must use softer methods
to entice the heathen into
the fold, had never been
among the Manus. Into
this setting stepped ethnol-
ogists who could not work
unless all these carefully
constructed barriers for the
peace of the white invader
were summarily shattered.
To the native it was as if
we had hung up a shingle
saying "We want to be
bothered. We aren't like
other white people," and
they responded to this
chance of a lifetime with
great vigor. All day the
house was crowded and not
until midnight was there
any peace.

We set about having a
native house built, and the
clan of Pere proper courte-
ously accorded us the privi-
lege of building our house
abutting on one of the two
small bits of land which are
used as village greens and
dancing grounds. But ob-
taining a house site was
not obtaining a house. The
thatch had to be bought in

lots of ten shingles each, from the land
people. Payment had to be made in ad-
vance, then runners sent out to collect.
It took two months before a large thatched
.structure on piles was almost ready to re-
ceive us. Before it was finished I came
down with malaria, and within two days
three of our boys were down also. In
Manus, all sickness is due to the spirits, and
an elder of the other end of the village,
who was an.xious to hasten our removal to
his section, divined the cause of the illness
as the malicious work of a dead police
boy, appropriately domiciled in the

THE ENTREPRENEUR OF THE VILLAGE
Paleao had been a German police boy and learned the value of
some of the white men's ways. Back in his native village he was
quick to take advantage of the trade possibihties which a white
man offered. He was "shoot boy" for the expedition and
managed the convoys which brought out its stores

NATURAL HISTORY

A SPOILED cniLI)
Even quite large children, when they are tired, will often insist
by scolding and whining that their hard worked mothers carry

them on their backs

"House Kiap." Very solemn, he sat on
the floor and explained that neither the
boys nor I would recover until we moved
into the new and uncompleted house. I
balked for twenty-four hours, as the
prospect of moving with half the house-
hold sick was not enticing; then a fourth
boy came down with the fever, and we
moved to a doorless, stepless dwelling,
where the cook house had no floor. Such
intimate participation in the religious and
social life of the community is incon-
venient and wearing, but it is the only
way in which the necessary knowledge of
native society can be obtained. And the
way is full of pitfaUs. I shall never forget

the panic caused among a
group of visitors, early in our
stay, when my husband com-
plied with one person's ten-
tative request that he pro-
nounce my name. Several
people almost fell into the sea
in their horrified retreat from
such blasphemous behavior.

The endless tabus upon
mentioning the names of any
relative-in-law in a person's
presence make it necessary
to know the social organiza-
tion of the village by heart,
all the past marriages, the
present marriages, the con-
templated marriages. In ad-
dition it is necessary to know
each person's three or four
names. Even then one is con-
tinually trespassing, as when
I inadvertantly sneezed in
the presence of a woman
whose daughter was engaged
to a youth named "Sneeze."
There are relatives-in-law
who may not look at each
other, and it was necessary to
construct a house with sever-
al exits, so that mothers-in-
law could depart as sons-in-
law entered, for it is always the women who
have to do the running away. On one
occasion, when I was alone in the village,
and had added to my household of six
small boys and two girls, a man and his
wife, there were so many complicated re-
lationships that the only place where
Ngaoli my seventeen-year-old-girl could
eat, without transgressing, was huddled in
a corner behind the bed. And the linguis-
tic confusion which resulted from getting
a new cook boy who was the brother-in-
law of three of the other boys, was terrify-
ing. One could not say his name in front
of them, but must refer to him grandilo-
quently as "the husband of Pondramet"

LIVING WITH THE NATIVES OF MELANESIA

(their sister); if he were also in the;
room, even this would not serve, as his
wife's name could not bo mentioned in his
presence.

A large part of one's time in these
remote villages is taken up with doctoring ,
there is no doctor within a day's
journey and often not one as near. Here

g;iin there are many dangers. To give
medicine to someone who may die, is to
risk crippling one's field work, as the
n;i lives may blame one for the resulting
death. The children were continually
fainting from malaria; a fact which was
advertised to the entire village by the
wails of the mother. The prescribed
method of bringing the child
uound was for a hundred
[people to collect in the
house, all the female relatives
of the child gathering close
about it, waihng, for which
expression of affection they
were subsequently paid, while
some important man, or pos-
sibly two, stirred bowls of
water with long sticks and
invoked their guardian
^hosts' aid in returning the
child's purloined soul stuff,
it was a simple matter to
thrust a bottle of aromatic
spirits of ammonia under the
:^hildren's noses, but the
Qatives never admitted that
this brought them to, insist-
ing that the spitting and
30ughing were signs that the

pirits disliked the horrid
medicine.

Sometimes, however, my
doctoring brought rich re-
wards. There was one tall,

ihaggy-headed sorcerer, with
one injured eye and a bad
ease of ringworm, who sought
my aid to cure his disfigured
skin. Day after day he came

to be treated, while I supervised the
application by one of the small boys of
u stronger lotion than the natives were
allowed to have themselves. After
about two months Pataliyan was cured,
and made me the confidant of his pro-
jected elopement with a wddow. The
wrath of the ghostly husband shook the
village and killed an unfortunate woman
go-between, and the whole village was
thrown into confusion — which was price-
less to the ethnologist — all from a steady
application of ringworm medicine to make
the lover beautiful and desirable to a
much wooed and most excellent maker of
pots.

A FLOATING LABORATORY

In order to study the children it was necessary to follow them

about everywhere, on land, and at sea. Here a group are setting

out to see a turtle which has just been caught

NATURAL HISTORY

THE HOUSE-WARMING FEAST

When the expedition's new house with its adjacent patch of ground was finally ready, a canoe race

and feast were held, and natives came from other villages to share in the festivities

The children were my chief concern,
as I was trjdng to add to our knowledge of
child psychology at the same time that I
worked on the general ethnological back-
ground of the people. By selecting the
oldest boys of the adolescent group,
youngsters of about fourteen, as house
boys, we were able to attract all the rest
of the children to our little patch of back
yard. Each fourteen-year-old had a ten-
year-old slavey, who in turn delegated the
disagreeable aspects of his task to a six-
year-old. Dinner was often prepared by
some dozen small hands, one small boy
tending each pot, faithfully blowing up
the twig fire underneath it. The little
girls were enlisted to pluck the wild
pigeons and to fetch the fire wood. I
was making a collection of drawings by
these savage little youngsters who had
never seen paper or pencil before, and this

practically disrupted the household.
Every available square inch of table, box,
or trunk surface was preempted by
children engaged in drawing. They would
have drawn all night happily, had I
permitted them, and they came to wake
me before dawn with requests for "paypa."
Getting meals prepared or floors cleaned
in this general nursery-school atmosphere
was often difficult and always accom-
plished in the midst of a terrific din of
happy insistent voices.

Photography demanded more organiza-
tion. In that cUmate films have to be
developed at once; there is no packing
them off to the dark room of a commercial
photographer. This meant working at
night. Water had to be brought from the
mainland almost a mile away, and the
only water fit for photography came from
a "place of blood" where some of the

LIVING WITH nil!: NAT IV US OF MELANESIA

7:i

ancestors of the village had been slain.
Such blood lingers and has a bad habit of
entering the bodies of the desc(^ndants
who are foolhardy enough to approach
within its death-dealing atmosphere. So
it took many sticks of tobacco to obtain a
large enough supply of water for washing
films. If the water ran out, there was no
remedy, for no one would venture into
that fearful place after dark. As there
were many films to be washed, we trained
a squad of native children as helpers,
retaining two extra children, one to
watch that no torch-lit canoes came near
the house and one to scratch the backs
of the other children so that
they wouldn't drop the fihns
which they were washing.

By such devious means and
amid such peculiar surround-
ings, we worked our way into
native life, until our house
was known generally as the
"kamal" or club house, be-
cause it was always so
crowded. From the native
children which I had assem-
bled into a household, it was
possible to reach out into
their respective homes, and
to follow the details of the
ceremonies, quarrels, and re-
conciliations which went on
within the thatched walls of
other houses. By oneself as-
suming the tabus and duties,
the privileges, and obligations
of a native woman, as much
as possible, one receives in
return the confidence of the
women and learns the care-
fully guarded secrets which
have been hidden from twen-
ty generations of husbands
and fathers. The temper, the
emphasis of native life, from
the woman's point of view,
gradually unfolds before one's

eyes, as do the moods, the thought
processes, the interests of the group of
children who sleep on one's floor and eat
one's rice day after day. The native
language becomes more and more a
familiar idiom. One learns to joke in it,
perhaps even to pun a little, (although I
knew that I was never permitted to swear,
as both of my parents are living and pro-
fanitj' is only permitted to the orphaned).
One learns to shudder when tabus are
violated, to meet the news of a mis-
fortune with the immediate question
"Which gho.st is responsible?" The per-
sonalities of all these alien people who

A BUSINESS MAN AND HIS WIFE

This man and his wife were two of Doctor Mead's firmest

friends and assistants. When she was alone in the village, they

moved into the house and constituted themselves her chaperons

and protectors

NATURAL HISTORY

press about one all day long become as
clearly realized as those of the members of
a family.

Only a six-weekly or less frequent mail
breaks this long detailed identification
with native life, from which one finally

emerges wearied with the continuous re-
straint, the continuous re-valuation of
experience, but bearing, as a field trophy,
a knowledge of the native customs and
the native thought attainable in no other
way.

o&o^^=)®©®C^^^»*:>

COING FOR WATER

The village was built in the lagoon about half a mile from

shore. AH water for drinking, cooking, bathing, and

developing photographs had to be brought from a brackish

swamp on the main island

JOHN CHAMPION FAUNTHORPE

Sportsman, Civil Servant, Soldier, Con.servati(jiii.st, and l'"riend
By ARTHUR S. VERNAY

AT the opening of the Vernay-
i_A Faunthorpe South Asiatic Hall of
Mammals, the one man who might
be said to be principally responsible for
this beautiful addition to the American
Museum of Natural History was absent.
Lieutenant-Colonel J. C. Faunthorpe,
with whom for eight years I was asso-
ciated in the effort to obtain for the
American Museum the world's finest
collection of animals from India and
Burma, had succumbed to an attack of
pneumonia only eleven months prior to
the completion and opening of the hall.
Perhaps it is harder for me than for
almost any of his other friends to write
about him, for he and I, during the past
eight years, have been together on many
big game expeditions that make men
either hate one another or draw more
closely together than brothers. During
this long association I invariably found
him an incomparable companion — un-
ruffled, full of resourcefulness and humor
and efficiency. I never expect to see a
finer type of sportsman, for he was not
only a marvelous shot, with a profound
knowledge of shikar, but he also had
the true sportsmanship of character and
outlook.

It was during the Great War that I
first met Colonel Faunthorpe, and later,
when the war had ended and he was con-
nected with the British Embassy at
Washington, I had many conversations
with him. It was at this time that I was
contemplating a trip around the world
and when he was transferred from Wash-
ington to the post of Commissioner at
Lucknow he urged me, in case I made my
contemplated visit to India, to join him
there so that we might do some hunting

together. Prior to this time, Faunthorpe
had visited the American Museum of
Natural History and had written to
President Henrj^ Fairfield Osborn, offer-
ing to make a collection of Indian animals
if the Museum would provide a capable
taxidermist and mount them properly.
Consequently, when I arrived in India
and joined him for our shooting trip, we
discussed the matter with the result that
on returning to America our scheme was
presented to the Museum, and definite
plans for the collection were soon under
way.

The story of the collection, however, has
been ably told by Mr. H. E. Anthony, in
a previous number of Natural History
Magazine, and it is now my purpose
merely to attempt to give some account
of the charming and capable character
with whom I was associated in this task.

Well over six feet tall, of slender frame,
with exceptionally broad shoulders, Faun-
thorpe was cut out from boyhood to excel
in any sport he took up. He was a son of
the Reverend Pincher Faunthorpe and
was born May 30, 1871. As a youth he
attended the Rossall School and later
went to Balliol College, Oxford. At
college he did a little rowing, but his
earliest and most lasting love was for
shooting. I doubt whether there has
been any Englishman of our time more
expert in the theory and practice of rifle
shooting. It was not until he had gradu-
ated from college and entered the Indian
Civil Service, however, that any excep-
tional opportunities offered themselves
in the sport that meant so much to him.
In his work in India he came in contact
with many Englishmen and native gentle-
men through whom came many of the

NATURAL HISTORY

longed-for opportunities to develop his
ability along the lines which appealed
to him so strongly. Always imperturb-
able, never talkative, invariably pithy in
his statements, never ruffled, he was
essentially human; never worried by
human weaknesses, his quiet sense of
humor, his remarkable balance resulted in
an unusual popularity with officers and
civilians, as well as with the natives
themselves. Faunthorpe never acted
hastily, but when occasion demanded he
could act strongly. His opinions were
never hurriedly formed, and because they
were based on sound judgment, he had

ARTHUR S. VERNAY

The author of this article was for eight years
associated with Colonel Faunthorpe in the work
that was required for the new Vernay-Faunthorpe
Hall of South Asiatic Mammals in the American
Museum

reason to stick to them strongly. The
Indians learned that he would not only
listen to their cases but would hear them
through, and they soon learned, further-
more, that his word was invariably good.

In 1921, for instance, when serious
agrarian trouble broke out in southern
Oudh, both Sir Harcourt Butler who was
Governor of the United Provinces of
Agra and Oudh, and Colonel Faunthorpe,
who at that time was Commissioner at
Lucknow, found themselves faced with a
serious and difficult problem. The rising
was of Indian tenants and landless people
against their Indian landlords. It is true
that order was restored in a week, but it
was largely due to Colonel Faunthorpe's
wise handling of the local situation that
no bitterness was left; nor would his
success have been so great as it was had it
not been for the fact that the Indians had
long since learned that he was sympa-
thetic, fearless, and honest; that what he
promised them would be carried out. As a
result of these difficulties he was especially
selected to make an inquiry into certain
feudal or manorial dues which the land-
lords exacted from their tenants. As a
result of his investigation corrective legis-
lation was undertaken and his report is
an exceedingly valuable document in
agrarian relations.

Thus it will be seen that with so able
an individual as my associate, and with
one who was so favorably known among
British and Indian officials and princes,
we were enabled to begin a collection with
many difficulties removed. Nevertheless,
science was interested in certain species
that for years have been protected in
India, and only because of Colonel Faun-
thorpe's clear and convincing explana-
tions of our plans were we able to carry
through the considerable task we had set
ourselves. Having gone out to India as a
civil servant in 1892, Faunthorpe had
become thoroughly conversant with the
Indian character, with language, customs.

JOHN CHAM I' ION FAUNTHORPE

and hunting tccli-
nique. The open-air
life of the district
officer — the back-
bone of British rule
in India — exactly
suited him. He
seemed to read the
minds of natives as
surely as he read the
life of the jungle, and
his good sense, his
prowess in sports,
and his happy, sym-
pathetic humor made
him an administrator
of whom nobody
could get the better
and whom everybody
trusted and loved.

There is no great
sport in India in
which Faunthorpe
did not reach the
front rank. He was
an excellent horse-
man and a fearless joi
rider. He was equally

at home on the polo ground and at pig-
sticking. He was keen on racing and his
pony "Devon" won the then great pony
race of India — the Civil Service Cup at
Lucknow. He had many great achieve-
ments to his credit in shooting on the
range and in sport, but in big-game shoot-
ing he quickly made a name as being in a
category by himself. He could arrange a
tiger beat as well as any native hunter who
had spent his entire life in the business,
and no mahout in India could give
him points on the management of ele-
phants on a big-game expedition. He
could organize a shoot in the jungle of
the Nepal Terai as well as any of the
Indians who had given their lives to the
subject. He had always been interested
in natural history and because of this
interest, coupled with his unusual ability,

r CHAMPION FAUNTHORPK
1871-1929

he became as intimately acquainted with
jungle Ufe as any native hunter who had
been born there.

His interest in riding and in shooting
brought with them an interest in military
matters, with the result that he was
always a keen soldier and ultimately came
to be Lieutenant-Colonel of the Light
Horse of the United Provinces. He
entered into all military work with the
keenest enthusiasm and throughout his
life remained actively interested. That
his military service proved him a man of
exceptional abihty is demonstrated by the
fact that in 1922 this volunteer officer was
appointed aide-de-camp to His Majesty,
King George V.

Due to his thorough understanding of
their characters, as well as to his excep-
tional success in their pastimes, the native

NATURAL HISTORY

COLONEL FAUNTHOEPE ON A TIGE14 HUNT

He had the reputation of being able to arrange a tiger beat as well as any native hunter who had

spent his entire h'fe in the business

princes became warmly attached to this
impressive, efficient, understanding Eng-
hshman, and were only too happy to give
him facilities for the sport he loved,
for it must be remembered that in India
such sports as tiger hunting are truly
the sports of kings. Only the enormous
wealth of the native princes can stand the
strain of the lavish and complete hunting
paraphernalia, the herds of elephants, the
armies of servants, hunters, and mahouts.
Thus the friendliness of the man and the
impressiveness of his character aided him
enormously in earning his reputation as
the best big-game shot in India, and but
for his amazing knowledge of shikar and for
the many doors that he was able to open,
the Vernay-Faunthorpe collection could
never have become an accomplished fact.

Faunthorpe, though a civilian to begin
with, had, as I have explained, all the
interest and ability that go to make a
first-rate soldier. He did as much as
anyone to raise the Light Horse, and he
took over the command when it became a
recognized unit of the Indian Defense
Force. When the Great War came, he was
appointed Military Director of the
cinemas on the western front and his
battle film of the Somme is still regarded
by experts as a masterpiece of organiza-
tion. He served as an intelligence
officer as well, and was in France with the
British Expeditionary Forces from the
end of 1915 to the end of 1917. In Janu-
ary, 1918, he was made a member of the
British Mission to America as a represen-
tative of the Public Information, and

COLONEL FAUNTIIOEPE (left) AND MR. VERNAY

With the one-horned Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) collected for the N'ernay-Fauiithorpe

Ilnll in the American Museum

COLONEL FAUNTHORPE, MR. VERNAY, AND MR. R. C. MORRISS

Colonel Faunthorpe (right), Mr. Vernay (center) and Mr. R. C. Morriss, with the bull elephant the

expedition collected tor the great center group in the Vernay-Faunthorpe Hall. Mr. Morrisi^, of

Honnametti, India, is the outstanding authority on the game of southern India, and was of great

service in aiding the Vernay-Faunthorpe Expeditions

NATURAL HISTORY

later was associated with Sir Geoffroy
Butler, a brother of Sir Hareourt Butler,
in publicity work for the British Embassy.
His work in the British Embassy in
Washington was largely connected with
the activities of Indian agitators, and
during this service at the American capital
he grew to have a deep regard for America
and Americans. It was as a result of his
friendliness for America that he and I
decided that as two Englishmen anxious
to show our regard for the American
people we could not do better than to
collect and present to the American Mu-
seum of Natural History the finest speci-
mens and groups of Asiatic mammals that
it was possible for us to find. It was then
that the idea took hold of both of us of
using his unrivalled experience to amplify
the collection of such mammals in the
American Museum.

As I have already said, he entered the
Indian Civil Service in 1892 and retired in
1925, but always he remained interested in
India. Furthermore, his activities never
flagged, whether connected with his
official duties or his activities in the field
of sport. Only the year before he died,
so active was he still in the sport to which
he had given so much of his time, that he
won the competition at Bisley at the
running deer, and the expeditions in which
he and I were engaged occupied his atten-
tion almost to his last moment. For the
last ten years of his full and varied life, I

think I am right in saying that this Mu-
seum project was his dominant interest.
Through six separate expeditions he was
indefatigable in carrying out the work
which led us to many different Indian and
Asiatic states.

I rarely think of Faunthorpe without
recalling how patiently he could Hsten to
the plans of others, and I recall distinctly
how, after listening to me until I had ex-
plained in detail what it was I had in
mind, he would look up quietly, with a
friendly twinkle in his eye, with the simple
question "Finished?" And if I had in-
terested him — if I had so stated my case
as to win his support — the task could
always be counted on as being on its way
to completion. As an example, the pink-
headed duck took nearly three years to
secure, and it took three years of careful
thought and effort before permission was
obtained to collect the lion of India from
Junagadh, but in both cases the object
was accomplished.

It was a tremendous disappointment
to many of Colonel Faunthorpe's friends
that he could not be present at the open-
ing of the hall for which he had done so
much. However, it is a pleasure for those
of us who knew him best to realize that
in the hall that bears his name and mine,
the fruits of his labors and his experience
will be preserved for all time and with them
the name of Faunthorpe — an Englishman
who was a sincere friend of America.

One of the Camps of the Vernay-Faunthorpe Expedition

^'**«- '^^

^.i4^w-^

INDIAN BEAVER LEGENDS

North American Indian Myths About an Animal Which the Aboriginal
Imagination Often Endowed with Supernatural Power

By WILLIAM H. CARR

Assistant Curator, Department of Education. Amerii

in Museum

NUMBERS IX

For a nuTnber of years Mr. Carr has been studying beaver, both from the historical and
the natural history standpoints. He is about to publish the results of this research in a
loork entitled "Beaver — Builder of Empire," and Natural History has been
granted the privilege of publishing from these volumes the chapter on Indian Beaver
Legends that appears below. — The Editors

THE numerous fanciful myths and
legends of North American Indians
are an excellent clue to the impor-
tance with which ancient Americans re-
garded wild animals. In these legends
frequent reference is made not alone to the
part animals play in the Indians everyday
life, but also in his spiritual and imagina-
tive existence. These tales, weaving
together material gleaned from countless
sources in earth and sky, beast and human,
are related with such delightful, child-
like simplicity that many of our modern.

clever, and oftentimes sophisticated
stories of mysticism seem pale when com-
pared with the guilessness of Indian
legends that breathe of the soil from
which they sprang.

The beaver, either as a hero or villian,
appears many times in the animal legends
of the North American Indians. Often
this rodent, when not playing a leading
role, is at least an important character —
a picturesque personality interwoven in
the general fiber of the account. These
tales come from nearly every section of

NATURAL HISTORY

of Nanibozhu who, striv-
ing to form the world,
"selects the beaver from
all the animals to dive
after some earth. The
beaver tries and comes
up dead," a true pioneer,
making the greatest sac-
rifice in the field of highly
adventurous exploration.
"The otter is sent next
and meets the same fate.
Then the muskrat tries
and comes up dead, but
in the clenched paws is
a little earth. ' ' From this
earth the "New World"
was formed.

The Cherokee Indians
of the southeast, did not
forget the beaver in one
of their myths of the
world's birth. He is men-
tioned, not as a "prime
mover" it is true, but as
a well recognized relation.
In this tale, "How The

THE HEAT OP THE SUN AT LENGTH RIPEN

the United States and Canada, testifying
to the past greatly extended distribution
of the beaver and also to the common
beliefs and similarity of their expression
among widely separated Indian tribes.

One may divide beaver legends into
three major parts:

(1) Beaver and myths of creation

(2) Fables of Indian and beaver rela-

tionship

(3) Stories of beaver and various

other animals in which human

beings do not participate in the

events

In the myths concerning the creation

of the earth, whenever water enters into

the situation, various tasks are assigned

to the beaver because of his ability as a

swimmer. An Algonkian legend (i) tells

World Was Made'
one learns that —

i'^),

' ' The earth is a great island floating in a
sea of water, and suspended at each of the
four cardinal points by a cord hanging
down from the sky vault, which is of solid
rock. When the world grows old and worn
out, the people will die and the cords will
break and let the earth sink down into
the ocean, and all will be water again.
The Indians are afraid of this.

"When all was water, the animals were
above in Galun'lati ('above on high') be-
yond the arch; but it was very much
crowded, and they were wanting more
room. They wondered what was below
the water, and at last Dayunsi, (Beaver's
Grandchild), the little Water-beetle,
offered to go and see if it could learn. It
darted in every direction over the surface
of the water but could find no firm place

INDIAN BE AVE It LEGENDS

Id rest. Then it dived to the bottom and
ciiiK^ up with some soft mud, which began
1(1 ^row and spread on every side until it
iiccanio the island which we call the earth,
it was afterwards fastened to the sky
Willi four cords, but no one remembers
who did this. ..."

So great was the breadth and scope of
the Indians' imagination that one is not
surprised to hear of tribes claiming direct
or indirect descent from the beaver.
Lewis and Clark, exploring to the west and
north, tell of an Osage legend, where first
the lowly snail and then the beaver aid in
the "nation's" development. (')

"Among the pecuharities of this people,
(the Osage Indians) there is nothing more
remarkable than the tradition relative to

their origin. According to the universal
belief, the founder of the nation was a
snail passing a quiet existence along the
banks of the O.sage, till a high flood swept
him down to the Missouri, and left him
expo.sed on the shore. The heat of the
sun at length ripened him into a man, but
with the change of his nature he had not
forgotten his native seats on the Osage,

"the beaver haughtily inquired who he was

NATURAL HISTORY

toward which he immediately bent his
way. He was, however, soon overtaken
by hunger and fatigue, when happily the
Great Spirit appeared, and giving him a
bow and arrow, showed him how to kill
and cook deer, and cover himself with the
skin. He then proceeded to his original
residence, but as he approached the river,
he was met by a beaver, who inquired
haughtily who he was, and by what
authority he came to disturb his posses-
sion. The Osage answered that the river
was his own for he had once lived on its
borders. As they stood disputing, the
daughter of the beaver came, and having
by her entreaties reconciled her father to
this young stranger, it was pi'oposed that
the Osage should marry the young beaver,
and share with her family the enjoyment
of the river. The Osage readily con-
sented, and from this happy union there
soon came the village and the nation of
the Wabash or Osages, who have ever
since preserved a pious reverence for their
ancestors, abstaining from the chase of
the beaver, because in kiUing that animal,
they killed a brother of the Osage. Of
late years, however, since the trade with
the whites has rendered beaver skins more
valuable, the sanctity of these maternal
relatives has become visibly reduced, and
the poor animals have nearly lost all the
privileges of kindred. "

Thus does the march of commerce break
even the ties of blood relationship !

From another source (*) we know that
"The Amikonas, or 'People of the
Beaver,' an Algonquin tribe of Lake
Huron, claimed descent from the carcass
of the great original beaver, or father of
the beavers; and the beaver was one of
the eight clans of the Iroquois . . .
Hochelagans, or 'Indians of the Beaver-
Meadow'. "

The flathead tribe of the northwestern
section of the United States, apparently
not to be outdone by their eastern broth-
ers, believed the beavers to be a "faUen

race of Indians, who, in consequence of
their wickedness, vexed the Good Spirit,
and were condemned by him to their
present shape." Some hope is held, how-
ever, that happier days are ahead, for,
"in due time they (the Beaver) will be
restored to their humanity." (^) All this,
no doubt, is as it should be.

When we consider folk tales of mar-
riages between beavers and Indians, we
are led to believe that the Indian women
never heard the expression "equal rights"
in relation to their being placed upon a
satisfactory footing with their husbands
or with men in general. Do the men
marry the animals and thus suffer the
indignity of such a relationship? No!
Of course not! Witness this tale of the
Blood Indians, this highly original varia-
tion of the ageless "triangle problem." (^)

"Once there was a man and his wife
camping alone on the shore of a small lake.
This man was a great hunter, and had in
his lodge the skins of almost every kind of
bird and animal. Among them was the
skin of a white buffalo. As he was always
hunting, his wife was often left alone.
One day a beaver came out of the water
and made love to her. This went on for
some time, until finally she went away
with the beaver to his home in the water.
When the man came home, he looked all
about for his wife, but could not find her
anywhere. As he was walking along the
shore of the lake, he saw her trail going
down into the water. Now he knew what
had happened. He did not break camp,
but continued his hunting. After four
days, the woman came up out of the water
and returned to her lodge. She was al-
ready heavy with child. When her
husband returned that evening, he found
her in her usual place and she told him
all that had occurred.

"In the course of time the woman gave
birth to a beaver. To keep it from dying,
she put it in a bowl of water which she
kept at the head of her bed. In the

INDIAN BEAVER LEGENDS

evening her husband came in as usual,
and after a while, hearing something
splashing in water, he said, 'What is that?'
Then the woman explained to him that
/She had given birth to a beaver. She
brought him the bowl. He took out the
httle beaver, looked at it, and put it back.
He said nothing. As time went on he
became very fond of the young beaver
and played with him every evening.

"Now the beaver down in the water
knew everything that was going on in the
lodge. He knew that the man was kind

to the young beaver and so was not angry
with him. He took pity on the man.
Then the father of the young beaver re-
.solved to give the man some of his
medicine songs in exchange for the .skin
of birds and animals the man had in his
lodge. So one day, when the woman
went down to the lake for water, the
beaver came out and instructed her to
request of her husband that whatever

NATURAL HISTORY

he (the beaver) should ask in his songs,
that should be done. He also stated the
time at which he would come to the lodge
to be received by her husband.

"At the appointed time the beaver
came out of the lake and appeared before
the lodge, but, before he entered, re-
quested that the lodge be purified (a
smudge). Then he entered. They
smoked. After a while the beaver began
to sing a song in which he asked for the
skin of a certain bird. When he had
finished, the man arose and gave the bird-
skin to him. Then the beaver sang
another song in which he asked for the
skin of another bird, which was given
him. Thus he went on until he secured all
the skins in the man's lodge. In this way
the man learned all the songs that be-
longed to the beaver-medicine and also
the skins of the animals to which the
songs belonged.

"After this the man got together all the
different kinds of bird and animal skins
taken by the beaver, made them up into a
bundle, and kept the beaver-medicine."

There is another strange tale, "The
Women Who Married the Beaver" (')
related by the Coos Indians of Oregon.
In this instance, there was a scarcely
understandable error on the part of two
apparently bewitched girls. They set out
in good faith to marry a youth, who was
"the son of a rich man who had much
shell-money and many otter hides. He
was a sea-otter hunter and had a beaver
and muskrat working for him." The
girls, however, mistook the beaver for
their intended mate and, not waiting for
any confirmation, married him forthwith.
They soon had cause to wish their hasty
marriage annulled, for the beaver proved
to be a cantankerous old individual who
made life none too happy for his brides.
He had a distressing habit of becoming
enraged and screaming, "because he could
not get anything to eat."

After many sad experiences, the girls

decided that they had indeed joined their
lives with the wrong character so, after
several misadventures, the old beaver
was discarded in a most decisive manner.
He was killed! One of the girls then
married the rightful husband. The story
does not tell what happened to the other
sister. Perhaps she wedded the muskrat,
who can say?

So great were the mythical accomplish-
ments of the all-wise beaver that one
Omaha legend adds the power of re-
incarnation to the list. (^) In this legend
the principal actor visits the beaver, who,
apparently at some pains to feed his
guest, slays and prepares one of his own
children! One should not be alarmed by
this apparently brutal homicide for,
when the meal was finished, "the beaver
gathered the bones and put them into a
skin, which he plunged beneath the water.
In a moment the youngest beaver came up
alive out of the water."

What a unique way of solving the food
problem !

From this tale of wonder-working we go
on to another, in which the beaver
attempts, unsuccessfully, to rescue an
unfortunate sufferer. This Cherokee
myth (2b), describing the peregrinations
of one Untsaiyi, the Gambler, tells how,
after losing a game in which his life was
bid to the winner, he ran away to forestall
the collection of the debt. Eventually he
was overtaken, despite the fact that he
was a magician capable of changing his
form. A cruel fate awaited him even
though the beavers were his friends.

"They tied his hands and feet with a
grapevine and drove a long stake through
his breast, and planted it far out in the
deep water. They set two crows on the
end of the pole to guard it and called the
placed Kagunyi, 'Crow Place.' But 'he'
never died, and cannot die until the end of
the world, but lies there always with his
face up. Sometimes he struggles under
the water to get free, and sometimes the

INDIAN BEAVER LEGENDS

beavers, who are his friends, come and
gnaw at the grapevine to release him.
Then the pole shakes and the crows at the
top cry Ka! Ka! Ka! and scare ,
the beavers away." .-'k

In a Micmac Indian legend '^**'
(9) called "The Beaver Magi-
cians and the Big
Fish," we discov-
er the beaver in a
new character —
that of a deceiver
of the Indians.
It seems that an
Indian hailing
from a starving
village went forth in search of
food to succor his neighbors.
On the trail he encountered an old
man in a wigwam and, on relating
his troubles, was provided by the
ancient with a bundle or "back-
load" of what he supposed was
meat.

The hunter returned to his village
with the load and the hungry citi-
zens gathered about to see what was
in store.

"What was their surprise on opening
the pack to find that it was poplar bark,
instead of meat, — food for beavers
instead of for human niWiflii

beings. ' The . . . man — ■■Js^iSk^:
had been deceived. He / *'';.''™
supposed himself in an
Indian's hut, when he
had been the guest of an old beaver
and his litters to the third generation."

The unfortunate people, their hunger
still unappeased, decided to hunt for the
strange beaver that had played them so
mean a trick. Alas, when they reached
the vicinity of the wigwam, gone was the
"old man." "The old fellow had been
nothing but a wily magician. He had
practiced a double deception upon his
dupe."

A superstition of the Cherokees (2'=),

concerning the teeth of beaver, in relation
to Indian children, should not be over-
looked. Here the beaver is regarded as a
"good spirit."

"The beaver (dayi), by reason of its
well-known gnawing ability, against which
even the hardest wood is not proof, is
invoked in behalf of young children just
getting their permanent teeth. According
to the little formula which is familiar to

NATURAL HISTORY

nearly every mother in the tribe, when the
loosened milk tooth is pulled out or drops
out of itself, the child runs around the
house with it, repeating four times,
'Da5d, skinta' ('Beaver, put a new tooth
into my jaw') after which he throws the
tooth upon the roof of the house."

Straightforward, unadulterated Indian
animal tales are perhaps the most
familiar. These charming stories should
be known to every American grown-up as
well as to boys and girls. Many of them
are popular, yet, so numerous are they,
that it will be many years before even the
best of them will be fully presented. Here
is one called "Beaver and Porcupine," a
delightful little narrative embodying the
main characteristics of all Indian stories.
In this tale, related by the Thngit Indians
of the North Pacific, our hero, the beaver,
learns the sting of retribution. ('")

"The beaver and the porcupine were
great friends and went about everywhere
together. The porcupine often visited
the beaver's house, but the latter did not
like to have him come because he left
quills there. One time, when the porcu-
pine said that he wanted to go out to the
beaver's house, the beaver said, ' AU right,
I wiU take you on my back.' Restarted,
but instead of going to his house he took
him to a stump in the very middle of the
lake. Then he said to him, 'This is my
house,' left him there, and went ashore.

"While the porcupine was upon this
stump he began singing a song. 'Let it
become frozen, let it become frozen, so
that I can cross to Wolverine-man's
place.' He meant that he wanted to walk
ashore on the ice. So the surface of the
lake froze, and he walked home.

"Sometime after this, when the two
friends were again playing together, the
porcupine said, 'You come now. It is
my turn to carry you on my back.' Then
the beaver got on the porcupine's back,
and the porcupine took him to the top of
a very high tree, after which he came down

and left him. For a long time the beaver
did not know how to get down, but finally
he climbed down, and they say that this is
what gives the broken appearance to tree
bark."

Ne.xt in popularity to direct animal
stories, are those telling of the "origin"
of various things.

The Thompson River Indians of
British Columbia had an intriguing tradi-
tion about the "Origin of Fire." (")
Once more the beaver enters into the
activities and gives a satisfactory account
of himself. It is called "The Beaver and
the Eagle; or The Origin of Fire"

"In the beginning the people were
without fire. The Beaver and the Eagle
said they would find out where fire could
be obtained, and accordingly sent out the
Swallow, who flew over the country on a
search. At last he came back with the
intelligence that he had discovered fire in
the possession of a family at Lkamtcin
(Lytton) . The Beaver and the Eagle then
Siiid, 'We will go and obtain it'; and they
laid their plans accordingly. The Eagle
soared away through the air, and at last
discovered the shell of a fresh- water clam,
which he took possession of. The Beaver
appeared at the place where the people
drew water out of the creek. They lived
in an underground lodge. Some young
girls, going down to the creek for water in
the morning, came running back with the
intelligence that there was a beaver at the
watering place. Some young men went
out with bows and arrows and shot him,
and brought him up to the house. They
began to skin him. In the meanwhile the
Beaver thought, 'Oh, my elder brother!
He is long in coming. I am nearly done
for.' Just then the Eagle perched down
on the top of the ladder, and at once
attracted the people's attention, so that
they forgot all about the Beaver in their
anxiety to shoot the Eagle, which they
could not kill, although they fired arrows
at him. Meanwhile the Beaver caused the

INDIAN BE AVER LEGENDS

house to be flooded with
wtiter. In the confusion
the Eagle dropped the
clam-shell down into the
fire. The Beaver immedi-
ately filled it with fire,
put it under his armpit,
and made off in the
water. He spread it over
the whole country. After
that the Indians could
make fire out of trees."

Here is another "fire"
story of the Nez Perces,
in which the beaver takes
active part. ('^)

"Once, before there
were any people in the
world, the different ani-
mals and trees lived antl
moved about and talked
together just like human
beings. At this time the
pine-trees had the secret
of fire, and guarded it
jealously from the rest of
the world, so that, no
matter how cold it was,
nobody could get any fire
to warm himself by, un-
less he was a pine. At
length an unusually cold
season came, and all the
animals were in danger
of freezing to death be-
cause they could get no
fire; but all plans to find out their secret
from the pines were in vain until the
beaver hit upon one which proved suc-
cessful.

"At a certain place on Grande Ronde
River, in Idaho, the pines were about to
hold a great council. They had built a
large fire at which to warm themselves
after coming out of the icy water from
bathing, and had posted sentinels round
about to keep off all the animals and other
intruders, who might steal the fire secret.

HIS EFFORTS TO CLEAR THE CHANNEL, THE GLANT

But Beaver had hidden under the bank
near the fire before sentinels had been
posted, and so escaped their notice.
After a while a live coal rolled down the
bank close by Beaver, which he seized
and hid in his breast, and then ran away
as fast as he could. The pines immedi-
ately raised the hue and cry, and started
after him. Whenever he was hard pressed,
Beaver darted from side to side, and
dodged his pursuers, and when he had a
good start he kept a straight course."

NATURAL HISTORY

At last the Beaver outwitted his
enemies and distributed fire to other
trees along the way. The Indians claimed
that the trees given fire by the Beaver
were the best ones to use as fire sticks.

It is small wonder, if Indians believed
themselves indebted to beaver for fire and
other necessary and vital creations, that
they should regard the animal with awe.
In the case of the Cheyennes, there are
many evidences that both sexes rever-
enced the beaver.

"It is said that in very old times beavers
were not so often killed, and that no
Cheyenne woman would dress or even
handle a beaver-skin." (i^a)

Another account, coming from the same
tribe, says, "In ancient times certain
doctors used to make drums called beaver
drums, which implies beaver songs and a
beaver worship. It is said that these
doctors had beaver cuttings which they
shot into people whom they did not like,
and which caused diseases which were
fatal. The Blackfeet have a similar
belief." (i^b)

The exploits and adventures of animals,
according to many Indian traditions,
often resulted in the formation of various
scenic wonders, such as cliffs of peculiar
design, rivers with curious channels, and
the like. One "Athabascan" story (i*),
"The Great Beaver" is typical.

"A family of very large beavers lived
on the Great Slave Lake, long ago, and
the lodge is still there. Well, they all
started down the Mackenzie River, and
when they had gone a long distance, one
of them killed one of his companions and
roasted the flesh, but left it hanging before
the fire while he fell asleep. While he
slept, a wolverine came along and took the
roasted beaver and left a roll of moss in its
place. After a time the sleeping beaver
awoke. When he found that the roasted
flesh was gone he was vexed, so he took the
bark dish that he had placed under the
roasting meat to catch the fat, and

emptied it into the fire saying, ' Burn and
never go out.' And it never has

{Beds of lignite along the banks of the Macken-
zie a few miles above Bear River, have been burning
for a century at least.)

"Then he went down-stream until he
came to some high rocks, where he met a
wolverine whom he wished to fight; but
the wolverine said, 'No, I will not fight
with you and you cannot catch me.' He
then tried to escape by running up the
face of the cliff. Then the beaver said,
'Stay there and never come down.' And
the wolverine was turned into stone, and
can be seen there to this day.

{Roche Carcajou, an anticlinal uplift of
Devonian limestone, one thousand feet high.)

"As he continued his journey down the
river he went so fast at one place that he
created the ' Sans Sault ' Rapid.

{The only rapid in the Mackenzie River of any
consequence, and one that is easily passed by the
steamers in any but the lowest stages of water.)

"As the beaver went on down the river
he was discovered and pursued by a giant,
to whom he said, 'If you can clear all the
rocks from the river, you may kill me,
but if you cannot clear the river, you will
never kill me.' In his efforts to clear the
channel the giant overturned his canoe,
which turned into stone and forms an
island in the bed of the stream.

{An island at the Sans Sault Rapid divides the
stream into an eastern and a western channel, the
latter being 'the steamboat channel' .)

"Failing to accomplish his task, the giant
said, ' I cannot kill you ; but never mind,
there will soon be plenty of men here who
will always hunt you and all your tribe' "
What remarkable truth there was in that
prophetic announcement !

"The beaver replied, 'Since you can-
not kill me, keep still awhile and I will
paint your picture.' Then the beaver
painted the picture of the giant on one
side of the ramparts, where it may still
be seen.

INDIAN BEAVER LEGENDS,

I DEAV BR CONTJtOLS Til K UKtiTlN
i* THE "WOnLD AND WILL CAUMIC
IE ULTIMATK TEHMINATION
f ALL EAHTHLY

«t

{At the ram-parts, the Mackenzie, much con-
tracted in width, flows between vertical cliffs of
Devonian limestone varying from one hundred to
two hundred feet in height. This gorge is but a
few miles south of the Arctic circle, and is one of
the most interesting features of the great river.)

After this the giant left the country."

The Indians of the "Great Lakes
Region" did not hesitate to ascribe heroic
deeds to beaver. When Father Allouez, a
Cathohc missionary, traveled through
"Wisconsin" in 1669 and 1670, he learned
that the "savages" had their own ideas
about the origin of the waterways, (i^)
"They believe that Lake Superior is a
pond made by beavers, and that its dam
was double, the first being at the place
called by us the Sault, and the second five
leagues below. In ascending the river,
they say, this same god (Michabous —
Great Hare) found the second dam
first and broke it down completely; and
this is why there are no waterfalls or
whirlpools in that rapid. As to the first
dam, being in haste, he only walked
on it to tread it down; and, for that
reason, there still remain great falls
and whirlpools there."

The Indians further related that the
god drove the beavers from the lake and
they "spread throughout the rivers and
lakes of this entire country."

Turning from ideas of the beaver as
creator and as an instigator of various
whimsical and often contradictory
themes, we come finally to the point
where this marvelous creature is endowed
with complete powers of destruction, for
another Cheyenne tale (i^) informs us
that a beaver controls the destiny of the
world and will, on some distant, fatal day,
cause the ultimate termination of all
earthly things. We learn, briefly, and
clearly, that,

"The earth rests on a large beam or
post. Far in the north there is a beaver
as white as snow who is a great father of
all mankind. Some day he will gnaw
through the support at the bottom. We
shall be helpless and the earth will fall.
This will happen when he becomes angry.
The post is already partly eaten through.
For this reason one band of the Cheyenne
never eat beaver or even touch the skin.
If they do touch it, they become sick."

NATURAL HISTORY

So much for that!

Our legends of beaver reach the
cycle's end. We have journeyed with
the perservering animal through many
strange situations, from the creation of
the world to the final cataclysm, through
birth, marriage,'and death; fire, pestilence,
and health. Truly, of all the animals,

the beaver must have held a very high
rank in the Indian's estimation, provided
one bases his conclusions upon these
tales. The accounts come from east and
west, north and south. Though one reads
the myths for sheer enjoyment, he will,
nevertheless, find stories within stories,
if he will but glance between the lines.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Citation numbers refer to corresponding numbers in the text oj the article.

(1) Chamberlain, A. F. — "Nanibozhu Among the Otchip-
we, Mississagas and Other Algonkian Tribes" — Journal of
American Folk Lore, Vol. IV, July-September, 1891, p. 199.

(2) a. — MooNEY, James — " Myths of the Cherokee,'
19th Annual Report, Bureau of Ethnology, Washington,
D. C. 1902. Chapter IV on "Cosmogonic Myths" pp.
239-240.

b.— pp. 314-335.
c— p. 226.

(3) Lewis and Clark. — "History of the Expedition
under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark to the
sources of the Mississippi. Thence across the Rocky
Mountains. . . ." Philadelphia, 1814, prepared by Paul
Allen. Esquire, in two volumes. Vol. I, pp. 8-9.

(5) Cox, Ross — "Adventures on the Columbia River
including the Narrative of a Residence of six years on the
Western Side of the Rocky Mountains," etc. J. and J.
Harper, New York, 1832. p. 127.

(6) WissLER AND DuVALL — " Myths of the Blackfeet
Indians," Anthropological Papers of the American Museum
of Natural History, Vol. 2, Part I, pp. 74-75. Quoted also
by Dugmore in "The Romance of the Beaver World," 1914.

(7) St. Clair, Harry Hull 2nd — "Traditions of the
Coos Indians of Oregon" Notes edited by Frachtenberg,
Leo J. Journal of American Folk Lore. Vol. 22, January-
March, 1909. pp. 35-36.

(8) Dorset, James Owen — "Ictinike and the Four
Creators" — Contributions to North American Ethnology,

(9) Rand, Rev. Silas Tertius — "Legends of the Mic-
macs." Longman's Green & Co., 1894. pp. 351, 353.

(10) Thompson, Sith — "Tales of the North American
Indians." Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.,
1929, p. 75. (Reprinted from Bulletin of the Bureau of
American Ethnology. XXXIX, 220, No. 63, by Swanton.)

(11) Teit, James — "Traditions of the Thompson River
Indians of British Columbia." The American Folk Lore
Society, Vol. 6, 1898, pp. 66, 57.

(12) Packard, R. L. — "Notes on the Mythology and
Rehgion of the Nez Perces," "How the Beaver Stole Fire
from the Pines." Journal of American Folk Lore, Vol. 4,
1891. pp. 327, 329.

(13) a. — Grinnell, George Bird — "The Cheyenne
Indians, their History and Ways of Life." Vol. 2, 1923,
p. 104.

b. p. 145

(14) Russell, Frank — "Athabascan Myths," "Slavey
Tribe," Journal of American Folk Lore, January-March,
1900, Vol. 13, pp. 16, 17.

(15) ALLOuEr, Father — "Father Allouez's Journey into
Wisconsin, 1669, 1670". Edited by Kellogg, Louise,
Phelps, in "Early Narratives of the Northwest." 1917.
pp. 143, 144.

(16) Kroeber, a. L. — "Cheyenne Tales," Journal of
American Folk Lore." July-September, 1900. Vol. 13,
pp. 164, 165.

THE ''BASILISK"

A Yawl Built Especially to Aid Certain Scientific Studies Among the Islands of

the West Indies. A Duplicate of the Little Craft in AVhich

Joshua Slocum Circumnavigated the Globe

By G. KINGSLEY NOBLE

Curator, Herpetology and Experimental Biology, American Museum

The "Basilisk" has been built by Mr. Gilbert C. Klingel in order lo aid in carrying
out a series of scientific studies in the field of herpetology and ex-perimental biology.
Experienced in such studies on various West Indian islands, Mr. Klingel has long
felt the need of a boat especially designed for his uses, and having studied the matter
carefully he finally decided to duplicate one of the most famous of all small boats —
Captain Joshua Slocum' s "Spray." Thus, through the vision and interest of Mr.
Klingel, the American Museum of Natural History and the Natural History Society
of Maryland, now have an excellently equipped boat capable of carrying on an i?n-
portant series of studies. In addition to financing the construction of this new craft,
Mr. Klingel is assuming the responsibility of taking her to the West Indies, there to
carry out, in company loith Mr. W. Wallace Coleman, the studies for which the boat
was built. — The Editors.

IN the course of its sixty years of ex-
istence, the American Museum of
Natural History has sent innumerable
expeditions to almost every corner of
the world. The Arctic and the Antarctic
have been penetrated. Every continent
and every sea have been visited. On foot,
by camel caravan, by motor car and ship,
the scientists of the institution have
journeyed all about the world on their
never-ending search for knowledge.
In the "City of New York," the

"Morrissey, " and other sailing ships,
representatives of the American Museum
have gone voyaging, but now, for the
first time in the history of the institution,
a ship has been built especially for a
scientific expedition — built and equipped
especially for the Museum's purposes.
And now this floating laboratory is on her
way with eight thousand miles ahead of
her, to search among the islands of the
West Indies, a scientific expedition for
the American Museum's department of

AT OXFORD, MARY-
LAND
The "Basilisk" drawn
up at the shipyard where
she was built, to be care-
fully overhauled before
starting on her long
voyage

A NEW COAT OF PAINT
The lengthy stay at
Baltimore Harbor while
thoroughly provisioning
the "BasiKsk" made an
additional coat of paint
necessary before the
"Basilisk" sailed

WORKING ON THE
RIGGING
Captain Dave Pritchard,
who made the sails,
helped the crew to over-
haul the rigging

NATURAL HISTORY

herpetology and experimental biology
and for the Natural History Society of
Maryland.

It must not be supposed, however, that
this new ship is a counterpart of the
"Morrissey," the "City of New York,"
the "Carnegie," or of any other craft that
has heretofore been sent out in the in-
terests of science. She can be compared
with none of them. Named the
"Basilisk," after a West Indian lizard
that has the ability to run across the
surface of the water, this new ship is far
smaller than any of her scientific sisters,
and instead of being manned by a crew of
seamen and officers to relieve the scien-
tists of the responsibilities of navigation
and seamanship, she is handled by two
men only — Mr. Gilbert C. Klingel, and
Mr. W. Wallace Coleman, the members
of the expedition — and while during the

cruise a third member of the American
Museum staff will probably join the ship,
at no time will the members of the "crew"
be other than the scientists themselves.

Thirty-five years ago, a retired sea
captain named Joshua Slocum, unable to
resist the call of the sea, was given a sloop
that had been christened the "Spray."
She was not a new craft, and was not in
the best of condition. As a matter of fact,
for years she had been hauled up on dry
land. But in Slocum's experienced hands
she was entirely rebuilt, was painted, re-
rigged, and outfitted, and finally was
ready for sea. Only 37 feet in length on
the water Une, and of 14 feet beam, this
small craft could be handled by one man,
and when the man proved to be Joshua
Slocum, the voyage he proposed was far
less foolhardy than many prophets
promptly announced. For Slocum,

MANY SMALL DETAILS NEED ATTENTION

Captain Klingel is fixing a line to hoist the anchor aboard, while the freshly painted chain box is

placed to dry between the stays

THE "BASILISK"

LINES AND HALYARDS
The new lines were carefully tested before the voyage was begun,
the chimney of the gallej' stove

The dark object on the left is

though such a thing had never before
been attempted, had decided to circum-
navigate the globe single-handed.

And what Slocum proposed, Slocum
accomphshed. Three years and two
months after he had set sail alone from
Fairhaven, Massachusetts, he returned
safely to that very port, bringing with
him, in addition to a crust of salt from five
of the seven seas, proof of his excellence
as a sailor, and equal proof that the
"Spray" was capable of holding her own
in any weather that the seas could bring.

Never before, as I have said, had such
an adventure succeeded. Probably such
an ambitious program had never before
been seriously proposed. Since that time,
however, Harry Pigeon, in the "Islander"
and Alain Gerbault in the "Firecrest"
have followed successfully in Captain
Slocum's wake, and innumerable small
boats with limited and even amateur
crews have wandered here and there — al-
most at v/ill — over salt water.

And now the "Basihsk" has gone forth
in the interests of science — has gone forth
to sail over thousands of miles of West
Indian waters in the hands of two — and
at most three — searchers after scientific
fact. And the "Basihsk," built at Oxford,
Maryland, more than thirty-sLx years
after Captain Slocum's rebuilt "Spray"
first slid into the colder waters of the
Massachusetts coast, is, in her hull and her
rigging, a replica of the older vessel.

When Captain Slocum first set sail on
his forty-six-thousand-mile voyage, which
led from Massachusetts to Gibraltar, to
the Strait of Magellan, across the South
Pacific, around the Cape of Good Hope,
to the West Indies and home, his sturdy
little craft was rigged as a sloop, but long
before she had returned to her home port,
her rig had been changed to that of a yawl.
And it is as the "Spray" was later rigged
that the "Basihsk" is rigged now.

Thus the American Museum and the
Natural History Society of Maryland are

THE LABORATORY SIDE OP THE CABIN
The long work table is fitted with cabinets and drawers for equipment and charts, and a sink for

photographic use

THE LIVING QUARTERS

The two fine bunks have space underneath for canned goods, Book racks were later fastened on

the unused wall spaces

THE "BASILISK"

THE GALLEY STOVE
A coal-burning stove was decided upon as more practical than the many other types available

represented at sea by a little ship which,
as sturdily built as it is possible to build
such vessels, and designed as a duplicate
of Joshua Slocum's "Spray," may reason-
ably be said to be as seaworthy and as
staunch a boat as one is likely to find on
any of the seven seas.

But although the new craft is a faithful
copy of the old, so far as her hull and her
rigging are concerned, the requirements of
the expedition necessitated a re-arrange-
ment of the interior. Thus, this little
ship contains a laboratory, in addition to
li^•ing quarters and stowage space. There
are complete photographic facilities. Solu-
tion bottles occupy numerous racks.
There is a refrigerator for cooling water,
and this, strangely enough, is operated by
heat. A library of one hundred and fifty
volumes is set on shelves along the cabin
walls. There is an instrument table nine
and one-half feet long, with drawers be-
neath it to hold equipment and to provide
suitable working space. Two comfortable
bunks are installed, and there is a galley,

complete to the last sea-going appliance,
to cater to the demands of the crew.

In this sturdy, seaworthy craft, food
supplies for one year have been stowed so
that they are readily accessible, yet so
they cannot shift with the motion of the
ship. The edibles were chosen on a basis
of a ten-day menu which gives variety
for every meal as well as a balance of diet.
Except for a few fresh articles the
' ' Basilisk " should be entirely independent
and free from the annoyances of taking on
supplies from the merchants or the natives
of the islands she will visit.

In every sense the "Basilisk" venture
is a serious experiment to see whether two
or three men can independently maintain
themselves "in the field" for long periods
of time and provide their own transporta-
tion when and as it is required. Added to
this accomplishment, the cruise hopes to
prove that under such conditions these
cruising naturalists will still be able to
produce work of value to herpetology and
to the biological sciences.

100

NATURAL HISTORY

The expedition plans particularly to
make a special study of the life-histories of
hzards. There are many small islands
in the Antilles and off the Central
American coast which have never been
visited by naturalists. The "Basihsk,"
drawing only about five feet of water, will
be able to reach even the most reef-
protected of these.

In building the craft, the requirements
were exacting. A boat was needed that
would be seaworthy, comfortable to live
in, staunch, yet small enough for one or
two men to handle in any weather. It
must be able to carry water for a period
of several months, and provisions for at
least half a year, and yet allow space to
work and live. Thus the construction is
remarkably sturdy, with framing and
timbers of white oak, planking and ceiling
of heart of Georgia pine, decking and
cabin of white cedar, and masts of Oregon
pine. The rigging is much heavier than
that used on most boats of similar size,
and is designed to stand heavy wear and
tear. Every seam in the sails is triple

sewed, and the canvas is twice as heavy as
is generally used on such boats.

In the regions she will visit it is likely
than many species new to science will be
discovered. Tagging experiments will be
conducted in the field, and the movements
of individual lizards will be noted from
hour to hour. In this way the daily
ranges of individuals and also the rela-
tions of one individual to another and to
the colony as a whole will be worked out.
On the expedition, for the first time, the
experimental method will be applied to
the study of lizard colonies, and the result
should be of interest to both psychologists
and naturalists.

Through the Lower Bahamas, along the
coasts of Haiti and Santo Domingo, North
and South Cuba and the Bay Islands off
Honduras and Yucatan, the "Basilisk"
will work her way. Equipped only with
sails to propel her among the islands, this
replica of Joshua Slocum's famous little
ship may well take her place as one of the
important craft built and operated entirely
in the interests of science.

CAPTAIN KLINGEL AT THE HELM OF THE "BASILTSI

1. Central Asiatic Expeditions; 2. Whitney, South Sea, Caroline Islands, for birds; 3. Madagascar, for birds, mam-
mals, and fossils; 4. O'Donnell-Clark, Africa, for mammals; 5. Chapin, Congo, for birds; 6. Columbia University-
American Museum, to Africa for anatomical study; 7. IClingel, West Indies and Central America, for lizard studiea;
8. Frick-Rak, Southern California, for fossils; 9. Chapman, Barro Colorado, for bird study; 10. Frick-Blick, Ecuador,
for fossils; 11. OUala Brothers. Brazil, for birds and mammals; 12. Scarritt, Patagonia, for fossil mammals:
13. Naumburg-Kaempfer, Southern Brazil, for birds

AMERICAN MUSEUM EXPEDITIONS
AND NOTES

Edited by A. KATHERINE BERGER

It is the purpose of this department to keep readers of Natural History informed

as to ike latest news of the Museum expeditions in the field at the lime the irmgazine

goes to press. In many instances, however, the sources of infonnation are so distant

that it is not possible to include up-to-date data

/CENTRAL Asiatic Expeditions. — Dr. Roy
^^ Chapman Andrews, leader of the Central
Asiatic Expeditions, returned to New York on
the "Mauretania" January 3. He said that the
large collections obtained by the Expedition in
MongoUa during the past summer reached Peking
in safety, and at the time of his departure were
being packed for shipment to New York by the
Second in Command, Mr. Walter Granger. Be-
fore this issue of Natural History goes to press,
the collections, numbering ninetj'-one cases,
should be on their way to the American Museum.
Doctor Andrews reports that the 1930 Ex-
pedition has been unexpectedly successful. The
palteontological collections are larger than those
of any previous year, and certainly as impor-
tant. Half the summer was spent working in a
great Pliocene deposit which had been discovered

late in the season of 1928. It is in such a forma-
tion that the Expedition might hope to find the
remains of primitive human types, if they ex-
isted in MongoUa, as is confident!}' believed.
Almost immediately, extraordinarily rich de-
posits were discovered along the ancient shore
land of a great inland sea which had existed in
eastern Mongoha some three or four mOlion
years ago. Along the borders of this lake there
were many quicksands and bogs. Animals both
large and small were trapped in these deposits,
and form an invaluable record of the hfe that
existed in this region during those ancient days.
Perhaps the most spectacular discovery was
a great collection of the shovel-tusked mastodon,
Platyhelodon. At least thirty or fortj' individu-
als of this extraordinary species had been trapped
in what was obviously a bog. The bones lay

102

NATURAL HISTORY

like a heap of jackstraws piled in a heterogeneous
mass, one upon the other. Seventeen magnificent
shovel-tusked jaws were removed as well as
several skulls, and almost all of the other im-
portant bones of the skeleton of this remark-
able mastodon.

A short distance away another death trap was
filled with the skulls and skeletons of baby Plaly-
belodon. In this deposit there was only one adult
individual. Fortunately, that was a pregnant fe-
male, and part of the skuU and bones of the un-
born calf were removed through the skilful work
of Messrs. Thomson and Granger. Six other
baby skulls and jaws were taken from this pit.

Altogether we have an unrivalled aged series
of shovel-tusked mastodon jaws ranging in size
from the unborn baby only a foot in length to
the old bulls with jaws five and a half feet long.
Nowhere else in the world is there such a re-
markable series of any fossil mammal, with the
exception of the skulls of the dinosaur Proto-
ceratops, which the Expedition discovered in
Mongolia during 1923, and which are already
on exhibition in the Central Asiatic Hall.

Although half a dozen other splendid deposits
were in .sight, the leaders of the Expedition felt
that it was necessary to transfer operations to
another and earlier formation which they knew
to be very rich in fossils. Consequently, in
August, camp was shifted only fifty miles away
to strata of Eocene and OUgocene Age. These
proved to be quite as rich and important as the
former locality. Hundreds of specimens of
great importance were discovered. Among them
an amazing series of Amblypods — a huge skull
was found in Oligocene strata. This extends the
existence of the Amblypods for millions of years
after they were supposed to have become extinct
in Europe and America. A fine series of skulls
and jaws of the remarkable Chahcothere, a
clawed, hoofed animal allied to the Maropus of
America, were obtained. Parts of the strange
carnivore-like pig Enteledon and of a hyena-Kke
carnivore of enormous size were also discovered.

In a future article Doctor Andrews will give
a more detailed account of the Expedition's
work and collections.

The good luck which has attended the Central
Asiatic Expeditions throughout its explorations
brought it back to Kalgan only two days be-
fore the country was closed by bandits. Mr.
J. McKenzie Young, chief of motor transport,
had a rather exciting fight with the bandits a
month before the Expedition left the field. Mr.
Young sustained no injury himself, although
he inflicted considerable punishment upon the
thirty brigands who attacked him.

■"PHE Childs P'rick Explorations. — Explora-
■'■ tions with the object of securing added data
as to certain of the extinct mammahan faunas of
America are being conducted in six widely
separated areas — three in the Late Tertiary and
three in the Quaternary. The total shipments for
1930 from the six localities comprise some
121 cases. The material as received is carefully
prepared by the museum laboratory staff and
will be of great assistance in the several special
studies now long in progress on the Carnivora,
horses, camels, rhinoceroses, etc.

The three Tertiary explorations include Mio-
PUocene horizons in the vicinity of Barstow,
California, Santa Fe, New Mexico and Ains-
worth, Nebraska, which have been worked
annually for some seasons past as representative
respectively of largely contemporaneous faunas
of the Pacific Slope, Rocky Mountains, and Great
Plains areas. The three Quaternary explorations
include deposits in northwestern Nebraska, and
in Alaska in the north and Ecuador in the south.

(1) Barstow, Mohave Desert, California.
— The party, under Mr. Joseph Rak, collected
for the eighth consecutive winter in the steeply
pitching beds of this difficult area, securing at
three separate horizons additional important
carnivore, horse and camel remains. A lower
horizon, the Rak Division, has yielded two of
the finest associated camel skeletons of Miocene
Age yet encountered in any part of the world.

(2) Santa Fe, New Mexico. — For a sixth May
to November season the Joseph Rak party fol-
lowed up its operations in the "Santa Fe Marls"
of Cope. The discovery of incidental crania and
other remains of camels and horses in great
variety, rhinoceroses, mastodons, antelope, Oreo-
donts, and of an occasional carnivore or rodent,
has continued with some of the success of pre-
vious years. The jaws and partial skull of a large
and greatly aged bull mastodon (7*. pojueguensis
referred) comes as a companion to the beautifully
preserved skull and jaws of an equally aged
female obtained a year past. When the jaws are
closed in this particular four-tusked form, the
downward directed upper tusks cross the man-
dibular symphysis well posterior to the exposed
bases of the lower tusks. The new specimen is
remarkable in that the extremely heavy upper
tusks, which are usually elongate, are worn to
symmetrical fourteen-inch stubs. The lower
tusks are unshortened.

Mr. Rak himself has been incapacitated by an
abscessed foot so that the party the present
season has been under the direct charge of his
chief assistant, Mr. Jack Wilson.

AMERICAN MUSEUM EXPEDITfONS

103

(3) AiNswoRTfi, Neubaska. — The work in
Uiisarea has lioen continued for a fourth June to
August by Mr. Morris F. Sliinncr. Among the
more interesting material secured are two fine
skulls of Leidy's Procamelus, a skull of the
peculiar rodent, Mylagaulus, and the skull of a
large species of the great wolf-creature,
A mphicyo?i.

(4) Hay Springs, Nebraska. — Excavations
carried on by Mr. Charles Falkonbach for a third
partial summer in this vicinity have resulted in
the securing of several crania of the typical
Equus, dentitions of the giant beaver, Castoroides,
and a considerable assortment of additional
remains. But by far the most notable find is the
skull of a great species of Lartet's strange bear-
sized carnivore, Hemicyon (11. nebrascensis, n.
sp.), discovered by Mr. Falkenbach in a pocket
directly underlying the Pleistocene. The only
other finds of this genus in America are the sur-
prising series secured at Barstow by Mr. Rak
and the unique skull, jaws, and partial skeleton
found by Messrs. Falkenbach and Simpson in
New Mexico in 1923.

(5) Fairbanks, Alaska. — Under the joint
auspices of Alaska College and the American
Museum and through the courtesy of Mr.
N. W. Rice and the authorities of the U. S.
Smelting and Mining Companj^, Messrs. Peter
Kaisen and Otto W. Geist collected a second
year in the wake of the gold mining stripping
operations. Among the more striking trophies
obtained the present season are partial skulls
of all three of the musk ox genera — Ovibos,
Symbos and Bootherium — additional series of
skulls with the horns themselves occasionally
preserved of bulls and the first two skuUs of
females of the great Super-bison, remains of a
huge bearlike creature of the size of Ardothe.rium
and the skull of a calf mammoth. Among sev-
eral curiosities are well preserved leaves and a
great oblong mass of minute and closely com-
pressed seeds which suggest a winter's cache of
long ago, and the little ground squirrels whose
skeletons are now and again encountered.
During the summer Mr. Kaisen by the use of
local flying service obtained important small
collections from areas to the northwest of Fair-
banks. In connection with the collection Presi-
dent Bunnell of Alaska College has received from
Mr. B. E. Douglass of Livengood a superb
cranium of a male mammoth with a tusk measur-
ing 8 feet 4 inches. This specimen is particularly
valuable for comparison with the several fine
female crania washed out the past year at Fair-
banks.

(6) Pu.viN, Ecuador. — Messrs. John Blick and
Charles Falkenbach were cordially received by
the authorities at Quito on their arrival in late
December for the purpose of investigating de-
posits in the neighborhood of Punin which have
lain largely undisturbed since the Branco ex-
plorations of 1881. It is recalled that Curator
Anthony in 1923, while making a small collection
in this area, had the fortune to discover a human
cranium in place in the same beds ajjparently
with remains of extinct ground sloths, horses and
camels. It is hoped that more adequate knowl-
edge of the Punin horizons will shed much wel-
come light on several Pleistocene problems.
— Childs Frick.

■"PHE O'Donnell-Clark African Expedi-
■^ TION. — The rare giant eland is the desidera-
tum of the O'Donnell-Clark African Expedition
which started for the Sudan on January 10, under
the leadership of Mr. James L. Clark, assistant
director in charge of preparation at the American
Museum and Mr. C. Oliver O'Donnell, associate
leader. Landing at Alexandria, the exjjedition
will proceed direct to Cairo, thence to entrain
for a three-daj' journej' to Khartum. Here the
party will board a specially chartered river vessel
for a sixty-day trip along the Upper Nile, allow-
ing frequent stops and excm'sions inland for the
purpose of studj' and observation before any
attempt at securing specimens is actually made.
The animals will be mounted and exliibited as one
of the feature groups in the new Akeley-African
Hall, now rapidly nearing completion.

nPHE Chapin-Congo Expedition. — Franklin
•'■ Edson, who has spent the past j'ear in work
for the mammal department of the American
Museum, has just returned from the Belgian
Congo, where he has been acting as assistant to
Dr. James P. Chapin in the collection of speci-
mens and accessory material for a proposed
group of Congo bird Ufe.

Although forced to return ahead of time due to
illness, Mr. Edson reported that Doctor Chapin
was in excellent health, that nearh' all the neces-
sary material had been collected, and that work
was fast nearing completion.

Doctor Chapin was also able to add a number
of very excellent specimens to his study collec-
tions, which will prove both rare and valuable
additions to the general store of knowledge re-
garding a part of the Congo which up to the
present has been Uttle touched by the scientific
collector.

In addition to the ornithological specimens
procured, Mr. Edson was able to return with a
number of interesting skins for the mammal de-

104

NATURAL HISTORY

A MERICAN
-** Patagonia

during the first two months of

field work in the Paleocene beds

of northern Patagonia:

December 1, 1930.
Deah Mh. Brown:

Another necessarily hurried note and
report of progress. We have made a fly-
ing trip in to Comodoro Rivadavia pri-
marily to see a government geologist, Dr.
Egidio Feruglio, and are profiting by it
to restock supplies, leave fossils here, and
get some mail off.

This week we are moving from Coli-
Haupi farther back into the wilderness,
up the Rio Sengner beyond the confluence
of the Rio Mayo, west of the Sierra San
Bernardo and not far from the Cordillera.
I hope for good luck up that way as there
are reports of Lower Tertiary and no
one has been there since Ameghino, at
least.

Our results in the region of Coli-Haupi
have been very good. We have worked
a long strip of land extending from the
source of the Rio Chico (at Lago CoU-
Haupi) westward to the Vuelta del Sen-
guer, south of Sierra San Bernardo be-
fore the Rio Senguer flows into Lago
Musters. We have about fifteen detailed
geologic sections with good fossil collec-
tions from numerous fixed horizons in
each, which should settle the very com-
plex and misunderstood stratigraphy and
succession of these early faunas, all of
which occur here and some of which oc-
cur nowhere else.

In spite of the statements of Riggs and
others that the Notostylops beds are al-
most completely barren or worked out,
persistent search has revealed a large
fauna and we have a really excellent
collection already. We have jaws and
skulls of mammals described by Ameghino
from isolated teeth or single bones, and
as nearly as can be judged in the field
also have a number of quite new things.
We are storing flve cases of fossils here
in Comodoro.

We continue in good health. The
wind has been very bad lately, as it can
be only in Patagonia, but it doesn't inter-
fere greatly. I am encouraged by our
results and am enjoying the trip and
work very much. Everyone continues to
The continuous line shows the route of the Princeton- American give us excellent cooperation. Feruglio,
Museum Patagonian Expedition of 1898-99-1900 for instance, has saved me days of work

and possible mistakes by going over part
of the field with me and by supplying
me with further unpublished maps, geologic reports,
data on fossil localities, etc.

Sincerely,
(Signed) George Gaylord Simpson.

An excerpt from a letter from Coleman Wil-
liams, written on Christmas Day, says:

We have found an unexplored and exceedingly rich
locality north of the Rio Chico from which we have taken
more than 600 specimens of Notostylops fossils in the last
week including skulls, jaws and skeletal parts.

This much desired collection from the little
known Paleocene beds of South America is al-
ready of sufficient importance to insure the
success of the expedition. It enriches the Ameri-
can Museum collection with the rarer early
Eocene mammals ancestral to the fauna pre-
viously secured from southern Patagonia and
much desired for comparison with the Paleocene
faunas of North America.

The name Patagonia was formerly applied to
the southern end of South America— south of
the River Negro, but no longer has political
significance. (See map on this page).

THE SOUTHERN PART OF SOUTH AMERICA
The dotted line shows the route of the Scarritt-Patagonian Expedition of

partment, among which are an unusually small
fruit bat new to the collection, many scaly-tailed
flying squirrels, bush babies, and elephant shrews.

Owing to the tact that the primary object of
the expedition was the gathering together of the
necessary materials for a group in as short a
period as possible, any general collecting in other
departments was largely restricted. However, a
number of insects were added to the collection,
as also were some specimens of the lower inver-
tebrates common to the region. Specimens and
photographs were obtained of the interesting
froth frog nests of the Congo.

Other results include a number of valuable
photographs and several thousand feet of motion
picture films.

Museum Expeditions to
-The following letter from
Dr. George Gaylord Simpson epitomizes the
results of the Scarritt-Patagonian Expedition

NOTES

105

DREDATORY Mammal CoNTnoL.—Mr.
■*■ George Goodwin and Mr. T. D. Carter re-
turned to New York the latter part of December
from the field investigation which they made
in connection with the control of predatory
mammals, cooperating with the United States
Biological Survey in a study of the various
problems involved. Mr. Goodwin covered about
2500 miles by automobile, and on horseback,
spending most of his time visiting poison
stations in the national forests of Idaho and Utah.
Mr. Goodwin was surprised at the number of
antelope he saw in the Pahsimeroi He counted
more than 200 animals.

Mr. Carter covered more than 4000 miles,
interviewing ranchers, cattlemen, sheepmen,
agriculturists, and trappers in Wyoming,
Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico.

piELD Work in Florida. — Mr. Maurice K.
■*• Brady has been collecting during the past
few months in North CaroUna, Georgia, and
Florida, foi- the new reptile house of the National

Zoological Park in Washington and for tlie labora-
tories af experimental biology of the American
Museum. He has sent to the Museum many
rare frogs and salamanders, including a series of
the West Indian piping frog (Eleulherodaciylua
ricordii) which, having become introduced into
Florida, is now widely spread over the state.
The new reptile house in Washington includes
some fine research laboratories. Frequently
species not suitable for exhibition are of great
biological value, and the National Zoological
Park is to be congratulated upon making [jrovi-
sion for the study of both types of animals.

■"PHE Madagascar Expedition. — A letter from
•*• Mr. A. L. Rand of the Mission Zoologique
Franco-Anglo-Americaine in Madagascar, of
which M. Jean Delacour is director, states that
Messrs. Rand and DuMont have obtained a very
interesting series of the ground roller [Brachy-
pleracias) for the American Museum collections.
The party expects to remain in the field until
April.

NOTES

THE NEW VEENAY - FAUNTHORPE
SOUTH ASIATIC HALL

""THE opening, on November 17th last, of
•^ the South Asiatic Hall on the second floor
of the American Museum was an event in the
history and development of the institution.
This hall will stand not only as an expres-
sion of the natural beauty and wild animal
life found today in the highlands and lowlands,
swamps and jungles of southern Asia, but also
of the spirit of friendUness, generosity', and true
sportsmanship of the two men who made it
possible, — Arthur S. Vernay and Lt. Col. J. C.
Faunthorpe.

President Henry Fairfield Osborn and Direc-
tor George H. Sherwood were hosts on this
occasion to a group of distinguished guests from
England, India, and America, among whom were
Sir Harry Armstrong, British Consul General
of New York City, representing Sir Ronald
Lindsay, the British Ambassador to the United
States, Sir Harcourt Butler, former governor
of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh and
of Burma, Peter Faunthorpe, son of Colonel
Faunthorpe, A. A. Dunbar Brander, chief con-
servator of forests of the Central Provinces,
India, and Arthur S. Vernay.

President Osborn opened the dedication
ceremonies with an address of greeting in the
auditorium of the Museum, where more than
200 invited guests had assembled. He recalled

his first meeting, twelve years ago, vdth the
late Colonel Faunthorpe, then Commissioner
of Lucknow, when the Colonel, whOe visiting
the United States, came to the American
Museum. President Osborn told how they
went over the Museum's collections of mammals
together, and of Colonel Faunthorpe's admira-
tion of the methods of taxidermy employed and
the artistry with which the animals were mounted
in groups against specially prepared backgrounds.
Colonel Faunthorpe was impressed, however,
with the fact that the fauna of India was repre-
sented by only a few unimportant specimens.
From this fortuitous meeting sprang the great
undertaking which has culminated in the re-
markable and rare collections now housed in an
architectural setting that reflects most appro-
priately the spirit of India.

President Osborn paid tribute also to Arthur
S. Vernay, big game hunter, partner and com-
panion of Colonel Faunthorpe, who had gen-
erously assumed the cost of the entire under-
taking in the field, and devoted himself enthusi-
astically to the series of field expeditions and to
the preparation of the exhibits. President Os-
born signahzed the results of the new hall as a
symbol of the unity of ideals and aims which
now unite the naturalists of England aiid
America.

Sir Harry Armstrong, speaking for the British
Ambassador who sent his greetings, said that the

106

NATURAL HISTORY

interest of British sportsmen was as deep as
that of Americans in the conservation of game,
particularly of those species which are fast
vanishing from the earth.

Sir Harcourt Butler was then welcomed by
President Osborn, as one who from the first
appeal by Mr. Vernay
and Colonel Faun-
thorpe, put all the re-
sources under his com-
mand at their disposi-
tion. He said in part:

I am representing, as far
as one can represent him.
one who is dear to many of
us, as he was dear to Arthur
Vernay and to me. In fact,
no one could really repre-
sent John Champion Faun-
thorpe. He stood quite
alone. He was a remark-
able man and one of the
greatest sportsmen of his
time. .

I have been asked to talk
on this occasion about Brit-
ish and American coopera-
tion in exploration and
science. No place in the
world is more appropriate
for such a topic, for no one
has done more than Presi-
dent Osborn to promote it.
. In many parts of
the world it is being car-
ried on in the quiet ways
of science. Much inter-
change of thought and work
goes on between this and
British Museums. There
has been no more thorough
advocate and architect of
this cooperation than Arthur
Vernay. With him, Ameri-
can and British cooperation
is more than an ideal, it is
a burning faith . I have
heard him expound in India
and Burma, in London and
in New York, in the depths
of the jungle and in the
heart of civilization. And
he has proved his word by
deeds in the great collection
he has given to this Museum. I am told and I can well
believe that there is nothing like it in the world.

Arthur Vernay has asked me to say a word about the
assistance that he received in India and Burma from the
Viceroy, Lord Reading, a man honored here as in the
British Empire, the Indian princes, generous sportsmen
as well as rulers, the governors of provinces, officials
and especially the members of the very efficient forest
department. A distinguished member of that depart-
ment, Mr. Dunbar Brander, is present this evening, and
will lecture both here and at Chicago. Where all have
been gladly helpful it is almost invidious to particularize,
but mention may be made of the great assistance ren-
dered by mv old friend his Highness the late Maharajah,
Sir Chandra Shumshere Jung BahadurRana, Prime Minister
and Marshal of Nepal. I hope that all will help equally
in the preservation of the fauna to which Arthur Vernay
is now directing his attention and energy. He is particu-
larly insistent on the appointment of game wardens in
India. And this is most important. When Governor
of Burma, I was able to get my government to appoint
a game warden, Mr. Smith, with I believe most successful
results. As cultivation spreads and the jungle line re-
cedes, the protection of the fauna is one of the greatest
services that can be rendered to posterity. In whatever
way this can be done it is good work for science and for
man. . . .

Tonight we are celebrating the gift of a generous large-
hearted American City, which will also be an abiding
contribution to science and good will. And I ask myself
and I ask you, cannot this good will and companionship
and cooperation be carried even further? The points of

SIR HARCOURT BUTLER
Former Governor of the United Provinces of Agra and
of Burma, who placed all the resources under his com-
mand at the disposition of Mr. Vernay and Tjieutenant-
Colonel Faunthorpe

agreement among us are so many, the points of difference
so few. The opportunity is here. Some work of noble
note may yet be done for the greater happiness and peace
and prosperity of mankind.

Director Sherwood gave a resume of the
activities that crystaUized into the achievement
of completing the entire Vernay-Faunthorpe Hall
of habitat groups and
opening it as a whole.
He told of the first
conferences of Colonel
Faunthorpe and Mr.
Vernay with President
Osborn and Curator
H. E. Anthony to
ascertain the scientific
requirements for an
Asiatic collection; the
organization of the six
great expeditions and
their maintenance in
the field; the weeks,
months, and even
years, of careful study
of the problems per-
taining to each species;
the dehcate diplomatic
negotiations for per-
mission to collect vari-
ous species rigidly pro-
tected by law; the city's
share in the erection of
the Asiatic Hall; and
finally, the Museum's
share by the mounting
and preparation of the
groups.

The formal presen-
tation of the collections
was made by Mr. Vernay in the following words:

Mr. President, I have great pleasure in formally present-
ing to the American Museum of Natural History, in the
name of my beloved friend, Colonel Faunthorpe, and my-
self, this collection of Asiatic mammals.

At the same time I would assure you we have deemed
it a signal honor to have been thus associated with this
great institution of Science and Education.

The new hall was then thrown open to the
guests, and the latter part of the evening was
devoted to the inspection of the Vernay-Faun-
thorpe collections.

The following evening, A. A. Dunbar Brander
presented an illustrated lecture to the members
of the American Museum on "Thirty Years
Among the Wild Beasts of India." The hall
was opened to public view on November 19.

The scientific direction of the Vernay-Faun-
thorpe Hall was in charge of Mr, Harold E.
Anthony, curator of mammals of the world at the
American Museum; the arrangement of the hall

NOTES

107

and tlic pi'upMi-iitioM of llic (groups was uudei' i\ic
supervision of iwsistant director in charge of prej)-
aration, James L. Clark, and the accessory work
was performed under the direction of Albert E.
Butler. The backgrounds were painted by
W. R. Leigh, A. A. Jansson, F. L. Jaques, and
C. C. Rosonkranz from studies made in the
field by Mr. Rozenkranz.

An album illustrated with handsome etchings,
made by the Rembrandt gravure process, of
all the grou])S in the Hall, had been prepared for
the dedication ceremonies >mder the direction
of Mr. George N. Pindar, chairman of pubhe
information, and copies were distributed to the
guests as souvenirs of the occasion.

ASTRONOMY
TOURING December, four radio talks of the
'-^ second series under the auspices of the
Amateur Astronomers Association were given
over Station WOR, from 5:30 to 5:45 on Satur-
day afternoons. This series will be continued
during the winter and spring. Tn January Miss
Jean ConkUn gave five talks on "The Moon."

The special study groups of the Association,
under Miss Conklin and Mr. Shogren, are being
very well attended this winter. These are open to
all members of the Amateur Astronomers Asso-
ciation. Miss Conklin's class is stud3ang "As-
tronomy from the Modern Viewpoint," and Mr.
Shogren's is studying the winter constellations,
outdoors when weather permits.

On February 4 at the general meeting of the
Association the film on Einstein's Theory of
Relativity will be shown. Professor Einstein's
presence in this country makes this a particularly
favorable time to show this picture.

On February 18 Mr. John A. Kingsbury, secre-
tary of the A.A.A., will talk on "Meteors." On
March 4 Miss Henrietta Swope, of the Harvard
College Observatory, will talk on "Variable
Stars." On March 18 Dr. R. E. Lee, research
director in Fleischmann's Laboratories, will dis-
cuss "The Therapeutic Value of the Sun."

The Astronomy Department is proud of its
new acquisition — the small mechanical plane-
tarium which is on exhibit in the Eclipse Room
at the American Museum. This electrical con-
trivance, in lieu of the Zeiss planetarium which
the Museum hopes to have before long, gives
a fine idea of the motion of the various planets,
their relation to one another, the cause of the
seasons, ecUpses, and various other phenomena.

CONSERVATION
/^ENSUS Shows Big Game Animals Increas-
^^ ING IN National Forests. — The latest
"game census" by the Forest Service, U. S.

Depurtment of Agriculture, indicates that
in the last five years the estimated number of
antelope in the national forests has increased
35 per cent, of black or brown bears, 9 per cent,
of deer, 32 per cent, of elk. 15 per cent, of moun-
tain goats, 18 per cent, and of mountain sheep, 2
per cent, with decreases of 37 per cent in grizzUes,
86 per cent in caribou, and 15 per cent in moose.
Unless more protection is afforded to the grizzly,
says the Forest Service, other states will be in the
class of California, where this animal is now
extinct. The decrease in caribou is owing largely
to the disappearance of the herd from one forest
adjoining Canada, and it is assumed the herd has
shifted its range to Canada. More rehable
estimates account for the apparent lower number
of moose, as early estimates were too high.

HISTOR1' OF THE EARTH
T TOW Ancient Is the Peking Man? — Pro-
■^ * fessor Grabau has added some interesting
details as to the pateoclimatology of the earliest
Quaternary or "Poh'cene" period when Sinan-
thropus, whose recent discovery has been of such
great interest "migrated from the center of
dispersion, which was probably then the Sinkiang
Basin." Professor Osborn, who some time ago
recognized Asia as the center of dispersal, has

CAST OF SINANTHROPUS PJKIjYENSIS
With a part of the matrix still adhering to the specimen.
It is owing to the wise direction of Dr. Davidson Bhick,
honorary director of the Cenozoic Research Laboratory of
the geological Survey of China, that this priceless speci-
men was discovered, and it is by his courtesy that the
American Museum is enabled to place this cast on
exhibition

108

NATURAL HISTORY

been particularly interested in Professor Grabau's
statement, for he has long felt that confirmatory
evidence was sure to come to Ught. Among other
interesting statements Doctor Grabau writes:

. . . there is no reason to doubt that the migrations of
early man. from the Tarim Basin, brought him not only to
China, but to Mongolia as well. His wide dispersal across
Eurasia . . . indicates conditions favorable to existence
from the Atlantic to the Pacific. But when . . . the
Pleistocene opened, these favorable conditions underwent a
modification. For by that time, the great ice cap had
begun to accumulate over northern Europe and eastern
North America, and . . . sent its glaciers out in all direc-
tions . . . but on the other side of the earth, they barely
reached the Arctic coast of Asia. ... It was this ice
accumulation over Europe that changed the cliinate of
Asia, creating an area of high pressure, from which the
\vinds . . . blowing across the Tarim Basin and the Gobi,
both of which had been lands of more or less pluvial climates,
changed them to deserts such as they are today. . . .
And as the river plains of the Tarim Basin and Mongolia
became desiccated . . . the clay and rock flour were . . .
carried away and only the sand grains remained. . . .
These finer particles were brought to China, where they
formed the loess deposits, so characteristic of North China
today. There is no other source from which this loess could
have been derived, except the Tarim and the Gobi basins
and these we know to have been deprived of their loessic
dust, because today they harbor only sands and stones.

Another interesting item which Doctor Grabau
has called to our attention is the difference in the
strength of the Pleistocene winds in China as
compared with those of today, and the probable
influence of such conditions on early man. He
writes:

. . . The winds themselves come to East China dust-
free. Not so in Pleistocene time however. Then they were
strong enough to carry the Gobi and the Tarim dust to its
present resting place in China. And . . . we can realize
that the Pleistocene winds must have enormously exceeded
in strength and velocity those that produce our fiercest
modern dust storms. ... It is not difficult to understand
that Pleistocene man and . . . animals, found life almost
insupportable in China during the loess period, and that
such was the case is indicated by the scarcity of remains of
Pala'olithic man in China, when compared with their
abundance in the dust free region of south Europe. . . .
Migration in Pleistocene time was chiefly westward, and
. . . not until the cessation of the dust-bearing winds could
man come east. . . . That he did so in Neolithic time, is
shown by the abundance, not only of his implements and
utensils, but also of his skeletal remains. But that was in
the last or Holocene period, the period in which we still
live and which marks the continuous occupation ... of
most of Asia by the developing human race.

I 'HE Evolution of the Titanothebes. —
•*■ At the Cleveland meeting of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science
Professor Osborn's exhibit illustrating the evolu-
tion of the titanotheres aroused much interest.
The centerpiece of the exhibit was a large mural
by Charles R. Knight. This shows an imposing
herd of the latest members of the titanothere
family as they appeared on the shore of an ancient
lake in South Dakota in the Lower Ohgocene
epoch, about 37,000,000 years ago. Below this
was a series of hfe-sized models of heads of titano-
theres, mostly by the late Erwin S. Christman,
representing successive stages in the evolution of
the family. The recently pubhshed two-volume
memoir on the evolution of these animals, by
Professor Osborn, was not the least important
part of the exhibit.

■"PHE Most Ancient Alg^. — Mr. Lincoln
■'■ Ellsworth, the Arctic explorer, and a Trustee
of the American Museum, has recently collected
specimens of fossil algEe from the ancient rocks
of Algonkian age in the Grand Canon and
Death Valley regions. He hopes that these
very ancient types of fossil plants, which are
some 600,000,000 years old, may shed new Ught
on the geologic structure and early history of
the southwestern portion of the United States.
During the past summer he conducted similar
studies in eastern Labrador.

Mr. Ellsworth's attention was first directed
to these ancient forms of plants in 1929, by Dr.
David White of the National Academy of
Sciences. Extended explorations in the Grand
Canon region by Mr. Ellsworth afforded a
collection of these rare silicified structures.
This collection, which was transmitted to
Doctor White in the early part of the year 1930,
may, when fully studied, yield definite knowl-
edge of the cell structure of the most primitive
forms of life. — C. A. Reeds.

A NEW Cretaceous Pliosaur. — The fos-
•**■ sil remains of Mesozoio reptiles in Aus-
tralia and New Zealand are indeed rare, so the
recent discovery of some fragmentary Umb
bones of a Cretaceous marine reptile is an event
of considerable significance in the field of
palaeontological study. The fragments, con-
sisting of the upper parts of two humeri, are
noteworthy for their unusual size; it would
.seem that they represent the largest marine
reptile yet found. To these bones the name,
KronosauTus queenslandicus is now given by
Heber A. Longman, in Volume X, part I, of
the Memoirs of the Queensland Museum.
This animal, a relative of the European plio-
saurs, evidently Kved in the shallow Cretaceous
seas of the south Pacific region, prejdng upon fish
of various sorts, and offering a real menace to
the smaller and less fortunate reptiles of that
period. This pliosaur was not the only giant of
his day, for certain ammonites, great cephalo-
pods related to the nautilus, and marine turtles
also were proportionately large. Thus it would
seem that the Mediterranean waters of Australia
were conducive to the development of unusually
large animals during the Cretaceous period.
— E. H. C.
INSECT LIFE

STUDY AT Barro Colorado. — During
November, 1930, Curator Lutz, Research
Associate Schwarz, and Mr. E. L Huntington
studied the insect life of the Panama Canal Zone,
making their headquarters at the laboratory on
Barro Colorado Island in Gatun Lake. Mr.

NOTES

109

Huntington secured an exceptionally good collec-
tion of buttei'flies which are adult at that time of
year, the end of the dry season. Mr, Sohwarz
specialized on the biology of wasps and bees;
and Doctor Lutz continued his studies of light as
a factor in the behavior of insects. In addition
to their research work, they brought back mate-
rial for habitat groups of the army ant and the
stingless honey-bee. On a former trip to Panama
Doctor Lutz secured material for a grouji of the
leaf-cutting ant but it is not yet on exhibition.

THE BASHFORD DEAN MEMORIAL VOLUME
nPHE late Dr. Bashford Dean, founder of the

■*• department of fishes in the American Mu-
seum, and at the time of his death in December,
1928, honorary curator of ichthyology, left be-
hind him a number of sets of magnificent un-
published drawings illustrating the embrj'ology
of three of the lowest fishes. His materials and
drawings are being worked up by certain of his
associates and former students, and the resulting
papers will be published by the Museum in parts
as finished as The Bashford Dean Memorial
Volume — Archaic Fishes in quarto size under the
editorship of Dr. Eugene W. Gudger, bibUog-
rapher and associate in ichthyology.

The first article, a "Memorial Sketch" by Dr.
Wilham K. Gregory, a former student of Doctor
Dean and his successor as curator of ichthyology,
was pubhshed December 15 last. It consists of a
twenty-two-page sketch of Doctor Dean's hfe
and work, divided into sections to show on what
subjects he was working at various times. This
is illustrated by a photogravure and five half-
tone portraits. Next there is a complete bibUog-
raphy of Doctor Dean's writings comprising 315
titles. At the end are appendices containing lists
of other memorial sketches, copies of resolutions
and memorial minutes adopted by various or-
ganizations, and reports of the opening of
memorial and research rooms and exliibits dedi-
cated to Doctor Dean in both the Metropolitan
Museum of Art and the American Museum of
Natural History. This is illustrated by photo-
graphs of the memorial tablets in the two mu-
seums and by two other figures. Article I of
the Memorial Volume comprises forty-two pages,
and has eight plates and two text figures.

MUSEUM ACCESSIONS

A NEW Meteorite. — The most recent acces-

•^*' sion by the American Museum of celestial

immigrants is a stone meteorite from near MiUer,

Arkansas, which was acquired November 1],

1930, through the generosity of Mr. .J. i'. Morgan.
It is a heart-shaped aerohte some twelve inches
across by six inches thick, weighing 3(5 lbs. 10 oz.
It was seen to fall at 9:00 .'V.M., Sunday, July 13.
1930, on the farm of Mr. .lulian Bailey. One of
the near-by witnesses likened the apf>earance of
the flight of the meteor to that of a white pigeon,
but moving much faster. The specimen raised a
cloud of dust as it made a round hole 18 inches in
depth in a dry dirt road-bed, fifty yards distant
from the house of Mr. Bailey.

The entire surface of the specimen is coated
with a tliin black crust, a feature, which is char-
acteristic of all stony meteorites. In a few
places the crust has been scaled off revealing a
gray rock chondritic in texture. The specimen
is unique in that the margins of the under surface
are radially grooved. These markings, wliich
were developed while passing rapidly through the
earth's atmosphere, imply that the specimen did
not turn over while in transit, but kept one face
toward the earth. — C. A. Reeds.

MEETINGS OF SOCIETIES
■"PHE Depart.ment of E.vtomology was
■*• represented by Curator Lutz and Assistant
Curator Curran at the meetings of the .American
Association for the Advancement of Science and
affihated societies at Cleveland. Since, of the
approximately 450 zoological papers read at these
meetings, 195 dealt with insects, it is particularly
appropriate that Museum entomologists should
be present. Doctor Lutz was selected b.v the
Entomological Society of America to represent it
in connection with the National Research Council.

A MAP OF THE Major Earthou.a.kes 1889-
■'*• 1923. — One of the features of the December,
1930, meeting of the Geological Society of
America at Toronto, Canada, was the showing by
C. A. Reeds of a map of the world on which had
been indicated the epicenters of 1,783 major
earthquakes for the twentj--five j-ear period
1899-1923 This number represents the total
of large earthquakes recorded on seismological
stations distributed 91 or more degrees distant
from the point of origin of each quake. The data
for the map was assembled at the American
Museum from various Bulletins of the British
Association Seismological Committee, the Inter-
national Seismological Summar}', and the Journal

of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

The epicenters, which are represented by dots
on the map, are distributed for the most part in
two great zones, one circum-Pacific the other

NATURAL HISTORY

A STOWAWAY FROM JAMAICA

This tree frog was discovered in a siiipment of bananas that came

from the West Indies to New Yorl< City. Such stowaway animal

life is now being studied at the American Museum

about the world in the latitude of the Mediter-
ranean. The submarine zone extending from
Kamchatka to New Guinea is the belt of most
marked concentration. Major earthquakes are
caused by sudden adjustment of strains within
the earth's crust. Their sites on the land and
beneath the sea
are indicated by
displacements
along fault lines.
These features are
most pronounced
in the belts of
the highest and
youngest moun-
tains and the
greatly depressed
troughs of the sea
floor.

■yHE Galton
•'• Society. — At
the December 15
meeting of the
Galton Society,
Prof. G. Elliot
Smith of the Uni-
versity College,

London, addressed the Society on the Peking
man {Sinanlhropus) .

The election of Prof. W. K. Gregory as presi-
dent of the Galton Society, and of Mr. Frederick
Osborn as secretary-treasurer was announced.

REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS

A STOWAWAY.— Through the kindness of Mr.
Louis Brody, the American Museum has
been receiving a large number of stowaways
which have arrived in New York in various ship-
ments of bananas from Jamaica. Among them
were two specimens of tree frog, Hyla brunnea
(shown above), and three of the rare gecko,
Aristelliger praesignis. The latter species occurs
today in several West Indian islands. Since the
Indians no doubt carried fruit and similar foods
with them on their voyages, they may well have
been responsible for the present distribution of
the species. On the other hand, Hyla brunnea is
confined to Jamaica and why this species has not
a similar wide distribution is a subject for
further investigation.

Through the cooperation of Mr. Brody a de-
tailed study of the stowaway animal life arriving
in New York is now in progress.

OTHER MUSEUMS

THE Dedication of The Museum op Primi-
tive Cultures, in Peace Dale, Rhode
Island.— Many students of ornithology are
familiar with the collection of birds' eggs made by

the late Rowland Gibson Hazard and now housed
in the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural His-
tory in Santa Barbara, California. Less well
known is the fact that Mr. Hazard was also
interested in archaeology and ethnology, and that
his collection in these fields was of considerable
importance. In
accordance with
his wishes the
estate has set aside
a small hall in the
new Peace Dale
Offices to house
the collection.
Five large wall
cases were espe-
cially designed to
display the mate-
rials and to pro-
vide storage space
for excess objects.
The museum was
dedicated on No-
vember 11, 1930.

The most im-
portant parts of
the collection con-
sist of archaeological materials from New
England (notably from Rhode Island and Maine),
Missouri, and CaUfornia. Small but representa-
tive collections from many other sections are also
displayed, including the Mound Builder area, the
Southeast, the Southwest, and Oregon. The
European Palaeolithic and Neolithic periods are
also represented. The ethnological items consist
largely of basketry from California, the South-
west, and Alaska, with a generous sprinkling of
miscellaneous objects from various parts of the
world. The installation was made by Dr. Ronald
L. Olson of the staff of the American Museum
of Natural History. The founding of this mu-
seum is another example of the growing acknowl-
edgment of the educational value of the museum
to the community.

NEW PUBLICATIONS
■"HE Permian op Mongolia. — A new
volume bearing the above title will be
issued in February by the American Museum.
It wiU constitute Volume IV of the Natural
History of Central Asia. This series of twelve
quarto volumes constitutes the final reports
of the Central Asiatic Expeditions of the Mu-
seum. The explorations in MongoUa on which
these volumes are based were conducted in the
years, 1919, 1922, 1923, 1925, 1928, and 1930,
under the direction of Dr. Roy Chapman
Andrews.

NOTES

111

The |)rcseiit oxtcnsivc: vdIiiimc-, wliicli in Ijii.sod
on the Expedition's collections for the years
1922, 1923, and 192r), has been prepared by
Trol'. A, W. Grabau of the University of Peking,
research associate of the American Museum,
and formerly professor of palajoiitology in
Columbia University. Professors Charles P.
Berkey and Frederick K. Morris, the authors
of Volume II of this series, published in Decem-
ber, 1927, have contributed a chapter to the new
volume on the general relations of the Permian
deposits in Mongolia. Professor Grabau's
contribution deals jirimarily with the descrip-
tion of the new invertebrate species and the
correlation of the various Mongolian horizons
of Permian age with those of India, ot China
of the Ural Mountain region, of the ancient
kingdom of Permia in Russia from which the
name Permian was proposed by Sn' Roderick
I. Murchison of Great Britain in 1841, of Ger-
many, and of North America. This volume,
which contains a vast amount of new data on a
liitherto unknown region and its significance,
will be indispensable to those geologists, ]5ala;on-
tologists, stratigraphers, teachers, and students,
who wish to be fully informed on the Permian
period and system of rocks, the last division
of the Palaeozoic era. It was during this period
that great changes took place in the earth's
crust, extensive glacial conditions existed in
tropical regions, and warm-blooded animals
began that existence which has continued to
the present. — C. A. Reeds.

Growing Up in New Guinea. By Margaret Mead. Wm.
Morrow * Co., New York, 1930; 372 pp. ills., maps etc.

/^NCE more, as in Corning of Age in Samoa,
^-^ Doctor Mead has bored into the soul of a
primitive society. Having no preconceived opin-
ions, she has come out with a mass of coordinated
information which is not only of great intrinsic
interest but also throws pitiless Ught upon prob-
lems to be faced at home.

For the Manus — salt-water folk of the Ad-
miralty Islands — are the Rotarians of Melanesia.
They are go-getters, worshippers of gdt-edged
success, pillars of the estabUshed social and
economic order. For all their faith in what is
practical, materialistic and eminently respectable,
they have neither shaken oS the disadvantages of
rehgion nor retained any of its benefits — unless
the pubhc confession of guilt, to which their
rather threadbare spiritism occasionally forces
them, may be extolled as a prop of their whole
social structure.

Manus children grow up without restraint or
responsibiUty, without oral tradition or imagina-
tive guidance, without instruction except for that
which assures high physical skill, prudery, and the

cardinal virtue of respect for property. Train-
ing is mainly by example, and the father, rather
than the mother, is the parent to whom the un-
inhibited young tyrants look for comradeship or
indulgence. The barriers between father and son,
which are so regrettably evident in our own
society, are unknown in Manus.

Now the miracle that Doctor Mead records is
the fact that the undisciplined, indi\iduulistic
children are changed willy-nilly — when the
proper time arrives — into the hidebound, con-
forming Manus adults. The mechanism of this
transformation is highly interesting, and the
author concludes that "Wlien it is a question of
passing on the sum total of a simple tradition,
the only conclusion which it is possible to draw
from the diverse primitive material is that any
method will do."

Very challenging are Doctor Mead's findings
on the precedence of en\'ironment over hereditary
factors in the development of personahty, as ex-
emphfied among adopted Manus children. The
convincing data, like everything else in this de-
Ughtful book, owe much of their strength to the
always obvious fact that the author has no pet
theories and no axe to grind. — R. C. M.

TN the Stir of A'a/ure by William H. Carr,
■^ assistant curator of education in the American
Museum of Natural History, the author points a
way to a better understanding of the wild life
about us.

It is very ob\'ious that Mr. Carr is a true lover
of nature and that he treasures his experiences
with mammal, bird, and reptile. He can dis-
cover some interesting bit of wild-life history
regardless of place or season, for beaver are com-
ing back to rear young at no great distance from
New York Citj', and Nature stirs the year around
if you know how to observe.

The book is not onlj' an interesting account of
the author's personal observations, but is written
to serve as a primer for the young or unexperi-
enced nature student who would like a hint or two
as to how to begin. Mr. Carr has had the ex-
perience with the animals and with the students,
and his training fits him for introducing the one
to the other. He has been associated with the
work of the American Museum at Bear Mountain
Park where he has been in charge of the nature
trails and the outdoor museum. In addition, he
has been engaged on a special study of the life
history of the beaver and has been making good
use of his field contacts.

The Stir of Nature develops the theme of
nature study by easy stages from the simple
observations of sights and sounds to the deduc-

112

NATURAL HISTORY

tions and analysis which they suggest to a
trained student. The fifteen chapters touch
upon a variety of subjects and give glimpses at
various vertebrates. The illustrations, photo-
graphs chiefly but supplemented by drawings, are
attractive and well chosen.

Mr. Carr's book can be recommended to
nature lovers of all ages and should prove a useful
text for classes in nature study.— H. E. Anthony.

"The American Museum of Natural History, Its History
and Expeditions.." By George N. Pindar.

This comprehensive resume of the inception

and development of the American Museum of

Natural History has been contributed by Mr.

George N. Pindar to Forschungs Institute, Ihre

Geschichte Organisation und Ziele. Vol. 2, a pub-
lication which appeared early in the fall of 1930.

THE COVER OF "NATURAL HISTORY"

The cover design of this issue, entitled "An
Inca Background," is from a painting by Arthur
A. Jansson. A modern Indian of the Andean
Highlands — a descendant of the dymamic race
which dominated an empire in the days before
Pizarro — sits among the ruins of former grandeur
and stares stoney-eyed into space. The splendid
achievements of his ancestors are lost even to his
memory. To him the ruins are simply the work
of some forgotten people — "houses of the infidel
gentiles."

NEW MEMBERS

Since the last issue of Natural History, the following
persons have been elected members of the American
Museum, making the total membership 12,095.

Mrs. Wheeler H. Page.

Life Members
Messrs. William G. Brooks, C. Merrill Chapin, Jr.,
Rot Curtiss, L. W. Dommei^ich, George Emlen Roose-
velt, Jr.

Sustaining Members
Mesdames George B. de Long, C. Dv Pont Lyon, James

SULLrVAN.

Misses Harriet E. Devoe, Alice R. Peters, Isabel M
Peters, Elvine Richard.

Messrs. Louis G. Engel, John A. Hird, Walter Jen,
NiNQS, John B. Maddock, Wm. Fellowes Morgan
Zark Pritchard, Robert C. Roebling, Robert Schet

Annual Members
Mesdames W. W. Bainbridge, R. L. Duffus, Adam K.
Geiger, R. Wray Hurt, E. Lester Jones, Charles B.
KIaufmann, Sigmund M. Lehman, R. J. Lewis, Gilbert
Montague, Laurence F. Peck, Tess R. Stein, Carl
J. Ulmann, F. C. Whitman, J. 0. Work.

Misses Rosalie C. Bodine, Julia R. Foster, Ann Har-
greaves, Helena A. Hulskamp, Augusta Kovalbff,
Julia Lathers, L. H. Low, Elizabeth Barrett Pea-
body, Jeanette E. Perkins, Madeline L. R. Satter-
lee, Harriet S. Swan, Alma White.

Doctors L. H. Berliner, C. G. Campbell, John D.
Cooney, Stanley M. Dow, C. W. Goff, M. R. Guenzel,
Du Bois S. Morris, Ralph F. Ward, R. M. Yergason.

Col, Charles H. Mason.

Messrs. H. Spencer Auguste, Robert N. Baylis, Doug-
las Beney, William T. Blackwell, Elias Blechman,
Stephen W. Blodgett, Aaron Bodansky, George
Stafford Bucknall. Ralph S. Child, B. N. Collison,
F. G. Cornell, Jr., Lawrence W. Dickey, Kuno Doerr,
Channing Rice Dooley, John H. Edens, Harry En-
glander, R. p. Ettinger, H.uirison S. Ferguson,
K. G. Frank, Kenneth Fuessle, Paul H. Gadebusch,
Oswald Giesen, Maurice Goodman, Stephen A.
Haboush, John B. Hamilton, John Randolph H.arhison,
Joel S. Hartman, Stansbury Haydon, Francois W.
Hiddinga, Charles E. Himmelsbach, George Howe,
Howard Huey, Alfred P. Jahn, Louis B. Jennings,
J. Katzman, Charles J. Lane, J. J. Levison, Louis
Lichtenhein, Hermann J. Lips, Lingard Loud, John
Lurie, Jr., Lester Markel, Lewis H. May, Richard
B. May, Leroy E. Menut, Clement E. Merowit, Wal-
lace Montgomery, Lindley C. Morton, John Munn,
E. L. Pewtress, Charles F. Pridham, Ralph Renwick,
Peter Rival, James P. Roe, Bennet F. Schauffler,
Charles A. Schnepbl, Robert A. Thayer, Eugene L.
TowNSEND, Howard Townsend, Jr., Albert Blogg
Unger, David W. Williams

Associate Members

Mesdames Francis G. Blasdel, Ralph Bossler, Mar-
garet Guild Conger, Robert B. Dickinson, Ilsien
Nathalie Gaylord, C. Willard Hayes, Allen W.
Shelton, Hazel M. Smith, Charles L. Street, Ruth
Thompson Taylor, T. D. Thacher.

Misses Doris E. Briggs, Grace Butler, M. Blanche
Cochran, Constance Cramer, Donie DeBardeleben,
Mary Edwards, Sarah E. Guernsey, Helen Harrell,
Madeline A. Hills, Margaret Huger, Isabel Ingram,
Martha Lee, M. Louisa MacNair, Pauline F. Reed,
A. Hildegard Ross, Marjorie C. Ruckman, Henrietta
Rupp, Meredith Shelton, Caroline Huston Thomp-
son, Barbara D. Wood.

Rev. Solomon Goldman.

Doctors Freeman P. Clason, Richard Laurens De
Saussure, Herbert Grove Dorsey, Gustav Eglopf,
B. C. Ehrenreich, John F. Enders, F. M. Findlat,
John Ellison Gamble, Conrad C. Gilkison, H. Gil-
dersleevb Jarvis, Michael Levitan, Louis Levy,
L. B. Otken, Parke G. Smith, Jambs Steinberg.

Judges Moses Shapiro, W. A. White.

Major Raymond D. Bell.

Messrs. V. N. Alin, Luis Ariza, Walter Arnstein,
Herbert M. Baruch, Jr., J. W. Beardsley, G. A.
Bendowski, Isaac W. Bernheim, C. J. Berno, Jos. L.
Brendel, Charles A. Browne, E. J. Bryan, William
H. Calkins, Malcolm G. Campbell, Thomas C. Carson,
Jr., Jos^ C. Castellano, Whitcomb Chadwick, Wil-
liam E. Chadwick, A. Charlesworth, Frank W. Cher-
RiNGTON, Ray F. Clark, Arthur M. Comey, Samuel
B. Cooper, Thomas P. Cope, Herbert Corey, J. A.
Coulter. Frank B. Cuff, Reynolds M. Denning,
Joseph Deutsch, Robert Adrain Duncan, Donald T.
Eastman, Wyatt St. B. Eustis, Gifford C. Ewing,
Edwin Faler, John Farrington, Sam B. Hill, Jr.,
Henry C. Hopewell, C. A. Howard, Charles Janin,
B. Kannenberg, John Mason Kemper, Peter Kim-
ball, George A. King, Paul D. Kirkham, Benjamin
Buck Kirkland, Paul E. Klopsteg, Charles E. Knopf,
Milton Kraus, L. T. Langdon, W. D. La Niece, Macy
H. Lapham, William Leslie, Albert A. Light, E. John
Long, Richard H. Manville, John A. Marsh, Wil-
liam B. McAllister, Jr., Pat Dooley McCain, Wil-
liam McLe.an, Nathan Murov, Nicholas Newlin,
Herbert T. Osborn, Billy Parcher, Miguel Mateu
Pla, J. M. Platts, David J. Post, Jr., Irving McK.
Reed, E. O. Reeder, Girard B. Rosenblatt, Thor-
VALD S. Ross. Clarence R. Runals, Winston U. Rut-
ledge, H. Edgar Salmon, Charles M. Sandwick,
Louis Schmidt, Friedrich Scholl, Hermann Schwarz,
Harvey A. Scranton, John S. Shepard, Jr., Paul
Squibb, Emerson Staebner, William Brackett
Stearns, Leon Strauss, Frank R. Tackaberry, Alex-
ander B. TiMM, Jr., Herbert W. W.vrden, 3d, L. B.
Webster, Jr., Frank E. Whitney, Harald Zumbruch.

Frank Fauver, John C. Rackham, William
Roots, Bud Stuart, Lad Trein.

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
FOUNDED IN 1869

Board of Trustees

Hbnuy Faikfield Osborn, President

Gborgu F. Bakisu, First Vice- Suvdam Cuttino A. Pebuy O.sboun

■f President FuEuiiuicK Thubee Davisox Daniel E. Pomekoy

J. P. MoKQAN, Second Vice- Cleveland Eakl Douge George D. PnArr

President Lincoln Ellsworth H. Hivi.sgton Pvne

James H. Perkins, Treasurer Guilds Fhick A. Hamilton Rice

Clarence L. Hay, Secretary Madison Grant Kkrmit Roosevelt

George F. Baker, Jr. Chauncry J. Hamlin Henry W. Sage

George T. Bowdoin Aucher M. Huntington Leonard C. Sankord

Fkederick F. Brewster Ugden L. Mills William K. \'anuerbilt

William Douglas Burden Junius Si'encer Morgan, Jr. Felix M. Warburg

Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney

James J. Walker, Mayor of the City op New York

Charles W. Berry, Comptroller of the City of Xew York

Walter R. Herhick, Commissioner of the Department of Pakics

SIXTY years of public and scientific service have won for the American Museum of Natural
History a position of recognized importance in the educational and scientific life of tlie nation,
and in the progress of civilization tliroughout the world. Ex|jeditioiis from the American
Museum and members of the scientific staff are interested in facts of science wherever they
Jmay be found. As a result, representatives of this institution are forever studying, investigat-
ing, exploring not merely in their laboratories and their libraries, but actually in the Geld, in
remote and uncivilized corners of the world, as well as in lands nearer home.

From these adventuring scientists and from observers and scientists connected with other
institutions. Natural History Magazine obtains the articles that it publishes. Thus it is able
to present to the members of the American Museum the most fascinating, the most important,
and the most dramatic of the facts that are being added to the Museum's store of knowledge or
are being deposited in tliis and in other institutions.

MEMBERSHIP MORE THAN TWELVE THOUSAND
For the enlargement of its collections, for the support of its exploration and scientific research,
and for the maintenance of its many publications, the American Museum is dependent wholly
upon members' fees and the generosity of its friends. More than 12,000 members are now enrolled
and are thus supporting the work of the Museum. There are ten different classes of members, which
are as follows:

Associate Member (nonresident)* annually .S3

Annual Member annually SIO

Sustaining Member armually $25

Life Member .$200

Fellow SoOO

Patron S1,000

Associate Benefactor -?10,000

Associate Founder §25,000

Benefactor §50,000

Endowment Member 8100,000

*Persons residing fifty miles or more from New York City

Memberships are open to all those interested in natm'al historj^ and in the American Museum.
Subscriptions bj' check, and inquiries regarding membership should "be addressed; James H. Perkins,
Treasurer, American Museum of Natural History, New York City.

FREE TO MEMBERS

NATURAL HISTORY: JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM
This magazine, pubhshed bi-monthly by the American Museum, is sent to aU classes of
members, as one of their privileges.

AUTUMN AND SPRING COURSES OF PUBLIC LECTURES
Series of illustrated lectures held on alternate Thursday evenings in the autumn and spring of

the year are open only to members or to those holding tickets given them by members.

In addition to these lectures, illustrated stories for the children of members are presented on

alternate Saturday mornings in the autumn and in the spring.

MEMBERS' CLUB ROOM AND GUIDE SERVICE
A handsome room on the third floor of the Museum, equipped vnth every convenience for rest,
reading, and correspondence, is set apart during Museum hours for the exclusive use of members
when visiting the iVIuseum. Members are also privileged to avail themselves of the services ot an
instructor for guidance.

SCIENCE m MUSEUM M RESEARCH

EDUCATION ^ W^^ M EXPLORATION

]IXTIETH ANNIVERSARY ENDOWMENT FUND. Already, $2,500,000 has been
contributed to this $10,000,000 fund, opened to commemorate the Sixtieth Anniversary
of the Founding of the American Museum of Natural History and to fvirther the growth
of its world-wide activities in Exploration, Research, Preparation, Exhibition, Publica-
tion, and Education. Committees are now engaged in seeking the $7,500,000 which remains to be
contributed. It is greatly to be desired that this fund, so vital to the scientific and educational
progress of the Museum, shall reach completion at an early date.

EXPEDITIONS from the American Museum are constantly in the field, gathering information
in many odd corners of the world. During 1930, thirty-four expeditions visited scores of different
parts of North, South, and Central America, of Europe, Asia, Africa, and Polynesia. New expe-
ditions are constantly going into the field as others are returning with their work completed, or
in order to digest material gathered preparatory to beginning new studies.

SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS of the Museum, based on its explorations and the study
of its collections, include the Memoirs, devoted to monographs requiring large or fine illustrations
and exhaustive treatment; the Bulletin, issued in octavo form since 1881, dealing with the scientific
activities of the departments except for the department of anthropology; the Anthropological
Papers, which record the work of the department of anthropology; and Novitates, which are devoted
to the publication of preliminary scientific announcements, descriptions of new forms, and similar
matter.

POPULAR PUBLICATIONS, as well as scientific ones, come from the American Museum
Press, which is housed within the Museum itself. In addition to Natural History
Magazine, the journal of the American Museum, the popular publications include many hand-
books, wliich deal with subjects illustrated by the collections, and guide leaflets which describe
individual exhibits or series of exhibits that are of especial interest or importance. These are all
available at purely nominal cost to anyone who cares for them.

THE LIBRARY of the American Museum is available for those interested in scientific re-
search or study on natural history subjects. It contains 115,000 volumes, and for the accommo-
dation of those who wish to use this storehouse of knowledge, a well-equipped and well-manned
reading room is provided. The library may be called upon for detailed lists of both popular and
scientific publications with their prices.

COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY SERVICE. The President of the Museum and the Cura-
tor of Pubhc Education are constantly extending and intensifying the courses of college and uni-
versity instruction. Among some of the institutions with which the Museum is cooperating are
Columbia University, New York University, College of the City of New York, Hunter College,
University of Vermont, Lafayette College, Yale University, and Rutgers College.

SCHOOL SERVICE. The increased facilities offered by this department of the Museum
make it possible to augument greatly the Museum's work, not only in New York City public schools,
but also throughout the United States. More than 22,500,000 contacts were made with boys and
girls in the schools of Greater New York alone, and educational institutions in more than thirtjf
states took advantage of the Museum's free film service during 1930. Inquiries from all over the
United States, and even from many foreign countries are constantly coming to the school service
department. Thousands of lantern slides are prepared at cost for distant educational institutioiM,
and the American Museum, because of this and other phases of its work, can more and more be
considered not a local but a national — even an international — institution.

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

77th STREET and CENTRAL PARK WEST
NEW YORK, N. Y.

March- April
1931

i^ricc iMfty
events

AT A MONGOLIAN PRAYER WHEEL

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN
MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

NEW YORK, N. Y.

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

SCIENTIFIC STAFF FOR 1931

1, Officers of Administration

Henry Fairfield Osborn, D.Sc, LL.D., President

George H. Sherwood, Ed.D., Director

Roy Chapman Andrews, Sc.D., Vice-Director (In Charge of Exploration and Research)

James L. Clark., Vice-Director (In Charge of Preparation and Exhibition)

LYNE M. Faunce, Sc.B., Assistant Director (General Administration) and Assistant Secretary

Frederick H. Smyth, Bursar

2. Scientific Staff

Astronomy
Clyde Fisher, Ph.D., LL.D., Curator

Minerals and Gems
Herbert P. Whitlock, C.E., Curator
George F. Kunz, Ph.D., Research
Associate in Gems

Fossil Vertebrates
Henry Fairfield Osborn, D.Sc,

LL.D., Honorary Curator-in-Chief
Childs Frick, B.S., Honorary Curator

of late Tertiary and Quaternary

Mammals
Walter Granger, Curator of Fossil

Mammals
Barnum Brown, A.B., Curator of

Fossil Reptiles
G. G. Simpson, Ph.D., Associate Cura-
tor of Vertebrate PaliEontology
Charles C. Mock, Ph.D., Associate

(Curator of Geology and Palaeontology
Rachel A. Husband, A.M., Staff

Assistant
Walter W. Holmes, Field Associate

in Palaeontology

Geology and Fossil Invertebrates
Chester A. Reeds, Ph.D., Curator

Living Invertebrates

Roy Waldo Miner, Ph.D., Sc.D.,
Curator

WiLLARD G. Van Name, Ph.D.,
Associate Curator

Frank J. Myers, Research Associate
in Rotifera

Horace W. Stunkard, Ph.D., Re-
search Associate in Parasitology

A. L. Treadwell, Ph.D., Research
Associate in Annulata

Insect Life
Frank E. Lutz, Ph.D., Curator
A. J. Mutchler, Associate Curator of

Coleoptera
C. H. Curran, M.S., Assistant Curator
Frank E. Watson, B.S., Staff Assistant

in Lepidoptera
William M. Wheeler, Ph.D., L.LD.

Research Associate in Social Insects
Charles W. Leng, B.Sc, Research

Associate in Coleoptera
Herbert F. Schwarz, A.M., Research

Associate in Hymenoptera

Living and Extinct Fishes
William K. Gregory, Ph.D., Curator-

in-Chief*
John T. Nichols, A.B., Curator of

Recent Fishes
E. W. Gudger, Ph.D., Bibliographer

and Associate
*Also Research Associate in Palce-

ontology and Associate in Physical

Anthropology

Living and Extinct Fishes (con-
tinued)
Francesca R. LaMonte, A.B,, Assist-

and Curator
CH.A.RLES H. TowNSEND, Sc.D., Re-
search Associate
C. M. Breder, Jr., Research Associate
Lours HussAKOF, Ph.D., Research

Associate in Devonian Fishes
Van Campen Heilner, M.Sc, Field

Representative

Amphibians and Reptiles, and

Experimental Biology

G. KiNGSLEY Noble, Ph.D., Curator

Clifford H. Pope, B.S., Assistant

Curator
Helen Teale Bradley, A.B., Staff

Assistant
Leah B. Richards, B.S., Staff Assis-

Bertram G. Smith, Ph.D., Research

Associate
William Douglas Burden, A.M.,

Research Associate
Frank S. Mathews, M.D., Research

Homer W. Smith, Sc.D , Research
Associate

O. M. Kelff, Ph.D., Research Asso-
ciate

Birds

Frank M. Chapman, Sc.D., Curator-

in-Chief
Robert Cushman Murphy, D.Sc,

Curator of Oceanic Birds
James P Chapin, Ph.D., Associate

Curator of Birds of the Eastern

Heniisphere
John T. Zimmer, B.S., M.A., Associate

Curator of Birds of the Western

Hemisphere
Elsie M. B. Naumberg, Research

Associate

Mammals of the World
H. E. Anthony, M.A., Curator
Robert T. Hatt, A.M., Assistant

Curator
George G. Goodwin, Assistant

Curator
G. H. H. Tate, Assistant Curator of

South American Mammals
William J. Morden, Ph.B., Field

Associate
Comparative and Human
Anatomy

William K. Gregory, Ph.D., Curator
H. C. Raven, Associate Curator
S. H. Chubb, Associate Curator
Marcelle Roigneau, Staff Assistant

in Comparative Anatomy
J. Howard McGregor, Ph.D., Re-
search Associate in Human Anatomy
Dudley J. Morton, M.D., Research
Associate

Clark Wissler, Ph.D., LL.D., Cu-

rator-in-Chief
N. C. Nelson, M.L., Curator of Pre-
historic Archaeology

Anthropology (continued)

George C. Vaillant, Ph.D., Associate
Curator of Mexican Archaeology

Harry L. Shapiro, Ph.D., Associate
Curator of Physical Anthropology

Margaret Mead, Ph.D., Assistant
Curator of Ethnology

Ronald L. Olson, Ph.D., Assistant
Curator of South American ArchEe-
ology

Clarence L. Hay, A.M., Research
Associate in Mexican and Central
American Archteology

MiLO Hellman, D.D.S., Research
Associate in Physical Anthropology

George E. Brewer, M.D., LL.D., Re-
search Associate in Somatic Anthro-
pology

Asiatic Exploration and Research

Roy Chapman Andrews, Sc.D,.
Curator-in-Chief

Walter Granger, Curator. |in Palae-
ontology

Charles P. Berkey, Ph.D., [Columbia
University 1, Research Associate in
Geology

Amadeus W. Grabau, S.D., [Geological
Survey of China], Research Associate

Pere Teilhard de Chardin [Geologi-
cal Survey of China| Research Asso-
ciate in Mammalian Palaeontology

Preparation and Exhibition
James L. Clark, Vice-Director (In

Charge)
Albert E. Butler, Associate Chief

3, Education, Library and
Publication Staff

George H. Sherwood, Ed.D., Cura-
tor-in-Chief

Clyde Fisher, Ph.D., LL.D., Curator
of University, College and Adult
Education

Grace Fisher Ramsey, Associate
Curator

William H. Carr, Assistant Curator

Dorothy A. Bennett, A.B., Staff
Assistant

Paul B. Mann, A.M., Associate in
Education

Frank E. Lutz, Ph.D., Research As-
sociate in Outdoor Education

Library and Publications
Ida Richardson Hood, A.B., Curator
Hazel Gay, Assistant Librarian
/annettb May Lucas, B.S., Assistant
Librarian — Osborn Library

Printing and Publishing
Hawthorne Daniel, Curator, Editor

of Natural History
A. Katherine Berger, Associate

Editor of Natural History
Ethel J. Timonier, Associate Editor

of Scientific Publications

Public and Press Information
George N. Pindab, Chairman

VOLUME XXXI IN A I VJ rv/v L MARCH-APRIL

NUMHEK 2 ft ¥ Q 'T^/^ D N/ ^^'^^

The Journal of The American Museum of Natural History

Hawthohne Daniki. Sm^C^^B ^ Kathkrink Bergek

Editor ^H^IHHV Aasociaie Editor

CONTENTS

At a Mongolian Prater Wheel Cover

From a Painting by Arthur A. Jansaon (Sec Purc 226)

The Inner Gorge of the Grand CaNon of the Colorado River. . . .Frontispiece

From a Painting by Gunar Wildforss

The Fate of the Rash Platybelodon Roy Chapman Andrews 115

A Prehistoric Death Trap Yields Its Victims to the Explorer

How Old Is the Earth? Chester A. Reeds 129

New Evidence Regarding tlie Age of the Phmct on Wliicli We Live

The Drama of the Skies : Clyde Fisher 147

As Projected by the New Zeiss Planetarium

Aet of the Dutch Guiana Bush Negro Morton C. Kahn 155

A Craft Which Survives Among the Descendants of West African Negro Slavet^

The Great Kalahari Sand Veldt Arthur S. Verxay' 169

Experiences of the Vernay-Lang Zoological Expedition in the Arid Plains of Southern Africa

The Largest Known Land Tortoise Barnum Brown 183

The American Museum Exhibits the Complete Shell of a Tortoise that Weighed a Ton When Alive

A Phantom of the Marshes Alfred M. Bailey 188

a Bird Photographer Observes the Nesting Habits of the Shy King Rail

The My'steeious Natives of Northern Japan Shoichi Ichikawa 195

The Disappearing Ainu Who Formerly Inhabited Most of the Japanese Islands

Trails and Tribulations of Bougainville Guy Richards 207

Bird Collecting Adventures on the Mountain Slopes of a South Sea Island

American Museum Expeditions and Notes 217

Published bimonthly by The American Museum of Natural Historj', New York, N. Y. Sub-
scription price, $3 a year.

Subscriptions should be addressed to James H. Perkins, Treasurer, American Museum of Natural
History, 77th St. and Central Park West, New York, N. Y.

Natural History is sent to all members of the American Museum as one of the privileges of member-
ship.

Entered as second-class matter April 3, 1919, at the Post Office at New York, New York, under
the Act of August 24, 1912.

Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103, Act of October
3, 1917, authorized on July 15, 1918.

THE INNER GORGE OF THE GRAND CANON
OF THE COLORADO RIVER

From a Painting by Gunar Wildforss, 1930

LINCOLN ELLSWORTH COLLECTION

VIEW looking west-northwest across the mouth of Bright Angel Canon
from near the Kaibab Suspension Bridge. The Colorado River is in
the left center, and flows here at an elevation of 2450 feet above sea
level. The varied rocks of the north wall of the inner gorge appear in
the foreground and in the mid-distance, with the isolated Tower of Set,
5997 feet, appearing in the background, left center. In the right center
the towering mass of the Cheops Pyramid, 5350 feet, crowns the slope to
the inner gorge. The twin peaks of Isis Temple form the highest elevation
7028 feet, in the right background. To the south of the river in the left
margin appears a portion of the rocks in the south wall of the inner
gorge with the isolated peak of Dana Butte, 5025 feet, prominently in the
background.

The geological section, which is of special interest, is explained more
fully in the article "How Old Is the Earth ?" P. 129.

VOLUME
XXXI

NATURAL
HISTORY

MARCH-APKJJ., 1931

X U M li J-; R
TWO

THE FATE OF THE
RASH PLATYBELODON

A Prehistoric Death Trap Yields Its Spoils. — Persistent Exploration by the Central

Asiatic Expeditions in Eastern Mongolia at Last Reveals the Most Favorable

Conditions Under Which Remains of Ancient Man Might Be Found

By ROY CHAPMAN ANDREWS

I USED to believe that conducting ex-
plorations in the field was child's
play in comparison to the difficulties
of financing an expedition. But searching
for the elusive dollar in the canon of Wall
Street is infinitely less nerve-racking than
trying to steer a safe course for an expedi-
tion's ship between the rocks of Oriental
diplomacy. Disturbed internal condi-
tions and fluctuating politics present an
almost unsurmountable wall to the foreign
explorer. Weeks and often many months
are required before permission can be
obtained to go into the field.

The Central Asiatic Expedition was
fortunate in being able to continue its
work in 1930, after a year's delay due to
Chinese objections. Official sanction,
however, was not finally obtained until
the middle of May, and we could not
leave for MongoHa until the 20th of that
month — just five weeks later than in
previous years.

In 1928 we had continually heard re-
ports from Mongols of a mysterious lake
far to the eastward in the sand dunes.
It was said that the shores were covered

with fossils and that "bones as large as a
man's body" had broken out of the sur-
rounding cUffs. Selecting a j\Iongol who
knew something about fossils, we sent
him on horseback to report upon this
strange locaUty. He lost himself in the
sand dunes and, after wandering about
with little water and less food, gave up
the hunt in despair.

In 1929 I dispatched him again, on
camel back this time, to see if he could
find the spot. He reached it without
serious difficulty and brought back a
collection of fossil teeth and bones which
indicated a new geological horizon and a
new fauna. He reported other locaUties
in the sand. Although we have learned to
distrust native information, this in-
disputable evidence that fossils were there
made us feel that we were on the verge
of a great discovery. The sand was so
heavy, the Mongol reported, that cars
could not be used. Therefore, I organized
the expedition to work on camels and took
only four motors. We established a
permanent base at the Swedish Mission
station of Hatt-in-Sumu, where Mr. Joel

\N EXPEDITION CAR
^EAR KALGAN
In a region in which, for
centuries, camels have
been the principal car-
riers, these motor cars
have made possible a ra-
pidity of movement
which was formerly
undreamed of

SORTING SUPPLIES
IN CAMP
For an expedition oper-
atinp- in barren country
which is almost or en-
tirely uninhabited, an in-
finite variety of supplies
must be transported, and
the problem of "staying
in the field" often re-
volves about the success
of the transport system

CAMELS ARRIVING
AT WOLF CAMP
It is not rare for the
camels to be given
spare tires to carry, and
sections of worn casings
are sotaetimes used as
patches to protect cuts in
the feet of these awkward
burden bearers

ROY CHAPMAN
ANDREWS
The leader of the Central
Asiatic Expedition is
shown here with his rid-
ing camel. Though the
Expedition was depend-
ent upon motor cars for
many iuses, camels con-
tinue to be essential for
use in the most difficult
regions

118

NATURAL HISTORY

GOBI DESERT "BAD LANDS"

This photograph, taken in the vicinity of Urtyn Obo, shows clearly one of the barren and eroded
regions in which the scientific work of the Expedition was carried on

Eriksson had been acting as the expedi-
tion's Mongolian agent.

Our Mongol explorer told us that he had
discovered a new route and that he be-
lieved we could take our cars within
twenty-five or thirty miles of the lake.
We decided to make a reconnaissance
before the whole expedition started out
with the caravan. It was most fortunate
that we did so. With the greatest difficulty
we reached the lake only to find a dried
mud bottom, white with alkah, sur-
rounded by wave upon wave of yellow
sand dunes. It was one of the most
desolate spots I have ever seen. When
the Mongol had been there first, the lake
was full from heavy rains and he could
hardly believe his eyes when he looked
upon the lifeless basin. He led us to the
former beach-line and to a still greater
disappointment. True enough, fossils
were there, but they had been so rolled
and crushed long before the bones had
been deposited that what remained were
"C^ly broken fragments."

Granger knew at once that it would
be hopeless to expect to find specimens of
any value under such conditions. There
was every evidence that nothing better
awaited us at the other small deposits
which the Mongol had discovered. We
could only return to camp and charge up
the sand dune region to the account of
disappointments which every explorer
has to face. A consultation decided us to
send the camels northward to the place
just south of the Outer Mongolian fron-
tier, where we had discovered a jaw of the
extraordinary shovel-tusked mastodon in
the autumn of 1928. We had only
partly explored that region and we hoped
for great things in a more intensive study.

Some two or three million years ago in
the Pleistocene period, a great lake had
occupied this part of Mongolia. The
shore-fine was clearly delineated by masses
of fresh-water shells. It was probable
that along the borders of this inland sea
there had been quicksand bogs and muddy
river bottoms in those far distant days

rilE FATK OF THE HASH rLATY liKIJ)l)()N

119

when the ahovol-tuskf'd riiastoclun roamed
the savannahs of Riongoha. Bogs and
(|uicksands acted as traps then just as
(hey do today. They are one of the most
fruitful sources of well-preserverl fossils
and we began an intensive exploration of
the lake shore.

On the first day I saw a few bits of bone
and teeth exposed in a gray-white matrix.
As Thomson was brushing away the loose
sediment, Granger lifted a flat stone, ex-
posing the great molar teeth of a shovel-
tusked mastodon. It was difficult for me
to restrain my patience while the delib-
erate palseontologists explored the deposit.
Eventuall}' we discovered that it con-
tained the skulls, jaws, and parts of the
skeletons of a mother and a baby masto-
don. It is difficult to know just what
caused their sudden death, because we
found no other specimens near by. Pos-
sibly they had been trapped in a bog,
but if so, it is almost certain that remains

of other animals also would have been
found. They may have been buried under
a sudden avalanche from a near-by cliff,
or have eaten some poisonous vegetable
matter. Whatever was the cause of their
death, there they lay .side by side, and
science will benefit greatly by their
sudden demise.

We pitched our tents on a flat plain
overlooking a great basin, cut and slashed
by the knives of wind and frost and rain
into a thousand gaping wounds. Behind
us stretched a plateau which flowed away
in great sweeping billows, a .seemingly
flat expanse. It was only when a horse or
a running antelope disappeared suddenly
from the eye that one could realize that
the plain was not as flat as the top of a
table. We knew from previous explora-
tions that this was a dangerous place, be-
cause for many miles in every direction it
was a waterless expanse. Mongols could
not live there except in winter; it was

>• f ^

^ *X ^ '^/i'<^''i.

iij- 5k <

WOLF CAMP

Showing a part of the "bad lands." During the Expedition's stay in this vicinity, wolves were often
seen, hence the name bestowed upon the camp

120

NATURAL HISTORY

**4^

THE LEADER MEASURES A FIND

Doctor Andrews is shown in this photograph making a record of the
measurements of a shovel-tusked mastodon jaw

inhabited only by antelopes, wolves, and
desert birds. We named our camping
place Wolf Camp, because, during two
months' stay, we shot thirteen of these
marauders which preyed upon the sheep
and goats of the Mongols, in a village
grouped about a marshy pond eight miles
away on the lowlands.

One evening three wolves rushed into
a flock of sheep and badly wounded
,a Mongol girl who tried to drive them
off. Then they went through the
herd like a pestilence, biting and tearing
the throats of the terrified sheep. Thirty
of these lay dead in less than ten

minutes. "A wolf a day"
became the slogan of the
camp, and it was seldom
that we did not see one
of the animals returning
in the morning from his
nightly forays, or set-
ting out just as the sun
was sinking, for his hunt-
ing grounds in the low-
lands. Early one morn-
ing I was enticed away
from camp by two wolves
which finally led me a
chase of twenty miles.
Without a compass, with
only five gallons of gaso-
line in the car and half a
bag of water, it might
have developed into an
uncomfortable situation,
had we not been able to
find our way back to
camp.

Just below the tents on
a narrow promontory, we
discovered many out-
crops of bones. When
the deposit was opened,
the skulls, jaws, and
skeletal parts of baby
mastodons far out-num-
bered all other animals.
Evidently this had been a bog near the
shore of the lake. Mother shovel-tusked
mastodons with their babies had come
here to drink or feed. The mud was
comparatively shallow and, although
both the adults and young doubtless be-
came mired, the mothers, because of their
superior strength, were able to extricate
themselves and sometimes get out their
babies also. But others were not so
fortunate and many of them had been
left to die. Our palaeontologists recovered
a dozen or fifteen jaws of baby mastodons,
representing almost every age in size and
development. The crowning specimen

THE FATE OF THE UASII FLATYHELODOS

12J

wtis tho jaw and part of the skull of an
unborn baby. It lay in the pelvic bones
of an adult female, the only adult which
w(^ found in the deposit. Albert Thomson
delivered the child with Granger as con-
sulting physician, while the rest of us in
the clinic amused ourselves by calling
them such insulting names as "palaeon-
tological midwives."

The most spectacular discovery of the
year was made six miles to the south of
Wolf Camp by Pere Teilhard dc Chardin.
In an amphitheater, marked by a shining
dome of pure white marl, hundreds of
fossils were exposed upon the surface but
all in a very restricted locality. Granger
and Thomson, with their assistants,
opened the deposit. They found great
numbers of shovel-tusked mastodon jaws,
skulls, and bones lying in a heterogeneous
mass like a heap of giant jack straws.

The enormous flat jaws were sfjinetimes
horizontal and sometimes standing
straight on end or entwined with other
parts of the skeleton. For six weeks the
men worked in this one spot, taking out
the most priceless specimens day after
day. I used to sit on the edge of the
escarpment just above them, drifting in
imagination back to those past days when
the waters of a beautiful lake filled the
enormous basin. ^\'here we worked,
there had been a baj' on the edge of which
was a deep well of soft sticky mud.
Probably it was covered bj- three or four
feet of water on which grew a luxuriant
mass of tubers and succulent aquatic
plants — the favorite food of the shovel-
tusked mastodon. One of these gigantic
beasts plowed its way slowly along the
shore of the bay, dredging up ma.sscs of
trailing vegetation in its great spoon-

THE EXPEDITION'S PET ANTELOPE

This little creature was caught when it was only one day old, and with a goat as a foster mother,

remained with the Expedition throughout the entire summer

122

NATURAL HISTORY

AFTEK TWO WEEKS OP WORK

A view of the mastodon quan-y after the scientists had been engaged for a fortnight in uncovering and

removing the accumulation of fossils

shaped jaw. Then with its trunk or
mobile Hps the beast deUcately selected
choice bits and pushed theni far back into
its huge mouth to be masticated by the
molar teeth. The plants floating over
the death trap of mud enticed the masto-
don farther and farther into the water.
Suddenly it found that it could not with-
draw its feet. Struggling madly in the
grip of the cHnging mud, it sank lower and
lower until the water covered its head and
the last struggles were those of a drown-
ing beast. The trap remained baited and
still other mastodons were lured into the
well of death. Their huge bodies sank
upon those that had gone before, until
the pit was choked with masses of decom-
posing flesh. Eventually the lake dried
up, but the bones remained entombed until
we came to open the grave on that
brilliant day in 1930. Seventeen great
spoon-shaped jaws were taken out of this
single deposit. With those obtained
from the "baby pit," the Museum has a

superb age series representing almost
every stage in growth from the unborn
young to the adult bulls with jaws five
and one-half feet long. This age series is
only rivaled by that of the dinosaur
Protoceratops, which demonstrates its
growth from the egg up to the very old
males.

The expedition spent two months at
Wolf Camp, busy every moment on new
and interesting discoveries. We might
have remained all summer with increas-
ingly important results, for half a dozen
other places were located which doubtless
would have proved as rich as those tombs
we had already opened. It is only in
such deposits and in the river drift of
ancient stream beds that we may hope
to find the remains of primitive human
types. This entire region requires the
most careful investigation, and should be
combed from end to end. Even though
the remains of primitive man were never
discovered, thousands of other important

77/ A' FATli OF THE h'ASJI I'LATY HELOUOS

12.i

speciinen.s would fill in iiiaiiy lilank [jut^cs
in the book of ancient world life. Walter
Granger and I decided that viv. could not
spend more time in this one formation,
since it was uncertain whether work could
be carried on in future years.

Fifty miles to the west was a great
escarpment which Granger and others
had discovered in 1928. They had spent
only a few hours there but had had time
enough to realize that it was a rich
deposit. Their stay was shortened be-
cause of the great number of poisonous
vipers that had made the bad land.s their
homes. Dozens of them crawled out from
the rocks and from under bushes, and the
men voted it a most unhealthy locality.
However, we decided that the reptiles
could not be left in possession even though
it would be an uncomfortable place in which
to live. The formation was Eocene and
Oligocene, considerably older than the age
of the shovel-tusked mastodon beds.

(-'amp was shifted early in Augu.st.
Almo.st immediately tilings began to
happen. Important discoveries of new
titanotheres, of a giant pig called liidelo-
don, of rhinoceros and other interesting
mammals, kept the men working every
daylight moment. It was not until we
had lived there for two weeks, however,
that the crowning discovery was made by
one of our C'hine.se collectors. This was
the magnificent skull of an Amblypod — a
gigantic ungulate of a group unknown in
Asia until 1923. At that time I dis-
covered a single premolar tooth and later
in the year Professor Osborn himself
found another premolar. These were the
first indications that Amblj'pods had
existed in Central Asia. Skulls were dis-
covered in 1925 and the beast was
named Eudinoceros by Professor Osborn.
No Amblypods had been known in other
parts of the world later than the Eocene.
The new skull found within fiftv vards of

THE EXPEDITION COOK TENT

Seated within are the three Chinese cooks. Under ideal conditions the meals prepared by this

mobile culinary department left little to be desired. During the occasional dust storms, however,

the food was often thoroughly impregnated by the sand and gravel that sifted everjTvhere

A PART OF THE
PLATYBELODON

QUARRY
Showing a skull in the
toieground. Much care
md experience are neces-
sirv before the fragile
foss Is can be properly
xnd successfully removed
hom the rocks about
them

THE MOLAR TEETH
OF A SHOVEL-TUSKED

MASTODON
So successful was the Ex-
pedition in finding many
fossilized specimens of
this animal that a com-
plete series is now avail-
able for study, ranging
from old males and fe-
males down through the
scale in size and age,
even to the fossil of an
unborn baby lying with-
in the pelvis of its fos-
silized mother

A SHOVEL-TUSKED
MASTODON JAW
On the lower jaw of this
extraordinary animal
are two wide, flat tusks.
With these the creature
dug up the roots and
plants from the mud
along the lake shores,
and from the collection
thus made he picked out
the edible portions with
his trunk

126

NATURAL HISTORY

'> V <*

/^<f'

Jr-^

V * -

v-r-v^

• -. V

"BICKSHOT, " ONE OF THE EXPEDITION'S CHINESE COLLECTORS
Engaged in removing fourteen fossilized soft-shelled turtle skeletons from the matrix of soft sand

our tents was from the Oligocene. Thus
it is indicated that the evolution of these
strange animals was carried on in Asia
for several millions of years after they had
disappeared from Europe and America.

Another discovery of enormous im-
portance was a giant carnivore allied to
Patriofelis. The teeth of this huge beast
indicate that it must have been a carrion
feeder. Only a few days before the Ex-
pedition left the field, Thomson and
Granger found a deposit of Chalicothere
skulls. This strange creature is a paradox
of nature. It is a " clawed-hoof ed animal "
allied to Moropus. although its teeth and
other parts of the body place it definitely
in the order Ungulata. It has enormous
claws on all four feet. What was the
purpose of these appendages no one
knows. We had never before found
skulls in Mongoha but in the new de-
posit there was a mass of bones form-
ing almost a breccia. In the remain-

ing few days, a half dozen skulls were
removed.

The summer's work indicated that this
entire region was so rich and important
that several years of additional work were
highly desirable. Upon cabled instruc-
tions from President Osborn, I went to
Peking on the 1st of September to open
negotiations with the Committee for the
Preservation of Ancient Objects. Mac-
kenzie Young and I with one Chinese, Liu
Shi-ku, drove down in two cars. During
the summer the region had been remark-
ably clear of bandits, but it had been
rumored that great quantities of opium
were to be brought in from the west.
This rich cargo had drawn bandits like
flies to honey. A hundred and twenty
miles from Kalgan the brother of one of
our Mongols, Bato, told us that two
Chinese cars had been robbed the night
before and two men killed by thirty or
forty brigands. He supposed that they

THE FATE OF THE HAS/I PLATYBELODON

127

were still there a,wa,iting other victims
and advised us not to go on. Mack and I,
however, were heavily armed and decided
to go through. Either the bandits had
loft or they were reluctant to attack us,
because we reached Kalgan without a shot
being fired. A week later. Mack re-
turned accompanied only by Liu who
drove the second car. Before he left
Peking I had a strong presentiment that
he would have trouble. It had been rain-
ing hard and the trail was very slippery.
A hundred and ten miles from Kalgan a
Mongol child ran out to the trail and told
them that bandits had just stopped a
caravan five miles away.
Mack had either to turn
back to Kalgan or else
proceed and take his
chance. He decided to go
on. At a tiny mud-walled
house in the bottom of a
valley, he saw the bri-
gands dressed in Chinese
soldier uniforms robbing
a caravan of carts. He
drove on as fast as pos-
sible, but when his car
was opposite the house,
the robbers opened fire
with Luger pistols from
behind a mud wall.
Slowing up a little, Mack
took a snap shot at one
man who was doing the
best shooting. His bullet
struck a stone, went to
pieces, and took off part
of the bandit's face. An-
other struck a second
man in the shoulder. A
little farther on were a
dozen robbers standing
by their horses. They
opened fire with rifles as
Mack went by and then
started to mount their
ponies. He killed a horse

and this so discouraged the brigands that
they galloped away. It had been a neat
little fight and the bandits had been
taught a pretty severe lesson. Fortu-
nately, neither Mack nor Liu were hit.

The whole E.xpeditioii returned a month
later. Two days after they Iiad reached
Kalgan the entire region was taken over
by bandits and all traffic on the plateau
ceased. Had our people been delayed,
the consequences would have been serious.
It was only another evidence of the good
luck which has been a constant factor in
the success of the Central Asiatic E.xpedi-
tions. The camels carrying our collec-

A SHOVEL-TUSKED MASTODON JAW READY FOR SHIPMENT

This excellent five and one-half foot specimen has been covered with

burlap strips soaked in flour paste. Such careful preparation is

essential in order to protect the easily broken fossil

128

NATURAL HISTORY

tions were met at
a village thirty-
four miles from
Kalgan by
Young and Liu
and the fossils
brought safely to
Peking.

I cannot speak
too highly of the
courage and loy-
alty of every
man, native and
foreign, of the
Expedition's
staff. Through
their splendid

efforts the season's work netted the larg-
est collection of any year in Mongolia.
Ninety-one cases of fossils were obtained.
We all feel that in scientific importance,
as well as in bulk, this year's collections
will equal ff not surpass those of any
previous season. The new region of east-
ern Mongolia, which we have only partly
explored, is very rich and, as I have already

BRINGING BOXES OF SPECIMENS TO
EXPEDITION HEADQUARTERS IN PEKING

The U. S. Marine corps kindly lent their men and
trucks to facilitate transportation

remarked, is the
place where we
are most likely to
find the remains
of primitive
human types, if
they existed in
Mongolia. A
systematic inves-
tigation of these
thousands of
square miles of
Pliocene strata is
of the utmost
importance.
During all the
past years of our
exploration, we have worked in central and
western MongoUa where late Tertiary
strata appear not to exist. Although we
have opened a new volume in the history
of the earth, the proper conditions under
which human remains could be found
were only discovered last year. It would
be a scientific tragedy if lack of sympathy
in China forces us to terminate our work.

A PART OF THE COLLECTION AT PEKING
Specimens lying on the laboratory floor preparatory to
being packed for shipment to the American Museum

@E. II. Newman, Pub-

lishcrti Photo Service,

^. Y.

Y. COLOKADO UlV£B

THE Bottom of the
AND CaSon of Ani-

HOW OLD IS THE EARTH?

The Earth Reveals Its Age By Hour-glass Deposition of Sodium and Sediments,
and the Atomic Disintegration of Radioactive Elements

By CHESTER A. REEDS

Curator of Geology and Invertebrate Palaeontology, American Museum

IT may be stated at the outset that
nobody knows just how old the earth
is. There are certain criteria available,
however, which indicate that the oldest
rocks are of the order of 2000 million
years. There are data which imply that
the upper limit of the age of the minerals
is about 3000 million years. This may be
considered the lower limit of the age of the
earth's material. Iron meteorites have
been analyzed which yield a maximum
age of 2600 million years. These are
stupendous figures. The lower figure of
two billion years as a minimum age for
the earth implies that it has encircled the
sun as many times, and that during this
period it has turned on its axis 730,500,-
000,000 times to afford as many days
of light and darkness.

The presence of ripple marks, sun-crack
impressions in muds, water-worn pebbles,
rounded sand grains, seasonally banded
clays, Hmestone deposits, and vestiges of

primitive forms of life in rocks of verj-
ancient origin, all point to phj'sical condi-
tions on the surface of the earth that are
similar in every respect to those enduring
today. Various folded gneisses and
schists, without vestiges of life, much
distorted and frequently impregnated with
volcanic injections, constitute the oldest
rocks exposed on the earth's surface.
The earth, although very old, has a re-
markable history. The various steps in
its development are in some instances still
obscure, but they are becoming more
apparent with the growth of knowledge
concerning the earth.

Spectroscopic analyses reveal that 49
of the 90 chemical elements found on the
earth have been recognized in the sun.
In fact, astronomy teaches that the 1091
members of the solar system have orig-
inated from the same material. Various
theories as to the origin of the earth
postulate that the earth and the other

130

NATURAL HISTORY

planetary bodies in our solar system were
born of our sun when it was in a giant-star
stage. This transformation of the sun is
supposed to have been induced by the
close approach of a passing star several
times more massive than the sun itself.
The resulting effect of such a close ap-
proach was the setting up of great tidal
stresses in the sun and the drawing out of
two long filaments of gaseous matter from
opposite sides of the sun's surface. After
the large star passed on, the filament on
the far side of the sun as well as a portion
of that on the near side may have been
drawn back into the sun; however, a
considerable portion of the filament re-
mained in space subject to the influence of
the sun. In the course of time the matter
in this filament was gathered together
about certain nuclei to form the nine
planets and their satellites. The ma-
terial was original-
ly in a gaseous state. '' «, \ .X i'l
Later it passed to a
liquid state through
loss of heat by radi-
ation from its sur-
face, and finally, as
in the case of the
earth, into a solid
state, at least for
the outer crustal
portion which may
be 40 miles in thick-
ness or about 1/200
of the radius of the
earth.

The meteors,
which enter the
upper levels of the
earth's atmosphere
in great numbers,

estimated to be 20 milUon per day, may
be remnants of the original filaments, or
of like matter from outer space. Most of
these meteors are small, one to two-tenths
of an inch in diameter. Upon entering
the earth's atmosphere they travel at

A STONE METEORITE, JOHNSTOWN, COLORADO,
METEORITIC SHOWER
This stony meteorite weighing 42 lbs. 8 oz., was seen to fall
following four explosions, at 4;20 P.M., July 6, 1924. It is
coated with a thin black crust. The gray stony matrix of
the interior is shown by the^white spots where the crust has
been peeled off

planetary velocities varying from 9 to
47 miles per second. Due to the great
resistance offered to their passage by the
earth's atmosphere, which is estimated to
be 90 to 100 miles in thickness, the solid
portions of most meteors burn up before
reaching the earth. In addition to the
ash of burnt-out meteors a minimum of
one meteorite per day reaches the earth's
surface.

The portions of 700 meteoritic falls ex-
hibited in various museums are composed
primarily of either nickel-iron, or of stone
specimens, or, of combinations of these
two kinds of matter. The stony meteorites
resemble the light colored felsitic lavas
of the earth. There are differences in
texture in each, however, which the
skilled observer readily detects. The
iron meteorites with nickel, troilite,
carbon, and other inclusions are not found
duplicated on the
earth. Some 29
elements found on
the earth have been
detected in meteor-
ites. On the other
hand, six mineral
compounds have
been noted in mete-
orites, which have
not been found on
the earth.

It may be stated
thus that the earth,
the meteorites, the
sun, the moon, and
the stars are dis-
tantly related. The
earth and its moon
with diameters of
7918 and 2162
miles, respectively, are intimately re-
lated to the sun, which is 866,400 miles
in diameter. Although their densities,
as compared with equal volumes of water,
vary, the density of the earth being 5.52,
the moon 3.40, the sun 1.39, these differ-

Mu.

of Natural History

IJOW OLD IS T/JE EARTH.'

]:U

& E. 11. Xcwman. J'Mu
THE MYSTIC POWER OF THE COLORADO RIVER IN ARIZONA
.■ from the upwarped plateau rim, 7000-SOOO feet above the sea. into the outer and inner gorges of the Grand Ca fion
the river flows at a level of 2400 feet. This caiion is 217 miles long, from S to 20 miles ^\ide. and more than a mile
deep. It was eroded by the river during the last one miUion years

ences are explained by the different states
of like matter, the earth and moon being
sohd and the sun gaseous. The fact that
the earth rotates on its axis at a rate of
18.5 miles per second, and about the sun
at a rate of 66,000 miles per hour, also
implies that the mass of the earth, which
weighs 6590 million million million tons,
is controlled b}^ the larger mass of the sun,
which revolves once on its axis in 25
days, and weighs 1.983X10^' grams.

The various stages involved in the up-
building of the earth are of interest in
discussing its age. No two theories agree,
however, on the number of steps involved,
nor in the way in which it was accom-
plished, yet most of them assume that in
the beginning the materials of which the
earth is composed were in a gaseous state.
The number of years required for a
planet having the size and density of the

earth to pass from a gaseous to a soUd
state is of course problematical.

According to the Planetesimal Hypo-
thesis proposed by the late T. C. Chamber-
lain and F. A. Moulton of the University
of Chicago in 1905, all but the central
core of the earth, which is 4346 miles in
diameter, has been built up by the inf all of
planetesimal matter. Since but a small
amount of such planetesimal, or meteoric
matter, is now added daily to the earth,
the hypothesis imphes a great age for the
earth. Chamberlain held that at the
present rate of fall it would require 1,000,-
000,000 years to form a layer of meteoritic
material one inch in thickness on the
earth. J. Barrell (1923) took exception
to Chamberlain's views and argued for a
molten condition of the earth at the com-
pletion of its growth. He assumed that
the earth developed rapidly by the infall

132

NATURAL HISTORY

of planetoid-like bodies rather than by the
slow accumulation of dustlike particles.
He was of the opinion that all of the
near-by planetoids, even those several
hundred miles in diameter, except the
moon, had been gathered in by the time
the earth attained a
condition of stability
and completed growth.
Present knowledge
of the earth indicates
that it has a shell-
structure. The past
thirty years of seismo-
logical research have
led to this definite con-
clusion. Besides the
solid crust which is
composed of a some-
what heterogeneous
mixture of sedimentary,
igneous, and metamor-
phic rocks, there are
successive zones of
material and a central
core which differ from
one another in density,
in chemical composi-
tion, and in elasticity.
The earth as a whole is
more rigid than steel.
Earthquake waves are
transmitted through it.
Each earthquake re-
cords three principal
kinds of waves on a
seismograph, namely:
primary, secondary, and main waves.
The primary or longitudinal waves pass
through aU portions of the earth. The
secondary or transverse waves, a kind
developed only in solids, pass through only
the outer portion of the earth; they do
not pass below a depth of 2900 km. It is
at this depth, 0.45 of the radius of the
earth, that the inner core begins. Since
this type of wave is not transmitted
through the inner core, this portion of the

A 30° SECTOR OF THE BABTH
Showing layers from the surface to the
CENTER. This differentiation of the in-
terior OF THE earth INTO ZONES IS BASED
UPON VARIATIONS NOTED IN THE TRANSMIS-
SION OF EARTHQUAKE WAVES THROUGH THE
EARTH. The INNER CORE DOES NOT TRANSMIT
THE SECONDARY OR TRANSVERSE SEISMIC
WAVES, A KIND DEVELOPED ONLY IN SOLIDS,
HENCE, IT IS BELIEVED TO BE IN A "LIQUID"
OR "gaseous" STATE

earth is believed to be in a liquid or
gaseous state. The main waves which are
the largest and last to be recorded, are
confined to the crust of the earth.

The velocity : of the primary and
secondary waves at various depths, V and
V respectively, as de-
termined by B. Guten-
berg, 1928, and the
nature of the rock in
the respective zones, as
interpreted by R. A.
Daly, 1930, are given
in the accompanjdng
sketch of a 30 degree
sector of the earth.
The density of the
various zones is noted
in the text below.

It may be noted that
the crystalhne crust is
60-70 km. in thickness.
In addition to the outer
sedimentary layer,
which varies in thick-
ness from 0-5 km. with
density 2.7, the crust is
composed of three
zones of rock each
separated by planes of
discontinuity as follows :

(1) granitic layer 0-30
km. in thickness,' den-
sity 2.7

(2) granodiorite layer
30-45 km. in thickness,
density 2.7 -f

(3) gabbro layer 45 to 60-70 km.,
density 2.9.

Below the crust lies a hot, vitreous,
basaltic layer 60-1200 km. in thickness,
density 3.3. This is followed by a layer
1200-2450 km. in thickness, which Daly
believes may partake of the nature of
peridotite, while H. Jeffries (1929) refers
to it as the dunite layer, density 5.0. At
a depth of 2450-2900 km. there occurs a
zone composed perhaps of plastic iron,

now OLD IS T/JJ'J KAkTJJ.-

133

density 9, where seismographic waves
slow down. This would indicate that it is
transitional in character from the more or
less silicate layers above to the great inner
core of the earth below. The inner core
with great pressures and temperatures
resulting from its superimposed load is
believed by H. Jeffries (1929) to be liquid
iron, by Daly (1930) to be in a "fluid"
or "gaseous" state. Its average density is
11.5. It is probable that the inner core of
the earth was originally composed of ma-
terial resembling that found in iron mete-
orites. Iron meteorites have a specific
gravity of 7 or higher. The idea of a
liquid inner core is supported by present-
day seismology, for the secondary or
transverse wave of an earthquake, a kind
appearing only in solids, is not trans-
mitted through the inner core.

The methods of palseogeography afford
theoretically a splendid insight into the

successive geologic stages involved in the
upbuilding of the earth. If one could
visualize, even in the crudest fashion the
changes in gr-ography that have taken
place at regular intervals, say 100,000
years, the sequential history of the earth
would be in large measure solved. In
accordance with the normal sequence of
events such a series of pictures should
begin with the birth of the earth, from
the parent body, the sun. One hundred
thousand years later a sufficient change
would have taken place in the earth to
depict the second scene. A large numljer
of pictures would have to be .sketched,
30,000 in fact, if the earth is three billion
y(>ars old, before the present day is
reached, with its magnificent panorama of
continents, oceans, irregular coast lines,
mountains, plateaus, plains, rivers, lakes,
seas, snow fields, glaciers, deserts, and
various forms of plant and animal life,

HERMIT C4MP AT THE END OF THE HERMIT TRAIL, GRAND CaSON

This tourist camp, 3700 feet below the south rim, is a half mile east of Columbus Point, the imposing central rock tower. This

towering spur is composed of liorizontal sediments that are green, mauve, red, and gray in color. The camp overlooks the

inner gorge of the Colorado River, 700 feet deep

134

NATURAL HISTORY

FOOTPRINTS OF A LABYBINTHODONT, COCONINO SANDSTONE, GKAND CANON
Footprints made by an amphibian of Permian age as the sands of the Coconino formation were being deposited 210 r
of years ago. The sands were moist when the impressions were made. The weight of the animal compacted them £
footprints were covered and preserved

not to mention the cities and other works
of man.

No fault is to be found with the idea,
for geologic processes are continuous and
they have been so throughout the im-
mensity of geologic time. The difficulty
in preparing such a series of pictures
arises from the fact that the records of
past events, which are preserved in the
earth itself, kre somewhat fragmentary
and, furthermore, they are not dated in
terms of years, as man dates his present
chronology.

The data most frequently used in
estimating the age of the earth are those
based on geologic processes such as ero-
sion, sedimentation, and deformation.
These processes are in evidence on the
surface of the lands. For epochs, other
than the present, these data are to be
found in the stratigraphic record as
preserved in the crust of the earth.

The rate of erosion of the lands is of
value as a criterion. Samples of water from
representative streams for various
climates and topographic reliefs have been

taken and analyzed. From more than
8000 analyses F. W. Clarke in his Data
on Geochemistry, 1924, observes that
taking the continents as a whole they are
lowered by solvent denudation one foot in
30,000 years. From measurements of the
suspended matter collected in the analyzed
samples he concludes that the chemical
denudation represents but 30 per cent of
the total denudation. This gives a mean
rate of total denudation at this present
time of one foot in 8600 years.

The average height of all lands above
sea level has been computed to be approxi-
mately 2300 feet. The average depth of
the oceans is about 13,000 feet. If the
land surface is lowered one foot in 8600
years and the average height of land
above the sea is 2300 feet then it would
take 19,780,000 years to erode the lands
to sea level, assuming that the rate con-
tinued uniform to the end, which is not
likely. Granting that the oldest rocks on
the surface of the earth are approximately
2,000,000,000 years old, that the rate of
erosion continued to be one foot in 8500

HOW OLD IS r/IK EARTH?

135

years throughout all this time, and that
the lands wore uplifted at the close of
each complete erosion period, then the
lands would have to have been uplifted
101 times to afford continuous erosion.

The American geologists, Powell, Dut-
ton, and Davis, have shown that the
lands have been base-leveled frequently
during geologic time. To this level
surface Davis applied the term peneplain.
Each peneplain was developed as the
result of a cycle of erosion. Many ancient
peneplains lie buried and preserved as
unconformities between different beds of
sedimentary rock; others have been
elevated and more or less destroyed by
later cycles of erosion. These later cycles
are uncompleted, since before any one of
them could be finished the lands were up-
lifted and a new cycle inaugurated. In
fact no extensive peneplains, not up-
lifted or dissected, are known to exist at
the present time.

Nevertheless, it is apparent to geologists
that the earth has been in repose re-
peatedly, as far as denudation is con-

cerned; at such times shallow seas have
spread far and wide over ba.se-leveled
lands; new areas of deposition have thus
arisen; sedimentation accompanied by
slow subsidence in well defined troughs
followed; then folding, crumpling and
overthrusting of the horizontal strata ap-
peared as the result of lateral compression ;
this was followed by a general uplift of the
folded rocks into hie;h mountains by forces
acting from beneath the crust. Such up-
lifts were frequently accompanied by the
intrusion of igneous and volcanic rocks
into the distorted mass. With the uplift
of the region a new cycle of erosion was
inaugurated, the agents of ero.sion again
renewed their efforts to reduce the new
landscape to a peneplain. This in brief
is the history of various regions of the
earth's crust, particularly where numerous
old and young mountains exist.

While the rate of denudation in the
various cycles of erosion has not been
preserved, the sediments that were de-
posited in the shallow seas lying upon and
about the margins of the continents and

FOSSIL KLGM I\ A ROCK WALL, PHANTOM RANCH MESS HOl'SK, BUWHr ANGEL CANON, ARIZONA

The algge in this isolated block of Bass limestone from the Unkar group, middle Proterozoic, led to the discovery, 1927-1930,

by Dr. David White and Mr, Lincoln Ellsworth, of additional specimens of these ancient lime-secreting plants

136

NATURAL HISTORY

in the depressed troughs have been pre-
served, except where erosion removed all
or a part of the uplifted beds. Due to the
shifting of the areas of deposition for
different epochs the entire series of these
sedimentary strata, which total some
529,000 feet or 100 miles in thickness, are
not all to be found at any one place, but in
different places upon the face of the earth.

Where the erosion of the lands by rivers
proceeded in cyclical manner, the deposi-
tion of the transported land derived sedi-
ments in marine basins followed in
accordance with cycles of sedimentation.
Conglomerates and sandstones were laid
down near shore and at the base of the
series; shales and limestones were de-
posited farther out, or on top of the more
coarsely bedded sediments as the rivers
became longer or less active, with gentler
grades and greater sorting powers.

The various forms of animal and plant
life which lived in the sea at the time the
deposits were laid down were entombed,
as they died, by the incoming sediments.
Their remains constitute the fossils of
the sedimentary rocks. Different species
and different forms of life are found in
rocks, not only where they were deposited
in regular, sequence, but in areas where a
more recent formation extended over older
rocks and a gap in time and in sedimenta-

THE RELATION OP THE ROCK SURFACE

OF THE EARTH TO SEA LEVEL
A diagrammatic representation of the relative
of the rock surface (lithosphere) at
levels above and below sea-level,
1 feet and in percentages. (Modi-
fied from R. D. Salisbury)

tion was recorded thereby. Fossils are
invaluable to the stratigrapher, for where
a regular sequence of beds occurs the
changes in the species, from bed to bed,
permit the establishment of a fauna! scale
and this may be used elsewhere in de-
ciphering the relations of beds where the
sequence may be different or where the
character of the rocks may have changed

Beginning with William Smith in
England in 1796, geologists have built up
a geological time scale, the major features
of which are applicable to the known rocks
of the world. Smith, as a local surveyor,
came to recognize beds of rock from place
to place bj' the fossils which they contain.
By continued observation over a number
of years and much traveling, he was able
in 1815 to publish a geological map of
England and Wales on which he showed
the distribution and succession of rocks
of different ages. The local names which
he applied to the beds have remained in
use to this day.

The geological time scale, as now recog-
nized, is the work of many geologists.
It is a kind of chronological chart with
various subdivisions, the oldest rocks
appearing at the bottom, the youngest at
the top. It is the geologists' alphabet.
The terms ending in zoic refer to eras of
life, which constitute major divisions.
Each era is divided into periods, which
are based upon a definite series of rocks
representing one or more cycles of sedi-
mentation, developed during an undefined
interval of time. Locally. each period

MILLIONS
OF YEARS

36,9
_ S8.7
- 73.5

100 -|

200

300-

4-00-

500-

foOO

700 H

800-

900-

1000-

1100-

1200-

1300-

IfOO-

1500-

IfaOO-

1700-

1800-

1900-
2000.

201+

220

- 239

_ 374
_ H-f3

LE,«\D
RATIOS
0.000
0.OO5
0.008

afo

890

1024-
.105b
.1087

.1200
.1257

0.01
0.02 _
0.03-
O.Of _
0.05 _
0.0b_
0.07 _
0.08-
0.09 _
0.1 0 _
0,11 _
0.12-
O.I3_
0. IH-_
0.15-
O.lb.
0.17,
0.18-
O.I9_
0.20 _
0.21 _
0.22 _
0.23 _
0.24_
0.25 _
0.26 _
0 27_
0.28_

M,
YEARS

_36,9
-587
- 73.S

14-6
218
289
3b0
4-30
4-98
5b7
fa35
700
7b7
831
897
9b I
1026
1089
I I 50
1212
1273
1336
1398
I4b0
1522
1584-
Ifa4-b
1708
1770
1832

Que ATOM OF
URANIUM 0/S-
WTECRATES in
5 DAYS. THE
END PRODUCT
IS LE/\D.

< J "XQUATETRNARY

m —

UJO

■i
MM

1^1 a|

TE RTIARY

CRETACEOUS HO

CpMANOHlAM 25

JURASSIC

PermiaTT

"2?

PENNSYLVANIAN 35

MI5SISSIPPIAN 30

SILURIAN

ORDOviciAN as

C A M B R I A t-J 70

550

KILLARNEAH

KEWEENAWAN

CHUAR-UNKARWN
B5±

!a ANIMIKIAN

85:
COBALTIAN

BROCIAM

AGE OF MAN

AGE OF flAMHALS

A&E OF
REPTILES

A&e or

AMPHIBIANS

AGE OF
FISHES

AGE OF
INVERTEBRATETS

EVOLUTION OF

PRIMITIVE
FORMS OF LIFE

RECENT lOOOOlTRS.
PLEISTOCENE

PLIOCENE

MiocEne

OLIGOCENE
\EOCENE
PALEOCENE

Radioactive Orcz

URAUmiTES.
nORTM CAROLItlA :

uraninites,
Glastonsurv.conw.;

URANINITES.
branchville conm.;

pitchblendes,
katang.africa

TmORIANITES,
CEYLON

iiipi^t

liiif^^liife:^^

i^^^^ilH^

896

RADIOACTIVE ORE.

0 LA RY, AUSTRALIA 987
URANINITES

ONTARIO.CANADA I02V-

;lei/eites,

ARENDAL, NORWAY 105b
\SAMARSmTES

DOUGLAS CO. COL. 1087

-^uraninite,

keystone S-D. 1469

'!;!i^ml0M0m

SiMlS

m:b „

CAMBRIAN AND LATER ROChS
CHIEFLY UNMETAMORPHOSED i
SEDIMENTARY PREDOMINANT.

PRECAtlBRIAN ROCKS GENERAL-
LY tlETAnORPfiOSEO; IHNBOUS Pne
DOniNANT;SEDIMENTAIfr PRESENT

FOSSILS ASUNDA^r li\
PALEOZOIC ANO LATER EUAS.
IN PR0TER0ZOIC,F£WALOAE,
ffABMt Aff/A, SPOA/Of S, TUBES
AND TRAILS, (aRAPHITE\JN
HURONIAN, 900-1200 M.K;

URANINITE.
SINYAYA PALA,
CARELIA US.SR. 1852

iW ARCHEOZOIC^ AL&AEm

sFONGESO.in TEmsKAnma

I.STEEPROCK), ItOO MS-

OLDEST OLACIAL DEPOSITS,
COBALTIAN. IIOOM.Y. '

CAREBOS FES. 1331

RADIOACTIVE CHART OF GEOLOGICAL TIM E

Note: For every 1,000,000,000,000 uranium atoms for a mass weighing 1/40,000,000,000 of a gram) one atom ex-
plodes every five days. Five eras are shown on this chart; see page 140 for radioactive clock of geological time,
showing seven eras.

138

NATURAL HISTORY

INNER GORGL 1 IHl

Ev-ing Gallouay N Y
\IUZONA
the Ivaibab suspension bridge Rock section from river bed

View as in frontispiece. Looking down tlie Color ido Ru

to top of Isis Temple; Archeozoic: V. Vishnu schist Proterozoic B Bass limestone H Hakatai shale Sh bh
quartzite; Palaeozoic: (Cambrian) T. Tapeats sandstone BA Bri£,ht Angel shale {M^ss^ssippian) 'R Redw all limestone
(Permian) Ss. Supai sandstone and bhale, C. Coconino sandstone

and system of rocks is further divided into
epochs and formations of rocks. These
local designations, vs^hich are numerous
and variable from place to place, have not
been included in this general chart.

To illustrate the meaning of portions of
this chart the wonderful section of rocks
exposed in the Grand Canon of the
Colorado River in Arizona may be cited.
Across a plateau, the upper surface of
which rises from 7000 to 8000 feet above
sea level, the Colorado River has eroded a
trench about 217 miles long and a mile
deep at the western end. This trench
consists of two conspicuous features, one,
an outer canon, which is 4600 feet deep
from the north rim and from 8 to 20 miles
across, the other, an inner gorge which is
another 1000 feet deep, narrow, and V-
shaped in cross section. The buttressed
walls of the outer canon are composed of a
succession of horizontally stratified sedi-

mentary rocks; limestones, sandstones,
and shales representing the Permian,
Mississippian, and Cambrian periods of
the Palaeozoic era. Below these level
strata the river has cut its inner gorge
through tilted sedimentary rocks; quartz-
ite, limestone, and shale, some two miles
thick, which are of Middle Proterozoic age.
Below this series the river has cut its way
into a crystalline basement rock, without
stratification,which belongs to the earliest
era, the Archaeozoic. While this great
section is wonderfully impressive to those
who visit the Canon, the story has been
but partly told.

The ancient basement rocks are sepa-
rated from the overlying Proterozoic series
by a great erosion interval. This interval
is represented in the section by an uneven
surface known as an unconformity. Prior
to occupying their present position, these
basement rocks in the bed of the river

fJOW OLD IS TJJE EAjmr/

139

which tiro 3000 feet above soa level, wei'(>
deeply buried, crushed, smashed, and re-
crystallized by the processes of diastro-
phisrn as they lay at a lower level beneath
a thick cover of rock. This cover was
removed slowly by surface weathorins,
wind, and running water, acting through-
out a complete cycle of erosion. The
present erosion of the Grand Canon is but
a small beginning as compared with the
great erosion period under consideration
which was completed perhaps 1,200,000,-
000 years ago

On top of the gently subsiding pene-
plain thus established, sediments of the
Proterozoic Chuar and Unkar series were
slowly deposited. It was a long enduring
period, for the deposits are more than
11,000 feet in thickness. The sediments
were at least partly of marine origin, for
Dr. David White and Mr. Lincoln Ells-

worth have collect<?d primitive forms of
plants known as fossil algae, from the
Bass Hmestone, which appears just above
the base of the Unkar series. These are
the oldest fo.ssils in the Grand Carion.

Following the long period of deposition,
diastrophism renewed its activities. The
Proterozoic series was faulted and tilted,
in fact, great block mountains thou.sands
(jf feet in height were uplifted.

This epoch of mountain uplift was fol-
lowed by a second long period of erosion,
during which time the region was again
worn to a smooth plain, except for a few
low lying hills. In many places the thick
Proterozoic series was entirely removed and
the basement rocks again expo-sed except
where a few downfaulted blocks of the
Proterozoic rocks were preserved. These
downfaulted blocks of sediments are all
that remain of the great Proterozoic era in

RILICIPIBD FORMS OF FOSSIL ALG^ IN THE BASS LIMESTONE

Collected by Mr. Lincoln Ellsworth from the middle Proterozoic rocks, near the mouth of Bright Angel Canon, Arizona.

This specimen is of exceptional interest to students of the early remains of life. The Radioactive Chart of Geological Time

indicates that it is about 940 million years old

140

NATURAL HISTORY

this region. A second great line of uncon-
formity separates the Proterozoic rocks
from those of Palseozoic age.

As the land again sank, the seas of
Cambrian time rolled in over the smoothed
plain to inaugurate another great era of
deposition in this region, the PaliEozoic.
Horizontally disposed sandstones, shales,
and limestones were deposited. Amongst
them may be found the fossil shells of
various invertebrates, the tracks and re-
mains of trilobites, et cetera. In the
wonderfully impressive Palseozoic series
of beds, the Orodovician, Silurian, and
Devonian periods are missing. They are
represented by an unconformity. We
shall know more about what happened to
them when the Grand Canon is more fully
explored.

As one views the Grand Canon from the
rim at El Tovar, it is difficult to realize
that the rim rock, the Kaibab limestone,
of Permian age, is not the top of the
series of sediments. The great cliffs
on the north and east that overlook the
region are the higher strata that once ex-

tended over the whole district of the
Grand Canon. The distant strata repre-
sent deposits of Permian, Mesozoic, and
Tertiary age. They are about a mile in
thickness. Two major cycles of erosion
are preserved in these rocks, one at the
end of the Permian, the other at the close
of the Mesozoic era. Each denotes pro-
longed erosion and a great interval of time.
This Grand Canon section, although ex-
tremely interesting and impressive, repre-
sents but portions of the geological time
scale.

We have now suggested briefly the part
played by the great geologic processes
during the upbuilding of the earth. The
question arises how long have these forces
been acting? While various criteria have
been used in the investigation of this
problem, the data most frequently con-
sulted are the sodium salts of the oceans,
the thickness of the sedimentary rocks,
and the radioactivity of the igneous rocks.

The sodium in the oceans has been
derived from the land by the weathering
of igneous rocks. It has been transported

GLACIAL BOWLDER OP VARVED CLAY OF MIDDLE PROTEROZOIC AGE

The seasonal layers of this compact rock were deposited in a glacial lake of Cobaltian time, 1100 million years ago, in

Ontario Province, Canada. This specimen of the oldest known glacial period was carried by the ice of the last Pleistocene

glaciation to Battle Creek, Michigan. E, M. Brigham collector

now OLD IS THE EARTH?

141

from the land to the sea by rivers carry-
ing it in solution. As noted by J. Joly of
Dublin in 1899, the mass of the ocean
waters is 1,180,000 million million tons.
The percentage of .sodium in the'jceans was
calculated by him
to be 1.08 per cent
by weight, so tha)
there are 12,600
million million tons
of sodium in thr
oceans. T h c
amount of sodium
contributed by the
rivers to the sea
annually has been
variously estimat-
ed. After applying
certain corrections,
A. Holmes, 1927,
calculated that the
yearly increment
amounts to 35 mil-
lion tons. The
amount of sodium
in the sea divided
by this annual rate

gives 360,000,000 years as the age of
the oceans.

This calculation is based upon the pres-
ent rate of denudation and delivery. It is
most probable that the rate is much
higher now than during many of the
former geologic ages when the lands were
less high, less extensive, and the seas more
widespread. To account for these differ-
ences, J. W. Gregory (1921) recommends
that the present estimates based upon
sodium should be multipHed by five giving
a total of 1,800,000,000 years as the age of
the oceans.

The age of the earth based upon the
thickness of the stratified formations is
more difficult to apply since the average
annual rate of deposition of sediments is
not definitely known for the present or for
past epochs of geologic time. A. Holmes,
1927. estimates the thickness of the sedi-

VARVED CLAY OF LATE PLEISTOCENE AGE
HAVERISTRAW, N. Y.
This partial section of Haverstraw brick clay, 30,000 years
old, was depositeci seasonally in fresh water as the ice of the
last glaeiation retreated northward. The space between pins
represents a year. The lighter colored layers of fine sand are
the summer deposits: the dark bands of clay are the winter
layers

mentary deposits of various ages as
529,000 feet or 100 miles. J. H. Bretz,
1926, on the basis of several estimates
obtains an average rate of accumulation
of one foot in 880 years. These figures
give a total of
465,520,000 years as
the amount of time
required for the de-
position of the sedi-
mentarj' record.

This estimate
does not include,
however, the beds
which were de-
posited in epi-
continental seas,
uplifted and subse-
quently removed
by erosion, leaving
only an erosion
plane as a record
of the events.
Neither does it take
into consideration
those great gaps
separating the five
eras of geologic time when sedimenta-
tion was presumably confined to the
margins of the continental platforms.
Ocean waters now cover the margins of
the continental platforms to a depth of
600 feet and embrace continental areas
totaling 10,000,000 square miles. J.
Barrell, 1917, notes that geologic proces-
ses, embracing erosion, sedimentation, and
deformation recur in composite rhji;hins
in which landscapes alternate with sea-
scapes and geosjTichnal areas of sedi-
mentation with high mountains. The
processes of sedimentation are complex
and variable, defying rates of deposition.
Areas of sedimentation alternate with
scour and fill, the resulting product
represents merely the balance between
these two processes. In some areas sedi-
ments may not always have reached so
far, in others they may have been carried

142

NATURAL HISTORY

away to more distant spots, leaving small
or large gaps in the horizontally disposed
sediments known as disconformities. On
the basis of these numerous deficiencies in
the strati graphic record it would seem
that the above estimate of 465,520,000
years should be multiplied by a small
figure such as 4, to account for the total
time involved since sedimentation began,
namely, 1,862,080,000 years ago.

Another line of evidence, which has
yielded remarkable results as to the age
of the earth is the radio-active method.
It was first used in this connection by
Boltwood of Yale in 1907. It is based
upon the invariable rate of disintegration
of the radioactive substances, such as
uranium, thorium, radium and actinium,
which possess high atomic weights and
disintegrate with the continuous emana-
tion of helium into substances of lower and
lower atomic weights, terminating in
lead. While chemists and physicists have
analyzed but a comparatively small
number of rocks of different ages contain-
ing radioactive minerals, the determina-
tions so far made yield results which are
in accord with the sequence of rocks as
determined by geologists. The radio-
active method affords age determinations
which are more accurate than that pro-
duced by any other known method.

According to G. von Hevesy in Science,
Nov. 21, 1930, single atoms of uranium
and other radioactive substances explode.
The number of particles exploding and
decaying in unit time is strictly propor-
tional to the number present. Thus
where one atom of uranium out of 1,000,-
000,000,000 atoms, (or a mass weighing
1/40,000,000,000 of a gram) explodes and
disintegrates every 5 days, 73.05 atoms
disintegrate in like manner in the course
of a year. If the mass and the number of
atoms be 10 times as large, 10 atoms will
decompose in five days. If the mass be
100 or 1000 times as large, 100 or 1000
atoms will decompose in the same time.

Hence, whether the mass be 10, 100, or
1000 times larger, it disintegrates at the
same rate.

Uranium disintegration is thus a strictly
uniform process whose velocity has re-
mained unchanged throughout geological
time. Von Hevesy says that it is the
nucleus which is involved in the decay,
and nuclear processes proceed inde-
pendently of temperature, pressure, and
other external conditions. Hence, he
asserts there is absolutely no reason to
beheve that the process has gone forward
at any different rate than at present at
any period in the earth's history.

To students of this subject it is a well-
known fact that the disruption of a
uranium atom is always accompanied by
the radiation of an alpha-particle, which
is a charged helium atom, or by the loss of
a beta-particle, which is a free electron.
The alpha-particles leave the atom with a
velocity of 8800 miles per second and
travel a distance of about 2.8 cm. in air
and about 0.013 mm. in mica before they
become powerless. The beautifully color-
ed "pleochroic halos" seen in mica (biotite)
under polarized light are produced by
these alpha particles as they are emitted
by the contained uranium and the
decomposed products of uranium. The
fact that the halos, corresponding to the
various radioactive substances, have the
same diameter, indicates that the rate of
decay has remained the same throughout
the ages. To apply the rate of uranium
decay as a measure of time it is necessary
as von Hevesy says to obtain (1) the total
quantity of uranium that has decayed in
some mineral since the sohdification of
the earth, and (2) the rate of that decay.

Accompanying the radiation of alpha-
particles from uranium it is known that
one atom of helium, an inert gas, rises
from the decay of each atom of uranium.
Although a small portion of this helium
escapes, most of it collects in the uranium
bearing rock, where its volume gives a

now OLD IS Till': eaktii.'

143

STKATIl'IKD CUliTACIiOUy Ul.N
The man near the center of the picture stands on the contact betw
Belly Riv ■

Fhotograph by Barrium Brown
PROVINCE, CANADA

Pierre beds below and the fretih-water
ly a change in the character of the sediments, but a lost
ago

measure of the age of the rock. Lord
Rayleigh noted that one cubic centimeter
of heHum may be produced from one
gram of uranium in 9,000,000 yeai-s.
Since a small portion of the helium
gradually escapes, this method gives but a
minimum age. On this basis, age determi-
nations of ancient rocks have been made
to the amount of 570,000,000 years.

Uranium has an atomic weight of 238,
helium 4. Hence, as the decay proceeds
and helium is hberated, the products of
the decay have atomic weights, 234, 230,
226, 222, 218, 214, 210 and 206. The
atomic weight of a beta-particle is 1/1800,
hence, when it is lost, the atomic weight is
decreased by an insignificant amount.

The atomic weight 206, which is lead
derived from uranium, is of special interest
in radioactive determinations, since it is a
solid product and does not disintegrate.
It may be observed that 238 parts of
uranium produce 206 parts of lead as
32 parts of helium are developed. Hence,

from the known rate of the production of
helium from uranium, A. Holmes, 1927,
calculates that a million grams of uranium
give rise to 1/7400 of a gram of lead every
year. Holmes also presents formulse for
making age determinations from the
various radioactive minerals. Thus after
determinating the lead content of the
uranium minerals it is possible to calcu-
late what proportion of the uranium has
decomposed since the mineral was formed.
In the American Journal of Science for
March, 1927, A. Hohnes and R. W. Law-
son reviewed the methods of determining
the radioactive disintegration of 18
samples and presented 22 determinations,
the results of which have been incor-
porated in the left margin of the geologi-
cal time scale on page 137. In the
same journal, Aug., 1930, A. F. Kovarik
described two additional analyses of
ancient rocks, one for 1,465,000,000 years,
the other for 1,852, 000,000 years. These
have also been added to the chart.

144

NATURAL HISTORY

The radioactive method, which is based
upon the natural disintegration of uran-
ium to lead, is of great importance for
it enables us to determine the following
interesting things about the earth:

1. The age of the
oldest igneous rocks
containing radioactive
minerals, that is, the
minimum age of the
earth.

2. The date of vari-
ous events in the later
history of the earth.

3. The nature per-
haps of various trans-
formations in the gas-
eous and liquid stages
of the earth's history.

4. The maximum
age of the earth.

As to these vari-
ous points it may
be said that the
oldest radioactive
mineral so far de-
termined is a speci-
men of Uraninite
from Sinya Pala,

Carelia,in northwestern U.S. S.R., and that
its age is 1,852,000,000 years as determined
by A. F. Kovarik, Sloane Laboratory,
Yale University, August, 1930. Another
specimen of the same mineral from Key-
stone, South Dakota, as determined by
Prof. Kovarik, gave 1,465,000,000 years.
It is probable that other specimens yield-
ing an even greater age may be found
and that the minimum age of the earth,
that is, the formation of the crust, may
be considered to have begun approxi-
mately 2,000,000,000 years ago.

The age determinations of various
events in the later history of the earth
have been entered in the geological time
scale on page 137.

The third and fourth points are of
special interest, since the early history of
the earth is still obscure. According to
von Hevesy, 1930, the uranium-lead

SECTION OF FOHDHAM GNEISS, ARCHEOZOIC AGE
NEW YORK, N. Y.
The folded and contorted bands of light and dark colored
minerals represent lines of segregation of the mineral matter,
and folding when in a plastic state. It is typical of many
Archffiozoic rocks. Specimen from excavation, eastern abut-
ment of Fort Washington bridge over Harlem River. Age
problematical, perhaps 1800 million years

method is not only of value in deter-
mining the lower limit of the age of the
earth's materials, but of the chemical
elements. As a chemist he considers that
the transformation of uranium into lead
had already pro-
gressed to a certain
point, while the
earth's material
was still gaseous.
He asserts that this
lead with atomic
weight 206 did not
remain isolated, but
mixed with lead
(208) formed by the
decay of thorium
and as a result com-
mon lead (207) was
produced. He goes
on to say that ap-
proximately half of
our common lead
was formed from
uranium before the .
earth's materials
had solidified. He
cites F. W. Aston as having proved re-
cently that ordinary lead is a mixture of
uranium-lead and thorium lead. He
considers that lead formed in uranium
minerals has had no opportunity to mix
with thorium lead and consequently it has
remained fixed as uranium-lead. Thus
the ratio of all the uranium to about half
the common lead (plus the uranium-lead)
present in the whole earth must give the
age of the earth's material. His considera-
tions give about 3000 million years as the
upper limit of the age of the minerals;
it is also the lower limit of the age of the
earth's material. He draws a distinction
between the few radioactive elements,
which have altered according to accurately
known laws during this long time, and the
other elements which built up the earth's
constituents and have undergone no
change.

HOW OLD IS THE EAh'TII.'

145

MUD FIMJNQH OF KUN
CRACKS," SUPAI FOUMATION
A Bpccimen of lower Permian uko
that is some 215 million years old.
It exhibits the same physical
phenomenon as is found in the
Hakiitai shale specimen 935 million
years old of micfdle Proterozoic age.
From the Grand Cafion of Arizona.
Lincoln Ellsworth Collection, 1030

The foregoing determi-
nations have had to do
with the crust of the
earth. Since the earth's
interior is inaccessible,
the geochemist turns to
the meteorites and as-
sumes that the iron mete-
orites correspond to the
core of the earth, and
the stony meteorites to
the more or less silicate-
hke material lying between the core and
the crust.

F. Paneth of Berlin developed in 1926
the methods for determining the helium
content of meteorites. He notes that the
iron meteorites when heated to a red heat
loose no trace of helium. According to
von Hevesy, 1930, Paneth has found for
the iron meteorites a maximum age of
2600 million years.

These data are significant. It lends
support to the theory that the original

materials of the earth and of meteorites
may have come from a common celestial
source. It also impHes that the youth-
ful earth, which grew presumably from the
inner core outward by the addition of
layers of planetoid and planetesimal
matter, began its development 2,600,-
000,000 years ago. The oldest surface
rock so far analyzed yields an age of
1,852,000,000 years. The difference in age
between the oldest rock and the oldest
meteorite is 748,000,000 years. May not
this difference, or some
600,000,000 years, repre-
sent the tune consumed
in the upbuilding of the
primeval earth?

In conclusion it may
be stated that these radi-
oactive determinations
are not onty astounding,
but remarkable. Al-

PROTEROZOIC RIPPLE MARKS
AND "sun crack" IM-
PRESSIONS
This slab of red Hakatai shale of
middle Proterozoic age is some 935
milUon years old. It shows that the
same physical phenomena were in
force during the early eras of the
earth's history as are in evidence
today. Specimen from the Grand
Canon of Arizona. Lincoln Ells-
worth Collection, 1931

146

NATURAL HISTORY

though the method is still young the
results are dependable. The method is
based upon the natural rate of disinte-
gration of the atoms of the few radio-
active elements. This rate cannot be
changed by any known human or physical
agency. It is thus a reliable and
thoroughly scientific method. When its
application has been extended to numer-
ous samples of radioactive rocks and
minerals from all parts of the world,
embracing rocks of all ages, then we shall
know, in all probability, how old the
earth is.

Upon the basis of knowledge for 1931,

we may consider the crust of the earth to
be 1,852,000,000 or about 2,000,000,000
years old; the inner core, 2,600,000,000
years old; and the upper limit of the
minerals, or materials of the earth, as
3,000,000,000 y€ars old, as noted below
in the radioactive clock of geological
time. The radioactive determinations
and the oldest fossils indicate that prim-
itive life was present on the earth one
and one-half bilHon years ago ; stone imple-
ments and , human remains in Pliocene
deposits imply that the human race was on
the earth about one and one-half million
years ago.

'^'-OCK OF GEOV-O

This clock face of 12 hours shows how 3000 milUon years may be allotted to seven

stages in the geological history of the earth. The first and second stages representing

the gaseons and formative eras respectively, are not shown on the preceding more

detailed radioactive chart of geological time, page 137.

The Adier Planetarium ami AstrijiioiiiiiMl Miisriin, ( 'Ihciiko, lUinoLs

THE DRAMA OF THE SKIES

As Projected by the New Zeiss Plaiietariuni, a Remarkable lii.struiiieat
that Exhibits, with the Illusion of Reality, the Motions
of the Heavenly Bodies

By CLYDE FISHER

Curator of Astronomy, American Museum

If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe
and adore and preserve, for many generations the remembrance of the city of God which

had been shoum." — Emerson.

VISUAL aids in education have been
appreciated by great teachers at
least as far back as the beginning
of the Sixteenth Century when Leonardo
da Vinci convincingly set forth the value
of these means. How much more effec-
tive than the printed page is the diagram
or drawing or photograph in making clear
many principles or laws of nature! And
where there are movements, as in the
case of the heavenly bodies, suitable
apparatus is much more effective in
visualizing natural phenomena than flat
pictures in books.

In no field of science-teaching is well-
devised apparatus of greater value than
in astronomy. Devices have been made
to illustrate eclipses of the sun and moon,
others to show the causes of the changes of
seasons, and still others to portray the
movements of the planets in relation to
the sun. In the latter half of the Six-
teenth Century, the great Dutch astrono-
mer, Huygens, and the great Danish

astronomer, Roemer, built a planetarium
to represent the solar system, as it was
then known, according to the new
Copernican system, and doubtless this
invention had much to do with the gen-
eral acceptance of the sun-centered
theory of our system of worlds.

A great variety of instruments was
made for the purpose of showing the rela-
tive motions of the then known bodies in
our solar system, — many of them very
crude, but for the most part very help-
ful. Some were limited to the earth and
sun and moon, others just to the moon
and the earth, and still others to the sun
and all the known planets and satellites.

One of the most interesting and com-
plicated of these early inventions was
built in England for Charles Boyle, the
fourth Earl of Orrery, and thus originated
the name "orrery" as now applied to
these old types of planetarium.

In America the most famous orrery
every built, according to Prof. David

148

NATURAL HISTORY

Todd (Popular Astronomy, August-Sep-
tember, 1925), is that constructed by
America's first practical astronomer,
David Rittenhouse. It is now one of the
most highly prized astronomical trophies
of Princeton University.

The best of these mechanical plane-
tariums or orreries ever constructed was
designed and built by the Carl Zeiss
Optical Works of Jena, and is installed in
the German Museum in Munich. It may
be described briefly as follows : A lighted
globe in the center represents the sun.
The six planets nearest the sun, with their
satellites — the planets and satellites all
revolving at their proper relative speeds —
are shown. The diameter of Saturn's
orbit is about forty feet. Uranus and
Neptune are left out, I presume because
their tremendous distances would make
the rest so small proportionately, and
Pluto of course was not known when the

apparatus was made. There is no light
except from the central sun, and the walls,
ceiling, and floor are painted black. Con-
sequently, the change of day and night is
well shown on the planets, and so are the
phases of our moon. For the lecturer or
demonstrator, a car travels around under
the earth, which goes around the central
sun in twelve minutes, the apparatus
being propelled by an electric motor.
The phases of Venus and Mercury can
easily be observed through a periscope on
the car under the earth, which makes it
possible to see these planets from the
level of the plane of the ecliptic. The
constellations of the zodiac are shown in a
belt on the wall, with their names in
white letters and with the degrees of the
circle marked. The principal stars are
shown by lights back of small, round
holes in the black wall. This Copernican
planetarium is so valuable that it should

ENTHRALLED BY THE ARTIFICIAL NIGHT SKY OF THE NEW ZEISS PLANETARIUM
When the Ughts of the planetarium are gradually dimmed and the stare are "turned on," an involun-
tary "ah" always sweeps the audience. It is indeed a breath-taking experience

TIIK DRAMA OF TIIK SKU'JS

149

by all means bo included
in the proposed Hall of
Astronomy at the Am(!r-
ican Museum.

Two other smaller me-
chanical planetariums in
the German Museum in
Munich are worthy of
note. One is a Coper-
nican or sun-centered
mechanism enclosed in a
spherical glass globe
about five feet in diame-
ter. On the inside of the
glass sphere are shown in
gold the principal stars of
the most conspicuous
constellations. The ap-
paratus proper consists of
globes of various sizes to
represent the planets and
their satellites and the
central sun. A unique
and valuable feature of
this exhibit is a crank on
the outside of the sphere,
which may be turned by
any visitor, and which
propels the heavenly
bodies in their proper
motions. Naturally this
instrument attracts
much attention. Dr.
Philip Fox has shown his appreciation of
this type of planetarium by placing one
in the new Adler Planetarium and Astro-
nomical Museum in Chicago.

The other small planetarium in the
German Museum, referred to above, is
a Ptolemaic or earth-centered instru-
ment, of the same size and of similar
installation, and it also has the valuable
feature of an external crank, which the
visitor may turn. In this apparatus one
may see the heavenly bodies revolve
around the earth, the planets on their
epicycles, as they were believed to move
before the days of Copernicus.

THE PROJECTION APPARATUS OF THE ZEISS PLANETARIUM
This apparatus is more than twelve feet high and built withTthe
accuracy of a watch. The set of stereopticons at one end projects
the stars of the Northern Hemisphere, and those at the other end,
those of the Southern Hemisphere. The projectors between repre-
sent the sun, moon, and visible planets

The value of these instruments, it is
hoped, will not be under-estimated. And
yet perhaps no one reahzed how inade-
quate they all were, until some one
produced a much greater invention from
an entirely different viewpoint. The old
types were built on a small scale, and the
observer must watch the various move-
ments of the heavenly bodies from the
outside of the solar system, and not as one
naturally would observe them from the
earth. And in all cases the comparative
sizes and distances were more or less ex-
tremely distorted. And again, the fixed
stars, which so enthrall us in the night sky.

150

NATURAL HISTORY

were always left out, except that a few
were sometimes shown in an inadequate
manner by being painted on the surface
of an outside sphere, or by means of lights
back of small holes in a zodiacal zone.

The nearest approach to the modern
projection planetarium with regard to
the stars is the Atwood Planetarium in
the Museum of the Chicago Academy of
Sciences in Lincoln Park. In that the
most conspicuous stars are shown by
lights back of holes in a hollow sphere,
and they are shown in their apparent ris-
ing and setting, but so many astronomical
features have not been included in this
apparatus, that it cannot compare with
the projection planetarium, although it
must be looked upon as an important
step in the evolution of apparatus for
visuaUzing the subject of astronomy.^

^The writer has since learned that a very similar ap-
paratus wa3 buit at Pembroke College in 1758 by Roger
Long, Lowndea Professor of Astronomy at Cambridge.
The globe was 18 feet in diameter and seated 30 persons.
Described in "A Cycle of Celestial Objects," by Smyth
and Chambers, pp. 208-209, Oxford, 1881.

But now we come to something new
under the sun, an apparatus that shows
every object in the sky that is visible to
the unaided eye, and in a most realistic
manner. The rising and setting of the sun,
moon, and stars are shown just as they
occur in nature, due to the rotation of the
earth on its axis. The moon is shown
going through its phases. The planets
are shown wandering among the stars.
Even the wobbHng of the celestial pole
around a curve, which in the sky takes
26,000 years, is cared for in this apparatus.

In this new projection planetarium
there are no globes to represent the
heavenly bodies, but everything is shown
on the inside of a dome by projection of
light from a central apparatus. The
optimum size for this inverted bowl is
about seventy-five feet in diameter. This
hemispherical dome, which is white
inside, becomes our artificial sky, and
since there are no pillars or posts to inter-

THE PLANETARIUM AT DUSSELDORF
The planetarium at Dusseldorf, housed in this attractive building, has been visited by about 400,000
people. The dome is ninety feet in diameter. For projectional and acoustic reasons this is now con-
sidered to be larger than the optimum

THE DRAMA OF THE SKIES

151

cppt the light, the illusion
of the immensity of spticc
is perfect. One feels
that he has been suddenly
transported outside un-
der a clear night sky.
The realistic appearance
is beyond belief.

The central projection
apparatus, which rests on
the floor of the dome, is
a dozen feet high and is
built with the accuracy of
a watch. One set of pro-
jectors arranged in the
form of a sphere shows
the stars of the northern
hemisphere of the sky
and another similar set
portrays the southern
hemisphere. In all the
sky there are shown
5400 stars, which is all
that can be seen by the
best unaided eyes. Al-
though some other parts
of the apparatus pre-
sented more difficult
problems, the represen-
tation of the fixed stars
including the Milky Way
is most impressive.

In fact, the inventor admitted to me
that the illusion of the immensity of
space, and the realistic representation of
the fixed stars including the Milky Way
had exceeded even his expectations. Due
to some subconscious imagination, per-
haps,— at least for some psychological or
physiological reason, this artificial sky
seems to possess the deep night blue seen
in the real sky, and yet there is no blue
color on the inside of the dome and none
in the projection apparatus.

By means of a special set of projectors
the names of the constellations may be
shown on the sky, and this is quite an
over outdoor star-gazing in

lllL I'LA.XLl'AiaL Al l.\ Il.VilBL 1;l.

In the city of Hamburg a former water tower has been utilized to

house the planetarium, thus saving much of the cost of constructing

a new building

learning the constellations. With a flash-
light showing an arrow-shaped light, the
lecturer can point out any star, planet,
or other body in the sky.

Between the assemblages of stereop-
ticons showing the stars are seven special
projectors, one for each of the five planets
visible from the earth to the unaided eye
and one each for the sun and the moon.

The whole apparatus has several speeds,
and by running the year through in a few
minutes one can get a very clear notion
of the wandering movements of the
planets, which would require a long time
in careful actual observation to acquire.
In fact, under New York City conditions

152

NATURAL HISTORY

THE PLANETARIUM AT MOSCOW

Even Moscow, in the midst of the unsettled conditions of Soviet

Russia, has its planetarium. During the first nine months it has

had nearly 600,000 visitors

of clouds and haze and smoke and build-
ings and artificial lights, it is practically
impossible to make many of the most
elementary observations out of doors.

With the new projection planetarium,
one can change his latitude at will. He
can go in his imagination to Argentina and
study the southern constellations. Or, he
can change the time. He can set it back
for thousands of years, if he wishes, or. he
can set it forward say 12,000 years when
Vega will be the pole-star, and the South-
ern Cross will be visible from the latitude
of New York.

Shortly before the World War Dr. Oskar
von Miller, director of the German Mu-
seum in Munich, commissioned the Carl

Zeiss Optical Works to
undertake this project.
After more than ten
years, the first Zeiss Pro-
jection Planetarium was
installed in Dr. von Mil-
ler's museum. The credit
for the invention of the
apparatus goes to Dr.
Ing. W. Bauersfeld of the
Zeiss Works. The
Munich planetarium was
opened in 1924, and in
1925 it was my good for-
tune to be sent to Ger-
many by the President
and Board of Trustees
of the American Museum
of Natural History for
the purpose of examining
the new invention with a
view to its suitability for
our proposed Hall of
Astronomy.

After a careful investi-
gation, I brought back as
enthusiastic a report as
I could prepare, and yet .
after nearly six years
New York still awaits a
realization of this dream.
It has been a source of great satisfac-
tion to have my own judgment uni-
versally corroborated. It is surprising
but true that the new planetarium im-
presses professional astronomers as well as
amateurs and laymen. Following are
the statements of a few professional
astronomers :

Dr. R. G. Aitken, Director of Lick
Observatory. — "The Zeiss Planetarium is
the most remarkable instrument that has
ever been devised to exhibit impressively,
and with the illusion of reality, the mo-
tions of the heavenly bodies and the
phenomena which result from these
motions. It has, therefore, deservedly
won the attention of all who are interested

THE DHA MA (JF THE SKI EH

153

in the diffusion of awtronornical knowl-
edge."

Dh. Walter S. Ai^amh, JJirector oi' the
Mount Wilson Observatory. — "The Zei.ss
Planetarium with its realistic and rather
dramatic pre.sentation of the celestial
objects would prove of groat educational
value, fixing in the minds as no description
could do the simple astronomical prin-
ciples which everyone should know."

Prof. Elis Stromgren, Director of
the Copenhagen Observatory. — "Never
was a medium of demonstration produced
as instructive as this, never one more
fascinating in effect, and certainly never
one which appeals to everybody as this
does. It is a school, theater, and film all in
one, a lecture hall under the vault of the
heavens, and a drama in which the celestial
bodies are the actors. No description, no
photograph, no drawing can possibly
reproduce the overwhelming impression

made by a dcnion.stralion in a Zeiss
Planetarium."

Since the opening of the first plane-
tarium in 1924 in Munich, the nunilx-r has
grown to nearly a score. About a dozen
are in operation in cities of (jeniiany.
There is one in Vienna, one in Rome, one
in Milan, one in Moscow, one in Stock-
holm, and f)ne in Chicago. One has been
(jrdered for Philadelphia and one for Ix)S
Angeles.

Chicago deserves the credit of bringing
the first projection planetarium to Ameri-
ca. This was made po.ssible by the gen-
erosity of Mr. Max Adler, the apparatus
Ijeing installed and the astronomical mu-
seum l)eing organized and developed by
Dr. Philip Fox, formerly head of the de-
partment of astronomy and director of
the Dearborn Observatory at North-
western University. In less than five
months the Adler Planetarium in Chicago

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THE ZEISS PLANETARIUM IN ROME
This planetarium was contracted for by Mussolini and was set up in the Aula Minerva of the
Diocletian Baths, — a striking contrast, one of the most modern steps in education in the oldest of

settings

154

NATURAL HISTORY

passed the half -million mark in attendance.
A few weeks ago, in a lecture before the
Amateur Astronomers Association, Doc-
tor Fox threw down the challenge to
New York. Will we accept it?

The new planetarium in Philadelphia is
to be installed in the new building of the
Franklin Institute. It was donated by
Mr. Samuel Fels. Philadelphia has
beaten New York in placing an order for a
planetarium. We used to tease Philadel-
phians with the old Pullman advertise-
ment, "You go to sleep in Philadelphia
and wake up in New York." And now
comes California! This is too much.

The new planetarium in Stockholm has

had so large a number of visitors that by
charging a small admission fee, it has paid
for itself within four and a half months.

Since we have more than a million
public school children in New York, in
addition to several million adults who
would be interested, and an enormous
transient population besides, our city
would immediately eclipse all records for
attendance. With a small admission fee,
school children exempted, a planetarium
in New York would soon pay for itself in
money, while no one would be able to
measure its educational and inspirational
value to the boys and girls and men and
women who would visit it.

THE NEW PLANETARIUM IN STOCKHOLM

This planetarium, installed at the Exposition of 1930, has been visited by so many people, that, with a

small admission fee, it has paid for itself within four and a half months

ahved fhom a

ction of tree

s.-k three feet

Bom Thibf,

ART OF THE DUTCH GUIANA
BUSH NEGRO

A Craft which Survives in a Highly Developed State among

the Descendants of West African Negro Slaves

Deep in the Jungle of Dutch Guiana

By MORTON C. KAHN

Department of Hygiene, Cornell Unnersity Medical Colleee

Under the patronage of Myron I. Granger, Doctor Kahn has inade sereral journeys to Dutch Guiana to
study the Bush Negro groups dwelling there. The work has been carried on with the cooperation of the
depaiimenl of anthropology of the American Museum, where Doctor Kahn has deposited his ethnological
collections and the data on their culture. He has granted to Natural History ISIagazine the courtesy
of pre-publication of the chapter on the art of these jungle inhabitants, wh'ch will appear iti his neir book
" Djuka — The Bush Negroes of Dutch Guiana," to be published early this spring by Vikinn Press.

— The Editors.

DEEP in the jungles of Dutch
Guiana live the Bush Negroes or
Djukas as they are locally known.
They are descended from West African
Negro slaves who revolted against their
masters, the Dutch colonial sugar plant-
ers, as early as 1650. The wild and almost
impenetrable jungle into which these
slaves fled made it impossible for the
Dutch to subjugate them. After a series
of long and bloody wars, the Dutch
realizing that recapture of the escaped
slaves and their offspring was an impos-
sibility, granted them their freedom, to
insure the plantations from further attack.
The Djukas are unique, for in the civiliza-
tion which they have established in the

South American jungle they have bor-
rowed but little from the white man or
Indian, having kept ahve, instead, most
of the customs and practices which the
slave ancestors of the present-day Djukas
brought with them from West Africa.
Among the most outstanding of these
characteristics is the highly developed
art of wood carving.

The sense of beauty is not absent.
The Bush Negroes have definite aesthetic
feelings and in their wood carving they
have a well-developed and conventional-
ized art form. Art is highly socialized
and universally appreciated among them.
There are definite artistic conventions
and common conventionalized forms.

156

NATURAL HISTORY

INTERIOR OF A BUSH \EGKO VILLAGE

Today these descendarits of West African negro slaves live a peaceful, contented, and primitive life in

their little jungle villages of thatched huts

Among ourselves the production of ar-
tistic objects is confined to a small group
of especially gifted individuals, whereas
among the Bush Negroes it is a regular
part of the life of proportionately many
more individuals. Common objects of
everyday use, which among ourselves are
designed for utility alone, are developed
by the Bush Negroes into elaborate ob-
jects of art. They represent one of the
most characteristic features of any Bush
Negro village. One is sure to find in
every village the carved plates and long-
tined combs and pierced decorations that
constitute the art of the Bush Negroes.

In the combs, paddles, and other pieces
of wood carving illustrated in this article,
the most casual observer will discern a
great beauty of form and design. The
sense of line, the feeling for balance, com-
bined with elaborate conception and
execution, compare well with the produc-
tions of the highly sophisticated artists of

our urban civilization. All of the wood
carvings, collectively known as sanni or
timbeh, follow certain traditional patterns.
The individual motifs, however, are
products of the individual imagination,
and, judging by the variety and originality
of the designs shown herewith, that
imagination is evidently quite fertile.

All the wood carving is done by men.
There is a ceremonial significance to this.
These wooden pieces are tokens of love

Love in the jungle is not the ethereal-
ized sentiment portrayed by Victorian
novelists. When a man and woman want
each other the satisfaction of their desire
is easy and immediate. The people are
largely promiscuous among themselves.
Under such conditions the existence of
romantic sentiments is an impossibility.

Individual preference does, of course,
exist, and this implies courtship. A man
may want a woman who does not want
him, and this implies wooing. The wooing

ART OF TJII'J DITCH dUIANA BUSH SKCRO

157

signs are seen. Boys between the ages
of eight and ten years may be proficient
carvers, and critical elders preside over
their work, ready to point out anj' minute
mistake. The father or uncle who is
expert with the knife will train his son
or nephew in the same tradition, so that
certain families are known for their
beautiful work.

This erotic significance of the wood
carvings makes them difficult to obtain.
The woman who sells one is not parting
with a domestic utensil so much as with a
treasured memento. Sentimental attach-
ments are bound to appear. As one
woman said:

consists in presenting the woman with
specimens of sanni. Thus, every piece of
wood carving is a token of love and affec-
tion, presented by a Bush Negro to his
woman. The woman who accepts sanni
from a suitor accepts his love along with it.
The man naturally stores up a quantity
of sanni in expectation of falling in love,
and the woman is inordinately proud of
her pieces of wood since each one be-
tokens the affection of a male. A great
part of the love-life among the Djukas
is wrapped up in these carved household
implements.

Those few unfortunate natives wiio are
not clever at handling a knife must trade
fish or game or some
other personal possession
for sanni produced by a
more deft handicrafts-
man. Almost any Bush
Negro can hunt, fish, and
care for a wife, but a
man's value is enhanced
in the eyes of the woman
when he can carve artis-
tically. The women ap-
preciate him and the men
respect him. Wood carv-
ing, therefore, is assidu-
ously cultivated by the
Bush Negroes from early
childhood.

As sanni is a prized
commodity everywhere,
exchangeable for female
favors, a great deal of
time is spent on each
individual piece. A single
comb may take weeks to
carve. The women are
very good j udges of sanni,
and can tell a good piece
at a glance. With such
a critical audience, the
Djuka artist is careful of

' J J The huts of the Dj ukas are usually made from woven palm fronds and

ward or ill-formed de- thatch, and are weather-tight even in the severe tropical storms

PREPARING PALM FRONDS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION
OF A HUT

158

NATURAL HISTORY

"He gave me this piece when we were
first married. I won't part with it now."

Usually an elaborate parley is necessary.
The women are undecided whether to sell
or not. They laugh, giggle, put their
fingers coyly in their mouths, joke bash-
fully with bystanders, and cannot make
up their minds as to the price. They
never know how much to ask for a piece.
Sometimes they will mention a preposter-
ous figure, hoping like a naive child that
the strange bahkra (white man) will pay
that much. But on such occasions a re-
buke will make them more reasonable.
Once an arrogant witch doctor intervened
in a transaction with a Bush Negro

A TYPICAL BUSH NEGRO COUPLE

Almost perfect physical specimens are not uncommon among the

Djukas.- Note the elaborately carved canoe paddle held by the man.

Similar specimens are in every-day use along the rivers. A number

of these are in the collection at the American Museum

woman, demanding angrily that she re-
ceive an exorbitant payment. His anger
was squelched with a few sharp words,
and, contrite, he sat up all night to carve
an ornate implement to present to the
bahkra as a peace-offering.

The Bush Negro implements are carved
out of jungle wood. Some are made of
lignum vitee, the hardest wood known. A
few of them are made of soft wood, light
and spongy, but these are not popular.
The small paddles are used for stirring in
the cooking pots, and the combs are
actually used for the hair. They are
never worn as personal ornaments, and
when not in use are hung up on the walls
of the hut. The utensils
are all made with com-
mon trade jackknives
and compasses which are
used as dividers. It is
principally with these
dividers that the serpen-
tine motifs are executed.
After the carving is fin-
ished the piece is
smoothed off by rubbing
it with matted grass and
river sand. A few chisels
and carpenter's tools can
occasionally be found.
Where compasses or di-
viders cannot be ob-
tained, a nail and piece
of string are often used.

Bush Negro sanni is
not used for trading pur-
poses. A few pieces find
their way down to the
coast, of course, but they
are never articles of com-
merce among the Djukas.
In some villages, and par-
ticularly among the
Paramacca tribe it is
practically impossible to
obtain many carvings,
but the willingness to

Airr OF Tiii<: Drrcii guiana bcsh mccro

159

A DJLKA MOTHER rHErAKIXU CASSAX A BUEAU EOK HEl; lAMIL-l

The root of the bitter cassava forms the main carbohydrate food of the Bush Negroes but upland rice
is also cultivated and in daily use. The cassava squeezer is the most elaborate of the Djuka basketry

part with these objects naturally varies
with the village and the individual. Be-
ing known to the natives greatly facili-
tates trade.

One outstanding feature of this work
is the complete absence of color. The
finished piece shows the natural hue of
the wood, and rarely anything more. An
occasional variation is obtained by inlay-
ing with racuda wood, brownheart, or
purpleheart, but tints and dyes are seldom
applied. A different shade is also ob-
tained once in a while by branding or
burning the wood with a hot iron. The
men of the Aucaner tribe who paint red
and black clan devices on their large canoe
paddles, represent exceptions to the gen-
eral rule of showing only the natural wood
shades.

Nearly all the pieces are utilitarian in
origin and purpose, but some of them are
so highly carved as to be of little practical

use. These are much prized as gift pieces.
The trays are actually used for carrying
food, also for winnowing rice, and the
stirring paddles dip into the food pot every
evening. After being used they are
washed with river water and hung up on a
peg. The canoe paddles are actually em-
ployed every day on the river, and the
beautifully carved flails beat the day's
wash of soiled togas and coyos (woman's
cloth).

Since it is taboo to sit on the ground, a
large number of stools are made, pierced
and decorated, with now and then a tiny
cabinet inside them. Wooden locks that
actually work are seen on the doors,
especially in Aucaner villages, guarding
the treasures inside. These are West
African survivals; the same type of
device can be found in several parts of the
Old Continent. They are huge affairs
often two feet in length. Door sills and

THOSE FOR WHOM THE
WOODCARVING IS DONE
A woman's favor is bestowed
upon the man whose gifts are
carved with the greatest skill
and artistry. The unfortu-
nate suitor who does not pos-
sess this skill must purchase
his love tokens from an expert

A TYPICAL DJUKA
TRIBESMAN
Note the scar tissue decora-
tion on the face and arms.
This custom of cicatrization
is a direct West African
survival. Many of the Bush
Negroes are even more
liberally decorated than this
man. The custom is prac-
ticed by both sexes

Photograph by Klein

I'hotodraph by lili:,

HOME AND COMPANY
CLOTHING
The man on the left is (h'OSHed
hi a'muiiiior tyi)ical of the u)!-
I'ivcr irihcMrjicii. He is wear-
ing Hiin|jly ;i l(]in cloth and tlie
to^ii-liki^ ,1^11,1-niont known as
"carnissa." The man on the
right has just rented a ]jair of
trousers and a shirt in
preparation for a promenade
about the streets of Para-
maribo, the capital city of
Dutch Guiana

GRAN-MANS AND
CAPTAINS
Assembled in Paramaribo for
their annual pai'ley with the
Governor. Each Bush Negro
tribe is headed by a Onni-
Man, whileeach villaftc hcnl-
man is known as a Cnpl.nii.
Costumes of this tyi^e are
traditional, and have been
worn on state occasions for
many years

Piiolooraph by Curiel

162

NATURAL HISTORY

A COMB CAEVED FROM A SINGLE PIECE OF WOOD

Human face motif. These combs are not worn as ornaments but are
used for making the coiffure. Boni Tribe

door posts, bows and sterns of canoes,
canoe seats and calabash gourds (occa-
sionally decorated by a woman) are all
embellished with ornamentation of great
intricacy. It is amazing that these designs
could be wrought without preliminary
designing, which would seem to be
necessary, but so far as we were able to
observe there is no conscious planning
before the carving begins.

The symbolism employed in these
pieces of sanni is limited to a few con-

ventionalized motifs.
Moreover, there is a vari-
ation in the symbolism
peculiar to the individual
artist, which is not com-
prehensible solely from
an examination of the
piece itself. Unless one
can locate the original
carver, it is impossible,
for the most part, to be
certain what the symbols
mean. The same motif
will be differently inter-
preted by different na-
tives, and often has no
objective meaning. It is
therefore impossible to
undertake an elaborate
interpretation of Djuka
symbolism.

There are a few out-
standing designs found
on a large number of
pieces. The first of these
is the snake motif. It
takes the form of ser-
pentine coils and twists,
fancifully involuted and
superimposed. The same
general design is also in-
terpreted as a liana motif,
referring to the twisted
tendrils of the jungle
vines, convoluted and
snarled. These twists and
curves may be carved in such a way, how-
ever, as to represent human figures. The
second most important is the chain motif,
an attempt to duplicate the links of iron
chains.

The vulva motif is commonly found,
and is consciously employed as a love
symbol. The natives have no hesitation
in interpreting this design as referring to
the female genitalia; it is impressed on
articles as a symbol of desire. The bill-
bird, or toucan, provides another motif

A PLATE AND SI'OOX CAKVKD FUOM A CALABASH GOURD

These articles are in every-day use and are sometimes decorated by the women, while the wood carving

is solely in the hands of the men

A CARVED WOODEN BOARD USED FOR MASHING PEANUTS
Note the brass upholstery tacks. These tacks are often employed by the Bush Negroes for decoration
of their wood carvings. Saramaccaner iribe

\ HOUSE FETISH
This fetish is con-
structed to keep
evil from the occu-
pants of the hut.
among most
primitives, the en-
vironment of the
Djukas is peopled
with many evil
spirits. Fetishes to
the spirits are us-
ually very crudely
carved

A BUSH NEGRO
ARTIST
This man is named
"Ahmekimoi" (He
makes nice things) .
Note the carved
and inlaid wooden
pot stirrer that he
has just completed
for his wife. Such
gift pieces are highly
prized by their re-
cipients

AN ANCEBTOK
SHRINE
While the BuHh
Negroes recognize a
great divine spirit
("Gran Gaclu"),
they also have a
number of othv.r
dieties. It is usii;il
lor them to pray Id
their ancestors In
intercede with i\\r
sijirits on behalf i<\
those still in fhc
realm of the living.

PLAYING DANCE
MUSIC ON THE
APENTI
This type of drum
is also used for
signaling from vil-
lage to village. The
signal codes used by
the Djukas, as well
as the construction
of the driun, follows
the traditional West
African pattern

166

NATURAL HISTORY

\:^'

that can be recog-
nized on a variety of
pieces. Another West
African survival is the
bone motif, for the
human scapula is fre-
quently seen conven-
tionalized on
calabash objects, f
A few of the (-;
white man's ob-
jects also furnish
themes for wood
carvings, such as
the rifle stock and
anchor.

Other
motifs are
entire ly
without
symbolic
int e n-
t i 0 n ,
and are
for sym-
m e t r y
and pro-
portion
only. The
cross-hatch
and notch
motifs are African in origin,
and can be found on West
African objects. Other details
of execution vary widely,
without especial signifrcance.
The tines of the combs may
be rounded or square. The
food paddles may ha.ve two handles and
one blade, or two blades and one handle.
The size of the pieces varies considerably,
from small combs a few inches long to
the great six-foot canoe paddles. Aside
from the vulva and phallus motifs there
is little erotic symbolism.

A peculiarity of Aucaner tribe wood
carvings is the system of sign language im-
printed thereon. If some of the pieces are

A CARVED FOOD-POT
STIRRER

Highly Stylized.
Snake Motif.
Aucaner Tribe

rc.

1>l

■X^

a carved comb

Lizard Tooth and Notch

Motif. Saramaccaner

Tribe

examined closely, it will be seen that they
have odd symbols apparently placed at
random, not conforming to the general
pattern of the piece. These marks repre-
sent personal messages from the giver to
the recipient, special indications or signs
of affection, comparable to the marks at
the ends of Victorian billets doux,
indicating the place to kiss. Con-
ventionalized letters are known as
schriefie, a Bush Negro word that
means "writing."

Besides the practical
implements in everyday
use there are a number
of trick pieces appar-
ently made for
no other purpose
than to show
the virtuosity of
the artist.

Thus in some
pieces a loose
bauble is
placed in a
cup from
which it cannot
be forced. Some
of the stools
have tiny doors
which open, and
some of them are
folding stools
which close up
like camp stools,
yet are made
from one piece
of wood. An
identical specimen of one of
these folding stools which
was collected in Africa is to
be seen in the African Hall
at the American Museum.
There are stirring paddles

A CEREMONIAL WOODEN SWOUD
THREE FEET LONG

Motif: Two Mannikins on a Parrot

Head Surmounted by Two Phallic

Symbols. Aucaner Tribe

ART OF Tllf'J DUTCH GUIANA HUSH NEGHO

with loose rings around
the handles, carved from
the same piece of wood
and undetachable. Some
have chains of wood at-
tached, with separate
links, all]^from one piece
of wood. The Bush
Negroes are also fond of
making hush-knives in
wood, or ornamental
swords to be worn on
ceremonial occasions.
Small knives ordinarily
seen in metal are also
carved out of wood.

There are two general
types of decoration, with
one or two subsidiary
devices. The common-
est consists of pierced
ornamental work, made
from a single piece of
wood. Except for
benches, no pieced speci-
mens are ever found.
Because of the practical
necessity of having a large number of
benches, and the difficulty of executing
both legs and seat out of a continuous
piece of wood, benches are commonly
made of several pieces of wood fitted to-
gether. A number of them, however, are
made from a single piece, and this con-
tinuity is preferred by the Djukas.

Relief work is the second form of
decoration. It occurs in the form of high
relief on the plates and trays. It can be
found to a modified degree on door-posts
and other carved objects. Ornaments in
low refief are represented by the cala-
bash pieces, which are cut when green and
allowed to dry.

Branding is done with a hot knife or
ware, or else the piece may be charred by
holding it in the flames. Circles are
burned into the pattern by heating empty
cartridge shells red hot and pressing them

Photograph by Hcrbprt Heller
A GIFT CARVING FOR A BUSH NEGRO BELLE
Four combs carved from a sinjjle piece of wood. Sometimes the wood
carvings are so highly styUzed as to serve no practical purpose save
that of illustrating the skill of the artist to the object of his affection.
This and other specimens pictured in this article are from the
Kahn-Granger collection of the American Museum of Natural History

against the wood. Brass upholstery tacks,
obtained in the white settlements of Para-
maribo and Albina, are in especial favor,
and some pieces are heavily laden with
these. They fit in very well with the
general spirit of Djuka art, and although
the material is anachronistic, the effect
is not.

Religious carvings, unlike the practical
implements, are executed with a crude-
ness that is surprising. The fetish to the
gods Aflamu and Cromanti which were
brought back to the Museum are nothing
more than a rough sections of pole with a
crudely hewn face and seeds for eyes.
Other religious pieces are likewise roughly
done. The reason for this seeins to spring
from the general nature of primitive reli-
gion as it occurs among the Bush Negroes.
Two explanations of this were given by
native informants. If the god is a good

NATURAL HISTORY

god, and well disposed toward the black
man, he doesn't care whether his fetishes
are well executed or not. If he is a bad
god he is going to continue to be bad, re-
gardless of whether much time is spent on
his fetishes or not. Another Bush Negro,
questioned about this, said :

"Me no sabby de Gadu luku" — "I
don't know what God looks like."

The primitive aesthetic feeling, appar-
ently, is bound up with practical ends.
There is absolutely no care or pains taken
with religious objects whereas erotic
objects are finished with great skill.

There seems to be considerable varia-
tion between the tribes of Djukas in the
character of their art work. The Aucaner
wood carvings have, in general, a more
refined and delicate cast than the wood
carvings of their neighbors, the Sara-
maccaners and Boni. There is a difference
in treatment of the motifs among the
Bush Negro tribes, which space does not
permit me to detail.

The combs vary from two and a half
inches to twenty-four inches in length,
and even these more immense combs see
actual service. They are always made of
a single piece, including the tines. For
the most part they are made of harder
woods, with occasional inlays. A number
of them are trick pieces, with little in-
genious devices that catch and hold the
imagination of the primitive.

The arts of weaving and basketry are
not as highly developed among the
Djukas as is the carving of wooden im-

plements. The Bush Negroes do not
weave the cotton cloth they wear. It is
obtained, instead, by trading at the white
settlements. The only weaving among
them consists of cotton leg and arm bands
— things that do not count for much so
far as industry is concerned, but which
expand the wearer's ego and add enor-
mously to his or her self-esteem. Unorna-
mented circular baskets, varying in size
from a foot to a yard in diameter, can be
seen in all the villages. They are used for
carrying yams, rice, and foodstuffs gen-
erally. The finest basket work does not
occur in these baskets, however, but in the
cassava squeezers, those elongated tubes
for producing cassava flour. These are
beautifully woven of uniform rattan, and
decorated with darker strips to form a
simple pattern near each end. The
finished product is an admirable piece of
work, of which the owner must indeed be
proud.

Pottery is made by the Djukas for
utilitarian purposes only, and the solid
black, absolutely undecorated clay ware
has no particular element of beauty.
The pots are black, stolid, and un-
imaginative. They are simply necessities.

But when the necessities of life have
been provided for, and leisure is at hand
for more beautiful and tender endeavors,
the Bush Negro, seated before his
evening fire, sharpens his knife and begins
marking with fine, deft lines, the graceful
outlines of another paddle or comb to
please his woman.

A |iart o( I Ik- \Crn,-iy-l.:iiif..; Ivxpclil i.iii C

THE GREAT KALAHARI SAND VELDT

Experiences of the Vernay-Lang Zoological Expedition in the Vast Ariil Plains of
Southern Africa Known as the Kalahari Desert

IN TWO PARTS— PART I

By ARTHUR S. VERNAY

THAT great section of Africa known
as the Kalahari Desert is one of the
interesting geographical problems
of the world today. A great deal of
thought has been given by the Bechuana-
land Government to thepossibiHtiesof this
area, but a mammalogical, entomological,
and botanical survey right through the
center of the Kalahari had never been
attempted, although the adjoining coun-
tries, Angola, Southwest Africa, Northern
and Southern Rhodesia, and South Africa,
had all been fairly well covered. The
accomplishment of such a survey would
therefore be of great scientific interest
and value. Accordingly during 1929
plans were made in England, America,
and South Africa, to organize an expedi-
tion for this purpose.

The first necessity in the organization
of a serious expedition is to make sure
that official help will be forthcoming and
the required facilities granted; next, one
must get together the personnel necessary

to accomplish the best results; and the
arrangements for transportation and com-
missariat must be carefulh' made.

It was most gratifjang to receive, from
the first, the unstinted help of His Ex-
cellency the Governor-General, Lord
Athlone; the Imperial Secretary, Capt.
The Hon. B. E. H. Clifford; and Lt.-Col.
C. F. Rey, the Resident Commissioner of
Bechuanaland, and the success the expedi-
tion achieved is largely due to the assist-
ance received from official quarters.

Mr. Herbert Lang, apart from being a
scientist of world-wide repute, is, I be-
lieve, one of the most able field managers
that one could find. In addition to pos-
sessing a temperament which enables him
to put up with the many difficulties that
must necessarily arise on a large and
somewhat lengthy expedition, he is an
expert in photography and taxidermy, and
apart from his own scientific field, mam-
malogy, he has a vast store of knowledge
of the other scientific branches in which

MEMBERS OF THE EXPEDITION AT MOTHEDI PAN

At certain seasons of the year these "pans" are filled with water, forming shallow lakes, which dry

up during other seasons

THE STAFF OF THE VERNAY-LANG KALAHARI EXPEDITION

Fourteen white men, all of whom, with the exception of Mr. Lang, are shown here, and sixteen

natives made up the personnel of the expedition

GOMODINO PAN

The collectors are shown here at work in the shallow waters of this seasonal lake. Except for a few

"pans" there is at present no drainage in the central Kalahari

THE EXPEDITION NEAR GOMODINO PAN

The expedition was equipped with five motor lorries and one touring car. One lorry would break the

trail, the others following in its wake

172

NATURAL HISTORY

^ ^

'*^'''^-'*t^'--'

■<M^f '*'''*''""

^^>*

COLLECTORS AT WORK
From the waters of these Uttle "pans" and near them collections of bullfrogs, turtles, and snails were

obtained

the expedition was especially interested.
In 1925 Mr. Lang and I had been together
in Angola on an expedition made for the
department of mammals of the American
Museum of Natural History, with which
Mr. Lang had been connected for twenty-
three years. The Angolan expedition was
a complete success, and we obtained an
important collection of the fauna and
flora of the country. Consequently Mr.
Lang was approached about another
African expedition, and he immediately
replied that he would be delighted to join
me in this enterprise. Thus the "Ver-
nay-Lang Kalahari Expedition" was
formed, and upon Mr. Lang's shoulders
fell the greater part of its organization.

To many friends it seemed a somewhat
optimistic enterprise to lead a large
scientific expedition, consisting of fourteen
white men and sixteen natives, through
the heart of the Kalahari Desert. The
scientific staff was made up of scientists

well-known in their particular fields:
Mr. Austin Roberts, ornithology; Mr.
Vivian Fitz Simons, reptiles; Mr. George
Van Son, entomology; all these were
members of the staff of the Transvaal
Museum, Pretoria. My part of the work
was general organization and collecting
large mammals.

Captain Clifford, the Imperial Secre-
tary, had made in 1928 a somewhat rapid
trip across the Kalahari for the particular
purpose of looking over the country and
trying to ascertain its possibilities. Ow-
ing to many difficulties and to the over-
heating of his motor-trucks, he had found
it necessary to travel chiefly at night. We
owe to Captain Clifford a debt of grati-
tude for having so helped us with our
preparations that we were cognisant of
the various contingencies with which we
would have to contend, and it was
Captain Clifford's route across the Kala-
hari that we decided chiefly to follow.

THE a RE AT KALAHARI SAND VELDT

173

As for transport, this required cureful
considcriition. The great difficulty of
providing an adequate supply of water for
the radiators was of paramount im-
portance, for to carry large quantities of
water would necessitate using valuable
space in the lorries; also, we had to guard
as much as possible against punctures,
for Captain Clifford had had to handle
between twenty and thirty punctures a
day, and to deal with punctures so numer-
ous would have interfered considerably
with our objective, us'ng up the energies
and trying the tempers of all connected
with the expedition. We decided, in
order to transport the necessary supplies
and personnel, to have five V/i ton lorries,
specially equipped, and for rapid trans-
port, when possible, a Dodge Victory Six,
from which the interior fittings, such as
cushions, etc.,
had been re-
moved, leaving
the bare steel
body. Three of
the lorries were
equipped with
wire sides,
which could be
let down, form-
ing beds; in this
way twelve
people could be
accommodated,
six on the wire
mattresses, and
six on stretch-
ers underneath
the wire mat-
tresses. On one
lorry we erected
a radio receiv-

ing set, and on the running board.s on
the sides of each car wc placed two
twelve-gallon tanks for water. A tube
connected the top of the radiator to the
near-side tank, which we used for radiator
water, with the result that, although the
radiators were boiling nearly the whole
time on account of the heavy going
through the sand, owing to coadeasation
only two per cent of the water was lost.
Consequently, when starting, we had 72
gallons of drinking water, and 72 gallons
of radiator water. The tanks were re-
filled at ever^' opportunity.

The tires we used were heavy, with
special "air container" tubes. These
proved of inestimable value, for we had
only one puncture, and that on the
Victory Six.

We knew what to expect so far as the

18 ONE OF THE INTER-
ESTING GEOGRAPHICAL
PROBLE-\18 OF THE
WORLD TODAY. ITS

LOCALITY IS SHOWN
ROUGHLY BY THE

CROSS-HATCHED SEC-
TION ON THE ADJA-
CENT MAP

A BURROWING

SNAKE

This blunt-nosed rep-
tile is here shown
thrusting its head from
the sand through
which it is able to
burrow

A TURTLE OF THE
KALAHARI

\.s an indication of the
imount of humidity
ivailable in the cen-
tral Kalahari, types
generally associated
with moist conditions
were found

A KALAUAItl TOAD

( HUE VICEI'ti}

'I'liis rotund and shoi't-
IcKK'^d citizen of tlio
Knluhari sand veldt
is one of the region's
miiny strange inliab-
itunts

This frog (Pyxicephal-
us Adspersus) despite
the aridity of the
region, is able to find
the . necessary water
and humidity in which
to hve

176

NATURAL HISTORY

general type of country was concerned, —
in fact, the conditions here were prac-
tically the same as those in the part of the
Kalahari over which Livingstone went.
Doctor Livingstone describes the part of
the Kalahari which he traversed as fol-
lows : ' ' The quantity of grass which grows
in this remarkable region is astonishing;
even to those who are familiar with India.
It usually rises in tufts, with bare places
between, or the intervals are occupied by
creeping plants, which, having their roots
buried far beneath the soil, feel but little
effects of the scorching sun." He goes on
to describe the various wild plants found
in this particular part, but he does not
mention such quantities of acacias as
we encountered. As far as water was
concerned, there were a few pans which
still contained a small quantity. These,
and one or two rainstorms, were of the
greatest assistance.

Our method of traversing this country

was for the leading lorry to break spoor
(make tracks), the others following. The
first lorry made from 2% to 5 miles an
hour, the others from 6 to 8 miles an hour.
In one instance only five miles were cov-
ered in twelve hours by the leading lorry.

I invited Dr. A. W. Rogers, F.R.S.,
director of the Union Geological Survey
of South Africa, to accompany the ex-
pedition, and eventually, on account of
the relays which it was necessary for us to
make. Doctor Rogers finally crossed the
Kalahari three times. Owing to this, he
was able to make a very thorough pre-
liminary survey of the geological condi-
tions of the country through which we
passed.

Captain Beeching, of the Bechuanaland
Protectorate Police, who had been de-
tached from his official duties to assist us
during the duration of the expedition,
joined us on March 18, 1930. The entire
expedition assembled at Gaberones, north

GEMSBOK CUCUMBERS
These form an important food for certain of the antelopes of the Kalahari

77//'.' CUF.AT K A LA MA HI SAND VELDT

177

CULTIVATED TSAMA MELONS
In the arid Kalahari region such juicy articles of diet as melons are important t(
picture was taken in a garden patch at Gomodino-Makapan

the natives. This

of Mafeking, on the Cape-Rhodesian
Railway. Here it was decided to traverse
the center of the Kalahari from Gaberones
in the east, to Gobabis, the railhead in the
Southwest African Mandate, continuing
in a northwesterly direction from Ngami-
land to the Okavanga swamps at Maun,
and to move along north of the Kudu-
mane River to the Chobe and Zambezi
rivers, finally emerging at Victoria Falls.

It was a journey full of surprises and
contrasts, but our observations may be
rapidly summarized. The "Kalahari
Desert" is really an arid grass veldt, not a
desert. It is inhabited, although sparsely.
It is not by any means treeless, and at
certain times of the year there is water in
the pans.

All of us expected, in vain, to meet real
desert conditions in the arid central
Kalahari. Sand is predominating, seldom
as soft as ashes, but rarely hard enough to
carry the truck wheels without a deep

spoor. Not only on the surface, but often
more than a hundred feet below the sur-
face, there is stiU the same fine sand.
Wells and borings have proved this. In
Post-Cretaceous times enormous masses
of sand made the Kalahari a howling
desert, with probably no plant or animal
life. Slowly it became an enormous pene-
plain. Only a few river beds have been
eroded, and now they are nearly effaced,
but they are important as representing
the vestiges of great pluvial periods,
probably in the Pleistocene.

In recent times chmatic changes have
gradually fostered a dense mantle of vege-
tation over the real desert of ages past.
Today this so-called "Kalahari Desert"
is no more a desert in the strictly geo-
graphical sense. Nowhere are there any
active sand dunes, nor even bare, wind-
swept spaces in the center of the Kala-
hari, nor do desert conditions exist any-
where in the south or north of the

These nests are com-
munal affairs, sometimes
of large size. This par-
ticular structure meas-
ured five feet bv three

■S\"EAVER birds'
XEST?

Mr. Roberts of the
scientific staff is showii
examining a group of
nests near Gomodino
Pan

A SCOKPION AND ITS

NEST

ThiH picture, takon near
Damara Pan, shows
fn^Hhly excavated ma-
terial at the half-moon-
1 1 )(h1 entrance to a n(!st
of scorpions

The eighty young of this
snail (Ackatrua) were
born after the parent was
roUected by the expedi-
tion

180

NATURAL HISTORY

Kalahari. Far more correctly it may be
called the "Kalahari Sand Veldt."

Aridity prevails. The solitude is well-
nigh as great as ever. All this territory is
subject to the periodical droughts common
in subtropical regions. It is forbidden
land for settlers hoping for continuous
prosperity. The well-borings now carried
on by the Bechuanaland Government in
certain reasonably accessible places may
change this to some extent, but there are
good reasons to believe that ranching in
the Central Kalahari will always be sub-
ject to great vicissitudes.

The relatively small amount of game
furnishes a fair criterion. Even if hunted
at times by Bushmen and Kalaharis — and
there are comparatively few of these
natives — there would be many more
antelopes in certain areas, where large
quantities of Tsama melons and gemsbok
cucumbers are present. Probably the
reproductive powers of game animals are

greatly reduced if at particularly difficult
times the creatures can eke out only a
meagre existence.

The rainfall and the peculiarities of the
sandy surface create interesting condi-
tions for the support of plant life. Except
for a few pans, there is at present no
drainage in the central Kalahari. Of
greatest importance is the fact that all
rain is retained where it falls for a con-
siderable period; thus it is kept from
rapid evaporation. This rather uniform
distribution of humidity reaches only to a
certain depth not exceeding a few feet
below the surface. Only in this manner
can the relatively slight amount of rain
support so great a quantity of vegetation.
Naturally it is rather uniform over wide
stretches. In general the greater loose-
ness of sand fosters bigger trees, denser
and more varied vegetation. A much
larger percentage of rainfall is thus
utilized than under ordinary conditions

A WELL IN THE SAND
This well, dug at Bodiberr, was carried down forty-two feet before water was reached

Tim (lIUiAT KALAHARI HAND VELDT

181

A SCENE NEAR "LAKE" NGAMI
The enormous seasonal lake called Ngami is fed at certain seasons by this and other Hood channels

of drainage, where most rainwater rapidly
flows off.

As a further indication of the amount
of humidity available in the central
Kalahari, I cite types generally associated
with moist conditions. Foremost among
them are the big south African bullfrog
(Pyxicephalus) ; the snub-nosed toad
(Breviceps) ; the large land-mollusc
(Achatima). Specimens of all of these
have been secured for the Museum. Re-
markable also is the fragile snail Physa.
It activates under dead stems of trees,
and its shells are numerous in many
locaUties. In the pans the common
water-turtle is not rare.

Lake Ngami, some two hundred miles
southwest of Victoria Falls, offers an
interesting problem. On August 1, 1849,
Doctor Livingstone, accompanied by his
friends, Mr. Oswell and Mr. Murray, dis-
covered "Lake Ngami." The date,
August 1. bears out the conclusion that
our scientists came to ; that this would be

the time of flood, when the so-called lake
would be at its highest point, and it is
quite probable, had Doctor Livingstone
gone on to Mababe Flats at that time, he
would have found existing the same tj^pe
of "lake." Lake Ngami is, to all appear-
ances, a lake at certain flood periods.
However, as I have said, it offers an
interesting problem. One of our scientists
called it "a wash-out," and stated it had
never been a lake. Only a foot below the
surface of the "lake" bottom is to be
found the same fine, yellowish-white,
wind-blown sand of the desert of Post-
Cretaceous times. The present grass-
lands pass imperceptibly into those of
the "lake" bottom. Nowhere is there a
definite or well-defined shore-line, much
less a bank. "Lake" Ngami is appar-
ently a depression which is inundated at
exceptionally high floods. The old shells
are found scattered only in places, but
never offer an indication of a shore-line.
Dead, relatively fresh, specimens of

182

NATURAL HISTORY

fresh-water snails {Melania) are common
near the southeastern end. During the
last few years it has been only partly
inundated from time to time.

Oswell and Livingstone, as we have
seen, made their discovery when Lake
Ngami pfes^rted'ffi respectable sheet of
water, evidently seen after a heavy flood.
The water obviously is always rapidly
absorbed and evaporated, and soon the
"lake" bottom, chiefly grass-covered,
offers the best ranching facilities to the
natives. On these same fertile fields they
plant their Kaffir-corn, maize, melons, and
pumpkins. Local rainfall has only a
slight effect in maintaining a few reed-
covered patches.

One of our Dodge lorries was the first to
cross this Ngami depression near Matl-

hatlogo from south to north without any
difficulty.

Wells sunk by natives reach water here
at twenty feet; at Bodiben digging to
forty-two feet becomes necessary, and at
the southwestern end ninety-five feet.
The water in such wells is slightly brack-
ish.

If Lake Ngami were taken as a geo-
graphical criterion, thousands of periodi-
cally inundated parts would have to be
styled "lakes." Already the south-
western end is called "Dautsa Flats."
Here are large herds of springbok and also
troops of ostriches. "Ngami Flats" is
the correct term. The more northern
Mababe Flats form also a depression which
was flooded in 1925 in the same manner,
as Dr. A. du Toit discovered.

SWARM OF HED-BILLED WEAVERS (San-

uini rostris latham) at gomodino pan

THE LARGEST KNOWN
LAND TORTOISE

The Siwalik Hills of Noillicni India Yifld (he Complete Shell of a
Fossil Tortoise that Weighed a Ton When Alive

By BARNUM brown

Curator of Fossil Reptiles, American Museum

LAND tortoises of enormous size arc
found living today on the Galapagos
Islands off the coast of Chili and on
sevei-al of the small islands near Madagas-
car off the east coast of Africa — tortoises
that weigh up to four hundred, five hun-
dred, six hundred, and even seven hundred
pounds, representatives of which are to be
seen in many of the great zoological parks
of the world. They are huge, lumbering,
docile creatures that in captivity will
follow one around for bananas or lettuce,
their favorite foods, and their chief con-
cern is food and warmth. But none of the
largest examples of any of the living
species, approach in size or weight the
enormous giant fossil tortoise recently
placed on exhibition in the American Mu-
seum of Natural History.

India is justly celebrated for two unique
and unusual kinds of fossil animals, both
of which are represented in the American
Museum collection; a mammal with mas-
sive antlers like a moose, named Siva-
therium (for the Hindu God Siva), and
distantly related to the giraffe, and the
giant land tortoise (Colossochelys atlas) .

This giant fossil was collected by the
writer in 1923, in the Siwahk Hills of
Northern India, and it is the first and only
complete shell of its kind known. Pre-
vious to the discovery of this specimen, in
fact since the early part of the last
century, fragments of many specimens
have been collected by British officers,
or members of the Indian Survey, in the
same general locality, and are now de-
posited in the British Museum, but no
complete shell had ever been found.

Dr. Hugh Falconer, a British scientist,
first called attention to these extinct
giants in 1837, and from fragmentary re-
mains computed the shell to be twelve
feet in length over the curve — applying
the specific name Atlas in reference to the
Hindu tradition.

Our specimen ranks in size with the
fragmentary remains in the British Mu-
seum, and was probably even larger than
the huge fossil sea turtle exhibited in the
Yale University jMuseum, found in the
Cretaceous rocks of South Dakota.
These two specimens are undoubtedly
the record examples of turtle life, and the
Indian land tortoise when alive was prob-
ably the heavier.

This specimen was discovered during
my first few days' work in the Siwalik
Hills, but it was broken into pieces no
larger than one's hand and scattered over
a large area, as it had weathered down
with time and the disintegrating rocks — a
mute testimony that "dust thou art and
unto dust thou shalt return" — there were
literally thousands of pieces. At the time
I fitted together the border plates, but it
was doubtful whether there was sufficient
material to form a complete shell.

All pieces were gathered and piled with
the expectation of taking them only as a
last resort, as in other parts of the world
where turtles are numerous one usually
finds many complete shells. This, how-
ever, did not prove to be the case in
India. After a year and a half of explora-
tion in the Upper Siwalik beds, always
searching for a more perfect shell, I
failed to discover any other as complete.

184

NATURAL HISTORY

.'1

^^r:i

^r.

WHERE THE GIANT FOSSIL WAS COLLECTED

Alternating clays and conglomerates of Pleistocene Age in the Upper Siwalik beds near Chandigarh

and it was necessary to return and collect
this individual.

The Siwalik Hills are a fringe of low
elevations bordering the plains at the foot
of the majestic peaks of the Himalaya
Mountains from which they are separated
by a narrow valley, and the hills are cut
up into long ridges and short, narrow,
canon-like valleys that are impassable
to all wheel vehicles. Consequently all
fossils were taken out on the backs of
mules or camels.

This specimen was carried in one load
on the back of a large camel; an unusually
heavy burden for a camel, as it weighed
not less than 800 pounds, but under the
circumstances the load could not be re-
duced. One of my drivers, who owned a
very large beast, protested that his camel
could not carry such a load, and it was
only through military coercion that he was
persuaded to attempt it. After much urg-
ing, the load was put on and the camel was

helped to rise. With bending knees and
stumbling footsteps he began the short but
arduous journey down out of the hills —
reminding me of many tortoise legends.

There are traditions connected with the
cosmogonic speculations of almost all
eastern nations having reference to a
tortoise of gigantic size associated with
their fabulous accounts of the elephant.
In the Pythagorean cosmogony the infant
world is represented as having been
placed on the back of an elephant which
was sustained on a huge tortoise.

It is in the Hindu accounts, however,
that we find the fable most circumstan-
tially told, and especially in what relates
to the second Avatar of Vishnu, when the
ocean was churned by means of the moun-
tain Mundar placed on the back of the
king of the tortoises, and the serpent
Asokee used for the churning rope.
Vishnu was made to assume the form of
the tortoise and sustain the created world

THE LARGEST KNOWN LAND TORTOISE

185

on his back to make it stable. So com-
pletely has this fable been impressed on
the faith of the country that many
Hindus even today believe the world rests
on the back of a tortoise.

Sir William Jones gives the following as
a translation from the great lyric poet
Jyadeva :

The earth stands firm on thy immensely Inroad
back which grows larger from the callus occasioned
by bearing that vast burden. O Cesava! assum-
ing the body of a tortoise, be victorious! Oh!
Hurry, Lord of the Universe!

If camels think, ours was no doubt
praying for a broader back or a shorter
journey that day, for his load came near
being the "straw that broke the camel's
back," but camel and tortoise finally
reached the railway without mishap.

When the specimen reached the Ameri-
can Museum it was spread out on three
large tables and it still seemed very

doubtful whether there were sufficient
pieces to reconstruct the complete shell —
with the thousands of pieces it was
literally a picture puzzle. One preparator
worked on this specimen a year with the
frequent assistance of the entire iaboratorj'
force, and when all pieces with definite
contacts were fitted, the shell was found
to be badly distorted. It was attain
broken and the pieces were refitted in their
normal po.sition.

When reconstructed, this tortoise
proved to be an old male whose shell is
7 feet 4 inches in length over the curve,
5 feet wide, and 2 feet 1 1 inches in height
— in form resembling more nearly the
species of living Galapagos tortoises that
inhabit Abingdon Island. In order to
compute its weight when alive, an exact
model was made to scale and the weight
determined by displacement. By this
method it was estimated that it weighed

ASSEMBLING THE SPECIMEN IN THE LABORATORY
Mr. Otto Falkenbach is fitting the final sections after the distortion of the shell had been corrected.
The limb bones and internal skeleton are on the table — and beneath it is a 200-pound Galapagos

tortoise shell

THE MOUNTED SKELETON PRACTICALLY COMPLETE
Missing parts of the plates are shown in lighter colored plaster. The plastron is complete.

FINISHING TOUCHES
Mr. Brown tracing suture lines on the carapace before placing the specimen on exhibition

THE LAlidESr KNOWN LAND TORTOISE

187

during lifo approximatoly 2100 pounds.

During the last 200,000,000 years of the
earth's history since the Triassic period,
turtles have existed in some parts of the
world, and during all of this very long
time they have changed so little that even
a child would recognize the earliest known
representative as u snapping turtle.

America is the home of the earliest
known land tortoises, and, curiously, our
Indian fossil resembles his living American
cousins more closely than any of the Old
World species.

Some of the large living tortoises are
known to be very old; one on the Island
of Mauritius was specifically mentioned
in the treaty when France ceded the
Island to Great Britain in 1810. At that
time he was thought to be a juvenile of
more than a hundred years, but today he
lumbers about his restricted domain,

stretching out iiis wrinkled neck in an
appeal for lettuce and apparently no less
active than he wa.s when Xapoieon
provided for his future.

Among the larger species of tortoise, size
depends on the quantity and quaUty of
food quite as much as on the age of the
individual. I hazard a guess that our
Indian fossil was three or f(jur hundred
years old when he died.

Years are dissipated when we compute
the remote period in which Atlas took his
cumbersome journey acro.ss the Plains of
India — at least a milhon years ago. Re-
stored to form, through the skill and
untiring patience of the laboratory staff,
this aged, ancient reptile brings to mind
the yEsop fable of the "Hare and the
Tortoise," for in truth Atlas has won a
race, and posterity has the privilege of
viewing a master! v finish

HER FAVORITE STEED IN THE PARK
This] 300-pound Galapagos tortoise carries a grown
man as easily as he does the young lady. Photograph
by courtesy of the New York Zoological Society

The King Rail in Its Summer Home

A PHANTOM OF THE MARSHES

A Bird Photographer Observes the Nesting Habits of the Shy King Rail
By ALFRED M. BAILEY

Director, The Chicago Academy of Sciences
Photographs by the Author

IT is springtime. The marshes are clear
of ice, and green tips are showing
through the brown masses of tules and
cattails which have been flattened by the
winter's snows; the joyous songs of the
redwing blackbirds are heard above the
musical voices of many frogs, in sharp
contrast to querulous, complaining notes
which occasionally come from the dense
stands of vegetation.

We know the author of the complaining
voices. The rails have arrived from the
south, — dropped in to their summer homes
during the night, when the full moon
lighted them on their way. They make
their long treks from their wintering
grounds to their nesting places after
darkness is over the land; they wait
until the sun has dipped below the west-
ern horizon, and then rise from their
places of refuge and make their way

northward on rather slow and awkward
wing. Their arrival is unheralded and,
except to the few peculiar humans who
take pleasure in slopping about the
marshes, is unknown, for the rails are of
retiring disposition. These birds dwell in
uninviting, wet areas, and as they skulk
from one stand of vegetation to another,
they are rarely seen. But they make
their presence known by high-pitched
calls, and, if too closely pressed by an in-
vader, they will flutter awkwardly into
the air, and with dangling legs, skim
above the weeds only to flounder out of
sight again. They run rapidly through
the grass, however. The tangled web of
interlaced vegetation is their natural
habitat, and they prefer to wind their
way through the tangle rather than to fly.
Spring is a busy season. All the birds
of the marshes are interested in their

A PHANTOM OF THE MARSHES

189

household cares, and each species searches
the region for conditions suited to its
hking. For, though the; marsh seems all
alike to the casual observer, the explorer
who slops about, prying into the
home affairs of the birds, soon learns
where to find the nests of the various
species. Early in the season, when new
tulcs have barely thrust their green heads
from the brown masses, he finds the homes
of several pied-billed grebes in open
water; the nests are masses of floating
vegetation and the birds cover the eggs
with moss and decayed vegetable matter
when they leave them. When the grasses
have become a little higher, the coots
build their bulky platforms, well hidden,
and then, still later, the blackbirds and
American bitterns build nests among the
rank growths.

Now we find conditions suitable for
the rails; the various marsh plants are
from six to eighteen inches in lioight;

the cover is good, the plants are strong
enough to bear the weight of the nest,
and high enough to allow for a rise in the
surface of the marsh. There are si.x
species of rails in the northern states,
and three forms are found commonly, —
the sora, Virginia, and king rails. The
latter, as the name indicat^'s, Ls the leader
of them all. He is the ruler of his domain,
the largest of his tribe. His nesting habits
are more or less similar to his smaller
relatives, and as he is not an unfriendly
fellow, in spite of his complaining voice,
let us pry into his housekeeping.

On May 29 all was activity in the
marsh. The redwings were in full song,
and as we walked along the shore a dozen
of them hovered overhead, darting down
with open beaks, so we involuntarily
"ducked" to evade them. The glossj-,
black plumage of the male, with the red

THE HIDING PLACE AMONG THE WATER PLANTS

The nest was in a dense mat of tangled marsh vegetation. One of the adults settled upon the eggs

while the other stood motionless behind the growing screen and eyed the blind intently

190

NATURAL HISTORY

GRADUALLY THE BIRD BECAME MORE TAME

When the mother returned to her nest, she paused momentarily to see that all was well. The brown

of her plimiage blended with the dark background

shoulder chevrons, was in striking contrast
to the drab, inconspicuous plumage of the
females. But the females of the species
were no less aggressive than the gaudy
fellows in their determination to drive the
invaders from their midst.

Along the muddy shores of the marshes
were many small mounds a few inches in
height with holes an inch or so in diameter
which led to the water below.

"Snake holes!" my little daughter ex-
claimed as she saw them for the first
time; but a near-by carapace of a
"crawdad" was pointed out to her and
she learned that it was the burrow of a
crayfish. Other shells of the crayfish
were found and we knew that king rails
had been taking toll, ^or the crayfish is a
favorite food.

We waded into the water and examined
all the dense clumps of vegetation. The

blackbirds were nesting plentifully, and in
each well constructed nest of dried grass
were four blue eggs which were crossed
with an intricate network of brown lines.
And then, as we neared a mass of dark
green growth, we had a glimpse of a brown
creature darting from sight and heard the
patter of splashing feet. The grass was
parted and we found a surprisingly large
nest, considering how well it was con-
cealed, with six large, light-colored, brown-
speckled eggs. We examined the nest
and eggs without disturbing them, then
carefully pushed the water plants in place
and left; we had found what we were
searching for, — the nest of the king rail,
in order that we might make records of the
life history of these birds for the film library
of the Chicago Academy of Sciences.

We returned to the nest each evening,
and gradually the rail became more tame.

,' ^

l^ \

'a^j^

'VLI;

SOLICITUDE
She slid upon the nest, with breast feathers parted, and rolled the eggs until thej' suited her fancy

SEEKING SECLUSION

The vegetation had been tied aside so that a clear view of the nest might be obtained. This did not

meet with the bird's approval, and she started pulling the leaves in place

192

NATURAL HISTORY

She would delay leaving the nest a little
longer each day, until we could occa-
sionally see her crouching, fluffed out with
neck outstretched. But she would always
dart away when we started to move the
surrounding plants. An egg was laid each
day until June 3 when the set of eleven
was completed. Often, as we examined
the nest, the rail would circle about within
six feet of us, scolding and scuffing the
water with feet and drooping wings, in
her efforts to draw us away.

We left the rail undisturbed for a week ;
then, on a warm afternoon we again in-
vaded the marsh and erected our photo-
graphic blind. It was not a pretentious
affair, as blinds go, merely a tent of
heavy burlap which was placed ten feet
from the nest, — a weather-stained cover
which was inconspicuous from a distance.
We have found, after many experiments,
that any blind will do, so far as the bird is
concerned, but that if we wish curious-

minded passers-by to leave things un-
molested, the hiding places must be as
inconspicuous as possible. Another week
passed before we visited the blind. My
little daughter carried camp stools for us
to sit upon, and I lugged photographic
equipment which pushed me ankle-deep
into the mud of the marsh. It was a
quiet day and we made a great commotion
as we splashed through the water, so we
did not obtain a glimpse of the bird;
the eggs were warm, however, so we were
assured that the bird had not deserted
them.

The vegetation was carefully tied aside
and a clear view of the nest obtained.
The tripod and camera were put in place,
the blind was drawn together, and we
were prepared to spend a couple of hours
in silence while the rail remained away
from her nest. But the bird was back in
ten minutes. We could see her as she
stood beside the nest with one brown eye

THE KAIL WAS AN IDEAL PHOTOGRAPHIC SUBJECT
She would seize a wiry blade of marsh growth and attempt to weave it across the front of the nest

ALL'S WELL
The mother settled over the youngsters and eggs, with wings half spread, and biouded contentedly

A GROWING FAMILY
The small black chicks with ivory-colored beaks, and the unhatched eggs filled the nest. The old
one kept one eye on the blind as she crouched beside the young

194

NATURAL HISTORY

turned toward the tent; she would stare
for minutes at a time, and then, drawing
down her head, would move silently
through the thick grass to another open-
ing and repeat the performance. After
surveying us for half an hour, she con-
cluded that all was well, apparently, for
she jumped upon her nest, stopped for a
moment to eye the blind, and then settled
slowly upon the eggs, with wings half
spread over them. I started cranking
and the rail paid no attention to the click-
ing of the movie machine, but instead,
attempted to draw back in place the vege-
tation which had been tied aside. As the
bird upon the nest attended to household
duties, we heard the mate scolding, and
soon he came alongside and carefully
preened his waxlike, brown feathers.

We made many trips to the nest during
the next two weeks, sometimes to take
photographs, and other times merely to
make notes. There was little variation in
the performance, for after the rail became
accustomed to being disturbed, she would
return to her eggs within a short time.

At the end of three weeks of incubation.

however, the rails were more solicitous,
and they complained bitterly when we
invaded their stronghold. The reason was
evident enough, for we found small,
long-legged, black chicks with ivory-
colored beaks hatching from the speckled
eggs The young appeared as animated
shadows; newly-hatched fellows were
kicking feebly, but the older ones were
able to run about the nest. We entered
the blind quietly without disturbing the
young, but the adults darted away swear-
ing heartily. One of them soon returned,
however, climbed upon the nest, scolded
and cursed, and then settled upon the few
remaining eggs. We could hear the mate
calling, and a couple of the fuzzy fellows
jumped over the side of the nest and
paddled lustily through the weeds toward
the coaxing parent. We ground out film
of the nesting bird with the chicks about
her — made portraits to our hearts' desire,
and then backed quietly out of the rear
of the bUnd without alarming the little
family, and made our way homeward.
We could return another day for the
canvas shelter.

LIKE ANIMATED SHADOWS

The youngsters were coal black, with

long legs, and oocasionally one would

tumble over the edge of the nest and

paddle lustily away

^v:t^^

■1

As AiNLi Man of Hokka

THE MYSTERIOUS NATIVES OF
NORTHERN JAPAN

The Disappearing Aniu Who Formerly Inhabited Most ol the Japanese Islands and

Now Are to Be Found in Limited Numbers Only on the Islands of Hokkaido,

Saghalien, and the Vicinity — A Race that may be a Detached Caucasian

Remnant, Almost Lost Among the Races of Eastern Asia

By SHOICHI ICHIKAWA

THE land of the Mikado presents
many a fascinating problem in
the study of anthropology and
archaeology. The origin of the Japanese
is a puzzle in itself, but it is equally
puzzling to know why they inhabit the
great central group of the Japanese
archipelago while the brown headhunters
of Formosa (who have recently killed
more than a few of their Japanese over-
lords and have carried many Japanese
heads away into the almost inaccessible
mountains) live just to the south, and the
so-called "hairy" Ainus, who are prob-
ably Caucasian in origin, dwell on the
islands of Hokkaido (or Yezo) and Sagha-
lien in the north.

As the curtain rises on Japanese his-
tory, we find the Ainu — then called

"Emishi" — fighting hard against the
Japanese, who were busily engaged in
pushing northward from the southern
island of Japan. This suggests that the
Ainu preceded the Japanese in possession
of the archipelago — or of most of it — and
that the Japanese, coming later, were able,
in the course of time, to drive the Ainu
farther and farther to the north, until the
remnants of a once much more numerous
people now find themselves limited to the
small areas which they occupy at the
present time.

Again, the Ainu are sometimes said to
have been allied with a tribe called
"Kunitsukami," who are now regarded
by archaeologists as being of the same
stock as the Japanese and who inhabited
Japan in middle or late Neolithic times.

196

NATURAL HISTORY

These Kunitsukami, who may once have
fought against the Ainu too, were prob-
ably hving alongside them at that time.
Since that time, however, the Ainu have
lost their hold on most of the territory
they once inhabited, and are to be found
today only on Hokkaido, on Saghalien,
and on a few of the smaller islands in the
vicinity of these two. Furthermore, even
where they are still to be found, their
numbers are small. Most of them are on
Hokkaido, where they are principally
confined to the province of Hitaka. Here
they number about 16,000, while, accord-
ing to the census of 1925, about 1500
more live in the southern part of the island

of Saghalien, and a few hundred more are
to be found on the Kurile Islands. By
natural amalgamation these numbers are
growing smaller. Furthermore, being low
in the scale of humanity, the Ainu retain
many of their barbarous customs, some
of which are harmful to themselves,
though the Japanese government is doing
what it can among them educationally.

The visitor among the Ainu is instantly
conscious of the light color of their skin,
their deep-set eyes, high-bridged noses,
fine beards, wavy hair, and full-chested,
thick-set bodies. They were once re-
garded as one of the most hairy of exist-
ing people, but investigation has shown

CAN ADA

SEVrzEAIJUlO

THE PACIFIC ISLANDS IN THEIR RELATION TO THE AINU

The portions of the Japanese Islands shown in black are approximately those in which the Jyomon

type of pottery has been found. From this distribution of a product of the early Ainus some idea of

the former occupation of the islands by this people can be determined

THE MVSrKh'fOrS NATIVES OF X O RT 1 1 E l{ .\ JAEA.X

197

A TYPICAL AINU HOUSE UN THE ISLAND UF IIUKKAIUU

These houses, small and crude as they are, are nevertheless built to withstand a rigorous climate-
The house is merely a framework covered with reeds. On the islands of Saghalien and in parts of
Hokkaido a different form is sometimes used, that is hardly taore than a "dugout," or a pit. roofed
with poles and covered with earth

that the SaghaUen Ainu is not much more
hairy than the Hokkaido Ainu, among
whom many individuals are no more
hairy than the average European. The
present Ainu, of course, are not uni-
formly pure in type, for in the course of
time they have mixed not only with the
Japanese but with other near-by peoples
as well.

Japan has an old record that tells of the
Orokko, from northern Saghalien or
Siberia, and the Aleuts from the Aleutian
Islands, coming down to Hokkaido and
the Kurile Islands where they came in
contact with the Ainu during the Tokuga-
wa period (1603 to 1867 A. D.). In the
folk lore of the Hokkaido Ainu also we
find stories of contact with other races.
This history and folk lore, while it gives
us little or no positive evidence of racial
intermixture, suggests it as a probability.
Furthermore, the Ainu who live on the
island of Saghalien, while they are ob-
viously and closely related to those who
dwell on Hokkaido, are nevertheless

quite different in appearance as well as
in head form, which presents still further
evidence of the infusion of alien blood.

The present Ainu are neither nomadic
nor agricultural. They live in villages
and are mainly engaged in fishing and
hunting. Fish, marine animals, and wOd
animals of the land constitute their
staple food, which is seasoned with rice,
sweet potatoes and a limited few other
vegetable dishes.

The typical Ainu house of the present
day is a rectangular structure that is
usually entered through a low passage-
way with a gable roof. The framework
of such a house is made of rough beams,
sturdily set up and thatched with reeds,
which form not only the roof but the
walls as well. In order to hold the reed
thatch in place, numerous poles are
lashed down over them, with the result
that these poles become what is probably
the most obvious architectural detail of
most typical Ainu structures.

There is a small opening just below the

AN AINU MOTHER
AND HER CHILD
The costume worn by
this woman is made of
cotton cloth that has
been imported. The
native cloth is made of
the inner bark of the
elm tree

TWO ELDERLY AINU

WOMEN
These people are usually
unkempt. They rarely
bathe, and pay but the
shghtest attention to
the orderliness of their
h ur or their costumes

.^i^

MAKING BAGS OF
MATTING
The arts of the Ainu are
few. Even their earher
ability to make potterj'
seems to have been lost.
They are, essentially,
hunters and fishermen

AN AINU BEAUTY
The outstanding feature
of the ornamentation of
the women is the tat^
tooed decoration about
the mouth. The design
about this girl's mouth is
typical. Tattooing is
also used on the arms,
hands, and foreheads of
the women

200

NATURAL HISTORY

JYOMON POTTERY

The commonest of the designs of this prehistoric pottery are made up

of free and easy curves. Though this early pottery is often very

beautiful, the Ainu of today do not make anything similar

apex of the roof in front, through which
the smoke is supposed to make its escape.
To prevent the wind and rain from enter-
ing this hole too readily a sort of chimney
is built in front of the opening. Naturally,
in such a house, soot, in the course of
time, covers everything.

The floor of the entrance passage is of
packed earth, but the floor of the house
itself is made of boards, raised a few
inches above the ground, but covered
with accumulations of dirt. The fire-
place, which is located about the middle of
the floor, is a rectangular depression filled
with ashes, and here the fire is kept burn-
ing. The fire smokes constantly, and the
smoky, sooty, dirty interiors are usually
gloomy in the extreme. The only light
from the outside, save what little enters
through the outlet for the smoke, comes
through a rectangular window at the back
of the house. The beams and rafters,
the latticed shelf that usually hangs well
above the fire, and almost everything else
that is kept permanently within the
structure is covered with layer upon layer
of soot.

Living, as they do, in these dingy, sooty

houses, without bathing
or washing, the Ainu nat-
urally present a most
unkempt appearance.
Their hair and beards
are permitted to grow to
full length without ever
being combed or brushed,
and it is obvious that
they are both ignorant
and superstitious. Yet,
despite all this, they do
not present a savage or
a barbarous appearance.
Their manners are gentle.
Their voices are soft and
rather pleasing, and if
only they could be pre-
vailed upon to bathe, to
comb their hair, and to
put on clean clothes, they would present
a fine appearance.

The style of clothing worn by these
people may have been adopted from the
Japanese, but the ornamental designs
used on their costumes are probably their

A JYOMON VASE
From the northern part of Japan where most such
finds are made

THE MYSTI'J/ilOUS NATIVES OF NOIiT/I/<JHX JAl'AS

201

own, and seoni to
have come down
from remote times.
In recent yearsmanu-
factured textiles have
come into use amonp;
them, but formoriy
their clothes, when
they were made of
textiles, were woven
of a fiber obtained
from the inner bark
of the elm tree. In
the winters, which,
in Hokkaido and
Saghalien, are apt
to be severe, they
tend to wear clothes
made of the skins of
animals.

Although tattooing may in general bo
considered a southern practise, it is in
common use among the Ainu women.
About the mouth tattooed designs com-
monly appear, and various patterns are
to be found tattooed on the backs of their

A JYOMON BOTTLE
The farther one goes south in .Japan, the fewer
of these early Ainu pots one finds

JYOMON POTTEHY

Such hits of pottery as are illustrated on these pages arc found tliroughout

most of .Japan, while no related types have ever been found by archie-

ologists on the adjacent continental mainland

hands and on their arms. Less often,
tattooed designs appear on feminine
foreheads. These attempts at beautifica-
tion or decoration, however, do not
prevent the women from doing almost
slavish household drudgery.

The language is simple and harmonious,
but aside from some words obviously
borrowed from the tongues of near-by
peoples, it stands entirely isolated. Thej^
have no written language, with the result
that their folk lore and their religious
beliefs are handed down entirely by word
of mouth.

They are polytheistic worshippers of
Nature, and practise certain shamanistic
rites. The bear festival is one of their
outstanding religious celebrations. In its
ritual a grown bear cub that has been kept
in captivity and carefully nursed is
killed and served at their feasts. Another
custom that seems strange to the out-
sider is the use of "Inao" as an offering
to the gods. In this rite a willow stick is
accurately whittled with a sharp knife
until it has a considerable cluster of long,
slender shavings adhering to it. Its exact
meaning seems to be lost even to the Ainu

202

NATURAL HISTORY

A STRANGE POT FORM
No satisfactory explanation has yet been offered for the uses to which
these oddly shaped pots were put

themselves, but it is regarded by them in
the most sacred possible light. These two
customs, however, are not confined to the
Ainu alone. Both the Giliak and the
Orokko of Saghalien Island do the same.

A favorite drink among the Ainu is
"sake," a fermented Japanese beverage,
and they are especially free with its use
during the bear festival. This potent
beverage brought about much degenera-
tion among the Ainu in the past, just as
whiskey formerly did among the Ameri-
can Indians.

One might con-
tinue through many
pages to discuss the
ethnology of these

AK AINU CUP AND A
MUSTACHE STICK
The carved stick lying
across the top of this
cup serves much the
same purpose as did
the "mustache cup"
of forty years ago in
America. With the
stick the male user of
this cup held his flow-
ing mustache away
from the liquid he was
drinking

strangely fascinating
people, but it is even
more interesting and
important to attempt
to trace their origin.
Facts, however, con-
cerning their origin are
for the most part lack-
ing, and we consequent-
ly are forced to fall
back upon the hypoth-
eses offered by many of
the noted authorities
who have given their
attention to this baf-
fling problem. So nu-
merous are these hy-
potheses, and so con-
flicting, that it is easy
to understand how difficult it is to deter-
mine accurately the prehistory of this
relic of a very old human stock.

The following are some of the principal
views held by authorities outside of
Japan :

1 . That the Ainu are Semitic in origin.

2. That they are of the same origin as the
Indo-Europeans.

3. That they resemble the American Indian.

4. That they are peculiar to themselves, and
that their original habitat was Sumatra, the
Philippines, and their vicinities.

THE MYSTJ'Jh'lorS NATIVES OF NOimiKKS ./,1/M.V

20:i

5. That liiey are Caucasian in tyi)e and re-
semble the Russians.

6. That they are Caucasian in type antl are
affiliated with the Kuliu in Sumatra and the
Toda in India.

7. That they resemble the Tungus of the
Amur River Valley.

8. That they belonp; to an oriRinal Asiatii^
race and were driven to the Japanese islands by
Mongol trilies.

9. That they belong to the old Proto-Nordit^
race that was once widely spread over Asia, and
are akin to the modern Scandinavians.

10. That they are allied to the Giliaks of the
Aimis River region.

1 1 . That they are affiliated with the Negritos
of the Philippines.

12. That there is a possible relationship with
the pre-Dravidian tribe of India, or even with the
natives of Australia.

With all these hypotheses from which
to choose it might seem possible to satisfy
almost anyone, but only in recent years
have Japanese archaeologists been adding
to the information concerning these de-
tached people. Now, however, many
prehistoric remains have been uncovered
telling something of the Ainu, and these
remains are being found not only in the
islands of Japan, but also in Korea and
Manchuria. It is true that as yet no
Palaeolithic remains have been located,
but the recent discovery of the "Peking
Man" has encouraged the archaeologists
who are working in these portions of the
world, for this location is not far from
Japan. Thus many of the Japanese
archaeologists who are working in this
field, basing their investigations on the
theory that Japan was connected with
Asia during the Tertiary Period, believe
that it is possible that Japan was then a
part of the same land mass of which Java
was a part. Thus the land in which
Pithecanthropus erectus was found may
have borne much the same relation to
Asia as did a part of the land that is now
the archipelago of Japan, and that pos-
sibility opens up still others fascinating
to those who are interested in the study of
early man.

AN INAO
These strangely carved bits of wood, with the
flowing tassels of shavings still adhering to the
parent stick, have an important reUgious signif-
icance, and are considered by the Ainu as offer-
ings to their gods. They are often called "god
sticks," and seem to have some symbolic uses
almost as if the sticks themselves represented the
god or gods

All this, however, still remains entirely
within the realm of theory. However,
Neolithic remains are numerous in Japan,
and have been found in many places.
Among these, the stone implements are
noteworthy, both as to variety and work-
manship, probably ranking next to the
early Egyptian work. The pottery, on
the other hand, is of two different types
which Japanese archaeologists have named
the " Yayoi" and the " Jyomon" types.

The Yayoi type of pottery is plain, and
is obviously made with the aid of the
potter's wheel. This is supposed to be
the work of early Japanese and is found
almost everywhere, from Saghalien, in the

204

NATURAL HISTORY

A GROUP OF HOKKAIDO AINT
These people have often been eaUed "Hairy Ainu," but they are no more hirsute than many Cauca-
sians. The group shown here has been somewhat influenced by the Japanese, as is demonstrated by
the Japanese character of the kimonos and wooden clogs of the two children

north, to the Riukiu Islands, which He
near Formosa, in the south. Further-
more, pottery of somewhat the same type
is found in Korea, in a part of Man-
churia, and along the eastern coast of
Siberia, which evidence, in the minds of
Doctor Torii and Doctor Hamada, two of
Japan's leading archaeologists, suggests
the probability that these ancient pottery
makers were all racially affiliated.

The Jyomon type of pottery, on the
other hand, is very ornate, and is prob-
ably next to the older American Indian
work in its excellent technique. Further-
more, it was made without a wheel, and
there is little doubt that the makers of
this type of pottery were not ancestral
Japanese.

A hypothesis originally propounded by
the late Doctor Tsuboi, was to the effect
that a race called the " Koropokkuru "
settled in Japan prior to the coming of
the ancestral Ainu. Now, however, this
hypothesis has been almost entirely dis-

carded, and the "Koropokkuru" are
regarded as the ancestral Ainu themselves.
Furthermore, Doctor Torii attributes the
Jyomon pottery to these early Ainu, and
both Dr. Waldemar Jochelson and Doctor
Koganei agree with this view.

It is only in the northern part of Japan,
however, that this ornate pottery is
commonly found. As one goes south, one
finds its distribution growing thinner and
thinner. Furthermore, in Korea, Man-
churia, and other parts of the continent
of Asia it is utterly unknown. Only in
certain prehistoric shell mounds in New
Guinea has any similar pottery been
found, and even this has not yet been
proved to be the same work. It may be
that the resemblance is accidental, and
that the makers of this New Guinea pot-
tery will ultimately be proved to be
entirely separate from the Ainu.

The latest hypothesis to be advanced
in reference to the origin of the Ainu is
the one offered by Doctor Kiyono of

THE MVSTKh'forS NATIVES OF NOIiTIIERS J A I' AS

205

Japiin. After haviiif^ made a thonjiigh
study of many hundrcKlis of the skeletons
of the makers of this Jyomon pottery, he
contends that these people are not closely
related either to the present Japanese or
the present Ainu, but that they resemble
both these races, and show, as well,
certain great differences.

Recent studies of the blood of the Ainu
suggests a relationship with l']uropeans.
Finger print studies, too, show that the
Ainu tend to have the "loop type" finger
markings, and this, also, is a physical
characteristic of the European peoples.
Moreover, the cross section of the hair of
the Ainu shows an oval form, and this
prevails among the peoples of Europe.
From these facts it seems logical to reason
that the Ainu, long resident of the

Japanese islands tliougii they have been,
and surrounded though they are bj'
peoples of another race, are actually re-
lated to the race that dwells in JOuropc.
It is a strange fact that the Lapps, who
are representatives of an old Asiatic
stock, should be found today only in the
extreme northwestern corner of Europe,
surrounded by peoples of another race,
while the Ainu, in type lOuropean, are
living in isolation, so far as their racial
relatives are concerneil, cm a few of the
islands of Japan.

In presenting all this information and
these hypotheses, it is obvious that we
are presenting still more puzzles. \\'hat
extraordinary migrations could have
taken place to separate Asiatic folk from
their kin and leave them in Europe while

AN AINU AND HIS WIFE
The Ainu, who are now to be found in Hokkaido, SaghaHen, and the Kurile Islands, are only a rem-
nant of a once more powerful race. Slowly civilization is making itself felt, as is shown by the axe
that leans against the reed wall of this Ainu house. Schools, too, that have been set up by the
Japanese among these people are gradually changing their simple habits, and the time seems near
when the Ainu will merge with the people who surround them and more or less disappear as a distinct

people

206

NATURAL HISTORY

European folk, equally separated from
their relatives, linger on in the archipelago
off the coast of Asia?

And while we are puzzling, the Ainu
are gradually disappearing. Only within
a comparatively short time have they
been studied at all, but now, before their
complete disappearance, why not study
them more thoroughly? Why not keep
permanent records — motion pictures —
written observations?

Geographically, of course, Japan is
placed in Asia, but a glance at the accom-
panying map will show clearly that the
Japanese islands are in reality a part of
that long chain of Pacific islands which
form so vast a semicircle with Hawaii as a
center — a semicircle beginning with the
Aleutian Islands off the coast of the Alas-
kan Peninsula, and continuing through
Saghalien, Japan, Formosa, the Philip-
pines, the East Indies and the islands of
Oceania, and ending finally with Easter

Island off the coast of South America.
That movements of peoples have fol-
lowed these islands we know positively,
but how much these movements have
affected the races now inhabiting them is
still largely unknown. That Japan has
been affected racially and culturally by in-
fluences from both the north and the south
we have good reason to believe, but many
questions remain still to be answered.

The late Prof. Edward S. Morse began
the study of archaeology in Japan in
1878, and Japan has honored this Ameri-
can scientist by erecting a monument to
him near Tokio. He it was who was the
pioneer in the field of modern scientific
Japanese archaeology. At present, how-
ever, few Americans are interested in the
study that he began.

Why should not their attention be
attracted in this direction? Certainly
both the Japanese and the Chinese would
welcome their cooperation.

The style of clothing worn by
these people may have been
adopted from the Japanese, but
the designs that are used seem
to have been their own since
prehistoric times.

AN AINU COSTUME

The cloth woven by them is
harsh and rough, although,
having been made from the
inner bark of the elm tree, it
is more pliable than one might
expect

K^d^H:':'''

An Aravvu I'laiiliit

TRAILS AND TRIBULATIONS
OF BOUGAINVILLE

Bird Collecting Adventures on the Mountain
Slopes of a South Sea Island

The trip into the mountains of Bougainville was an incident of the Whitney South Sea
Expedition. This project was financed by the late Harry Payne Whitney, Esq., and has
been continued for the present by his estate. After nine years under the field command of
Mr. Rollo H. Beck, the work was carried on by the late Dr. Frederick P. Drowne, and Messrs.
Hannibal Hamlin and William F. Coulter. The visit to Bougainville was made by Doctor
Drowne, Mr. Hamlin, and Mr. Richards, the author of the follovdng article. — The Editors.

By guy RICHARDS

"Isles Solomon dont I'existence
et la position sent douteuse."

Narrative of de Bougainville.

IN JUNE, 1768, Louis Antoine de
Bougainville, French navigator and ad-
venturer and captain of "La Bondeuse "
and "L'Etoile," cruised northward along
the coast of an island lying between 5°
and 7° south of the equator and 154°
and 156° east of Greenwich. French,
British, and Spanish seamen for two cen-
turies had broken their hearts attempting
to make this short sail, which could not
have taken de Bougainville more than
three days. Mendana, who sought to
rediscover what he had stumbled upon
twenty-seven years before, died in 1595 a
few hundred miles from his goal. And
the fortune of others after him had been
no better.

On December 18, 1927, the schooner
"France" of the Whitney South Sea

Expedition, coughing four knots an hour
through a flat calm, rounded Punanapa
Head and came to anchor in Kieta Harbor.
Although a hundred and sixty odd years
had passed by, it is doubtful if de Bougain-
ville's maneuvers and the maneuvers of
the "France" appeared much different
to the natives of Mawara Bay. The huUs
of the ships were of a different color and
the rigs were of a different plan, but the
men on board were white men, and all
white men were crazy, and only Heaven
knew what would be stirring now!

The harbor of Kieta is a wistful harbor.
On the west the half-moon of Bougain-
ville's coast with the District Officer's
residence, the store of Messrs. Ebery and
Walsh, and the four stores of the China-
men, all widely separated along the Old
German Road, face outward toward the
sea. Around the point a still farther semi-
circular curve of the road leads to the

208

NATURAL HISTORY

residence of the doctor and the out-
buildings of the hospital. Dominating all
the other buildings of the port are the
masts of the House Wireless at the summit
of a ridge in the cocoanuts; and beneath,
them are the red-roofed civil dormitories.

The great mountains of Bougainville,
continually immersed in clouds, rise so
abruptly from the sea, that the harbor of
Kieta, which, with its buildings and its
Old German Road, is a considerable one
for this part of the world, remains always
an incident in its own panorama.

As an island port Kieta has a certain
insincerity about it. It is a village that
was begun by one nation and finished
by another. And although it is a long
time since the termination of the war, and
the improvements and progressions of the
Australians are everywhere in evidence,
the Old German Road still remains the
most eminent landmark on the shore.

The Australians have had possession
of Bougainville for a decade, and it is
still the enigma it was when the Germans

abdicated. There is an area of, roughl5',
350 square miles which no white man has
ever entered, and about which nothing
at all is known. The interior of the island
has not yet been even superficially sur-
veyed, and aside from the knowledge
that in the unknown area columns of
smoke have occasionally been seen from
the distant mountain ridges, no informa-
tion is available.

Mr. Samson, a patrol officer whom we
met in Kieta while he was recovering from
a spear wound gave us some valuable
information anent the back country,
Kanaka. From his advice and from the
advice of Major McAdams, the District
Officer, we completed plans for our expe-
dition. On Monday morning we weighed
anchor from Kieta and set out for Arawa
Plantation. Four hours later Frederick
P. Drowne, Hannibal Hamlin, and I bade
farewell to the "France" and dumped
on the shores of Bougainville three
shotguns, a case of mutton, a case of as-
sorted meat, forty tins of beans, twenty

Hannibal HamUn

Photograph
THE EXPEDITION MOVES
Whirl is king and confusion reigns when the expedition gets under way in the morning. Everybody
talks at once, every carrier personally takes charge of every other carrier, and pretty soon, with all
boxes lashed, the expedition moves

Th'AILS AND Th'IHCLATJOXS OF HOI (lA I \ V I LLE

209

tins of juin, (-'ig;hty tin.sof sardincj^,
twenty tins of salmon, a side of
bacon, a lantern, koro8eno, six
axes, two cases of trade tobacco,
two bolts of calico, two cases of
ammunition, duffle l)ags of c]f)tli-
ing, corn meal, cotton, twinr,
scalpels, photographic material,
arsenic, alum, oil, cotton, blani<-
ets, hunting coats, a case of
canned fruit, a gross of butter,
flour, salt, sugar, tea, cocoa, corn,
and ship's biscuits.

Doctor Drowne, accompanied
by a member of the comnuuiity
of Kino, set out at an early hour
next morning to stir up the car-
riers from Kupei, while Hamlin
and I remained behind to repack
the boxes. At noon-time the
carriers, in the midst of a heavy
rainstorm, appeared with a note
from Doctor Drowne, and after
a few minutes the parade took
to the trails.

The trail from Kino is scarcely
wider than one's foot, and as it
had been raining, it was nothing
more than a steep mud trough.
The manner in which the carriers
climbed was nothing short of miraculous.
Hamlin and I, with nothing at all to
carry had all we could do to make any
headway. The beauty of the country
increased with the trail. We passed
several heavy waterfalls, dank and eerie-
looking places, and three dim grottos,
where the thick foliage, steep clifls, and
moss-covered rock combined mj^steriously.

Just before sunset we arrived at the
"House belong Kiap " in Kupei and found
Doctor Drowne in sound diplomatic
standing with the native dignitaries. He
was bartering tobacco, calico, and salt for
taro, bananas, poi poi, and spears. He
was very cold and wet and seemed glad
to see his belongings on the backs of the
carriers.

"WHERE ALPH, THE SACRED RIVER RAN"

All the poetry of earth is wTapped up in these mountain
rivers. A curious overtone of sounds seem to echo from
the rocks. A kingfisher will flit past and a tree-frog occa-
sionally lend his voice from the jungle

Our camp was, even at first glance,
one of the most beautiful places I have
ever seen. It stood on a knoll at an
elevation of 2200 feet, overlooking the
whole of the great Arawa Valley. Im-
mediately behind it the mountains rose
to 5250 feet. It appeared at first, as it
proved later, to be the summum bonmn
of a bird collector's jumping-off place.

Our cook-boy, Bakki, stirred up a
more than adequate supper of tinned
mutton and fresh fried tomatoes, the lat-
ter of which to the quantity of one leaf
basket, were purchased in Kino for a stick
of tobacco.

Hamlin and I had arranged a schedule
to mount the trail on alternate days, so
on New Year's Day, he and Doctor

210

NATURAL HISTORY

Drowne stayed in camp to write up their
notes, while I set out up the mountain.

Ona, the son of the chief or "kukurai"
and Cumbai, a bushman of Kupei,
went with me. When we had cHmbed
as high as 5000 feet, the fog and cold
sleet set in upon us and never let up
until late in the afternoon. There is a
spot on the trail at 4300 feet where a
landslide has cleared away the bush,
leaving, on clear days, a superb view over
the adjoining mountains, the Arawa
Valley, and out to sea. Slightly up and
to the left, the clouds and omnipresent
fogs and mists pour through a gulch in
the range and water the green valley
beneath. Far out to sea the great
barrier reef, its white spume assuming the
shape of a diamond brooch, can be seen
cutting the blue monotony of the horizon;
and nearer, here
and there, trails
of blue smoke rise
from the scattered
native villages.

An accurate de-
scription of these
lofty places, whose
nature is at such
variance with the
common tropical
appearance of the
sea-level country, is
difficult. Because
Bougainville is a
tropical island with
a coast temperature
always uncomfort-
able and sometimes
almost unbearable,
it seems strange to
experience on the
same island the
cUmate of Cape
Cod on a cool

autumn day. From 4500 feet up, the
tree and plant life, because it is con-
tinually enshrouded in fog, has all the

Pfiotoyraph by Hannibal Hamlin

ONA

Ona, pictured here with two poi poi, acted as the

writer's personal servant. Compensation: a

stick of tobacco a day

clinging mossy coverings of marine flora.
This point appears to be the dividing
line between high altitudes and low alti-
tudes on the island. Higher than this
all the forest becomes dank and drip-
ping, pools of water and mud appear
upon the trail, and the whole aspect of
nature changes as completely as if one
were enteiing another world.

Although most of the terrain bordering
the trail declines in a precipitous slope,
there are ravines and gulches which,
with their impenetrable plant growth,
their fallen and decaying trees, their fog,
and their great quiescence, resemble the
nightmare haunts of some demon. In
this region one's voice takes on a hushed
and almost useless tone, and the voices
of others seem as powerless as if they were
trying to speak under the sea. Here it is
nowhere possible to
see over the forest,
for in the one or
two open places
that can be found
on the three miles
of trail the white
battlement of fog
obscures every-
thing.

The birds, on ac-
count of the ubiqui-
tous fog in these
high places, are
difficult to see and
to shoot. They sing
very little, and their
figures, outlined
against the fog in
the vague and in-
definable trees and
bushes, are hard to
orient for aiming,
and, in case the aim
and the shot are
successful, still harder to retrieve. The
natives, however, prove invaluable for
recovering them.

TRAILS AND TRIBULATIONS OF liOUGAINVILLli

211

The day's work brought in one; thrush,
one redbreast, some graybirds, and sonic
flycatchers. The climb up and back
makes a day's work by itself, and it was
with great satisfaction and comfort that
I returned to the
less chilly altitudes
of our camp and
found good food,
dry clothing, and a
warm blanket under
a rainless roof.

By this time the
camp was becoming
better organized
and more efficient.
In consideration of
the vast evil influ-
ence that the two
lazy cook-boys
wielded over the
two unadulterated
cook-boys, the
former had been
discharged, and
since their depart-
ure a great change
took place. Bakki
and Kokeri, the two
who remained, now
had the fire going
in the cook-house

before sunrise. Coffee was made at six
and breakfast followed at half past. Our
diet for breakfast was made up of rice
and scones. The rice was excellent served
with condensed milk and water; and the
freshly-baked scones made with self-rais-
ing flour were unforgettable.

The cook-boys had learned to keep the
camp clean. This was a considerable
accomplishment inasmuch as it required
a direct conquest of the most highly forti-
fied trait in the native character.

The Bougainville Kanaka, or bushman,
is a fairly imposing figure when he is at
work in his own surroundings. Carrying
heavy loads, cutting his way through the

Photograph by Hannibal Hamlin
BALBI'S CRATER
Balbi, the highest mountain in Bougainville, was
first (and never since) climbed by Hannibal
Hamlin, leader of the Whitney South Sea Expe-
dition, 1928-30. Its conquest is generally
considered the finest achievement since Monc-
ton's ascent of Mt. Albert Edward, Briti-sh New
Guinea. May, 1903. It is an active volcano about
9500 feet high

thick bush, ferreting out firewood, are
occupations which he acquits so skill-
fully that their performance lends him a
certain grandeur.

Squatting around a fire, howevc^r, with
the fragment of a
W clay /pipe stuck in
™ his mouth, or sing-
ing Ithrough the
rainj' hours with his
weird invariable
chant, he takes on
a (lifTercnt form.
One becomes
divided between
awe and disgust in
judging him, and
the correct opinion
of him, changing as
it always nmst with
circumstances and
individuals, will
probabl}' never be
submitted.

The women, or
"marys," occupy a
very low position.
They are ugly, fat,
and strike me as
being ahiiost in-
credibly unintelli-
gent. They have
short curly hair like that of their youngest
children whom they carry on their backs
straddle-legged fashion. They wear lava
lavas, or loin cloths, and their figures are
enlarged around the waist from the
weight of the loads they are forced to
carry up and down the steep trails.
Save for a rare necklace or bracelet that
their husbands have brought to them
from elsewhere, they possess no ornamen-
tation and wear none on the ordinary
routine days of their lives.

As much as possible they keep together.
They move in and out of the village to
the taro gardens in one herd, like cattle
of an identical and seK-conscious strain.

212

NATURAL HISTORY

Conversation and social intercourse be-
tween the two sexes is limited to monosyl-
lables. A group of male natives, such as
the group in our cook-house, will bring
an animated conversation to a complete
silence when a mary appears to sell her
basket of taro, and will observe it until
she departs. The mary, on such an
occasion, inevitably performs some silly
and embarrassed contretemps, and shifts
and filigrees around like a child of two.

It would not be correct to say that all
the work is left to the women. The men
stir about considerably themselves. But
they are free and independently spirited
and their exits and their entrances, their
tasks and their excursions, are timed to
suit themselves. And when a mary sells
anything, her husband takes the calico or
tobacco and gives it, or part of it, to her
if he chooses.

For all the wretchedness and squalor
of the people of the village they are not
wretched-spirited people. The struggle
for existence is forever obvious, and the

skulking lean-ribbed dogs that sniff
hungrily around under the poles of the
huts bear witness that there is little time
for writing poetry or for a-strumming on
the lyre. Under the circumstances it is
surprising how many smiles the men have
for one another, and how many giggles
the women pour out over the trails as
they start for the taro gardens in the
morning.

Severe rains, which come up here simul-
taneously with the waning of the moon
now began falhng and lasted a whole
week. The rain clouds poured through
the gap in the ridge up above us and
swooped down the valley under the force
of a very high, gusty wind. Each rain
squall was a storm in itself, and the trees
on the ridges were shaken all over each
other. Several of them, with a report
like that of a giant cannon, fell over and
careened into the bush on the side of the
mountain.

The chmate during the storms re-
mained, cold, like late October days in

A NATIVE HOUSE
Some of these abodes are beautifully built. The eagle-eyed native dogs keep the ground clean beneath
them, and the family gear can be seen hanging above. This includes some taro, some baskets, and the
jawbones of approximately fifteen pigs — trophies not of the hunt but of the stomach

TRAILS AND TJilBdLATIONS OF BOUGAINVILLE

213

New J'jnglund. It sccniffl picpostorous
to look far down the valley to the coast
and know that around the nose of the
nearest northern peninsula was the hot-
test place in the world, with the excep-
tion of one famous little hai'bor on the
Persian Gulf.

At night the clouds would clear away
and there would follow the cold crystal
atmosphere of New England in autumn.
We were thankful for all our blankets,
overcoats, shooting-coats, and every-
thing we could pile on. The change was
a blessing and I, for one, looked forward
with melancholy circumspection to the
time when we would have to return to
the coast.

Each day disclosed an added natural
endowment of the camp. One of the
large tumbling mountain rivers which
began its journey to the coast through
the ravine below us, seemed to possess
many of the stage properties of Alph,
the sacred river of Kubla Khan. There
were ancient logs, profound pools, and
many veteran rocks from which frogs
addressed their river-audiences. The
river's roar was diminished to a whirr
at the distance of the camp, but the
river itself was within easy climbing-
down distance, and a pilgrimage to it
for some of its clean bubbles and much of
its philosophy was a cherished item in
the day's routine.

The clouds on the mountain were in
themselves eternally engaging. Some
would rise up slowly from the dank
ravines to join the more lofty ones and
become twisted into all manner of pat-
terns and veils. When the weather was
stormy, these smaller ones would be
swallowed up in the fierce black manes
of the long-distance fellows, and the
entire package would &y on northward
to the sea. There would be idle moments
of the day when all the tussle of the
winds and elements were in armistice.
It was then that the caw of the native

crow would expand its international
illu.sion. With the rareness of the .sky
und air, one could believe, were he an
American and were he to close his eyes,
that he was near the Hud.son and that he
was dreaming through a day of early
autumn.

All this, when it was possible to look
down at sunset through the clouds on the
tliin delta of Arawa Plantation, and know
that far over there Esson's native laborers
were spread out under the palms hoping
to catch one cool evening's breath of air.
On Januarj' 12, the storms were still
continuing. Many trees had been blown
over the trail and it was now necessary
to make a series of detours into the bush
and back on the trail again.

But the trail itself, is, I suppose, noth-
ing more than the history of detours, and
stood, when we first saw it, only as the
most recent of an evolution of changes
destined to continue as long as the black
man of the forest trudges, scrambles, and
cuts his journey to the coast. Indeed, a
trail such as this has an analogy to the
history of the people whose footsteps
preserve it. At its best, the well-traveled
conclusion of many many years, it is still
a shadow line in the green confusion of
the forest, altered when a little earth
slides from the ridge, when a puff of wind
conquers a too old tree, or when a bowlder
slips and with it an ancient and depend-
able ridge becomes an intransversable
ravine. As it stretches out, it com-
promises with the natural obstacles con-
tending it, over a spring bottom upon
whose weedy rocks it leaves a path of
small bare surfaces, skirting here a rooty
knoll, there the extended figure of a
fallen tree, and, mounting ever upward
on bowlder tops and favorable roots, it
seems more a ghostly thing than a useful
thing, more the casual motion of some
woodland sprite who, being in a holiday
mood, cares not the least where he is going.
The wind blew hard against the trees.

214

NATURAL HISTORY

and there were few birds on the ridges.
Above 4000 feet it rained continually.

Lutnineva went with me. We munched
our ship's biscuits in a steady rain and
gazed gloomily at each other across a bog.
We returned to camp \\nth a day's work
of six common birds.

The passage of time among these
mountains is a deepening stud}^ I
took my cue from the comparative
identity which each daj'' had ■n'ith the
next. In every week of all the months of
the year each tree is just as green, the
palms and taro leaves as tall and healthy,
the song of the birds in the morning quite
the same and quite as cheerful. One may
go to sleep at night knowing that to-
morrow may be indistinguishable from
today, and if today was particularly
beautiful it may be enjoj^ed all OA-er
again. For the weather is arbitrary. The
rain clouds gather at certain times in the
day and month, but it is perfect!}' possible
for them to disregard their schedule. If
they do not, it is still possible that they

win not drop their rain. There is nothing
new in the skj^ at anj' time as there is
nothing changeable in the forest or in
the haz}' blue foreheads of the mountains.
Ever}' day is a repetition of some imdated
day, its exact counterpart in tincture of
sky, pattern of cloud, and feature of the
distant ocean, — a day which in itself is
only the most recent of a numberless chain.

That is why, perhaps, with the natives
there is no calendar. The year has no
niunber and the month no name. Time,
at least that slight obeisance that is
payed to it, is exacted ia moons, — so
many moons. Some event that happened
long ago happened by moons and moons.
A very long time is moons and moons
and moons. This is expressed with an
accompanying gesture which means at
the same time, ""VMiat on earth is the
difference?"'

Watching the sky, watcliing the days
go by, watching the natives, and hstening
to the sounds in the vaUey. one does not
find this a difficult thing to understand.

Photograph by Hannibal Samli}

SIGNAL DRUMS

These hollowed out tree trunks are beaten with a stick and emit a low, guttural sound which is not
loud at close range, but which may be heard for many miles

TRAILS AND TJilBULATIONS OF BOUGAINVILLE

215

ikiM

--^'^^^ m^^

^P^^^93§H

*vj^^^E3^^l

ill

ik. #

I'lwto:.raph by llannilal Hamlin

A MALE SECKET SOCIETY

Secret societies are not the exclusive property of American universities. Here is one in honor of the

sacred estate of bachelorhood. The hats are fixed on the male infants of the tribe, and are not removed

until the wedding day

January 24 was a very fine day and the
yellow-bibbed dove-shooting had been
good going up the mountain. We had also
taken a thrush, and Ona and I, quite at
peace with the world, had rambled pretty
far down the trail to Kokcre. We got an-
other and last dove, and we turned around,
all in the space of two minutes. This was at
a quarter past three. About half past four
as we were very near the summit on our
way back, we heard the call of a crested
pigeon. I looked at Ona and Ona looked
at me. We sat down on the trail and began
to call back. Each time we called we
received an answer, but the pigeon, which
seemed to be a long way off, came no
closer. It was very discouraging. The
bird's location was in a direction at right
angles to the trail off and down a steep
slope wooded with almost impenetrable
bamboo. We kept on caUing, growing
more excited and more forlorn as the
minutes passed. And the pigeon kept
on calling, but its call sounded as if it
were becoming a little fed up with the

persiflage and very soon would cut it out
altogether. It began to dawn upon me
that my hunting, in fact the cut of
my whole figure was a joke to all the
crested pigeons in Bougainville. I grew
slightly red in the face. I could bear it
no longer.

Guided by the bird's call, Ona and I
started back on the trail for a place where
we could cut down into the bush. It proved
to be farther away than we had ex-
pected, due, I suppose, to the distance
sound carries in that altitude. The
pigeon kept on answering our caU at
disinterested intervals. But these were
enough to lead us. We pushed, fell,
scratched, and crashed our way down the
side of the ridge. As I slipped and fell
on my face over a log, I remember think-
ing that the pigeon's caU was sounding
nearer. When I got up I saw a large
bird flying over a distant tree, and I
was about to start in that direction when
I heard the "s-s-s-s-t!" signal from Ona
behind me. I turned around and saw

216

NATURAL HISTORY

him making all sorts of wild frantic
gestures toward the top of a tree closer
to him. I became very excited imme-
diately. A crested pigeon within grasp!
After all this martyrdom!

The slippery trunk of a fallen tree
bridged a gully between Ona and myself.
The tree he pointed to was hidden from
me by several hundred others and it was
necessary for me to go back over the
fallen trunk to see it. While I struggled
to execute a quiet reverse passage, Ona ad-
vanced toward me, keeping his eyes fixed
on an object in the tree. It was a crested
pigeon, and it was walking and turning
about on six inches of a high limb !

One branch of a large fern in front of
me covered the aim from my vantage
point on the trunk, so I moved farther
along the trunk, squatting and shoving
myself down to get a clear shot at the
pigeon. I was becoming more and more
excited, my footing was becoming more
slippery, and the pigeon was becoming
more intensely desirable.

Finally I got an aim. Squatting with
my left hand on Ona's shoulder, I raised
the gun in a wobbly sort of way, sighted
as best I could, and fired. As both Ona
and I slipped off the trunk and crashed

to the ground, we could also hear the
pigeon crash in the distance.

I looked at Ona and Ona looked at me.
Suddenly we both let out a whoop. I
threw my gun in the air and yelled and
yelled. Ona screamed out all sorts of
marvelous native exclamations and dashed
off into the jungle.

We never found that bird, but two and
a half hours later when it was almost
dark I discovered one gray feather resting
on the leaf of a smaU ground plant. We
were still on the top of the mountain.

Ah! Those crested pigeons!

Some six weeks later I was sitting again
on the porch of "Arawa," the residence
of Mr. Esson's plantation. In the heat
of the noonday sun the rain clouds were
gathering, and drooping listlessly over
the peaks of the distant mountains.
There was an epochal hush in the wide
bosom of Arawa Valley through which I
could hear a cockatoo conversing with a
crow, and the thrumming and the dron-
ing of a thousand insects.

It seemed impossible that we had col-
lected from that valley, birds of 65 spe-
cies, 7200 land snails, 60 snakes, 600 frogs,
and 18,000 insects. From all that dron-
ing not a voice seemed to be missing!

This old fore-and-after
has worn out two en-
gines, four crews, and
three sets of canvas.

I 1 i^

l&Bsa^

■'- ^^OTEIHI^^''

First put into commis-
sion by R. H. Beck as a
collectors' vessel, it is
still in the Solomons

rhuto:jmph bij Frederick P. Dr.
THE "FRANCE"

/'yv

^-4\'

^■V '

1. Central Asiatic Expeditions; 2. Whitney, South Sea, Caroline Islands, for birds; 3. Madagascar, for birds, mammals,
and fossils; 4. O'Donnell-Clark, Africa, for mammals; 5. Chapin, Congo, for birds; G. Klingel, West Indies and Central
America, for Hzard studies; 7. Boekelman Shell Heap Project; S. Frick-Rak, Southern CaHfornia. for fossils; 9. Vaillant.
Valley of Mexico, archojological research; 10. Chapman, Barro Colorado, for bird study: 11. Frick-Blick, Ecuador, for
fossils; 12. Ollala Brothers, Brazil, for birds and mammals; 13. Naumburg-Kaempfer, Southern Brazil, for birds:
14. Scarritt, Patagonia, for fossil mammals

AMERICAN MUSEUM EXPEDITIONS
AND NOTES

Edited by A. KATHERINE BERGER

// is the purpose of this department to keep readers of Natpral History informed

as to the latest news of Museum expeditions in thefild at the time the magazine

goes to press. In many instances, however, the sources of information are so

distant that it is not possible io include up-to-date data

EXPEDITIONS
/^ENTRAL Asiatic Expeditions. — Dr. Roy
^-^ Chapman Andrews left New York on March
21 to return to Peking. He will spend the summer
there in diplomatic negotiations preparatory to a
1932 expedition, and also on work on Volume I
of the Monograph on the Geology of Mongolia.

Mr. Walter Granger returned early in March
from China where he has spent the past eleven
months. After leaving field work in the Gobi,
Mr. Granger remained in Peking awaiting permits
to ship the fossil collections, and finally started
the 84 cases of material on their journey to the
American Museum. These are due to arrive
early in April, and will require a year's work in
the laboratory.

IV/IEXICAN ABCH.BOLoay. — Dr. George C.
^^^ Vaillant left early in March for Mexico for
the fourth season of the Valley of Mexico strati-
graphical research project, for a period of two or
three months. He hopes to consolidate and if
possible expand his data on the early cultures
in the Valley, and also to connect them chrono-
logically or culturally with the civilizations at the
pjTamids at Teotihuacan.

pOEKELMAN Shell-Heap PROJBCT.^The
*-^ faunal and cultural remains found in the in-
numerable shell-heaps so widely distributed
wherever shellfish were utilized for food have
always presented an alluring subject for study
not only to the archseologist, but to the concholo-

218

NATURAL HISTORY

^st. IJDder ihe au^ices <£ the d^tartmeat of
antliFopologj^ thse has lecariir beai tHganized
an e:qpeditio!i wliich idll stady the didUieaps
(Ml the maimlaml anil i^and shffTPS of the Ca3i1>-
bean Sea. On FArnaiy I4 1931, Mr. H. J.
BoAriman, the leads' of the expedition, accom-
panied by Mr. Jnnins Krd and Mr. Howard M.
Mceanan, who aie charged vsiih the respon-
aWKty ftff the arehsoloigical part of this pro-
-am, lat 'Sew T(Kk for Havana, from which
p«t the expedition will safl in a charteied
sehoono'. Its dael objective is to leam the
distribution of shell-heaps aloiag the coast of
Central and Sooth Anneirifa, boidaing the Carib-
bean as weJl as the West TTidiaTi isjanils Wha'-
erer pc^able the didl-heaps will be tr<aiched to
get some idea ol their caltuial and conchcdoi^cal
ecHitent; it is espected that any pottesry, imple-
ments, (H'^bd^alranainsiesalting win be added
to the Muslim odlections.

Tlie expedition is financed in part by Mr.
Bodkdman, by an anonymoos donor, and by the
Va@ Fimd, and wiO initiate a soies of esplora-
tiims <rf shdlrbeape in the New World which, it is
hoped, win in the fntore be extended to the
AsaticCoa^.

(^ OLFMBIA Uxtteesitt-Amesicax Mr-
^^ SEXTn ExPEDinox. — ^After nearly two years
of fidd wm4; in the Fiaich Camatnm, Mr. H. C.
Bavaa, leader oJ the Ccrinmbia Uni«ertjiy--\meri-
can Mnseom Expedition retomed to New York,
Isingmg with bim the last of the specimois col-
lected. He was sacc^s^nl in obtaining the tliree
adult male ggrillas and thiee adult chimpanzee
f(K' which he ranained in A^ica afte* the other
nionbeis of the expedition had returned to
Amaiea a year ago. An account of Ote work of
the expedition fa being {»iepared by Mr. Raven,
and win appear in a sobsequait issue <rf Natc SAL

HiSIOEY.

/^HAMOIS rsom SwrrzEBLAXD. — ^The depart-
^^ ment <^ mammalogy oS the Amaican Mo-
seam of Natural Hist<Hy has received four speei-

mens of chamois wiiicli "irere collected by Mr.
WiOia.m J. Morden, field associa,te in mam-
malogy, on Jamjaiy 12, in Canton Glisons, near
St. Moritz, Switzerland- Despite reports to the
contrary, chamois are not rare in the Swiss Alps,
ax ifundred to one thousand being reported in the
area coTered by one game ranger in which Mr.
Morden obtained the four specimens now in the
American Mnsemn.

According to local r^ulations, there is a short
open season of two weefe in the fall, but methods
of hunting are carefuHv restricted. Repeating
rifles are not permitted and these particular
chamois were obtained with a 10.2 milliineter,
angle shot rifle^ without peep sights.

I 'HK Chapdi-Coiigo EsFEDmoiii. — Word has

■*■ been reeei-red from Dr. James P. Chapin
that he expects to airi-re in New York about the
first of 3ilay. A fuller note concerning his work
in the Congo will appear in the next issue of
Natubal Histobt.

/^'DONNELL-Clask African Expedition. —
^"^ The American Museum has had word
through letter and cable from the O'DonneU-
Claxk Expedition that the party had reached
Khartoum and was embarking from there on its
sixty-day trip along the upper Nile.

I 'HK Klevgel West Ikdiax Expedition. —
•*• The yawl "Basflisk" owned by Mr. Gilbert
C. Klingel, but placed in the service of the
American Museum's department of herpetologv
and experimental biology, was wrecked December
7 on Inagua Island. A large part of the
equipment was retrieved and Mr. Klingel began
at onee an intensive study of the reptile fauna
of the re^on. He has already sent to the
Museam more than 1500 specimens and writes a
vay aithusiastic account of his work in the
southan Bahamas. Mr. Klingel has more re-
oaitly started for Haiti and Santo Domingo,
whae he will continue the coDecting for the
Museam.

NOTES

ASTBOifOirr
JEW FsE FOB Plajsetaeicm. — ^At a time whea
there is so much agitation for a Zoss Plane-
tariiim f «■ the dty erf New Yotk the following 00-
cuiz^ioe is of partjeolar intoest. Gaioal Italo
Balbo, the Italian Minisi^ of Aeionanties, who
lecaitly made a tiians-Atlantic flight to South
Ammea, took his crew to the Zdss Planetarium
in HcMne that they migfat receive thray a lesson

in astronomy, to help them in their navigation on
their perilous flight. The crew thus had an
opportunity to study the particular stars that
would be visible to them during the night of
their flight across the Atlantic, and to familiarize
themselves with the positions of these stars.
This adds still another argument for the Plane-
tariom. It is a first^elasB practical school of
astronomv.

NOTES

219

A NEW Boiird of Trustees Committee has
■**• been appointed for the department of
astronomy and astronomical hail of the Ameri-
can Museum. It consists of H. Rivington Pyne,
A. Cressy Morrison, and Charles J. I^iebman.
This Committee is in addition to the Advisory
Committee appointed some years ago.

■"PHE public is cordially invited to attend the
■*■ meetings of the Amateur Astronomers Asso-
ciation, held the first and third Wednesdays of
each month at 8:15 p.m. in the large auditorium
of the American Museum. The lectures for the
next two months will be as follows: April 1,
Ca^jt. J. F. Hellweg, superintendent of the
Uijited States Naval Observatory, who will talk
OK "How We Get Our Time"; April 15, Miss
E.jnrietta Swope, Harvard College Observatory,
whose topic will be "Variable Stars and the
Milky Way"; May 6, Prof. .1. Ernest Yalden,
chaii'man of the Oculation Committee of the
American Association of Variable Star Observ-
ers, who will talk on " Dialling." The Association
is very glad to send to anyone interested all in-
formation concerning membership and activities,
as well as sample copies of The Amalcur Astrono-
mer, the journal of the society.

' I 'HE hour for the Saturday radio talks given

■*■ over Station WOR under the auspices of the

A.A.A., has been changed from 5:30 to 5:25 p.m.

These talks will continue throughout the spring.

BIRDS
U" XCHANGE Professorships are always re-
■'— ' ported with pride and satisfaction by Ameri-
can universities, and with good cause. With
much the same feeling of satisfaction the Ameri-
can Museum records that Dr. Ernst Mayr, who
has been an assistant in the Zoological Museum
of the University of Berlin since July, 1926, has
come to New York to spend a number of months
as an honorary member of our department of
birds. His duty and privilege will be to study
part of the collections of the Whitney South Sea
Expedition, the members of which have been
working among various groups of the Pacific
Islands since 1920. Doctor MajT's first care
will be the preparation of a report upon the orni-
thology of Rennell and Malaita, two previously
unstudied islands of the Solomon group.

Doctor Mayr is pecuUarly well-fitted to take
advantage of the opportunity mentioned, for he
has had exceptional experience in the field as well
as in museums rich in ornithological specimens
from Melansia. His first expedition was ar-
ranged by Dr. L. C. Sanford, a trustee of the
American Museum, and was under the auspices
of the Zoological Museum at Tring and the Dutch

Colonial Museum at Buitenzorg, .Java. This
kept him in Dutch New Guinea from February to
October, 1928, during which period he made the
first zoological exploration of the Wandammen
and Cyclops Mountains. Without returning to
Europe, he began in November, 1928, a second
jjroject, for the Zoological Museum of lierlin,
which led to the exploration of the Ninigo
Islands in the Admiralty group, and then the
Saruwaged and Herzog Mountains in tlie former
territory of German New Guinea. His third
undertaking began when he joined the schooner
"France" of the Whitney South Sea Expedition
in July, 1929, and spent eight months in the
service of the American Museum among the
British Solomon Islands. Doctor Ma>T com-
pleted a study of his New Guinea collections at
Berlin before making his visit to the United
States.

MAUNSELL SCHIEFFELIN CROSBV
r^N February 12, 1931, Maunsell Schieffe in
^^ Crosby, for manj' years closely associated
with the department of birds, and a Patron
of the American Museum of Natural History
since 1927, died of pneumonia. February 14,
the date of his burial in the cemetery at Rhine-
beck, New York, was his forty-fourth birthday.

Mr. Crosby was an atnateiu- ornithologist in the
best sense of the term. Admitting that the
sheer joy he drew from the stud}' and observa-
tion of birds was his only objective, he neverthe-
less accomplished work of real significance, in
addition to fostering and encouraging more spe-
cialized researches by others. He published a
number of papers in The Auk and elsewhere, and
his account of the bird Ufe of Dutchess County
(ius own beloved province) stands as one of the
more important local lists of restricted regions in
the eastern United States.

As a volunteer field worker, Mr. Crosby took
part in several expeditions of the American Mu-
seum. The latest of these he financed jointly
with Mr. Ludlow Griscom, formerly assistant
curator of bii-ds. The party saOed to Panama in
February, 1927, and there chartered a schooner
which conveyed the members first to the Pearl
Islands and then to virgin territory in the forests
of the Sambu River, Cape Garachine, and other
important localities in the eastern part of the
Isthmus. Nearly five hundred species of tropical
birds were obtained during the course of this
expedition.

Mr. Crosby's status as an ornithologist was
signally recognized by the Museum during the
winter of 1929-30, when he accepted the re-
sponsibility of delivering two lectm'es in a cul-
tural course especially prepared for college and

220

NATURAL HISTORY

high school teachers. Incidentally, he was the
only speaker in this series who was not a member
of the Museum's scientific staff.

Mr. Crosby was born in New York City, the
son of Ernest H. and Fanny Schieffelin Crosby.
His ancestors were
mainly of English,
Irish, and Dutch stock,
and many of them hold
a high place in the
history of New York
State and the nation.
His great-great-grand-
father, Ebenezer Cros-
by, was surgeon to
General Washington
during the Revolution,
and subsequently a
professor in Columbia
College. His grand-
father, Howard Cros-
by, was Chancellor of
New York University,
and his father a judge
in the International
Court in Egypt, where
the son spent the early
years of his boyhood.

After graduating
from Harvard in 1908,
Mr. Crosby made agri-
culture his principal
occupation. On his
beautiful estate, 'Grasmere," in Rhinebeck, he
cultivated fruit and other crops, and maintained
a notable herd of brown Swiss cattle and a
stable of Percheron horses. His love of trees was
no less marked than that of birds, and the skill
with which he created gardens and enhanced the
natural charm of many acres of varied land-
scape, reflects in large measure his personality.

In the community where he made his home,
moreover, he gave much time and enthusiasm to
educational and philanthropic work, and was
there, as elsewhere, a champion of causes bearing
upon conservation of the country's natural re-
sources. With the last aim in view he arranged
frequent lectures and demonstrations for the
citizens of his village and the surrounding farm-
lands. His official connections were far too
numerous to mention, but, among many, he was
first post commander of the local branch of the
American Legion, and a lieutenant-colonel in the
United States Army Reserve.

In his immediate family, Mr. Crosby is sur-
vived by a daughter, who is a student in Smith
College, and a sister who resides in England.

His friends were legion, for he was blessed with
an unaffected and winning sense of kinship with
all who shared any part of his wide interests.
His joie de vivre and whimsical humor were
highly infectious. Within the small and happy
circle of his intimate
friends he fostered re-
lationships so rare that
most of us can hardly
hope to find their Uke
again. For his natu-
ralist comrades the
years cannot dim the
memories that cluster
round Grasmere in the
season of spring] mi-
gration.— R. C. M.

ANE^
Foi

MAUNSELL SCHIEFPELIN CROSBY
(1887-1931)

CONSERVATION
NEW National
REST. — The
Forest Service of the
U. S. Department of
Agriculture announces
the establishment of
the new Hiawatha Na-
tional Forest by proc-
lamation of President
Hoover. It is in the
heart of the upper pen-
insula of Michigan,
and its gross area is
270,071 acres. Bring-
ing the total number of national forests up to
150, this forest becomes part of the vast area of
more than 160,000,000 acres administered by the
Forest Service. The Hiawatha National Forest
will be protected and developed for its timber
growing, recreational, and other public forest val-
ues. Its headquarters are at Munising, Michigan.

EDUCATION

A RADIO Nature League. — On March 1
■'^ Mr. William H. Carr, assistant curator in
the department of education at the American
Museum, inaugurated a series of nature talks
to be given every Sunday at 3:45 P.M. over
Station WOR. Each week Mr. Carr will speak
for ten minutes on general nature subjects, refer-
ring the radio audience to exhibition groups in
the American Museum, and will devote five
minutes to answering letters concerning previous
talks. To date, Mr. Carr has received more than
450 letters.

FOSSIL VERTEBRATES

^ NEW Reconstruction op Dinichihys. — The
Arthrodira or joint-necked fishes to which

NOTES

221

order the fossil fish Diniclilhi/H beloriRS ure of
particular interest because they represent one of
nature's experiments in producing a higher fish
type out of a very low original stock remotely
related to the cartilaginous fishes.

Several generations of ichthyologists have
puzzled over the con'ect assembling of the
armor-lilie skull and carapace plates of these
forms and their successive results have repre-
sented so many approximations toward the
truth. Dr. Anatol Heintz of the Palaeontological
Museum, Oslo, Norway, has now revised the sum
total of these results and, together with some
new features which he himself has found, has
made a new reconstruction of the fish Dinichihys.
Doctor Heintz found among the collections in the
American Museum several small pieces fitting
into this puzzle and with these and the results
of his studies of these forms, he has now shown
the way to the correct assembling of certain
regions. He has confirmed and extended the
work of L. A. Adams in the way these creatures
used their jaws — thi'owing the head back and
letting the lower jaw down. This is a unique
arrangement of the musculature and betokens a
high form of specialization in this side branch.
This unusual mouth mechanism has never before
been observed in any fossil or living animals. It
operates by means of four pairs of muscles work-
ing respectively to lift the head roof, to move the
head roof downward, to move the lower jaw up-
ward, and to move the lower jaw downward;
thus the first and fourth pair operate to open the
mouth, and the second and third pair shut it.
Doctor Heintz has just published a Noviiates
on this subject, and a more detailed discussion
will appear in the Bashford Dean Memorial
Volume.

D ESEARCH ON Fossil Cbocodilia.— In 1920
■^ *• Dr. Charles C. Mook planned and stai'ted
work on an ambitious piece of research which
will be pubhshed as a memoir entitled "Fossil
Crocodilia of the World." Nineteen preliminary
papers, with about 409 pages, 130 text figures,
and 18 plates have already been published, and
about twelve more will appear within the next
year or so. The memoir has been planned to
include the following sections, several of which
have been completed :

1. Osteology. — A detailed study of the bone structure,
to get the range of structure within the species.

2. Historical summary of descriptions of about 75
genera and 280 species. Tliis is completed for the North
American, Australian and Asiatic forms; the European
ones will soon be finished; the African and South American
groups will be taken up next.

3. Special adaptations.

4. Descriptions of about 50 well-known species.

5. Relationships and phylogeny, with discussion of
evolution within the group in the Triassic and Jurassic.

6. Bibliography.

About 500 pages of the manuBcript are ready
now, but further preparation is needed, and
Doctor Mook hopes to be able to spend next
summer in the field and the following summer
studying European collections. Mo.st of the
illustration work Ls completed and that remain-
ing to bo done is provided for.

In recognition of the admirable work which he
has been doing on the Crocodilia, Doctor Mook
was awarded the interest on the Osborn Research
Fund, to be devoted to this work in 1931 .

r^ISCOVERY OF Fossil Crocodile Bones
^-^ IN New Jersey.' — Crocodilian remains have
been reported occasionally from the greensand
marl deposits, but in most cases the specimens
have been fragmentary. In other cases they
have been incompletely described and figured.
Late in 1929 men emjiloyed in the marl pits of
the Permutit Company, near Birmingham,
New Jersey, found some fossil bones in the marl
pits. Mr. William V'augh, manager of the
Birmingham plant of the Permutit Company,
reported the discovery to Dr. H. B. KUmmel,
director of the New Jersey State Conservation
Commission and Geological Survey. Doctor
Kiimmel then called the attention of Mrs.
Katherine Greywacz, curator of the New Jersey
State Museum, to the find. Mrs. Greywacz ar-
ranged for a field investigation by Mr. Johnson,
assistant state geologist, and Mr. Charles Lang, of
the American Museum of Natural History. Dr.
Glen Jepson, of Princeton L^niversity, also exam-
ined the bones. Mr. Lang, with the assistance of
Mr. Paul Niemeyer and Mr. Thomas McDowell,
of the State Museum, took up the bones. Facili-
ties were provided by Mr. Vaugh and Mr. Mac
Pherson, superintendent of the Permutit
Company's plant. The bones were extremely
fragile, and required careful treatment to insure
their removal without destruction by crumbling.
They were sent to the State Museum and were
exhibited for several months in a partly pre-
pared condition. Later they were sent to the
American Museum of Natural History, where
they were completely cleaned and prepared bj'
Mr. Lang, and were studied and described by the
wTiter. A technical description will be found in
a number of the American Museum Noiitates
now in preparation.

The remains consist of portions of the skull,
vertebrae, both humeri, ulna, both femora, both
ilia, pubis, ischium, ribs, and many scutes.
Exact identification is difficult, as the descrip-
tions of previously described material do not
permit exact comparison. It is evident, however,

222

NATURAL HISTORY

that the reptile was a procoelian crocodile, that is,
a crocodile with the anterior ends of the vertebral
centra concave, and the posterior ends convex.
This character indicates a closer relationship
with the modern crocodilians than with the
commoner forms of Mesozoic crocodiles. The
long snout, the curved dental alveoli, and the
moderately large temporal fenestrae on the skull
top indicate affinities with the gavials rather
than with the alligators and true crocodiles.
Among the forms previously described from the
New Jersey greensand deposits is the genus
Holops. This is a gavial-like form, and the type
of the species Holops pnewnaticus, Cope, re-
sembles the recently found material closely. The
latter is accordingly referred to this species.
The bones have been described in detail in a
recent number of the Novitates.

A point of interest is the fact that the speci-
men was found in typical marine sediments,
associated with remains of marine turtles, fish,
and invertebrates, in such a way as to leave no
doubt that it belongs to a marine animal. The
modern gavial is exclusively a fresh-water
species.

The beds in which this specimen occurred are
made up mostly of greensand marls, chiefly
composed of the mineral glauconite. The forma-
tion is known as the Hornerstown Marl. It has
two fossiliferous strata in it. The Holops speci-
men was found in the lower of the two strata.

The Hornerstown Marls have been considered
late upper Cretaceous in age for many years.
Recently, however, a member of the United States
Geological Survey has determined their age as
lower Tertiary. The Geological Survey of New
Jersey has accepted this correlation. As the
Hornerstown underlies typical Eocene deposits,
we may consider them Paleocene in age.

— Charles C. Mook.
MAMMALS
]/^ALAHARI Mammals Received. — One hun-
•'• "■ dred and sixty-four specimens of large mam-
mals of the Kalahari desert and the Transvaal
have recently been received from Mr. Arthur S.
Vernay as a further token of his unflagging in-
terest in this Museum. These specimens are a
part of the collection made by the Vernay-Lang
Kalahari Expedition, the story of which appears
in this issue of Natural Hlstory. The expedi-
tion was conducted for the benefit of the Field
Museum, the British Museum, the Transvaal
Museum, and the American Museum of Natural
History.

All of the specimens which constituted the
American Museum's share of the collection are
very desirable accessions. Of greatest interest

is a remarkable series of eighteen gemsbok, some
of which will be incorporated in a group in the
new African Hall. Accessories for this group
were also collected. A bull and a cow giraffe
received are of a race new to our collection. The
South African brown hysena is represented by
three good specimens. A Transvaal zebra is
new to the collection and of great interest be-
cause this subspecies is close to extinction. Other
animals in the allotment are: eland, kudu, roan
antelope, sable antelope, black wildebeeste,
tsessebe, blesbok, impalla, red hartebeeste,
lechwe, reedbuck, waterbuck, springbok, stein-
bok, duiker, wart hog, spotted hyaena, baboon,
and scaly anteater.

Besides the mammals, Mr. Vernay has pre-
sented us with two specimens of the wild Kala-
hari ostrich, and thi'ee beautifully prepared
albums of photographs from the expedition.

MEETINGS OF SOCIETIES
"T^HE Explorers Club. — At its meeting of
■'■ February 13, the Explorers Club elected Dr.
Roy Chapman Andrews as its president to succeed
George B. Heye, who has filled this office for
seven years. Other officers elected were Bassett
Jones, Richard B. Aldcroft, and Dr. Wm. S.
Ladd, vice-presidents; George N. Pindar,
secretary; and W. B. Clark, treasurer. Earl
Hanson was re-elected assistant secretary.

ON January 16, Mr. Lincoln Ellsworth re-
ceived from President Hoover a special
gold medal and, in return, presented to the
President the American flag carried over the
North Pole by the airship "Norge" on her
ffight in 1926 from Spitzbergen to Alaska. The
flag which was presented to the President has
been on exhibition in the American Museum
since the return of the expedition. It is a dupli-
cate of that presented by President Coolidge
to the expedition, and left at the Pole.

As the President presented the medal to Mr.
Ellsworth he said:

On behalf of the Congress of the United States it gives
me great pleasure to hand you this gold medal for your
conspicuous courage, sagacity, and perserverance on your
polar flight of 1925, and the transpolar flight of 1926.
Please accept my congratulations, and the congratulations
of the American people.

Mr. Ellsworth's response follows:

There are times when the silence of humility expresses
more than any words for I realize the insignificance of the
individual in every field of creative effort. That my two
comrades, one of whom, — intrepid soul bent on a mission of
mercy, remains swallowed up in the gray mists of the
Polar Sea, — should share the honor with me Tam, therefore,
glad.

The world soon forgets, Mr. President, so only through
material symbols may we hope to perpetuate deeds or
events. Such is the purpose of this flag I am privileged to
present to you today, — a remembrance of my gratitude.
It was carried across the Polar Sea from Spitzbergen to

NOTES

223

e? Only time can tHl.
power, and with
power uiitcilil pciasibilities. Modern nro-
Eresa moves uwiftlv. The blazed truil of the hi-irit of BXPLOiiATlON-^He
today becomes the paved luKhwiiy of bvmhoi- on the obveuse or the
tomorrow. So in a time not Co.sanE88lo.VAl, .\1edai.

far remote the world may '/'imt.i II i</< llor/./

wake to find a new hand-
maid of progress in the link-
ing of Occident and Orient
by a short route through
the air via the North Polo.
In the quest of the ex-
plorer it is fortunate that

and great adventure is
found often to contriljute
to the welfare of munkind.

IN Recognition of
^ Mrs. Mary L. Jobe
Akeley's first book,
Carl Akeley's Africa,
she has recently re-
ceived from Mt. Union
College the honorary
degree of Doctor of
,Literatui-e.l 'IMVj
MUSEUM
ACCESSIONS
/^ALTFORNIAN
^^ Indian Baskets.
— Thirty years ago,
through the generosity
of Mr. George Foster
Peabody, the depart-
ment of anthropology
received as a gift the
famous Briggs Basket-
ry Collection, which ,
at that time was un-
paralleled in the mu-
seums of the country,
containing as it did outstanding
examples of basketry weaving by
the Indians of British Columbia,
Alaska, Oregon, and California.
When Mr. C. F. Briggs turned
his collection over to the Mu-
seum, he declared his intention
of adding to it as opportunity
arose, but, unfortunately, all the
baskets collected by Mr. Briggs
were destroyed in the San Fran-
cisco file, following the earthquake. THE REVERSE OF THE MEDAL— THE
Recentlv, Mr. Briggs fulfilled this polar flight

Photograph
THE PRESENTATION CEHEMONV

LINCOLN ELLSWORTH RECEIVING THE GOLD MED.\L AW.\RDED
HIM BY ACT OF THE SEVENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE UNITED
STATES, IN RECOGNITION OF HIS COURAGE, SAGACITY, AND
PERSEVERANCE IN THE POLAR FLIGHT OF 1925, AN

TRANSPOLAR

OF 1926,

DIRIGIBLE

promise made so long ago, by

sending to the Museum a small

series of baskets made by the

Indians of California. Amonj;

these was a fine feather-<Jccf>-

rated Pomo bowl basket and

two of the unique miniature

decorated bowls made by the

Pomo, which invariably excite

interest and admiration and

which seemto be a modern devel-

opmi nt in their basketry art . The

smaller of these tiny bowls has a

base diameter of one

eighth of an inch; the

larger is three eighths

of an inch at the base.

/^AST OK Old May AN
^-^ Te.\ii'i,k on Exhi-
bition.— The depart-
ment of anthropology
has just installed in
Memorial Hall at the
American Museum a
east of temple E-VII
sub at Uaxaetun,
Guatemala. This is
the oldest temple yet
found in the Maya
area, and was uncov-
ered in perfect condi-
tion owing to its hav-
ing been buried under
another temple also
erected in prehistoric
times. This acquisition
was the generous gift
of the Carnegie Insti-
tution of Washington
v.'ith whom the Mu-
seum has been cooper-
ating for several years
in Middle American
archaeological research.
The model is by the distinguished
prepai-ator, S. J. Guernsey of
Cambridge, Massachusetts.

■"PHE False Killer Whale

■*■ {Pseudorca crassidens), a

large porpoise considerably

smaller than the true killer has

been little known, as it is among

the rarest of cetaceans. Though

individuals were reported from

New Zealand to the North Sea,

no museum was able to obtain a

224

NATURAL HISTORY

complete specimen of this animal in eighty
years of effort.

On October 19, 1927, a large school of whales
was stranded in Dornoch Firth, near Inverness,
Scotland. Upon receipt of this news, Mr. M. A.
C: Hinton of the British Museum, rushed to the
Firth, as he was anxious to obtain statistical
information on a large group of whales. To his
great surprise, he found that here he had a school
of the rare Pseudarca. Such a unique oppor-
tunity was fortunately utiUzed to the fullest
extent. With the assistance of the local people,
Mr. Hinton set about the task of making dis-
sections, stomach examinations, and measure-
ments of the animals, and of saving all possibls
specimens. Owing to good management and
favorable weather 127 skeletons were recovered.
Two specimens were sent in the flesh to London,
where one of them was cast.

A few months later the American Museum of
Natural History secured an eighteen-foot baby
sperm whale that had become stranded in the
Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn. This specimen was
cast and dissected, and casts of the sperm whale
and the false killer whale were exchanged by the
two museums.

The cast of Pseudorca is fourteen and one-half
feet long, and colored to represent a living in-
dividual. It is to be hung in the hall of ocean
life, where it will form a valued addition to the
American Museum's already remarkable series
of whale casts and models. — R. T. Hatt.

X TEW Fly Collection. — The collections of the
'■ ^ department of insects of the American
Museum have recently been enriched by the
addition of the H. C. Curran collection of flies.
These more than 10,000 specimens add approxi-
mately 1700 species to the Museum series.
Speaking geographically, the collection is par-
ticularly strong in exotic forms. From the stand-
point of classification, the family of Syrphidse is
especially well represented. This family con-
tains important enemies of plant-Uce. How-
ever, the most noteworthy feature of the collec-
tion is its large number (about 400) of types of
new species described by Mr. Curran before his
coming to the American Museum.

FISHES

THE Bbebe Exhibit of Fishes. — During
February a series of paintings, photographs,
and specimens was on exhibit in Education Hall,
of the American Museum showing some of the
results of the 1929-1930 Bermuda Oceanographic
Expedition of the New York Zoological Society,
under the directorship of William Beebe.
The Expedition's research station is on Non-

such Island, one of the Bermudas, lent to it by
the British government. Here Doctor Beebe
and his staff have spent the last two seasons
studying the life of the ocean and steadily im-
proving their methods of investigations.

For the study of the material of the great
depths, dredges and nets were used. Day after
day, for months the Expedition drew nets through
an imaginary but fixed submarine cylinder, five
miles off shore, eight miles in diameter, and one
half to one mile below the surface. The interest
of this catch of thousands of deep-sea fish is
that they came from a vertical zone between five
hundred and one thousand fathoms deep and
from a definitely limited circle.

With the aid of artists it was possible to record
scenes from the lives of these deep-sea fishes and
to study them while they were still fresh and icy
cold from the depths of the ocean, making color
notes and photographs, notes on length of
viability, character of swimming, shape while
still unshrunken, luminescence, etc., and to
secure accurate data as to eggs and food.

By a special chemical process. Miss HoUister
produced the transparent preparations shown in
the exhibit. No dissecting knife has touched
these; they have remained natural in size, shape,
and structure, but the skin and flesh have be-
come transparent, and the skeleton, stained a
brilliant scarlet, has come into plain view.

When nearly a hundred nets have been
drawn at a uniform depth of eight hundred
fathoms across this cylinder of water, the study of
their contents will reveal real relationships as to
numbers, age, sex, as to which are prey, which are
dominant, what proportion make their hving by
blind feeling, or by a combination of large eyes
and abundant luminescence.

On June 11, 1930, for the first time in the
history of scientific inquiry, the life of the ocean
depths a quarter of a mile down was visible to
man — depths to which, up to the present time,
no human being has ever penetrated.

This was due to Otis Barton's invention — the
bathysphere. The bathysphere is a steel sphere
or tank, weighing five thousand pounds. It is
four feet nine inches in diameter, with walls at
least an inch and a half thick. Over the man-
hole is a four-hundred-pound door fastened with
ten large bolts. The three windows, through
which the occupants can watch the life of the
depths, axe cylinders of fused quartz, which is non-
distorting. They are eight inches in diameter and
three inches thick. The tank accommodates two
persons. Air is provided by two oxygen tanks
clamped to the wall, and a special valve set to
allow the escape of two litres of oxygen per

NOTES

225

luiiiiito. Ono I link lastH about, tJireo lioufH.
J'alm-lcaf tans keep the air in oireulution. Wire
mesh trays above each oxygen tank eoiitain
respectively soda lime to take up the carbon
dioxide, and calcium chloride to absorb the
moisture. To the bathysphere are attadied
3500 feet of non-twisting steel cable on which
it is lowered. It is supplied with electric lights
and telephone connection with the boat above
through a half mile of solid rubber hose.

A test dive of the empty bathysphere was
made on June 1 1 ; it was lowered to a distance of
2450 feet below the surface of the water. The
greatest depth to which it descended when occu-
pied was 1426 feet. At 1450 teet, the i)ressure
of the water upon the sphere from all directions
was calculated. It was 33,666.2 tons'

For next year, Mr. Beebe and his staff have
set themselves four objectives in the use of this in-
vention: (1) to descend to 500 or 600 fathoms,
that is, 3000 to 3600 feet; (2) to remain for
several hours continually at certain definite
depths for prolonged observation; (3) to carry
out definite tests of light, pressure, and tempera-
ture with adequate instruments; (4) to trace the
gradual change from shallow water fauna to that
of the deep sea.

NEW PUBLICATIONS

TN these two stately volumes "Mr. Every-
man," for whom the work has been so care-
fully planned and \wought out, may range with
unflagging interest through section after section
and chapter after chapter. For this work very
successfully describes that life of which the
reader is a part, it opens to him the resources of
science in many directions, it has many practical
bearings on the care of his physical and mental
health and the conduct of his life.

The senior author began his scientific career
as a biologist in the laboratory of the elder
Huxley, and at heart he has always remained a
biologist, although using the medium of the
imaginative novel to arouse mankind to a sense
of their own biological nature and sociological
destmy. In the present work he has wisely asso-
ciated with himself two partners: the brilliant
grandson of the elder Huxley and his own son
G. P. Wells of Trinity College, Cambridge and
University College, London; together they bring
to the work all the learning and resources of these
great modern centers.

All three authors have collaborated very
closely and effectively in the production of a plan
that comprises the followmg main topics: The
Living Body, The Chief Patterns of Life, The

Incontrovertible Fact of Evolution, The History
and Adventures of I-ife, The Spectacle of Life
(Ecology), Health and Disease, Behavior,
Thought and Feeling, Biology of the Human
Race. From one end to the other the work ie
preiimment for its leisurely thoroughness, for the
care with which statements of facts liave been
checked, for its restraint and fairness, and
for its far-reaching applications of biological
knowledge to every-day life and philosophy.
— W. K. G.

/^OLORED plates are the most valuable
^^ feature of any book which is designed to
help us to know the birds. Here is a little book
containing good colored fjlates of seventy-two
of our commonest land birds, excej)t birds of
jirey, of Eastern North America. In many cases
the sexes are different, and in these both the male
and the female are shown on the plate. Besides
these, there are two full-page colored plates
which show the eggs of all .seventy-two species
m correct color and markings and in their rela-
tive sizes. The colored plates of the birds and
the eggs were made by Merle \'. Keith.

There is a Ime-drawing of the robin with the
external parts of the bird labeled, and there are
three or four line-drawings to show how birds are
measured. The relative sizes of birds for com-
parison is more adequately done then in any book
I know. Instead of having two or three well
known birds as units of comparison, in this book
the following six birds are drawn to correct rela-
tive scale; hummingbird, chipping sparrow,
bluebird, robin, blue jay, and crow.

Two pages are allotted to each bu^d in the
book, one page being devoted to the colored
plate and the oppo.site page to the text. In the
latter we find the range, season, size, nesting
habits, and other significant and interesting
facts. Below each plate is space for field notes.

The book is small, about 4K"X6", and about
one-half inch thick, very convenient in size for
the pocket. It is indeed a very useful field-
book.

William H. Carr is assistant curator in the
department of public education of the American
Museum, and is also the author of The Stir of
Nature (Oxford University Press) which ap-
peared last fall.

The author is perhaps best known for his out-
standing work during the last four years in
developing the outdoor museum and nature
trails at Bear Mountain in Palisades Interstate
Park, which are under the direction of the Ameri-
can Museum of Natural History.

226

NATURAL HISTORY

He has had abundant experience to quaUfy
him to prepare a useful and attractive field-
book, containing only the essentials, and he has
done it well. — Clyde Fisheh.

THE COVER OF "NATURAL HISTORY"
nPHE cover painting by Arthur A. Jansson
^ depicts a lama turning a prayer wheel which
the Mongolian girl has just visited. These
prayer wheels — some large, some small — are
outside of every Mongolian temple and often on
the street corners of Urga. Pilgrims frequently
drop prayers written on paper into the top of the
wheel, then give it a few turns. Every turn, by
whomever made, sends up to the Buddha heaven
all the prayers that the receptacle contains.
Prayer flags are carried by every caravan and
flutter from every jnort. Whenever the wind
blows these flags, prayers are sent to heaven.
Sometimes prayer wheels are cleverly an'anged

near a stream so that they are turned by the
current. Thus night and day prayers are being
said for the owner of the wheel without effort on
his part.

The woman shown in the painting is of the
Khalka tribe of Northern Mongols. These
women wear theu' hair elaborately dressed over a
framework which resembles the horns of a moun-
tain sheep, and very probably originated from
the horns of the great Ovis ammon, found wild in
Northern Mongolia. Women wear on their
heads a silver filigree cap, studded with jewels for
the rich and with colored glass for the poor.
Stones and precious stones are also used to
adorn various parts of the hair, and when a
woman is in full dress, the braids hanging below
her waist are encased in jewel-studded cylinders
of gold or silver.

The painting is based on photographs taken
by the Central Asiatic Expeditions.

NEW MEMBERS

Since the last issue of Natural History, th e following
persons have been elected members of the American Mu-
seum, making the total membership 12,015.

Mr. D. E. Pomerot.

Associate Founder
Messrs. George T. Bowdoin, J. S. Morgan, Jr., C.
Oliver O'Donnell.

Patrons
Mesdames William* H. Collins, James C. Gheenwav.
Doctors James C. Greenwat, Leonard C. Sanford.
Messrs. Franklin Edson, 3d., Lincoln Ells-h-orth.

Honorary Fellow

Mr. Arthur S. Verna

ilfr. S. W. Childs.

Honorary Life Meinber
Mr. Daniel Bacon.

Life Members
Mesdames Frederic Godfrey Bird, Julia Winchell.
Dr. William Hall Holden.
Messrs. Arthur Downing, William White Howells.

Sustaining Members
Mesdames R. Osgood Mason, T. Suffern Tailer.
Miss Gertrude Dodd.
Mr. W. U. Parsons.

Annual Members
Doctors Allis F. Hascall, Gertrude G. Mack.

Mesdames William R. Begq, Paul C. Colonna, Richard

Knight, E. S. McManus, Jefferson Penn, L. P. Sawyer,

Junius M. Stevens.

Misses Edith Mastin, Nava E. McUmber.

Reverends Ivar Hellstrom, Robert Norwood.

Messrs. Sigmund S. Albert, A. S. Bedell, Morris
Berkqwitz, Thomas J. Dohehty. William V. R. Erving,
Joseph L. Gitterman, Lee A. Greenb.«tm, Jr., A.

Hjoet, K. J. Hollinshead, Henry St. John Hyde,
Abraham Kaufman, Geo. G. Klopstock, Kenneth
A. McIntyre, Robert E. Morse, Samuel L. Nicholson,
Alexander McLean Nicolson, S. I. Oesterreicher,
Lee J. Perrin, William C. Peterman, Robert Plaut,
David Posner, Allan M. Price, Silas S. Reynolds,
Charles L. Robinson, Edward A. Ruppell, Jacob

SCHECHTER, HaRRY ScHERMAN, JoHN E. ScHMICH, FRED-
ERICK H. Shaw, George C. Sharp, Carl Sieburg,
Jr., Manlio A. Smil.ari, F. J. Spruijt, John N. Staples,
Osc.iR E. Stevens, Henry C. Tay-lor, George J. Thom-
son, E. R. Tinker, Norm.an E. Webster, H. D. Weiser,
J. C. YaphiS.

Associate Members
Sister Prudentia Morin.

Mesdames Dorothy Allhusen, David A. Belden,
Grace West Cooke, F. C. Harris, John J. McKeon,
Edwin F. Metcalf, James T. Porter, Warren T.
Vaughan. C. D. Weimer.

Misses Gertrude Abbott, Olivia Barres, Pearl
Heaps, Mary Heumphreus, Myrtle E. Pritchett,
Crystal Thompson, Betty L. Wagner.

Rev. John Compton.

Professor Doctors Edmund Graefe, H. F. Nierstrasz.

Comdr. H. G. He.m

Capta

Doctors H. A. Bulger, J. Paul Goode, K.arl Graefe,
Alfred T. Gundry, Chas. S. Lynch, Monroe A. McIveb,

C. Hart Merriman, L. M. Thompson, G. Widmer,
Harry Whiting Woodw.ard.

Messrs. J. C. Bello Lisboa, Luis Benedito, H. J. Br^do;
Laurence Hulton Bunner, Henry H. Chatpield,
Campbell Church, Jr., E. J. Costello, E. C. Curtis,
Luis de Ascascbi, Wm. M. Donlin, Eugene H. Dooman,
Ernest A. Dry, El Comancho, Proschek Ehwin,
Martin Haerelson, B. F. Hawley, Jr., G. B. Hazle-
HURST, Henry Grover George Hirsch, L. Harris
HiscoCK, Leon B. Hovey, Charles Bowman Hutchins,

D. E. Keeler, Kenneth Kendall, Jr., John J. Kenney,
Henry M. Kennon, Ellsworth P. Killip, C. Kloos,
Henry B. Lane, Harold F. Lloyd, Albert Mann, Phillip
Martindale, Jewell Mayes, Francis H. McConnell,
Jr., Z. P. Metcalf, George A. Moore, Alfred J. Nel-
son, L. C. Peltier, Y; C. Poon, G. E. Prentice, L. C.
Proesch, Archibald Raff, W. G. Schlecht, Louis H.
ScHLOJi, Jack Scott, Jr., Lodovic Sheid, De Cost Smith,
Starr Trusoott, Joseph Walker, J. C. Whetzel, N. E.
WiDDELL, Harry G. C. Williams.

Master Bobby Godfrey.

C. E. Piatt.

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
FOUNDED IN 1869

Board of Trustees

Henry Faihfjeld Osboiin, President

Geobqe F. Bakeb, First Vice- Soydam Cdttin-q A. Perrt O.sborn

President Frederick Tiiubeb Davison Daviel E. Pouehoy

J. P. Mohqan, Second Vice- Cleveland Earl Dodge George D. Pratt

President Lincoln Ellsworth H. Rivi.vgton Pynb

James H. Perkins, Treasurer Childs Frick A. Hamilton Rice

Clarence L. Hay, Secretary Madison Grant Kermit Roosevelt

George F. Baker, Jb. Chauncey J. Hamlin Henry W. Sage

George T. Bovpdoin Archer M. Huntington Leonard C. Sanford

Frederick F. Brewster Ogden L, Mills William K. V'andekbilt

William Douglas Burden Junius Si'encbr Morgan, Jr. Felix M. Wabbuho

Cornelius Vandehbilt Whitney

James J. Walker, Mayor of the City of New York

Charles W. Berry, Comptroller of the City of New York

Walter R. Herrick, Commissioner of the Department op Parks

SIXTY years of public and scientific service have won for the American Museum of Natural
History a position of recognized importance in the educational and scientific life of the nation,
and in the jjrogress of civilization throughout the world. Expeditions from the .American
Museum and members of the scientific staff are interested in facts of science wherever thev
may be found. As a result, representatives of this institution are forever studying, investigat-
ing, exploring not merely in their laboratories and their libraries, but actuallj'" in the field, in
remote and uncivihzed corners of the world, as well as in lands nearer home.

From these adventuring scientists and from observers and scientists connected with other
institutions. Natural History Magazine obtains the articles that it publishes. Thus it is able
to present to the members of the American Museum the most f;yscinating, the most important,
and the most dramatic of the facts that are being added to the Museum's store of knowledge or
are being deposited in this and in other institutions.

MEMBERSHIP MORE THAN TWELVE THOUSAND
For the enlargement of its collections, for the support of its exploration and scientific research
and for the maintenance of its many pubhcations, the American Museum is dependent wholly
upon members' fees and the generosity of its friends. More than 12,000 members are now enrolled
and are thus supporting the work of the Museum. There are ten different classes of members, which
are as follows:

Associate Member (nonresident)* annually $3

Annual Member annually $10

Sustaining Member annually $25

Life Member $200

Fellow $500

Patron $1,000

Associate Benefactor $10,000

Associate Founder $25,000

Benefactor $50,000

Endowment Member $100,000

*Persons residing fifty miles or more from New York City

Memberships are open to all those interested in natural history and in the American Museum.
Subscriptions by check, and inquiries regarding membership should be addressed; James H. Perkins.
Treasurer, American Museum of Natural History, New York City.

FREE TO MEMBERS

NATURAL HISTORY: JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM
This magazine, published bi-monthly by the American Museum, is sent to all classes of
members, as one of their privileges.

AUTUMN AND SPRING COURSES OF PUBLIC LECTURES
Series of illustrated lectures held on alternate Thursday evenings in the autumn and spring of

the year are open only to members or to those holding tickets given them by members.

In addition to these lectures, illustrated stories for the children of members are presented on

alternate Saturday mornings in the autumn and in the spring.

MEMBERS' CLUB ROOM AND GUIDE SERVICE
A handsome room on the third floor of the Museum, equipped with every convenience for rest,
reading, and correspondence, is set apart during Museum hours for the exclusive use of membera
when visiting the Museum. Members are also privileged to avail themselves of the services ot an
instructor for guidance.

SCIENCE ff MUSEUM M RESEARCH

EDUCATION B, ^IVJ^ M EXPLORATION

IXTIETH ANNIVERSARY ENDOWMENT FUND. Already, $2,500,000 has been
contributed to this $10,000,000 fund, opened to commemorate the Sixtieth Anniversary
of the Founding of the American Museum of Natural History and to further the growth
of its world-wide activities in Exploration, Research, Preparation, Exhibition, PubUoa-
tion, and Education. Committees are now engaged in seeking the $7,500,000 which remains to be
contributed. It is greatly to be desired that this fund, so vital to the scientific and educational
progress of the Museum, shall reach completion at an early date.

SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS of the Museum, based on its explorations and the study
of its collections, include the Memoirs, devoted to monographs requiring large or fine illustrations
and exhaustive treatment; the Bulletin, issued in octavo form since 1881, deaUng with the scientific
activities of the departments except for the department of anthropology; the Anthropological
Papers, which record the work of the department of anthropology; and Novitates, which are devoted
to the pubhcation of preliminary scientific announcements, descriptions of new forms, and similar
matter.

POPULAR PUBLICATIONS, as well as scientific ones, come from the American Museum
Press, which is housed within the Museum itseU. In addition to Natural History
Magazine, the journal of the American Museum, the popular publications include many hand-
books, which deal with subjects illustrated by the collections, and guide leaflets which describe
individual exhibits or series of exhibits that are of especial interest or importance. These are all
available at purely nominal cost to anyone who cares for them.

THE LIBRARY of the American Museum is available for those interested in scientific re-
search or study on natural history subjects. It contains 115,000 volumes, and for the accommo-
dation of those who wish to use this storehouse of knowledge, a well-equipped and well-manned
reading room is provided. The Library may be called upon for detailed lists of both popular and
scientific pubhcations with their prices.

SCHOOL SERVICE. The increased facilities offered by this department of the Museum
make it possible to augument greatly the Museum's work, not only in New York City public schools,
but also throughout the United States. More than 22,500,000 coiitacts were made with boys and
girls in the schools of Greater New York alone, and educational institutions in more than thirty
states took advantage of the Museum's free film service during 1930. Inquiries from all over the
United States, and even from many foreign countries are constantly coming to the school service
department. Thousands of lantern sUdes are prepared at cost for distant educational institutions,
and the American Museum, because of this and other phases of its work, can more and more be
considered not a local but a national — even an international — institution.

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

77th STREET and CENTRAL PARK WEST
NEW YORK, N. Y.

N ATU RAL

""IS

Vol. XXXI, No. 3

1931

May-June

GORILLAS OF THE BELGIAN CONGO FOREST

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN
MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Fifty Cents
a Copy

NEW YORK, N. Y.

Three Dollars
a Year

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

FOUNDED IN 1869

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

* FiistVice-President Clevel.ojd Earl Dodge D.\niel E. Pomeroy

J. P. Morgan, Second Vice-President Lincoln Ellsworth George D. Pratt

James H. Perkins, Treasurer Childs Frick H. Rivington Pyne

Clarence L. Hay, Secretary Madison GrjVnt A. Hamilton Rice

George F. Baker, Jr. Chauncey J. Hamlin Kermit Roosevelt

George T. Bowdoin Archer M. Huntington Henry W. Sage

Frederick F. Brewster Ogden L. Mills Leonard C. Sanford

William Douglas Burden Junius Spencer Morgan, Jr. William K. Vanderbilt

SuYDAM Cutting A. Perry Osborn Felix M. Warburg

Frederick Trubee Davison Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney

James J. Walker, Mayor of the City of New York
Charles W. Berry, Comptroller of the City of New York
Walter R. Herrick, Commissioner of the Department of Park?

"^George F. Baker, formerly First Vice-President, deceased May 2, 1931

administrative staff

'' George H. Sherwood, Director and Executive Secretary

Roy Chapman Andrews, Vice-Director (In Charge of Exploration and Research)
James L. Clark, Vice-Director (In Charge of Preparation and Exhibition)
Wayne M. Faunce, Assistant Director (General Administration) and Assistant Secretary
(United States Trust Company of New York, Assistant Treasurer
Frederick H. Smyth, Bursar George N. Pindar, Registrar

Francis Bushell, Assistant Bursar Ethel L. Newman, Assistant Registri

H. F. Beers, Chief of Construction H. J. Langham, Chief Engineer

J. B. FouLKE, Superintendent of Buildings

SCIENTIFIC STAFF

Henry Fairfield Osborn, D.Sc, LL.D., President

George H. Sherwood, Ed.D., Director

Roy Chapman Andrews, Sc.D., Vice-Director (In Charge of Exploration and Research)

James L. Clark, Vice-Director (In Charge of Preparation and Exhibition)

DEPARTMENTAL STAFFS
Astronomy

Clyde Fisher, Ph.D., LL.D., Curator

Minerals and Gems

Herbert P. Whitlock, C.E., Curator

George F. Kunz, Ph.D., Research Associate in Gems

Fossil Vertebrates

Henry Fairfield Osborn, D.Sc, LL.D., Honorary

Curator-in-Chief
Childs Frick, B.S., Honorary Curator of late Tertiary and

Quaternary Mammals
Walter Granger, Curator of Fossil Mammals
Barnum Brown, A.B., Curator of Fossil Reptiles
G. G. Simpson, Ph.D., Associate Curator of Vertebrate

PalEeontology
Charles C. Mook, Ph.D., Associate Curator of Geology

and Paleontology
Rachel A. Husband, A.M., Staff Assistant
Walter W. Holmes, Field Associate in PalEeontology

Cheste

Geology and Fossil Invertebrates
i A. Reeds, Ph.D., Curator

Living Invertebrates

Roy Waldo Miner, Ph.D., Sc.D., Curator
Willard G. Van Name, Ph.D., Associate Curator
Frank J. Myers, Research Associate in Rotifera
Horace W. Stunkard, Ph.D., Research Associate in

Parasitology
A. L. Treadwell, Ph.D., Research Associate in Annulata

Insect Life

Frank E. Lutz, Ph.D., Curator

A. J. MuTCHLER, Associate Curator of Coleoptera

C. H. Cuhhan, M.S., Assistant Curator

Frank E. Watson, B.S., Staff Assistant in Lepidoptera

William M. Wheeler, Ph.D., LL.D., Research Associate

in Social Insects
Charles W. Leng, B.Sc, Research Associate in Coleoptera
Herbert F. Schwarz, A.M., Research Associate in

Hymenoptera

SCIENTIFIC STAFF Continuedj

Wi;

Living and Extinct Flshea

K. CluKooKV, Ph.D., Curutor-in-Chicf*

J(HiN T. NicHOLH, A.B., Curalor of Recent Fishes

10. W. GuDOBtt, Ph.D., UiblioKmplier and AwHociiitc

Fjiancehca R, LaMontk, A.R., Awflietant Curator

CiiAui.icH H. TowsKND, Sc.D., RcHCiiroh Associuto

C. M. HnicDEit, Jr., Ronearch Asfiociate

LouiH IJusSAKOF, Pji.D., ReHoai'ch Associate in Devonian

Fishes
Van Campen Heilnbu, M.Sc, Field Representative

*AIso Roaearrh Asflooiate in PahnontoIoKy and AHsociate
in Phyaicftl Anthropolotiy

Amphibians and Reptiles, and Experimental
Biology

G. KiNGBLEY Noble, Ph.D., Curator
Clifford H. Pope, U.S., Asaiatant Curator
Helen Tbale Bradley, A.B., Staff Assistant
I-eah B. Richards, M.A., StafT Assistant
Bertram G. Smith, Ph.D., Research Associate
William DouciLAe Burden. A. M., Research Associate
Frank S. Mathews, M.D., Research Aesociate
PIomer W. Smith, Sc.D., Research Associate
O. M. Helfp, Ph.D., Research Associate

Anthropology (Cent.)

Gkoucje C. \'aillant, Pri.D., A)u(ociat« Curator of Mexican

AreiiUJoloBy
if AiiitY L. Shapiro. Ph.D., AMtociatv Curator of PhyHicul

AnthropoIoKi'
Margahkt Mkad. Ph.D., Aiwitttant Curator of Ethnology
Ronald L. Olson, Ph.D.. .^ueiatant Curator of South

American ArchaioIoKy
Clabenck L. Hay, A.M., RpBcarch AMociate id Mexican

and Central Anierican Arclia.'olfjgy
MXLO IIellman, D.D.R., Ro*«ar<h Aruiociate in Physical

Anthropology
George E. Huewkr, M.D., LL.D., Research Aju»ociatc in

Somatic Antiir<ip"lo(ry.

Asiatic Exploration and Research
Roy Chapman Anukewk. Sc.D.. ruraU>r-in-Chief
Walter GnANCER, Curator in Pala>oDtology
Charles P. Bekkey, Ph.D.. |CoIumbia Univorsityl.

Research Associate in Geology
Amadeus W. Gkaoau, S.D., (Geological Sur\'ey of Chinal,

Research Associate
PfeRE Teiluard de Chardis (Geological Survey of Chtnaj.

Research Associate; in Mammalian Palaeontology

Birds

Frank M. Chapman, Sc.D., Curator-in-Chief

Robert Cushman Murphy, D.Sc, Curator of Oceanic

Birds
James P. Chapin, Ph.D., Associate Curator of Birds of the

Eastern Plemisphere
John T. Zimmee, B.S., M.A., Associate Curator of Birds

of the Western Hemisphere
Elsie M. B. Naumburg, Research Associate

Mammals of the "World

H. E. Anthony, M.A., Curator

Robert T. Hatt, A.M., Assistant Curator

George G. Goodwin, Assistant Curator

G. H. H. Tate, Assistant Curator of South American

Mammals
William J. Morden, Ph.D., Field Associate

Comparative and Human Anatomy

William K. Gregory, Ph.D., Curator

H. C. Raven, Associate Curator

S. H. Chubb, Associate Curator

Marcelle Roigneau, Staff Assistant in Comparative

Anatomy
J. Howard McGregor, Ph.D., Research Associate in

Human Anatomy
Dudley J. Morton, M.D., Research Associate

Anthropology

Clark Wissler, Ph.D., LL.D.', Curator-in-Chief

N. C. Nelson, M.L., Curator of Prehistoric Archseology

Preparation and Exhibition
James L. Clark, Vice- Dire^' tor ( In Cliarge)
Albert E. Bctleh. As.sociatc> Chief

EDUCATION. LIBRARY AND
PUBLICATION STAFF
George H. Sherwood. Ed.D.. Curator-in-Chief
Clyde Fisher, Ph.D.. LL.D., Curator of L'niversity.

College, and Adult Education
Grace Fisher Ramsey, -\ssoriate Curator
William H. Carr. Assistant Curator
Dorothy A. Bennett, A.B., StafT Assistant
Paul B. Mann. A.AL, Associate in Education
Frank E. Lutz, Ph.D., Research Associate in Outdoor

Education

Library and Publications

Ida Richardson Hood, A.B.. Curator
Hazel Gay, Assistant Librarian

Jannette I\Lvy Lucas. B.S.. Assistant Librarian — Osborn
Librarj'

Printing and Publishing
Hawthorne Daniel, Curator, Editor of Natural History
A. Katherine Berger, Associate Editor of Natural

History
Ethel J. Timonier, Associate Editor of Scientific Publica-

Public and Press Information

George N. Pindar, Chairman

Entered as second-class matter April 3, 1919, at the Post Ofl&ce
at New York, New York, under the Act of Augast 24, 1912.

Acceptance for mailing at spscial rate of postage provided for in
Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized on July 15, 1918.

BLAZING THE TRAIL

THOSE readers of Natural History who have
enjoyed in former issues Dr. Frank M.
Chapman's delightful tales about the wild life of
Barro Colorado Island, entitled "Homes of a
Hummer" and "The Conquest of Claudia,"
will hail with pleasure his most recent observa-
tions on the tropical life of this island in the
Canal Zone. In the July-August issue, Doctor
Chapman will tell what he saw and heard from his
airy perch near a 150-foot almendi-o tree near the
Biological Station where, as curator-in-chief of
the American Museum's
department of birds, he is
working out certain scien-
tific problems.

AN article on some of
L the more intimate
phases of camp life in the
Gobi and in China will be
contributed by Mr.
Walter Granger, who has
been chief palaeontologist
and second in command
of the Central Asiatic
Expedition since its
inception in 1921. He
will speak of the climate,
of the method of travel,
of the camps and the
water, fuel and food sup-
ply, of the Chinese and
Mongol servants, and the
native technical assistants
who have been trained
by the Expedition to great
proficiency in the col-
lecting and preparation
of specimens, and of the
diversions which help to
break the monotony of

THE COVER OF THIS ISSUE

THE cover of this issue of Nat-
ural History, from a paint-
ing by Mr. Arthur Jansson, depicts
a family of gorillas at home in the
mountains of the eastern Belgian
Congo. The mountain gorilla in-
habits the highlands which form the
western border of the Albertine Rift
Valley and the Kivu volcanoes
which have been thrust up in the
valley itself. The gorillas are shown
in a typical setting of the Kivu
region. The forest in comprised of
scattered trees, between which
grows an incredible mass of suc-
culent herbs and vines that form the
bulk of the gorillas' food. Gorillas
are sociable, sometimes living in
groups of fifteen or more. The pic-
ture shows an adult male, standing,
and a female with a baby about two
years old.

ancient capital of the Incan Empire, down a
broad valley, and into the wild gorge of the
Urumbamba River, one of the tributaries of the
Amazon.

ANOTHER article on Peru will be contributed
k by Dr. Ronald L. Olson, assistant curator of
South American archaeology, at the American
Museum. The earlier article, "Old Empires of
the Andes" was an attempt to outline the pre-
history of the Andean region in terms under-
standable to the layman.
In the coming article the
editors have succeeded in
persuading Doctor Olson
to throw aside for the once,
his scientific caution and
to attempt to make his
mummies come to life and
live again for a day their
pagan life. "A Day in
Nazca" will be a picture
of a day's events in the
valley of Nazca fifteen
hundred years ago — cen-
turies before the rise of
the Inca power.

the five months' isolation and routine work.

AS the first white woman to visit the village of
L Budru, high in the mountains of Bougain-
ville, Miss Beatrice Blackwood was an object of
no little interest to the natives. However, these
people of the South Sea Islands, their manner of
living, and their strange customs were of even
greater interest to Miss Blackwood. In an article
which will appear in the coming issue of Natural
History she will give an account of a visit to
Budru and two other viOages which are tucked
away deep in a mountain forest far from the
civilized world.

IN the gorge of the Urubamba River only a
short distance from where the ruins of Macchu
Picchu overhang the valley, the Ottley-Anthony
South American Expedition established its first
collecting base. A railroad is being built down
the Urubamba Valley, and steel has been laid
from Cuzco as far as the foot of the slope that
climbs to the site of the once flourishing city of
Macchu Picchu. Mr. H. E. Anthony, curator of
mammals at the American Museum, will tell the
story of the expedition's trip by means of a
"fcrrocaril" or rail automobile, from Cuzco
up over the mountain ramparts that hem in this

HERE is nearing com-
pletion at the present
time in the new Hall of
Ocean Life the gigantic
Coral Reef Group which
depicts a section of the
coral reef barrier of
Andros Island in the
Bahamas. During the
past six years scientists,
artists, and preparators
have devoted to this an
amazing amount of work
both in the field and in the Museum. Dr. Roy
Waldo Miner, curator of living invertebrates at
the American Museum, will present for Natural
History readers the romance of this undertaking
— and the many problems that had to be solved
in bringing a section of this coral reef to the heart
of New York.

THE work of the United States Naval Observa-
tory will be described in the next issue of
Natural History by Capt. J. F. Hellweg,
U.S.N., superintendent of that institution.

It has been the good fortune of Natural
History Magazine to be able to present to its
readers many of Alfred M. Bailey's charming
bird studies, and the July-August number will
have another treat in the story of "Sac-a-
Plomb," the elusive little pied-billed water
sprite that nests in the inland ponds and lakes of
our northern states during the latter part of April.

EVERY summer the Trailside Museum, at
Rear Mountain becomes host to a number
of unusual pets. WilUam H. Carr, assistant
curator in the education department of the
American Museum, will tell in the coming issue
about the personalities and activities of some of
these animal visitors.

VOLUME XXXI IN/v 1 vJ rv/vL .MAYJL'XK

NUMDKR 3 I ¥ I ^ TP/^^ D \X '^^'

TJw Journal of The American Museum of Natural History

Hawthorne Daniel ^^^^^K> A Kathehine Behger

Editor ^^^HH^^V Associate Editor

CONTENTS

Gorillas of the Belgian Congo Forest Cotwr

From a Painting by Arthur A. Janason (See page 228)

The Atlas Mountains, Morocco Frontispiece

Gorilla: The Greatest of All Apes H. C. Raven 231

Adventures of the Columbia University-American Museum Expedition Collecting GorUlas

A Bearded Mvstery George C. Vaillaxt 243

An Attempt to Establish the Authenticity of an Un\isual Archn'ological Specimen from Mexico

The Fishermen of Gloucester Francesca R. LaMonte 253

Hardy Adventurers Who Wrest a Living from the Treacherous Seas of the North Atlantic

The Great Kalahari Sand Veldt: Part II Arthur S. Vernav 262

The Picturesque Natives of the Desert Regions of South Africa

At the Sea Shore Paul B. Manx 275

Homes and Habits of Some of the Animals of the Sea Shore

The Origin of Domestic Cattle Arthur T. Semple 287

The Progenitors of One of the Most Important of Our Domestic Animals

Boa Constrictors and Other Pets Paul Griswold Howes 300

The Curious Dispositions of Some Island Reptiles

Wild Bees of Morocco T. D. A. Cockerell 310

Studying Isolated Species in the Mountains of North Africa

"Gallant Fox" and "Man O' War" S. Harmsted Chubb 318

Two Great Race Horses of the Past Decade

George Fisher Baker, 1840-1931 Henry Fairfield Osborn 328

The Proposed Pacaraima- Venezuela Expedition G. H. H. Tate 330

American Museum Expeditions and Notes 331

Published bimonthly by The American Museum of Natural History, New York, N. Y, Sub-
scription price, S3 a year.

Subscriptions should be addressed to James H. Perkins, Treasurer, American Museum of Natural
History, 77th St. and Central Park West, New York, N. Y.

Natural History is sent to all members of the American Museum as one of the privileges of member-
ship.

Garaud Photograph
THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS, MOROCCO
The fauna of Morocco attracts the naturahst for many reasons. There is a cool coast belt, a heated
interior, and the great series of mountains known as the Atlas Mountains

(See "The Wild Bees of Morocco" Page SIO]

VOLUME
XXXI

NATU RAL
HISTORY

NUMBER
THREE

MAY-JUNK, 19;u

GORILLA: THE GREATEST OF ALL APES

The Adventures of the Cohimbia University-American Museum ICxpeditidri
Collecting Gorillas in the Equatorial Forests of Africa

Bv H. C. RAVEN

Associate Curator, Comparative and Human Anatomy. American Museum

The Columbia University-American Museum Expedilinn to Africa was senl out in Matj of 1929, from
the department of anatomy of the College of Plii/siciinis iiml .^tiriiions of Columbia University, and from
the department of comparative anatomy of the Aiiurinni Mas, um of Natural History, to secure enlire
well-preserved adult gorillas and other African priiiialcs fur aiuituinical study. The expedition wasumkrlhe^
leadership of "Mr. Raven, and included Dr. W. K. Gregory of Columbia University and the American
Museum; Dr. J. H. McGregor of Cohimbia; and Dr. E. T. Engle of the College of PhysicioTis and
Surgeons. In August, 1929, two adult gorillas were obtained in the Kivu, and the party proceeded down
the Congo to West Africa, cohere they hoped to colled additional gorillas and chimpanzees. Doctor Engle
returned to America directly from the Belgian Congo, while Mr. Raven, Doctor Gregory, and Doctor
McGregor went to the French Cameroon. At the end of one and one-half months, the two latter men re-
turned to America, leamng Mr. Raven in the field until January of this year, hi west Africa Mr. Raven
collected three adult gorillas and three chimpanzees, all of which were embalmed entire and shipped to
New York. — The Editors.

THE present range of the mountain
gorilla is in the highlands of the
eastern Belgian Congo and the
Kivu volcanoes. Our camp in this
country was west of the southern end of
Lake Kivu, at an altitude of 7000 feet,
on the slope and facing eastward over the
cultivated country toward the lake. On a
clear day we could see the hazy outline
of the mountains on the far side, and on
one occasion I could even see the vol-
canoes north of the lake. The forest
began just behind our tents. This was
mountain forest with rather low trees
interspersed among a mass of succulent
vegetation which was from six to fifteen
feet high. Many of the trees on the
highest slopes were covered with moss.

As soon as our camp was estabUshed I
made daily excursions in the forest,
accompanied by two or three natives
whom I obtained in the neighborh
We found traces of gorillas, elephants,
harnessed antelope, duikers, wild pigs,
and buffalo, but we did not get close to
any of the gorillas. The natives were not
good hunters, and when we came upon
signs indicating where gorillas had been
feeding or walking, they were unable to
say whether these signs were fresh or a
few days old. Finally I managed to get
some Batwa pygmies, professional hunt-
ers, to help me. It was delightful to go
into the forest with these little people who
understood the forest, whose home it was.

One morning when I had started out

232

NATURAL HISTORY

/• ,>^

• '^*fi!va*r€lit.iL.^;?i

AFRICAN EQUATORIAL FOREST
Over large areas the forest trees grow together so closely that they shut out most of the Ught from the

ground beneath

with a couple of Bantu natives, two pyg-
mies joined us and told us that gorillas
had been feeding in a valley not far away.
I accompanied them down the steep slope
for nearly half a mile and up another
ridge. The pygmies traveled much more
quickly than the Bantu hunters I had
had, and soon I was tired out. At the
end of the steep climb of a half hour 1 had
to sit down and catch my breath. Then
we went on, up and down steep slopes,
through the thickest kind of tangled
vegetation, and finally came upon the
trail of some gorillas, which we followed
for perhaps a mile. Then we saw vegeta-
tion that had been trampled, stalks of wild
celery that had been broken off and pulled
through the teeth of the animals so that
all the green bark and leaves were stripped
off and eaten, while the perfectly white
inner part, looking like a peeled willow
switch, was dropped on the ground.
After an examination of these switches.

the pygmies turned to me and declared
that gorillas were near, that this food
had been eaten only a few moments
before.

We proceeded very cautiously, one
pygmy going before me with a peculiar
combination sickle and hatchet, quietly
cutting away the vegetation so that we
could follow. We had gone along a
densely covered ridge for perhaps one
hundred yards when we heard a slight
movement of the vegetation. On the
advice of the natives I took the rifle from
the boy behind me and went ahead more
cautiously than ever. Suddenly and
without the slightest warning there was
the most terrific combination of screech
and roar, stamping of feet and thrashing
of underbrush, as a gorilla rushed at us.
The vegetation here except for a few
trees was dense as could be, and from ten
to fifteen feet high . In order to get through
we had been crouching down, often going

(lOlilLLA: THE GREATEST OF ALL APES

2:i.i

on our hands and knees. I was crouching
when the goriUa began to rush, but in
order to raise tiie rifle in his direction I
had to baclc up against a thiciv mass of
vines and weeds. The gorilla came like a
cyclone until he was perhaps thirty or
forty feet from us, when he suddenly
stopped and was silent. The vegetation
was so thick we could not see more than
ten feet in that particular direction. We
hesitated a moment, then I motioned the
hunter before me to part the vines quietly
and go forward. I followed, holding the
rifle ready to fire. We came to the spot
where the gorilla had stopped, but he was
not there. He had turned about, re-
traced his steps a short
distance, then taken a
new course, and disap-
peared all without mak-
ing a sound. By this time

he was probably some

distance away. We fol-
lowed the trail as quickly

as we could, first up along

the ridge, then down the

side of a steep ravine, un-
til I was dripping with

perspiration.
As suddenly as before,

the gorilla rushed at us

and stopped, and precise-
ly as we had done the first

time, we followed. On

the brow of a ridge we

came upon a very fine

bed where this or another

gorilla had slept the night

before. It was about

three feet in diameter,

and was made of bamboo

leaves. I would have

stopped to photograph

this had we not been in

such hot pursuit.

That gorilla made

seven similar rushes be-
fore he went down a very

steep hill, across a small stream and over
another hill nearlj' one thousand feet high.
The pygmies then gave up and turned
back, saying, "There is no use following
him; he has gone too far."

Another day we had hunted up and
down hill for hours without seeing any
fresh signs of gorilla, though we saw many
old ones. At this time I had only pygmies
with me, no Bantus. Like the fine hunt^
ing people they are, the pygmies are ever
on the alert to procure anj' food available
in the forest. On this particular day, one
of them who was ahead .scouting called
back to us, and when wo came up to him,
he was standing still, lof)kinp up at the

i^.ji

\^m:^, it^lS' •

A '-^mi

■ y:^-^. yr ■ ■

\rv -■ ^"-^ .

t£i S: ; *>.,

■:-. ^•iV.'f'V ^

WHERE THE EXPEDITION'S SECOND GORILLA WAS SECURED
Here fourteen gorillas had slept. Some had made their beds or nests
on the tangled lianas ten or twelve feet from the ground, while others
had made theirs on the ground. Considerable clearing had to be done
before the above photograph could be made

234

NATURAL HISTORY

BUILDING A PHOTOGRAPHIC DARK ROOM
First, an outline of the floor plan of the structure needed by the expedition was marked off on the
ground with a stick. The porters then gathered a number of green, flexible saplings that they thrust
into the earth a few inches apart, following the outhne

trunk of a tree about three feet in
diameter. He told us he had seen bees
go into a crack in the trunk and that there
must be plenty of honey inside.

Well, the hunt was over for that day.
The pygmies simply could not think of
leaving all that honey there, and promptly
went about collecting it. First they cut a
sapling about four inches at the base;
this they stood against the big tree, and
then tied it with vines to the tree at
intervals of several feet all the way up.
While two or three were doing this,
another had found and shredded some
bark, which he lighted and waved about,
making it smoke profusely. One man
climbed to the very top of the sapling,
waving the smoking bark, and reached
his hand into the crack of the tree. He
reported that there was honey there, but
said he would have to make the hole larger
in order to get his arm in. Another native
carried up a little hatchet of his own
making. With this he hewed at the crack

until it was big enough to admit his arm.
By now, of course, bees were buzz-
ing about his head and all around the
tree, sometimes getting tangled in his
kinky hair, so that he would have to stop
working at the hive momentarily. We
could see him bring out pieces of comb;
the honey would drip down from his
precarious perch while he chewed up the
comb, spitting out the wax afterward.
All the natives below were keeping up an
incessant jabber, begging him to thrown
down the honey, but he would only say
"Wait," as he licked his fingers and arm.
It was not long, however, before he
began to pass down pieces of comb to the
native who had climbed up just below
him. Then those on the ground would
beg this man, "Pass down some honey,"
and like the one above, he would reply
"Wait!" Finally there were five or six
pygmies clinging to the sapling and eating
hone}'-. When they had removed all the
honey from the tree and we had all had our

THE FKAMEWOHK COMPLETED
To the saplings the porters bound, with bark and other vegetable fibers, two encircling bands of
saplings. They then bent down the upper ends of the upright saplings and fastened them together

to form the roof

APPLYING THE THATCH

The whole framework was finally covered with green plantain leaves, and the entrance covered with

a blanket. As the plantain leaves dried out, additional ones were added. This made a serviceable

dark room even on bright, sunny days

236

NATURAL HISTORY

WILD HONEY!

The pygmies of the Kivu ehmb a big tree by lashing a sapling to it.

They are here shown passing down honeycomb from a hive within

the hollow trunk

fill, the remainder was bundled up in
leaves and we returned home; for after
procuring the honey their enthusiasm for
gorillas was gone.

Another day we had come upon the
trail of a band of gorillas among some
bamboos perhaps three miles from camp.
We followed them for a long way until
about 11 :00 a.m. when we came upon the
place where they had slept the night
before. In an area twenty yards across
there were nine beds, all on the ground on
the steep hillside. It was easy to see how
they had made their nests. The gorilla
simply sits down among the dense
foliage and with his long arms grabs a

small sapling, pulls it
down, twists it under
him, sits on it, and
reaches for another. If
it breaks off, he takes the
piece, arranges it around
him and continues to pull
off, and twist around
until he has made a nice
nest or bed. Sometimes
they undoubtedly walk a
few yards to get the
material for a bed, but as
a rule, where the foliage
is so dense, they simply
sit down and pull the
material about them.

After carefully examin-
ing the sleeping-quarters
we followed on, dividing
into three groups as the
gorillas seemed to have
done, but we had much
difficulty in trailing them
because elephants had
been tramping all about.
One of the pygmies on
my right suddenly spoke
to the others, who darted
forward as fast as they
could go. I could hear
the other pygmies, then
the noise of an animal, then blows. When
I reached them I found they had killed a
wild pig that had been caught in a snare.
After they had tied it up, two old men were
left behind to carry it while we continued
our hunt. Not more than a half mile far-
ther on we could look across a Uttle valley.
On the opposite side a boy had seen the
vegetation move and he was sure gorillas
were there. We watched closely and,
finally, with the binoculars I could see a
black arm reaching up to pull down the
bushes; We stole quietly down into the
valley and then worked around so that we
could come up-wind toward the feeding
gorillas. We had first sighted these goril-

(10 HILL A: THE GHLATEST OF ALL APES

237

las about noon, but it was 2:00 p.m. when
we approached them. There were several,
perhaps nine, as we had seen nine nests.
They were quiet except for an occa-
sional short grunt, indicating, I believe,
that they were feeding quietly or per-
haps telling their whereabouts to others
of the group. They had moved slightly
from where we first saw them and now
were in low forest, the trees of which
were fairly buried by lianas, many of
whose stems were six inches in diameter.
Underneath was a tangle of stems of thick
undergrowth, so that in some places we
could not be sure, on account of the
irregularity of the terrain, whether wc
were looking at the ground or into the
trees. There were many fresh signs of
gorillas and wo could see the place where
one had sat down to eat. We felt the
earth and found it warm ; the animal had
been there just a few seconds before.
We were now right among them, and
could hear them in three directions.
Then I caught a glimpse of one in

a tree, perhaps thirty feet from the
ground.

I had with me a 30-80-calibre Savage
rifle and also a 22-calibre rifle, the car-
tridges of which were less than an inch in
length. In these tiny 22-calibre bullets I
had drilled a hole and put in a small dose
of highly poisonous potassium cyanide.
If this actively poisonous substance
could be introduced into the gorilla,
whether his hand or head or body, he
would drop dead within a few seconds.
However, it was a question whether the
heat generated in the bullet would not
disintegrate the cyanide so that its
poisonous action woukl be lost.

Using the 22-calibre rifle, I fired at the
arm of the gorilla in the tree. Imme-
diately there was a bark, screams, and
wild commotion through the vegetation,
as the gorillas rushed away. We rushed
after them and found a few drops of blood
from the one that had been hit. This one
we carefully stalked. None charged or
rushed at us; they were apparently

PYGMY HUNTERS

Pygmies of the mountainous region west of Lake Kivu, who assisted Mr. Raven in hunting the gorillas,
usually carried a spear and a brush-hook

238

NATURAL HISTORY

A GORILLA TRAIL

Gorillas and elephants live in the Kivu forest, and gorillas were seen

walking on paths made by elephants. Gorillas do not follow the

same paths day after day as hoofed animals do; they are more

nomadic

thoroughly frightened. We followed
cautiously until about 5:00 p.m., when wo
had to give it up in order to find our way
to a trail before dark.

It was evident that the cyanide had not
worked on the animal, but the question
arose as to whether it probably would die
before morning. Early next morning,
therefore, we took up the trail again and
followed all day. The gorillas had gone
on feeding, including the one that had
been hit. He was apparently none the
worse for the wound, which of course was
not bleeding on the second day. Probably
that wound did not do as much harm as a

bite from one of his
friends, received in play,
or a stab from a broken
branch.

After several days of
hunting near camp I de-
cided to go farther up
into the mountains to
reach a place called
Nakalongi. This was an
all-day walk. I had with
me several pygmies and
a personal boy as well as
a few porters. It rained
most of the afternoon
and was raining when we
stopped at a little bee-
hive-like hut high on the
side of the mountain in a
bean patch. To the west
were hills covered with
grass but in every other
direction the hills and
gullies were covered with
dense forest. The na-
tives immediately set to
work to build for me a
little dome-shaped hut
of the coarse grass that
grew round about. Its
diameter was about the
same as the length of my
bed-roll but it shed the
rain. Cold gray mist filled the valleys
and often shut off everything more than
twenty yards away. I ate my dinner at
night crouched beside the fire with all the
natives that could crowd in, then went,
into my own hut to sleep.

As soon as it was dawn we were up and
shortly afterward set out to hunt. Most
o£ the men remained in camp but four
pygmies accompanied me. We first
climbed up the mountain through a mass
of cold, wet bracken, then descended into a
ravine through virgin forest so dark that
it seemed like twilight. After about a
half-hour of walking, very difficult on ac-

GORILLA: TIIL GREATEST OF ALL APE.S

239

count of the steep and slippery f^round,
we came upon gorilla tracks and saw the
remains of chewed-up stems. The forest
had been so cold and wet that it was
impossible to tell whether the material
had been chewed that morning or the day
before. We followed on, however, and
soon found tracks that had not been
dripped on from the branches above.
Farther on we saw signs that we knew
were not more than a half-hour old.
About an hour from the time we began
to follow the trail we were passing diag-
onally down a steep slope toward a tiny
stream. Across the ravine sixty or seventy
yards away, we saw the vegetation move
and we caught glimpses of an animal
between the branches. Then we must
have been seen or heard, for there was a
sudden short bark. We followed across
the stream and up the steep slope, climb-
ing with difficulty where the gorillas could

pass with ease. It was much more difficult
for me, with shoes, than for the bare-
footed, strong-toed, unclad natives, and
still easier for gorillas with powerful
bodies, short legs, and long arms. Man's
long legs are suited to the erect posture
and not well adapted for going through
underbrush, where he must be doubled
up much of the time.

We were now getting clo.se to the
gorillas; we knew there was not a large
troop, perhaps only three or four, but
there was one big male among them, as
we knew from the tremendous power in
the bark he had given. The pygmies were
nervous, saying that he would rush at us.
We had gone less than three hundred
yards from the stream and were still
going through dense underbrush when
suddenly the rush materialized with a
terrific roar and shriek. The pyginj' that
was crouched down ahead of me, cutting

GORILLA BEDS

Gorillas usually feed until dusk, then, sitting down among the foliage, they use their long arms to pull

down leaves and vines on which they rest in apparent comfort. In rainy weather they take advantage

of shelter afforded by fallen trees and dense foliage

240

NATURAL HISTORY

the vegetation, sprang back and raised his
spear, while I stood ready to fire. But
Hke the other gorilla, this one stopped
short, and did come into sight, although
there seemed to be more ferocity in this
animal. We continued on the trail and
in a short time he rushed at us again.
This time he was directly at our left, not
ahead of us. Here the forest was a little
more open and we could see perhaps ten or
fifteen yards, but still he did not come
within sight though we could see the
vegetation move.

Finally we started up the slope. One
pygmy went ahead of me, holding in one
hand his spear and in the other his little

A HUMAN HAND AND A GORILLA HAND
The hand of the gorilla compared with that of an adult Bantu negro
man. Notwithstanding the shortness of the gorilla's thumb, it can
be brought into contact with the other digits when the hand is flexed

sickle. He passed beneath a fallen tree
and I had just stooped under this tree
when the gorilla, closer than any time
before, gave a terrific roar. I was afraid
I was going to be caught under the tree
but I managed to step forward and raise
myself. As I did so I could see the great
bulk of the gorilla above me and coming
straight at me. I fired at his head as I
might have fired at a bird on the wing.
The impact of the bullet knocked him
down and I wheeled to the pygmies,
yelling at them not to throw their spears.
I feared they would spoil my specimen.
But they in turn shouted to me, "Shoot!
shoot!" The gorilla was not dead.
When I looked around he
was standing up like a
man; it was plain to
see that he was stunned.
I fired again and he
dropped lifeless exactly
fifteen feet away.

This animal was the
most magnificent I had
ever seen, weighing 460
pounds. He was black
and silver-gray, a power-
ful, courageous creature,
determined to drive off
intruders from his do-
main. Upon closer exam-
ination I found this giant
primate as clean as could
be. The long, shaggy
hair on his head and arms
was as if it had been
combed only five minutes
before. The silver-gray
hair on his back was
short and rather stiff.

Then came the time
for quick action, for the
specimen must be em-
balmed within a few
hours. It must be got on
to the trail, the trail
must be widened from a

COKILLA: Tlll<: CHKATKST OF M.l. APES

24 1

THE SECOND CAPTURE

The long hair on the arms and legs of gorillas is undoubtedly of considerable protection against thorns

and nettles. This gorilla was one of the first two captured in the Ivivu, and was photographed where

he fell, but much time was necessarily first spent in clearing away sticks and vines. Mr. Raven,

Doctor McGregor, and Doctor Gregory are shown with the specimen

foot to ten feet up and down steep moun-
tains for about twelve miles. I sent a note
to my companions in camp, telling them
that I had secured the gorilla and asking
them to send more porters. I sent another
boy to call up the natives that had come
into the mountains with me. While I
examined the fallen gorilla, some of the
pygmies were starting to make a bed or
framework of saplings on which to carry
him. These saplings were of strong,
hard wood and very heavy. Three long
saplings were placed about eighteen
inches apart and numerous cross-pieces
then lashed to them with vines. The
gorilla was lashed on the top of this
litter.

By about three in the afternoon we had
the gorilla out on the trail where I could
embalm him. We then wrapped him in a
large canvas tarpaulin and made him more
secure on the litter. I refused to leave

him at night for fear a leopard or other
animal might attempt to eat the flesh, so
the natives made a little grass hut for me
right there on the trail. More porters
arrived the following morning and I
detailed several to go ahead to widen the
trail. The gorilla and litter together
weighed more than six hundred pounds.
However, the natives started off chanting
and went along for some distance at fairly
good speed. After getting my parapher-
nalia packed in the loads I followed and
caught up with them as they were trying
to get up a very steep incline, where there
was scarcely any foothold among the
rocks and mud. I had told them that we
must reach camp by nightfall, but it was
soon evident that this would be impossible.
As a matter of fact, it took two and a half
days, during which there were several
severe electric storms that the natives
claimed were caused by my having killed

242

NATURAL HISTORY

the ' ' king of the mountain forests. ' ' They
said the same thing happened when some-
one killed a very large elephant. At
night we simply had to sleep in the
forest in whatever shelter we could
make of leaves and branches, but it was
always wet and cold.

Many of the natives ran away as soon
as it got dark and I never saw them
again, but as this was the main trail
between Lake Kivu and Nakalongi, there
were natives passing along at intervals,
and some of these were persuaded to help
carry the gorilla. When we arrived at
camp we continued the work of preserva-
tion and all took part in the making of
photographs.

The second gorilla was secured only
three hundred yards from our main camo
six days later. All members of the expedi-

tion took part in the various details of
preservation of the specimen. There was
material to be preserved for histological
purposes, casts to be made of the hand,
foot, and head, detailed measurements
to be taken, etc. When we considered
that the embalming fluid had penetrated
the body thoroughly, the animal was
bandaged, wrapped in blankets, and
sewed up in burlap bags, these in turn
coated with paraffin wax, and the whole
again rolled in heavy canvas tarpaulin.
A litter was again used to carry this
specimen from our camp about four miles,
and it was then placed in a motor truck
and taken to Uvira, where it was
shipped by steamer across Lake Tan-
ganyika, then by rail from Kigoma to
the coast, and put on an ocean steamer
for America.

CARRYING THE FIRST GORILLA TO CAMP

This animal had to be transported about twelve miles

to camp. Over much of the way the trail had to be

widened from two to ten feet

A UEAUU£U

riGunE FnoM the

Rio BALSAS, GUERRERO

A BEARDED MYSTERY

Considerations that Attempt To Establish the Source or tho Authentic-
ity of an Unusual Archaeological Specimen from Mexico

Bv GEORGE C. VAILLANT

Associate Curator of Mexican Axchajology. American Museum

THE detection of frauds and the
identification of works of art not
found in the main European and
Asiatic culture streams are among the
many duties of an archaeologist. A de-
velopment of the senses which enables
one through long experience to detect
the source or the authenticity of a speci-
men by its "feel" is the usual method
employed. Intellectuality or actual rea-
soning is subconscious, and the trained
observer reaches his opinion quickly.
Yet to prove his opinion he must retrace
his steps to search in the lumber of his
memory before he can marshal the reasons
for his decision. The attribution and
validation of the bearded figure of clay
which is the subject of this article offers
a good example of this process, since
highly technical considerations do not
obtrude, and the curious reader may trace
step by step — and vastly more quickly
than in actuality — the impressions which
led to the final conclusion.

Three years ago a gentleman brought
into the American Museum of Natural
History the figurine which is pictured in
the headpiece of this article. It meas-
ured about three inches and a quarter
in diameter, and was made of baked
clay, pinkish in tone, which was covered
with a slip of dark brown. The beard
was painted black and a roughened space
at the back indicated that though it
had been modelled separately it must
have been attached to something, perhaps
a pottery vessel. The object had been
found near Balsas on the Rio Balsas, a
river which forms part of the boundary
between the Mexican States of Michoacan
and Guerrero, and was given by a peon
to its owner who later most graciously
presented it to the American Museum.

At first we thought it was a fraudulent
specimen, but its oddness and individu-
ality militated against this supposition.
A fake is usually a copy of some existing
specimen and embellished according to

244

NATURAL HISTORY

MAP SHOWING THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE BEARDED FIGURES
The crosses indicate the locations in which the bearded figiires have been found

the fancy and erudition of its perpetrator.
But this head was out of the run of the
Nahuan and Zapotecan sculptures that
the unregenerate use as models for their
frauds. By the same token it was not an
example of the sculpture of either of those
nations.

The features of the figurine were most
unlike those of the various American
Indian physical types. The long beard
and mustache were very rare among
New World aborigines and the flat blob
of a nose was seldom depicted in the high
arts of Middle America and Northern
South America. Prominent cheek bones
were a characteristic Indian trait, but
the protruding eyes surmounted by heavy
eyebrows were much less common. Al-

though a tuft of hair adorning a shaven
pate occurred among some of the north-
eastern tribes, their association with such
a physiognomy as this was not known.

At this point in our examination we had
ruled out the possibihty of fraud, on
account of the individuality of the speci-
men and the fresh quality of its execution.
The piece was either indigenous to the
New World or else it came from Asia,
Africa, or Europe. If it were of Old
World origin, it must have been imported
to Middle America after the Conquest of
Mexico, since no contact with a high Old
World culture has been established
anterior to that time. Such a piece as
this would be easily transportable, and its
oddness might have caused someone to

A BEARDED MYSTERY

245

carry it with him as a pocket piece. The
Spaniards, moreover, had a wide com-
merce with Europe, and also they traded
out of ports in western Mexico into the Ori-
ent. Many Orientals furthermore entered
Mexico during the last half-century, at-
tracted by the need for cooks and laborers
which the construction of railroads and
the establishment of mines entailed. Yet
the Rio Balsas is off the railroad and far
south of the overland trade route to
China. Thus the possibiUties for intrusion
of the figurine from the Old World are
scant, but they must be none the less
considered.

The figurine in its features suggests
little that is Negroid. Moreover, Negro
sculptures from Africa are confined, in
general, to wood, to bronze, and to ivory.
On the west coast in particular there does
not occur any high development of sculp-
ture in baked clay. Western Europe, on
the other hand, yields a great variety of
figures, and plastic por-
traiture is very com-
mon. From the Middle
Ages on, grotesque
figures were frequently
made, and in Germany
in particular an imagina-
tive folk art reproduced
the gnomes and trolls of
the fairy tales. Yet the
absence of color, the way
the head must have been
attached, the distinctly
un-European methods of
presenting the hair and
the beard cause us to re-
serve judgmenton a Euro-
pean origin for the figure
until we have explored
a little further into
the more stable arts of

GERMAN GNOMES
Many of the grotesque little beings of
the German fairy tales are depicted
with flowing beards

communities less advanced. The gro-
tesqueness of north European folk-art is
gauged to the fancy of children and the
simple-hearted, but this figure is so clear-
ly mature that its interest must have
been directed toward adults.

The Greeks evolved a conception of
bawdy fellows frequ(!ntly in their cups
who pursued girls through the hilLs on
summer nights. Yet these satyrs must
have exerted a certain charm, for the
protestations of the ladies against the un-
couth gallants seem, from the vase paint-
ings at least, to arise from coj'ness rather
than from moral precept. The levity of
satyrs is lacking in this serious face
from the Rio Balsas. Although Greek
and Roman minor sculpture fulfills the
condition of earthenware figurines, and
parallels such details of feature as a flat
nose, shaggy brows, protruberant ej'es,
and a beard, there is more humor and
less formality in their presentation than

Fi'om a
painting by Carl
Gehrts in "Ehren Urkunden Moderner Meister'

246

NATURAL HISTORY

A SATYR AND M^NAl)

Terra Cotta Figui'e. Photograph reproduced by
courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

in the stiff seriousness of the Mexican
figure. A lack of sophistication in model-
ling the expression of the face gives
further cause to deny the specimen a
Graeco-Roman origin.

Monumental sculpture, governed bj'
rigid conventions for the disposition of
the figure, exists in the art of Mesopota-
mia, so that we might find there a source
for our bearded figurine. The plastic of
Mesopotamia, although skilled, is rela-
tively unsophisticated, and human figures
often wear long beards. But on compari-
son, our specimen is still homeless, for his
nose is flat, while the Assyrio-Babylonian
nose is high-bridged; his beard is simple,
while those of the Mesopotamian sculp-
tures are elaborately treated ; he is sculp-
tured in the round while the Assyrians
are generally modelled in relief. Finally,
he simply does not fit into their physical
or artistic type.

The Buddhistic art of India and of
Indo-China rarely depicts beards, and
when such a representation does occur, it
is perhaps attributable to Alexandrine or
Persian influence. In China, however,
bearded figures are found. Yet in com-
paring Chinese sculpture with the Rio
Balsas specimen, we are immediately
struck by the repose shown in the Chinese
examples as opposed to the restlessness of
the Mexican specimen. This contrast ap-
pears generally in the expression of the
mouth and eyes, where age-long humani-
tarian philosophy reflects itself in the
pensive beneficence of Oriental sculpture,
while there is a staring brutality in the
piece under consideration.

After having examined those Old World
arts which are achieved and settled, we
are unable to find a source for the bearded
figure, unless we might find a parallel in
the highly divergent arts of recent

i^M

CHINESE IVORY— FIFTEENTH CENTURY

Photograph reproduced through the courtesy of

the MetropoHtan Museum of Art

A BEARDED MYSTERY

247

ASSYRIAN — NINTH CENTURY, B.C.

Alabaster relief from the palace of Ashur-nasir-pal, at Nimnid.
graph by courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Europe. But since the specimen does not
seem securely European, let us look
farther in the New World, where we
might find traces of its origin, as, indeed,
the circumstance of its provenience led
us to believe. Our search would naturally
begin at the nearest point geographically
to the Rio Balsas and would spread as
necessity dictated.

No specimens of bearded figures are
known from the states of Guerrero or
Michoacan, as the archaeology of the
Rio Balsas is almost unknown. However,

from Chama in Central Guatemala comes
a very remarkable Maya vase, painted in
colors to show a ceremony involving
seven characters. Although the signifi-
cance of the rite offers a number of con-
jectures, there is no doubt that two very
important personages are involved, for,
the fourth and the sixth figures from
the left are painted black, a color sacred
to the Mayas. The fourth figure is char-
acterized by the high nose and retreating
forehead of the Maya, and the three
attendants standing behind him belong

248

NATURAL HISTORY

>****»**»^***>**»»» *»*»»»* **«»*»»»»*»*"

y«ff»»»i»»j»j»jt*j>»»»*ja>*»»>*m2rft»Mm>»» rgnryTr

VASE DECORATION FROM CHAMA, GUATEMALA
This specimen is in the University Museum, Philadelphia. (From Bulletin 28, Bureau of American
Ethnology, "A Pottery Vase with Figure Painting from a Grave in Chama," by E. P. Dieseldorff)

to the same group. The next two figures
(the fifth and sixth) possess flat noses and
low foreheads, and the black figure ap-
proaching from the right has a full beard
and shaggy eyebrows. The seventh and
last figure in the group again is of Maya
type like the first four. There is no doubt
that the painter of that Maya vase was
striving to reproduce two physical types,
his own and another; and the foreigners
are of the same group as the head from the
Rio Balsas. The scene seems to resolve
itself into the reception by a Maya chief
and his court of a stranger whose atten-
dant kneels before him while a Maya
gentleman-in-waiting makes the sign of
peace after the completion of the intro-
duction of the two rulers. Thus the vase
gives strong indication that a people
existed of whom the little bearded figure
from the Balsas is likewise a reproduction.
Another representative of this flat-
nosed people was found by the School of
American Archfeology of the Archae-

ological Institute of America during their
excavations at Quirigua in Northern
Guatemala. This vase has a human
mask set against the side of the vessel.
Bristling brows, protruding eyes, a flat
nose, and a half opened, sneering mouth
bear strong affinities to the Guerrero
specimen, even though the moustache
is absent and the beard reduced to a
goatee. Since this vase came from a
Maya city of the Old Empire and since
the Maya sculptures represent their own
facial characters of high noses, retreating
chins and foreheads, and full lips, it is
difficult to believe that they could have
reproduced such a figure as this, had they
not seen a living prototype. Both this
Quirigua and the Chama vases were made
probably near the close of the so-called
Maya Old Empire, that is, not much
earlier than 500 A.D. or much later than
1000 A.D. Hence, granting the vases are
of Indian manufacture, there is no pos-
sibility that the artists could have seen

A BEARDED MYSTERY

249

negroes in the train of Cortez. More-
over, the panoply of the priest on the
Chama vase is certainly indigenous and
not Fifteenth Century ICuropean.

To localize this racial type to a specific
area requires more knowledge than we
have at present. Yet some data are at
hand. From Tepatlaxco, in the State
of Vera Cruz, a stela was brought to the
Museo Nacional in Mexico City, depict-
ing a personage receiving homage from
another. Both wear beards, but the erect
figure shows once more the complex of
blobby nose, moustache, and beard.
Moreover, his mouth is opened enough
to bare the teeth, offering a closer
parallel to the Balsas specimen. A stone
disc, without recorded locality but
probably also of Vera Cruz workmanship,
seems to represent this same group of
features. However, the exigencies of
creating a design in this instance blur

VASE, QUIRIGUA, GUATEMALA

Specimen in the St. Louis Art Museum (From
Art and Archxology, Vol. IV, No. 6)

STELA, TEPATLAXCO; VERA CRUZ

Specimen in Museo Nacional. (From Batres,
Leopoldo, La Lapida Arqueologica de Tepat-
laxco— Orizaba, Mexico, 1905)

the characterization of salient points in
the other specimens we have mentioned.
Central Chiapas yielded a sympathetic
figure of excellent workmanship, where
yet another artistic technique reproduced
a bearded face but in this case the
striking points of the flat nose type are
blunted, perhaps, by subordinating
naturalism the better to achieve an ar-
tistic concept. Two little figures in jade
now in the Trocadero Museum offer
the flat nose and full beard requisite for
inclusion in the type. One is catalogued
from Tula in Hidalgo, and the other
simply Mexico. Their provenience lay
more likely in Oaxaca or Guerrero since

250

NATURAL HISTORY

SMALL JADE HEAD, MEXICO

Specimen in Musee de Trocadero, Paris, through

whose courtesy this photograph is reproduced

the center of jade dis-
tribution in Mexico lies
there. Another seated
figure in clay, from Quen
Santo in Western Guate-
mala also depicts the
racial type we have
been considering, and its
source falls well within
the limits of the geo-
graphical area yielding
such specimens.

From the data adduced
in these pages it seems
just to attribute the
head from the Rio Balsas
to an indigenous artist
of pre-Columbian times.
Yet we have reached our
conclusion bj'' examining
both Mexican and Mayan
material. We are left in
the perplexing position of
having the same physical
traits portrayed by ar-
tists of several different
tribal groups, who have
evidently recognized a
people different from
themselves. Moreover,

we have examined the greater part of speci-
mens of native workmanship, conserved
in museums, that show this complex
of traits.

Yet these traits of a flat nose and
a beard occur disassociated from each
other with much the same general distri-
bution as when together. In other words,
sculptures exist of bare-faced people with
flat noses, or conversely, individuals with
beards whose nose is aquiline. Hence we
cannot accept such portrayals as repre-
senting the type we just described.
Figures with flat noses occur in Western
Guatemala as the feet of pots, indicative
perhaps of a subject tribe put under
submission. In a religious sculpture from

SMALL FIGURE OF BAKED CLAY
From Libertad, Chiapas, Mexico. Specimen in the American Mu-
seum of Natural History

A BEARDED MYSTERY

2-)l

Santa Lucia Cosumalhuapa in Guate-
mala, minor figures offer to a deity tlie
severed lieads of four people, each per-
haps a representative of a different tribe.
One suppliant offers a flat-nosed head and
another presents a bearded one whose
nose, however, is aquiline. In his hand
the god holds a head of the same kind.
Possibly here we have a people offering
their hostile neighbors as a sacrifice to
their gods.

A great number of sculptures exist that
show a chin beard and their distribution
ranges from Nicaragua to the Valley of
Mexico. An especially characteristic
type of chin beard associated with a thin-
lipped, high-nosed face is commonly

POTTERY FIGURE FROM QUEN S.A.NTO, GUATEMALA

In the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York,

throufrh whose courtesy this photograph is reproduced

STONE DISC CARVED I \ LOW RELIEF
Probably from southea.«tern \'era Cruz. Speci-
men in the American Museum of Natural History

depicted in such sites on
the Pacific slopes of
Guatemala as Pantaleon,
E I Ba VI, and Santa
liUcia Cosumalhuapa. In
Plumbate pottery which
had its origin in or near
the Republic of Salvador
this kind of face is fre-
quently associated with
the eye rings of the
Nahuan rain god Tlaloc.
The chin beard is found
occasionally on Maya
figures and on various
sculptures made during
the Mexican occupation
of Chichen It za in
Yucatan.

The god Quetzalcoatl,
who is associated with
high culture in Mexico,
is supposed to have had
a beard and also to have
been in the southeast of
Mexico. Another south
Mexican god Ehecatl
wears as an attribute a
beak which might have
developed from the con-

252

NATURAL HISTORY

ventionalization of a beard, a condition
of some interest when one recalls the
beaked figures of Nicaragua and the little
jade statue with a beak from Tuxtla Vera
Cruz which carries the earliest Maya
date.

How far primitive sculpture as a guide
to race can be trusted we do not know,
but it is apparent that in some of the
higher Middle American cultures there
was a recognition of the physical char-
acteristics of several peoples besides the
Mayas and the Nahuas. It is indeed im-
fortunate that so striking a custom as the
practice of wearing a beard is not to be
detected in the skeletons of people who
have passed awaJ^ The tribal affinity of

the head from the Rio Balsas we do not
know, but in our effort to establish its
authenticity, the complex character of
the peoples of Middle America may be
more completely understood. It probably
belongs to one of those groups whose
names have escaped tradition and who
may have broken the civilization of the
Maya or founded the high development
of Zapotec or Toltec arts. The great
civilizations of the Aztecs and the Mayas
are like flowers, but of the stalk which bore
them and gave them nutriment we have
scant knowledge. Who knows what dis-
covery awaits us that may alter our entire
conception of the unfolding of Middle
American civilization?

CLAY RATTLE

From near El Baul, Guatemala. De Sosa
collection

Gloucester's Memorial to the Men of the Fishing Fleet

THE FISHERMEN OF GLOUCESTER

Hardy Adventurers Who Wrest a Livelihood from the
Treacherous Seas of the North Atlantic

By FRANCESCA R. LA MONTE

Assistant Curator, Department of Fishes,

'ID WAY along the esplanade at
Gloucester, Massachusetts, stands
a spirited statue of a Gloucester
fisherman looking out to sea, in memory
of the men who have never come back
with their fleet.

Since Gloucester was first settled in
1623, fishing has been the principal source
of her income, and here East India mer-
chant captains used to land their small
boats; here stretched the old rope walk;
here were the old taverns and homes.

The wharves and the boats are larger
now, but the main occupation of Glou-
cester is the same. In summer, sturdy
men still unload their catches ; the harbor
is full of boats being outfitted for another
trip, their crews cutting bait and over-
hauling the nets and gear. Miles of tarred
nets hang up to dry along the sea front;
ships are hauled out on tracks for repair.

You can walk along Hesperus Avenue
and across the marsh to the Life-saving
Station, from which life lines have so
often been shot out over the sea in rescue,
or you can climb to the upper part of the

town to the Portuguese Church of Our
Lady of Good Voyage, but no matter
where you go, you are reminded of
Gloucester's fleet and the men who are its
sailors.

I was last in Gloucester in February.
There were no suminer visitors, and no
artists; the water front was quite
deserted; roads and wharves were inches
deep in snow and slush, and a heavy snow
was swirling down the main street. Inns
and tea rooms were all closed, except the
solid, warm hotel in which a very jolly
Rotary Club meeting was in full swing.
I was doomed to hear the chief joke of
that meeting every time I came into
human contact for the rest of my visit.
The other joke which one never fails to
hear there is about the innocent visitor
who asked to be shown the "fishermen's
huts," and was promptly driven past one
after another of the large, neat, and far
from inexpensive dwellings belonging to
Gloucester's fishermen.

There are, however, one or two collec-
tions of residences which come a little

254

NATURAL HISTORY

Courtesy of the Gloucester Chamber of Commerce

SOME GLOVrESTER FISHING BOATS TIED UP AT THE WHARVES
With the increased use of power, the smooth hnes of the fast sailers of old days have gone. The
fishing schooner of today carries only enough sail for stabihty and steerageway while jogging with her

engine on the banks

nearer to that visitor's anticipation.
These are the foreign settlements. In
warm weather, the SiciUan quarter, for
instance, down by the water front, is
noisy, smell}', and colorful, and the
Sicilian boats keep to their custom of
vi\idly colored sails. But in winter the
Sicilian, who hates to get his feet wet,
seals himself up witMn liis little house,
and his door and window are tight shut.

In fact, in winter almost everything in
Gloucester is tight shut, with one notable
exception. This exception makes the
night life of Gloucester somewhat more
noisy than one might foresee, but after
aU, what fishing community has ever
stimulated itself to activitj^ on water?

The most active part of Gloucester in
winter is the mam street. Halfway down
this thorouglifare and up a flight of stairs
is the Master Mariners Association.
Through a smoke screen on wintei- days

the mariners can be seen here playing
pool.

Emerging from the stairway into the
smoke screen, I was obviously in the
wa3^ in the most popular room, and
was quickl}' escorted by the president
into a most dignified and deserted inner
room into which, a moment later, were
ushered seven master mariners in varying
stages of embarrassment. They seated
themselves to be "interviewed," and it is
uncertain who suffered most, I, trying to
think of intelligent questions, or the
mariners tiying to get unobtrusively out
of the room — in which effort three of them
succeeded in an almost wraithhke manner.
The remaining four finaih' discovering
that I was merely pacing an ordinary call,
relaxed and gave me more information
about their fleet than it was possible to
absorb at one sitting.

Don't expect north-of-Boston fisher-

ABOARD THE "GERTRUDE

L. THEBArD"
The present holder of the
Fishermen's Cup. The fish-
ermen's races, originating in
the rivalry between skippers
as to who could be first into
harbor with his catch, have
become ptirely sporting events

IN THE GLOUCESTER
HARBOR

Gloucester, althoiigh no long-
er a village, remains a fisher-
man's town. In summer the
big harbor is active with the
coming and going of fishing
craft and the various activities
of the large factories for the
preparation of fish products

Edwin Lez-Ui: Fhoioi/raph

256

NATURAL HISTORY

B'^win Levick Photoffra'pli
FOG ON THE BANKS
Summer fogs on the Banks take their annual toll of the fleet

men, or Nova Scotia men as a good many
of them originally were, to be quaint
characters. Fishing is a business requir-
ing a very level head and an active and
up to date mind. Most fishermen, cap-
tains and crew alike, start out too young
to have had a finished school career, but
this does not mean that they are un-
educated. As a rule they are great read-
ers, particularly of history and biography,
and, usually, these particular fishermen
speak better English than do many people
in more intellectual occupations. The
only characters really marking them as
seamen are a ruggedness of complexion
and build, and their keen, clear eyes.
Captains do not have to have any

special qualifications;
any one of the husky,
independent-looking men
in heavy reefers and
seamen's boots waiting
around for a chance to
get in on the fishing, may
eventually become skip-
per of a boat. Many of
the captains own their
own boats, but whether
this is the case or not,
while a man is captain
he is absolute master and
there is no interference
with him either in equip-
ping or managing his
boat.

It cannot be desire for
money that takes men
into this occupation; the
reward is too uncertain.
Probably it is genuine
love of the sea combined
with a love of adventure.
Maybe it is also the lure
of the gamble involved,
for the result of a fishing
trip is a big gamble.
The shares may be $600
apiece at the end of a few days out, or
they may be only $6. I heard of one trip
of several weeks which netted the men
precisely $1.25 apiece.

The difficulty of wresting a living from
the sea, and the danger of their work,
have given the Gloucester fishermen a
rather serious attitude toward life. They
are calm, sturdy, and self-rehant, and
many of them have a very deep-seated—
and preferably well-concealed— rehgion,
usually of their own eduction.

Almost opposite the Master Mariners
Association is the Chamber of Commerce,
one of the most active institutions in the
community. At the time I was there, it
was serving as a general adjustment

THE FISUEiaiKN OF (JLOICESTE/i

257

Ijureau. Issuing foiUi from an inner
office, came a most cheery looking gentle-
man in naval uniform, addressed by a
voice from witliin as "Commander."
The Commander's son had apparently
found a lonely firecracker wandei'ing the
snow-covered streets of Gloucester, and
had set it off in a most inappropriate
spot, with a resulting suspension from
school. The Chamber of Commerce was
tactfully arranging for his discipline and
the further pursuit of his education. The
next visitor was a fisherman, very ill at
ease. There was a murmured conversation,
then from the manager of the Chamber:

"How long have you been out of work?"

More murmuring, then :

"Now look here, we can't have that.
Children can't walk around in this
weather without proper shoes. Now just
let me run across the street and get — "

A decided interruption from the sailor,

"I can't take that sort of thing.
I've never taken charity and I can't.
All I want is a couple of days' work."

Occasionally, during hard times like
those of this winter, there are slack
seasons for the fishermen, and their
summer earnings do not carry them
through. Various associations of sea-
men— the Master Mariners Protective
Association, the Seaman's Institute, etc.,
and a local conunittee chiefly composed
of the heads of the big fishery industries —
try to take care of such emergencies, for
fi.shing and the fishing industries are the
most important things in Gloucester, and
Gloucester must protect them and their
workers in every possible way.

Gloucester has its fisherman "char-
acter." His portrait, verj' fine but in a
rather ''dressed-up" condition, hangs in

WINTER AT A GLOUCESTER WHARF

Back from the winter gales, the crew fork the catch into baskets which are hoisted by the deck engine
out of the hold and on to the wharf

258

NATURAL HISTORY

the main room of the Master Mariners
Association. When I called on him last
month in the apartment above his shop, I
found him pretty well laid up with
rheumatism. The story he tells is of a
fisherman astray in a dory, his dory mate
having succumbed to exposure and
hunger, while this one rowed bhndly on,
his fingers frozen to the oars. He not
only lives to tell the tale but in spite of
the loss of all his fingers and toes, has
made two solo trips across the Atlantic,
one in a thirty-foot sloop, from Glou-
cester, Massachusetts, to Gloucester,
England, and another in a twenty-five-
foot sloop from Gloucester to Lisbon.
His appetite for adventure still un-
appeased, he made a third but unsuccess-
ful attempt from Gloucester to Havre —
in a seventeen-foot dory!

I have an idea that Captain Black-
burn has told his story many, many
times, and it has been included in at
least two books of Gloucester sketches,
but either he is a very accomplished
raconteur or he still really feels the
horror of that fight for his life, and the
thrill of those other trips. I don't know
how old he is, — not young, and he has
to use a crutch and a cane now, a very
difficult thing for him, as only the stumps
of his hands and the lower joints of his
thumbs survived that first terrible ex-
posure, but somehow I would not be a bit
surprised to see him start out tomorrow
alone in a rowboat for some distant port.

The backbone of the Gloucester fishing
industry is the ground fishery, that is,
the capture of those fish caught near the
sea bottom, — cod, haddock, pollack, hake.

Publishes Photo Service Photograph

UNLOADING FISH
The catch is packed in crushed ice in the hold, which is divided into pens to allow sorting the different

varieties

THE FIHf/ERMEN OF GLOUCESTER

259

Brown Brothers Photograph
WEIGHING THE CATCH
After the fish have been pitched on to the dock, they are dumped into boxes on platform scales. A
careful tally of the weight is kept by representatives of the captain and of the buyer

flounder, and halibut. This fishery is
carried on chiefly on the banks, large
areas of shoal water lying oft' the coasts.
The principal banks fished by Gloucester-
men are Georges, Browns, LeHavre, and
the Grand Banks. The last are the most
distant. In summer the Gloucestermen
often meet the French fleet oft" the Grand
Banks, and the summer fogs up there are
the nightmare of sailors, for no matter
how well the men and boats may be
protected by the use of power and by
wireless the sea stiU takes its toll of the
fleet. Many Gloucester fishermen know
what it is to go astray in a dory and to
face death by collision or by storm.

Not all the fish caught by the Glou-
cester fieet are landed in Gloucester, for
that community is chiefly concerned with
prepared fish in various forms. The
harbor is fined with the wharves and
buildings of fish factories and their work
forms another long chapter in the story of
modem Gloucester.

The schooner is the most typical
vessel of this fleet. There are also trawl-
ers,— wooden or steel vessels run bj' steam
or oil, and a third class of craft, the smaU
trawlers or draggers which fish on the
banks closer to the home port. In many
cases these last are sailing vessels which
have been modernized by the installation
of an engine. The "Gertrude L. The-
baud " which won the Canadian- American
Fishermen's Races last October has now
descended to this somewhat inglorious
station.

The schooner usually carries a crew of
about twenty-five including captain, en-
gineer, and cook. On its deck are nested
the dories in which the men go out to put
down the baited lines.

The men sleep in bunks in the fore-
castle, and in berths aft near the engine
room. The fish hold is amidships.
Women never go out on these boats ex-
cept on a short trial run, or by mistake —
as in the case of an aspiring authoress

260

NATURAL HISTORY

who, her presence on board having been de-
clined, embarked on the moving boat by
means of a long jump (which in combina-
tion with her hurled suitcase overturned
an able-bodied sea-
man), and by un-
daunted persist-
ence, stayed on the
schooner during a
trip.

The meals on
board a Gloucester
vessel are excellent.
I cannot describe
the relish with
which they were
detailed to me by
fishermen, begin-
ning with "grape-
fruit for breakfast"
and ending with
"you couldn't get
any finer in a big
hotel."

The cook on one
of these boats has a
hard life, a fact
which is obviously
appreciated as he
usually gets a bonus
in addition to his
share of the profits.
Besides three
hearty meals a day,
he has to produce
a "mug-up "when-
ever anyone feels
hungry. A mug-up
is a mug or two of
tea or coffee, a large
hunk of bread with
cold meat, and
perhaps a wedge or two of pie. Some
one is hungry most of the time. In ad-
dition, the cook must keep the forecastle
clean, and when the first dory or two
comes alongside after a set he must hold
the painter while the two dory men are

Courtesy of the Gloucester Chamber of Commerce
HAKPOONING SWORDFISH
Swordfish are lethargic fish and come to the sur-
face to sun themselves. The fisherman stands
in a "pulpit" erected at the end of the bowsprit
of the schooner and throws his harpoon, trying to
strike the fish in back of the large dorsal fin

pitching up the fish. If all the dories are
out and the skipper needs help on deck,
the cook has to come up and give it.
There is little sleep for the men, either.
A trip maj' last a
few days or a few
weeks, but the rou-
tine is the same, —
overside into the
dory, lines set out,
lines taken up, fish
pitched over the
side into the schoon-
er, fish packed, gear
gone over and pre-
pared for the next
day's or even that
night's fishing.

Dory fishing is
something beyond
excitement and ad-
venture. Imagine
two men, in mid
ocean in a fog or a
storm, rowing
around in a little
fourteen-foot flat-
bottomed boat,
equipped solely
with cumberous
clothing and heavy
fishing gear. If they
go astray from each
other or from their
schooner, or if a
large ocean liner
suddenly rises
above them out of
the fog, what are
their chances?
Even the schooners
are small enough to
be in great danger of destruction by larger
vessels. One of the most tragic acci-
dents in the history of the Gloucester fleet
happened in 1925, when a schooner was
run down by a Cunard liner and thirteen
men and the captain and a boy were lost.

Tim FfS/JERMEN OF GLOUCESTEU

261

Even Plotting overside from the schoon-
er into the dory has its perils, especially in
heavy weather — and the men go out in all
kinds, even at night when they have to use
torches to keep track of one another and
their schooner. Try getting overside into
a rolling little boat when you are weighed
down with heavy woolen clothing, two
suits of oilskins, seamen's boots, and

the further disadvantage of not being
able to swim if you miss connections, for
many of these sailors cannot swim a
stroke.

Yet in spite of all disadvantages and
dangers, each year sees more boats added
to the Gloucester fleet, and more men
sailing out of her harbor to get their
living from the sea.

Fishing equipment re-
quires constant atten-
tion. This fisherman is
reknotting the hemp
ropes of his seine.

The seine is a large net
with buoyed headhne
and weighted ground
rope, used in catching
haddock and mackerel

Courtesy of the Gloucester Chamber af Commerce
MENDING THE NETS

Daniara Wdiiien From Near Lake NKami

THE GREAT KALAHARI SAND VELDT

Picturesque Natives of the Desert Regions of South Africa

IN TWO PARTS — PART TWO

By ARTHUR S. VERNAY

ON "Lake" Ngami we found a
Damara village — the home of an
interesting people who had moved
from southwest Africa into Ngamiland
after the war. They are curiously pic-
turesque and imposing in appearance — the
women wear headdresses made of hide, of
a form similar to that of a lotus leaf, with
coats of antelope-skin scraped down to
almost the thinness of a glove. This,
coupled with the quantity of oil which
the coats necessarily absorb from the
wearer, causes the skins to fall in grace-
ful folds.

Geological evidence and the distribu-
tion of the former molluscan fauna fur-
nish proof that before the great changes
in the earth crust of Ngamiland took
place, the Okovanga emptied its waters
into the Indian Ocean by means of what is
now the Limpopo bed. At present the
Okovanga flood waters are stored up
annually against the eastern higher-

lying portion of the Ngami fault. Toward
the end of June the flood waters from the
Angolan highlands arrive near the rift of
Ngamiland. This year they were very
late, and when we left the Kudumane
River, which is one of the rivers feeding
into the Thaumalakane, and eventually
into Lake Ngami if there is sufficient
water, the floods had not come within
eighty miles of the Thaumalakane. This
is a particularly bad year — there will be
comparatively little water coming down,
and it is presumed there will be no water
whatsoever in Lake Ngami.

When the waters reach the rift, they
form a huge delta composed of a series of
streams whose channels are known as the
shift. Most of this water is absorbed or
evaporated, though sufficient quantities in
certain parts of the swamps allow hip-
potami and crocodiles to remain there
throughout the year. Of all the streams,
only the Botletle may carry, at excep-

THE GREAT KALAHARI SAND VELDT

263

tionally high floods, some of the Okovunga
waters into the Maliai'ikari pan.

Of great interest are the stone axes, of
probably late PaliEolithic type, found
near Gemsbok Pan in the Western Kala-
hari. Doctor Rogers discovered at
Machumi Pan, south of the Mabeleapudi
Hills, traces of primitive human settle-
ment. Though the fragmentary bones
and small pieces of chalcedony were im-
bedded in pan limestone four feet below
the surface, no particular high age need
be ascribed to them, as this kind of rock
may form rapidly under favorable condi-
tions. On top of one of
the kopjes, the second
highest of the Mabelea-
pudi Hills, Doctor
Rogers also investigated
a factory site of chippings
of chalcedony and quartz.
All these remains prob-
ably belonged to primi-
tive types preceding the
Bushman.

These discoveries
prove for the first time
that late primitive man
invaded these parts of
the Western Kalahari
and Ngamiland, which
most likely were provid-
ed with water that lasted
throughout the year. He
evidently did not reach
the arid parts of the
Kalahari. The observa-
tions made cannot fur-
nish any support for the
theory that the Kalahari
may be the cradle of
mankind.

During our journey
extreme contrasts char-
acterized the landscape;
under the existing condi-
tions the variety of living
creatures is surprisingly

great. Compare the almost monotonous
aridity of the Kalahari and its nearly
endless patches of grass, bu.sh, and thorn
veldt, with the almost equatorial luxuri-
ance of the flooded Okovanga swamps,
or with the charm of miles of Mopane
forests, which remind one of the beech
groves of temperate zones. On the other
hand, there are in the central Kalahari
the obscure traces of former river-beds,
now hardly to be distinguished from the
veldt except by the depression of the
ancient stream-bed, but in Ngamiland
one meets the strong currents of flood

DAMARA WOMAN
The women of this tribe wear a strangely interesting headdress
which suggests the lotus leaf, and is made of leather

264

NATURAL HISTORY

DAMARA NATIVES

Antelope skin which has been scraped until it is almost as thin as a

glove fashions the coats worn by these women

water with its enormous stretches of reed
beds, pools with water liUes, and groups
of enchanting palms among the shoals.

In the Kalahari and Ngamiland the
variety of animals depends directly on the
changing features of vegetation. The
open, more arid spaces form the habitat
of springbok and gemsbok. More
ubiquitous are the wildebeeste, tsessebe,
and ostriches; in the Mababe Flats they
are mixed with herds of zebras. In bush-
covered regions eland, roan, sable, kudu,
reedbuck, bushbuck, impala, wart-hog,
and bush-pig are more or less numerous.
On the veldt troops of elephant, giraffe,
and buffaloes are attracted by fodder
most suitable to their taste. The black

rhinoceros trudges
along, as a rule singly,
but at times in pairs,
in parts of the Okovanga
delta, and becomes rarer
every year. Sitatunga,
lechwe, and pookoo
naturally prefer swamps
or roam about in their
neighborhood The
lions, hyaenas, wild dogs,
and jackals are as much
dependent upon the
herds of game as are
the marabous and vul-
tures. The Okovanga
and Chobe rivers still
form the home of
hippopotami and
crocodOes.

In the whole of the
area through which we
passed we found lion
not only prevalent, but
very numerous. In fact,
hardly a night went by
that we did not hear
them roaring around
our camp, and we ac-
counted for thirteen of
them before we reached
the Victoria Falls. It is interesting to note
that the Kalahari lion appears to have a
different coloration from the Hon ordi-
narily found in Kenya or elsewhere.

The result of the expedition is that a
collection which comprises 90 different
species of mammals, 330 species of birds,
600 fishes, 2,000 lower invertebrates,
21,000 insects, and a large and important
collection of botanical specimens, will be
divided between the Field Museum,
Chicago, the American Museum of
Natural History, New York, and the
British and Transvaal Museums. Some
of the large mammals obtained were
lion, leopard, gemsbok, wildebeeste, sable,
brown hyaena, giraffe (Capensis), pookoo.

THE GRIiAT KALAHARI SAXD VRLUT

265

bushbuck, Icchwe, springbok, wild dog,
roan, Burchell's zebra (this is the true
Burchell's, not the zebra generidiy found
in Kenya). In the Orange Free State we
also obtained groups of black wildebeeste,
blesbok, and springbok.

Apart from the collecting of these
various specimens, the inhabitants were
of great intei'est. Actually in the Kala-
hari, these consist of two tribes, Kalaharis
and Bushmen.

The Kalaharis are the remains of the
Bechuanas who emigrated many years
ago. Some of them are of really magnifi-
cent physique, and distinctly different
in type from the Bushmen. Many of
them stand well over six feet. In the
few villages which we came across, there
were small cultivated patches of melon
but no live stock of any kind. Apparently
most of the hunting is done for them by
the Bushmen, as they do not seem to be

particularly energetic, or to have any
other object in life than to be left alone
to lead what appears to be a fairh'
pleasant existence. Some of the women
we saw were wearing the ostrich-egg .shell
necklaces and head ornaments, which we
ascertiuncd had been bartered for from
the Bushmen.

To us the more interesting of the two
inhabitants were the Bushmen. Although
neither pj^gmies nor dwarfs, they are
very small, the average height of several
of the women whom we measured being
4 feet 7 inches to 4 feet 8 inches, and that
of the men, 5 feet. Thej' are the true
nomads of the Kalahari. Great hunters,
their weapons are bows and poisoned
arrows. No outsider has ever been able to
ascertain how the poison is made. There
have been manj' surmises, but as to their
correctness there is no proof. It is said
that it is made from the poison of the

A GROUP OF KALAHAKIS
Both mentally and physically these natives are superior to the Bushmen who inhabit the same region

A VILLAGE NEAR
GOMODINO PAN
The expedition saw small
cultivated patches of melons,
but no live stock of any kind
in the few villages which they
found occupied by Kalaharis

A KALAHARI WOMAN
From Koatwe Pan. The
Kalaharis are the descendants
of Bechuanas who came into
the Kalahari region many

years ago from the south

Apparently most of their
hunting is done for the Kala-
haris by the Bushmen, as they
do not seem to be particularly
energetic themselves

A DESERT DWELLER
From Koatwe Pan. Many of
the Kalaharis are of really
magnificent physique, often
standing more than six feet
tall

268

NATURAL HISTORY

'^^'^sail^^^

FILLING OSTRICH EGGSHELLS WITH WATEU

In so arid a region as the Kalahari Desert, water must be carefully conserved. Among the Kalaharis

water is often stored in ostrich eggshells especially blown for the purpose

mamba and other snakes — and certainly
there are enough in the Kalahari — mixed
with the poison of tuberous roots. It is
also said that certain beetles are crushed
and used with the poison of the roots.
The Bushmen are extraordinarily expert
in the use of the bow and arrow, and can
shoot very accurately up to fifty yards.
Their method is interesting. They stalk
the steinbok, duiker, or bigger game, and
wound it with an arrow. After a hit,
they do not immediately follow up the
game, but leave it for several hours.
The next day it is spoored up and,
provided no lion or hysena has already
taken it, it lies there awaiting them.

I have seen natives in various parts of
Africa and other parts of the world track-
ing or spooring animals, but the Bush-
man has a most amazing faculty, an
extraordinary quickness of perception in
seeing the spoor; he goes along at a
jog-trot on the spoor, and in this way

can actually run fifty miles a day. We
ascertained quite definitely that they can
run down such animals as steinbok and
duiker by keeping on the spoor hour after
hour, until eventually the animal is
tired out and becomes their prey. This
sounds incredible, but it is an actual fact.
This method is more effectual with the
steinbok, as, after continual running, its
hoofs split, and the animal is unable to
proceed. The meat of animals killed in
this way, however, in hot blood, cannot be
eaten by white men, for it is most un-
palatable.

It is difficult to get in touch with the
Bushmen, for they dislike and are afraid
of strangers. In one particular instance,
while scanning the country from the roof
of one of our lorries, I espied two Bush-
men about a mile away in the bush,
apparently hunting for roots. I sent one
of our own natives to spoor them up,
while I watched from the top of the lorry.

Tim G lit: AT KALAHARI SAND VELDT

269

It was not until our envoy wa.s within ;i
few hundred yards of them that the
Bushmen realized they were being fol-
lowed. They immediately dodged in and
out between the bushes at incredible
speed. Our native followed them for an
hour or so without any result whatsoever.
At another time we saw several Bushmen
at a distance near a pan. Immediately
they heard the noise of the motors, they
ran like hares and disappeared. However,
we eventually managed to get in touch
with a few, and to attach them to our
camp, for after they have once overcome
their fear of the white man, they are
excellent to have with one in the bush.
Tobacco was one of the most effective
inducements we had to offer them and
after that, a rug or an old shirt went a long

way. Money wa.s of ho use. We had
with us beads of variou.s brilliant colors,
but these did not appeal to them in the
•slightest.

Their greeting is a curious one, rather
in the style of the Fascist greeting — the
palm of the right hand held out in front
of the face and passed several times
across it.

They live in huts made of the branches
of trees. These shelters can be made in a
very short time, and in them the3^ live
while camp is pitched in one spot;
when the camp moves on to another part
of the country, they build another hut
on the new site.

If you ask them to tell you where game
is, they reply:

"There is no game."

GOING FOR WATER

Often when a Kalahari woman goes to a near-by "pan" for water, it i.s necessary for her to care for

her baby at the same time. She solves this difficulty by carrying the baby, on her back with the

ostrich-eggshell containers

270

NATURAL HISTORY

A BUSHWOMAN
Several men of the tribe to which this woman be-
longs claimed to be of great age. One man was
credited with 120 years

If you ask them where water is, they
say:

' ' There is no water. ' '

You may be dying of thirst, but they
will not surrender a single drop, although
they probably have stored away a number
of ostrich eggs filled with the precious
Uquid.

They are able to endure — and for that
matter, so are the Kalaharis — great
thirst, and if they have no water, they
pulp up the inside of the Tsamo melon,
which forms a very pleasant liquid re-
freshment, although somewhat thick.
This is the melon which, with other
tuberous roots, keeps the game alive
during the dry period. And when the
Tsamo melon fails, as it does at certain
times, the suffering of both man and beast
is intense.

When any member of the family dies,
his body is buried a foot or so under the

ground, his hut is burnt down, and the
village, if it may be so called, moves on.

Their method of making fire is with
sticks — one long one, jointed at one end, is
put into a thicker piece of dry wood, the
long stick is twirled round in the hand,
boring into the soft wood, making an
inflammable powder, which after a few
minutes begins to smoulder, and then
bursts into flame.

They apparently never wash, water is
too scarce, and the result is that through
the dirt one can see the lighter color,
almost yellow, of the Bushman skin.
Many of them have the appearance of a
true Mongolian type.

The women have to attend to the supply
of water, which is stored in ostrich eggs.
They go down to a pan with a quantity of
ostrich eggs in skins on their backs;
very often a baby is in the same bag.
With the shell of a tortoise they fill the

A NATIVE GIRL
Photographed near Gemsbok Pan. The Bush-
men are physically much smaller than the
Kalaharis

THE GREAT KALMIARJ HAND VELDT

271

ostrich egg through ;i
hole about half an iiicli
in diameter, and thcsn
stop up the hole with
a tuft of grass. The
eggs are taken back to
the village, and care-
fully concealed.

The sentiment of
gratitude does not exist
among them; neither
have they, we are told,
much affection for chil-
dren^in fact, it is
known that during cer-
tain very bad times,
when the Tsamo melon
had failed and condi-
tions had become seri-
ous, children had been
killed in order to econo-
mize in food and water.
When an animal is
killed, nothing is
wasted, even the bones
are crushed for the mar-
row; and the large sinew
that runs down the back
is saved for gut for their
bows and arrows, axes,
and similar equipment.

They will eat almost anything and the
bullfrog which has already been spoken of,
is a delicacy. When this great frog
estivates, he burrows down into the roots
of bushes, and stays there during the long
dry period. In due course a large spider
weaves his web right over the mouth of
the burrow, thus protecting the bullfrog,
and at the same time allowing him a
certain amount of ventilation. It is,
however, no protection against the Bush-
man. He sees the web, and brings out
the bullfrog.

Mice of various kinds are exceedingly
plentiful, and are esteemed as another
delicacy. The innumerable snakes, too,
which are found in the Kalahari must

TWO HANDFULS OF STOUK
A Kalahari Bushman photographed about eighteen miles east of
Gomodino Pan. The birds he is holding are young black storks

enjoy the mice and rats, of which there
are thousands.

Bushmen never cultivate the soil, nor
do they rear domestic animals. Being
hunters and nomads, they live on game,
roots, beans, and wild fruits found in the
bush.

They have a distinct sense of humor,
and if anything appeals to them as
amusing, they wiU jump, clap their hands,
and burst into roars of laughter. The
pipes they smoke are just ordinary tubes,
made of iron, wood, or horn. The pipe
is lit with the fire stick, a few deep puffs
are vigorously inhaled, and the pipe is
then passed on to the next man, who rubs
it a little between his hands in order to

272

NATURAL HISTORY

ME. VERNAY MEASURING A BUSHMAN

The average height of the Bushmen measured by the expedition
members was five feet. The women were several inches shorter

cool it. He too, has his smoke, and it is
again passed on.

In July and August, when the ostrich is
breeding, the Bushmen collect as many
ostrich eggs as possible. The cock bird
sits during the night while the hen is
feeding, the hen taking her turn at sitting
during the daytime. Across a stretch of
fairly open country it is not difficult to see
the long neck of the bird apparently
sticking out of the ground.

The Bushmen are not very expert with
traps — by no means so expert as the
natives of Burma and Siam, but they

have certain snares which
seem to produce fairly
good results.

Space is insufficient to
describe the many cus-
toms and curious habits
of these people; but it is
a marvel how they can
exist in a country which
contributes so little to
the comforts and needs of
the human being.

I have spoken of a lorry
making only five miles in
twelve hours. The work
was most arduous, and
the highest praise is due
to Mr. Dowthwaite, who
was in charge of the me-
chanical staff, for his per-
severance and good na-
ture during many periods
of heart-breaking effort.
Those acquainted with "
sand dunes know how
firmly the force of the
wind packs the sand, so
that one may ride on fair-
ly hard ground to their
very summits. All the
grains of sand not contrib-
uting to the compact-
ness are apparently blown
over the top of the dunes.
Thus, on the leeward side, the sand is
exceedingly loose. Probably it is com-
posed of granules that will never pack.

Almost everywhere our naturalists
found themselves on new paths of dis-
covery, surprise, or admiration. Their
eagerness to delve into the secrets of this
part of the earth's history, the plant and
animal life, and their friendly exchange of
opinions created an enchanting atmos-
phere during our travels. Their hearty
cooperation and the steady increase of
authentic data and valuable collections
made our camp, which in itself was a

A GROUP OK BUSHMEN
Those people are nomadic
hunters, and do not cultivate
the soil nor rear domestic
animals. The women, how-
ever, gather some roots, beans,
and fruit

A baby's transport on

THE KALAHARI DESERT
These desert dwellers are
generally thin and wiry, and
are capable of great exertion

274

NATURAL HISTORY

^v /riM*-^-"^^-

^mit:

^^.ti^s. ^

k w

A NATIVE BLIND
This blind, erected by Bushmen, was photographed by the expedition near Kanke Pan

small village, a most, interesting place;
and at the evening meal, when fourteen
sat down to supper, the discussions on the
results of the day, and the prospects for
the morrow, made the hours pass rapidly
and pleasantly.

S-a 5-2 S2

Our expedition was an interesting
effort, but there is still much to be done in
this great area. Altogether, with the
time at our disposal, we feel that owing
to the intensive campaign which was
carried out and the activity shown by all

the members of the expedition, the ground
has been fairly well covered, and it is
with a feeling of great satisfaction that we
recall our crossing of the Kalahari and
going through to Livingstone within a
period of three and a half months without
one day's sickness occurring to any of the
expedition, or any untoward incident.

Our expectations have been more than
realized, the expedition has been success-
fully completed, and the scientific results
and the value of the collections are
gratifying from every standpoint.

The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality,
and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.

— Samuel Johnson.

BUSHMEN ARCHERS

/''>"to(/raph by Brown Brother*

A Bit t)f New Engluiid Shore

AT THE SEA SHORE'

Homes and Habits of Some of the Animals of the Sea Shore — A Hunting Ground
Teemmg with Treasure for the Naturahst

By PAUL B. MANN

Associate in Education, American Museum

THE conjunction of the sea shore
with the salt water, encroaching or
retreating under the influence of
waves, storm, or tide, produces a region of
unending and kaleidoscopic interest to the
naturalist.

Many of the plants and animals are
steadfast residents of their various haunts
throughout the year. Others hibernate or
migrate to avoid the rigors of a winter
which makes adamant and impenetrable
the once oozing mud and the shifting
sands. The sea wrack, fiung on the beach
as the aftermath of a storm, will be sure
to contain exotic treasures like the
Portuguese Man-of-War, jellyfishes and
shells, or even a huge blackfish, — foreign
perhaps to that immediate shore, but
related because part and parcel of the
abounding ocean.

Animals like sponges, oysters, and

mussels, which cannot migrate because
they are anchored with self-imposed hnks,
together with slow-era wHng forms like sea
urchins, are sometimes called "benthos."
To the active and free-swimming organ-
isms the term "nekton" may be apphed.
A third term, "plankton," describes
animals, often minute, which float close
to the surface. The animal organisms of
the sea can all be classified under one or
the other of these terms. Just as the wide
distribution of bird life is dependent,
somewhat, on environmental factors, so
the organisms of the sea shore are sensitive
both to the temperature and depth of the
water, as well as to food supply. The
animals of the shallow water near the
shore are often called "littoral," in con-
trast to the "pelagic" forms hving in the
ocean far from land. Deep sea forms are
called "abyssal." Sometimes abyssal

276

NATURAL HISTORY

|op*»f]*i*

Photogra'ph by Mi^^ f-da i a I-'ar/ur
FASCINATING NEW STRETCHES OF TERRITORY ARE EXPOSED BY THE EBB TIDE
These are rich hunting grounds for the natiu'aUst interested in studying the animal life that must
adapt itself to the constant advance and retreat of the waters

forms which normally seem to prefer the
cold depths of the tropical oceans, may be
found in the shallower waters of northern
seas, if they find there a temperature to
their liking. Such an animal is the
English whelk found in the cool waters
of the New England coast north of its
accustomed latitudes. Probably to an
extent far greater than we are yet aware,
temperature and food supply are
determining factors for much of the life
of the sea shore.

The character of the shore itself is of
great significance. Sandy shores with
lagoons, rocky ledges with tide pools, mud
flats, and coral strands are four types of
shores, each characterized more or less by
distinctive organisms. Mud flats may
not be so enjoyable to explore, but they
are overflowing with animal life well
worth investigating. Eelgrass is usually
abundant and the mud beneath it harbors
a multitude of creatures such as marine
worms and other small organisms. Such
shores are treacherous because of deep
pockets of soft mud here and there on the

bottom, and because of the danger of
cutting one's feet on shells.

Sandy shores are perhaps the common-
est from Cape Cod southward. The
exposed beaches of pure sand are rela-
tively barren, though characteristic
species may be found near and below the
low tide limit. The most productive
regions are the sandy mud flats where the
sand is somewhat darkened by combina-
tion with fine particles of mud. Here,
great numbers of forms find homes or
temporary concealment beneath the soft
contours of the sandy mud, the fine tex-
ture of which is pleasing to the touch and
easily retains impressions of all sorts for
the sleuthing naturalist to consider.

Sandy shores having a rather precipit-
ous slope to the bottom are not the best
for our purposes. A shore of gradual
descent is preferable ; still better, a region
where the ebb tide makes a profound
difference in the amount of new territory

The strange inflood and retreat of
waters constituting the tide may amount

AT THE SEA SHORE

277

to a difference of as much as ten feet in
vertical measurement between levels
thus produced in a constricted area such
as Cape Cod Bay. Twice a day this phe-
nomenon takes place. There is no escape;
animals must adapt themselves or perish.
Some mollusks simply close their shells,
or if univalve, withdraw into the shell
and close the entrance with a protecting
operculum. Many more organisms, how-
ever, will burrow into the moi.st sea
bottom and thus avoid the dangerous
exigency of being exposed to the air.
Some animals wait in the tide pools
around rocks, others hazard the wet
strands of eelgrass, now lying flattened, —
inert compasses pointing in the direction
of the ebbing tide.

In studying the life of sandy sea shores,
it is important to observe every mark or
disturbed condition, because each trace is a
telltale to keen eyes. Footprints of birds.

furrows of clams, grooves of undulating
worms, indentations of crawling crabs,
blowholes of buried mollusks and round
holes drilled in abandoned snail shells,
all have stories to tell to tho.se who will
take the trouble to investigate. Let us
take our notebooks and go down to the
shore. If we expect to collect and study
any of these forms, we should also have a
pail, shovel or old iron spoon, long-
handled net, sieve, strong knife, hand
lens, and several small bottles. A pair of
good field glasses is necessary for study-
ing shore birds.

Wild grape, wild rose, beach plum,
beach pea, milkweed, false cranberry, and
reindeer moss grow down as close to the
high tide level as they can. Where they
hesitate, the beach grass, here solitary
and there in clumps, wrests a precarious
living closer to the water. Some of these
plants have marked the sand with a tiny,

Photogra'ph by M. C. Dickenson
A MUDDY BEACH

In the sandy mud flats hide great numbers of marine worms and other small organisms such as are

shown on page 278

278

NATURAL HISTORY

indented circle where the tip of the leaf
has bowed to the winds and swung back
and forth in its fixed arc. Near by are
masses of Eussian thistle; over there is a
kind of spurge, and close by is a rampant
pigweed, — all strange visitors. It seems
a miracle that any plant could live in
these hot sands. Yet several allied forms
may be found if one searches. And where
it is not so sandy and is distinctly wetter,
one may find sea lavender and even cran-
berries minghng with reeds, rushes, cat-
tails, sedges, and grasses. As we walk
along, mottled grasshoppers become ap-
parent as they launch themselves into
the air, but seemingly disappear when they
alight, for when they are quiet, the eye
cannot distinguish them from their sandy
environment.

The sticks and timbers projecting from
the sands are smoothed by nature's sand

blast as though some Old Man of the Sea
had used them for his own through the
ages. The frosted window panes of life-
saving stations bear similar testimony to
the effectiveness of the wind-blown sand.
The contour and physical character of the
beach itself may be changed from season
to season by the fickle winds, especially
when aided by a nor'-easter. Dunes may
come, and dunes may go, unless held
intact by beach grass or other vegetation;
but the life of the shore is adaptable to
such minor fluctuations in environment,
and will be found fairly constant.

The shore is likely to be covered by
windrows of "sea weed," so-called; really
the brown or bleached leaves of dead eel-
grass cast on shore by waves and tide.
Turn over a clump with your foot or
stick. Out of the moist layers leap in-
numerable sand hoppers or beach fleas.

MARINE WORMS AT HOME
A detail of the Annulate Group in the American Museum. This illustrates the kinds of Ufe that
exist within the mud and sand of a sheltered harbor bottom hke that pictured on the preceding page

AT THE SEA SHORE

279

/'/lotut/rap/i by Paul B. Mann
A PIPING PLOVER'S NEST
Just a slight depression in the sand satisfies the piping plover's demands for a nesting site. The sand-
colored, mottled eggs blend so effectively with their surroundings that they need no further concealment

Perhaps a green crab will scuttle back
under a protecting mass.

A further examination of the shore may
reveal some mermaid's-purses, — those
strange egg-cases of the skate: curious,
swollen, black, rectangular objects, with a
tendril-like extension at each corner.
The split across one end shows how the
young occupant got out. In certain
localities, and especially after a storm, the
string of seedlike capsules of the channeled
whelk, or the compact egg-cases called
"sea corn" may be found. Sand dollars
may be picked up, brown with tiny spines
if only recently exposed, or white and
smooth if old, revealing the symmetrical
rows of perforations through which pro-
jected the tiny ambulacral feet. Here
and there will probably be found clear or
brown or purplish masses, the remains of
jellyiishes stranded on the shore by the
waves. If we look for them when we
return, we may find nothing more than a
moist spot on the sands, since they are
about 99 per cent water and dry down
to an impalpable film.

If tomorrow you chance on tide-pools
of a rocky shore, you will see many of the
same forms, with some additions. Sea
urchins may be seen moving about Uke
living pin-cushions in the midst of hy-
droids, resembling animated plants. Star-
fishes, caught out of water bj^ the hot sun
and killed by exposure, are slowly dry-
ing. Whether the shore is rocky or sandy,
periwinkle shells of many species will be in
evidence as we approach the water, which
harbors many millions more of these
small univalves. Fiddler crabs, the bur-
rowing crab Hippa, sand crabs, and other
crabs will be encountered. In some locali-
ties many beautiful shells may be picked
up, as well as bleached sponges and
occasional corals. If we use our spade or
iron spoon, we begin to realize that the
shores, which appear so empty, are teem-
ing with hidden life. In the mud flats
the Nereis or clam worm,, the richly
colored opal worm, the slender "red
thread," the fierce "four-jawed worm,"
the ribbon worm, the tiny "blood spot"
and other tubeless worms may be easily

280

NATURAL HISTORY

ANIMALS OF A TIDE POOL

Here purple snails and their eggs are surrounded

by rockweed, while mussels crowd below them in

a dark mass. From the Tidepool Group in the

American Museum

caught by washing the mud through a
sieve. The "four- jawed worm" and clam
worm are carnivorous and their bite
should be avoided. There are other
worms which construct a tube within
which they live. One of the commonest is
the tufted worm, which builds a leathery,
U-shaped tube. Another, the shell worm,
secretes the little, white tubes which are
so frequently found zigzagging over the
outer surface of marine shells. Spirorbes
are tiny worms which make little coiled
tubes slightly larger than a pin head.
They are usually found attached to Fucus
or to eelgrass.

On rock-bound shores an abundance
of life clings to the surface of rocks
normally submerged but exposed when
the tide ebbs. Oysters may be found in
profusion attached toward the base of

the rock or on shelly bottoms. Wher-
ever the black-ribbed mussels can get a
foothold, they, too, hang on as for dear
life by skeins of threads called byssus.
Above them, and also growing on both
mussels and oyster shells, are hosts of
white-shelled barnacles. The upper
flanks of such rocks will undoubtedl;/ be
covered with mats of Fucus or rockweed,
one of the brown sea weeds. Great
streamers of kelp are found along some
coasts. Formerly most of the world's
supply of iodine came from these plants.
Various-hued sea anemones should also
be common here below the low-water
mark. Leave them undisturbed until
each expands its tentacles like an un-
folding bud of innumerable stamens. The
strong knife will play its part in loosening
such specimens as may be desired.

Photograph brj M. C. Dickerson
A COMMON STARFISH
Starfish wander continually among the waving
seaweeds of rocks and warves in search of delect-
able sea mussels and other mollusks

AT THE SEA SHORE

281

The old wharf yonder looks as though
it might repay a visit. Some of the boards
may be gone from the top, but the piling
seems solid enough. What masses of
colored creatures cling to its flanks when
we peer through the water surface below
the lowest limit of the receding tide!
Barnacles with their white cockades,
mussels in black and purple profusion,
sea squirts or tunicates with two pro-
truding openings, tiny red and yellow
sponges, mats and floral designs con-
structed of living anemones and delicate
hydroids, encrust the entire outer
surface. And within the old piles, we
suspect, are plenty of shipworms, prison-
ers in their strange tunnels, whose devas-
tating tubes, pushed deeper and deeper
though never intersecting, can dis-
integrate and ruin wood exposed to sea

Photot/raph by M. C. Dickerson

SEA ANEMONES

As beautiful as flowers, these are really voracious

animals with the tentacles that encircle their

mouths armed with sting cells

A COIiXEK OF A TIDE POOL
In the center are sliown a number of sea anemones
which have contracted, withdrawing mouth and
tentacles within their bodies. From the Tide-
pool Group, American Museum.

water, faster than the millions of bac-
teria of decay, bent on the same purpose.
If we watch long enough we may be re-
warded by seeing a jellyfish or two, idling
slowly through the water wvt\i frequent
pulses of its tenuous cup of jelly. If it
has long tentacles, do not touch them, for
those streaming filaments are armed with
hundreds of sting cells.

The bird life of the sea shore is char-
acteristic. Sand pipers are probably as
sociable as any of these birds, and they
are most interesting as they feed, inces-
santly agitated, taking to wing on alarm
in a group that banks and turns as one
bird. Herring gulls, the most abundant
of the larger gulls, are conspicuous in the
winter everywhere along the Atlantic
coast, straggling south during the summer
and autumn. In the spring they go north

282

NATURAL HISTORY

Photograph by Frank M. Chapman
YOUNG NIGHT HERONS
Their paxents have gone to the sea shore for food. Crows, blackbirds, and certain sparrows will visit
the shore for the same reason

to their nesting grounds. Their continu-
ous, cackHng squawks, especially over
food exposed on flats by the low tide, are a
characteristic sound on many sea shores.
The dark-headed laughing gull is much
more common during the summer. There
are other gulls and there are terns,
frequently mistaken for gulls, but distin-
guished from them by the possession of a
more slender body and a definitely forked
tail. Skimmers, shearwaters, plovers, and
curlews, sooner or later will be observed,
though probably not all on the same day.
In many regions, herons — especially the
little night heron, — and crows make
regular trips to the shore for food. Black-
birds and certain sparrows sometimes
visit the shore for the same reason.
Birds of inland, freshwater locahties, such
as the loon and various ducks and geese,
may be seen frequently during their
migrations in spring and fall.

On some of your wanderings along the
shore, you may have the good fortune to
discover the nesting place of one of the
shore birds like the piping plover. The

bird utilizes a slight depression in the
sand and there the spotted eggs are laid
without any attempt at concealment
more than their excellent protective
resemblance to the surroundings.

Sometimes sand bars are exposed off-
shore at low tide, and are worth investigat-
ing, especially if to reach them one has to
wade through intervening shallow waters.
Don a bathing suit and put sneakers on
your feet to avoid possible cuts from
shells. How strange and how difficult
it is to walk through water! Wherever
you traverse deeper pools, frightened killy
fishes, the minnows of the sea, dart for
the protection of the surrounding eel-
grass. With good luck you may surprise
a flounder, and capture it, too, if you are
alert with your net. Here on the sea bot-
tom may be picked up some of the frail
sand collars or Tom Cod houses, the
strange egg-cases of the Lunatia (Poly-
nices) snails, resembling lamp shades.
They are somewhat tenacious while wet,
but after they have dried in the sun and
air, they crumble at a touch.

AT rill': SUA SHORE

283

Crawliriji; everywhere and fighting
continuously with one another, are hermit
crabs of varied sizes. A purple lady crab
or a spider crab edges away. In some
pool timid squids may be seen, suffused
with changing colors. Catch one in the
net, and holding it by the body now out
of the water and now in, get it to shoot
ink forward through its siphon. Under
good conditions, a squid may be induced
to throw a stream of inky water ten or
fifteen feet. Avoid a bite from the parrot-
like horny jaws. The female squid hangs
her eggs from eelgrass or other sea weed
in long fingers of jelly, from which the
little embryos escape after hatching.

The omnipresent eel grass is one of the
few flowering plants growing in salt water,
and its long, floating leaves afford a rela-
tively safe home to myriads of creatures.
Tiny shrimps and prawns cling to the sway-
ing leaves, and scallops make their brief
spurts as we approach. A bubbling hole

may betray a soft-shelled clam, a quahog,
or a razor-shell clam. Possibly you can
get the razor-shell to show you how it goes
underground, pushing its muscular foot
down Ijeiow, then anchoring it ijy swelling
it full of blood, and suddenly yanking the
rest of the body down an inch or two.
With a series of such jerks it rapidly
disappears.

Gently pick up one of the larger sea
snails abundant everj'where, and tap its
broad foot. You will be amazed at the
sudden reaction. Quantities of water will
l)e shot out, an e.xtraordinarj' amount of
living tissue pulled quickly within the
shell, and the opening sealed with the
horny operculum. You continue to won-
der how such a large animal could com-
pletely withdraw into such a small shell.

Pick up any old stick that has lain in
the water a long time, and perhaps you
may find it harboring forms like planarian
worms, ascidians (sea squirts), delicate

Pliolograph by Frank M. Chapman
YOUNG L.\UGHING GULL
The laughing gull is common among the bird life of the sea shore during the summer. The plumage
of this young gull has not yet acquired the coloring of an adult bird

284

NATURAL HISTORY

\~''^t f- '■■-■

^ ^S; ■• v*:''-^ '■^

plantlikc hydroids, polyzoa, sponges, and
possibly sea urchins, besides showing
evidence of the internal borings of the
shipworm.

Perhaps you may find a horseshoe crab
moving slowly away from the zone of
danger, or burying itself in the oozing
sand. It is a venerable descendant of
ancient types, a kinship obvious when the
related fossils are seen. Before you let
it go, loosen with the knife one of the
flat shells with which it is fairly covered.
You have in your hand a decker or shelf-
shell (Crepidula), and its living inhabitant.
Find the "shelf" at one end.

Such specimens as you want to exhibit
alive may be tempora-
rily kept in your pail.
A marine aquarium is
rather difficult to main-
tain unless you have
running sea water, or an
aquarium directly con-
nected with the sea, or
plenty of oxygen-pro-
ducing plants like sea

A BLUE CEAB

This edible crab, when

caught just after molting its

heavy armor, is the famiUar

"soft-shelled" crab

Photograph by M. C. Dickerson

THE LARGEST OF OUR

CRUSTACEANS
The lobster is a great bur-
rower, digging with its claws
holes into which it backs
tail fir-st

Photograph b]/ M. C. Dickerson

lettuce. Otherwise,
small animals are likely
to die, and the water
then quickly becomes
polluted, especially in
hot summer days. By
frequent observation
and prompt removal of
any dead animals and
by changing the water
twice a day, a temporary salt-water
aquarium without any oxygen-producing
plants can be conducted long enough to
display many of the living marine forms
described in this article. It would be
a sad mistake, however, to attempt to
crowd many animals at one time into
such an exhibit. After it is set up and
the water has cleared, it will be of par-
ticular interest to watch the rhythmic,
muscular movements of the foot of the
snail, as it crawls up the inside of the
glass; to note how the starfish or sea
urchins use their tubular feet in locomo-
tion; to see the row of steel-cut, beaded
eyes just inside the mantle of the scallop.

AT TIII<: SEA HllOlili

285

THE FIDDLER CRAB

Sliown Kt the entrance to
its burrow, which is often
a foot or two deep. The
crab uses its walking legx
to scrape out the mud

Photof/rajili I'lj M. C Diclcernon

and to observe the
activities of shrimps,
prawns, and other ma-
rine forms.

If any specimens arc
desired for permanent
collections, they should
be immersed in a solu-
tion of alcohol, or 5 per
cent formaldehyde,
changed after a few days to a frcvsh solu-
tion made by adding 5 parts of strong
formaldehyde to 100 parts of water. Keep
bottles or jars tightly corked to prevent
evaporation. Delicate specimens may be
narcotized in a solution of magnesium
sulphate (Rochelle salts) and sea water.

Wrap individual specimens in cheese-
cloth or muslin, and for extra precaution
place them in a large cloth bag. Ants will
quickly clean up shells, though a quicker
way is to tie the shell where it will lie in
sea water and let the small crustaceans
known as amphipods clean it up. This
will be accomplished in a few hours. Dry
specimens may be wrapped in portions of

newspaperis. If a collection of shells is
being made, a good plan is to number each
shell temporarily with a lead pencil and
to make notes as to date, localitj^ and
other details. Never write with ink on
specimens or on paper to be placed in the
preservative liquid. Later the shell maj'
be permanently numbered or labeled
with India ink, then brushed over with a
layer of shellac.

In certain sea-shore localities manj-
kinds of true sea weeds will be found
floating in the water. If you want to add
them to your coOection, gently lift such
specimens into a pail or basin of sea
water, making sure that no sand adheres.
When you reach the
work shop, take out
each specimen in turn
and float it in a smaller
dish of water, so that
you may trim it as de-
sired. Now pass beneath
it a sheet of paper, pre-
ferably of the consisten-
cy of Bristol board or

photograph by M, C. Dickersi

THE GREEN CRAB

A pugnacious fighter and

rapid runner that likes to
hide in moist pockets in eel-
grass windrows

286

NATURAL HISTORY

regular herbarium paper, and lift the spec-
imen from the water, rearranging parts
if necessary. Lay the specimens thus
mounted on blotting paper or newspaper,
cover with a cloth and more blotting
paper. If there are many specimens re-
peat this procedure. Finally place the
layers between flat boards with moderate
weights. One authority suggests chang-
ing blotters and cloth frequently for the
first few days, then discarding the cloth
entirely. At any rate the important
thing is to get the specimens dried as
quickly as possible, and blotters should
be changed often enough to accomplish
this result. A little glue may be advisable
to secure parts of specimens that have
not adhered of themselves. Finally,
label each specimen as you would in
making an herbarium.

Whatever marine lore we have gained
from sojourning at the sea, whatever
fascination we have felt for wisps of
living colors and for twisted shells, what-
ever respect has been engendered by
stinging filaments and piercing spines,
we can hardly leave such a marine
laboratory without a special appreciation
of the amazing variety of adaptations

peculiar to sea life. We should realize
that most marine animals have gills
which are thin structures kept moist by
the water and provided with blood by
means of which breathing (the exchange
of oxygen and carbon dioxid) can take
place. They swim either with fins, or
tails, or other flattened parts, with col-
lapsible umbrella-Uke structures, or with
cilia or flagella. Sometimes they spurt
through the water by rapidly opening and
closing their shells. They may walk or
crawl with a muscular foot, or with hun-
dreds of tube feet, or with slender jointed
legs. They procure their food by creat-
ing currents which suck it in, or by using
stinging cells or suckers on long arms, or by
swimming and seizing their prey. Since
their eyes, — if they possess any, are con-
tinually moistened by the sea water, they
are lidless, and since ears would be an
incumbrance, they have none, but are
sensitive to vibrations through specialized
areas. The creatures not protected by
sting or claw or shearing teeth or by im-
pervious shells into which soft tissues can
be withdrawn, have special structures for
digging their way into sand or boring into
wood.

Photograph by M. C. Du
A HERMIT CRAB

THE ORIGIN OF DOMESTIC CATTLE

The Progenitors of One of the Most Important of Our Domcstif Animals — Their

Wild Forebears and the Steps by which These Wild Creatures Ha\-e Been

Domesticated and the Influences That Have Changed Them

By ARTHUR T. SEMPLE

United States Department of Agriculture

THE origin of our domesticated cattle
has been the special object of study
by many investigators. Here an
attempt is made to review briefly the
progress made by the many who have
worked on this difficult problem. The
term "cattle" usually means domesticated
bovine animals, principally of two species
— Bos taurus, European cattle, and Bos
indicus, the humped cattle of India and
Africa, commonly called zebus.

Domesticated cattle have been derived
from wild species of the genus Bos,
which is one of the largest genera of the
family Bovidae. The members of this
family, like all ruminating mammals,
possess hoofs with an even number of
toes. Among the noticeable features
which usually distinguish them from other
ruminants are hollow horns which consist
of a bony horn core, surrounded by a hard

sheath that grows continuously from the
base. However, some breeds of cattle
and many breeds of sheep do not have
horns. The Bovidse include sheep, goats,
musk oxen, and antelopes, as well as
cattle. It is the youngest and most
specialized familj^ of hoofed animals.
Members of the familj^ have been found
in all parts of the globe except South
America and Australia. In North
America it is represented by the bison,
musk ox, mountain sheep, mountain
goat, and a few allied fossil forms.
Africa appears to be the center of distribu-
tion, although their original home may
have been in Asia. The Cervidse, or deer
family, are closely allied to the Bovidse,
but they have soUd horns which branch
and are shed annually.

The genus Bos is the most specialized
division of the family Bovidse, as is shown

288

NATURAL HISTORY

Photograph by U. S. Depl. of Agriculture
THE DOMESTIC YAK OF CENTRAL ASIA

These are believed to be descended from crosses between the wild yak and domestic Asiatic cattle.
The wild yak does not thrive at low altitudes. Its usual habitat is at an elevation of 12,000 to 15,000 feet

by the structure of the teeth and by its
late geological appearance. According to
Lydekker, the genus includes five sub-
genera or groups designated as

(1) Bibovine, composed of the gaur,
gayal, and banting;

(2) Leptobovine (extinct species only) ;

(3) Bisontine, which includes the yak
and bisons;

(4) Bubaline, or buffalo group;

(5) Taurine, which includes our com-
mon beef and dairy cattle and the
humped cattle of Africa and Asia.

The size of the wild species of the genus
Bos range from that of the anoa, which is
only 3 feet 3 inches in height at the
shoulder, to the gaur, which measures fully
6 feet in height. Among domesticated
cattle we find that some individuals of
the Kerry, Brittany, and Permian breeds,
are only a little more than 3 feet in height.
The domesticated water buffalo is some-
times 6K feet high, and some specimens

of the sacred oxen of Ceylon are said to
be only 2 feet 2 inches in height.

All of the Bibovine group are humped
forms and are natives of southeastern
Asia. The banting and the gayal have
been considered by some zoologists as
distinct species, while others regard them
only as forms of the gaur. The wild
banting of the islands of Bali and Borneo
and the Malay peninsula, is a beautiful
animal with dark, grayish brown or
reddish brown hair and horns. In view
of its variability it might well have been
the starting point of widely differing
modern breeds.

The Leptobovine group is represented
by two extinct species, one of which, the
Etruscan ox, lived in France and Italy.
Remains of the other species are found in
the Siwalik Hills of India. These two
species are believed to be most closely
allied to the banting. They were peculiar
in that the cows were hornless. The

77/ A' OliiaiN OF DOMESTIC CATTLE

289

Siwalik ox was a large animal, with
enormous horns, measuring al)out 10 feci,
from tip to tip.

The important members of the Bison-
tine group are the European bison, the
American bison, and the yak. The Eu-
ropean and American bison probably had
a common ancestor which also inhabited
Asia and crossed from Siberia to Alaska
when there was connecting land there.
There were bison in Mesopotamia up to
Assyrian times. The wild yak ranges
over nearly the entire central part of
Asia. The domesticated yak, though
somewhat smaller in size, is probably
derived directly from the wild form, as
the result of a cross between the wild
yak bull and a domesticated cow of the
Taurine group. There may be yak
blood in the long-haired cattle of the
upper Oxiis.

The buffalo is a domesticated animal
of considerable importance in south-

eastern Europe and southern and eastern
Asia. It is used as a draft animal and for
beef production, and in some sections is
the principal dairy animal. It was known
in Europe previous to Roman times. It
was first introduced as a domesticated
animal into Italy at the end of the
Sixth Century.

There was a prehistoric Algerian buffalo
which roamed from Algeria to Soutli
Africa. The ancient inhabitants of
Persia, Babylonia, and As.syria hunt^-d a
wild bovid, the Indian buffalo, which is
depicted on the cjdinder seals of Assyrian
kings. Large numbers of these animals
were killed by the Assyrian King Ashurna-
sirpal on the hunting grounds near the
Euphrates. Aristotle also mentions the
occurrence of the buffalo with horns
curved back to the neck, in the Persian
Province of Kohkand. Wild buffalo arc
found in Africa and the Philippine Islands,
the latter a small tvDP known as tamarao.

Photograyhby U. S. Depl. ,<j A.incuHure
AN AMERICAN BISON
Bison are now increasing in number in the United States and Canada. Many herds are maintained
and protected on private estates and national parks

290

NATURAL HISTORY

Photograph by Charles Reid

A PRIZE HIGHLAND COW

The West Highland cattle of Scotland are most pictui-esque, and are noted for their hardiness and the

fine quality of their meat. As the Roman legions and the Anglo-Saxon warriors failed to conquer the

ancient inhabitants of Scotland, so their cattle escaped quite free from continental blood

A still smaller domesticated buffalo, the
anoa, is found in the Celebes Islands.

In considering the extinct species which
may possibly be ancestors of domesti-
cated European varieties of cattle one
cannot at present go back far in geological
history. The Narbada ox, Bos namadicus,
is one of the best known species of extinct
Indian oxen. In some specimens the
horn cores are somewhat flattened at the
base, which shows a close relationship to
the bison type. It was a contemporary
of early man in India during the Old
Stone period. Recent explorations at
Anau, Turkestan, have thrown consider-
able light on the oldest civilization of
which we have any record. In deposits
of the oldest layers of Anau remains have
been found of a wild species of ox which is
undoubtedly Bos namadicus. In the
later deposits, about 8000 B.C., a domes-
ticated long-horned ox appeared, which

Dtirst regards as a domesticated form of
namadicus.

The ur, Bos primigenius, a contempo-
rary and probably closely related to the
Narbada ox, was a large and stately ani-
mal, being 6 or 7 feet high at the withers.
It roamed over western Asia, northern
Africa, and the entire continent of Europe.
Like its near relative the European bison,
it was a forest-loving animal and, judging
from old pictures and inscriptions, it had a
hairy coat, which varied in color from
black or dark brown in summer to gray in
winter. A light-colored ring encircled the
muzzle, and along the back was a white
stripe. Unlike the bison, it had no long
hair about the head and neck. To the old
Teutons it was known as the aurochs, or ur.

That there were large numbers of them
is shown by the numerous fossil remains
found throughout a wide region. One of
the best skeletons ever found is now in the

THE OliKlIN OF DOMESTIC CATTLE

291

zoological collection oi the Agricultural
High School of Berlin. This skeleton is
very similar to that of the cattle of the
lowland and steppe breeds found in
Europe today. The remains of the ur are
found in all the earlier pileworks of the
Lake dwellers. It was first domesticated
in Neolithic times, and later the wild form
was driven out by man. Some teeth of
the ur have been found in the bone breccia
of Lebanon. Doctor Schliemann found
the remains of bones of primigenius at
Troy. It has been suggested that the
unicorn referred to in the Bible down to
the time of David may have been the ur,
but another alternative is that the unicorn
was a straight-horn antelope, which when
seen in profile has the appearance of
possessing only one horn.

There is much evidence to show that
the ur has lived within historic times. It
is mentioned by Caesar, who saw it,

or knew of it, as an inhabitant of the
forests beyond the Rhine. Seneca speaks
of both tame and wild cattle. Tacitus
and Pliny say that the horns of these
cattle, used as drinking horns, sometimes
held as much as tw(!lve quarts. In the
Niebelungenlied, Siegfried kills a wisont
(bison) and four ur. In an old chart,
made in 1284, the ur is said to exist
between the upper Duna, the Dnieper,
and the Carpathians, the same region in
which it is thought to have become
exterminated early in the Seventeenth
Century.

Two Roman statuettes of oxen were
dug from a depth of nine feet in widening
a railway in Swabia, in 1895. One repre-
sented a bison, the other a ur. So it is
presumed that both lived in the Black
Forest in Roman times; one roamed in
the woods of the highlands, the other in
the lower meadows.

A CATTALO
Numerous and persistent attempts have been made with American bison and cattle to estabHsh a
hybrid of economic value. Thus far the results have not been encouraging. The Canadian Depart-
ment of Agriculture has been working on this problem recently

292

NATURAL HISTORY

A painting, presumably made about
1500 and found in 1827 in Augsburg,
represents a rough-haired maneless bull,
with large head, thick neck, and small
dewlap. Its powerful horns turn forward,
then outward, and are light colored with
black points. The color is sooty black,
with a white ring about the mouth.

Two golden cups, on which were en-
graved pictures of cattle, were found in a
grave near Sparta. These cups, now in
the museum of the Archeological Society
at Athens, are evidently the work of a
master artist of the Mycenaean period,
about 1500 B.C. On one is represented a
hunting scene with three wild oxen; on
the other is a wild ox held by a man, who
has fastened a rope about the hind leg of
the beast. The other ox appears peaceful
and domesticated.

Perhaps the best aflSrmative evidence
that both the ur and the European bison
lived within historical times is furnished

by Baron Herberstein, who lived during
the first half of the Sixteenth Century.
According to his own statements he saw
both of these animals when he tarried at
the court of King Sigismund August of
Poland during a journey to Moscow. Of
the present wild species the gaur of India
is probably the nearest relative to the ur.
The Celtic shorthorn, Bos longifrons,
inhabited western Europe from Italy to
the British Isles. It is probably identical
with the marsh cow, of the prehistoric
Swiss lake dwellers. Nowhere has it been
found wild with certainty. Breeds of
cattle in Africa and Switzerland, as well
as the zebu of Asia and Africa, possess
strong characteristics of this species.
Hence it is argued that longifrons must
have come originally from some Asiatic
species, probably Bos sondaicus. The re-
cent studies of Ewart indicate that longi-
frons is more intimately related to the
zebu than the wild ur.

MALE AND FEMALE GAUR

The gaur is one of the most impressive of wild oxen; in fact, it is the tallest ox in the world. It is,

however, shy and inoffensive. The above picture illustrates a group in the Vernay-Faunthorpe Hall

of South Asiatic Mammals, at the American Museum

THE ORIGIN OF DOMESTIO CATT/Ji

293

THE WILD BANTING

This is the characteristic wild ox of the Malay region. The species has little trace of the shoulder

hump seen in other Asiatic oxen and can-ies no dewlap. The above picture is of a group in the Vernay-

Faunthorpe Hall of South Asiatic Mammals, at the American Museum

Compared with the ur, the Celtic short-
horn is much smaller and has a shorter
face but a longer and broader forehead.
The horns are shorter, and there is a ridge
in the center of the poll. It is found with
early remains of man's culture in the
marshes of Mecklenburg and Harz. It has
also been dug from trenches near Bologna,
Italy. In England it was probably the
predominating type of cattle during the
Roman occupation. In France it was the
only bovine species about Lyons during
the Gallo-Roman epoch.

The zebu, Bos indicus, which includes
the humped cattle of Asia and Africa, are
probably descended from the banting.
The name is not known in India and has
probably been derived from the PoUsh
zubr or suber. They are known as
Brahmans in the United States. Perhaps
the most notable characteristic of this
species is the hump at the withers, al-
though the large dropping ears, the shape

of the skuO and horns, the white shanks
and the grunting cry readily distinguish
it from other species. Its habits, such as
seldom seeking the shade, and never
standing knee-deep in water, are also
characteristic, though varying as those of
any species must with so wdde a geographi-
cal distribution. Some races have two
humps; the ribs may be 13 or 14 in
number, and the horns vary greatly in
size and curvature. No ^ild form has
yet been found, although some instances
are known where they have become semi-
wild and were able to maintain themselves
even in a region infested with tigers.
There are no records in ancient Egypt
of wild cattle. The zebu was domesticated
probably as early as 4000 B.C. and spread
from Asia to Africa. Aristotle, Pliny,
and Oppian knew of the zebu in Syria, aud-
it may have gradually changed into the
steppe breed.

Throughout Africa humped cattle

294

NATURAL HISTORY

have been widely distributed since very
ancient time. Prehistoric pictures in the
rocks in South Africa show cattle similar
to the trek oxen of the Boers. The Bornu,
a distinctly humped breed near Lake
Tchad in Africa are said to have a horn
which merges imperceptibly with the skin
at its base. This is also characteristic of
the banting.

Throughout most of the period when
man first used cut-stone implements he
was a hunter and fisherman, and had no
domesticated animals. Undoubtedly this
period ended at a much later time in
northern than in southern Europe. Shell
heaps along the coast of the Cattegat
contain bones of the ur and the European
bison, which lived there wild at that time,
at least 3000 B.C. There are some traces
of a smaller ox, but no authentic remains
of the domesticated ox.

At the beginning of the Neolithic or

polished-stone period the change from
savagery to barbarism was made. About
this time it is the common belief that
there was an invasion of Europe by people
from Asia, who brought with them a few
domesticated animals. During the pol-
ished-stone period, which probably ex-
tended from about 4000 B.C. to 2000 B.C.
in Switzerland, cattle, sheep, goats, swine,
and perhaps the horse, were kept as
domesticated animals throughout north-
ern and central Europe. The Swiss lake
dwellers had considerable knowledge of
agriculture and cattle breeding. Bones of
the marsh cattle, smaller than typical Cel-
tic shorthorns, are frequently found there.
At about the beginning of the Bronze
age man was slowly advancing from
barbarism to semi-civilization. The num-
ber of domesticated plants and animals
increased. In central Europe the lake
dwellers were at the height of their

Photograph \

PKIZE-WINNING HOLSTEIN BULL

It is believed that the Holstein-Frie.sian cattle originated in Friesland, Holland, and are closely related

to the aurochs. They are distinctly a dairy type and have been widely distributed over the world and

especially in neighboring countries of Europe, the United States, and South Africa

THE OltiaiN OF DOMESriC ('ATTIJ-:

295

A PURE-BRED NORMANDY COW

From near Nogent-le-Rotrou. Evidently a descendent of the aurochs. French cattle are generally

triple purpose in that they have been developed for milk and work as well as for meat

development. Cattle breeding at this
time held an important place in their
industrial life. The skulls of the marsh
cow and those of cattle of some breeds in
the Balkan peninsula today can hardly be
distinguished from one another.

A study of figures and inscriptions on
stones indicates that Bos longifrons of the
lake dwellers came from Asia in very
early times and was domesticated long
before Babylonian culture, also that
Egyptian breeds came from Asia in pre-
historic times. Recent excavations have
uncovered works of art in the palace at
Knossos, on the island of Crete, in which
the urus is depicted as domesticated and
used in bull-fighting previous to 1500 B.C.

It seems practically impossible to trace
our modern breeds directly to the wild
species from which they were derived. In
the first place, practically all of our cattle
are descended from stock which were
domesticated in prehistoric times, or in

such ancient times that no satisfactory
records are available. The earliest records
indicate that the tame cattle were smaller
than their wild ancestors. In connection
with the great westward migrations of
Asiatic people, the Roman conquests,
and the minor migrations of Germanic,
Nordic, and Slavic tribes following the
fall of the Roman empire, foreign cattle
must have been introduced and mixed
with the native stock. Among nomadic
and migrating tribes cattle were the chief
form of wealth and could be moved even
more readily than the people themselves.
As cattle followed the legions of Rome to
furnish food, some must have escaped and
mixed with the local cattle. Supplying
the mihtary posts throughout the Roman
empire must have involved extensive
movements of cattle.

Skulls of oxen from the Roman mihtary
station at Newstead, Melrose, England,
include several distinct types among which

296

NATURAL HISTORY

are the Celtic shorthorn, the ur, and horn-
less oxen of two distinct varieties. A com-
parison of these types with others in the
British Museum indicates that the Celtic
shorthorn is probably more closely related
to the zebu than to the ur; that polled
black Galloway cattle and polled white
"wild" Cadzow cattle are closely related
to the ur ; that the round-polled Aberdeen-
Angus cattle may be the descendants of a
race allied to a modern Syrian breed
apparently in the act of losing its horns;
and that some of the cattle in the south
of Scotland during the Roman occupation
were descended from an Indian species
now extinct. At Uriconium, which for a
long time was the headquarters of the
Roman Twentieth Legion, remains of the
large-headed type, native of southern
Sweden, have been found.

From Colum.ella's description of the
points of bulls, cows, and draft oxen, we
may conclude that the Romans paid
considerable attention to selection of
breeding animals. EachRoman province

had its own breed of cattle. In general,
they were large and of the brachycephalus
type. In Campania and Siguria the cattle
were smaller and of the longifrons type.
The smaller breeds in the valleys of
northern Italy yielded a good flow of milk,
which in the spring was considered of
medicinal value. Many Romans went to
the herds of Switzerland for the cure of
tuberculosis. That cattle were bred in
large numbers we know from the Punic
Wars, when Hannibal captured 2000 oxen
and at one time offered up 300 white bulls
as a sacrifice. At another time he escaped
from a snare laid by Fabius Maximus by
tying torches to oxen at night and driving
them up the slope of the mountains.
The Romans, thinking that the Cartha-
ginians were escaping, started to head
them off, but were met by an array of wild
oxen. Hannibal easily escaped through a
defile which was then left unguarded.

In ancient Greece there were white
cattle in Thessaly, hornless cattle in
Borysthenes, and a large breed of cattle,

ZEBUS GRAZING NEAR HOUSTON, TEXAS
Zebus were introduced into South Carolina in 1849. A few years later they reached South Texas,
where they have proven their value for crossing with cattle of western Europe breeding. Now,
thousands of South Texas cattle contain zebu blood. They are commonly called Brahmans in the

United States

Tlll<: OHICIN OF DOMESTIC CATTLE

297

V J

'■■^•m--^"'^'

pi, h,,

K. Depl. of Aari,

A LONGHORN STEER, KING RANCH, SOUTH TEXAS
A remarkable steer on the King Ranch in South Texas, with horns resembiing those of Hungarian
cattle, yet not closely related to them in any way. While mostly of Brahman and Shorthorn blood,
whatever Texas longhorn blood there was present must have been very prepotent in respect to horns

improved by Pyrrhus about 300 B.C. in
Epirus. Pyrrhus selected breeding stock
according to strict rules, and no heifers
were allowed to breed until they were four
years of age. Arrian says that Alexander
the Great imported 2000 or more head of
cattle from India (probably they were
zebus).

The oldest inhabitants of Holland of
which we have any records are the
Frisians, who dwelt on the shore of the
North Sea as early as 300 B.C. They
were a peaceable, pastoral people, and
may have originally migrated from central
or western Asia. Little is known con-
cerning the characteristics of their cattle,
but it is certain that a portion of them
were white and that they were of some
reUgious significance. Two hundred years
later the Batavians came down the Rhine
from Hesse and settled near the Friesians,
where they drained marshy lands and
islands, built dikes, and had numerous
herds of large, long-horned black cattle of
the primigenius type, which in all prob-

ability they had brought from their
former home. That a cross of the ur of
the old Teutons with the Celtic short-
horns took place is e^adent in the lowland
breeds of Germany today.

From the ancient sagas we learn that
there were two breeds of cattle in Scan-
dina\'ia. One was a small white or white-
spotted, hornless breed Hving among the
mountains in north Sweden; the other
was a large black breed similar to the
cattle of Jutland and Denmark. At the
entrance of the Goths there was another
highly prized, large-horned breed, either
red or yellow in color, which appears to
have been introduced by them. The
vikings were in the habit of taking their
cattle with them on shipboard, and the
Norwegian settlers in Iceland in 874
brought their cattle along with them.
Thorsin, the Icelander who founded a
colony in Vineland (New England),
carried cattle with him.

Abundant remains of the bison and the
ur appear in Great Britain. Both con-

NATURAL HISTORY

.m\

tiLutograph by U . S. Forest Service
HEREFORD CATTLE
A fine herd of Hereford cattle grazing in the Colorado National Forest, Colorado, at an elevation of
about 9000 feet. Since 1880 the Herefords have so rapidly and completely displaced the Texas long-
horns and the bison on our western ranges, that they might form a sohd front of "whitefaces" from
the Rio Grande to the Milk River of Montana

tinued to live there for a long time. The
bison disappeared first, while the ur con-
tinued possibly in the mountain fastnesses
until within historic times.

Csesar found large herds of domesti-
cated cattle, which were evidently of the
Celtic shorthorn type. The remains re-
veal a small breed about the size of the
Irish Kerry. The small horns were
sharply curved forward. Sculptures,
coins, and mural paintings of Roman
cattle are represented with upturned
horns much like some Italian breeds of
today. Other Italian breeds have horns
growing outward. Reasoning from these
premises, it seems that cattle were carried
from Italy to England during the Roman
occupation and crossed with the native
stock. The semi- wild cattle now roaming
in the parks of Great Britain resemble the
Sicilian and ancient Roman breeds.

The Saxons probably brought their
cattle with them to England, while the
Britons retreated with their cattle to the
mountains of Scotland and Wales. The

descendants of these cattle have furnished
the foundation stock of modern breeds in
those districts. Later introductions from
Normandy and northern Germany have
modified the breeds in the eastern and
southern counties. The Kerry is the
modern breed most typical of the old
Celtic shorthorn, the Highland and
Welsh breeds of the cross between the
Celtic shorthorn and Roman cattle and
the Longhorn breed of the cross between
the native cattle and those of Germanic
and Norman importations. While the
oldest annals of Ireland refer to horned
cattle, for a long period hornless cattle
also have been quite numerous. They are
being perpetuated in the present Irish
Moiled cattle.

The Channel Islands cattle, the Brit-
tanies, and the Kerries, are regarded as
descendants of the Celtic shorthorn. The
deerlike form and color of the Jerseys in-
dicate such descent unmistakably.

The first cattle in America were brought
in 1493 by Columbus on his second

THE OUiaiN OF DOMESTIC CATTLE

299

voyage. About 1525 some of Spanish
origin were taken to Vera Cruz, Mexico,
where they rapidly multiphed and gave
rise to the stock which later became known
to the breeders in the United States as
the Texas longhorn.

The cattle introduced at Jamestown,
Virginia, were from England, with some
mixture of Spanish cattle from the West
Indies. In New York the cattle were
largely of Dutch origin. In Pennsylvania
the cattle were brought over by the Dutch
and Swedish settlers. At Plymouth,
Massachusetts, the cattle were brought
from Holland and England. The ships
which arrived at Boston contained mostly
English breeds, the Devon predominating.
In New Hampshire Captain Mason in-
troduced a large yellow breed from Den-
mark. In Canada the importations were
largely from France.

In the West Indies, Mexico, and Cen-
tral and South America the cattle were
nearly all from Spanish stock imtil within
recent years. Many good breeding ani-
mals from improved breeds have been im-
ported from Europe and the United
States to Argentina and other countries of

South and Central America during the
past fifty years. Humped cattle of India
(zebus) have also been imported to
Texas, the West Indies, and tropical
South America. On account of their
greater abiUty to resist disease, parasites,
heat and drought, the crosses with cattle
of liuropean origin have been very suc-
cessful. With the exception of the Hol-
stein-Friesians, the Brown Swiss, and
the zebus, but few cattle from other
countries have been imported except from
the British Isles.

Cattle not being native to America,
there are no strictly American breeds, but,
owing to differences in chmate, care, and
ideals of American breeders, the European
breeds which have been brought to Ameri-
ca have nevertheless changed to some
extent. Occasional!}' a strain of improved
stock has arisen as a sport. The Gore
breed, well known in New England .seven-
ty-five years ago, and still later the
American Holderness, were recognized in
New York. At the present time the PoUed
Shorthorn, Polled Hereford, and French-
Canadian are the onlj' important breeds
which mav be called American.

This typical old-time
Texas longhorn visited the
stock yards of St. Joseph
Missotiri, in 1917

Needless to say, he was
one of the leading attrac-
tions of the stocker and
feeder cattle show

Photograph by U. S. Dept. of AyricultuTi
A TEXAS LONGHORN

A Glimpse of the Mountains tlirougli the Ferns

BOA CONSTRICTORS AND OTHER PETS

The Curious Dispositions of Some Island Reptiles
By PAUL GRISWOLD HOWES

Curator of Natural History, The Bruce Museum, Greenwich, Connecticut
Photographs by the Author

SINCE my previous article in this
magazine' on the wild life of the
little island of Dominica, which is the
highest member of the Leeward group of
the West Indies, I have continued my
studies in that wonderful outdoor labora-
tory, and have explored the far interior of
the island at every altitude, from sea
level to the tops of her two highest moun-
tains. One of the chief purposes of this
last expedition was to study and capture
specimens of reptile life. True to my ex-
pectations, these reptiles lived up to the
island's reputation for producing unique
characters. Never have I seen snakes
with more unexpected dispositions or ones
that baffled us more in trying to care for
them.

Near the base of the mountains we
found nothing of interest, but at an alti-

'■'Wild Life in I
XXX, No. 1, p. 90.

Natural History, Vol.

tude of some 1800 feet, where our main
camp was located, we ran into snakes a-
plenty. At first we began to encounter
that beautiful species known only by the
scientific name Leimadophis julise. It is
rather small, reaching about twenty-four
inches, or perhaps a little more, in a full-
grown specimen. In color it is usually
black and white, black being the ground
color, with a white spot or mark on every
scale. In this snake are the materials for
new species, for the specimens vary
greatly and these variations are doubt-
less heritable. Besides this, the reptile
lives at many altitudes and these en-
vironmental differences cause physiologi-
cal differences which have much to do
with the survival of variants.

Color varieties were encountered that
ranged from very dark specimens, almost
devoid of the white markings, through
brilliantly black and white individuals, to

BOA (JONSTiacrOliS ASU OTIIKU I'LTS

301

others witli :i Ki'-^y gnjuiid color ;ind loss
contrast in the white; markings. The
largest and oldest specimen found, which
was at a comparatively low altitude,
measured twenty-nine inches and was
almost solid black on the upper surface
with slight iridescence in places, and,
about an inch apart, irregular whitish
bands running about the botly with four
rows of scales between each band. The
throat was tinged with light yellowish-
orange. The under surfaces of these
snakes also varied greatly, some being
mottled black and white, while others
were plain grayish-white.

It is a strange fact that the smaller and
younger individuals were unusually docile.
It was quite impossible to induce them to
bite or even to open their mouths in the
usual threatening manner of small reptiles.
They loved the warmth of the human
skin and would crawl up one's sleeve
or trouscr leg, at every opportunity.

They were at once tame and delightful
pets. Only the small and comparatively
young individuals were tame when first
captured. The old, dark snake just
described was the wildest, most untam-
able creature one could imagine. It
thrashed about madly when caught,
wound its coils about my arm, tied knots
in itself, and ejected the most foul-
smelling fluid upon my skin. It never
became tame and died a cringing, angry.
self-imposed death from starvation.

On February 21 and 25 two captive
specimens deposited clutches of elongate
white eggs with parchment-like shells.
They were uneven and very different in
size and moved from the reptile's womb
very slowly, with slight pauses between
each movement, which caused tinj' ridges
to form in the soft shells. The eggs
hatched in March and April, giving birth
to little snakes that very closely resembled
the parents in color

THE RUGGED DOMINICAN COAST

Photographed from the top of Scott's Head. This bay is doubtless a crater. As shown here, even in

the dry season, the coastal mountains gather in some moisture from the clouds

302

NATURAL HISTORY

CORONA HOUSE, HEADQUARTERS OF THE 1926 EXPEDITION

When the expedition returned here in 1930, it found that the

buildings had completely fallen into decay

The position of this snake in the "food
ring" of the island's wild life is between
the insects and earthworms and the tree
frogs and the Antillean broad-winged
hawk. The snake feeds upon the smaller
insects and worms, and the eggs of Eleu-
therodadylus frogs, and is fed upon to a
great extent by this common island hawk.

We were particularly anxious to cap-
ture several boa-constrictors during the
last expedition. We found them quite
easily near our headquarters, but they
were never found in high mountains,
"hanging from every tree," as one over-
imaginative resident of the island in-
formed us. None were found above 2000

feet and all of those we
did find were in grassy
clearings or overgrown,
abandoned fields near
tumbled-down planta-
tions. They lay coiled
in the undergrowth by
day, and crawled out
through the dank vege-
tation by night in search
of their natural food of
black rats and 'possums.
In the moonlight we
would sometimes see
them gliding through the
clearing in front of our
tent, and to the uniniti-
ated, an eleven-foot boa
looks unusually large and
sinister in the moonlight.
To capture them we
prepared forked sticks by
cutting saplings with
suitable branches, so that
we were armed with a
sort of wooden, two-tined
pitchfork, about five feet
long and bearing three-
inch tines. These and a
burlap bag were our only
equipment.

On our first hunt we
had entered a heavily grown field. We had
proceeded but fifty feet when I stepped
down off a fallen tree directly in front of
a seven-foot boa. The reptile shrunk back,
but did not move its coils. I called to Cum-
mings, my companion, who approached
cautiously. Then at a given signal we
ploughed our forked sticks down over the
snake's neck and body, pinning it after a
short struggle so that it could do nothing
but writhe. We then grabbed the boa by
the neck just back of its head and
pounced upon its body and in a minute
or two we had it subdued and in the bur-
lap bag.

Thus we caught all our large boas, but

BOA CONST/ilCTOKS AND OTIIEIi PETS

303

w(! were to have our troubles with them
in other ways. Our two finest ones,
measuring about seven feet six inches
each, were confined in a large flat box
with heavy meshed wire over the outdoor
portion of this temporary home. We ad-
mired them greatly each day and
marvelled at the two distinct color varie-
ties that we had been fortunate enough to
obtain — one dark bluish-black with beau-
tiful iridescence in its scales and the other
lighter and quite brown in tone with large
blotches of still darker coloring becoming
much more distinct toward the tail.

We considered the safety of their cage,
but imagine our surprise and disappoint-
ment one morning to find that both
snakes were gone. The wire mesh must
have been accidently ruptured, and the
captives had taken advantage of the
opportunity to escape.

In early February boa.s begin to have
their young. They do not lay eggs, but
give birth to their offspring just as mam-
mals do. We began to find them in the
clearings, brilliantly patterned and beau-
tiful to look upon.

The boas possessed peculiar disposi-
tions, to say the least. They remained
extremely vicious to the end. Not one
ever showed signs of becoming tame or
even partly u.sed to cage life. They
would fly at the wire of their cage the
instant anyone came near, catching their
teeth in the meshes and then tearing
them out by the roots in rage and panic
as the wire held them. It became neces-
sary to put them in slatted boxes, and
even then they would fly at the slats,
banging and injuring themselves in a
most wicked manner.

In strange contrast to this senseless

♦'

•

^c-^i-X ■

^■'^■--

.'^'^ :_

ABANDONED TO liUST AND DECAY

Rusting machinery and tumbled-down factories are found occasionally, mute evidence of the failure

of some ill-advised attempt in the past toward industrial development. All the timbers in this

building were hand hewn, and it was roofed with hand-split shingles. Near these old ruins was a

favorite haunt of the boas

) P/ oioy aph

THE SNAKES LAY QUITE MOTIONLESS
From a respectful distance tame ducks inspected the two Antillean boa constrictors

A COMMON DOMINICAN TREE PROG

The Leimadophis snakes feed upon the eggs of this frog, Eleutherodadylus martinicensis, together

with insects and worms

OSK OF THE LXl'LDniUX'.S CAi' 1 I. J:L.■^

A fine ii-idescent specimen of the Dominican boa constrictor, Conslndor orphias

HEAD OF THE ANTILLEAN BOA CONSTRICTOR

These reptiles are not uncommon in Dominica. They reach a length of eleven feet and perhaps more,

and are very bad-tempered

306

NATURAL HISTORY

behavior, was their attitude when re-
moved from their cages. As shown by the
photographs of the two medium-sized
boas upon the ground, with the ducks
keeping a respectful but interested vigil,
they made no attempt whatever to escape.
They would lie thus in the sun quite
motionless. If one of us went near they
would lunge at the intruder and show their
wicked teeth, but otherwise they were
content to remain in one spot with the
whole open country and the great forests
near by. Perhaps they felt that there
was no hope for them, but that is ex-
tremely unlikely, judging from my past
experiences with tropical snakes. The
fact remains, however, that none of them
ever tried to escape when we deliberately
allowed them an opportunity.

They all went on hunger strikes as soon
as confined, and this was our next problem.
At first we tried putting live things into
their cages at night, which appears to be

their regular time for feeding. In turn,
a lizard, a smaller snake, a black rat, and a
perfectly good chicken were chosen as the
victims for sacrifice, but to our amaze-
ment they all came through unharmed.
The chicken was most nonchalant, and in
the morning we found it roosting com-
fortably upon the coiled up reptile, in a
most unconcerned manner. We never
could make the snakes eat of their own
free will, although from reliable island
authority we learned that they are usually
very fond of chickens, visiting plantation
hen coops and destroying the inmates
during the night.

At length we had to resort to forcible
feeding. By means of a large grease gun
with a long spout and a screw plunger,
we kept our charges alive by forcing a half
pound of ground raw beef into the belly
of each reluctant boa. It took three to
do the job — two to hold the angry rep-
tile and one to manipulate the gun, but

EGGS OF THE LEIMADOPHIS JULI/E

The shells were parchment-like and the eggs distorted and dented. Only two or three were laid by

each individual

no A CONSTRICTOliS AND OTIIIili PI'JTS

307

the trick worked and w(;
brought the snakes safely
back to America. At home
at the museum th(;y lived lor
some months, but at length
they died from some strange
malady similar to diphtheria,
and to the end not one of
them swallowed a mouthful
of food voluntarily.

The gecko of Dominica,
Thecadadylus i-apicaudus, is
a reptile at once wild and
repulsive looking to those
who do not naturally take to
such creatures, but for all its
ugly, staring eyes, and its
blunt suction-disc feet, which
enable it to climb upside
down over your bed at night,
it is quite harmless, although
it will sometimes try to bite
in a sluggish sort of way.

It lives on insects, which
it hunts tirelessly at night,
pouncing upon its victims
and grinding them up with a
nightmare sort of noise and
a strange smihng expression.
In watching these creatures
at their work of destruction,
I could not help but be glad
that I did not live in the time of the huge,
carnivorous dinosaurs, for one would meet
the same horrid grinding fate in their
jaws as these helpless Dominican insects
do today under the reign of the geckos.

Geckos deposited white eggs in the
eaves of old buildings and in plantation
houses, where their much paler, ghostlike
young were often seen and where their
even more ghostlike tappings within the
walls may be heard in the stillness of the
night.

The strangest fact concerning them is
that they possess easily disjointed tails.
When they are caught or pounced upon
by an enemy, they wrench their bodies

MR. HOWES WITH TWO ANTILLEAN BOAS

He is standing at the door of the station headquarters in the

mountains of Dominica

violently and the wildly squirming tail
comes away in the jaws or talons of the
destroyer, while the actual hving body of
the lizard escapes unharmed. This
violent reaction to danger is automatic,
as I have witnessed the complete dis-
jointing of the tail when one of these
geckos was passing into unconsciousness
under the fumes of chloroform.

Still more remarkable is the fact that
the gecko possesses the power of regenera-
tion to a remarkable degree, and it is only
a matter of a few months after an accident
that this reptile appears with a nice new
tail, which may again serve its purpose as
a life-saver to its owner.

308

NATURAL HISTORY

HARMLESS
A life-sized view of the Dominican gecko, a strange, nocturnal creatui'e that dwells in old houses

Lizards are numerous in Dominica.
There are the very common and vari-
colored Anoles, those quick httle dwellers
in the houses and fields and forests; the
still more energetic and rapid glassy
skinks (Scincidae), the Ameiva lizards of
the coastal zone; and the large green,
noisy, and hard-running iguanas.

This latter animal is one of the hardest
of all to capture. It lives in the hot,
drier zone well below 1000 feet and is one
of the fastest moving creatures upon four
legs. I never caught one in Dominica,
but my friend Doctor Thaly of Roseau,
the capital of the Island, caught one for
me by his strange method of charming
the reptile by his whistling. As incredul-
ous as this may sound it is the truth, for
this lizard actually stops in its tracks and
succumbs to the strange whistling notes
which the Doctor produces. The only
specimen which we brought home alive
was captured in this manner. It lived for

a time, but like its distant cousins, the
boa constrictors, it would not eat, and
finally died after laying several large white
eggs in its cage.

As we were leaving Dominica, in the
confusion which always accompanies the
departure of a ship which is cluttered with
natives and their nondescript luggage,
one of our cages of boa constrictors was
left upon the deck by mistake. Before
long a dusky and portly lady sat down
upon the case. With characteristic
abruptness and violence one of the
snakes lunged up under her, striking her a
good blow as its head came up between
the slats of the box. She looked down and
caught sight of the word "SNAKES" writ-
ten in large letters upon her box seat, and
then with a yell that could be heard all
over the ship, she literally exploded into
the air and ran shrieking down the com-
panionway and out of sight.

Later when we were well out to sea,

BOA CONSTHICrORS AND OTI/KH PETS

309

with the aid of a friendly purser and a
dark night, we spirited all of our snaltes
into our cabin and under our bunks.
Next to our cabin, across the companion-
way were two ladies from Brooklyn. We
struck up an acquaintance naturally

enough, but they both had a horror of
what we had gone down to Dominica to
do. "The idea of having these horrible
snakes near one," they had exclaimed.
How near they were, the.se dear ladies will
never know!

IN THIS DEEP HOLE H
THE MOUNTAINS "WER:
BERS OF CAVE BATS.

rLIGHT PENE-
TED INTO THE FOREST
T THREE FI..\SH SHEETS
^E NEEDED TO OBT.AIN
THIS PHOTOGR.\PH

H. P. MoNTANYE, Member of the 1926 Expedition,
Descending Into a Ste.a.minq Fissure

I I ui iiil hi \ Mud I

A Stream at Ifrane, m the Mmale Atlas Mountains

THE WILD BEES OF MOROCCO

An Entomologist Studies Isolated Species in the Mountains
of North Africa

By T. D. a. COCKERELL

University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado

IN these days the most fashionable type
of biological research is that carried on
in the laboratory, and, considering the
wonderful discoveries made by laboratory
workers, it is not surprising that this
should be so. Yet we must not forget
Nature's laboratory, out-of-doors, where
experiments have been going on through
the ages, with the result of producing the
varied assemblage of living things now
inhabiting the world. Why are there so
many genera, species, and races? How
did they come to be, and what is their
place in the economy of nature? No one
can answer these questions for the plants
and animals of his own neighborhood.
No one can completely answer them for a
single species. Yet if one has studied some
group of creatures intensively, approxi-
mations to answers may be found, and
travel may be combined with fruitful
observation.

A very important factor in relation to
all forms of life, is that of isolation.
That is why islands are so interesting to
the naturalist. I have just received a
paper on the lizards of the islands east of
Spain, which illustrates local modifica-
tion in the most striking way. The
author, Mr. Eisentraut of Berhn, recog-
nizes three species of the common Euro-
pean genus Lacerta inhabiting these
islands. One, Lacerta lilfordi, lives on
the Balearic Islands, and has fifteen
different races on the different islands.
The second, Lacerta pityusensis, lives on
the Pityusae group, and has no less than
twenty-seven races inhabiting the various
small islands. The third, Lacerta atrata,
inhabits the much smaller Columbrete
Islands, nearer the coast of Spain, and
has three races. Now it is admitted that
these races of lizards are not very differ-
ent, but according to the author they

THE WILD BEES OF MOROCCO

are quite rccogniz;il)l(;, ;iiid it is evident
that we have the beginnings of changes
which, in the fullness of time and under
favorable circumstances, lead to the
formation of distinct species. We have
also a measure of the age of the several
islands, and of the rate of (^volution in the
various types of animals and plants
inhabiting them.

I do not know any group of small
islands where the bees are similarly
differentiated, but no one has yet studied
them in this intensive way. There is no
adequate account up to the present time,
of the bees of any group of small islands,
nor has it been customary to examine
bees for small and incipient characters.
At the same time, there are isolation-
factors alTecting bees which have no
influence on lizards. Especially we note
isolation through food habits, or restric-
tion to particular genera or species of
flowers. There are some kinds of bees

that ar(! so conipielelj' dc^jjeiident on
particular kinds of flowers that they
cannot exist where these do not grow.
When one is looking for new bees, the
best way is to look for new flowers, which
are usually productive of .something inter-
esting. Thus the student should be a
botani.st as well as an entomologist.
In the vicinity of Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
Doctor Gra^nichcr observed a bee wliich
visited plants of the large group C'ompos-
itae, the group of the a.sters, golden-rods,
etc. But on the Parnassia, or grass of
Parnassus, he found a very closely related
species, which was entirely confined to
that plant. It can hardly be doubted
that the second originated as an offshoot
from the first, perhaps a good many
thousands of years ago, but possibly more
recently.

Another kind of isolation is on moun-
tain masses or peaks. Many species exist
only in the mountains and do not cross

COLLECTING BEES AT ASNI
Professor Cockerell is shown here collecting a new and excessively minute species of Ceratina

312

NATURAL HISTORY

photograph by A. Mackie
A VILLAGE IN THE HIGH ATLAS MOUNTAINS
Located near Asni is this picturesque village. Its architecture is very reminiscent of that found in

the state of Arizona

the low country between. That is why
among mammals such as chipmunks there
are so many more species and races in
the west than in the relatively uniform
eastern states. Many bees have been
collected on mountains, but no one so far
has done the work thoroughly in any
region where the ranges are broken up as
in New Mexico and Arizona. It would
be a great and arduous undertaking, but
the results would be very interesting.
Recent studies have brought out the
fact that in Africa certain bees exist
high in the mountains close to the
equator, and the same species appear
again at low levels far to the south, in
Natal or the Cape Province. In studying
the distribution of bees, we have this
advantage, that as they visit flowers
they are easily seen and it is possible to
collect all or nearly all the species flying
in a district at the time it is visited.
There is, however, a succession of species

during the warmer months, just as there
is a succession of flowers. Hence, in
order to get all of them, it is necessary to
collect throughout the season. Even
then some will be missed, as there are
off-seasons when particular kinds are
rare or almost absent, whereas in other
years they may be common. Many
people are surprised to hear how many
species of wild bees there are. In a good
locality or district it is possible to find
more than 300 sorts, and in a continental
area there are thousands. I have not
computed the total number known in the
world, but it would only represent a
minority of those actually existing, I
believe.

Many years ago, Wallace and Sclater,
two famous Enghsh naturalists, under-
took to define the zoogeographical re-
gions of the world. These were the areas
of continental size which had the fauna
and flora fairly uniform. The Palearctic

Tlll<: WILD BEES OF MOROCCO

313

(or northern region of the worldj extends
from the Atlantic shores of Europe and
North Africa to the Pacific coasts of
northern Asia, including Japan. It is an
enormous extent of country, with, of
course, very diverse conditions. In any
large group of animals the species will
vary in different parts of this great area,
but most of the genera will be the same.
On the coast of eastern Siberia I heard the
cuckoo call just as in England, and I col-
lected a beautiful butterfly, almost iden-
tical with one which I had found on the
Madeira Islands out in the Atlantic off
Africa.

Having collected and studied wild
bees at the eastern end of the Palearctic
Region, or eastern Siberia and Japan, we
were especially interested to see those of
the western extremity, in Morocco. The
fauna of Morocco attracts the naturalist
for many reasons. There is a cool coast
belt, a heated interior, and a great series

of mountains, very much as in California.
The Atlas Mountains, though near to
Europe, and long famous in history, have
remained comparatively little known.
Owing to the condition of the country,
it has often been un.safe to venture into
them, and difficult to obtain permi.s.sion
to do so. In 1887 was published a very
interesting book Journal of a Tour in
Morocco and the (Jreat Alias, bj' Sir Joseph
Hooker and John Ball. These distin-
guished botanists, after surmounting
many obstacles, made their way into the
midst of the high Atlas, by way of
Marakesh (Morocco City), Asni (which
they call Hasni), Arround and Amizmiz
(their Amsmiz). This was in the year
1871, but at this comparatively late date
the social conditions were medieval in
character. Thus it happened that they
received favors from the aged governor of
Shedma, who created a most favorable
impression. His venerable aspect, re-

Phctograph by A. Macliie
CAMELS AT ASNI
These ubiquitous burden bearers still prove their usefulness to man in these mountainous regions
high above sea-level, as well as in the sandy plains of desert areas

314

NATURAL HISTORY

markably fine features, and combination
of dignity and frankness in conversation,
convinced the travelers that here at
least they had met a man of superior
type. On speaking of him to a long
resident of the country they were told:
"Yes, he is a fine-looking fellow, but he is
not much better than other men of his
class. Last year he poisoned two friends
of mine under very discreditable circum-
stances." Then follows an account of
these circumstances, ending with the
comment made by the governor's son:
"Well, the fact is that my papa did not
know what to do with them, so he had
them poisoned."

CHILDREN AT TANGIER

These delightful subjects for the camera lived in Tangier, the most
important seaport of Morocco, which consists partly of houses of
one story, built along narrow lanes too steep for the use of vehicles

Today the Sultan is little more than a
nominal ruler, the greater part of the
country is under the French, a broad zone
to the north is administered by Spain,
and a small coastal district including
Tangier is under international control.
Railroads and good roads are to be seen
crossing the country, and travelers are
generally safe. At the ancient university
in Fez, we met a man from up the country.
Our missionary friend, Miss Dension,
spoke to him in his own tongue, remarking
that he came from a turbulent district.
"Yes," he said, "Formerly one went
out on the road and got killed, but since
the French have come, we eat our toma-
toes and sleep in peace. ' '
Nevertheless, there
are still places where it
is not considered safe to
go out without an
armed escort, though
these are rapidly dimin-
ishing. The country is
being opened up for
modern civilization, to
the great advantage of
the people in most re-
spects, but not without
some disadvantages
arising from competi-
tion and the introduc-
tion of methods foreign
to the genius of the
natives. History shows
that the Moors have
inherent qualities of a
high type, and are capa-
ble under favorable
conditions, of making
noteworthy contribu-
tions to human culture.
The French have not
only developed the
country in a material
way but have estab-
lished at Rabat an ex-
cellent scientific institu-

jih hy A. Mackie

THE WILD BEES OF MOHOCCO

315

I'huUiyraijk bu ir. /'. Cud:crcll
HOTEL AT ASNI
Professor Cockerell and his party made this their headquarters while they collected a large number

of bees in the vicinity

tion, with collections representing the
natural history of the country. M. Andre
Thery, the principal entomologist, is
a great authority on beetles of the
family Buprestidse, and has an immense
collection from all parts of the world.
He has recently (1928) published an
admirable revision of the Buprestidse of
North Africa. He lists about 300 species,
and numerous varieties. Thirty-six of
the species were first made known by
him. M. Jean Mimeur, of the same
institution at Rabat, specializes in Aphidi-
dse (plant lice) and Coccidse (scale in-
sects). Conditions are thus more favor-
able for the scientific exploration of
Morocco than they have ever been. It is
the one country to be reached in a few
days from London, which still affords
striking novelties, which according to our
experiences can be obtained without
difficulty. Thus Mr. B. P. Uvarov of the
British Museum reports that of sixteen

species of Orthoptera we obtained, no
less than three were new. One, a blue-
winged grasshopper came from Arround
in the High Atlas; the other two were
from Ifrane in the Middle Atlas.

Our expedition of 1930, consisting of
Miss Alice Mackie, Mrs. Cockerell and
myself, reached Tangier at the end of
July, and sailed thence for Southampton
on August 7. Thanks to the generous
assistance of Judge Barne of Tangier and
various other friends, we were able to
choose the best localities and make the
most of our limited time.

It was, of course, not the best time to
collect bees, which in north Africa are
especially abundant in the spring, as in
California. During the heat of the sum-
mer much of the vegetation dries up, the
crop of flowers is greatly diminished, and of
course the bees are correspondingly fewer.
However, it was our only opportunity
and we had to make thf best of it.

316

NATURAL HISTORY

*^ /•^.-^H''

Photograph by A. Mackit

CROSSING THE RIVER NEAR TAHANAOUT
At this spot of the river, locally called Asif Reraia, which was north of Asni, lower carboniferous fossils

were found

At Tangier the species were few and not
particularly interesting. At Rabat, in a
vacant lot in front of the hotel, I found a
new species of Nomioides, a minute,
prettily colored insect similar to our
Perdita of the dry parts of North America.
At Mogador I found another new species
of the same genus. These places are all
on the coast, but it was in the interior, in
the Atlas Mountains that we found our
real success.

In the high Atlas we found accomoda-
tion at a small inn, situated in a grove of
olive trees, at Asni. This was the very
place where Hooker and Ball had camped
in 1871. There is a broad arroyo through
which only a small stream was running
at the time of our visit. Flowers were
not very numerous, and became scarcer
before we left. Yet there were enough,
in enough variety, to attract a large
number of bees, and our collection grew
until the available boxes were nearly filled.

Later we spent some time at Ifrane
in the middle Atlas, not very far from
Fez. This is a place which is being
established as a summer resort for Euro-
peans, and the large hotel was still in
process of construction while we lived in
it. The surrounding hills are covered
with oaks (on which, to my surprise, I
failed to find any galls), and on the
summits are tall cedar trees of the species
Cedrus atlantica. Hooker and Ball in
their time were not sure that this tree was
to be found in Morocco. Through the
valley runs a winding stream of cool
water, inhabited by a vast number of
snails called Melanopsis maroccana. The
flowers were more abundant than at Asni,
and we got many bees. This locality,
which can be reached by way of Meknes,
is indeed an ideal spot for the collector
as well as for hohday purposes in general.

Not all our Morocco bees have yet
been worked up, but 23 new species and

Till': WILD lil'JKS OF MOHOCCO

317

sovenil varieties have been described.
Undoubtedly the Atlas has a considerable
fauna peculiar to that general region, and
as regards several groups of insects, not
yet made known. From the Great
Atlas Hooker and Ball reported 465
species of flowering plants, of which 75
were said to be endemic, or peculiar to
the region. In addition 61 were confined
to this and adjoining regions. Presum-
ably the list could now be considerably
augumented, and while it is probable
that several of the supposed endemic
species have been found elsewhere, many
others must have been added. Indeed, it
must be remembered that Hooker and
Ball did not divide species so minutely as
is customary today, and doubtless many
of their "varieties" take rank as species.
In the case of the bees, it is not yet
profitable to offer statistics, but it may be

said tiiat the peculiarities are at least as
great as those of the plants. Alf50, as
with the plants, there is a conspicuous
lack of peculiar genera, and also of forms
which could be supposed to have come
from south of the Sahara. The fauna and
flora with few exceptions arc of a Mediter-
ranean type.

The highest altitude reached by the
expedition was Arround, 1900 m., in the
High Atlas. This place was visited by
Mrs. Cockerell and Miss Mackie, going
on mules from Asni, under the guidance
of Mrs. Joseph Nurra, a resident in the
vicinity of Asni, who helped us in many
ways. They put up at a small rest house
provided for travelers. One of the dis-
coveries at Arround was a new bee, which
I named after Mr. Nurra. It belongs to
the wide-spead, quick-flying genus
Anthophora.

A view near Asni

Wide World Photoaraph

Man o' War Leading Sir Barton by Eight Lengths, at Windsor, Ontario

"MAN O' WAR" AND "GALLANT FOX"

Two Great Race Horses of the Last Decade. — With Weights and Measure-
ments, and Notes on Speed Adaptation

By S. HARMSTED CHUBB

Associate Curator of Comparative Anatomy, American Museum
Photographs by the Author, except where Otherwise Credited

THE comparative merits of Man
o' War and Gallant Fox have, for
some time, been a never faihng
subject of discussion, but it is safe to say
that this controversy will never be closed.
The fact that these great runners worked
out their illustrious careers at widely
separated dates renders such a comparison
extremely difficult or impossible.

Man o' War held the excited attention
of the turf in 1919 and 1920, while
Gallant Fox drew thousands to the grand
stand ten years later. The would-be
rivals of Man o'
War, have, with
him, long since
retired from the
track. The horses
that ventured to
compete with Gal-
lant Fox were of

RACES IN

WHICH

BOTH HORSES WON

Man o" Wa

R, 1920,

AND Gallant Fox, 1930

track

RACE

Belmont Park

Belmont Stakes

Belmont Park

Lawrence Realization

Belmont Park

Jockey Club Gold Cup

Aqueduct

Dwyer Stakes

Pimlico

Preakness

quite a different class, and worked under
conditions that had greatly changed dur-
ing the intervening years. Each horse
is so worthy, such a perfect example of
equine conformation, intelligence, and
achievement, whose value as a premier
entertainer at the race course is known,
not only to the frequenters of the track,
but to many other "grown-ups" and
children as well, throughout the United
States and the world, that comparison
of their accomplishments would necessi-
tate dwelling on minute technicalities and
be unfair to one or
the other of these
remarkable horses.
These facts, par-
ticularly that they
never met in direct
competition, would
seem almost to pre-

MAN 0' WAR AND GALLANT FOX

319

elude comparison of their accomplish-
ments on the track. We may, however,
call attention to the races that were won
by each on the same tracks, though it
must be remembered that even here there
wore many changed conditions, such as:
length of course run, different competitors
and weather conditions, as well as other
minor changes. A list of these races will
be found on page 318. The Kentucky
Derby, mentioned below, was not run by
Man o' War.

We may also discuss some of their
interesting characteristics, and compara-
tive weights and measurements. Both
horses are of a gentle and attractive dis-
position, not unduly nervous, even sub-
mitting, in a most trustful manner, to the
flourishing of measuring tape and calipers
about their flanks and heels. They never
wasted energy in useless fretting at the
stable, but conserved their nerve fuel

for the serious work at the track, and they
show many interesting traits of p.sychol-
ogy, and a high degree of intelligence.

Through the kindness and generosity
of the owners, Messrs. Samuel D. Riddle
and William Woodward, the present
writer has had unusual opportunity to
study these great horses. Observations
were made, not only on the track and at
the stables, but at Berlin, Marj'land, and
Paris, Kentucky, respectively, after their
retirement from the track.

In December, 1920. Prof. H. F. (Jsborn
and I accepted Mr. and Mrs. Riddle's
kind hospitality at their estate on the
eastern shore of Maryland, one of the
three Glen Riddle farms, where Man
o' War sojourned for a time before depart-
ing for his present home in Kentucky.
It was here in Maryland that careful
measurements were made of every im-
portant section of limb and body, weights

e~P & A Photograph
GALLANT FOX WINS THE KENTUCKY DERBY
The Preakness and Belmont Stakes were also among his victories. Owned by Mr. William Woodward

of New York

320

NATURAL HISTORY

GALLANT FOX

As he appeared at the Aqueduct Stables in October, 1930, shortly after his owner, Mr. Woodward,

had retired him from the race track

were taken, and numerous photographs
made from various points of view, thus
adding valuable portraits to our series of
pictures in action, previously taken on the
track.

About the box stall of Man o' War,
we noticed at once that there was a
perceptible shade of sadness due to his
approaching departure for Kentucky,
necessitating a separation of horse and
trainer. It is not surprising that the
trainer, Mr. L. Feustel, should feel a true
affection for his charge and keen regret at
parting with so noble an animal, whom
he had watched and cared for with utmost
solicitude, and who had responded so
wonderfully to his training.

Three months after his retirement from
the track, the scales showed a gain of one-
hundred pounds, as it was no longer
necessary to keep him in training. As

Man o' War's weights and measurements
were taken ten years ago, those who have
had the pleasure of seeing him more
recently will undoubtedly tell us that he
has put on considerable weight since then,
which is always to be expected, and is
quite in accord with the life insurance
formula, that allows us a certain amount
of expansion with the accumulation of a
few more years of experience. Further-
more, a horse at three years of age is not
fully mature, as is clearly shown by
dental and bone development.

It is sometimes said that one who calls
forth no criticism, has little to recom-
mend him. So we are not purturbed that
Man o' War has been criticised for "run-
ning too high." Certainly he is very high
above the track in the remarkable photo-
graph on page 318, where he is leading Sir
Barton at Kenilworth Track, Windsor,

MAN 0' WAIi AND GALLANT FOX

:J21

MAN O' WAR, CHAMPION OF 1920
Photograph taken at Beriin, Maryland, three months after his owner, Mr. Samuel D. Riddle of
Philadelphia, had retired him from the track

Ontario. When carefully considered, this
elevation would seem to be a merit rather
than a blemish, and was necessary to carry
him the surprising distance of twenty-five
feet in a single stride, the stride being
the completed movement of all four feet.
Eadweard Muy bridge, a pioneer in the
study of animal locomotion, gives 22 feet
10 inches as the longest stride of a
thoroughbred that came under his obser-
vation.

It may not be generally known that a
horse, while running at high speed, is
entirely free from contact with the ground
approximately one-fourth of the time, —
this being the moment when the feet are
drawn together under the body, as shown
in the photograph just mentioned — so
that the above discussion is not whether
the animal is on or off the ground, but
rather what may be his average height

from the ground during the running
action.

Quite aside from the interesting in-
dividualisms of Man o' War, that we all
like to point out, no one will dispute the
fact that he is a wonderful horse, and that
he set new world records for himself, and
during his two racing seasons lost but once
in twenty-one starts.

Now that his spectacular days on the
track are long since past, and his retire-
ment to the stud, near Lexington, Ken-
tucky, has somewhat removed him from
the public eye, we again look to the race
course for marvelous feats performed by
succeeding horses. In the ten years past
since Man o' War held the foremost posi-
tion "on the stage," several great
thoroughbreds have made excellent
records, and attracted widespread interest
and commendation, but none so marked

322

NATURAL HISTORY

as that of Gallant Fox, the great champion
and favorite of the season of 1930. Truly
he is a remarkable horse, the first since
Sir Barton in 1919 to win the great stakes
that make up the "Triple Crown" of
American racing, the Preakness at Pim-
lico, the Kentucky Derby at Churchill
Downs, and the Belmont at Belmont
Park, as well as other great races, and is
worthy to be classed with Man o' War,
among the immortals of the horse world.
Professor Osborn, being interested in
the achievements of Gallant Fox, and
desirous of obtaining photographs and
measurements of the great horse, asked
me to join him in a visit to the Aqueduct
Stables. Mr. Woodward welcomed us
most cordiallj', shortly after his colt's
retirement from the track. Here, I took
a series of photographs and made measure-
ments of the most important sections of
hmb and body. Later, upon the sugges-
tion of Mr. Woodward and with his
generous cooperation, the horse was
followed to the breeding stud at Paris,
Kentucky, where I was entertained with
true southern hospitality by Mr. and Mrs.
A. B. Hancock. Here, Gallant Fox was
further studied, photographed, and
weighed. Mr. Hancock kindly gave me
an opportunity of also photographing the
sire and dam of Gallant Fox, Sir Galahad
III and Marguerite, who have recently

become even more famous through the
glories of their offspring.

In observing the personality of Gallant
Fox, we find a most noticeable character-
istic which manifests itself in an extreme
interest and curiosity in everything that
goes on within his sight or hearing. In
fact, it has been said that the failure in his
first race was due to his "varied outside
interests," his concentration upon the im-
portant matter in hand being somewhat
diverted by interesting observations not
pertaining directly to the contest before
him.

It is with great appreciation for his
responsive pupil that his devoted trainer,
Mr. James Fitzsimmons, tells us, in the
New York Herald-Tribune, of the horse's
intelligent curiosity.

I had taken an umbrella with me. When the
rain stopped I put it down on the ground without
bothering to close it. A lot of yearUngs would
have shied away from it, but when Gallant Fox
got a flash of it out of the corner of his eye, he
just naturally had to find out all about it. So he
walked over, just as calm as you please, and
nosed around it. Then, when he had found out
everything there was to know about it, he gave
it his O.K. and went his way. It didn't interest
him any more.

He was like that about everything — and he
never quite got over it. Right through his
career, whenever he was going to race at a track
that was strange to him, I'd have to show him
everything there was to see. I'd have him led
into the paddock a couple of
times and let him stand in
one of the stalls to see what
that was like. He wanted
to see everything for himself.

My acquaintance with
Gallant Fox has been
very brief as compared
with that of his trainer,
but I found that it did

MARGUERITE
The dam of Gallant Fox,
owned by Mr. William Wood-
ward. Photograph taken at
Claiborne Farm, Paris, Ken-
tucky, October, 1930

MAN 0' WAR AND GALLANT FOX

323

SIR GALAHAD III
Sire of Gallant Fox and of
other noted colts. Mr. Wil-
liam Woodward is part owner
of this handsome stallion

not take the colt long to
find out all ho wished to
know about me. After
that, when I was photo-
graphing him and wished
him to look toward the
camera, there was gener-
ally something of greater
interest in the remaining
three points of the com-
pass.

We also find, as Salvator has interest-
ingly pointed out in his article in the
Thoroughbred Record of January 24, 1931,
that even at the finish of a hard race,
when drooping ears usually indicate
more or less lagging of general interest,
Gallant Fox crossed the finishing line
still looking ahead with ears "pricked"
forward, interested as usual and ready
for more.

Gallant Fox is a horse above the aver-
age in size, and is often referred to as the
"big bay," although in most dimensions,
but not all, Man o' War is just a little
the larger of the two, as shown in the
table of comparative weights and meas-
urements on page 326

In taking the weight of fore and hind
quarters, separately, the horse was placed
with the fore feet on the scales, while the
hind feet rested on the ground. In
weighing the hind quarters, the reverse
operation was adopted. This method
gives us only an approximate result and
it will be seen that there is a greater dis-
crepancy, when compared with the total,
in the case of Man o' War than of Gallant
Fox. This is due only to the variable
position of the head. At first sight it
may seem surprising that the weight sup-
ported on the fore feet is so much greater
than that on the hind, but this is quite
obvious when it is recalled that the fore

feet support the weight, not only of the
fore quarters but also of the heavy head
and neck. Furthermore, when the neck is
extended forward horizontally, it causes
an increased leverage, with the fore feet
acting as the fulcrum, which actually
transfers many pounds of weight from
the hind feet to the fore. Every one has
observed that a horse's fore feet are
larger than the hind, which is also the
case with nearly all quadrupeds, owing to
the fact that the greater weight of the
body falls on the fore feet.

While these qualities of mind and body
are of interest and, no doubt, contribute
to the e.xceUence of these horses, we are
still at a loss to know just what peculiar
anatomical structure and mental make-up
it is that accounts for the great speed
of these two thoroughbreds. After the
most careful study possible, we find no
extraordinary points which would seem
sufficient to account for their remarkable
records.

It is safe to say, however, that speed
requisites are many and varied : that it is
a preponderance and favorable combina-
tion of various qualities happily associ-
ated and harmonized in one individual
which give the phenomenal result, al-
though we have much to learn regarding
these qualities and combinations.

In the meantime, possibly we might not

324

NATURAL HISTORY

go far astray in giving some credence to
the African philosophy expressed by a
venerable old colored stable "boy," of
whom the following story has been told.
The late Mr. James R. Keene, with a
group of horse experts at his stable, was
carrying on an animated discussion of the
contour and appearance that go to make
up a good horse. Tom was a quiet, but
interested listener, who shook his gray
head doubtfully on all points.

"Well, Tom," said Mr. Keene, "what
do you say makes a good horse?"

"Speed, Mista Keene, speed's w'at
makes da good boss."

"Oh! yes, of course, but what else,
Tom?"

"Mo' speed, Mista Keene, mo' speed's
w'at makes da good boss."

It is true that there are mechanical
factors, such as limb proportions, length
of humerus, radius, femur, tibia, cannon
bone, leverage and fulcrum, etc., that
might give us a basis upon which to con-
duct research work along these lines, if
measurements could be made with suffi-
cient accuracy. But it must be remem-
bered that the measurements referred to
above, having been taken from living
subjects, at best only approximate the
truth.

At this point, let me hasten to say that
we all hope that Man o' War and Gallant
Fox, and other great horses, may remain
"living subjects" for many years to
come, and that this hope is sincerely
shared even by the ardent student of
equine osteology and of post mortem
examinations. Yet, due to the fact that
the human span of life is much longer than
that of the horse, every friend of a great
steed confidently expects to outlive his
cherished equine companion.

■ Therefore, let us study the living sub-
ject at the track and stable; then let us
examine his progeny at the breeding stud,
as we are at the present time watching the
movements of Man o' War's colts, and are

looking forward with intense interest
while we await the development of the
descendants of Gallant Fox; and, finally,
in due course of time, let us continue,
extend, and verify these studies; so that
a great horse may still live to science and
posterity when no longer in the flesh,
under the sunshine of the pasture or
paddock. For, in order to obtain
measurements upon which to build the
most reliable foundation for further study
of speed adaptation, it is necessary to
obtain the accurate length of each bone,
unobscured by surrounding tissues, all
the way from the withers down to the
hoof, and from the hip to the hoof.
Beginning with the scapula, or shoulder
blade, we must caliper accurately the
distance from its upper border to the
articular surface at the shoulder; the
length of the humerus between proximal
and distal articulations; likewise that of
the radius, or forearm; and so on through-
out the whole skeleton, so that we may
ascertain the true proportions of different
parts, particularly of the limbs, these
organs being of paramount importance in
speed adaptations.

There is one mechanical principle
which, during the evolution of the Equi-
ds, has been carried out in a most interest-
ing manner. Little Eohippus, the earliest
ancestral horse with which we are well
acquainted, was a small animal hardly
larger than a fox. In order to escape
from his carnivorous enemies, which in his
early day were beginning to develop to a
menacing degree, and also in order to
cover the ever widening distances between
his gradually dr3dng pasture lands and his
drinking resorts, he and his descendants
were obliged to increase their speed, if the
species was to be perpetuated. To this
end, size must be developed within prac-
tical hmits. Most essential of all, length
of limb must be increased, but this
lengthening must be carried out in a very
special manner. If, for example, we sup-

MAN O' WAR AND GALLANT FOX

325

pose that all the bones of the limbs had
been lengthened equally, a great mass of
heavy muscle would thus have been
moved farther down from the shoulder
and hip joints, farther from the source of
power, and also farther from the point
from which the whole mass swings. This
would have retarded the natural and
economic swing of the limb mass as a
whole. By way of illustration, compare
this with the pendulum of a clock. If we
wish the clock to run more slowly, we
move the weight farther from the swing-
ing point, thus retarding the swing of the
pendulum. If, in the course of the evolu-
tion of the Equidffi, this plan had been
followed, the line of descent would most
certainly have been doomed to failure.

Who can say to what extent it might
have affected the human race if, when
man arrived on the scene of action, he

had not found his faithful lielper and
companion, the horse. Fortunately, this
was not the plan. On the contrary, the
upper bones of the limbs, the humerus and
femur, which are surrounded by a groat
mass of heavy muscles, have remained
comparatively short, while the meta-
podials, or cannon bones, and phalanges,
or pasterns, where the weight i.s reduced
to little more than bone and tendon, have
been greatly elongated.

The very comprehensive diagram, de-
vised by Prof. H. F. Osborn for his
Titanothcre monograph, has here been
adapted to the Equidae, and illustrates
this point clearlj'. (See below.)

The three examples figured in this
diagram are: the fossil horse, Eohippus;
a common type of domestic horse, of no
great speed as compared with a thorough-
bred; and the great race-horse, Sj'sonby,

EOHIPPUS

COMMON HORSE

SYS ON BY

Long, with
little speed

32.9%

of total length

30.4%
of total length

Still shorter

with
greater speed

29. 7%

of total length

32.6%

of total length

34.3%

of total length

28.6%

of total length

Longer, with
increased speed

40.9%

of total length

28.2%

of total length

Still longer

with
greater speed

42.0%
of total length

Drawing by A. Ohlman
HIND LIMB BONES OF THREE SKELETONS
These show proportionate lengths of proximal and distal segments, the femur being shortened
and the pes elongated with increased speed

326

NATURAL HISTORY

COMPARATIVE WEIGHTS AND MEASUREMENTS
Made bt S. Harmsted Chubb

man o' war gallant fox

Weight, total 1150 lbs. 1125 lbs.

" of fore quarters 675 " 645 "

" of hind quarters 525 " 475 "

Height, at withers 16 hands 1% in. 16 hands 1 in.

" at crest of ilium (pelvis) 16 " 2 " 16 " ji "

Length, withers to crest of ilium 34'^ inches 33% inches

" withers to proximal end of humerus (shoulder joint). .. .26 " 24/^ "

" proximal end of humerus to olecranon process (elbow) .. 1 7 " 13}^ "

" olecranon process of pisiform ("knee" joint) 16/4 " 17% "

" of carpo-metacarpus (fore cannon, including "knee"

joint) 13 "

" of tibia (shin bone) 14)^ " 16% "

" of tarso-metatarsus (hind cannon, including astragalus) . 18% " 15 "

Girth of chest, behind shoulder 71% " 73 "

Man o' War Measured and weighed, as three-year-old Dec. 12, 1920.

Gallant Fox Measured, as three-year-old Oct. 11, 1930.

Weighed, " " " " Nov. 23, 1930.

famous twenty years ago. These
skeletons are in our Museum collection,
where the individual bones have been
carefully measured and show an inter-
esting result. Disregarding the great
difference in size of the specimens, it has
been arbitrarily assumed, for the purpose
of comparison, that the limbs are of uni-
form length (100). It will be seen that in
Eohippus, an animal which we believe
to have been of httle speed, the pes, or
foot, is very httle longer than the femur.
After long ages of evolution we find that
the common horse of today, where there
has been little or no selective breeding,
has a greatly increased length of pes as
compared with the femur, while, in the
Sysonby skeleton, a further reduction
of the femur with an increase in the
length of the pes, would seem to be corre-
lated with the great speed of this race
horse; and it is to be expected that bone
measurements of other speedy horses will
show a similar result.

In considering speed adaptation, we
should not overlook the Arabian horse.
In our collection we have the skeletons
of several very fine examples of the Arab,
Astraled and Abu Zeyd, the remains

of which were presented by Mr. W. R.
Brown, owner of the Maynesborough
Stud; Halim, presented by Major-
General J. G. Harbord; and Nimr,
the gift of Mr. Randolph Huntington.
The Nimr skeleton was mounted and
placed on exhibition in 1906, These
skeletons show hmb proportions very close
to those of Sysonby. But the Ara-
bian horse, not having been selected
and trained for the short race, al-
though capable of great speed coupled
with endurance and weight-carrying
ability, should not be compared with the
thoroughbred on our race track.

In the course of equine evolution, the
gradual change in proportionate length of
upper and lower limb bones has been a
most important factor, and it is in the
elongation of these bones of the feet that
the greatest speed adaptation has taken
place. If, today, a horse should appear
with a femur measurement almost equal
to that of the entire foot from the hock
joint to the ground, as was the case with
his remote ancestor, Eohippus, we may
be sure that his winnings would be much
greater at the freak show than at the
track. According to these principles, to

MAN 0' WAIi AND GALLANT FOX

327

increase speed on th(3 track, we sliould
therefore breed for the sliortest possible
humerus and femur, and the long cannon
and pastern bones, although, at the
tracks, we so often hoar a view expressed
that is quite the reverse.

Another very important speed adapta-
tion has been the elimination of toes.
While Eohippus possessed four distinct
toes on each front foot, and three on the
hind, all bearing small hoofs, fossil
horses of later geologic time show a
gradual reduction of toes through succeed-
ing stages of evolution, until, in the
modern horse but a single toe, the third
digit, remains on each foot. This has
further reduced weight at the extremity
of the swinging "pendulum " where every
additional ounce would greatly retard its
action. These are obvious mechanical

principles, Imt there are many other
factors not so tangible, such as: heart
and lung action; muscular strength and
endurance; p.sychology, will power, de-
termination; just the proper balance of
nervous energy; etc. These points are
difficult to measure or determine but,
nevertheless, of very great significance;
and it is possible or even probable that
these obscure characters might be so
variable in the thoroughbred of today,
that they would counteract slight varia-
tions in limb-bone proportions, thus
affecting to some extent our calculations
based upon accurate bone measurements
alone. However, in order to ascertain
the true importance of these proportions,
the most accurate measurements must be
made, so that we can continue our re-
search with some definite facts.

jj!«l

■rinii JiJMB jjaroyiWCT'MiaeMfci)

Gallant Fox, with E. Sande "up," preparing fu
Kentucky Derby

GEORGE FISHER BAKER

1840-1931

THE Sixty-second Annual Report of
the President of the American Mu-
seum, issued May 1, closes with a
strong appeal to the third generation of
Trustees to rise to the high standard set
by the first generation who came together
in the year 1869 at the call of Theodore
Roosevelt, Sr., grandfather of Kermit
Roosevelt, a recently elected member of
the third generation. In point of age,
our late Trustee, George Fisher Baker,
would be classed with the first genera-
tion because he was only three years
younger than John Pierpont Morgan,
of the first Board, who was born in the
year 1837. Thus, although Mr. Baker
was not elected a Trustee until the
Annual Meeting of February 2, 1914,
forty-five years after Mr. Morgan's
election in 1869, he distinctly belonged
to the first generation type of Trustee
characterized by the president as follows :
The sterling men of this first generation were
impelled by the strong religious and stern
Puritanical code of their time which demanded
that each should give a tithe of his income to
benevolent purposes and a greater or less quota
of his time to the public interest. Philanthropic
and patriotic service was instilled weekly in
every pulpit, for practically everyone attended
church.

This unity of early training accounts in
part for the close friendship which bound
Mr. Baker and Mr. Morgan together.
The most personal of the former's gifts
was his tribute to his dear friend through
providing the means for redesigning the
Morgan Memorial Hall and the rearrange-
ment of the collections of minerals and
jewels presented by Mr. Morgan. The
dedication of the hall is contained in a
bronze tablet at the entrance which bears
the following inscription :

MORGAN MEMORIAL HALL

PRESENTED TO

PEOPLE OF THE CITY OP NEW YORE!

IE FISHER BAKER. TRUSTEE OF THE MUSEUM

IN MEMORY OF HIS FRIEND

JOHN PIERPONT MORGAN

MCMXXI

Mr. Baker felt the full responsibility of
Trusteeship in every line of the Museum's
activity which was called to his attention.
He became first vice-president in 1924
and served in this capacity until his death.
He was a member of the Finance Commit-
tee from 1914 to 1926 and of the Special
Committee on the Jesup Bequest for the
years 1914 and 1915. Mr. Baker was
successively elected a patron, an associate
benefactor, a benefactor, and an endow-
ment member of the Museum. He dis-
played a great interest especially in ex-
ploration in Central Asia under Roy
Chapman Andrews and was a generous
supporter of the Central Asiatic Expedi-
tions since their inception ten years ago.
He was a regular attendant at the annual
meetings of the Trustees. His invalu-
able advice was freely given on many
financial problems of the Museum, and he
became one of the Museum's most gener-
ous supporters; his benefactions to the
Museum total $661,200, including $500,-
000 contributed to the Endowment Fund.

Mr. Baker continued an active force in
the financial and cultural life of America
until the very end of his life. On the
Monday preceding his death he attended
the meeting of the Board of Trustees of
our sister institution, the Metropolitan
Museum. He passed away quietly on
Saturday, May 2, shortly before the
sixty-second annual spring meeting of our
Board of Trustees, who immediately
adopted a resolution of deepest sympathy
to the members of his family.

The American Museum has been singu-
larly fortunate in being guided from the
first by men of leadership not only in local
but in national affairs who have given it
most wise and sound financial founda-
tions in strict accord with the original
charter and contract of the State and of
the City, "of establishing and maintain-
ing in said city a Museum and Library of
Natural History; of encouraging and

aEOROE EISffER BAKER

329

GEORGE FISHER BAKER
1S40-1931

Trustee of the American Museum of Natural History, 1914-1931;
First Vice-President, 1924-1931

developing the study of Natural Science."
Accordingly, both the spirit and the letter
of the original agreement with the City
have been observed with fidelity. Step
by step from early and difficult financial,
scientific, and educational beginnings,
such great leaders as Theodore Roosevelt,
the elder, John David Wolfe, first presi-
dent, Robert L. Stuart, second president,
Morris K. Jesup, third president, J.
Pierpont Morgan, chief financial advisor
and most generous contributor during his
entire life, Joseph H. Choate, chief legal
counselor, have aided in building up the
present financial and educational struc-
ture in which the individual contribu-
tions of Trustees and members more than

balance the contributions of_the people
through taxation.

George Fisher Baker's name stands
high in this honor roll which constitutes
an ever-to-be-remembered standard for
the present and future generations. Like
many of his friends and associates of the
first generation, Mr. Baker will long be
remembered not only as one of the leaders
of American finance but as one of thg
finest examples of American citizenshjp
and patriotism. _ By those who had tj^g
privilege of knowing him personally,
will be fondly recalled as a man who iie
cealed a forceful character under an ever
gentle manner and quiet personal charm.
— Henry Fairfield Osbohn.

THE PROPOSED PACARAIM A -VENEZUELA
EXPEDITION

By G. H. H. TATE

Assistant Curator of South American Mammals, American Museum

FOR the first time in the history of the field
reconnaissance work of the American
Museum, aeroplanes are to be employed by
the joint expedition, led by H. E. Anthony,
which will be sent this summer to Venezuela by
the American Museum, the New York Botanical
Gardens, and the American Geographical Society.
Use of flying machines will enormously facihtate
the expedition's approach to an unmapped area
of 40,000 square miles in the southern part of the
country. The machines will be further used in
developing a new system of mapping by means
of obhque aerial photography, and will be availa-
ble for moving members of the expedition from
base camp to subsidiary camps and from one
local station to another.

A Lockheed-Vega, a Fokker, and a small
amphibian will form the trio of planes which are
to carry the party into the Upper Caroni area.
To cut down expense the machines will be flown
south from New York to Trinidad, following the
well-known route of the Pan-American Airhnes.
Most of the expedition's staff, together with all
the baggage will, of course, travel by steamer.
From Port of Spain the short flight to Ciudsid
BoKvar in Venezuela can be accomplished in a
few hours. There the entire party will be con-
centrated and organized. From Ciudad Bolivar,
the Angostura of history, preliminary flights
without cargo will be made up the Caroni for the
purpose of selecting a suitable interior base and to
estabhsh as quickly as possible friendly relations
with the Indians of the highlands. These matters
once settled, the two large planes will convey the
entire party of perhaps twenty persons and their
many tons of equipment to the base camp. The
amphibian will be used for general reconnaissance
and will be particularly valuable on account of its
slow landing speed and shght draft for coming
down upon the small streams of the uplands.

The complete plans of the expedition have been
submitted to the Venezuelan Government and to
General Juan Vincente Gomez, ex-president of
Venezuela, through the kindness of Dr. Juan
Ramon Guerra, President of Congress. The
Government, Doctor Guerra states, is very favor-
ably disposed toward the undertaking and is
ready to give the party all possible facihties.

The part of Venezuela to be visited is perhaps
one of the least known areas in South America
today. Museum expeditions in 1927 to Mt.

Roraima and in 1928 to Mt. Duida reached the
eastern and western ends of the region, while the
collections and information gained then, coupled
with data furnished by early explorers such as the
brothers Schomburgk, Im Thurn, McConnell,
Andre, and others have served to draw attention
to the extraordinary biological conditions present
in the area. From what Uttle is known of it the
Guiana region of Venezuela may be pictured as a
former elevated land having about the area of the
state of Maine, large parts of which have been
dissected into rather mature valleys, while other
parts, which have to a great extent resisted ero-
sion, remain today as scattered sandstone moun-
tains, flat-topped and sheer-sided. Conditions
in the western portion of the region can be only
surmised. It seems Ukely though that the land is
less mature and that the more rugged topography
is generally forested.

Venezuelan Guiana, cut off from the well-
traveled Orinoco by a belt of about one hundred
miles of dense forest, is the home of a number of
Indian tribes derived from Carib stock, among
whom may be mentioned Arecuna, Maquiritares,
and Macusi. They are friendly and quite intel-
Ugent folk, who pass their lives in almost com-
plete ignorance of what we term civilization.
Less can be told of the people of the forested
area in the west.

As shown in the recently issued prospectus of
the expedition, the field staff will comprise some
sixteen men, everyone of whom is not only a
specialist in some line of work, but is thoroughly
fitted in physique and experience to accompany
such an undertaking. After organizing the base
camps, which will be situated as far up the
Caroni as the planes can safely operate, the
party will reconnoiter the near-by area for suit-
able local stations to be occupied successively
by various members of the expedition. Mean-
while, the aerial mapping will be commenced and
photographs taken over a wide area will help in
the selection of subsequent stations.

It can be predicted with confidence that the
results obtainable in six months by such a large
and well organized party as the Venezuela-
Pacaraima Expedition, Incorporated, will exceed
what could be achieved in several years by any
of the old type expeditions which traveled by
foot and canoe.

1. CentrarAsiatic Expeditions; 2. Whitney, South Sea, Island of Kuasie. for birds; 3. Boekelman Shell Heap Project;
4. Frick-Falkenbach , Wyoming, for fossils; 5. Frick-Rak, Santa F^, New ^lexico, for fossils; 6. \*aillant, \'alley of Mexico,
archasological research; 7. Ollala Brothers, Brazil, for birds and mammals; 8. Naumburg-ICaenipfer, Southern Brazil,
for birds; 9. Scarritt, Patagonia, for fossil mammals

AMERICAN MUSEUM EXPEDITIONS
AND NOTES

Edited by A. IlATHERINE BERGER

It is the purpose of this department to keep readers of Natural History informed

as to the latest news of the Museum expeditions in the field at the time the magazine

goes to press. In many instances, however, the sources of information are so distant

that it is not possible to include up-to-date data

/CENTRAL Asiatic Expeditions. — The
^^ eighty-four cases of fossils, representing the
1931 field work of the Central Asiatic Expedi-
tions, arrived at the American Museum early in
April, and laboratory work on them is well under
way.

' I "HE captain and owner of the ill-fated yawl
■*■ "Basilisk," Mr. Gilbert C. Kingel, has re-
turned to the American Museum with a large
collection of reptiles and amphibians. The
"Basilisk," described in a previous number of
Natural History, struck a reef off the coast of
Inagua Island last December, and, although the
vessel was a total loss, Mr. Klingel retrieved
most of his equipment and continued his studies
both on Inagua and Santo Domingo. Since the
loss of his vessel, he has shipped more than 2000
specimens to the Museum, including a number of
rare species. A report of Mr. Klingel's work is

to appear in a later number of Natural His-
tory-.

■"PHE O'Donnbll-Clark African Expedi-
■*■ tion was brought to a successful conclusion
early in April after a strenuous trip in search of
eland for an American Museum group.

On April 7 a cable from Mr. Clark announced
that the party was homeward bound, and that
five bull and five cow elands had been secured,
as well as accessories and paintings, and that
10,000 feet of film and many photographs had
been taken. A fuller account of the expedition
win appear in a later issue of Natural History.

JY yi ADAGASCAR Expedition. — A cable from
^'* Mr. A. L. Rand of the Mission Franco-
Anglo-Americaine states that he and Philip
Du Mont sailed from Madagascar on May 11,
and will arrive at Marseilles on June 15. This is

332

NATURAL HISTORY

the completion of a two-year expedition collect-
ing birds and mammals on the island. At least
one specimen of every bird known to occur there
has been collected, with the exception of Helio-
dilus, Cochtolhraustes delandei, and Mesites

iinicolor. A new genus, a new species, and a new
race of birds have been described by M. Delacour
and Mr. BerKoz. The genus has been named
after Mr. A. L. Rand, and the species after Mr.
Richard Archbold.

NOTES

ASTRONOMY
nPHE Amateur Astronomers Association
■'■ continued its activities through the month of
May. On May 6 Prof. J. Ernest G. Yalden spoke
on "Sun Dials," and on May 20 Prof. Carohne E.
Furness, of Vassar College, spoke on ''Astronomy
Around the World." During June, July, and
August the Association will suspend its activities,
to take them up again on Wednesday, September
16. The last Amateur Astronomers Association
radio talk of the season over WOR was given on
May 16.

The Association is happy to send to anyone
interested all information concerning member-
ship and activities as well as sample copies of
The Amateur Astronomer, the journal of the
society.

A SMALL Planetarium has been presented
•**■ to the Amateur Astronomers Association —
the gift of the maker, Mr. Albert Fassberger, a
member of the society.

A SUBSCRIPTION Dinner was given in honor
^ of Sir James Jeans, the noted British as-
tronomer, on May 28, at the Hotel Astor, under
the auspices of the American Institute, the
Museum of Science and Industry, the American
Museum of Natural History, the Scientific
Monthly, the New York Academy of Sciences,
and the Amateur Astronomers' Association. Dr.
Michael I. Pupin, the noted inventor and profes-
sor of electro-mechanics at Columbia University,
presided at the dinner.

CONSERVATION
D ECENT Developments in the Parc
■*• *■ National Albert. — The history of the
development of the Parc National Albert of the
Kivu district, Belgian Congo, to the end of 1929
has already been discussed in this magazine. It
was in that year, it will be remembered, that King
Albert installed the Commission du Parc National
Albert — a body of eighteen scientists chosen
from Belgium, England, Sweden, France, the
Netherlands, and the United States. This
international direction of a great scientific under-
taking was unique and without precedent in the
history of the world.

In 1930, the American Committee for the Pare
National Albert was formed to cooperate with
the International Committee in the work of
scientific research. His Highness, Prince Albert
de Ligne, at that time Belgian Ambassador at
Washington, who, from the beginning has taken
an active and energetic part in forwarding the
plans for the Pare, was named by His Majesty,
chairman of the American Committee; Mary L.
Jobe Akeley was appointed secretary. In addi-
tion to the two American members of the
International Commission, Dr. Henry Fairfield
Osborn and Dr. John C. Merriam, Prince de
Ligne has appointed as members of the Commit-
tee, Mr. Stanley Field, president of the Field
Museum of Natural History, Chicago; Dr.
Vernon L. Kellogg, of the National Research
Council, Washington; Dr. Robert M. Yerkes, of
Yale University; Dr. George W. Crile, of
Cleveland; and the Hon. James Gustavus
Whitely, Belgian Consul General at Baltimore.

At a meeting of this Committee, held recently
at the American Museum of Natural History,
New York, Prince de Ligne, who was leaving
America to take up his duties as Belgian Ambas-
sador at Rome, resigned his office. Doctor Merri-
am was elected president to succeed him. At this
time it was decided to enlarge the American Com-
mittee in order to afford a national representa-
tion. The Committee's purpose now is to bring
the Parc National Albert and other similar under-
takings in Belgian Africa in closer contact with
American scientific and conservation organiza-
tions, as well as to secure support for these
projects.

Dr. J. M. Derscheid, now Administrateur-
General of the Parc, was present at this meeting
and reported to his colleagues plans for the
further extension of the park system in Belgian
Africa, and told them of the progress of the Kivu
park. In addition to the Parc National Albert,
there will be created a new park, Parc Leopold,
near the northern border of the Congo. It will
comprise an area of 1,000,000 acres. Lying
north and east of the Parc National Albert will
be another new park, the Parc Ruwenzori, an
area of 500,000 acres in the Ruwenzori Range,
adjoining the Belgian Congo-British Uganda

NOTES

333

Boundary. Tlu'we new re«ionH are of particular
interest to st'ientists since they are the home of
such rare mammals as tlie white rhino (Ceralo-
Iherium colloid), the okapi {Okapia joknutoni)
the giant eland (Taurolragus gigas) and the Nile
leehwe [Mrs. Gray's Antelope] (Onolragus inega-
ceros). Here also occur such interesting birds as

is in the geographic center of this naturahst's
paradise.

Here will be the central library, containing a
collection of all the scientific treatises relating
to the fauna, flora, and geology of Central Africa;
a study museum, for which will be collected all
the animals indigenous to the immediate vicinity;

DISTANCE :

Approaching the Parc N.vtional Amu

SEEN THE volcanoes WITHIN THE PARC. THIS '

the secretary bird, {Saggitarius serpenlarius),
the hornbill (Lophoceros melanoleucos stegmanni),
the Gelo River crowned hornbill (Lophoceros
melanoleucos geloensis), the Ruwenzori lourie
{Buwenzoriis johnstoni johnsloni), the Uganda
brown parrot {{Poicephalus myeri saturalus), the
Southern little bee-eater (Meliltophagus pusillus
meridionalis) , the Ruwenzori kakelaar or wood
hoopoe (PhaenicuUs purpureus ruiuenzorae), the
Swahili wood owl (Striz woodfordii suahelica)
and many others.

Pending the official establishment of these new
parks, activity has been concentrated in the Pare
National Albert. Patrols of native scouts are on
guard to prevent the killing of any wild animal
and the destruction of plant life. Meanwhile the
Belgian Government has appropriated ample
funds for the maintenance of the Park Service,
and has advanced a loan of two million francs to
begin immediate construction of a Central Sta-
tion for Scientific Research. This station will be
erected on a grant of twenty acres in the heart
of the Government Post at Rutshuru. The build-
ings will rise on the banks of the deep-flowing
Rutshuru River, and will give a broad view of
both active and extinct volcanoes. The station

laboratories, equipped for the use of zoologists,
botanists, seismologists and geologists. Adequate
provision, as well, is being made for a chemical
laboratory and a photographic wing. Near by
will be an assembly hall, administrative oflaees,
and living quarters. All these buildings are
designed for the use of white men unaccustomed
to the tropics. Although barely one degree from
the equator, Rutshuru is actually white man's
country, because its 5000-foot elevation brings it
out of the torrid zone.

This Central Station, moreover, will very
shortly be connected with the outside world by a
motor road to Redjaf-on-the-Nile, and thence by
water and rail to the Mediterranean. Another
road will connect with Kisumu, and thence by
train to Mombassa, the port of entry on the Indian
Ocean. However, quickened avenues of approach
to this region will by no means result in letting
down the barriers into the Parc, so far as the
outside world is concerned. One of the most
important points in the scientific creed of the
Parc is that therein the primitive shall be preservedl
Accordingly, the natural conditions in the Parc
will not be disturbed by contact with grazing or
agriculture; and, lest the fauna become half-

334

NATURAL HISTORY

domesticated by the familiar presence of man,
certain limited areas will be set aside, free from
human intrusion except as emergency may re-
quire.

In our great American National Parks, animals
are all too often semi-domesticated. Bears,
demanding sweetmeats or manufactured food
"hold up" passing motor cars; they live in the
main on hotel refuse, and are in many ways
changed from their primitive ancestors in general
behavior psychology and even in physiological
habits. Such a state of affairs will never be
permitted to exist in the Pare National Albert.
Only scientists will frequent the Pare, and even
they are barred from at least one-quarter of its
area. Thus, the gorillas of that region, as well
as other wild species, will not become accustomed
to man, aiid thereby influenced or changed by
contact with him.

This intention to preserve the primitive,
wholly unaffected by the aggressive march of
civilization, is indeed a recent attitude. It is the
spirit motivating those who now carry on the
fight to save vanishing Africa, Theirs is not a
sentimental interest. It is a sympathetic under-
standing and a realization of the urgent need for
action. In Africa, at least, Carl Akeley's dream,
now become a reality, has halted the Juggernaut
of mass destruction. Belgium's whole-hearted
response is an epochal instance of the inter-
national possibilities of conservation and of
scientific inquiry. — Mahy L. Jobb Akeley.

THE American Committee for International
Wild Life Protection is made up of an execu-
tive committee which meets from time to time
and an advisory committee which meets once a
year. It has represented on it the following
organizations :

Boone and Crockett Club

New York Zoological Society

American Museum of Natural History

Museum of Comparative Zoology

Field Museum of Natural History

Smithsonian Institution

Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia

California Academy of Sciences

American Society of Mammalogists

Camp Fire Club of America

Wilderness Club

University of Michigai

The Committee is in close touch with the
British Society for the Preservation of the
Fauna of the Empire as well as with the con-
tinental movement for nature protection which is
sponsored by ten European countries and has its
headquarters at Brussels. It also has contacts in
Austraha, Africa, and India, as well as with the
Committee for Nature Protection in and around
the Pacific. The Committee has already a record
of accomphshment by investigating and inter-

ceding in such matters as the Zululand game i
massacres, the smuggling of rhino horn into |
SomaUland, and the bringing closer together of |
the British and continental organizations work-
ing for international nature protection. It has
financed and conducted: an investigation by
most competent American doctors into all the
work so far done on the tsetse fly problem in
Africa; the summarizing of this information for
the first time, and the study of it with a view to
determining what further investigations are in-
dicated and what degree of hope there is for
future game preservation in the infected regions.
This report is now completed.

It has sponsored the visit to this country of
Doctor Derscheid, who is chief of all the parks
in the Belgian Congo, as well as director of the
International Informatory Office for the Protec-
tion of Nature at Brussels. This Bureau has
pubHshed the game laws of many colonies for
the first time in a compact form and actually
helped to revise the laws in several colonies to
make them more effective. It has active con-
tacts with individuals in more than 150 differ-
ent countries in various parts of the world and
receives regularly more than 400 pubhcations
deaUng with game matters. With Doctor
Derscheid when he visited this country came Mr.
Van Tienhoven. The latter is a prominent
Dutchman who is one of the founders in Europe
of the whole idea of international conservation.
He has been very successful in making parks and
shooting preserves in Holland. The Committee
was so impressed by the valuable work that these
two men were doing at an expense of $10,000
a year, that it pledged S5,500 to support the
Brussels Bureau in 1931. This money has been
collected and mailed to them.

Among the Committee's various activities
may be mentioned the following: Taking an
active part in the interest of whale conserva-
tion; looking into the matter of the preservation
of the chinchilla from extinction; helping to en-
force the Australian government law against th(>
exportation of the koala, which is a fur that h;is
hitherto been sold widely in the United States.

The Itahan government has notified our Com-
mittee that negotiations are now going on to try
to stop the smugghng of rhino horn into Somali -
land. The Committee was pleased with the
recent report submitted by Major Hingston to the
British Fauna Society on the present status of
game preservation in the African colonies. They
are urging that his recommendations be carried
out and the game reserves be given a permanent
status by being made into national parks much
like our own.

NOTES

335

The Anieiican Committee is very pleuHcd with
the cooperation it has received from the ornuriiza-
tions belonging to it, and needs the moral and
financial support of all who are interested in its
important work. It has received the fullest
backing from many foreign governments and is
fast increasing its activities and influence.

1\ yiEMORIAL TO Noted Park DinECTOu.—
^ '•*■ The U. S. Department of Agriculture an-
nounces that the work of the late Stephen T.
Mather, former director of the National Park
Service, is to be commemorated in a striking way
by the Mather Memorial Parkway authorized
recently by order of Secretary of Agriculture
Arthur M. Hyde.

Stretching through the Rainier National
Forest, Washington, a distance of nearly fifty
miles and extending approximately one-half mile
on either side of the Naches Pass Iligliway, the
Mather Memorial Parkway compri.scs 24,300
acres of forest land in which outstanding scenic
and inspirational quality is combined with timber
and land values of economic importance. The
highway, when completed this year, will provide
a new entrance to the Puget Sound region from
the Yakima Valley and the East.

AT their February meeting, the Society for
•'' THE Preservation of the Fauna of the
British Empire appointed Dr. Madison Grant
vice-president of the Society in recognition of the
great work he has carried on for many years in
regard to the wild life protection, and also as a
personal tribute to his assistance to the Society in
initiating active cooperation in America by the
foundation of the American Committee.

MEETINGS OF SOCIETIES
""PHE Sixteenth Session op the Intek-

•'■ national Geological Congress will be
held in June, 1932, in Washington, D. C, the
definite data to be announced later. The general
sessions will be preceded (late in May), and
followed (in June and early July) by a series of
excursions designed to afford the members and
attendants opportunity to see features of special
geological interest in the United States. During
the sessions short excursions to interesting places
in and near Washington will be made.

The Congress has elected Prof. Henry Fairfield
Osborn as honorary member of its organization
committee.

Inquiries relating to the activities of the
Congress should be addressed to the General
Secretary, 16th International Geological Con-
gress, U. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. C.
HTHE Third International Congress of

■*■ Eugenics will be held at the American Mu-
seum of Natural History, New York City,

August 20-23, 1932, under the presidency of Dr.
Charles B. Davenport, director of the department
of genetics of the Carnegie Institution of Waiih-
ington and organizer of the Eugenics liecord
Office. An exhibition covering the present status
of eugenical research will be held in the MuBcum
from August 22 to September 22.
■"pHE Sixth International Conoresb of

■^ Genetics will be held under the presidency
of Prof. T. H. Morgan at Ithaca, New York,
beginning August 24, 1932.
/^URATOR Frank E. Lutz represented the
^^ American Museum at the April meeting of
the Academy of Natural Sciences of Phila-
delphia when the Academy awarded the I>eidy
Medal to Prof. Wm. M. Wheeler. Profes-
sor Wheeler was formerly curator of inverte-
brate zoology at the American Museum and is
now research associate in its department of
entomology. Curator Lutz also attended the
annual meeting of the National Research Coun-
cil's Division of Biology and Agriculture as
advisory representative of the Entomological
Society of America.

DISTINGUISHED GUESTS
DERE Teilhard de Chardin, newly ajjpointed
■^ research associate in Asiatic Exploration at
the American Museum, recently visited the Mu-
seum when on his way from Paris to Peking.
He will start from Peking on a large automobile
expedition on which he is planning to cross Asia,
and finally to reach the Mediterranean shores.
""PHE American Musecsi was honored late in

•'■ April by a visit from Commander Attilio
Gatti, famous Italian archaeologist. Commander
Gatti has led expeditions to Africa during 1927
and 1929-1931 in which as many as twenty-one
European scientists participated. The expedition
traveled in motor trucks from Cape Town to
Cairo, and made long stops at various points,
especially in Rhodesia where they excavated
several localities containing evidences of habita-
tion by prehistoric man.

The party took measurements of several thou-
sand natives, collected more than 22,000 zoological
specimens, 60 skeletons, of wliich 12 were those
of Bushmen, and also made ornithological collec-
tions. About half of these specimens were given
to the museums of South Africa while the re-
mainder went to the Museum of Florence,
Italy. Commander Gatti also presented five
cases of archaeological material and several
zoological specimens to the American Museum.

MEMBERS' VISITING DAY
/^PPORTUNITY to see the latest develop-
^^ ments in the American Museum was afforded
to its members and their friends on the occasion

336

NATURAL HISTORY

of the Third Annual Visiting Day for Members,
Wednesday, April 22. The guests were escorted
in small groups through some of the research
laboratories and preparation studios, and then
visited several of the newer exhibition halls, and
the Hall of Ocean Life, which just now is at an
interesting stage in its preparation.

Following the inspection, the guests assembled
in Education Hall, where they were greeted by
Director Sherwood, and where refreshments were
served.

THE NEW WHITNEY WING OF THE
AMERICAN MUSEUM
/^N April 17, President Henry Fairfield Osborn
^-^ broke ground for the construction of the
Whitney Wing of the American Museum of
Natural History. This new addition to the Mu-
seum buildings which will connect with the
Roosevelt Memorial, now under construction by
the State of New York, will be devoted in its
entirety to the exhibition of oceanic birds, and in
addition to laboratories and study rooms, will
include aviaries for living birds so that their
habits may be intensively studied.

For eleven j^ears Mr. Whitney has maintained
an expedition among the South Sea I.^ilands in
search of all forms of oceanic and island birds,
and during this work there have been secured
many species new to science and a number which
hitherto were thought to be extinct. This field
work which has been directed by Dr. L. C. San-
ford and Dr. R. C. Murphy, has had as leaders
in the field such well kncmi collectors as Rollo
H. Beck, Jose G. Correia and Hannibal Hamlin.
At the present time Mr. William F. Coultas is
at the Island of Kusaie, in the Japanese Mandate
region, continuing the work.

MUSEUM ACCESSIONS
r^UPLICATES FROM THE Drxjmmond Col-
^-^ LECTION. — Early in February, 1931, Dr. I.
W3Tiian Drummond, whose collection of Chinese
carved objects in jade, amber, and other mineral
materials is celebrated among collectors, in-
timated his wish to donate to the gem collection
of the American Museum certain of his duplicates.
This gift in three installments has now been
presented to the Museum, and includes about
one hundred pieces of very exceptional beauty
and interest. Many of these are representative
of the older Chinese periods, comprising carved
jade in the rich brown and ocher colors so char-
acteristic of early Chinese worked jade. Among
the latter is a magnificent disk, symbol of the
diety of heaven, a beautiful example of the cubic
symbol of the deity earth, and some beautifully
inscribed tablets.

It is proposed to install this series in two up-
right cases of the smaller units used in the
Morgan Hall, in close proximity to and in con-
tinuation of the jade series at present displayed.

In recognition of this splendid gift Doctor
Drummond has been elected a Patron of the
Museum.

IV/IEMORIAL TO Clare Ellsworth Pren-
•^'•'- TICE. — A beautiful bronze bust of Roald
Amundsen by the Norwegian sculptor, T.
Hammer, has been presented to the American
Museum by Mr. Bernon S. Prentice as a memo-
rial to his wife who was Clare Ellsworth, sister
of Lincoln Ellsworth. The bust will be installed
in the Arctic and Antarctic exhibits at the
American Museum.

A N Emperor Penguin, captured by Paul
■*^ Siple, boy scout member of the Byrd Ant-
arctic Expedition, has been presented to the
American Museum by Commander Byrd. The
penguin, a handsome male specimen, which in life
weighed 70 pounds, has been prepared for exhibi-
tion by Mr. Raymond B. Potter of the depart-
ment of preparation of the Museum, and is now
on displaj' in Memorial Hall.

HONORS
r\l<i March 13 last, the Hubbard Gold Medal,
^^ the highest honor the National Geographic
Society can bestow, was awarded to Dr. Roy
Chapman Andrews with special ceremonies at
the Washington auditorium. Five thousand
persons were present to witness the event.

This is the ninth time in forty-five years that
the Hubbard Medal has been presented, the
other recipients being Rear Admiral Peary,
Capt. Roald Amundsen, Capt. Robert A.
Bartlett, G. Carl Gilbert, Sir Ernest H. Shackle-
ton, Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Rear Admiral Byrd,
and Colonel Lindbergh.

The medal was presented by Dr. Gilbert
Grosvenor, president of the Society, who made
the following address:

Members of the Nation.a.1, Geographic Society;

Our Society welcomes with extreme pleasure tonight Dr.
Roy Chapman Andrews, whose brilliant career as an ex-
plorer of all the seas and of many lands we have followed
with sympathetic interest and admiration since his first
address to our Society exactly twenty years ago.

Many in this audience I am sure recall that remarkable
and beautifully illustrated lecture on the whale which
summarized his studies of the world's greatest living
creature.

In ensuing years he has many times returned to present
to the National Geographic Society a fascinating report on
some new line of investigation in Japan, Korea, Dutch East
Indies, Alaska.

But we all associate Roy Chapman Andrews' name most
vividly with the long series of expeditions which, beginning
in 1916, he organized and led to Central Asia for the .Ameri-
can ]\Iuseum of Natural History.

By patient inductive reasoning, by a rarely gifted explor-
ing instinct and keen observation, with splendid courage
and resourcefulness, he has achieved discoveries in the
heart of .\sia that have pushed back the horizons of hfe

NOTES

337

tiK

fft trill

In- liitH diacovcretl nmny
M,n!i: he has found and
,^-.mI fieldfl in the world,
tur CRgs; wkclctons of the
nd of the
extensive

He hiiB (-airied u auivey
base-line for 1500 miles
from the Kalgan railway
throuKh the heart of the
Gobi de;
thousan
for Ihc ti

ont..lnj.M,;i
clearly ai

that millions of puojilc have
been entranced by his work.
Thus he has been a leader
in making an understanding
of science a common posses-
sion.

As evidence of the Socie-
ty's esteem for his impor-
tant contributions to the
increase and diffusion of
geographic knowledge, the
Board of Trustees, on the
recommendation of
the Com mittee on
Research, ha.\ e

awarded him its

highest honor

the Hubbard

Medal, granted

by the Society

onlv eight times

in forty-three

years.

With most

hearty

from the entire
membership, I
this medal, c

AWARDED TO
ROY CHAPiMAN ANDREWS
FOR EXTRAORDINARY GEOGRAPHIC DISCOVERIES
IN CENTRAL ASIA

Doctor Andrews, receivinia; the medal replied:
Mr. President and Members of the National Geo-
graphic Society:

I deeply appreciate the recognition of your Society in-
dicated by this award of the Hubbard Medal. In itself it
is a signal honor to be numbered among the distinguished
explorers who have received this Medal in the past. I feel,
moreover, that the honor extends beyond myself to those
comrades in the field who by their courage, loyalty and
devotion to the ideals of science have made possible the
success of our explorations in Central Asia.

The fact that our work has been stamped with the
approval of this Society which exerts such a profound In-
fluence upon geographic science and education throughout
the world, will send all of us back into the desert with new-
enthusiasm to meet the problems of further exploration.
Again, I thank you Sir, personally and on behalf of my
colleagues of the Central Asiatic Expedition.

Exploration has of necessity entered a new phase. The
great pioneer lines of discovery have been thrown across
the continents in every direction; now only a few compara-
tively small areas of the earth's surface remain unknown.
The task of the future is to fill in the blank spaces on the
world's map and to study intensively the little-known
regions of which there are many; to learn what has been
the history of their making and what they can contribute
to science, to education and to human welfare. It is of
such intensive explorations that I wish to speak tonight,
I shall try to give you a kaleidoscopic picture of our ten
years' work in the Gobi Desert. The scope of the Exoedi-
tion included seven sciences — geology, palaeontology,
archaeology, zoology, topography, botany and photography.
Our problem was to make an intensive exploration of Mon-

golia fronrj the Btandpoint of all theue Bc-ienccB. PreMH
ret>"rtH of our work have perhaps unduly eiiiphaiiisoa
pala-ontoioKy becauMC the fotwil uniinuU dirttoverwJ btirrod
the interest and imagination of the publif. It nmy not be
n that the Expedition hoi* mapped more ttc<uraU-!y
tlian it hiiH ever been done before a art'itt part of the Gobi
DcHcrt, much of it new: that it haw
brouKlit back ten thouMund ijpeciinen«
of the living nmmmuliaii fauna: that
itn collections of (wh.reptilew atid aio-
phibiurm are the largcAl ever
taken out of .V-iia; that fit
hah identified and correlated
many new geoloKical fonna-
tionw; that it, h:i« diwov-
ered the evidenct^ of hith-
erto unknown primitive
uUure» or that iti
Htudie8 in botany and
paleobotany havo helped
to give UH u picture of the
cliniatc and physical con-
of Central .Vsia dur-
ing suecewiivo KQiAog^caX
agea millions of years before
man appeared . upon the
earth. Still thiH has all
been juut an important a
part of our investiKations
as have the collections of
fossils. We have always
been hoping to find strata
which would yield some
evidences of man's origin,
which we believe to have
taken place in Central Asia.
During the past eight years
we tf'iught for such strata in
vain in Central and
Western Mongolia.
It was not until
1930 that we
discovered an
enormous extent
of Pliocene
strata in East-
ern Mongolia.
This is the period
just preceding
the Pleistocene
or Ice Age. It
seems not to
have been pre-
served in the
present. It is in this formation that we
might hope to find the remains of primitive man, if he lived
in Central Asia. The possible ultimate success of this
part of our work depends upon an intensive investigation
of this area. We hope to be allowed to continue. I am
sorrv to say that the future is somewhat in doubt due to the
not wholly sympathetic attitude of the Chinese authorities.
If we are forced to end our explorations when the possi-
bility of success is in sight, it will be a scientific tragedy.

The Expedition, as vou know, has employed motor cars
and camels. The Expedition was divided into five units,
each with its own car, camp equipment and Mongol
interpreter and capable of maintaining itself alone for
several weeks. Thus we could work either together or
separately as conditions demanded. The camels acted as a
supply caravan for the cars. It was sent out a month or
two in advance of the motor party. Sometimes it wa'^ in
front and sometimes behind us. As collections were made
they were given to the camels to carry, which in turn eave
us food and gasoline.

I have arranged the pictures tonight to give you n glimpse
of our methods of travel, of the caravan, of our own camp
life and the difTerent aspects of our work.

Doctor Andrews then gave an illustrated
lecture on the work of the Expedition.

Earlier in the day Doctor Andrews was the
suest at luncheon of the Congress Club.

IN recognition of meritorious service in his field
^ of science, Dr. Clark Wissler, curator of
anthropology at the American Museum, received
the honorary degree of Master of Arts from Yale
University.

338

NATURAL HISTORY

LIBRARY ACCESSIONS
■"PHE first four months of the year have brought
•*■ some important additions to the Library's
shelf of new accessions. Included among them are
several files of periodicals, the result of recently
established exchange relations with the Royal
Francis Joseph University of Hungary, the
Ashmolean Natural History Society of Oxford-
shire, the Preussische Geologische Landesan-
stalt and others; two new magnificent volumes of
the famous work by Edward S. Curtis on The
North American Indian, gift of Mr. J. P. Morgan;
Philip Ainsworth Means' scholarly work Ancient
Civilizations of the Andes, gift of the author;
Volumes 6 and 6 of Rex Brasher's interesting
depictions of the Birds and Trees of North Ameri-
ca, gift of Mrs. Wheeler H. Page; Peru from the
Air, an impressive collection of aerial photographs
of the topography of that country, gift of Presi-
dent Henry Fairfield Osborn; four important
Memoirs of the Egypt Exploration Fund, gift
of Mr. Childs Frick; a number of Metropolitan
Museum publications pertinent to the work of
our Museum, made available through the gen-
erosity of that institution; a number of mono-
graphs on travel, geology, mineralogy, and zo-
ology, gifts of friends and patrons. Added to
these are such other recent or classic scientific con-
tributions as have been called for by the Staff
for immediate use in research. Some of the most
outstanding are;

Codex Vindobonensis Mexic. I. Edited by
Walter Lehmann and Ottokar Smital. Wien,
1929
Crania Britannica. Vols. I and II. By J. B.

Davis and John Thurnman. London, 1865

Anatomic Descriptive et Comparative du Chat.

By Hercule Straus-Durckheim. Paris, 1845

Internal Constitution of the Stars. By A. S.

Eddington. Cambridge, 1926
One Thousand Kinds of Shells Existing in Japan.
Vols. I-III. By Yoichiro Hirase. Kyoto,
1914^1915 (published before the great earth-
quake of 1923)
Rhipiphoridum Coleopterorum Familiae Dispositio
Systematica. By A. Gerstaecker. Berolini,
1855
A Monograph of the Anopheles Mosquitoes of
India. By S. P. James and W. G. Liston.
Calcutta, 1904
Pubhcations of the Mysore Geological Depart-
ment. 1900

Every one of these items fills an important gap
on the Library shelves and thanks are due those
who are helping to make it increasingly valuable
to science.

MAMMALIAN PALAEONTOLOGY
C URVEY OF Pliocene Formations in North
•^ China. — Pere Teilhard de Chardin was
introduced to the Osborn Research Club on
February 10, 1931, as one of the most eminent
palaeontologists of our time. President Osborn
characterized France as the "home of verte-
brate palaeontology" and referred to the work of
the earlier scientists there. Pere Teilhard has
been particularly interested in Palseocene faunas
of Europe since 1916, groups which are of great
importance because of their wide geographic
distribution and great antiquity.

In 1924 Pere Teilhard made his first trip to
China and has made repeated trips since, the
last one when he accompanied the Central Asiatic
Expedition during the summer of 1930. In
China most of the formations which he has
studied have been Pleistocene and Pliocene, and
it is with the latter that his address dealt.

A good deal of work had been done in a locality
in the northwestern part of Shansi Province near
the Yellow River where there is a limited area of
LTpper Pliocene and Lower Pleistocene exposures. ,
Pere Teilhard described a hard floor of Palaeozoic
sediments, covered by a thick series (reaching
300 meters in depth) of Quarternary deposits;
these lowest beds are much more complex than
those of simple loess origin. Directly overlying
the Pala;ozoic beds occurs a red clay of Upper
Phocene age which, for convenience, is called
Member 3 of the later series. A few fossils are
found in it, including Hipparion and Acera-
therium.

The next higher series, Member 2, consist of
reddish clays, rich in limestone nodules. These
concretions are found in pocket layers, sometimes
in gravels, covered by loess or reddish clay;
fossils are not very common in these reddish
clays except in the concretions which are full of
rodent skulls and skeletons. These are mostly of
the mammal genus Siphneus represented by
several good species, and very similar to a mole-
hke rodent now common in that region. A few
specimens of horse, wild cattle, and deer were
secured, but they were scarce in this locality.
Pere Teilhard considers this Member 2 series an
older, sometimes banded, loess, of either Upper
Pliocene or Lower Pleistocene age.

The uppermost layers of loess, Member 1, are
of Lower Pleistocene age and contain more recent
species of Rhinoceros, Bos, Equus, etc. The loess
deposits of Member 1 a,nd probably also of the
older Member 2 were apparently formed because
prevalent winds from the northwest drifted
the dust from the Mongolian deserts over this
section of China.

Another basin appearing to be the same as the

NOTES

:i39

Member 2 beds was diseovered, where fossils of
liorse, bison, water buffalo, deer and sheep were
abundant and a study of the fauna seems to link
it with Upper Pliocene times.

The Tuii)i (lur bedn near Iren Dabasu, where
the Central Asiatic Expedition has colleeted, are
also supposed to be the
same age as these red-
dish clays of Member
2. They are extraor-
dinarily similar, litho-
logieally, and in the
vertebrate and inverte-
brate faunas to the
beds of an Upper Plio-
eene lake which Pcre
Teilhard has described
in his most recent paper
" Les Mammiferes
Fossiles de Nihowan
(Chine)." Pie supposes
that in the Upper Plio-
cene there was a series
of lakes in the eastern
Gobi which retreated
southward with ad-
vancing desiccation.

In southern China,
Pere Teilhard believes
the Upper Pliocene is
represented mostly by
cave deposits, and in
northern China by
gravels. The Yellow
River has cut through
in various places so
that the sections are
clearly shown and he

thinks similar sections can be found both to
the north and south along the river. He also
made mention of a Palaeolithic flint which was
found, covered by loess, near the bottom of the
Member 2 series of reddish clays, about fifty
meters above the river level, where it had appar-
ently been washed down from a higher level.

SCIENCE OF MAN
pLORIDA Shell Mounds.— Mr. WilUam
Rawle Brown, a member of the American
Museum and a correspondent of the department
ot anthropology, visited Daytona Beach, Florida,
and volunteered to collect material from the
shell mounds in that vicinity which are now in
process of excavation by highway builders, the
material in shell mounds being particularly
adapted to road building.

Mr. Brown found one of the mounds especially
interesting since its cross-section, as made by the

Abb^ Breuil and PfeRE Teilhard de Ch.vrdin (right)
January, 1931

excavators, revealed in its interior a band of black
soil that must have accumulated on the surface
of the mound as it stood at that time. The thick-
ness of this layer of black soil is about equal to
that of the soil on top of the mound as it now is.
It takes a long time to accumulate such a layer
of soil and consequent-
ly it is safe to inter
that tlie shell mound
grew for a time be-
cause of the shell fish
consumed by the in-
habitants of the site
but later the inhab-
itants moved away
and no one occupied
the place for a long
time. No doubt the
accumulation of soil
was slow and perhaps
trees may have once
stood there. Then
must have come a
t ime when people again
hved upon the site and
began to cast shells
upon the spot, thus
building a much larger
shell heap which was
abandoned later on,
some time before the
discovery of America
by Columbus. Mr.
Brown's notes, photo-
graphs, and specimens
are on file in the de-
partment of anthro-
pology.

F Anthropology at
Sante Fe, New Mexico, each year presents
scholarships to its graduate students. Under
expert supervision the recipients of these scholar-
ships are given instruction in field methods in
physical anthropology. This summer, Dr. H. L.
Shapiro, associate curator in physical anthro-
pology at the American Museum, will conduct
the field party which will investigate an old
French community in Quebec, Canada.

]V /lEXICAN Ahchitecttjre. — Four models of
temples in Mexico and Guatemala, lent
by the department of anthropology of the Ameri-
can Museum, were included in an exhibit of
Mexican architecture, which was one of the im-
portant features at the annual exhibition of the
Architectural League of New York, held at the
Grand Central Palace, April 18-25.

HE Labor.atort

340

NATURAL HISTORY

NEW PUBLICATIONS
lent Civi
rth Mean;

■"PHAT part of South America which fringes the
■*■ Pacific has for some two thousand years
been the scene of the rise and decUne of a series
of civilizations more or less comparable to the
high cultures of Mexico and Central America.
In fact, the civilizations of all three regions un-
doubtedly go back to a common origin, though
the archaeologist is having difficulty in tracing
the courses of the historical streams which flowed
back and forth along the highlands from Mexico
to Chile. Mr. Means has, however, added many
an item to our understanding of this difficult
problem.

Beginning with a description of the geographi-
cal setting, the author then proceeds to give a
series of sketches of the civilizations of Nazca,
Chimu, Tiahuanaco, and Inoa, and adds several
extremely illuminating chapters on the economic,
social, and political aspects of the Inca Empire.
The Inca genius for conquest, colonization, and
administration certainly rivals that of the
Romans. "However stern the Incaic rule may
have been, it was never unjust; however much the
greatness and splendor of the highly placed may
have been served and enhanced, the well-being
of the humble was never lost to sight; however
much may have been demanded of the people in
the way of personal labor and of tribute, society
as a whole was well compensated by the measure
of peace and security, of plenty and leisure that
was assured to it by the Incaic rule." Even a
pacifist might be persuaded to assent to im-
perialism under such conditions !

The last chapters of the book are given over to a
discussion of the religious and intellectual life
and to an analysis of the art of the loom in ancient
Peru. In all these, the achievements of the
Andean peoples stir the admiration. Their re-
ligion fitted well into their pragmatic philosophy
of life, though we might quibble at some of its
workings. Their sense of the Eesthetic is well
attested by the truly wonderful objects wrought
by the weaver and the potter. Such poems as
have come down to us show us that they held a
world-view worthy of their achievements in other
aspects of life.

Mr. Means has at once given us a superb ac-
count of two thousand years of Andean history,
a trenchant analysis of a series of cultures, and a
sympathetic picture of life under conditions which
are now frankly barbaric, now peculiarly civil-
ized. It is, in fact, a series of well executed por-
traits of a vanished race. He has achieved the
difficult task of writing a book which is a delight
to the average reader and a storehouse of knowl-

edge for the specialist in this field. The value of
the work is heightened by a splendid bibUography,
an index, and by more than two hundred illus-
trations.— R. L. O.

Game A.ninials of the Sitftan. By Capt. IT. C. Brockle-
hurst, F.R.G.S., F.Z.S. Gurney and Jackson, London,
1931

/'^APTAIN Brocklehurst has written a
^^ valuable and interesting manuscript which
the publishers, with the help of illustrations,
have made into an attractive book. The author,
who has been Game Warden to the Sudan
Government for some years, is well qualified by
training and field experience to discuss the many
varieties of game mammals which are found in
the vast expanse of territory included in the
Sudan. He states that he has written mainly for
the novice, and the chapters deal not only with
descriptions of the mammals themselves, where
they are found and how they behave, but give
useful pointers on the hundred and one matters
that will be of vital interest to the sportsman and
nature lover about to visit the Sudan. Inci-
dentally, this volume will be an exceedingly
helpful reference for the specialist as well, for
Captain Brocklehurst has not permitted his
solicitude for the novice to mislead him into a
casual treatment of the subject. The greater
part of the book is taken up by a careful presen-
tation of what might well be called standard
statistics, except that the term statistics con-
notes dry, dull facts, which these certainly are
not.

The Captain might well have titled his work
"Game Mammals of the Sudan," substituting
the much more exact "mammals" for the com-
prehensive group word "animals," because he
discusses mammals alone of all the animals.
The game birds, the hosts of ducks, geese, guinea-
fowl, bustards, etc., are all game animals, and
this loose usage of terms by the author is not a
fair index to the scholarship displayed in the text.

Taking the chapter on the elephant as repre-
sentative of most of the volume, we are given the
Enghsh and the Latin names, followed by no less
than six different native names. The distinctions
between the African and Indian elephants are
well brought out. The dimensions, weights of
tusks, period of gestation, years to reach ma-
turity, and such data of general application are
recorded in an entertaining fashion. Then follow
interesting extracts from the author's field
experience and that of others relative to whether
the elephant lies down to sleep, the ringing of
elephants by fire, the present scarcity of large
tusks as contrasted with their former abundance,
the structure and variation in tusks, the possible
existence of four-tusked elephants, and so on.

NOTES

341

Novice or experionoed sporl-smati, f^thc^r timy
read these pa)j;es with pleasure and profit.

Near the close of the voluiiu^ occur brief
chapters on how to kill an elephant (a difficult feat
unless one knows how to locate the relatively
small vital areas), how to distinguish between
the tusks of male and female elejjhantB, how to
bleach skulls, and to soften skins; clothing and
camp equipment, native hunters, et cetera.

The book is illustrated by twelve color plates
by W. R. Riddell, forty-five sketches by H. R.
MiUais, W. D. M. Bell and F. Wallace, all of
which are unusually well done. In addition,
there are a few photof^raphs and a map of the
region. While all of the photographs are
interesting and some quite good, others suffer by
comparison with the fine, sharp, well illuminated
exposures which have been coming from Africa
in such abundance in recent years. — H. E. A.

JtjulM—Tlie Jiimh J\"cf/i-M«s of Diitrli itiiltimi. By

Morton C. Kahn. New York. The Viking Prcsa, 1931.

VV/HEN Dutch, Spanish, and English colonies
"" were started along the northern coast of
South America in the Seventeenth Century, it was
in the nature of things that "Black Ivory" was
imported to do the work of the plantations. It
was also in the nature of things that these slaves
were cruelly treated. But the plantation clearings
were hemmed in by a vast jungle and in that
jungle the black man saw freedom, for there
runaways were able to hide out, to live, to avoid
capture. The jungle was a home to the Black,
but only a death-trap to the White.

As the number of runaways increased, they
formed themselves into tribes, and under their
leaders made forays upon the hated plantations.
For a long period, open warfare between the
fugitives and their former masters prevailed,
but at last, so powerfully did Nature aid the
renegades, treaties were signed which stipulated
that the Blacks were to receive an annual tribute
from the Dutch government! This tribute is still
paid to the descendants of the liberty-loving
Negroes of those far-away days, for the Negro
tribes prospered in a jungle which was much like
that of their native African Gold Coast. The
communities of runaways were formed before
memory of life and times in Africa were entirely
forgotten. Hatred of the wliite man and his
ways and primitive conservatism have served to
preserve them as the only example of Negro
culture transplanted to the New World.

It is the story of the slaves' rebellions, of the
formation of their tribal communities, and of
their present-day customs that Doctor Kahn re-
lates to us in Djuka. His six trips to Dutch
Guiana (three of them under the auspices of the

American Museum of Natural HiBtory and
financed by Mr. Myron i. Granger) have served
to give not only "atmosphere" to the tale he telk
but have given him the knowledge of Djuka ways
necessary to the telling.

One of the chief delights to the Djuka soul is a
beautifully carved object of wood. In fact few
other pursuits give evidence of awthetic apfn?-
tite among these people. But on a comb, a
bench, or a pot-stirrer, the artist will lavish long
hours or days in order that the finished product
may be pleasing to the eyes of his beloved — for
most carvings are done only to be given as
presents with which to win the affections of a
woman desired.

Djuka culture is a strange mixture of African,
American Indian, and European. Despite the
fact that only a few years of slavery were endured
before the Negroes set up their curious com-
munities, but little of their African heritage was
incorporated into the new order of things. Even
their language — the "talkee talkee" — is a
hodge podge of English, Dutch, and so on, with
little carrying over from their native Tschi or
other dialects. One wonders if the Djukas are
not another instance of the Negro's perverse
eclecticism, his inability to hold fa.st to his own
cultural heritage or to take that of strangers with
facility and understanding. One might expect
more of a people canny enough to give us
as an explanation as to why they lavish small
care on the carvings of their gods that "If the
god is a good god, ... he doesn't care whether
his fetishes are well-executed or not. If he is a
bad god, he is going to continue bad, regardless
of whether much time is spent on his fetishes or
not."

While Djuka gives us far less than a com-
plete picture of Bush Negro life and culture, it
balances this lack by flashes of insight into the
racial and group psj'chology which make Djuka
culture an entitj' in itself instead of a drab mix-
ture of Negro and White civihzation. — R. L. O.

Thirtij Years War for Willi lAfe. By William T.
Hornaday. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1931

r^OCTOR Hornaday has long been a figure of

international prominence in matters of wild

hfe conservation. His adherents are many and
even his antagonists have been free to admit his
ability and aggressiveness in the interests of wild
animals. An account of his activities during the
last thirty years sheds a graphic side light upon
aU of the major controversial issues of conserva-
tion during that time. He has never been one to
sit quietly by when the tide seemed set against
the project he favored, and in his recent volume
we find him an able advocate of the theorj' that

342

NATURAL HISTORY

an offensive is the best defense.

The author has the faculty of phrasing his
chapters in a terminology that touches all of the
high-Ughts. The attention of the reader is
arrested and held by forceful diction and apt
simile. One can have little doubt that the Doctor
has made the enemy sit up and take notice.

The book is an historical account of the
progressive stages in the threatened extermina-
tion of wild life and the various tactics which
have delayed or hastened the process accordingly
as the conservationists or the wasters have
dominated the situation. Various constructive
movements, such as the stopping of the sale of
game, the passage of the Migratory Bird Treaty,
and the estabhshment of sanctuaries and refuges,
were launched in the face of difficulties, and
Doctor Hornaday picks out the milestones in the
march toward accomphshment.

The first part of his story tells of the dark side
of wild hfe conditions, the second half discloses
the bright side, and one discovers that a number
of truly vital advances in conservation have been
achieved in North America in the last thirty

years. The fight for our native fauna is by no
means at an end, however, and the author suc-
cessfully develops the premise that the forces of
civilization (?) are continually creating new
dangers to wild life, miUions are spent to destroy
life and but a pittance to protect it, and that the
future holds far more of menace than of promise
to wild creatures unless the general public
awakens to the true inwardness of the situation.
— H. E. A.

CREDIT
TN the article "The Mysterious Natives of
■'• Northern Japan," in the March-April issue
of Natural History, the photographs of Ainus
on pages 195, 197, 198, 199 (top), 203, 204, 205,
and 206 were made in St. Louis at the time of the
Louisiana Purchase Exposition by A. Tennyson
Beals of New York City. The woman with the
dog, shown on page 197, was the "chief" of a
group of Patagonian Indians included among a
group of foreign peoples, as were the Ainus, who
were brought to St. Louis for the period of the
Exposition.

NEW MEMBERS

NEW MEMBERS
Since the last issue of Natural History, the following
persons have been elected members of the American Mu-
seum, making the total membership 12,047.

Patron
Mr. Richard Archbold.

Fellow
Mr. Philip M. Plant.

Honorary Life Members
Dr. Juan Ramon Guerra.
General Juan Vincente Gomez.
Mr. Randolph C. Morris.

Life Members
Mesdames Francis D. Bartow, T. Suffern Tailer.
Messrs. D.AVID Bruce, Ch.arles E. Dunlap, W. R.
Grace.

Sustaining Members
Mrs. William H. Porter.
Miss Marion M. Wilson.
Mr. James M. Gifford.

Annual Members
Mesdames A. J. Barskt, Dorothy W. Bernstein, Hendon
Chubb, William H. Conroy, Jas. A. G. Davey, Marius
DE Brabant, Frank J. Frost, R. H. Gordon, F. S.
Holmes, Edith K. Kreitler, Louis B. McCagg, Charles
W. McCutchen, Edgah F. Price, S. A. .Salvage, Edna
Phillips Stern, E. J. S. Tanner, Thomas Degnan
Walsh.

Misses Elizabeth G. Atwood, Helen Forsberg, Emily
F. Gaither, Sarah Andrew Murphy, Isabel A. Post,
Eleanor Spear, Dorothy Weed.
Prof. A. V. Williams Jackson.

Doctors Clement H. Arnold, Geo. A. Fiedler, Mark
LuRiE, GiRARD F. Oberrender, Austen Fox Riggs,
Arthur T. Rowe, Eugene Wehmeyer, I. Maurice
Wormser.

Messrs. John M. Allen, Joseph Bayer, Elliott V. Bell,
Fred T. Bonham, Ronald K. Brown, Henry Burchell,
Clarence L. Campbell, Ch.arles J. Carlotti, Ralph
Dudley, Otto R. Eggers, D. S. Ellsw^orth, Oscar R.
EwiNG, Earle Farwell, p. a. S. Franklin, Peter Free-
bird, Leo Geenens, Jules A. Guedalia, Walter O.
GuTLOHN, Irving Harris, William A. Heron, Daniel P.
Higgins, Jesse H. Holmes, Mancius S. Hutton, Arthur
E. John, Julius Kaufman, H. William Klare, Eric
Lagemann, Frank L. Lane, Alfred L. Laurents,
Fredbrik Lunning, Chapman D. Marks, H. A.
Mathews, J. P. McCullogh, Lyman L. Merriam,
Francis T. Meyer, John Christopher O'Connor,

Henry B. Prout, Joseph Robinson, Joseph A. Rosen,
Saul Sohachet, Fred P. Schall, Myron Scott, David
Vernon Sh.aw-Kennedy, Fr.ank B. Smithe, Joseph H.
Spray, Heath Steele, J. Rich Steers, Geo. B. Thomas,
Arthur W. Uhl, Hans P. Ulich, C. R. Vose, Herman
F. Wahlig, Rolf G.Westad, Douglas McLean Williams,
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Vol. XXXI, No. 4

1931

A HOWLER MONKEY OF PANAMA

jul>-Au^-ust

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DEPARTMENTAL' STAFFS
Astronomy

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Fossil Vertebrates

Henry Fairfield Osborn, D.Sc, LL.D., Honorary

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Barnum Brown, A.B., Curator of Fossil Reptiles
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Hymenoptera

VOLUME XXXI IN j\ 1 vJ rv/v L JULY-AUGUST

The Journal of The American Museum of Natural History

Hawthorne Daniel ^aASB* ^' I'^atherine Bergeb

Editor ^iBHBBBQP Associate Editor

CONTENTS

A Howler Monkey of Panama Cover

From a Painting by Francis L. .Tuques (See Page 344)

The Ruins of Machu Picchu Frontispiece

Seen from a Tropical Air Castle Fpaxk M. Chapman 347

The Big Almendro Tree Plays Host to an Interesting Assemblage of Forest Guests

Camp Life on the Gobi Desert Walter Granger 3o7

Incidents and Experiences in the Daily Lives of the Men of the Central Asiatic Expeditions

Forty Tons of Coral Roy Waldo Miner 374

The Story of the Preparation of an Immense Coral Reef Group for the American Museum

From Cuzco to Machu Picchu Harold E. Anthony 388

An American Museum Expedition Camp in the Gorge of the Urubamba River, Peru

A Day in Nazca Ronald L. Olson 400

How Rain Came to the Valley of Nazca after a Devastating Drought

Reindeer for the Canadl-^n Eskimo O. S. Finnie 409

Domesticating Reindeer To Safeguard the Economic Welfare of the Natives of the North West Territories

Sac-a-Plomb Alfred M. Bailey 417

The Elusive Little Pied-billed Grebe of Our Northern States

Mountain Peoples of the South Seas Beatrice Blackwood 424

The Home Life and Customs of the Natives in the Hill Villages of Bougain\-ille

Animals of the Nature Trail William H. Carr 434

The Personalities and Activities of Some Animal Pets at a Trailside Museum

American Museum Expeditions and Notes 443

Published bimonthly by The American Museum of Natural History, New York, N. Y. Sub-
scription price, S3 a year.

Subscriptions should be addressed to James H. Perkins, Treasurer, American Museum of Natural
History, 77th St. and Central Park West, New York, N. Y.

Natural History is sent to all members of the American Museum as one of the privileges of member-
ship.

THE RUINS OF MACHU PICCHU
This ancient Inca ruin, four thousand feet above the roaring torrent of the Urubamba River, is domi-
nated by high rocky spires in the near distance and by snow-clad peaks along the sky-line

(See "From Cuzco to Machu Picchu," Page S8S.)

VOLUMIC
XXXI

NATURAL
HISTORY

JULY-AUGUST, 1931

NUMBER
FOUR

SEEN FROM A TROPICAL AIR CASTLE

The Big Almcndro Tree Plays Host to an Interesting
^Assemblage of Forest Guests

By frank M. chapman

Curator-in-Chief, Department of Birds, American Museum

PHOTOOnAPHS BY THE AUTHOR

TREES have so many human-like
attributes that one who is respon-
sive to their influences inevitably
endows them with personality. Their
haunt, their size and shape, the appear-
ance of their bark, the form and color of
their leaves and blossoms, the nature of
their wood, their sap, their fruit, even the
movement of their limbs and the sound of
the wind in their foliage combine to create
the character through which a tree speaks
to us — for that trees have voices no
tree-lover will deny. It is the endless
diversity of their pronounced character-
istics and the confusion of their voices
that overwhelms one in a tropical forest.
The luxuriance of the vegetation sets no
limit to their powers of expression.

The relentless cruelty of a strangler
fig, the rigid uprightness of a palm, the
benevolence of a tree-fern, the hospitality
of a ceiba bearing an aerial garden on its
huge, wide-stretched arms, the dignity
and nobility of an almendro are among
the more familiar illustrations of tree
character in the forests of Barro Colorado.
Among them all my closest friendship is
with the almendro — and to one almendro
in particular do I pay homage. Standing

among many great trees of a mature
forest, it nevertheless dominates its
neighbors. Although fully grown, it
shows no signs of age. Rather is it in the
prime of virile treehood. Six feet in
diameter two yards from the ground, its
splendid, smooth-barked trunk ascends
column-like with but sUght decrease in
size seventy-five feet before it branches.
Its limbs are open, symmetrical, graceful,
and tapering. They stretch upward
rather than outward, and their tips are
not less than 150 feet above the ground.
Few parasites grow on its clean, brown
Umbs; it suffers no loss of individuality
from a draping of vines, and in the calm
dignity of its pose stands a prince among
its fellows. Beneath its spreading arms
grow trees with slender, limbless trunks
and rather compact crowns, and beneath
these are palms and an open undergrowth
of sapUngs. The forest floor, at this dry
season, is thickly strewn with dead leaves.
But if the almendro refuses hospitality
to orchid, aroid and fern, it gives it un-
stintingly to the animals of the forest.
It bears annually, but in greater abun-
dance every other year, a flattened, ellip-
tical nut about two inches long and half

348

NATURAL HISIORY

THE BIG ALMENBRO

The tree is 22 feet in circumference at the man'
150 feet in height. The foreground was cleared
structed view of the trunk

as wide, covered with a thin, fleshy coat-
ing and enclosing an almond-shaped
kernel, whence (though the tree is not even
a member of the almond family) it
derives its common name.

The outer covering of the nut has a
shghtly sweetish taste and is eaten by
coatis, kinkajous, and howhng monkeys.
Judged by human standards it is inedible,
but I fully share the liking of squirrels,
agoutis, and peccaries for the contained
kernel. Dried and roasted, it combines
the flavor of a peanut and chestnut, with

equally palatable quali-
ties of its own. Some
day, doubtless, a place
will be given to it on the
dinner table, bringing its
delectable flavor but no
suggestion of the majesty
of the tree that bore it or
of the romance of its
associations.

During January, Feb-
ruary, and early March,
the period of its fruitage,
the Big Almendro sup-
ports a large family, and
I visit it frequently, not
alone for the inspiration
of its presence, but also
to meet its guests. Chief
among them is that rac-
coon-like animal, the
coati. An adult coati
w eighs as much as thirteen
pounds. He is thickset,
short-legged, and rather
clumsy in appearance.
He has a long tail but it
is not prehensile, and
serves only as a balanc-
ing rod when he climbs.
Nevertheless, with sur-
prising agility he clam-
bers about the outermost
and uppermost Umbs of
the almendro, picking the
fruit direct or drawing in the branches to
bring it within reach. Often, in this act,
he breaks them, and a bearing almendro
much frequented by coatis has, in con-
sequence, many small terminal branches
of dead brown leaves.

There is no apparent difference in the
external appearance of ripe and unripe
almendro nuts, and the coati seems to be
guided in his selection of food solely by his
remarkable sense of smell. He walks
slowly along a limb, curling up his elon-
gated snout as he sniffs on this side and

s head and about
to give an unob-

.S'A'AW FliOM A TROPICAL AIR CAHTUi

:U9

that, passing cluster after cluster of
pendent nuts without picking one, but
when he does help himself his choice is
invariably to his liking. Then he stops
or seeks a better resting-place, takes the
nut in his forcpaws and quickly gnaws off
the brown skin, leaving an inner bright
green covering which adheres to the shell
too tightly to be removed. Then he
drops the nut. This is an important part
of the food-cycle. Not one almendro nut
in a hundred falls with its covering intact.
The ground beneath a bearing tree may be
thickly sprinkled with nuts, but one may
hunt in vain for one from which the
brown outer coat has not
been removed. Vainly I
stalked almendro trees to
discover the evidently
abundant animal that
fed on these nuts until
one day a green, freshly
eaten nut fell on me and
I found that it had been
dropped by a coati in the
branches ovei'head.

Kinkajous, or so-called
"honey bears," also pick
almendros, but they feed
only at night, and I am
unable to say what share
of fallen fruit is theirs.
Howling monkeys feed
largely on leaves, but at
times add almendro nuts
to their fare. It is these
animals, therefore, that
the agoutis, peccaries,
and squirrels have to
thank for the food that
daily and nightly falls
to them. The first two
are not concerned with
the covering of the nut,
but with its kernel — and
dearly must they love it.

An almendro nut is
hard as stone and it

takes a sledge-hammer blow to break it.
Agoutis and squirrels reach the kernel by
gnawing through the hard shell — a well-
earned prize — and, with experience, one
may tell which animal is at work by the
key and the rhythm of its gnaw; the note
of the squirrel being higher, the time
faster. The peccary, on the other hand,
cracks the nut along the lateral .seam that
divides it into halves, a tribute to the
hardness of his teeth and the power of
his jaws. He also eats it unbroken,
doubtless for what remains of its outer
covering, since it passes through the ali-
mentary canal entire. These animals,

THE PALM-TREE BLIND
Note the steps at the left and the partly concealed figure above

350

NATURAL HISTORY

therefore, must play an effective part in
the distribution of almendro nuts and
hence in the perpetuation of the species.

The Cativo {Prioria Copaifera), a com-
mon neighbor of the almendro, bears large
nuts which are evidently little, if at all,
eaten by animals, and in the dry season
the ground beneath these trees is densely
grown with seedlings — a little forest of
them. But one may look in vain beneath
an almendro for a nut which has rooted.
All, apparently, have been destroyed by
the animals which frequent these trees so
persistently during the season when its
nuts ripen. It is of importance, therefore,
that some of these nuts be removed
from the area of their greatest abundance
and essentially complete destruction.
This the peccary does in a manner that
seems especially designed to ensure their
germination. The observed facts in this
case relate to the collared peccary, a

diurnal species. But it is probable that
the white-hpped peccary, a not uncommon
but apparently largely nocturnal species
on Barro Colorado, occupies a similar
relation to the almendro.

My love of the Big Almendro, and my
interest in its guests prompted me to seek
a place among them. Obviously I could
not hope to enter their circle on the ground
floor, but it seemed quite possible that I
might join the ranks of the tree-dwellers.

I shall not attempt to explain the sig-
nificance of my inborn and life-long desire
to occupy some kind of seat, perch, or
platform in trees. These arboreal habita-
tions were the delight of my boyhood and
after fifty years and more the tree-haunt-
ing habit is still strong. Various have been
my tree abodes. I recall a hollow chestnut
large enough to give an uncomfortable
but nevertheless enjoyable night's lodg-
ing; a "moss"-hung cypress in a colony of

A COLLARED PECCARY
(An automatic flashlight)

Feeding on nuts dropped from the Big Almendro. The peccary gets at the kernel by cracking the
nut along the lateral seam that divides it into halves, a feat that proves the hardness of his teeth and

the power of his jaws

HIiEN FROM A TROI'ICAL Alii CASTLE

••■iol

AGOUTI

Their rhythmic snaw, as with their sharp teeth they cut through the hard shell of an almendro nut,

is a characteristic sound beneath the Big Almendro

egrets and a mangrove roost shared with
spoonbills, but none of these equalled in fit-
ness and naturalness, charm and potential-
ity of environment, the tree-blind beneath
the Big Almendro.
It was in a small
group of palms that
the blind was
placed. Four of
them formed the
corners of a square
about two feet
across at the base
and nearly twice as
large at a height of
ten feet. To the
two trees on one
side of this square
crosspieces were
nailed by way of
steps. Ten feet above the ground similar
pieces were nailed to the remaining three
sides of the square, and small limbs laid on
them made the floor of the bhnd. On this
a seat was arranged, and by drawing in
and tying the long, pinnate leaves of

FRUIT OF THE ALMENDRO AND

MONKEY COMB

At the right a complete almendro nut; at the left

the same after the outer covering has been eaten

by a coati or kinkajou, and the kernel has been

extracted by an agouti or squirrel

young palms growing below I secured
complete concealment without perceptibly
altering the surroundings. It was an ideal
hiding place. Perched within it one felt
indigenous.

I might now pre-
sent a composite
sketch of what I
saw from this look-
out, creating the
impression of a
nicely balanced
play with events
occurring in con-
trolled succession
as though each ani-
mal waited in turn
to act its part or
speak its piece. In
truth there was no
confusion of life at the Big Almendro and
in any event one can speak of only one
thing at a time, but I believe I can give
a truer, more realistic, if less readable,
account of events as I record them by
merely presenting, with some comment.

352

NATURAL HISTORY

THE BIG ALMENDRO FROM THE BLIND
The small trees and vine at the right were used by the coatis in their
ascent of the almendro

my observations as they were written in
the bUnd.

The first day I ascended to my post
(February 2, 1930; 7.50 A.M.) I learned
how coatis reached the topmost branches
of the almendro. Its trunk is obviously
too large for them to chmb, and it was
evident that they must use some other
stairway. I was barely settled when I
heard footsteps on the dry leaves that
cover the forest floor at this season, and a
band of eight coatis appeared. When
seen without their being aware that they
are under observation, coatis impress one

as being thoroughly at
ease — like a skunk. They
make no attempt to con-
ceal their movements,
dig here, root there, sniff
and snort, and, appar-
ently fearing no foe, exer-
cise no caution and betray
no suspicions. So, with
long tails erect and wav-
ing jauntily, these eight
animals came loping
through the forest. They
made no stops to look for
food by the way but, as
though traveling a famil-
iar route, went straight
toward the base of the
almendro. When about
ten feet from its trunk,
without pause or consul-
tation, the leader went
up a sapling about three
inches in diameter to a
height of ten feet, left it
there for a near-growing
tree twice as large,
ascended that for
twenty-feet, and then
transferred to a pendent,
rope-like vine, or liane,
not more than an inch
and a half thick. Up
this he climbed for some
thirty feet and then disappeared in
the leaves of the lower tree-tops. No
sooner was the leader's tail clear of the
ground than he was followed by the next
member of the band and he, in turn, by a
third, so that before number one was lost
to view all were climbing and several
were on the vine at the same time. The
almendro seemed festooned with coatis.

In ascending the small trees that
formed the first stages of their journey,
the coatis progressed with a galloping
motion, that is the front feet were thrown
forward together, the hind feet followed.

^EEN FROM A TROPICAL AIR CASTLE

353

and thf advance was made by jerks.
But, when they reached the ropehke vine
they chrnbed hand-over-hand, following
the movement of each fore-paw with an
exaggerated right and left wagging of the
head which to one who knows the serious
nature of coatis was very comical. I
sat in my palm-leaf shelter entranced l)y
this performance.

The animals traveled cautiously, with
frequent rests, for the coati is terrestrial
rather than arboreal and one can almost
believe that, in spite of his agility, he has
learned to climb at a comparatively recent
period in his history. He seems never to
feel at home when in trees and, if dis-
covered there, loses no time in reaching
the ground. Only a few days since
(February 13, 1931) I found a group of
coatis in the upper branches of the al-
mendro. So far as I was concerned, they
could not have been in a safer place. But

as soon as they saw me they left the tree
to seek various routes to the ground.
On one occasion a half-grown coati, in its
haste to follow its elders from the tree
in which I had surprised them, missed its
footing and fell for about forty feet. It
landed in a bush-top, lay motionless for
nearly a minute, then, as I advanced,
jumped to the ground and scampered
away.

From my blind I could observe onlj^
what transpired beneath the almendro.
Its top was as hidden from me as the roof
of a house from its cellar. It soon became
evident, however, that the coatis were
seeking their breakfast directly above me
and I was shortly bombanled by the nuts
they dropped. Fortunately the force of
the fall of the-se stonelikc fruits was
broken by the tops of my palm-trees, but
thereafter I brought a peak-crowned hat
to the blind.

COATIS
{An automatic, nocturnal flashlight)
Chief among the large family supported by the almendro tree is the coati, the most common and
intere.sting animal on Barro Colorado

354

NATURAL HISTORY

From somewhere in the shadows came
the sound of gnawings and crunchings.
They were doubtless made by peccaries
and agoutis, but I was unable to see them.
These animals had finished their morning
meal before the sun was high enough to
penetrate openings in the forest roof and
fleck its floor with golden patches. Then
the great Amazona parrots called stop
it, stop it quick-quick-quick in a voice so
loud and harsh that even as they flew
through the tree-tops it was in truth ear-
sphtting; black-billed pigeons uttered

THE BLOSSOM OF ARISTOLOCHIA
It measured eight inches across and grew on a vine in dense shade
near the ground. The darker parts are colored shades of ochre and
buff

with ceaseless fervor their emphatic
Je t' ado7-e, and often followed this avowal
with an unloverlike growl ; trogons cooed
and cowed, toucans yelped their Dios te
de, or croaked like frogs; fruit crows
cawed, guans, locally known as pavos,
piped and drummed, but Lathria unirufa,
the sentinel, was apparently the only bird
to observe me. From a perch almost
overhead he challenged with his stac-
cato, explosive see-you-I-see-you, a long,
sweeping silvery whistle which in volume,
clearness and commanding quality, I have
never heard equalled by
a bird. One marvels that
so loud a note can be
produced by so compara-
tively small a bird (he is
only nine inches long)
but like every good voca-
list he sings without ap-
parent effort. In color
he is uniform brown. I
was doubtless trespassing
on his territory, possibly
he had a home near by,
for invariably he
challenged my right to
be there.

Like most highly musi-
cal mornings it was calm.
Not a leaf fluttered and
a passing airplane shat-
tered the silence with
more than usual violence.
The howling monkeys
have not yet become ac-
customed to this intruder
and invariably roar de-
fiance at their only rival
in sound producing. A
clan not more than one
hundred yards away now
gave voice and another,
distant about two hun-
dred yards, added pro-
test. It is unusual to
find groups of these ani-

SEEN FROM A THOI'ICAL AIR CASTLE

355

mals so near each other.
Doubtless they were close
to the boundary line
which separates their re-
spective territories.

At 8.30 the coatis, half
sliding, half galloping,
began to descend. All of
them did not return, but
at nine o'clock nuts
ceased dropping and, as
I afterward learned, a
number of coatis slept in
the almendro. Possible-
they passed the da\'
there, coming to eartli
after their evening meal.
A glittering morpho but-
terfly, the bluest thing in
the world, passed erratic-
ally below me; Lathria,
still suspicious, occasion-
ally questioned ; a squirrel
near by, holding an
almendro nut in both
paws, gnawed persist-
ently. At 10:30 the forest
slept to the droning hum
of cicadas and I returneil
to the laboratory.

It was 7.15 on the
morning of February 26,
when again I climbed to
my perch in the palm-
trees. The sun was just
entering the forest and the air was vibrant
with the calls of toucans, doves, parrots,
and ant-birds. Lathria, whistling sharply,
soon discovered me. Peccaries were
feeding beneath the almendro but left as I
approached. No coatis appeared, and in
the absence of falling nuts I assumed that
none had arrived. But at 7.45 the bom-
bardment began and, first putting on my
hat, I tried in vain to see its authors.
A coati at about my level was viciously
attacking a large air-plant growing in a
neighboring tree. He literally tore it to

FOREST NEAR THE LABORATORY

Pearson Trail No. 1. The two planks in the central foreground

bridge a brook twenty feet below the camera. A collared peccar>'

runway crosses the trail this side of the bridge

shreds with his long, powerful claws in a
search for insects, their eggs, or larvae.
There was an outburst of hoarse squawks
from a passing band of white-faced mon-
keys, who seem always to be bound else-
where, and from somewhere in the great
canopy overhead I could hear the low
conversational tones of howlers.

The nuts ceased falling. There was the
sound of animals leaping in the upper
branches, and a band of howling monkeys,
who had apparently been feeding in the
almendro came into view as it passed near

356

NATURAL HISTORY

my blind. Familiar as I am with these
remarkable animals, this was my first
encounter with them in their element.
Knowing that they rarely leave the upper
limbs of the taller trees, a person on the
ground listens to their astounding vocifer-
ations with composure, but having now
assumed the role of an arboreal creature,
I found that my point of view both
literally and mentally was considerably
altered. Moreover, I was now the un-
questioned cause of their deafening up-
roar. An old male seemed particularly
threatening. Descending to within fifty
feet of me he roared until he choked,
then, gasping, roared again. His teeth
shone, his hps dripped sahva, his large,
luminous, protruding eyes set far apart
in his broad, ebony face gleamed with
savage ferocity to which his appaUing
bellow gave eloquent expression. Reason
assured me that he was harmless, but,
fortunately for the range of our mental
experiences, reason is not always in
control of them, and I was sufficiently
moved by this encounter to enjoy it
thoroughly.

A mother with a baby clinging to her
breast, both its arms and tail encircling
her body, struck a lighter note. Hanging
from a limb by the tip of her tail, she swung
to and fro and half revolved in response
to the vigorous motions of her arms and
hands as she "batted" insects swarming
about her head. Insects, especially bot-
flies, are among the howlers' chief enemies.
One might imagine that in time they
would have developed an immunity to
them but in the absence of predatory foes
there must be some checks to prevent
their undue increase.

There was never as much activity in
and about the almendro in the afternoon
as there was in the morning. But the
early nightfall is the time when pumas
seek their evening meal, and it was with
a hope that the agoutis usually beneath
the almendro might prove a lure to pumas

that I climbed to my perch at 2.30 on the
afternoon of March 1.

At this hour the animal world was still
wrapped in the silence of its mid-day
slumbers. But the trade wind was awake
and as its voice rose and fell soothingly in
the gently swaying tree-tops the motion
of the palms holding my blind seemed to
make me a part of the scene. The sky
was nearly cloudless but, except for little
flickering patches of sunhght here and
there, the ground below me was in shadow.

At three o'clock, in response to some
unknown cause, a clan of howlers toward
the Wheeler Estero announced their
presence. Why the howler howls no man
can always say. There are howls of song
— as at day-break — and there are howls of
protest — as when an airplane passes.
But there are also periods of howling not
connected with time and for which the
event is not apparent. Such outbreaks are
led by the old males, and as their raucous
roars rise and fall, the long-drawn howls
of the females and young carry on the
strain until again, with impressive surg-
ing rhythm, the voices of the males swell
the chorus.

The forest now awoke. Lathria, evi-
dently asleep at his post, challenged
sharply and with as startling effect as
though I had not been expecting him.
From near by I could hear the fine, even
gnaw of a squirrel patiently grinding his
way to the kernel of an almendro. A
blue-headed parrot flew over and a shrike-
vireo began to whistle one-two-three with
tireless persistence On the ground below
the blind a teetering northern water-
thrush, fellow winter visitant, tossed the
leaves right and left with as much energy
as he might display in Canada. At five
o'clock a single peccary fed, crunching on
the far side of the almendro. The blind
did not give me that intimate view of
peccaries which I expected to have from
it. It was unusual to approach the al-
mendro at this season without finding a

SEEN FROM A TliOl'ICAL AIR CASTLE

357

band of these animals bencatli it. Never-
theless, few came while I was in the blind
and, for peccaries, they seemed to be ill at
ease. It is their nose, not their eyes, that
puts peccaries on guard, and it is possible
that my blind was not high enough to
prevent them from getting my scent.

It was ten minutes of six when two
agoutis appeared. They advanced with
characteristic caution, a step at a time,
eternally vigilant and ready to flee. I
have seen agoutis numbers of times when
it was reasonably certain that they were
not aware of my presence and always they
seemed frightened to the verge of flight.
Their color blends closely with the dead
leaves and, when motionless, they are
almost invisible; but none of the forest
animals is shyer or takes to its heels with
less cause for alarm. A similarly colored
bird would not fiy until it was almost
stepped on. But the agouti's lack of faith

in the protective value of his coloration
may be accepted as proof that it has none.
Unlike a bird, he always lays a trail behind
him that reveals his hiding place. The
bird, when flushed, takes to the air and
disappears, but the agouti, no matter how
quickly he springs or how rapidly he runs,
is earth-tied and leaves his scent behind
him.

While the startling whirr-r of a flushed
grouse or tinamou may be only the un-
avoidable result of the rapid impact of the
bird's stiff wing-quills on the air, it is
quite probable that this sound may have a
certain protective value as it alarms a foe
about to spring! But the agouti's alarm
cry, as with astonishing rapidity it bounds
off through the forest, seems definitely to
be uttered as a means of frightening its
enemies. Certainly no more threatening
sound ever proceeded from so harmless an
animal. It is a loud, explosive, rasping

A COATI
The erect tail and quizzical, inquiring expression are characteristic of this raccoon-like animal

358

NATURAL HISTORY

squawk that by mere force of suggestion
creates a picture of curved claws tearing
flesh. The first time I ever heard it I
could almost see an ocelot, and after
years of famiharity it invariably stops
me in my tracks with a perceptible heart
jump.

I wished the two agoutis beneath the
almendro no harm but the hope was
strong, as the shadows deepened, that a
puma was on the track of at least one of
them. I had flash-lighted puma on this
trail within a hundred yards of both sides
of the almendro. I used no bait, while
here were two animals that evidently
rank high on the puma's bill-of-fare. As
if reading my thoughts one of them
suddenly fled, but the other sat on his
hind legs beneath my blind and, holding an
almendro nut in his paws, gnawed in-
dustriously and with as much content-
ment as an agouti ever exhibits.

There was still light in the tree-tops,
where toucans yelped and croaked, but
although I could hear the agouti I could
not see him. As abruptly as though under
command the toucans ceased calling and
with the silence one received an impression
that night had fallen.

Descending to the ground, I was con-
scious of an equally sudden change in my
mental attitude toward pumas. Only a
moment before I had searched the under-
growth eagerly for a sleek form; now I
felt that, on this occasion at least, we might
cancel any engagement we may have
had to meet beneath the Big Almendro.

At the same time I found that I pos-
sessed a much keener appreciation of the
agouti's point of view. Indeed, there were
moments during the mile and a half walk
through the now darkened tunnel of the
trail to the laboratory when I felt that I
was an agouti.

A PUMA ON THE LUTZ TRAIL

(An automatic^ nocturnal Jlash-light)

Caravan in the Sand Dunes at Tsagan Non

CAMP LIFE ON THE GOBI DESERT

Incidents and Experiences in the Daily Lives of the Men of the American Museum-
Central Asiatic Expeditions in Mongolia

By WALTER GRANGER

Curator of Palseontology, Asiatic Exploration and Research, American Museum,
and Second in Command of the Central Asiatic Expeditions

IT'S a common belief among the stay-at-
homes that explorers and scientists
who travel into the more remote parts
of the earth must of necessity suffer
hardship and privation, and those of us
who have helped to carry on the Central
Asiatic Expeditions in Mongolia during
the past ten years have received our full
share of credit for having encountered
and survived many harrowing experiences.

I am something of an old campaigner
at field work, having made my first
expedition for the American Museum in
1894, and I wish to go on record as say-
ing that never during this long experience
in the open have I hved so comfortably
or so well as during the five seasons spent
in the Gobi under the leadership of Roy
Chapman Andrews.

I do not mean to belittle the dangers and
discomforts of exploration in certain re-
gions of the earth, particularly the very
cold areas and the very hot and humid
ones, nor do I mean to picture the Gobi as
a mild, gentle sort of place in which to
live; it can be, and sometimes is, a terrible
place in which to be and on more than

one occasion it has shown its teeth to us.
What I do mean to say is that to men
accustomed to looking out for themselves
and to obser\'ing reasonable precautions,
being well-equipped, as we have been,
with all of the necessities and many of
the luxuries of camp life, and more particu-
larly going in, as we have done, for the
five warmer months — from mid-April to
mid-September, we have found the Gobi
to be a delightful place in which to live
and carry on scientific exploration.

Mongolia is a high plateau country. It
rises abruptly out of North China and
extends northward, first as rolling grass-
covered prairie, then as real desert, then
another wide band of grasslands, and,
finally, in the north forested mountains
which extend on across the Siberian
border. Our work has been pretty much
confined to the central desert area, known
as the Gobi, and it is about this region
that I write.

The parallel of 44° north passes
through the center of the region and the
average elevation is between 4000 and
5000 feet. Because of this combination of

380

NATURAL HISTORY

PERSONNEL OF THE 1923 EXPEDITION

The Chinese members are seated in the foreground, the Mongols stand at the back. Three visitors

from the Legation Guard, Peking, are in the middle row. The Commandant, Gen. J. H. Dunlap

U.S.M.C., fifth from right, recently met death under a crumbUng wall in France

latitude and altitude the Gobi is essen-
tially a cold country. During the long
winter the temperature frequently drops
to 40° below zero, with a fierce northerly
wind which adds many more degrees in
actual discomfort. The summer is limited
to the months of July and August, and
we always notice a tendency of spring to
encroach upon July and of autumn to eat
into the end of August.

The first two years I kept daily
temperatures, and the highest recorded
were on two days in early August of the
first season, when the mercury reached
98°. In subsequent years at somewhat
lower altitudes and a bit farther south in
the desert we have seen the thermometer
go above 100°, but in a perfectly dry
climate even this heat brings no distress;
it is mild as compared with the summer
weather in our own Southwest. As in all
high, dry countries, the nights are almost
invariably cool and there are very few
evenings when the members of the party
do not resort to sweaters.

There is just one thing about the Mon-
golian climate which makes me hesitate
to use the word "deUghtful" in recom-
mending the place for summer residence,
and that is the wind. It doesn't spoil
Mongolia entirely but it certainly does
reduce its attractiveness. For the first
two months of our stay in the desert the
winds are almost incessant during the
daytime and frequently they forget to die
down at evening. The ordinary heavy
winds are often punctuated by howling
gales lifting coarse sand into the air and
carrying it with a force that almost cuts
the skin — true desert sandstorms. At
such times all field work ceases and travel
is stopped ; even the camel caravans, unless
they are traveling with the wind, must go
into camp and wait for the storm to abate.

The Mongol portable dwelling, the yurt,
is admirably adapted to withstand even
the severest of these winds, but as it is
both heavy and bulky, being made of
thick felt mats laid over a collapsible
framework of wood, we have had to

CAMP LIFE ON Tllli (lOBl DESERT

361

resort to the Mongolian tent of course
cotton cloth, supported by two uprights
and a horizontal ridgepole of wood.
These tents arc made by the Chinese in
the frontier towns and serve their pur-
pose very well. They are not absolutely
waterproof, but in a country where the
annual precipitation is only two or three
inches this doesn't so much matter. The
important thing is that both the sides
and ends of the tents come down from
the ridge to the ground in one slope and
so present no vertical surface to the wind.

For two years we thought that these
tents simply could not be blown over by
anything which the Gobi could produce
in the way of wind, but during the third
season we were disillusioned, suddenly
and completely.

It was along in mid-summer, past
the ordinary time for heavy winds. The
party was all in one camp and our eleven
tents were pitched in the bottom of a
broad, shallow valley in the dinosaur-egg
country at Shabarakh Usu. Just before
daybreak one morning, after a night of
dead calm, we were disturbed by a series

of powerful gusts of wind coming down
over the edge of the peneplain to the
south of us, crossing the valley at our
camp site, slapping our tents about a
good deal and then passing on to the
northward.

The first of the.se gusts was nothing
very unusual, but the second, coming a
few minutes later, was stronger. The
thing seemed cunmlative, and by the time
the fourth one had passed it became evi-
dent that this was a determined effort
on the part of the U'ind God to level our
camp. So when, now a bit after day-
break, we heard the roar of the fifth gust
bearing down upon us, I knew we were in
for it.

One thinks quickly at approaching
danger, and my own thoughts flashed to
a suitcase lying on the ground at the
foot of my cot. In this suitcase were
several small paper packages containing
some of the most precious of all our
Mongolian fossils — skulls and jaws of the
tiny mammals which we had discovered
in the dinosaur-bearing strata near by.
I remembered that the grip had been

THE -EXPEDITION EN EOUTE
The eight motor cars of the 1928 Expedition drawn up before the yurts of the Prince of East Sunnit

362

NATURAL HISTORY

left unlatched and with visions of this
grip being capsized and the little packages
dancing along over the desert headed for
Urga, I rolled out of my cot and threw
myself onto the grip and let things
happen. And they did happen.

Fifteen seconds later, when I had dug
the sand out of my eyes, I looked about.
Everyone of the eleven tents was flat.
The Wind God had been avenged, and we
never more talked about these tents as
being invulnerable.

About thirty other men looked out on
the scene of desolation with me, some
from their cots, which had been left
standing, and others from the ground
where they had been dumped when the
falling tent poles had taken the cots
along with them. At first sight the camp
looked like a complete wreck, but we soon
found that no really serious damage had
been done, and no one had been injured.
The cook tent was badly ripped and so
many victrola rec-
ords broken that
the machine was
turned over to the
caravan for the bal-
ance of the season,
but the scientific
records, instru-
ments, and other
essentials were in-
tact and, above all,
the little Cretace-
ous mammal skulls
were safe.

A lot of our light
clothing, cooking
utensils, camp
chairs, and other
easUy moved ob-
jects had been
taken along by the

wind and strewn in a wide swath for a
half mile, but here a friendly grove of
tamarisk trees came to our aid and filtered
out our belongings so well that not a

MR. GRANGER BUSY WITH HIS NOTE-BOOK
Camps were usually made close to the fossil beds,
and it was frequently possible to make geologic
sketches and studies from the mess tent door

single object reached the opposite side of
the grove. One picture of this storm
which will always remain stamped on my
memory was of our six months' supply of
back copies of Saturday Evening Posts,
which had been lying about in various
tents, plastered against the side of this
tamarisk grove — one sheet in a place.
After this affair was over and the camp
reestablished, everyone looked upon it as
just one of those things which serve as a
diversion to break the monotony of camp
life.

The Gobi is a real desert with a slight
rainfall and scanty vegetation, but it
differs from most of the other great
deserts of the world in that it is well-
watered. This sounds like a contradic-
tion in terms but, while it is true that one
could travel for several hundred miles in
many directions and never see a drop of
water on the surface, he would be, for a
great part of the journey, within a few
feet of water — un-
derground.

The Gobi is an in-
land drainage area,
no outlet to the sea,
and made up of a
series of large and
small depressions,
each one being an
entirely independ-
ent drainage sys-
tem. Such water
as falls sinks into
the ground imme-
diately and, soon
striking an impervi-
ous layer of clay,
forms what is
known as a water
table. The presence
of this underground
water, not far below the surface, is a vital
thing to the explorer and traveler and to
the nomadic herdsmen who inhabit the
Gobi. Local Mongols have put down

CAMP LIFE ON THE (10 HI DESERT

363

wells at frequent intervals. Along the
main caravan routes we liave learned to
expect them about every ten miles and we
have never traveled more than forty miles
without encountering one.

The average depth of the wells is prob-
ably less than fif-
teen feet and the
water is excellent.
There is rarely a
suggestion of the
"alkalai" so com-
mon in the plateau
region of our West,
because there have
been no marine in-
vasions of the Gobi
since the beginning
of the Age of Rep-
tiles, and the later
sediments in which
the underground
waters occur arc
all fresh-water de-
posits.

Occasionally we
find a well which is

being used by many Mongol families
and serving an almost continuous stream
of horses, cattle, camels, sheep, and goats
during the day. Here we sometimes get
animal contamination in the water which
makes it somewhat unpalatable but, I
think, not dangerous. Ordinarily we
have not taken the trouble to boil the
water in Mongolia, as everyone does, for
good and sufficient reasons, in China.
Last year, however, we had as surgeon,
a pathologist, a man accustomed to
thinking in terms of "bugs," and I dare
say that he visualized our well water
as a saturate solution of deadly micro-
organisms. At any rate, being responsible
for the health of the party, he instructed
the cooks to boil all drinking water, and
our health remained about as usual.

We have seldom camped close to the
well from which we got water, preferring

WINDY WEATHER

Servants making an unsuccessful attempt to

stake down the mess tent which had just blown

over

to euinp near the fo.ssil bed.s where our
work lay, and haul the water to camp,
usually a distance of one to four miles,
but on one occasion as far as ten miles.
Once or twice each day a water truck,
with a Chinese driver and one or two
Mongol camp as-
sistants, is loaded
up with two or three
water casks and
about twenty five-
gallon ga.soline tins,
and makes the trip
to the nearest well,
or at least to the
well which can be
11 'ached with the
liust expenditure of
siasoline.

The wells are all
a good deal alike,
except for their
varying depths. I
presume that in the
old days thej' were
dug by the Mongols
themselves. Now,
when a new well is wanted, Chinese well-
diggers are employed. If stones are
available they are used for the wall? of
the well and the curbing at the surface;
if not, a tough fibrous sod is employed.
The water is brought up entirely by hand
— with us, a bucket on the end of a rope,
with the Mongols, a rawhide bag on the
end of a long pole. Heavy wooden troughs,
supplied by the ubiquitous Chinese
traveUng merchants, are at every well for
the watering of the stock.

Water is the most vital thing in the
desert, and for us, since we bring aU
essential foodstuffs along, fuel becomes of
next importance and here again the Gobi
furnishes a bountiful supply. On the
treeless plains of our western states the
early settlers, in the absence of any wood,
burned the dung of the bison and later
of domestic cattle, and "buffalo chips"

364

NATURAL HISTORY

H^K^

" T-r--^ -

GOBI NIGHTS
A victrola, with amplifying apparatus, added to the enjoyment of the wonderful, calm, summer

evenings

are probably still used by the farmers who
live a long distance from a railroad.

In the Gobi where there is very little
woody growth, domestic cattle, camels,
and sheep furnish about the only fuel to
be found. The Mongol name for this is
argol. Its importance to the Mongols is
great, for without it, they would hardly
be able to dwell there, even during the
summer, let alone during the long and
terrible winter. It is burned both by the
natives and by our own cooks in open
circular stoves made of three or four
horizontal iron rings, supported a few
inches apart by vertical bands of iron.

The novice generally has a difficult
time with his first argol fire, but after he
learns to maintain an open space in the
center for draft he finds it an excellent
fuel. We never cease to marvel, however,
at our Chinese cooks, who, with two of
these primitive fires augmented by an
oven made of a gasoline tin, can turn out
the remarkable dinners they do and at the
same time furnish hot water, on demand,
to the entire party.

It is a common custom among the
Mongol dwellers in the Gobi to visit
newcomers as soon as their tents are up
and to bring them some useful present.
A.S there is nothing much more needed
in a newly-made camp than fuel, theif
present generally takes this form, and
many times we have been thus favored.
The good-will offering is made usually by
old women who trudge up to our tents
with the present of argol in huge baskets
on their backs. This we accept partly for
its intrinsic value and partly because it
means the establishment of friendly rela-
tions with the people among whom we
may have to live for several weeks.

The last two seasons our cooks have
been using a condensed form of argol
which is cut in large bricks from the
floor of the corral where the sheep and
goats are confined at night during the
winter months. The Mongols use such
bricks for building up the walls around the
corral, but apparently do not care for it
as fuel. Possibly this is because the ad-
mixture of goat and sheep hair adds no

CAMP LIFE ON Tllli (lOBl DESKliT

365

improvement to a fuel which iilnitidy has
a (locidcdly pungent odor when burning.
However, anyone who has seen and
smelled tiie Mongols, hesitates to credit
them with objecting to anything on that
score. I fancy that the reason our own
servants prefer the argol bricks is that
one trip with the motor truck to the
nearest abandoned corral brings in enough
fuel for five or six days and saves them
many miles of tramping over the desert.

While we can look to the desert for an
abundance of water and fuel, it gives us
only one article of food and that is fresh
meat, which, after all, is a most important
contribution.

The Mongols of the Gobi sustain life
on a purely animal diet, meat in the
winter, and milk, butter, and cheese in
the summer. They never attempt agri-
culture and the country affords prac-
tically no natural vegetable food.

It is neces.sary, therefore, for us to take
with us from China, the supplies which go
to make up a balanced diet and the (|uan-
tity required for the thirty or forty men
over a period of five months makes up a
good part of the load for our 125 camels.
It is exceeded in bulk only by the gasoline,
for our motor cars are even more raven-
ous than the men and just as insistent
on their daily ration.

Although it is always possible to buy a
sheep from the neighboring Mongol
villages, our main subsistence is on the
game of the countrj^ which consists
principally of two species of gazelles and
a bird known as the sand grou.se.

Every two or three weeks, feeling that
the party may be getting a bit tired of
game, we purchase a sheep which lasts
about two days and then back we go
with pleasure to the gazelles. I think
that we could subsist very happily for

CAMP SERVANTS

The three cooks are proudly exhibiting the frosted chocolate layer cake which they have baked in a

gasoline tin over an argnl fire. The Fourth of July and birthdays of staff members always call for

something fancy from the cook tent

366

NATURAL HISTORY

the full five months on gazelle meat with
an occasional mess of sand grouse thrown
in. There are very few game animals of
which this can be said.

Perhaps the Chinese methods of cook-
ing have something to do with this
loyalty of ours. They,' have the trick of
preparing the meat
in several different
ways and making
each dish taste
different. For the
first two or three
meals we get the
most deUcious di&li
of all — fillets cut
from the tenderloin,
then follows a day
or two of roasts,
then chopped meat,
and finally gazelle
hash. We know
then that the end is
near, but to make
sure that we under-
stand the situation,
the Number One
Boy appears at the
door of the mess
tent in the evening and announces :

"Please, Master, tomorrow must want-
chee catch antelope; just now no have
got many meat." So on the morrow two
men, one to drive and one to shoot, start
out in the touring car and after an hour
or two return with "many more meat."

As the motor car plays an important
part in the water and fuel supply, so it
does in the obtaining of fresh meat.
Gazelles, which abound in most parts of
the Gobi, are wary creatures and extreme-
ly swift of foot. Stalking them in open
country is a difficult and slow business
and only a few are taken in this way.
But with a motor car it is a different
story.

The car can travel over most of the
country which the gazelles inhabit. It

AT A MONGOL WELL
Wells in the Gobi are encountered about every
ten miles along the caravan trails, and the water
bags, two or three on each car, are always kept

filled for emergencies

cannot, except under the most favorable
conditions, actually run them down, and
then only after six or seven miles' chase,
but gazelles seldom run straight away;
they have a fatal habit of insisting upon
crossing over in front of any fast-moving
object which is traveling in their general
direction, and in
the case of hunters
in a motor car, this
is their undoing.

The gazelles seem
to be quite aware of
the fact that they
are the fastest ani-
mals of the desert
and apparently
they take pride in it.
We always feel that
this crossing the
Ijows of the car or of
the running horse is
done for the joy
they get in showing
off their fleetness.
Frequently they are
not satisfied with
just one crossing
but turn and cross
again or even a third time, and then, hav-
ing shown just what they can do in the
way of speed, they go off contentedly to
graze.

The experienced hunter does not
chase the gazelles with the car but runs
slowly along parallel with the herd until
it is apparent that it is about to cross
over, then he puts on full speed, swings
slightly away from the herd and tries to
force it to cross within 200 yards. At
the point of crossing the driver puts on
all brakes, and the hunter, who is already
out on the running board, steps off and
usually gets in three or four shots before
the yellow streaks are out of range.

In the early days of the Expedition we
hunted for specimens as well as meat, but
now that the Museum collections are

CAMP LIFE ON THE GOBI DESERT

367

well supplied with both species of gazelles
and the thrill of the chase has worn off,
we take only what we need for food and
the hunting beconnes a matter of camp
routine.

There is one exception to the state-
ment that the Gobi furnishes us only
with meat. In certain low-lying areas —
the bottoms of the depressions — there is
a flat, creeping vine covering the small
dunes, which in early July produces
quantities of a small dark-red edible
berry. I do not know the botanical
name but it is known to us as the "dune
berry."

Throughout our work our relations
with the Mongols of the desert have been
most friendly. On occasions we have
met with insolence from Buriat officials
along the Inner-Outer Mongolia border
and twice we have been on the verge of
serious rows with these same people,
but from the local residents we have had
nothing but courtesy and kindness.

The Mongols are a simple, primitive
people, subsisting entirely on their
flocks of sheep and goats, their horses,
cattle, and camels, the care of which is
their chief occupation. Their houses are
the portable felt tents or yurts, and they
move about from place to place as graz-
ing conditions demand, but always within
the limits of the Principality to which
they belong. Their wants are few and
such things as cannot be suppUed by
their livestock are brought to them bj'
small Chinese traders who travel in ox-
carts during the summer to all parts of
the desert, carrying brick tea, cloth,
leather goods, tobacco, and other less
important things, which they trade for
livestock, wool, camel hair, and hides.

Aside from these Chinese traders and
the great caravans which travel through
along the ancient silk and tea routes,
almost no one goes into the region in
which we have worked. The coming of a
party like ours is, therefore, an important

A BABY GAZKLLE

One of Mack Young's pets, which he attempted to rear on condensed milk from a bottle,
from one of the surgeon's rubber gloves furnished the nipple

The fingers

368

NATURAL HISTORY

THE BABY WILD ASS TAKES ITS FIRST MOTOR RIDE
It wasn't as contented as it looks, and Shackelford had many struggles to keep it in the car

event; so much of an event in fact that
on our first trip in 1922, when we took the
first motor cars into the Western Gobi,
we struck terror into the hearts of these
people. To see five strange black things
bearing down on their village was more
than they could stand and those who
could, fled to the near-by hills, to return
as soon as they discovered we were
friendly folk and not Russian brigands
bent on their destruction. Then would
follow visits to our camp and an exchange
of gifts. After that first year, our cars
were well known throughout the central
Gobi, and wheA we returned over our
first-year route we were welcomed as old
friends.

Our camps have always been a source
of entertainment to the Mongols. Every-
thing is strange to them — the cooking
utensils, the cots and camp chairs and
the dinner table, everything in fact but
our tents and our camels, which belong
to the desert. Their greatest delight is to
crowd into the mess tent at meal time
and watch us eat, but as the Mongol is
one of the dirtiest, most unwashed of

humans, this favor was usually granted
to only one at a time.

Field glasses always excite their in-
terest, and they have great admiration
for the powerful telescope of a theodolite
or a transit. They understand the use
of field glasses and we occasionally saw
them in possession of one tube of a pair
of glasses — a whole pair of glasses being
rather too much for one man to own.

The victrola astonishes at first, but
after a few records the Mongols become
decidedly blase and pay no more atten-
tion to it ; the mechanics of the thing are
entirely beyond their understanding; the
music doesn't please them; and the lan-
guage is foreign. The radio interests them
even less because it is less understandable,
and listening with ear phones to a Sunday
night concert in Vladivostock gives them
no thrill whatever.

None of our staff has ever attempted to
learn the Mongol language, and so we
have always had to rely upon interpreters.
This has not been highly satisfactory,
but we have managed to carry on. With
those of us who do not speak Chinese

CAMP LIFE ON Till': (lOIil DESERT

369

fluently, two interpreters are required —
an English-speaking Chinese and a
Chinese-speaking Mongol — both from our
own staff of servants.

If we have an important question to
ask of a local Mongol, we first put it in
English to our Chinese, he passes it on in
his own language to our Mongol, who in
turn gives it to the local man in the
local dialect. The answer comes back over
the same route, and to anyone who has
tried to get precise information from an
Oriental even when addressing him
directly in his own language, it will be
quite understandable that our replies

reach us pretty well garbled.

We usually ask a question three times.

The first answer may be "Yes," the second
"No," and the third "Yes." Then we

assume that two affirmatives are better

than one negative and act accordingly.
T think that there is never any intention

to deceive us about

direction, condition

of roads, position of

wells, and other

things we wish to

know, but there is a

tendency toward

that trait strongly

developed in the

Chinese, to give the

inquirer an answer

which they think

will please him,

regardless of the

facts.

The success of an

expedition such as

ours is due in no

small measure to

the servants and

the native techni-
cal assistants of the

party. The leader and his staff plan the

work, lay out the itinerary, make the

.scientific observations, and record results,

but the eflficiency of their staff work is

THE INQUISITIVE CHOUGH
The choughs are great explorers themselves, and
their long, curved, red bills are thrust into every
nook and cranny they can find. Mr Granger's

ear is being examined just now

dependent to a degree greater, I think,
than we usually realize, upon the .smooth
running of the camp. In good weather
and with good traveling, things run on
almost automatically, but in times of bad
weather or trouble on the road, the quality
of these men show.s up.

The Central Asiatic Expedition has
been most fortunate in its native staff
during all these years. No better group
of men has ever been brought together
in China. Usually we have about twelve
Chinese, as follows: two mess boys,
one of which is the Number One Boy
in charge of the whole camp menage,
three cooks, and one or two chauffeurs;
then there are five or six assistants in the
scientific work. In addition to the
Chinese there are three camp Mongols
whose duties are to help make and break
camp, to tend to the supply of water and
fuel, to act as interpreters, and to do all
sorts of odd jobs
about camp.

All these men
leave their homes
and f amihes for five
months, and
through thick and
thin the}' remain
steadfast and loyal
to the tasks for
which they are en-
gaged. They are
ready to roll out of
their beds in the
dead of night and
lash down our tents
at the approach of a
storm. They cook
and serve our ex-
cellent meals, often
under most trying
conditions. They
do our laundry, air our beds, serve wash
water in our tents, and attend to a dozen
little things which make for our comfort
and convenience and help to keep the

370

NATURAL HISTORY

machinery of the expedition in good
running order.

To our six technical assistants our debt
increases each year as they become more
and more efficient in the fossil-collecting
which from the first has been the chief
object of the Expe-
dition. These as-
sistants come from
various walks of
life. Buckshot, the
leader of this group,
whose real name,
by-the-way, is Kan
Chuen Pao, was our
Number Two mess
boy in 1922. LiuHsi
Ku, our second as-
sistant, came with
us first as a motor-
car mechanic. One
boy I had trained
in fossil work in
Szechuan in 1921
before our first
Mongolian trip, and
the other three were
taxidermists during
our first and second years in the Gobi.

There is something about fossil-hunting
which makes a universal appeal and the
six assistants took to the work like ducks
to water. Their training in the field
and in our Peking laboratory has been
under such highly skilled men as Peter
Kaisen, George Olsen, and Albert Thom-
son, of our department of vertebrate
palaeontology, and they have developed
a keenness and ability for this really
difficult work which has surprised us.

One important thing is that they under-
stand what it is all about — why we go
half way around the earth to dig up
"Dragon Bones." To make sure they
would understand this, we brought Buck-
shot and Lui back to the American Mu-
seum in 1924 for eight months' laboratory
training and the venture proved a success.

BUCKSHOT AND A FLEDGELING EAGLE
This boy, who is the Number One technical
assistant of the Expedition, possesses to a remark-
able degree the fondness for pets which all
Chinese have

They now know what is to become of the
specimens which they excavate with
such care and I dare say that they visual-
ize the more important of these in their
proper place in the exhibition halls and
perhaps even with their names on the

labels. During the

last

two years of
our work, fully
three-fourths of the
specimens taken
have been found by
the Chinese assis-
tants and the great-
er part of the exca-
vation work has
been done by them.
They have become
so efficient that Mr.
Thomson and I
have found it
profitable to devote
most of our time to
supervision and
leave the prospect-
ing to younger,
keener eyes, and
more active bodies.
To any group of men who live together
isolated from civilization for many
months, a little community by themselves
with no outside contacts, there is neces-
sity for something beyond the ordinary
routine of work, rest, reading, and con-
versation— something to help divert one
from a tendency to peevishness toward
one's colleagues which is likely to develop
even in the most agreeable men under
such circumstances. The most popular
and successful diversion of our parties has
been that of camp pets, and here again
the friendly desert comes to our aid.

The list of creatures that have enter-
tained us is an extraordinary one. It
ranges from grasshoppers and crickets
which sang to the servants from their
tiny cages in the cook tent and which
could be carried in the pocket when we

CAMP UFI'J ON TIIK HOB I DESERT

371

moved camp, to a baby wild ass which
fought everybody except its foster mother
and which occupied most of the back of
the touring car when we were on the road.

We have had two young wild asses in
different years, both caught when only a
day or two old, and both remained
entirely untamed, in spite of their close
contact with us. The first one lived
nearly two months and up to the time of
its death would kick and strike and strain
at its little camel's-hair halter whenever
anyone but Buckshot approached it.

Buckshot was the one who mothered it
and fed it condensed milk from a canteen
several times a day, and it always recog-
nized him as a friend. During its last
few days when it was ill it was a rather
pitiful sight to watch it follow the boy
about camp, sometimes even into the
cook tent. Buckshot returned this devo-
tion and was disconsolate when the little
creature finally
died. True to his
Chinese instinct he
gave it proper
burial and erected
a big slab of rock
to mark the lonely
grave on the north-
ern slopes of Artsa
Bogdo.

The second wild
ass stayed with us
only a few days.
It was taken in
charge by Mc-
Kenzie Young, who
gave it real mother-
ly care and went so
far on occasions as
to keep it in his
tent during the
night. There came

a chilly evening, after it had been with us
about a week, and Mack, always solicitous
about his ward's comfort, borrowed some-
one's felt-lined leather vest and slipped

"CONNIE"

This black vulture arrived in camp as an ugly

nestling, but soon won the interest and respect of

all members of the party. She has been with the

Bronx Zoo since 1925

the baby's front legs through the arniholes
and buttoned the vest together under-
neath. It happened to be picketed outside
that night and somehow it managed to slip
its moorings and at daybreak it was gone.
A thorough search with the motor car
was made directly after breakfast but it
could not be found. The local Mongols
were informed that if they should see a
baby wild ass wearing a halter and a
gentleman's leather vest that it was ours
and to please return it to camp, but we
never heard of it again.

Baby gazelles, the loveliest of all pets,
we have tried to rear on several occa-
sions— the last with success, because then,
instead of attempting to bring him up on
tinned or dried milk, we bought a mother
goat as a foster parent, and as the gazelle
thrived and grew to maturity, a strong
bond of attachment was developed be-
tween these two widely different animals.
Man}' kinds of
birds have enter-
tained us in camp
during our five
years. The list in-
cludes sand grouse,
choughs, ravens,
falcons, kites, owls,
and eagles. All of
these have been
successfulh' reared
from fledglings ^ith
the exception of the
kites and owls. We
failed with the kites
because they have
a perverse nature
and with the owls
because their time
of activity does not
coincide with ours.
The most extra-
ordinary of all our pets was the black vul-
ture, "Connie." She was taken out of a
nest in the rocks at the foot of Bogo Bogdo
by Ralph Chaney, botanist of the 1925

37-2

NATURAL -HISTORY

"buckshot" assisting in the excavation of a fossil

Six of these Chinese boys, under the leadership of "Buckshot," have been trained to a high degree

of proficiency in both field and laboratory work

party, and carried by him on a camel for
two days back to the main camp. An
inspection of the new arrival by the mem-
bers of the party brought forth the unan-
imous comment that this was, without
much doubt, the ugliest bird that ever
lived. In fact her ugliness was so extreme
that it was almost fascinating. As a
result, Connie from the start received
more attention than any other pet we
have ever had. She soon began to out-
grow this ugliness, however, and de-
veloped along with a changing plumage a
most kindly and highly inquisitive dispo-
sition, and endeared herself to everyone.
When we were ready to leave the
plateau in the fall, Connie had become a
.magnificent bird — one of the largest of
the birds of flight, almost coal black in
color, with a crown of soft down on her
head and a great ruff of pointed feathers
around her neck. To our friends in
Peking, Connie was the most interesting

thing we brought back that year, and
later she became the most popular
passenger on a trans-Pacific steamer. In
recent years she has been holding forth
with her usual solemn dignity in the
Bronx Zoological Park.

For five seasons, now, our parties have
gone through much the same program,
leaving Peking each spring with the
bursting of the apple blossoms in our
compound, enduring the same winds of
early spring on the plateau, and finding
the same relief in the calmness of the
short summer, enjoying the same old
thrills over new fossil discoveries and
then, with the first approach of frosts,
looking forward to the return to China
with the same eagerness. The seasons
have been somewhat different, it's true.
There has been a different personnel each
time, the route traveled has never been
twice the same, and there have been
various incidents and experiences which

CAMf LIFE OS rill': aoiii Uh'SEirr

373

distinguished each
trip, but still there
has been a remark-
able similarity in
all of the five years'
work.

Probably the
memory of Mon-
golia which will last
longest with us will
not be that of sand-
storms, of exciting
moments with
Buriat officials, of
new and startling
discoveries in the
fossil field, or of the
hunts for gazelles,
wild ass, and ibex,
but it will be of
those wonderful,

calm Gobi evenings in mid-summer,
when, after a marvelous sunset, such as
only the desert can produce, and after a
dinner such as only Chinese cooks can
prepare, we light our pipes and draw our

A GOOD-WILL OFFERING

Tliree old Mongol women arrive at our newly

made camp with a gift of argol (dried cow dung),

the common fuel of the Gobi

camp chairs in a
.semi-circle in front
of the mess tent
and either listen to
a sj'mphonj' or just
sit and enjo\' the
ciuiet and solitude
of the place.

Whether or not
t he Central A.'^iatic
iixpedition is now
more than just a
memory remains to
lie seen. Much
work is still to be
done, and all that is
iieeded is permis-
sion to do it. In
any event the task
as outlined ten
j^ears ago has been
accomplished and with a success beyond
our hopes. We feel that the job has
been well done and, in the language of
one of America's foremost outdoor men,
we have had a bully good time doing it.

Camp on Kholobolchi Nor

Fantastic Growths of Coral in Weird Formations Crowd the Sea Bottom

FORTY TONS OF CORAL

The Story of the Preparation of the Immense Coral Reef Exhibit Now Under
Construction in the New Hall of Ocean Life at the American Museum

By ROY WALDO MINER

Curator of Living Invertebrates, American Museum

FORTY tons of coral trees growing on
the ocean floor, bathed in the crystal
waters of tropic seas, three fathoms
below the surface, amid waving sea
plumes and schools of brilliantly colored
fishes flitting between their branches!

Forty tons of coral ripped from the
heart of a hundred-mile submarine forest
of tinted limestone, hauled to a snowy
beach, bleached, embedded in sponge
clippings, packed in huge crates, and
shipped to the American Museum!

Forty tons of coral rising from the floor
of the Hall of Ocean Life, their serrated
branches interlaced as of old and once
more invested with the delicate hues
that gave them their pristine beauty,
while above them again spreads the mir-
roring quicksilver of a simulated watery
surface overarched by the blue of a
painted tropic sky!

Such, in brief, is the story of the great
Bahaman Coral Reef Group which, for
several years past, gradually but steadily,
has been approaching realization in the
largest and most imposing of the Mu-
seum's exhibition halls. The expeditions
which secured the specimens and other
data for the group, replete with romance
and adventure, have been described in
previous issues of Natural History. It
is not my purpose in this article to re-
peat these incidents in detail, but, though
the exhibit, which is their fruit, is not
yet completed, it may be of interest to
summarize briefly the chief events of
these voyages and then to recount the
principal steps in the actual building of
the group itself, an undertaking of un-
usual magnitude.

The idea of building a replica of a
Bahaman coral reef had been in my mind

FORTY TONS OF CORAL

375

for a number of years, but first took
definite shape during the year 1922 when
the steel structure for the new Hall of
Ocean Life was in process of erection and
I was informed by President Osborn that
the department of lower invertebrates
was to have an important share in the
exhibits to be housed in it. At the same
time he requested me to submit sugges-
tions for an invertebrate exhibit of out-
standing character which also should be
typical of oceanic life.

The reef-building coral polyp with its
associates, has probably produced the
most significant and conspicuous results
_^of all the lower inhabitants of the seas.
Its castellated structures of limestone
may rise from depths of twenty or thirty
fathoms to the ocean
surface, and, in the case
of the Great Barrier
Reef of Australia, ex-
tend for more than four-
teen hundred miles in
length. They are dot-
ted over tropic seas
where they are perilous
to vessels approaching
them from without,
while the difficult en-
trances through their
submerged barrier
walls, when mastered,
lead to harbors of safe-
ty. Hence, they must
be accurately mapped
on navigators' charts.
As world-builders, the
coral and its associates

SKETCH MODEL OF THE
CORAL EEEF GROUP
Designed by Doctor Miner
and modeled by Chris Olsen
on the scale of J inch to the
foot. The model represents
the central portion of the
western end of the Hall of
Ocean Life, showing a repre-
sentation of the proposed
coral reef group in position

have taken part in the construction of
many oceanic islands forming the abode
of men, and during past geologic ages,
were an important source of the conti-
nental limestone deposits of the world.

It was natural that I should jump at the
opportimity of building a coral reef
exhibit for the new hall, and so, under
my direction, Chris E. Olsen, modeler in
my department, prepared a scale model
of a proposed installation for the new
group adapted to the architecture of the
hall and embodying my ideas for the
exhibit. This was presented to the
President and Board of Tru.stees early in
1923 and was unanimously accepted by
them, and I was authorized to prepare
plans and to make negotiations for

376

NATURAL HISTORY

PALMATE CORAL WITH BEAM-SHAPED BRANCHES
A characteristic growth of coral under exposed condition near the
surface of the sea. This ten-foot specimen was collected by B. E.
Dahlgren and Herman Mueller from the Andros Reef in 1908, and
was brought to New York by Joshua Slocum in his famous sloop
"Spray," in which he had just returned from his remarkable voyage
around the world

the necessary expeditionary work.

Four expeditions to the Island of
Andros in the Bahamas were under-
taken in the interests of the group be-
tween the years 1923 and 1930. The first,
in December, 1923, was of a preliminary
and exploratory character, in which I
made arrangements for the first main
trip which took place during the summer
of 1924.

Early in June, I arrived in Nassau,
accompanied by three
artists and modelers of
the American Museum
staff: Messrs. Herman
Mueller, Chris Olsen,
and Dr. George H.
Childs of the department
of lower invertebrates.
We allied ourselves there
with Mr. J. Ernest Wil-

FAN CORAL
This fragile variety (Acro-
pora muricata var. prolifera)
often is found clustering
thickly on the floor of the
sea outside the great forests
of elkhorn, in strangely ex-
posed positions without
to its fairy-like
beauty

liamson, who generous-
ly put himself and his
wonderful under-sea
tube at our disposal,
and with the cordial
cooperation of the Ba-
haman Government we
set sail for Andros.

Here, skirting the
eastern shore for more
than one hundred miles,
is the finest coral barrier
reef in the West Indies,
and here, seated in the
spherical steel subma-
rine chamber of the
tube, we gazed out
through a plate glass
window at a magnifi-
cent submarine forest
towering above us everywhere. We
made water-color sketches, instantaneous
photographs and motion pictures through
water so transparent that we could see
one hundred and fifty feet through the
weird tangle of sea growths before our
vision was obscured by the luminous,
pearly blue fog beyond.

Aided by diving helmets and a chain
hoist mounted on pontoons, we attached
chain or rope slings to the coral masses

FORTY TONS OF CORAL

377

we desired, and dragged
them to the surface.
Our largest specimen
weighed two tons and
was twelve feet in
length. We towed our
catches to the sheltered
beach of our httle Cay
and there we bleached
them. This process
consists in keeping the
surface of the corals
wet until the thin outer
layer of animal tissue
decays and sloughs off,
leaving the white lime-
stone skeleton exposed.

When we had com-
pletely covered the
beach with gnarled and
twisted branches of elk-horns, spike-like
tangles of stag-horns and the delicate
and fragile clusters of fan corals stand-
ing out among dome-shaped specimens
of orb and brain corals, we sent natives
to Nassau to bring us boatloads of heavy
pine timber, from which we constructed
crates and packed our specimens in them,
embedded in sponge clippings. These
were finally shipped safely to New York.

The third expedition was devoted to

PALMAPE ELKHOUX CORAL
This lieautifully symmetrical specimen {Acropora muricata var.
palmata) grow in a sheltered position, so that its branches spread
out evenly in broad fronds, contrasting sharply with the twelve-
foot specimen shown on page 378 which grew in an exposed position
on the outer reef, in which case the most rapid growth is with the
direction of the prevailing oceanic currents

obtaining the reef fishes for the group.
It was conducted with the cooperation of
Mr. John S. Phipps, who lent us his fine
houseboat yacht, "Seminole," and sev-
eral smaller motor boats. The sea-
going motor launch, "lolanthe," was also
with us during part of the time. Mr.
Phipps's son, John H. Phipps, accom-
panied the expedition, and was in general
charge of the fleet. Mr. Phipps, Senior,
and several members of his family and
guests visited us while at
work. I was accompa-
nied by my w^ife, son,
Roy W. Miner, Jr., Chris
Olsen of the Museum
modeling staff, and Mr.
F. L. Jaques, Museum
artist. We were on the
Andros Reefs from the
latter part of June until

FINGER CORAL

This species {Pontes clav-
aria) grows so prolifically .
that it sometimes rises
in dome-shaped colonies
thirtj' feet in diameter.
The finger-shaped branches
are closely set. A detail of
the Coral Reef Group

378

NATURAL HISTORY

THE TWO-TON CORAL SPECIMEN IN PLACE

This immense coral tree rises from a contorted cluster of trunks and now dominates the entire summit

of the stony forest forming the center of the group. This specimen, with branches spreading twelve

feet horizontally, was torn from the sea bottom in front of the coral barrier reef at Andros

the [end of July. We set fish traps
among the reefs, and used granges, gill
nets, hand nets, and hook and line to
obtain our specimens.

As soon as the fish were caught, living
specimens were placed in aquaria and
sketched in colors by Mr. Jaques before
their brilliant hues faded. These and
other specimens then passed through the
hands of Mr. Olsen and my son who con-
structed plaster molds from them, and
the specimens themselves were preserved
in alcohol and formaldehyde for future
reference.

In this way we secured molds and
sketches of sixty-five different species of
typical reef fishes. Later on, wax casts
will be constructed from these molds,
which, colored from the data furnished

by Mr. Jaques' accurate sketches, will
bring to life once more in the Museum
group the multitudinous gaily colored
fish population of the Andros Reef.
During this expedition, Mr . Jaques made
sketches for the cyclorama to form the
great above-water background of the
future group.

During our stay we experienced a
severe hurricane but came through with-
out damage to ourselves or our collec-
tions, and reached New York just in
time to escape the second hurricane of
that year which wrought such havoc in
Miami.

The fourth trip was undertaken during
the early spring of 1930, when Mrs.
Miner again shared my experiences with
me. We spent the month of March as

MAKING THE SKETCH-MODEL FOR THE COUAL REEF GROUP

Chris Olsen is modeling the coral specimens in minature under Doctor Miner's direction. They are

placed in their correct position in the model; measurements are taken with reference to fixed points;

and then the massive corals of the real exhibit are hoisted into exactly corresponding positions guided

by similar measurements in the large group

LOOKING OVER A PART OF THE FORTY TONS OF COKAL
It took six months to clean the specimens in preparation for coloring. Those shown here have re-
ceived a thin coating of wax, colored to simulate the living animal tissue covering the corals in Ufe

380

NATURAL HISTORY

MODELING "dead CORAL" ARCHES OVER THE STEEL WORK

Plaster of Paris over wire screening is used for this purpose. Later on a thin coating of beeswax and

oil colors gives the surface effect of the natural formations as they appear on the sea bottom. The steel '

worker is constructing steel supports

ELKHORN CORAL
This unusually perfect specimen shows the typi-
cal method of branching

guests of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Bacon on
their interesting island camp, "Pirates'
Nest." Through their courtesy, we
established our headquarters here while
gathering and preparing sea plumes and
sea bushes for the new group.

Later on, we were joined in Nassau
by Dr. and Mrs. Charles J. Fish, of the
Buffalo Museum of Science, and with
them explored the beautiful coral reef at
Rose Island. This work was greatly
facihtated by Mr. Hugh Matheson, of
Coconut Grove, who put his ketch, the
"Marmion," at our disposal. Utilizing
diving helmets, we descended to the base
of the reef at a depth of three fathoms,
and made many observations and mo-
tion pictures of great value for the group.

So much for the field work. Difficult
and arduous as it often is, and beset with
unexpected and unusual problems, the
work in the field is nevertheless the most
romantic and enjoyable stage in the

FOUTY TONS OF CO HAL

381

preparation of Museum groups. More
than this, however, it is absolutely essen-
tial for the production of museum groups
conceived in the modern spirit.

The ideal museum group is not merely
a work of art. It is a record of living
beings in their natural state and environ-
ment, depicted in their proper relations
to their surroundings, and empha.sizing
the truth that the real unit in nature i>
the association rather than the individual.

To make these groups accurate por-
trayals of reality, the modern Museum
finds it necessary to send out well
equipped expeditions to all parts of tlic
world to gather the facts of nature at
first hand. Consequently, if it is desired
to build a group which will faithfully
depict the life of the sea bottom, one must
descend to the bottom of the sea to obtain
the material and the observations to make
this possible.

The preparation of the group in the

.\. DET.\IL OF THK GKULl'
Showing the steel framework anchoring a speci-
men of elkhorn coral in position

BRAIN CORALS GROWIXCi AT THE BASE OF DEAD CORAL BEAMS
Welded together by overgrowths of Ldthothamnion, a calcareous alga, or sea plant, which encrusts the
dead coral with an overlying blanket of additional limestone, thus adding materially to the bulk

of the reef

382

NATURAL HISTORY

A LAUUE HEAD OF BRAIN CORAL {Mssandra cerebriformis)
Showing the intricate pattern produced on the surface of the coral
Hmestone built up by the rapidly dividing coral polyps

Museum, while not so romantic as the
field work, nevertheless is full of interest
and is beset with fascinating problems.
Often these present special difficulties
involving original and unprecedented
methods, which, however, give greater
zest to the work. This has been especially-
true of the Coral Reef Group.

In order better to understand our aims,
let us first try to visualize the exhibit as
it will appear when finished. We pass
through the archway leading to the Hall
of Ocean Life and find ourselves standing
on the gallery surrounding an enormous
hall 160 feet long and 130 feet wide.
The lofty ceiling is surrounded by sky-
lights and springs from a series of arches
enclosing lunettes. These form the set-
tings for murals depicting on one side of
the hall various species of whales in their
oceanic environment, and on the other,
scenes illustrating the capture of whales
by the old-fashioned whaling ship of by-
gone days. Skeletons and models of
whales are suspended from the ceiling.
An extensive shell collection occupies
the gallery, and beneath it are caught
glimpses of a series of pictorial groups
illustrating the life of walruses, sea ele-

phants, seals, and other
marine mammals.

These features be-
come apparent as the
visitor has time to ex-
amine the hall in detail,
but what first strikes
his attention and holds
his eye as he enters the
hall is the enormous,
brilliantly lighted group
immediately facing him
at the farther end.

The exhibit is framed
in a great arch rising
from the floor of the
hall sixteen feet below
the gallery and, passing
through the latter, it
sweeps in an enormous half-circle thirty-
five feet above the main floor. Appar-
ently one looks through the portion of
the arch above the gallery into a tropical
lagoon overarched by a brilliant sapphire
sky with towering trade-wind clouds

TOUCHING UP THE MENDED BRANCHES

Doctor Childs is skilfully repairing an elkhorn

coral specimen that was broken in transit

FORTY TONS OF COUAL

383

drifting by. In tlic
foreground is a cay
overgrown with shrub-
bery and plumed with
wind-blown coconuts.
In the distance is the
long, low - lying shore
of Andros.

We walk around the
gallery and approach
the arch from the right.
The half-domed cyclo-
rama, the masterpiece
of F. L. Jaques, depict-
ing the scene, discloses
a new vista with every
step. Now, we are look-
ing out across the coral
barrier marked by long
lines of gleaming white breakers at the
dark-blue, deep waters of the Tongue of
the Ocean. As we come nearer, the
emerald green shallows just within the
reef meet our view, intersected with
long, arching lines of rippling wavelets

COLORING A HEAD OF ORBICELLA CORAL

Chris Olsen is not only an expert modeler but also

an artist of unusual attainments

A "CLO«E-rP" VIEW OF BHAI.N I'OliAL
yhowing a remarkable labyrinthine growth around an enclo-sed
nodule of more closely contorted pattern

caused by the surges dying out over the
obstructing barrier.

As we face the arch, turquoise and
green slicks of quiet waters spread out
beyond the white, sandy point on the
inner side of the cay, mirroring in the
distance the alternating clouds and lum-
inous sky colors along the horizon.
Overhead, a long hne of roseate flamingos
sails above the palm trees, the birds
lazily and majestically flapping their
black-bordered wings as they follow the
direction of the wind toward Middle
Bight, an inland sea piercing the distant
land-mass with its quiet waters.

Glancing downward, we see that the
foreground is of transparent glass simu-
lating the water surface, through which
penetrate the tips of submerged elk-horn
corals. We are looking into the heart of a
coral reef, the treelike growths giving us
glimpses of a fairy world between their
branches. Our curiosity whetted, we
note there are descending staircases on
either hand. Down one of these we pass
beneath the gallery and find ourselves
looking through a coral forest, the tangled
branches of which rise above our heads.
We are standing on the floor of the sea!

384

NATURAL HISTORY

THE STEEL FRAMEWORK OF THE "COEAL CAVE"

The heavier channel irons form the main structure and the Ughter

framework gives shape to the outUne of the submerged coral cliffs,

shown in nearly completed condition on the opposite page

I shall leave a further description of
this weird and strangely beautiful world
until the group has reached its comple-
tion. At the present time we are still
struggling with the problems of partial
accomplishment, and our imagination has
filled in the unfinished details, as we are
continually doing in the actual process of
preparing the group. Let us now review
some of the steps which have brought it
to its present stage of preparation.

Let us imagine we have just returned
from the expedition of 1924. Our forty
tons of coral have arrived. In the court-
yard outside the Hall of Ocean life are
thirty-one huge cases of hard pine. Our

men carefully remove
the planks from the
tops of the cases, and
disclose the soft masses
of closely packed sponge
clippings in which our
corals are imbedded,
luach case contains a
large specimen blocked
and braced in its cen-
ter, while around it the .
lighter and more fragile
specimens are closely
packed, separated from
one another by the
elastic cushion of the
sponges. As the speci-
mens are laid out in
long rows in the court-
yard, we are delighted
to find that but very
few of them are broken
after their long voyage
of a thousand miles
over a rough sea.

After all are unpack-
ed, the next step is to
clean the specimens
thoroughly. There are
so many of them, and
they are frequently so
complicated in their
branching structure, that it takes six
months of industrious work to accom-
plish this process properly.

Next, each specimen is coated with a
thin layer of beeswax to simulate the
animal layer, which in life invests the
coral. This also serves to fill and seal
the minute crevices with which coral is
permeated, thus keeping the crumbling
limestone dust within and furnishing a
proper surface substance for coloring.

Now, each specimen is colored with oil
colors, following sketches made from life.
Each species has its appropriate color
combinations and it is necessary that they
should be faithfully represented to give

FOIiTY TONS OF CORAL

.385

a lifoliko uppoaraneo.
Som<! of the brain corals
are peculiarly difficult,
for three main colors
are involved, one of
which, a green hue,
must be applied in the
bottom of the sinuous
winding valleys with
which the huge heads
are covered in a most
complicated pattern.

Some of the delicate
fan corals were quite
broken, and these had
to be mended. All the
broken tips had to be
saved and carefully
matched to their prop-
er stumps, drilled and
pegged with wire pegs,
cemented with litharge,
and the joints colored
so that they could not
be detected when fin-
ished. This was accom-
plished most success-
fully. Doctor Childs and

Bruce Brunner show-
ing an especial aptitude
for this work, while the
coloring by Mr. Olsen
and Mr. W. H. South wick is remarkablj^
true to nature.

Meanwhile, Olsen busied himself in
constructing miniature models of each
essential coral mass on the scale of three-
fourths of an inch to a foot, and these
were built up into a miniature composition
according to the design which I had
projected. This gave us a working model.
Fixed points were designated upon this
model and corresponding points were plot-
ted in the great space 30X16X16 feet
which the group was destined to occupy.

A skilled iron-worker was assigned to
our work, and began erecting a sloping
steel framework in the form of a grid.

LOOKINd 1X1(1 THE HEART OF THE CORAL CAVE
A detail of the group in an advanced state of completion. The cave
shows in the center of the picture, its entrance overarching a project-
ing shelf of sage green brain coral (Mseandra)

to hold our heavj' but fragile corals.

The largest coral masses were sus-
pended b3' powerful chain-hoists in their
proper places above this, using the
sketch-model strictly as a guide. Each
was carefully adjusted in a lifelike
position, with due regard to the growth
of each branch as determined by the
prevailing oceanic currents, and then the
steel structure was built up to support it
properly, each piece, whether I-beam,
channel iron, or T-iron, being carefully
cut to fit.

It was always a case of try and cut and
try again, bending and fitting according
to need, remembering alwavs the over-

386

NATURAL HISTORY

PREPARING THE 111 UK TWKLVE-FOOT SPECIMEN

The artists are mending and touching up the coral branches, while

the iron worker is working with an electric drill on the supporting

steel armature

hangs and caverns planned in the com-
position of the group, and yet compensat-
ing by braces judiciously placed accord-
ing to need, or concealed rods bolted
into the floor to act as check reins with
turn-buckles adjusted to give the right
tension.

This was a steel structure which no
blue-print could map out beforehand and
required the most continuous impromptu
exercise of engineering ability and
adaptable ingenuity, qualities for which
Louis Beauvais has shown especial capaci-
ty during the three years in which he has
been patiently fitting six tons of steel
parts into this group with which to

support our forty tons
of coral in its proper
anchorage.

Early in the construc-
tion of this part of the
work two huge sheets of
plate glass were raised
into place to serve
finally as translucent
backgrounds. One of
these is eleven feet in
height and the two are
together so contrived
as to form a continuous
backing for the group.
On these finally will be
painted a continuation
of the submarine vista.
A great curving opaque
background behind
them will depict the
still more distant pros-
pect. This will be il-
luminated by soft, con-
cealed lights which,
shining through the
translucent screen in
front, will give the soft,
watery effect of the
under-sea. Chris Olsen
has been painting many
studies of submarine
effects most successfully in preparation
for coloring these backgrounds.

The principal mass of coral trees rises
in the left center of the foreground, the
steel supports completely concealed by
modeling representing eroded masses of
dead coral branches forming arches and
caverns.

To the right of the group a great
cavern of eroded and welded limestone
and coral has been modelled. This
reaches the surface to form a cay of
grotesquely eroded rock awash at low
tide. These features have been modeled
over the iron framework by Mr. Olsen,
using first a base of stiff wire screening.

FORTY TONS OF CORAL

387

over whioli is spread plaster of Paris
mixed with excelsior, forming a rigid
matrix. Over this, in turn, is brushed a
layer of bees' wax to form a finished sur-
face, and finally the whole is colored with
oil colors to represent dead coral limestone,
coated with encrusting algse, bryozoa,
sponges, and other living forms of beauti-
ful color tones, as in the actual reef.

Thousands of smaller and more delicate
corals have been colored to be inserted
at the proper time. Hundreds of sea
fans, sea plumes, sea bushes, and sea
whips have been prepared by special
processes and colored, ready for placing.
Our skillful glass-modeler, Herman Muel-
ler, is constructing fragile glass polyps
and other organisms for assembling in
the foreground. Olsen is coloring, model-
ing, and assembling assorted varieties of
details, and is devoting his ingenuity to
the solution of all kinds of problems.
Great sheets of rippled glass have been
prepared, and a complex yet unobtrusive
structure has been contrived to support
them in such fashion as to simulate the
water surface.

A carefully worked out .system of
light boxes with special illuminating
units of dayUght lamps is being installed,
and two immense glass fronts are being
ordered to enclose and protect the group
both above and below the gallery.

Within the coral forest beneath the
crystal water-surface, hundreds of reef
fiishes of all the typical species will be
seen disporting themselves between the
branches or darting in and out of the
coral arches and caverns. These, as
above mentioned, will be cast in wax,
from the plaster molds made from actual
fishes in the field, and colored to the
verisimilitude of life.

Finally, it is hoped that the group,
when finished, will create in the visitor
the illusion that he has actuallj' descended
beneath the tropic seas — that, without
leaving the metropolis, he has been able
to witness a world of life that would
otherwise require long voyages, special
equipment, and the wilhngness to don
diving helmet and leaden weights in
order to lower himself into Davy Jones's
liOcker!

Coating the coral surface with melted beeswax

^^ri^

Hundreds of Years
After I-ra Erection,
Most of the Ma-
soxET of Machu
PiccHU Still Stands

FROM CUZCO TO MACHU PICCHU

The Wild Gorge of the Urubamba River in Peru Forms the Setting for the First
Camp of the Ottley-Anthony South American Expedition

By HAROLD E. ANTHONY

Curator, Mammals of the World, American Musemn

PHOTOGRAPHS 1

The Otiley-Anttidriy South American Expedition left the steamer after a fifteen-
day run from New York, at Mollendo, Peru, and started at once by train for
Cuzco. The expedition was in Sonth America for extensive collecting and recon-
naissance of regions especially interesting because of their mammal life, and its first
field trip was -planned for the Urubamba Valley, a short distance out of Cuzco. An
earlier article "Camping in a Prehistoric Forest" by Mr. Anthony, appeared in
Natural History, Vol. XXX, No. 4, c^i^d describes the sojourn of this expedition in
the araucaria forests of Chile.

r[E two-and-a-half-day train ride
from MoUendo to Cuzco is a
unique experience in itself, for it
presents opportunities for manj^ interest-
ing sights not to be seen in any other part
of the world, but it must be passed over
briefly here. We broke the journey at
Arequipa, which we reached at the end
of the first day from MoUendo, in order
to make a short survey of conditions
there. It chanced that our stop at Are-
quipa coincided with a rehgious festival

on Sunday, November 10, the fiesta of
Alta Gracia, and the devout towns-people
were celebrating with fireworks in rather
unusual fashion.

Along aU of the streets about a certain
church, in the district of Miraflores, long
strings of large fire-crackers were laid on
the sidewalks. Trains of gun-powder
were poured along the cement for a
distance of several squares and the fuses
of fire-crackers laid in this powder. The
crackers were made of sections of bam-

FROM CUZCO TO MAC II I I'lCCfW

389

boo wound with cord, and were grouped
in sixes, three on either side of the train,
forming a series of crosses with the string
of powder. Several hunch-cd feet of this
decorated the sidewalks and at a given
signal the powder train was touched off
at the end. Amidst billowing clouds of
smoke from the powder, the crackers de-
tonated with broad flashes of yellow flame
and a soul-satisfying vigor of report, the
smoke and noise marching steadily in
toward the church for a grand finale.

In the meantime, a small crowd of
men and boys were setting off rockets in a
side street. The rockets were peculiar
in that they were fired from the hand.
The man grasped the rocket at the head,
pressed a bit of smoldering rope or rag
against the open, lower end of the head
and blew against it until the charge of
powder lit and began to hiss. Still hold-
ing the rocket, the operator waited until
considerable pressure was developed and

then flung the projectile upward, where
it rapidly gathered speed for its long
flight, from the burning charge. After
watching this technique for several
minutes, Mr. Ottley wanted to try his
hiind. He joined the group in the street
and was given a rocket.

He lit it and carried out the first step
without a hitch. Then the hissing stream
of fire spurting out just below his hand
made each second seem like an age, and
he became too anxious to get rid of the
thing. Too soon he gave it an upward
flip, before enough pressure had been
generated to carry the rocket. It promptly
fell back into the street and the crowd
scattered at once, like a covey of quail,
seeking shelter in the nearest doorway or
behind the corner. Mr. Ottley had the
entire street to himself in the twinkling
of an eye, except for a single individual.
One small boy had been looking elsewhere
and became aware of the situation only as

WHERE THE TRACK FROM THE HUARACONDO GORGE MEETS THE TRACK

DOWN THE URUBAMBA VALLEY

It requires a sublime confidence in the future to inspire the construction of a raih-oad down the Uru-

bamba Valley. Mile after mile the traveler sees only high, rocky ridges, with snow-capped peaks in

the distance, and practically no evidence of a population to furnish traffic

390

NATURAL HISTORY

THE SEMI-WEEKLY TRAIN STOPS AT OLLANTAYTAMBO FOR THE NOON MEAL

At this point there is a well-kept little hotel, run by a German, for the white-collar passengers, and all

out-doors for the Indian travelers who make up most of the passenger list

the rocket bounced upon the cobbles and
suddenly became an erratic projectile of
high speed. After one or two weak
parabolas, the rocket gathered sufficient
headway to clear the street and made
straight for the surprised urchin. He was
equal to the occasion and pelted as hard
as he could for the first open doorway
across the street. He had on the custom-
ary over-size pants worn by the boys of
this country, and the appearance of
these roomy trousers being propelled
across the street by a very earnest small
boy brought shouts of laughter. For an
instant it looked as if the rocket might
target on the very seat of these trousers,
but instead, the hissing streak passed
the fugitive and burst against an adobe
wall. This entire episode proved a huge
joke to the natives, but it might have
been far from a joke if the boy had been
hit. One irresponsible spirit acted out the
incident in exaggerated pantomine which

left us all weak from laughing.

At Cuzco we learned that we would be
able to go by rail to Santa Ana, at the
foot of Machu Picchu, a journey formerly
of several days by mule. Unfortunately,
trains ran only twice a week and we had
just missed a connection. We contracted
for an " auto-carril " or automobile with
wheels for the railroad track, to take us
from Cuzco to railhead at the foot of
Machu Picchu.

We had to secure gun permits at Cuzco
and pick up a few supplies. We had also
a brief period to drive out to Sacsahua-
man and to visit the most interesting
sections of Cuzco, the ancient capital of
the great Inca empire. Parts of the old
Inca walls still stand and are used as
structures of modern Cuzco. They are
splendid examples of the durability of
first-class masonry, the stones as firmly
bedded as the day they were laid. There
are several examples of stones with twelve

THE DWELLING PLACE OF THli CAKE-TAKEU OF MAL'HU PICCHU
The man who watches over the ruins has set up a thatched roof over one of the outlying stone struc-
tures, from which he commands a good view of the trail from the river below

0-\£ UF THE MANY INTERESTING OLD CHURCHES OF CUZCO

Cuzco, the ancient capital of the great Incan Empire, contains many imposing churches or cathedrals,

some of which are very old

392

NATURAL HISTORY

MACHU PICCHU IS A CITY OF MANY SLOPES AND FEW LEVEL AREAS
Long series of stone steps pass from one level to another, and the rocky hillsides are terraced off and
retained bv rock walls

separate angles on the face fitted so
closely to their neighbors, without mor-
tar, that the joints are perfect.

After the usual delays which always
invest a departure in South America, we
left Cuzco at 9 :20 in the morning, Gilbert
Ottley and I, with a fair amount of im-
pedimenta loaded upon a species of
gasoline-powered car. The engine had
two cylinders both of which worked most
of the time, but the sound of the exhaust
was reminiscent of the days of early auto-
mobiling and made us wonder if the car
would hold out to the top of the hill.

The hills began at the very outset and
the narrow-gage railroad has to ascend
several thousand feet above Cuzco in
order to cross the great mountain ram-
parts that look down upon the city. The
railroad engineers had a diflicult problem
in laying this track and resorted to switch-
backs to make the climb. We ascended in
a series of zigzags, running first forward
then backward. The track runs as far
as is practical in one direction and then

ends in a spur. The vehicle enters upon
the spur, a switch is thrown, and the
vehicle starts up the other long arm that
makes the angle at the spur. In all, we
counted four reversals of direction before
we emerged through the pass and with
the car running forward. From the
summit we had a glorious view of Cuzco
spread out far below us, and in the other
direction an equally fine vista down the
valley we were to descend.

Once over the mountain range the
track runs in long, straight stretches down
an open valley, with extensive meadows
and pastures through which a small
stream flows. The bird life on the ponds
and uplands was interesting, but no
unusual topographic features were en-
countered until we passed the little
station of Huaracondo and entered a
ravine of the same name, the Quebrada
Huaracondo. This is a deep, narrow
defile with towering cliffs and ridges,
rugged and desolate. The descent was
rapid, the motor was cut off and the car

FROM CUZCO TO MACflU FICCIW

393

coasted, whirling about the shoulders of
the ridges on an everchanging course and
opening up a new vista every minute.

We got out our cameras and attempted
to take pictures as the landscape raced
past, not an easy task, for the car thun-
dered and vibrated over the rough road-
bed. Quite apart from the magnificent
glimpses of the chasm itself and the high
crags hanging over us, we were enter-
tained by bits of comedy along the right
of way.

There is only one way to descend the
ravine of Huaracondo and that is to
parallel the mountain stream at the
bottom. The roadbed was laid along an
old Inca trail and it is the only highway
for the Indians of the district today.
The Indians walk between the rails and
drive their pack animals before them, with
sheer cliffs on the one side and an equally
impossible torrent on the other. Often
there is no safe place to step off if one
wants to leave the railroad. With trains

running only two days a week and our
"auto-carril" running as a special on a
day when no traffic was expected, we
came suddenly upon parties of Indians
who had no idea that anything was
behind them.

In spite of the noise made by our car,
which was considerable, invariably the
Indians traveling down the gorge failed
to hear us until we were close at hand.
Sometimes we were whisked about a turn
to find our car right on the heels of an
unsuspecting Quichua Indian. Most of
the Indians were alarmed, and the pack
animals without e.xception stampeded
straight down the track. The driver had
good brakes and never actually menaced
the safety of man or beast, but took
great pleasure in coming as close to this
point as he dared. If he could ease the
car down upon a family party close
enough to announce our presence as a
threat of immediate disaster, he always
achieved a prompt and spirited result.

A SECTION OF THE GREAT STONE WALL OF SACSUHUAMAN

The massive walls of this ancient fortress which overlooks Cuzco are made up of huge, closely-fitting

stones. The size of these blocks may be noted by a comparison with Mr. Ottley in the foreground

394

NATURAL HISTORY

The Indian mind usually lagged behind
the mule's and before a beast could be
seized the pack train was off to a flying
start. Close upon their heels followed
the Quichuas in an attempt to head the
animals and to drive them off the track
so the car could pass. Sandals flew in one
direction, bundles in another, and the
entire cavalcade preceded us sometimes
for a mile before we could pass them. As
we rolled by we caught not a few dark
looks, in spite of the fact that we had
hastened their journey by our meeting!

Once we came upon two women and a
little girl ambling down the track. The
car was not more than forty or fifty feet
distant when we were discovered by the
child. She started running directly
ahead but had recovered her senses
enough to scramble down the bank to the
left before her elders knew what it was
all about. They scurried aimlessly for
an instant, like chickens surprised on a
road, starting for one side and then

preferring the other. One of them grasped
a hand of the child, by this time safely
off the track, dragged her across the right
of way so rapidly that the girl could net
keep her feet, and bore her with an air of
triumph down the embankment on the
opposite side. As we passed I noted the
hurt expression on the face of the child
and a dazed look on the countenance of
the mother gradually giving way to an
apologetic realization that her violence
had been unnecessary and that, after all,
the child had behaved in a much more
reasonable manner.

We coasted out of the gorge of Huara-
condo into the wider valley of the Uru-
bamba River, past OUantaytambo where
we stopped for lunch, and finally left the
dry, arid hillsides with their cactus, at
about the one hundredth kilometer post, to
enter the fringe of the zone of dark green
forests. Well on in the afternoon we arrived
at our destination, a small collection of
dwellings at railhead called Santa Ana.

llil-: KI\GS GROUP
So named by Doctor Bingham. These structures have many openings in the walls to serve as win-
dows or passageways, and have gable ends with projecting pegs of stone to which the roof was lashed

FROM CUZCO TO MACflU ['JCCIIU

39.-

ANOTHER VIEW OF THE KUIXS
Each bench or level area is the site of many structures set close to one another. Because of the limited
area available for buildings, these early artisans planned to make the most of the situation, and a com-
pact grouping is the result

Santa Ana is but a handful of shanties,
roofed with galvanized iron and with
walls of slats or palings. Filth and
squalor met the eye in every direction;
pigs, chickens, and dogs wandered about
in the muddy lanes; and our lodging
place, called by courtesy the Hotel
Ferrocarril de Santa Ana, was enough to
daunt even a hardened explorer.

We unpacked our gear, loaded up sacks
of traps, and hurried out to run a trap line
before dark. We were located but a few
minutes' walk from the foot of the trail
which leads up to the ruins of Machu
Picchu, and had a good highway along the
roadbed which was being constructed for
the railroad down the Urubamba Val-
ley. We were at the foot of great, bee-
tling cliffs which the railroad skirted, just
above the foaming mountain river.

It had been necessary to cut out rock
from the bases of some of these cliffs for a
roadbed and ponderous masses of slightly
fractured rock hung poised over the
track at several critical spots. The

construction gang was blocking up with
reinforced concrete in the attempt to
safeguard such places, and men stood
constantly on guard watching for drop-
ping chips or a run of dirt which might
foretell the descent of the entire mass.
At one of these spots where men were
clearing away tons of broken rock off the
tracks, we were told that there had been
a serious accident but a few daj^s pre-
vious. A heavy fall of rock had occurred,
and passing natives were warned not to
gather at the spot but to hurry past.
Some of them stopped their pack ani-
mals and loitered to look up at what was
still hanging on the face of the cliff when a
second fall dropped without warning. A
few of the party escaped.

"How many were killed? " we asked.

"Nobody knows," was the answer, "we
have not dug down deep enough yet to
tell how many people and mules are
under the stone."

We set out traps along the steep river
bank and for a short distance up the trail

396

NATURAL HISTORY

THE FIRST GLIMPSE OF THE RUINS FROM THE TRAIL
Some of the ruins extend down on the less precipitous slopes and are reached by long stone stair-
ways. This view is taken from the trail which winds up from the Urubamba River and is the first
close-up of the ruins of Machu Picchu to be had by the visitor

to Machu Picchu, and later extended our
lines to include each likely spot in a
reasonable radius from Santa Ana. Al-
though the region seemed to offer attrac-
tions to small mammals in the way of
abundant shelter and ample food, it
was, like so many parts of tropical
America, not a place where large num-
bers of animals could be taken duriag a
short yisit. We caught several very desir-
able species, however, and were able to
record important observations as to
faunal conditions. The event likely to
prove qf most interest to the average
person, however, was our visit to the
ruined city of Machu Picchu, on the daj'
before we returned to Cuzco.

We arose at five o'clock, ran our traps
and collected them for departure next
day, and with three small boys to carry
cameras, set out for the famous Inca site.
The Peruvian government has shown a
commendable interest in opening up the
trail which climbs up from the river and
in keeping the rapidly growing vegetation

cleared away from Machu Picchu itself.
Where formerly it was a most fatiguing
climb to ascend to the site because of a
poor trail, it is now possible to arrive on
the spot in a little less than an hour,
over a path with very few steep pitches.

For about a third to a half of the dis-
tance one traverses a heavy, tropical rain
forest where the humid atmosphere takes
toll of one's energies, but the trail finally
leaves the timber and angles up over a
brushy hillside, in the open sunshine.
Beautiful flowers were conspicuous on
these stretches, and most striking of all
was a scarlet begonia growing in masses
between the rocks. Specimens of these
were collected and later sent by mail to
the New York Botanical Garden where
they are now growing and have blossomed.

Machu Picchu is situated on the crest
and adjacent slopes of a short ridge that
runs off about midway up the main
slope. This ridge is inaccessible, appar-
ently, from below, except in the general
direction we had come, for the slopes

FROM CUZCO TO MACHU PICCIJU

397

elsewhere are steep or even cliff-like.
From Machu Picchu one commands a
splendid view of the ravine of the Uru-
bamba River and of the p;reat ridges and
divide opposite.

Much has been written about this
ruined city and especially fine accounts,
admirably illustrated, have been pub-
lished by Dr. Hiram Bingham, who first
cleared away the covering vegetation
and made the serious studies which have
yielded so much of interest. A few sen-
tences from his latest book, Machu Picchu,
A Citadel of the Incas, published in 1930,
will serve to epitomize the history of this
remarkable spot.

On the narrow ridge between these two peaks
are the ruins of an Inoa city whose name has
been lost in the shadows of the past. Although
magnificent in character and extraordinary in
extent, these ruins appear to have been unknown
to the Spanish conquerors, no specific mention
of them being found in the writings of the six-
teenth, seventeenth, or eighteenth centuries.
Efforts to identify them with places famous in
Inca history have been only partially success-

ful. It is possible that they represent two ancient
sites, Tampu-tocco, the birthplace of the first
Inca, and Vilcabamlia Viejo, the "University of
Idolatry" of the last Incas."

It seems probable, therefore, that at Machu
Picchu we have not only the ruins of Tampu-
tocco, the cradle of the Incas, the birthplace of
Manco Ccapac, the first Cuzco Inca, but also
the ruins of Uillcapampa, the sacred city of the
last Cuzco Inca, the "University of Idolatry,"
and the home of a considerable number of the
Virgins of the Sun and attendant priests. In
the buildings and walls we have two distinct
styles, probably separated se\'eral centuries in
development — an early period when the citadel
was small, a second period when the structures
of late Inca design had to be built on top of
ancient terraces and ancient walls. Second, in
the more recent burial caves we have pottery of
"Cuzco style," while in the more ancient part
of the citadel we have different and earher types,
besides the problematical stone objects or record
stones whose use does not appear to have been
known to the Incas. Finally, there is the skeletal
evidence. The bones of the original builders
probably have long since disappeared and the
remains found in the burial caves must be those
of the more recent inhabitants of the citadel.

THE ALTAR IN THE PRINCIPAL TEMPLE

This fine bit of wall is part of a structure identified by the archaeologists as the principal temple of

Machu Picchu. Although the ground has settled in spots and opened up some of the joints, the greater

part of these walls stands as an example of beautiful masonry

398

NATURAL HISTORY

THE WALLS AEF, BONDED BY A CLEVER USE OF INTERLOCKING ANGLES
The joints are broken, as in all good masonry, and the ashlars are so laid up that firm keying results

throughout the wall

It appears that these are chiefly the skeletons of
women and effeminate men. In the burial
caves of the surrounding region a considerable
proportion of skulls are those of males who had
submitted to the surgical operation of trepanning,
doubtless as a result of wounds received in battle.
None such were found at Machu Picchu; doubt-
less because this was not a place where in its
latest epoch soldiers lived and died. Un-
doubtedly in its last state the citadel was the
carefully guarded treasure house where that
precious worship of the sun, so violently over-
thrown in Cuzco, was restored and where there
found refuge those consecrated women whose
lives had from earliest infancy been devoted to
sun worship and who had been sufficiently
fortunate to escape the animosity of the
bigoted conquistadores who turned the ancient
Temple of the Sun into a European monastery.

Surely this granite citadel which has made
such a strong appeal to us on account of its
striking beauty and the indescribable grandeur
of its surroundings appears to have had a most
interesting history. Selected as the safest place
of refuge for the last remnants of the old regime,
becoming the site of the capital of a new king-
dom, giving birth to the most remarkable family

which South America has ever seen, abandoned
when Cuzco once more flashed into glory as the
capital of the Peruvian Empire, it was again
sought out in time of trouble when the foreign
invader arrived — this time from the north — with
his burning desire to extinguish all vestiges of
the ancient religion, and so finally became the
home and refuge of those consecrated women
whose institution formed one of the most inter-
esting features of the most humane religion of
aboriginal America. Here, concealed in a canyon
of remarkable grandeur, protected by nature and
by the hand of man, the Virgins of the Sun
gradually passed away on this beautiful mountain
top and left no descendants willing to reveal the
importance or explain the significance of the
ruins which crown the beetling precipices of
Machu Picchu.

Philip Ainsworth Means, in a later
book, 1931, Ancient Civilizations of the
Andes, comments on that fact that "al-
most nothing ante-dating the Incas was
found" at Machu Picchu and, writing on
the latoi- reigns of the dynasty, remarks :

It seems likely enough that the earlier Incas
had been deterred from conquering in that

FROM CUZCO TO MACHU PICCHU

:i99

direction \>y environmental conditions not
propitious to highlanders. But Ijy the time of
Pachacutec, tlie Ineaa had perfected a military
organization and a political system too efficient
to be controlled altogether by such considerations
as those, and it is quite logical that the great
Inca may have deemed it politic to exercise at
least some sort of power in the country between
his "home counties" and the land of sylvan
savages. Hence arose the construction of the
magnificent border-citadel of Machu Picchu,
not far from the lower margin of the ceja de la
montana, at a point where it commanded the
narrow canyon of the Urupampa through which
dangerous foes might attempt to come upwards
towards the highlands.

The visitor to Machu Picchu cannot
fail to be impressed by the evidences of
orderly planning and efficient industry.
With all of the equipment of modern
engineering at his command, a present-
day contractor would be daunted by the
labor involved in creating a Machu Picchu
on such a forbidding site. What a task
it must have been for the Incas to quarry,
dress, and move the great tonnage of stone
to be seen there today. Bingham has de-
scribed one of the walls in Machu Picchu
as "the most beautiful wall in America."

Regardless of how far inference and
conjecture may have influenced the inter-

pretation of data discovered at Machu
Picchu, the vi.sitor can have no doubt
that the city has had a most interesting
history and that it would become one of
the show places of the Americas if some
means of transportation could only make
it accessible to the general public.

Under existing condition.s small parties
of visitors are continually climbing up to
the ruins, and one of the unfortunate con-
comitants of such visits is the threat
of vandalism and the irresponsible urge
which some persons have to place their
names on record at inacce.s.sible localities.
Already scores of names have been deeply
cut into the stones, and all too often
the site selected is the fair face of some
choice block. It is to be hoped that the
Peruvian government will extend the
care at present manifested in the improve-
ment of trails and removal of vegetation
to include a careful supervision of each
visitor while he is at the ruins.

In Machu Picchu, Peru has not only a
national monument of which she may well
be proud, but more than that, she has
jurisdiction over one of the most fascinat-
ing sites of pre-Columbian culture in [the
whole Western Hemisphere.

A DAY IN NAZCA

How Rain Came to the Mountains and Water to the Valley
of Nazca After a Devastating Drought

By RONALD L. OLSON

Assistant Curator of South American Archaeology, American Museum

The following sketch is an attempt to picture life and times in the Valley of Nazca,
Peru, some fifteen hundred years ago, during the Tiahuanaco period. While I
have utilized archseological data in the reconstruction, the humanizing of the material
has, I fear, led me somewhat astray from the straight and narrow path of scientific
accuracy. Aside from the general setting, the picture is largely fictional. I hope that
it will he read in the same spirit in which it was written — as being nothing more than
an archseological fantasy. — The Author.

THREE years it had been since more
than a trickle of water had flowed
down the stony bed of the River
Nazca; three years since enough rain had
fallen on the peaks of the Andes to bring
water to the parched fields of the Coast-
land. Even one year without water for
the fields was bad enough; but for one
year the deep subterranean channels
which drained the unwilling seepages from
the underground waters, the puquios,
furnished enough water for the maize
crops. Now even the puquios were
almost dry, though they still yielded a
scant supply for household use.

Huayo, nephew of the chief of the
upper valley, squatted at the door of his
simple house of mud-plastered reeds and
mused on these things. Three years now
without water in the valley. Soon every-
one would die. They would die unless

they moved to another valley. Yes,
Palpa and Acari were better places after
all; even though the fields there were
narrow and it was hard to build ditches
along the steep cliffs. Still, they had
water almost every year. Only this year
had they lacked. This year the people re-
fused to sell maize or yucca to those of
Nazca for fear that next year would be
again without rain in the mountains. He
could never come to like the people of
those valleys. They were strangers and
therefore not to be trusted. No, it was
better to stay in Nazca, better to die in
Nazca than among strangers.

He saw his brother and his brother's
wife coming along the path. They were
on their way to the fields and carried their
digging sticks over their shoulders. He
started to enter the house to avoid meet-
ing them, for this woman seldom let pass a

A DAY IN NAZCA

401

chance to exercise her sharp tongue.
But they had seen him, so he stood and
waited for them to come up.

The woman's first words were typical
of her.

"Well, my brother-in-law, I sec you are
idling as usual. And here it is almost sun-
rise. Perhaps you are waiting for break-
fast before starting to work in the fields."

Huayo did not bother to answer, and
the two passed on to their fields, which
by the bad fortune of this year's allot-
ments, lay next to his own. He hated
this woman, and the thought passed
through his mind:

"What if my brother should die, and
I, by reason of the custom of my people,
be forced to take her into my house as
wife?"

In that event even his old age would
be full of troubles and his house noisy
with the chatter of women. But there

was no use to worry now. Perhaps she
would die, like everyone else, in this
year's famine — if it did not rain.

A man came up the trail leading from
Cahuachi. This was the fellow from the
uppermo.st village who had made the
long trip to lea when they had gone to
trade for maize and yucca. He greeted
Huayo in the customarj^ way:

"My cousin, the day is good. The
news also is good. The priests at Pacheco
say that soon, very soon, there will be
rain in the mountains and water for our
fields."

But Huayo was in no mood to be
cheered. "For two years now thej' have
been making that same speech. But yet it
never rains. If there is no rain in three
days, our crops will die and we will starve
for another year."

"But this time, even the chief priest
says the same. He says it will rain of a

402

NATURAL HISTORY

M \ PR HAD A PACK
SI- F MED SO HEAVY,

\Nr> NEVER THE HEAT
OI THE SUN AND SAND
MOur CRUEL. EVEN

\T MGHT THE SAND
WAS HOT TO THEIR
SORE AND TIRED FEET

surety. Today they sacrifice the sacred
four-toed white llama. It cannot fail."

"His talk is as empty as the clouds.
The same promises did the priests make
in the days of our grandfathers when for
five years there was no water, and more
than half the people of Nazca died. I
think it will be the same this time. The
gods have forgotten us."

"Say not so, Huayo. It is an evil
thing. Such talk may make Viracocha
withhold his tears in anger."

The man started on, but Huayo called
after him :

"It is child's talk which they speak.
It is idle to think of rain when every day
the hot wind blows across the valley.
Even the priests know it can never rain
until a wind comes from the sea and the
black clouds gather on the peaks in the
country of the Quilcatas. You will see,
today as always, the wind will blow across
the valley."

His wife spoke from the semi-darkness
of the hut :

"Who was that? You should be more
careful about speaking evil of the priests
and gods before strangers."

"He was not a stranger. He was with
us when we made the long trip last year
in search of food. He is a friend. On the
way home when I was near fainting in the
desert of Huayiri he gave me a sip of
water from his jar and took a part of my
load until evening came."

" I heard what he said, that today the
great rain ceremony, 'the compelling one,'
is to take place, even to the sacrifice. We
must go at noon, for you must play your
flute while the priests make prayers to
bring the up-valley wind. Perhaps today
it will come."

Huayo did not answer. Instead he
looked toward the Mountain-of-the
White-Sands where the bright glow of the
sun already touched the great ridges of
wind-blown sands, and made them flicker
in the heat. The valley was still in shade.

Yes, today again the sun would scorch
the withered maize, and the burning

A DA Y IN NA ZCA

403

wind from the desert would curl its leaves.
The dry dust of the field would feel hot to
the feet instead of warm and moist. To-
day more plants would turn yellow and
die. And tomorrow would be the same.
Never would rain come to the mountain
peaks. And one by one the people, like
the plants, would grow weak and die.

Already the air shimmered in the heat,
though the sun was still low above the
horizon.

He sat idly watching the groups
wandering listlessly about the fields.
Some few were industriously working at
their ditches or hilling the rows of maize.
Others stood gazing blankly at the
stunted, withered plants, their gestures,
like the tones of their voices which
drifted up to him, reflecting
their despair.

"They, too," he thought,
"are without faith in the words
of the priests. The rain
will never come."

There caine to mind the struggle of
these three long, lean years. The first
had not been so bad. True, the crops had
failed, but in the family and communal
storehou.ses there had been enough to tide
over the winter season. The following
spring, the chiefs had commanded that
every man plant his fields to maize, beans,
and yucca, together with a few plants of
the savory peppers. No land was to be
wasted on cotton or on coca. People
could wear their old clothes. Above all,
no one was to touch the special granaries
of seed maize — lest this year, also, fail
to bring a harvest.

THE HOAD WAS STRANGE TO HIM, BUT
HE FOLLOWED THE LINE OF STAKES
WHICH STRETCHED IN AN ENDLESS LINE
ACROSS THE DESERT TO GUIDE TRAVEL-
ERS OVERTAKEN BY SAND AND DUST
STORMS

404

NATURAL HISTORY

Not until the summer solstice of that
year had there been actual hunger in the
valley, though for many months only the
children had been allowed their fill.
Most of the men had joined a party going
north to Palpa and Huayirl, even to lea,
to trade their household treasures for a
little food. It was true that they had
returned laden with maize — but it was
traded at a dear price. For although the
first year of the drought had not been
felt in the valleys to the north, the second
year had not seen a drop of water in the
river beds. He remembered the long day
and two nights of travel on the homeward
journey. Never had a pack seemed so
heavy, and never the heat of the sun and
sand more cruel. Even at night — for
they had not stopped to sleep the entire
journey — even at night the sand felt hot
to their sore and tired feet. Three men
had died on that journey but their bodies
had been left in the desert. Their loads
were divided among the living to be given
to the families of the dead.

And this year? This year all the valleys,
both north and south, were without water.
None could be found who would sell or
trade. He had gone south to Acari, and
beyond to Ocofla, in search of food.
The road was strange to him, but he
followed the line of stakes which stretched
in an endless line across the desert.
These had been placed there by the An-
cient People, it was said, to mark the
road and to guide travelers overtaken by
sand and dust storms. In Ocona, he
had traded his dearest treasures, two
golden masks and a feather poncho, for a
small net bag of maize. On the way home
he had overtaken a man from Panete, a
fisherman, who likewise had traded for a
small bag of maize. Him he had killed
that same night as he slept. It was better
that one's family have food than that
strangers should eat.

"Come, my husband. I have made

ready a little parched corn, and a bowl of
good pepper broth."

It was his wife speaking to him from the
gloom of the hut.

But even the mention of the broth
could not tempt him.

"Today, my mate, I will not eat.
There is barely enough food to last until
the solstice moon."

Then he lied, with a fine disdain for the
numb feeling of emptiness in his stomach.

"Tomorrow, perhaps, I will eat. Per-
haps then I will be hungry. Today, I am
not hungry."

"But today, my husband, is the long,
the final ceremony. You will feel faint
ere it is finished."

He was about to protest that he would
not go. There was a long pause before he
answered.

"Today, woman, I will not eat of food.
But bring me one-half of the divine coca
and my lime-gourd. With coca I will
satisfy my stomach. Then let us go to the
temple."

•f -f -f t- t" V

The temple at Pacheco was not a pre-
tentious affair. Five years before, the
splendid structure at Cahuachi had been
destroyed in a sudden raid by the people
of the valley of lea. A new temple had
been started at this spot. The site had
been chosen because at certain seasons of
the year fire could be seen issuing from the
ground at this place. They had planned
to build a large temple, but the drought
had come and this rather simple structure
had been built instead. In times of
drought, none had the ambition or the
means to erect large buildings, even for
the gods.

Viracocha was a comparatively new
god to the people of Nazca. Huayo re-
membered his grandfather's account of
how, at the time of the five-year drought,
the priests of the old gods had failed to
bring rain. Some men had gone to the
people of the Highland to trade for maize.

A DAY IN NAZCA

405

They returned with tales of huw tlie
priests among the Quilcatas were able to
bring rain at will. Their god, Viracocha,
was the god of rain, able to water the
earth with his tears. The high chiefs of
the valley had been sent to bring some of
these priests to Nazca. Within a month,
there had come two heavy flows of
water in the irrigation ditches. Since
that time, the people had looked to
Viracocha as the greatest of the gods,
though many of the old people still wor-
shiped the old monster-gods as well.

Huayo took his place among the other
musicians. He knew them all: The
player of pipes and the drummer from
Cahuachi, the player of the sacred rattles
from Cahuca, and the maker of the double
pipes from his own village

All was in readmess for the
ceremony. Five days earliei ,
the consecrated w omen
had brewed the chicha
from the sacred maize,
praying to the coi n-
mother and to the
sky-father as
they chewed

the kernel.s and spat the mash into a bowl.
With each mouthful a prayer, with each
stir a sacred word as the water was added.
Today the sacred chicha was ready. The
large urn decorated with the likeness of
Viracocha was full to the brim, and stood
near the temple door.

The head priest gave the sign and the
musicians struck up the preliminary song.
Two priests dipped chicha from the urn
and carried it within the temple to be
offered to the images of the "helpers of
Viracocha." Three goblets for the puma,
giver of strength and courage ; three for the
condor-god who is able to cau.se lightning
by blinking his ej^es, and thunder by
flapping his wings. And three for the
sei pent-god Then a song was sung to
each of these gods. In
these, the women,
grouped apart
at the side of
the temple,
joined in. In
the songs to

f_;;^|^g;

THE CONSECR\TFD "nov

EN HAD BRF^ED III

CHICHA FROM TIIF ^-ACRF

MAIZE

-*?«^^>-»1

\'iracocha,
they might not
join.
As the mournful notes of the
third song died, there was a rustle
in the lea\es of the gnarled
guarango trees hard by the temple.
The middaj breeze had come.
"It is from down the valley,"
said .1 man on the outskirts of the group
watching the ceremony

There was a buzz of conversation and a
lull in the ceremony. Even the priests

406

NATURAL HISTORY

became excited. Several men left the
group to climb the knoll a short distance
away, where they could more accurately
judge the wind.

More men left the group to observe the
wind. Now came a stronger breeze,
unmistakably from down the valley.
But it was followed by a hot pufT from
the desert pampa. The gods were un-
decided. Perhaps they were striving
among themselves.

The breeze now sprang up in earnest.
But it blew now from down the valley,
now from across the sands. The excite-
ment among the people grew. A priest
gave a sign and again the music was
taken up. There was a long series of
songs to Viracocha. But they were sung
in a new spirit, a spirit of both pleading
and command.

As song followed song and the many
prayers were recited, the wind rose, then
died again. It came in puffs, each stronger
than the last, but it blew from the pampa
as often as from the ocean. The rhythm
of the music increased, and the tempo of
the prayers was more rapid. Priests,
musicians, and onlookers were keyed up to
high tension — as if by added earnestness
and intensity they could compel the gods
to do their will.

It seemed as if the wind suddenly be-
came stronger, a stiff breeze which caught
up the dust and swept it up the valley in a
cloud. Yes, the gods were at last listen-
ing. The wind was coming strong and
fresh from the ocean. Already, gray
clouds were gathering at the peaks of the
Andes to the northeast. The songs were
sung with even greater fervor and spirit
now, and the prayers became almost
hysterically earnest. More people came
to the temple, the people of the north
side of the valley. They, too, were
anxious and expectant.

When the sun was low in the west, the
chief priest brought the sacred four-toed
white llama from the corral. Now was the

climax of the ceremony. Now was the

most sacred prayer. The trophy head and

the ceremonial club were brought out by

two priests wearing masks. The head

priest raised high his goblet of chicha and

while the musicians kept time to the

chanted words, he offered the final prayer.

Viracocha, Lord of the Universe!

Whether male or female,

At any rate commander of heat and reproduction.

Being one who,

Even with his spittle, can work sorcery.

Where art thou?

Would that Thou wert not hidden from these

sons of thine!
He may be above;
He may be below;
Or, perchance, abroad in space.
Where is his mighty judgment seat?
Hear us!
He may be spread abroad among the upper

waters;
Or, among the lower waters and their sands
He may be dwelling.
Creator of the world,
Creator of man,
Great among our ancestors,
Before Thee
Our eyes fail us
Though we long to see Thee;
For, seeing Thee,
Knowing Thee,
Learning from Thee,
Understanding Thee,
We shall be seen by Thee,
And Thou wilt know us.
The Sun— the Moon;
The Day— the Night; - '

Summer — Winter; ^

Not in vain,
In orderly succession.
Do they march
To their destined place,
To their goal. ■ ,i

They arrive
Wherever
Thy royal staff
Thou bearest.
Oh! Harken to us;
Listen to us,
Let it not befall
That we grow weary
And die.

O conquering Viracocha!
Ever-present Viracocha!
Thou art without equal upon the earth!

A DAY IN NAZCA

407

Thou art from the be-
ginnings of the wdrlil

until its end!
Thou gavest hfe and

valor to men, saying,
'Let this be a man.'
And to woman, saying,
'Let this be a woman.'
Thou madest us and

gavest us being.
Watch over us, that we

may live in health and

in peace.
Thou who mayest be in

the highest heavens,
Among the clouds of the

tempest
Grant us long life.
And accept this our

sacrifice,
O Creator.

As the prayer
ended, the priest
poured the chicha on
the ground. The
sacred llama was led
within the temple to
be strangled in
sacrifice.

The ceremony was
over. The priests
went within the
temple to continue
their rituals. But
these rituals were
secrets to be hidden
from profane eyes.
The people who were
gathered about the

temple started moving toward their
homes. The wind had freshened. The
clouds now banked black along the
distant peaks. Were the clouds black
enough to bring rain? It was too early to
know. Twice before this spring they had
formed black and heavy. But there had
been no thunder and no lightning and no
water had come down the river.

It was dusk by the time Huayo and his
wife reached their house. She asked him
if he would like a few grains of parched

maize, but he shook his head. This was
no time to be eating. Instead, he took
the last leaves of coca from the bag,
stuffed them into his cheek, and leisurely,
absent-mindedly applied stick after stick
of lime to the cud. He was watching the
clouds marshalling at the summit of the
mountains. They grew blacker and
blacker. There was hardly a doubt but
that it would rain.

He looked along the rim of the valley,
where the huts clustered at the edge of the

40.8

NATURAL HISTORY

fields. The people were gathered in little
groups, watching the clouds on the high
peaks. No one had thoughts of anything
save the coming of the rain. It was a
tense hour. If no rain came tonight, it
might mean another year of drought,
another year of starvation. Only a few
of the people could hope to survive a
fourth year.

Suddenly there was a flash of lightning
where the clouds were blackest. The
highest peaks turned gray, as if the clouds
had descended to them. It was the rain
on the peaks. A half-shout went up from
the people as they pointed to where the
lightning had flashed. Some ran to their
houses to get digging sticks, then out to
the fields to put finishing touches on

irrigation ditches, or to make little fur-
rows between the rows of plants.

Huayo turned to his wife.

"By dawn the river will be roaring.
Our ditches will be overflowing. Vira-
cocha has heard ; he is shedding his tears
for his children."

There was another flash of lightning,
followed after a time by a low, throaty
roll of distant thunder. It was as if a
huge underground monster had grumbled
low in his throat.

The storm spread until the black clouds
hovered over all the mountains, and the
high peaks became gray with falling rain.
The mother-corn, was saved. Rain had
come to the mountains, and water to the
Valley of Nazea.

BAIN HAD COME TO THE MOUNTAINS,

A Splendid Wiijo Rein-
DKKit SxEEn, Roped to be

BltOKEN FOB A SlED DeEB

REINDEER FOR THE CANADIAN ESKIMO

Domesticating the Reindeer To Safeguard the Economic Welfare of the
Natives of the North West Territories

By 0. S. FINNIE

Director, North West Territories and Yukon Branch. Canadii

I Department of the Interi

IT is reahzed by comparatively few
people that the North West Terri-
tories and the Yukon Territory, occu-
pying the northern part of Canada from
Alaska to Hudson Bay, and including the
islands of the Canadian Arctic archipelago
and Hudson and James bays, comprise
nearly two-fifths of the total area of the
Dominion, or that the land and non-
tidal waters of these Territories are ap-
proximately one and a half million square
miles in extent.

During recent years the trend of settle-
ment has turned northward and as devel-
opment proceeds, problems concerning
the protection of the native residents and
the resources upon which they derxud
are presented to those whose duty it is to
administer the country. The investiga-
tions already undertaken have demon-
strated that many natural resources of
economic importance exist north of 60
degrees north latitude, the boundary line
between the organized Provinces and the
Territories. Ever mindful of its responsi-

bilities, the Department of the Interior has
formulated a policy which, while encour-
aging the development of the natural
resources, also provides for the protec-
tion and welfare of the natives and the
conservation of valuable game animals
upon which they have depended for sub-
sistence. Having also in view the steady
retreat of wild animals before advancing
settlement, the possibilities of the domes-
ticated reindeer as a supplementary
source of food and clothing were carefully
investigated, and as a result of favorable
reports, steps have been taken to estab-
lish such an industry among the natives.
A great part of this northern country is
known to many people as the "Barren
Grounds," few realizing that more than
half a million square miles of sub-arctic
forest are found within the Territories.
Samuel Hearne, who, on his overland
journey from Fort Prince of Wales near
the present Hudson Bay port of Churchill
to the Coppermine River, was the first
white man to penetrate the vast treeless

410

NATURAL HISTORY

A HERD OF ALASKAN REINDEER

This photograph shows only a part of the Lomen herd, rounded up on the range for the autumn kill.

Reindeer haveCow become an important industry in Alaska, and suggest^the probable success of the

attempt to introduce them mto northern Canada

country north of the transcontinental
forest, was so impressed with the fact
that no trees were found there that he
coined the term "Barren Grounds" for
these northern tracts. Modern travelers,
however, all agree, that large parts of this
country are far from being barren, since
in most places the ground is well covered
by vegetation which, in some locations,
is luxuriant. The term "Barren Grounds' '
is therefore misleading, and more appro-
priate substitutes such as "Arctic
Prairies " or " Northern Plains " have been
proposed. The latter is now, being
adopted by present-day writers.

Investigations which have been carried
on for a number of years by grazing ex-
perts of the North West Territories and
Yukon Branch of the Department of the
Interior have shown that large areas in
Canada north of the tree line compare
favorably with grazing lands in Arctic
and sub-arctic Siberia and Alaska on
which vast herds of domesticated rein-

deer are supported. The value as grazing
land of large parts of the Northern Plains
has been recognized for many years in
Canada, since, for countless ages, these
natural pastures have supported vast
numbers of herbivorous animals of which
caribou and musk oxen were the most
numerous.

The inroads that modern firearms and
advancing civilization have been making
into these and other species of large game
have become more and more noticeable
during the present century. The musk
oxen, which in historic times roamed over
the entire northern part of the continent
from the north coast of Alaska to the
west coast of Hudson Bay, disappeared
long ago from Alaska; and on the main-
land of Canada they have been reducer
to a few small herds, which, for a numbei
of years have been under Government
protection. The Barren Ground caribot
are still numerous in many parts of north
ern Canada, but it is reaUzed that, ii

lil'JfNDKPJR FOR TIIK CANADIAN KSK/MO

411

order to niaintiiiii and preserve this great
and valuable food supply upon which the
aborigines of the North depend, some
measure of protection is necessary.

The game conservation policy of the
Dominion Government, which, through
the North West Territories and Yukon
Branch of the Department of the In-
terior, administers the North West Tei-ri-
tories and the Yukon Territory, has done
much in educating the natives of the
North to refrain from wanton killing of
game in excess of their actual require-
ments, in regulating hunting and trap-
ping, and in estabhshing and patrolling
game preserves and wild-life sanctuaries.

The question of game conservation also
has another aspect, namely the adequate
and continuous food supply of the native
and white population. Least dependent
on the game supply in the North is the
white man. The Indian, who lives in the
timbered areas, has resources more varied

and much larger in number to draw upon
than has the Eskimo, who is limited to a
few resources that are available during
short periods onlj'.

Before the rifle came into the hands of
the Eskimo, the seal and the walrus were
hunted from the kayak or on the ice with
harpoon and spear, while the caribou were
shot from ambush with bow and arrow.
The caribou hunt especially was very
often a laborious process. As a rule it
involved days, or even weeks, of prepara-
tion in building ingeniously devised stone
fences, the purpose of which was to direct
the advancing caribou herds toward the
shooting blinds, behind which the hunter
was concealed, or into a river or lake where
the swimming animals would fall an easy
prey to the hunter in his kayak. The old
Eskimo hunting method was practically
as sure of results as the white man's way
with the rifle; but for the preservation of
game it was superior because it was silent

REINDEER OF THE YUKON DELTA

This portion of the Pastolik Herd shows a high type of reindeer. The meat of these animals is widely

used in Alaska, and has been shipped as far as New York City

412

NATURAL HISTORY

ESKIMOS OF THE COPPERMINE RIVER VALLEY
It is for the benefit of people such as these that the Canadian Department of the Interior is introducing
reindeer into northern Canada

and economical. So much labor was in-
volved in stalking and killing that seldom
was more game killed than was actually
required by the hunter and his family, and
the hunting did not disturb the remaining
caribou herds because it was silent.
Year after year the caribou returned over
practically the same routes and crossed
the rivers in the same places, as indicated
by huge piles of decaying caribou bones
that mark all traditional crossing places
where for centuries the Eskimos have been
wont to go deer hunting. Nowadays the
rifle tends to make the hunting too easy.
It is true that but few Eskimos now depend
exclusively on the game of the country,
but, on the other hand, when occasion
arises, very few can resist the temptation
to kill as long as their ammunition lasts.
In the days before the locating of
traders on the Arctic coast, vast numbers
of Barren Ground caribou migrated north
each spring and crossed on the ice to the
Arctic islands before fawning season, and.

when the straits again froze over in the
fall, recrossed to the mainland, where
better winter pasture was found to the
south near the edge of the great trans-
continental forest. The chief object of
this seasonal migration of the caribou,
undoubtedly, was to avoid predatory ani-
mals and particularly the insect pests of
the interior during the fawning season.

Owing to the fact that hunting has
become more intensive along the Arctic
coast, due to the use of rifles and to the
establishment of permanent habitations
at comparatively short intervals of space,
the wary caribou in the past decade has
changed its migrational routes. Now the
northward trek turns to the east before
reaching the coast, and the herds spend
the summer in the interior. The result, it
is believed, is that larger numbers of
fawns fall a prey to predatory animals or
succumb to attacks of insect pests than
when the herds crossed over to the Arctic
islands.

REINDEER FOR T/IK CANADIAN ESKIMO

413

With the obj(!ct of broadeniiiK thn Inisis
of subsistence of the natives, especially
in view of the rapid advance of mining
activities into the North, the Department
of the Interior, for a number of years, has
been looking into the possibilities of in-
creasing the number of the larger animals.
To this end a Royal Commission on the
Reindeer and Musk Ox was appointc^d in
1919, and since that body made its report
a large amount of information has been
secured through investigatory and experi-
mental work.

Whereas in Arctic Europe and Asia
the reindeer has been domesticated for at
least 1500 years, the first tame rein-
deer were brought to this continent in
comparatively recent times when the
United States Government, as a relief
measure for the Alaskan Eskimos, intro-
duced a small herd from Siberia. So well

did this experiment succeed in Alaska
that from the small nucleus of 1280 deer
introduced during the years 1891 to 1901
the country now has more than 750,000
domesticated reindeer and about 200,000
have been killed in supplj'ing the native
and white population of that country
with meat and hides.

In pursuance of its policy of safeguard-
ing the welfare of the natives, the
Canadian Government, through the De-
partment of the Interior, in 1929 author-
ized the purchase in Alaska of 3000 rein-
deer to be delivered in a selected range on
the Arctic coast east of the delta of the
Mackenzie. Preparatory to the purchase
of the herd the Dominion Government
carried out a thorough investigation of the
grazing conditions, carrying capacity,
and other factors of certain parts of
Arctic Canada. In April, 1926, Mr. A. E.

ESKIMO MAN AND WOMAN OF MELVILLE PENINSULA

Formerly the herds of caribou ranged over enormous areas of northern Canada, but the introduction

of firearms has decimated the herds and brought about a change in their migratory habits. It is

hoped that the introduced reindeer may serve to take the place of the caribou, for without one or the

other the lives of the Eskimos become much more diffiicult

414

NATURAL HISTORY

A PART OF A COMMUNITY REINDEER CORRAL

The reindeer now ranges over hundreds of square miles of Alaska, thriving on a diet from which cattle

and horses could derive little or no sustenance. Here and there such community holding pens as

this have been erected in order to simplify the handling of the herds

Porsild, an experienced botanist of the
North West Territories and Yukon
Branch, was appointed to conduct this
investigation with the assistance of his
brother Mr. Robert T. Porsild. By reason
of the fact that these gentlemen had the
advantage, gained during many years
spent north of the Arctic Circle, of being
thoroughly experienced in traveling con-
ditions in the North and of being able to
speak the Eskimo language, they were
well fitted to cope with the problems in
hand. A total of thirty months was spent
in the field in both Alaska and northern
Canada and an aggregate of 15,000 miles
traveled. The attention of the investiga-
tors was principally focussed on the area
between the Mackenzie and the Copper-
mine rivers and from the Arctic Ocean
south to Great Bear Lake. The grazing
survey showed that in this part of the
North West Territories about 50,000
square miles of excellent reindeer pasture

is available, which compares favorably
with the best reindeer pasture in Alaska,
and which at a conservative estimate will
accommodate at least half a million rein-
deer. Vast herds of wild caribou formerly
roamed over this range, but, as a result
of intensive hunting during the past
twenty or thirty years, with the accom-
panying change of migrational routes,
only a few thousand caribou remain in
this area.

The results of the grazing investiga-
tions in the Mackenzie district were pub-
lished by the Department of the Interior
in 1929 in a preliminary report entitled
"Reindeer Grazing in North West
Canada," by A. E. Porsild. The same
year the Dominion Government made
provision for the expenditure necessary
for the purchase of a herd of 3000 Alaskan
reindeer and for the establishment and
maintenance of an experimental reindeer
station which has now been built near

REINDEER FOR THE CANADIAN ESKIMO

415

Kittigazuit, on the Canadian Arctic
coast east of the Mackenzie delta.

It is the intention of the Department
to maintain this herd, and at the experi-
mental reindeer station at Kittigazuit to
train young Eskimos to become efficient
reindeer herders. It is expected that a
system will be adopted whereby the young
Eskimo, after serving from four to five
year's apprenticeship, will find himself
the owner of a small herd of reindeer,
which, if properly looked after, will in-
crease and provide a generous food supply
and income for himself and his family.

The selection of the purchased reindeer
took place in the mountains near the
sources of the Napaktolik River in the
Kotzebue Sound region, on the range of
the largest reindeer company in Alaska,
and was under the observation of Mr.
Porsild. Two months were spent in
rounding up a large number of small

herds, scattered over a range of more than
a thousand square miles. By the begin-
ning of December, 1929, a total of 10,000
deer was corralled. In the selection each
deer was carefully examined before passing
inspection and a total of 2890 females
from one to three years old, 317 bulls,
and 308 steers were selected.

A few days before Christmas the cara-
van was under waj' on the first leg of the
1600 mile trek from Napaktolik to the
Mackenzie delta. During the winter of
1929-30 the vendors who have under-
taken to deliver the deer at the Macken-
zie delta, experienced many difficulties in
overcoming the natural homing instinct of
the reindeer, and every precaution had
to be taken to prevent small bands from
breaking away from the main herd. Again
and again during the initial stages of the
drive the herders found themselves foiled,
and weeks or even months of painstaking

"SANTA CLAUS" REINDEER AT GOLOFNIN, ALASKA
At Christmas time many Alaskan reindeer are shipped to cities in the United States and Canada, in
order to play their part in building up the Christmas atmosphere. To the Eskimos of northern
Canada, however, the reindeer will probably become a useful animal throughout the year

416

NATURAL HISTORY

driving would be frustrated, when, during
a blizzard, or through a false move on the
part of some of the helpers, or for no
apparent reason at all, a part of the herd
would break away and return to the range
whence it had started weeks or months
before. The first stage of the drive ended
in March, 1930, when the herd came to a
halt in the Hunt River valley in the Endi-
cott Mountains. Fawning season was then
at hand and prevented further movement
until the next freeze-up when traveling
again became possible.

New and perplexing difficulties pre-
sented themselves the following winter
(1930-31) in transporting the supplies and
equipment of the caravan through the
mountains, but the latest reports indi-
cate that these difficulties have been
successfully overcome by the aid of air-
planes and that the herd has at last
crossed the mountains and is on the
Arctic slope on its way toward the Col-
ville River delta where it is expected that
it will remain during the fawning season
and summer of 1931.

It is still premature to foretell the
possible outcome of this undertaking. It

is certain, however, that many difficulties
will have to be overcome and much
patience exerted before Canada's Eskimos
will have progressed from hunters to
husbandmen. On the other hand, great
possibilities are anticipated in the devel-
opment of this new industry. Further
investigations into the grazing possibili-
ties of other parts of the North West
Territories indicate that in the Keewatin
district also large areas are available
which are suitable for reindeer. It may be
safely assumed that Arctic Canada has
room for millions of domesticated rein-
deer in areas where, due to the severity of
climate and inferiority of soil, other
forms of agricultural development are at
present out of the question, and where the
country, aside from mineral possibilities
and as a fur producer, would otherwise be
unproductive. It is quite possible that
the industry may even become of economic
importance to other parts of Canada,
particularly the district of Keewatin and
the northern parts of Manitoba, which,
through the new railway and shipping port
at Churchill on Hudson Bay, have been
brought within reach of world markets.

A MELVILLE PENINSULA ESKIMO FAMILY

The Floating Home of tlie Pied-Billed Grelje

SAC-A-PLOMB

The Elusive Little Pied-billed Grebe That Nests in the Inland Ponds and
Lakes of Our Northern States

By ALFRED M. BAILEY

Director, The Chicago Academy of Sciences
Photographs by the Author

IT was a gray day in springtime and
many waterfowl were winging their

way northward along a little inland
river, on their way to their breeding
grounds. A boy crouched behind a wil-
low stub, and as two small water birds
flew swiftly along just above the surface of
the stream, he raised his gun and fired.
The charge of shot spattered over the
surface several feet behind the fast moving
birds, but at the report, they both struck
the water head foremost, and disappeared.

The boy jumped to his feet and ran to
the river's edge, his heart pounding rapid-
ly. He had gotten them both! He
waited expectantly. Surely they must
come to the surface soon if they were
wounded — his first wild ducks. But he
never saw them again. He returned home,
saddened with the thought that he had
lost his first real opportunity for game.

Many more skillful hunters than the

youngster have failed to bag the pied-
billed grebe, which has earned various
nicknames. In many places it is called the
"dab chick," or, because of its elusive-
ness, the ' ' water witch. ' ' Hunters usually
refer to it as the "hell diver," but of all its
names, I like best the one applied by the
French people of the Louisiana gulf coast,
" sac-a-plomb " (sack of lead). How
often we have watched these little fellows
swimming in shallow, reed-gro^^^l ponds,
riding buoyantly upon the water like
corks, and how quickly and easily they
disappear when they become alarmed!
One moment they are floating high, and
suddenly they begin to sink, body fore-
most, fading from view, as the "cajuns"
say, "like a sack of lead."

The pied-billed grebe is not a game bird.
He is one of the divers, a common one
over most of North and South America,
and yet, in spite of its wide distribution.

EYEING THE BLIND
The pied-billed grebe nests on many inland ponds and lakes, and it is not unusual to find six or seven
pairs breeding on ponds of only a few acres in extent

RETURNING TO THE NEST MOUND
The nest is made of soaked debris which is piled into a mass and anchored to growing vegetation

wherever possible

CLEARING AWAY THE COVEUINU
The parent bird climbed awkwardly upon the nest, and with half-open beak began to push away the

nest covering

INTENT UPON HER DUTIES
As she worked, she circled about the nest with her head toward the center. After she had made two
rounds, the eggs seemed to be cleared to her satisfaction

420

NATURAL HISTORY

BROODING

She obligingly faced the camera, raised herself, and spread her breast feathers so that the eggs woiild

come in contact with the bare skin — and settled

few people are acquainted with its habits
or have pried into its family affairs.
Many still believe that the eggs are partly
incubated by the heat of decaying vegeta-
tion, because they are usually found
covered with water-soaked vegetable
matter — and the adults are rarely seen
about the nest.

These little water sprites nest on many
inland ponds and lakes, and it is not un-
usual to find six or seven pairs breeding on
ponds of only a few acres in extent. They
start building the latter part of April in
northern states, the nest being made of
soaked debris which is piled into a mass
and anchored to growing vegetation, if
possible. Of ten- times, however, the nests
are built in open water and are floating, so
it would seem that the dull, bluish-white
eggs would be very conspicuous in such a
site. But such is not the case, because
the grebe invariably covers her nest,
unless she is too badly frightened.

Because of boyhood memories, I wanted
to know something of the habits of these
shy little divers. I had found their nests
from time to time, when slopping about
the marshes, but I had never seen an old
bird upon her floating home, nor, for that
matter, anywhere in the near vicinity.
So last year, when making motion films for
the Chicago Academy of Sciences, I built
a blind near a conveniently placed nest,
and left it for a day. The nest was about
seventy feet out from shore, in a stand of
growing cat-tails, and as Bob Niedrach
and I waded to the blind the following
morning, we watched carefully for the
adult, but did not get a glimpse of her.
The nest appeared as I had left it, with
half-rotted vegetation concealing the
eight eggs.

After putting the motion camera in
place and carefully eliminating bits of
grass which interfered with the view, we
drew the blind together and watched for a

THE NEST OE THE PlED-blLLED GUEBE

The nest was about seventy feet out from shore in a stand of growing cat-tails, and the l)Hnd was
erected conveniently near to accommodate the photographers

OUTWITTING THE INVADER
The grebe climbed quickly upon the nest and pulled the covers around the youngster, concealing it
from view, and then slid into the water

422

NATURAL HISTORY

I fjn'i'h by Edwin V. Komarek
AN tMi-RGhTIC FAMILY
Only a single egg remained, but several striped little sprites were found hiding in the water under
pond grass. When returned to the nest, they kicked lustily and tumbled overboard

grebe to make its appearance. We half
feared the nest was abandoned, and yet
the debris which covered the nesting
mound seemed damp, as though just
pulled into position.

A few red-winged blackbirds hurled
epithets at our canvas shelter, and
querulous voices challenged us from near-
by clumps of reeds. We heard a shght
ripple of water just in front of us, and saw
a slender, brown marsh bird, a Virginia
rail, edging between the tules, while a
pair of coots swam back and forth in open
water to our left.

We stood motionless in knee-deep water
until nearly paralyzed. An hour slipped
by without a sign of the owner of the
mound before us, and we had about given
up hope when there was a rasping, throaty
call from among a bunch of cat-tails, and
then there was a swirl of water and flying
spray &s the grebe dived — deliberately, it
seemed, making a disturbance in the hope
of decoying us into view. A few moments
later we heard a swirl and splashing be-
hind the blind, but we did not see the bird.

Then all was quiet for another half

hour. We were content, for we knew that
the grebe was probably eyeing our blind,
watching for the slightest movement.
Then Bob touched my arm cautiously
and motioned to the right. I looked care-
fully for fully a minute before I saw the
light-colored, banded beak, and the
rounded, brownish head thrust from a
mass of dead growth. Only the head and
a portion of the neck were visible, the rest
of the body being submerged beneath the
marsh growth. No wonder that few"
naturalists have seen the pied-billed grebe
near its nest! We watched silently, and
after a few minutes sac-a-plomb sank
from view without a ripple. We were so
interested in the performance that we
were startled to see her come to the sur-
face near the nesting mound; she swam
about nervously, and then, as though sure
that all was well, she climbed awkwardly
upon the nest, paused momentarily to eye
our shelter, and, with half open beak,
began to push away the nest covering.
As she worked, she circled about the nest
with head toward the center, and after
making two rounds, she seemed to feel

SAC-A-PLOMB

423

that the eggs wore cleaned to her satis-
faction. She then obligingly faced the
camera, raised herself, and spread her
breast feathers so the eggs would come in
contact with the bare skin, — and settled
down.

Although our blind was within eight
feet of the nest, the grebe did not seem to
mind the whirring of the motion machine.
We made our film record so others could
see how the diver returns to her nest and
uncovers her eggs, and when all the foot-
age desired had been obtained. Bob
splashed in the water. The grebe quickly
raised upon her feet, and with a few deft
dabs pulled the covering over the nest,
and dived from view.

I made many trips in the days that fol-
lowed, and although there were several
nests near by, and I approached cautiously
each time, I never saw a grebe except
from the blind. I was unable to deter-
mine the period of incubation, but Mr.
Bent states that it occurs in between
twenty-three and twenty-four days.

The last day was a typical one of
springtime in central Illinois. The red-
wings were in full song, a marsh hawk
hovered over the stands of cat-tails, and a
thunder pumper — the American bittern
— called near by. Changes had occurred
in our nesting mound, for, as I approached,

I saw a slight movement in the decaj'ed
covering, and a small, striped hea J was
thrust into view. The camera was quickly
put in place and I wa.s scarcely hidden
before the water witch rose quietly
alongside the nest, with head and neck
thrust from a mat of flpating grass. She
was nervous, however, and disappeared
beneath the water only to come to the
surface almost immediately. She climbed
quickly upon the nest, pulled the covers
around the youngster, concealing it from
view ; after eyeing the results of her work,
she glanced at the blind and slid into the
water. So far as photographs were con-
cerned, it was her farewell. She circled
the blind and scolded, often splashing
with her wings in her eiTorts to lead me
from the blind, but she refused to chmb
upon the nesting mound.

The next day the marsh home was
nearly deserted. Only a single egg re-
mained. We searched the near-by reeds
and found several striped little sprites
hiding in the water under pond grass, but
when they were returned to the nest, and
were liberated, they kicked lustily and
tumbled overboard. We did not see the
adult, but I could visualize her as she was
watching us from her place of conceal-
ment, ready at a moment's warning to
disappear "like a sack of lead."

She Circled the

Blind and Scolded.

Refusing to Climb

Upon the Nest

So Far as Photo-
graphs WERE CON-
CERNED, it was the

Bird's Farewell

A Native Home in the Mountain Village of Barirua

MOUNTAIN PEOPLE OF THE
SOUTH SEAS

The Home Life of the Natives in the Hill Villages of Bougainville
By BEATRICE BLACKWOOD

Demonstrator in Ethnology, University' of Oxford

During the twelve months from September, 1929, to October, 1930, Miss Blackwood was engaged in ethnologi-
cal work in the islands of Buka and Bougainville, in the Northern Solomons, under the auspices of the
Institute of Human Relations of Yale University, Oxford having granted her leave of absence from her
Demonstratorship for this purpose.

In November, 1929, the Administrator of these islands. His Honour General Wisdom, visited, on his annual
tour of inspection, the island of Petals, off the west coast of Buka, on which Miss Blackwood was
then residing. At his invitation, she became his guest on his yacht, the " Franklin," for a voyage down the
east coast of Bougainville to Kieta, the only while settlement of any size on the island. There she remained
for several days, while the yacht made the round of some distant islands. During this time she was able to
see some of the native villages which line the coast, and was especially fortunate in having an opportunity
to visit a group of villages in the mountainous country a short distance inland. It is with these mountain
people that the present paper is concerned. Mr. R. H. Tutty, of the Seventh Day Adventist Mission,
arranged the trip into the mountains for Miss Blackwood. — The Editors.

SEIJAMA, the mission teacher, and
his wife Nerisi, natives of the British
Solomons, were returning to the
mountain villages after a visit to Kieta.
They agreed to take me with them,
Seijama promising to bring me back to
Kieta in time to rejoin the "Franklin" on
her return trip from her inspection tour of
the islands.

We started the next morning about six
o'clock. Seijama, in loin cloth and belt,
carried my kit bag containing a few ab-

solute necessities, also a small native
basket with some bottles of cough mixture
and other oddments dear to the heart of a
native. Nerisi carried on her back a
native sling basket with sleeping mats and
other family belongings. In her arms she
had an absurd brown puppy with short
hair and a wiry tail, of which she seemed
very fond. After the fashion of the
mission natives, she wore a cotton dress
reaching to her knees. I carried a haver-
sack containing my camera, a supply of

MOUNTAIN Pmr/J'J OF TIIIC SOITII SEAS

425

films, the inevitable notebook, and a
bundle of sticks of trade tobacco, the
passport to a native's goodwill.

Our way led us past the Kieta wireless
station — the latest product of modern
civilization functioning on the edge of
country still unknown and unexplored.
It is situated on the top of a hill from
which there is a magnificent view. We
were fortunate enough to get a really
clear morning, somewhat rare in the moist
tropical climate of Bougainville. On one
side the view embraces Kieta Harbor,
and the island which partly closes its
entrance, called locally " Pok-pok," which
means "crocodile," from its quite striking
resemblance to that creature. The other
side of the hill overlooks
a sweeping curve of
beach, Kieta being situ-
ated on a promontory
joined by a narrow isth-
mus to the mainland.
Behind lay stretch after
stretch of forest-covered

foothills, and away to the

northwest, the larger

mountains of central

Bougainville, crowned

by the volcano, Balbi,

more than 10,000 feet in

height, with smoke issu-
ing from its crater. To

the northeast we caught

a glimpse of the coast

reef, with great Pacific

rollers continually break-
ing over it, their dull

roar audible even at our

distance of several miles.

The line of surf is broken

by two small islets, low

against the horizon.
Descending the far side

of the hill, we came to

the shore. Our path

then lay along the beach

for a mile or so, following

the curve of the bay, and crossing the
mouth of one small stream. After a
while we turned left along a narrow bush
track, and soon came out on the Govern-
ment road which runs down the coast.
This road, a cleared track some ten feet
wide, was made while the islands were
under the control of the Germans, who
had planted coconut trees on each side of
it for the benefit of hungry and thirsty
travelers. The natives are supposed to
keep it cleared, but they carry their
obligations lightly, and it is overgrown
with grass in man}^ places except for a
single-file track. We soon left it, and
plunged into the bush. The path was
narrow, and quite steep in places, and had

-MAU.l NATIVES
The woman is using a leaf fan to protect her burden from the rain.
These leaf fans are made by sewing together two layers of leaves

426

NATURAL HISTORY

the surface been wet, it would have been
hard going.

The path continued to cHmb rapidly,
with many twists and turns, till we came
out on a ridge and caught a distant
glimpse of the sea.

After walking for about three hours we
came upon the first signs of habitation.
The group of villages for which we were
bound is known by the general name of
Maua. There are three hamlets, sep-
arated from one another by perhaps half a
mile or so of bush, though the steepness
of the valleys which lie between them
makes the distance seem farther than it
probably is.

The first village we came to is called
Barirua. It is so well hidden in the bush
that although it lies on the top of a hill it
could not be seen till we were close upon
it. Round the village is a palisade of
bamboos over which we climbed by

means of a stile. We found the place
almost deserted; the only person visible
at first was a woman sitting nursing a
baby on a mat made of plaited coconut-
palm leaves. We found that the rest of
the population was away attending a
funeral ceremony at another village some
distance off. A chief had died and they
had gone to "cook him," which is Pidgin
English for "cremate him," and has no
reference to cannibalism ! I took a photo-
graph of the woman and her baby; she
did not seem at all concerned, but some
children who appeared from around the
corner ran away, and Seijama said they
were crying out that there was a devil-
devil in the camera.

We went through the village and on to
the top of the ridge, where we got a
glimpse of the other two villages on the
skyline, but almost hidden by the sur-
rounding forest. After clambering down

A WOMAN AND BABY AT BARIRUA

The first village visited by Miss Blackwood was deserted for the afternoon, save for this mother and

her baby, who obligingly posed for their portraits. Note the mat of plaited coconut palm leaves on

which the woman is sitting

MOUNTAIN P[<:()I'IJ<: OF THE SOI Til SKAS

ATI

WOMEN'S FAN DANCE

The large leaf fans are used for many purposes, one of which is the dance wherein the fan is moved

very gracefully, while the body sways from side to side

into a valley and up again, we finally
reached our destination, Budru the chief
village, which is the middle one of the
group. It is also the largest, consisting
of a dozen or more houses. I was told
that there were about seventy people in
this village, and about forty in the other
two combined. A number of the people
from this village had gone to see a sick
relative farther inland.

The houses are arranged very roughly in
two rows with a space between, the doors
facing this "street" for the most part,
but some are at odd angles, with no par-
ticular orientation, for the steepness of the
site made it necessary to take advantage
of such ground as could most easily be
levelled. At one end of the village there
is a high balustrade of poles in front of a
raised platform. This is where they lay
out the large quantities of food which is
distributed at various ceremonies, to be
taken away by the participants for con-
sumption at home. Near each house is a
small, gabled structure on a pole about
three feet high, like a pigeon-house.
Some houses have more than one. These

are the dwelling-places of spirits. Ofifer-
ings of taro and coconuts are placed in
them, and the spirits are asked to take
care of the house and to see that there is
plenty of food for the family. I had been
warned that these spirit-houses were very
sacred, and that the natives might object
to my photographing them, but by get-
ting a child to pose in front of one of them
I managed to include it in the back-
ground without giving offence.

On the steep side of the hill just above
the village there is a garden which strikes
the eye because of the number of poles up
which yam vines are climbing. Yams and
taro form the staple diet of these natives,
though they grow a certain amount of
corn, and make use of several kinds of
leaves, including a variety of watercress.
There is no lack of bananas, and they can
always fill up with coconuts, which
provide both food and drink. For meat
they have 'possum, which are plentiful in
the bush. Pigs are a luxury, and are not
killed except on special occasions.

All the people came to look at me. It
appeared to be the first time a white

428

NATURAL HISTORY

woman had visited the village, though the
natives have seen white women on their
trips to the coast. They thought I was a
man till Seijama enlightened them.
They were very friendly, and made no
objection to my stopping in the village.
They seemed quite pleased to be photo-
graphed, after Seijama had explained
that it would not do them any harm, and
I had let them look in the view-finder.

We sat down on the verandah of Sei-
jama's house, which commands a view
of most of the village. Some small boys
were immediately despatched to climb a
coconut palm and bring down some green
nuts for us. There is no better drink
after a long, hot tramp than the contents
of a green coconut.

The houses are built on piles, often on
the edge of quite a steep slope, where the
hill-top falls away behind them, so that
the back piles have to be considerably
longer than the front ones. They are
raised about four feet from the ground,
and access is by a very rickety ladder of
poles, leading to the verandah. The floor
is made of small spht canes, laid on cross
logs, not very closely. The walls are made
of the leaf of the sago-palm, threaded
through cane supports. The roofs are of
the same material, made into a kind of
thatch. The leaves, which are long and
narrow, are folded over a long piece of cane
and fixed by sewing with fiber. They are
put on to the framework of the roof like
long tiles, overlapping one another a good
deal. The slope of the roof must be very
steep or it will rot. The top ridge is
capped with leaves.

Across the gable of the house of any-
one of importance there is frequently to
be seen a string of pigs' jaws, showing that
the owner of the house has made many
feasts. Bundles of dried leaves are also
hanging about in various places; these
are generally for use in magic of one sort
or another. On the verandah there is
usually a heavy wooden pestle for pound-

ing taro, and some large baskets, shaped
like inverted broad-brimmed hats, for
storing it.

The inside of the house consists of one
room only, as a rule. Along one side is
the fireplace, divided off from the rest of
the floor by a long, thin log, and strewn
with soil and ashes. On it there may be
several native cooking pots of black ware,
resting on stones between which burning
logs and embers are glowing. These
pots are made by the shore people, from
whom the hill villages obtain them by
barter. Over the fireplace there is
usually a rack containing more cooking
pots, and sometimes a packet of native
tobacco drying. Somewhere on the floor
there will be a roll of sleeping mats made
of leaves neatly sewn together with fibre.

Stuck into the layers of sago-palm
leaves that made the wall, there will be
shells for scraping taro and other vege-
tables, halves of dried coconut shells
which serve as dishes, and an implement
for scraping the meat out of coconuts,
consisting of a sharp-edged shell set on
the edge of a long piece of wood, the end
of which is flat and serves as a seat for the
operator.

Standing in one corner there are always
a number of lengths of green bamboo with
leaf stoppers ; these contain water. Food
is also cooked in them, particularly a sort
of salad made of leaves obtained from the
bush, which is delicious. In one house
there was a very large basket hanging
from the roof, open end downwards;
from its center were suspended a number
of forked branches serving as hooks, on
which hung bags and baskets of cane or of
native string (fiber, twisted on the thigh),
containing roots of yams ready for
planting. There are also large flat
baskets for holding the enormous quanti-
ties of food distributed at feasts. These
are made by the old men. In the house
just described, which was typical of many
that I visited, the only articles of Euro-

MOUNTAIN PKOPLI'] OF THE SOITII SEAS

429

pean manufacture to be seen were a long
bush knife stuck into the wall, and sohk;
bottles, containing coconut oil, with
which the natives like to anoint their skins.

Most of the villagers, both male and
female, wore loin cloths of European

cloth, like those

worn by the coast
people. The old
men were content
with a piece of
string twisted once
or twice round their
waists, sometimes
with a bit of rag
depending from it
in front, sometimes
without. The
smaller children, as
usual, wore nothing
at all.

Many people of
both sexes have
cicatrices on chest,
back, and arms.
They told me that
these had no special
significance, but
were put on because
they looked well.
They are made
when the child is
about six, judging
from the size of
some on whom the

operation had recently been carried out.
(No native ever has any idea of ages.)
The cuts are made with a sharp shell, lime
being then rubbed in to prevent them from
healing smoothly. The result is a series of
raised keloids. The wounds often become
septic and heal badly, with the result that
the chests of some of the people were
very badly disfigured.

Many of the children wore an ornament
made of clam shell, through the nasal
septum, and ear-rings consisting of small
white shells ground fiat. A few had

CHILDREN OF THE MOUNTAIN VILLAGES
Note cicatrices on the chest; also the nose orna-
ments and earrings

necklaces of small trade beads. The
older people wore no ornaments except
an arm-band of plaited fiber, colored
yellow and black, which they buy from
the natives of Buin in the extreme south
of the island. In default of pockets,
these arm-bands
enable them to keep
their pipes and
other treasures
handy.

In physical type
these natives are
typical inhabitants
of Bougainville.
They are very dark
in skin-color,
though there are
some who show a
redder tinge. Their
hair is black, and
very frizzly; they
keep it trimmed
fairly short. Their
noses are very
broad, their Hps
thick, and they
have a considerable
degree of progna-
thism, though this
varies a good deal
indi^^duall}^ They
are of medium
height. Occasion-
ally I noticed indi-
viduals who seemed almost to approach a
pygmy type. They are spare in build and
show no tendency to become fat.

Several of the men carried bows and
arrows, which I thought they had brought
to sell to me, but I found that it was their
custom to go about thus armed, and none
was offered for sale all the time I was
there, though I purchased other speci-
mens of their handiwork, paying for
them in sticks of trade tobacco.

With the help of Seijama, I began to
try to find out something about their

430

NATURAL HISTORY

social structure. Seijama talks excellent
Pidgin English, and has a working knowl-
edge of the Maua dialect. Very few of
the natives could speak any Pidgin, and
that imperfectly, and as their dialect is
totally different from the one with which
I had some acquaintance, I was entirely
dependent on the services of Seijama as
interpreter.

There are five clans (mu) . Their names
are Mara-owi (Eagle), Lingumbuto
(Spring of Water, ng as in singer, not as in
finger), Mo (Coconuts), Toro (Eel) and
Kandji (Ground). There are no sub-

WHITE PAINT FOE MOURNING
In this group is a widow, who has smeared white paint on her face and
body as a sign of mourning

divisions, but the Eagle clan is regarded
as the most important. A man may not
marry a woman of his own clan, but can
marry into any of the others. The
children follow the clan of their mother.
As a rule, when a man marries he comes
to live in his wife's village, but this seems
not to be invariable. Some of the men
have two wives; I did not hear of anyone
who had more. I took down short
genealogies from two men, in an attempt
to obtain the terms of relationship, but
they seemed unable to concentrate their
attention for more than a few minutes at a
time, and they had not,
or affected not to have,
the extensive knowledge
of their forebears pos-
sessed by many natives.
Certain families are
recognized as being of
high rank, the rest being
commoners. There is an
hereditary chieftainship,
a man's heir is his sister's
son, his own children be-
longing to another clan,
and taking a position
corresponding to the
rank of their mother.

The third village in
the group, by name
Tokei, is situated on the
top of another hill, ac-
cess to it involving a
precarious descent into a
valley and a sUppery
cUmb. The hill-top is
rather larger than that
occupied by Budru, so
the houses are built
round an open space like
a village square — you
could not call it a "village
green" because the soil
is quite bare. In the
middle of this space there
is a yam vine climbing

MOUNTAIN PEOPLE OF THE SOUTH HE AS

431

up a bamboo, fenced
round with short lengths
of bamboo placed very
close together. I was
informed that the body
of a dead man had been
burnt on this spot, and
the vine had been planted
to mark the place as
sacred.

The dead are always
cremated, in contrast to
the customs prevailing
farther north. All a
man's possessions are
burnt with him, and his
house is destroyed. After
the ceremony the old
men go up on to a hill and
watch for a light which
comes from the funeral
pyre and moves over the
country until it reaches
the hut of the sorcerer
who made the poison
which caused the death
of the person. I was
not able to get further
details about this, but
the fact that a light actu-
ally appeared was cor-
roborated by two white
people in Kieta, who said
that they had seen it. I saw the widow
of a chief who had died not long since.
Her face and body were thickly smeared
with white paint in sign of mourning.

No one ever dies a natural death. All
death is caused by someone "making
poison." The natives will not throw
away anything belonging to them, especi-
ally remnants of food, in case it should be
used for making poison against them.
Everything must be either burned or
buried or hidden in the bush. They were
horrified when Seijama pitched his house-
hold rubbish down the slope behind his
house. He says he does not believe in

M.^KIXG A SLIT-GOXG
The instrument is used by the natives as a means of signaling by long
and short beats, and also in their dances. It is made of a large hard-
wood log, hollowed out inside, the outlet narrowing to a sUt along the
top

their silly ideas. But if his defiance leads
to a general abandoning of the very sani-
tary custom of carefully disposing of
rubbish, it will be another illustration of
the adage "A little knowledge is a danger-
ous thing."

During my visit to the farthest village,
there was a heavy tropical downpour,
such as frequently occurs without warning
in this climate, especially in the after-
noon. I was invited to take shelter on the
verandah of one of the houses. The
ground beneath us was soon converted
into a pond, though it drained away very
quickly when the rain ceased. Seijama

432

NATURAL HISTORY

having remained at home on affairs of his
own, I experienced the difficulties of con-
versation without a common language as
medium, and found it hard to check a
curious tendency to break into the dialect
I knew, which was completely unintel-
ligible to my present hosts, but amused
them considerably.

I watched one of the women making a
leaf fan, she was sewing together two lay-
ers of leaves by the aid of a bit of fibrous
thread and a very rusty needle, in spite of
which her stitches were remarkably small
and neat. The thread is dyed reddish-
brown by being soaked in the saliva which
is produced when betel-nut is chewed with
lime and pepper-leaf. A man sitting near-
by was kept busy producing the necessary
dye, and projecting it into half a coconut
shell, in which lay a handful of fiber.
Bright scarlet at first, it soon darkened,
and when it had reached the desired shade,
a child squeezed out the superfluous
moisture and hung the thread up to dry.

The large leaf fans are very character-
istic of these people, and are not seen
farther north. They are used for a
variety of purposes, to fan the embers of a
smoldering fire, to keep off flies, to shield
the head of a burden carried on the back
from rain or sun, and finally, in a women's
dance, a short version of which was
staged for my benefit, after the rain had
ceased. The dancers moved their fans very
gracefully, much as our own dancers might
use a scarf, with their bodies swaying from
side to side and their feet lifted high.

The evening meal, prepared by Nerisi,
consisted of taro in great chunks, yams,
delicious corn on the cob, fresh beans —
these from her own garden, not native to
the place — and little yellow bananas, a
present to me from one of the villagers.
By the time we had eaten it darkness was
falling with the rapidity characteristic of
these latitudes, but as the moon was full,
the landscape was soon flooded with
tropical moonlight, trees and houses

standing out on the hilltops with fantastic
effect. I watched it for awhile, but soon
turned in according to native custom.
Seijama's house boasts a raised sleeping
platform and some woven grass mats, so
with the blanket I brought with me —
necessary in the mountains even in the
tropics — I spent a comfortable night.
Nerisi and I shared the sleeping platform
while Seijama occupied the verandah.

Next day I returned to the farther
village, where the rain had interrupted my
explorations the day before. It was very
hot, and the village was sleepy. Children,
dogs, and pigs ran around rather listless-
ly. In front of one house a man sat chip-
ping at a piece of wood to make a handle
for an adze, whistling rather tunelessly
the while. I sat on a verandah and
watched a woman preparing tobacco.
These natives have their own tobacco
plants, which they cultivate very care-
fully, though they much prefer sticks of
trade tobacco when they can get them.
It is the women's work to prepare the
tobacco. They tie a few fresh leaves in a
bunch on to a long strip of fiber, then
make a loop farther along the string and
tie on a second bunch, and so on until
there are about a dozen bunches on the
string. This is then hung up in the sun,
care being taken to bring it in when rain
threatens. It is afterward made into
rolls of about the size and shape of a large
ear of corn in the husk, tied up with fiber,
and put away in the house till wanted.

I was also lucky enough to see one stage
in the manufacture of a slit-gong. This
instrument is very general among the
natives of Bougainville, who use it in
their dances, and also for sending mes-
sages, by means of a kind of Morse code
of long and short beats. It is made of a
large log, perhaps six or seven feet long
and two or three feet high, which is hol-
lowed out inside, the outlet narrowing to a
slit along the top. The one I saw was
being hollowed out by means of an iron

MOUNTAIN PEOPLE OF THE SOUTH SEAS

433

pig spear and a knife tied to a sticii. The
slit at the top was delimited by branches
fixed on either side of it. The outside had
already been shaped by moans of an iron
blade hafted like an adze. Hard wood
must be used to produce the right sound
when the gong is beaten on the outside.
The amount of effort involved in making
one of these instruments with stone tools
must have been enormous. All these
natives can now obtain metal knives
and axe-heads from planters and traders,
but there are still a number of stone im-
plements to be seen in the villages.
They are now used only for shai-pcriirifi'

knives or for cracking nuts, but the people
know that they are the tools of a previous
generation, and freely admit that they
would not care to work with them.

Transport facilities being few and far
between, it was necessary for me to be in
Kieta in time to take advantage of the
opportunity of returning on the "Frank-
lin" to the region, about a hundred miles
to the north, where I was engaged in
making an intensive study of the natives.
1 was therefore unable to spend more than
a couple of days among these people, and
returned to Kieta in time to reembark on
till- "Franklin."

Js This ^ ARE Placed

Offerings of Food for

THE Spirits

A MAUA CHILD

The Bear Mountain Trailside Museum

ANIMALS ON THE NATURE TRAIL

The Personalities and Activities of Some of the Animal Pets That Become Guests
of the Trailside Museum During the Summer

By WILLIAM H. CARR

Assistant Curator, Department of Education, American Museum

The Bear Mountain Trailside Museum and Nature Trails in the Hudson Highlands
at Bear Mountain, New York, are operated for six months each year by the depart-
ment of education of the American Museum of Natural History. The Trailside
Museum is open from May until October, each year. — The Editors.

THE most familiar question asked on
the Nature Trails at Bear Moun-
tain is,

"Where do you keep the live animals?"

And the usual answer,

"We don't keep them — they stay
with us!"

With very few exceptions, this is the
truth, for we have always beUeved that
one real animal pet was worth more than a
dozen cage-fighting captives.

Last season, Coco, the raccoon, Cleo
and Mark, the two very tame and ex-
ceedingly active crows, and Sachet, the
equally contented skunk, were guests of
the Trailside Museum, but not prisoners.
Of cour.se cages were necessary for hous-
ing, but happiness and well being on' the
inmates' part were more of a consideration
than restraining steel bars and wire mesh.

We talked along these lines to a trail
visitor on a Sunday afternoon, and, most
decidedly, she did not agree with us.

"Although I have a canary at home,"
she said, "I am sure your birds and ani-
mals would be far more content in the
freedom, of the woods and fields. You

may say they are well cared for there in
the cages, but I'm positive that if they
were given a choice in the matter, they
would vote for a life in the wilds."

She was very emphatic and her voice
rose in righteous indignation as she con-
tinued,

"I think it's a positive shame! There
should be no place in the scheme of nature
for the existence of a zoo ! "

Jerry, the tame blue jay, was present at
this one-sided debate. He looked at the
woman out of his keen, saucy, bright eyes.
Jerry was a particular favorite of ours
and was something of a wit. His head
was cocked inquisitively yet he said not a
word. After a detailed inspection of his
visitor, he turned toward us as though to
suggest :

"Well, I guess she's right in some
respects, and wrong in others. If you're
wise though, you'll agree with her! She's
reached the point where further argument
is useless!"

The outraged visitor expressed her
views at some length and departed.
Possibly she was bound homeward to

ANIMALS ON THE NATriiK TUMI.

435

feed the canary! Regardless of where she
went, however, wc still keep a few birds
and animals, year in and year out, where
thousands of visitors may view them.

Jerry, doubtless at first would rather
have flown from his nest straight into the
world where he first saw the light of day.
Nevertheless, he soon had grown to like
the new situation, to accept our care and
many attentions and to enjoy, immensely,
appreciative crowds thronging to do him
homage. Furthermore, he was an ambas-
sador from the realm of feathers. His
cheerful personality made numerous
friends for birds in general, and blue jays
especially! His presence was a joy, a
delight, and an education. He gave
favors impersonally and never worried
about what the morrow might have in
store. An army of indignant women could
never have persuaded us to release him !

As for Sachet, the young wood kitten —
the truly captivating skunk — he was an

animal show all unto himself, in the cage
or out. People were drawn to his en-
closure as by a veritable animal magnet.
His very name served to excite varying
feelings of fascination and repulsion that
ultimately resolved into a harmonious
appreciation of the skunk as an animal
and not as a myth. Combined in his
round, furry body were elements of
beauty, attributes of fear and doubt,
from the public's viewpoint, and also the
undeniable quality of winsomeness, all
strangely intermingled.

We defy anyone to handle, or even to
observe a contented infant skunk, for any
length of time, without being impressed
with the thought that some of his pre-
conceived ideas were wrong. (\\'e made it
possible for some of our visitors to handle
Sachet as well as to look at him !) Among
the mammals no one is more maligneil
than the wood pussy. Therefore, like the
blue jay. Sachet constantly performed a

LOOKING PRETTY

Coco was always delighted to show off all her tricks whenever an opportunity offered, so when the
camera man came around to photograph her, she assumed her most fetching pose

436

NATURAL HISTORY

RESTING
Caroline, the little gray fox, was a nervous, high-strung youngster, and would gambol and play only
when she thought she was unobserved. Now she lives in the Bear Mountain Zoo with her mate, and
is quite unconcerned about her visitors unless they happen to have some tempting morsel to offer her

service to his down-trodden relations.

Obviously there are skunks and skunks !
Sachet had arisen from the rank and file
of skunkdom to the exalted position of
royalty. His subjects were the human
onlookers and we were his faithful court
attendants. He was a gentleman and a
good fellow. Although the powerful
weapons of defense were never removed.
Sachet never used them. Being a kind
and considerate monarch, he kept his
artillery hidden until there was need for
its display. In the role of a superlative
marksman, he felt no need for target
practice !

"Is he really tame?" asked a man who
had paused before the skunk cage. " Is it
true you can handle him and carry him
about without fear of consequence?"

"Yes, we can do many things with
Sachet," we replied. "He is a pet in
every sense of the word. We have carried
him on trains, automobiles, steamships,
canoes, and practically every form of con-

veyance except an airplane. Many times
he has spent the night with us in hotel
rooms. While we were asleep, Sachet ran
about the floor, sniffed beneath windows
and explored every object in the room, for
our nighttime was his daytime."

We might have added that the skunk's
signature was always missing from the
hotel register!

We have harbored skunks for many
years. The greatest number in our keep-
ing at one time was thirty-seven. This
was thirty-five too many. We took steps
accordingly and released the excess col-
lection in the woods, some distance from
home. All we had to do to obtain skunks
was to announce the fact that we wanted a
few and immediately skunks came pour-
ing in from all points of the compass.
Apparently, they were unwanted else-
where and their discoverers were only too
glad to locate someone who did care for
them.

Sometimes it became a bit more difficult

ANIMALS ON TiUi N ATI! UK THAI I.

«7

to secure animals for our zoo. Witness
the case of Caroline, the gray fox.

One day, early in June, we were climb-
ing Grandfather's Mountain in North
Carolina. On the way we encountered a
mountaineer boy, bare-footed, ragged, and
smiling. He had good reason to smile,
for he had just captured a very handsome
little gray fox — had located the den and
carried the conquest through unaided —
and he was proud of it! The baby fox's
nose was tucked into a crook of the boy's
arm, and only the gray back and drooping
tail were visible. We paused for awhile to
talk and to examine the baby carefully.
Soon it became apparent that the fox
was for sale even though its captor was a
bit reluctant to part with it. After a
time, he said,

"Sure, I'll sell her to you. She'll cost
five dollars."

At once we were interested and made

arrangements witli the .sturdy youngster
to keep the animal for several days until
we should return homeward.

" I'll keep her for you! " offered the boy.

Right there was where we made a mis-
take. Perhaps the gleam in the boy's
eyes should have warned us, but it did not.

Three days later we returned to learn,
after considerable evasion, that the fox
had been sold to another man for six
dollars. But we were bound to have that
fox for our Trailside Zoo, so we .«ought the
other purchaser, only to find that he had
exchanged the elusive creature with still
another man for ten dollars. Finally we
ran down the fox and parted with fifteen
dollars before she was ours! She had
changed hands five times. The moral of
this tale is, that one fox in the hand is
worth exactly three on Grandfather's
Mountain !

Naturallj' we called our newly acquired

BARN OWLS

These three Uttle barn owls, found in the belfry of St. Peter's Church at Haverstraw, became

temporary residents of the Trailside Museum until they were ready to fly. When released, the three

sailed out together, circled the near-by woods, and disappeared in the direction of Haverstraw

438

NATURAL HISTORY

MAKING NEW FRIENDS

Jerry, the blue jay. was one of the friendliest of aU the pets at the Trailside Museum. He always

returned inspection with interest

ZOO specimen, "Caroline," after her
native state. Unlike her cage neighbors,
she could not truthfully have been called
"tame." Her's was the typical high-
strung, nervous, suspicious disposition of
her kind. Eventually she trusted us
enough to take food from our hands, but
the least sudden movement or unexpected
sound would send her trembling to the
farthest corner of the pen. At last we
transferred her to a much larger out-of-
door cage, where she had the companion-
ship of a brother fox.

One of the most graceful things to be
seen in nature is a fox playing. Often, late
in the evening, Caroline would play and
play to her heart's content. In order to
see her, we would steal to the edge of a
near-by building and peer cautiously
around the corner, for Caroline, unlike
our other animals, was very shy and would
not perform for an audience.

In the privacy of gathering darkness,
she would leap about, pursue her wonder-
ful bushy tail, and gambol like the wood-

land spirit that she was. She would jump
high in the air, land stiff-legged and leap
again, turning in her course as though
propelled by steel springs. Every motion
was a picture of grace — an exposition of
perfect muscular control. It was a rare
privilege to observe her, ro be permitted
so intimate a glimpse of the pure animal
revelry and complete abandon that ch ir-
acterized her exhibition.

Coco, the friendly, knowing raccoon, in
direct contrast to Caroline, was delighted
in the presence of multitudes of onlookers
and was never so happy as when perform-
ing before a laughing crowd of children or
grown-ups. She was the clown of our
small managerie. Her especial act was to
lie upon her back, overturn her water
basin, and balance it on all four feet,
looking at the crowd, meanwhile, with a
comical air as though to insist, "There
now, this is my best trick! Of course it
amuses you!"

Oh yes! we have proved to our own
satisfaction, times without number, the

ANJMALf^ ON TIII<: NATVUE TRAIL

439

value of keeping a few animals in our
"zoo!" Our visitors, many of whom had
no previous out-of-door background, were
overjoyed to have real experiences with
our pets. And while; they were interested
they learned, and when they learned, they
became greater friends of wild-life in
general. It was not in vain that Coco
performed.

Also, she taught us a great deal, as did
all the other creatures. When occasion
permitted, we would enter her cage and
play with her. She would rush about,
take our fingers in her mouth, turn over
and scramble around, enjoying the ex-
perience possibly more than we did.
Sometimes, late at night, we would go in
to her cage and sit upon the floor while
she climbed into our lap to have her
head scratched.

We built a small see-saw for her and
often, long after dark, we could hear the

balanced board striking the floor again
and again, as she stood in the middle and
shifted her weight from one side to the
other. Cl(!anliness of cage, freshness of
water, and quantities of food are essen-
tial for captive animals, but oiibj essen-
tials. Objects for exercise or for play
should also be provided. Coco and her
see-saw offered an excellent illustration of
this need and its fulfilment.

It was always a treat to watch Coco eat
her meals. The time-honored rite for the
raccoon clan is to wash their food in
water before eating. Coco followed this
custom religiously. Even lumps of sugar
received the same dousing as did pieces of
meat and l)its of bread. True to form, the
sugar invariably showed a distressing
tendency to dissolve and vanish in the
confines of the water pan, and then Coco,
who dearly liked sugar, would search for
it in vain. She was clearly puzzled at this

CLEG'S FAVORITE PASTIME

The crow spent hours playing here, and had a wonderful time getting in and out of the water pan.

Many times, when the bird was thoroughly water-soaked, it would fly to the shoulder of a human

friend and shake water from its feathers with supreme indifference to the results

440

NATURAL HISTORY

WITH HORNS IN THE VELVET
This elk is a permanent resident in the Bear Mountain Zoo, which is operated by the Bear Mountain-
Pahsades Interstate Park Commissioners the year round

sad state of affairs and explored the basin
very thoroughly but all to no avail.
The problem of the disappearing sugar
worried her many times. As a rule she
could eat it successfully only when no
water was available or when she sampled a
lump before submitting it to the washing
process.

Cleo and Mark, the two black, anxious,
and highly intelhgent crows were our best
bird "exhibit!" Our relationships with
them were more satisfactory than with
any of the others because they knew no
cage. The freedom of the grounds was
theirs, to come and go when they pleased,
and thus to enjoy something of the in-
dependence that is the crow's birthright.
A water pan was provided near the Trail-
side Craftshop. Food could be secured at
the same place, and in between feeding
times, the crows were always observed
near by.

They both liked human companion-
ship and, if nothing else offered to occupy

their time, they would walk into the
Craftshop, perch upon a chair back and
watch whatever work was going forward
on the carpenter's bench. Often the birds
would try their best to converse with the
carpenter, making throaty sounds and
mumbling away in a grotesque fashion,
accompanying their "speech" with ex-
pressive gesticulations of the head and
wings as though to emphasize various
facts.

They both knew perfectly well where we
lived and, early in the morning, would
strut over to the cabin door and, with
voices raised in loud duet, would demand
their breakfast in no uncertain terms.
The process of feeding the black twins
never failed to please crowds of visitors,
and often we permitted our guests to take
active part in the crows' dining ceremony
for it made but slight difference to the
birds whence food came, so long as it
did come!

We have watched the expressions, first

ANIMALS ON THE NATURE TRAIL

441

of amazement, then of pleasure, and
finally of confidence, that came over the
faces of visitors who suddenly encountered
either Clco or Mark upon the trails.
Entire families, mother, father and the
children, would spend the greater part of
an afternoon playing with the birds to
their huge entertainment. No one could
tell us, after having witnessed affairs of
this sort, that the crows, like the blue
jay, were not making friends for all of
their numerous tribe.

Mark was the more friendly of the two
and would show as much enthusiasm for
people as they would display toward him.
If the play became too rough or if some-
one teased him, he would simply turn away
in disgust and stalk off to his own affairs.
If necessary, he could use that long, strong
beak of his to good advantage to escape
from undesired attention. Indeed, both
birds were self reliant and knew when to
take themselves away from bad company.

Their favorite resting place was on
top of an old stone wail under the shade
of a large maple tree. This was their
sanctum sanctorum and we usually could
find them there during the warm summer
afternoons. After a time, however, they
investigated the cabin more thoroughly
and discovered that the porch railings
made a superlativly fine resting spot. So
they transferred their quarters there to
the annoyance of the "keeper of the
cabin." The kitchen window was very
close and this fact stimulated the crows
greatly. The scent of cooking food, and
the sight of it, too, reacted upon their
already enormous appetites and they
peered through the window screen and
took notice of everything that went on.
They made vociferous remarks about it,
too! They were a splendid, loj^al team.
Despite the occasional annoyance they
caused, their absence would have been
mourned by us all.

"l'LE.4SE LET ME HAVE THE COKE?"
Sachet was especially fond of apples, and would stand on his hind legs, despite the fact that he was
already stuffed to repletion, to dine on this tit-bit

442

NATURAL HISTORY

Constant association with gentle, en-
tirely likable animals, that are absolutely
dependent upon their human companions
for their very existence, is a stimulating
and wholesome experience for any boy.
It brings forward altruistic instincts of
kindness and usefulness.

We, at Bear Mountain, have always
been fortunate in having boys take a large
share of the responsibility for the welfare
of our animal population. Nearly every
one of the young men has developed a very
honest dependability in his work of
feeding, cleaning, and general care of the
animals. Many have been the surrepti-
tious tit-bits smuggled from the table at
dinner time to find their way to Coco, to
Caroline, or to Sachet. The boys have
shown a fine, active interest in the
creatures, too. One youth, during leisure
periods, would spend literally hours sitting
beside Caroline's cage, trying to gain the
confidence of the nervous, wary little
fox — talking to her and showing signs of
friendhness and of affection. After a time
he was able to enter the cage without
having the fox fly into a panic of fear.
It was he who coaxed Caroline to feed
from his hand.

Yes, the care of animals brings to light
the best qualities in human nature — ■
strengthening the arts of observation and
patience — and creates in the individual
a lasting admiration and respect for beings
lower in the scale of life and living than
himself. If a boy or a girl can be con-
sistently trusted in the matter of faithful
attendance upon animals, he or she may
usually be counted upon for many other
things as well.

At the conclusion of a long, busy
summer, when it becomes our duty to
close the doors of the Trailside Museum
for the last time until another spring
comes to renew our activities, we re-
lease many of the animals that are able
to fend for themselves, and make arrange-
ments for keeping others. The cages are
emptied one by one, until at last no
creatures remain. How empty and
deserted the trails seem without them!

The Bear Mountain Nature Trails with-
out birds and animals? Certainly not!
When we return to pay brief visits in win-
ter, how eloquent are the empty cages!
They wait silently for old and new tenants
and for the crowds. So long as we live and
work there, they shall never wait in vain.

Thousands of visi-
tors at Bear Moun-
tain pass through
this gate-way each
season to enjoy
the Trail

] M] \N( 1 10 IHL ^\^TRE TRAILS

Many labels are
placed along the
Trail to call the
visitor's attention
to various interest-
ing objects

^ 1

fr "--"-

,' -.

/^;C . ,^

'i •:

V. ,'

r' ■ r-

l .•/

-'-~-J/

'-/ '\ ^' '•'■'-

- /

^T-y

-r.U

1. Central Asiatic Expeditions; 2. Whitney, South Sea, Island of Kwasie, for birds; 3. Boekelman Shell Heap Project;
4. Frick-Falkenbach, Wyoming, for fossils; 5. Fnck-Rak, Santa F6, New Mexico, for fossils; 6. Olalla Brothers. Brazil.
for birds and mammals; 7. Naumburg-Kaempfer, Southern Brazil for birds; 8. Scarritt, Patagonia, for fossil mammals

AMERICAN MUSEUM EXPEDITIONS
AND NOTES

Edited by A. KATHERINE BERGER

/( is the purpose of this department to keep readers of Natural History informed

as to the latest news of the Museum expeditions in the field at the time the magazine

goes to press. In many instances, however, the sources of information are so distant

that it is not possible to include up-to-date data

""PHE Chapin Congo Expedition. — After a
•^ year's absence, Dr. J. P. Chapin returned to
the American Museum on May 28. It will be
recalled that he visited the Belgian Congo to
collect material for a group illustrating the bird
life of the equatorial forest along the Congo
River, a gift to the Museum by the late Mrs.
Dwight Arven Jones. He was accompanied
by Mr. Franklin Edson, 3d, who returned last
December.

The site chosen for the group was at Lukolela,
some 500 miles up the Congo River, about 1°
south of the equator. Here he was the guest of
Lukolela Plantations, directed by Monsieur V.
de Bellefroid and Dr. M. Abrassart, and was also
assisted during the latter part of his stay by the
Unatra, the company which operates the greater
number of the river steamers.

The group will show the virgin forest near the
bank of the river with a view out toward the

wooded islands as a background. A small collec-
tion was made of the birds of the region, but the
greater part of the work consisted in the gather-
ing of material with which to reproduce the vege-
tation: trees, foliage, lianas, and everything that
goes to make the wealth of a virgin tropical
forest. The work of sketching, photographing,
and packing took many months. The directors
of the plantation did everything possible to help,
so that the days passed most agreeably. There
was relatively little time to devote to the re-
mainder of the forest fauna; but active colonies
of weaver birds nested in the palms of the station,
and a pair of large hornbills had their nest in a
forest tree almost within sight of the house, so ■
that the male was watched for a month as he
brought food many times a day to his mate and
their offspring. Tree-frogs of curious habits bred
in the near-by swamps, and the workmen en-
gaged in the planting of cocoa trees brought

444

NATURAL HISTORY

hundreds of specimens of small creatures en-
countered during their work.

A large proportion of the forest trees are char-
acterized by buttressed roots, woody flanges
growing out from the base of the trunk. With
the help of Monsieur Bourry, the representative
of the Unatra, one of these shapely trees was cut
down and transported to the company's sawmill.
There its trunk was sectioned and packed for safe
shipment to the Museum, without injury to the
bark.

This portion of the Congo River is the home of
a swallow-like bird, Pseudochelidon, of great
rarity in museums, which was known to nest in
the sand bars at low water. None was seen during
the period of low water in July and August, but
in the following February great numbers re-
turned to many of the bars. This gave an oppor-
tunity to study their habits and to secure photo-
graphs of the birds, which are supposedly nearly
related to the wood-swallows of Malaysia.

In Belgium, both on the way to the Congo and
when returning, Doctor Chapin was welcomed
most cordially by Dr. H. Schouteden, director of
the Congo Museum, who has always assisted so
generously in the American Museum's investi-

gations of African fauna. The Belgian Adminis-
tration of the Congo, as usual, gave every facility
needed for the work. The continued progress of
this great African colony is admirable, and is
reflected in the magnificent collections of its Mu-
seum at Tervueren.

XTEW Light on the Sequence of Mexican
■*■ ^ Cultures. — Dr. George C. Vaillant re-
turned to the Museum on June 1, after a success-
ful season in the Valley of Mexico. A site. El
Arbolillo, was worked with a view to corroborat-
ing the results of the previous excavations at the
Early Culture sites of Zacatenco and Ticoman.
The sequence established at those sites was con-
firmed, and additional data on the Early and
Middle Zacatenco Periods were obtained, in-
cluding much information on mortuary customs.
A fair collection of skeletal material of great
value for the study of the races of Mexico was
brought back to the Museum, as well as many
specimens of stone and pottery objects. A layer
of Early Teotihuacan material was encountered
which will serve as a basis for chronological stud-
ies at the pyramid site of San Juan Teotihuacan
next winter.

NOTES

ASTRONOMY

■"PHE Amateur Astronomers Association
■'■ held its annual meeting (the last meeting of
the current year) on Wednesday, May 20. The
following officers were elected for the year 1931-
32: Dr. Clyde Fisher, President; Mr. George
A. Galliver, 1st Vice-president; Dr. Oswald
Schlockow, 2nd Vice-president; Mr. Charles W.
Elmer, 3rd Vice-president; Dr. Clement S.
Brainin, 4th Vice-president; Mr. Oliver P.
Medsger, 5th Vice-president; Mr. Charles J.
Liebman, Treasurer; Mr. John A. Kingsbury,
Secretary. The other members of the Council
will be Mr. Stanbury Hagar, Mr. William Henry,
Mr. D. B. Pickering, Dr. R. E. Lee, and Mr. O. H.
Caldwell.

CONSERVATION

■"PHE Ne.'^rly Extinct Bison of Europe. —
■*■ At the spring meeting of the Board of
Trustees of the New York Zoological Society,
President Madison Grant spoke of the desperate
situation of the rare and almost extinct European
bison. He announced that the Zoological
Society had decided to send the director of the
Zoological Park, Dr. W. Reid Blair, to Europe
during the summer to visit the various private
collections of bison in England, Germany and

Poland, and to consult with the officers of the
International Society for the Preservation of the
European Bison in order to ascertain just how the
Zoological Society might be of service to the
European Society in its commendable efforts to
preserve this interesting species.

While the European bison never attained any-
thing like the numbers of its American cousin,
they were, however, abundant in western
Europe up to the Fifteenth Century. Since that
time they have gradually diminished in numbers
throughout their former range. In recent years
there have been but two principal preserves of
the European bison, one in the Caucasus of
western Russia, and the other in the Bialowies
forest of Lithuania. The Caucasus herd, contain-
ing about 700 animals, was said to have been
completely exterminated during the World War,
the animals having been killed off for food during
hostilities, with no thought of the fate of the
species.

The European bison, or wisent, miscalled the
aurochs, is the nearest living relative of our
American bison. It is a forest-dwelling animal
feeding largely on ferns, leaves, twigs and bark
of trees, and in this respect differs from our
American bison which feeds almost wholly on

NOTES

445

Up to the present time very little pronress has
been made in increasing the numbers of pure-
blooded bison, principally because of the scat-
(ereil groups which has afforded no opportunity
for selected breeding.

The Duke of Bedford, at Woburn Abbey,
England, is the owner of the largest herd of
European bison. Others are now located in
Germany and Poland.

The last report of the International Society for
the Preservation of the European Bison shows
that today there are but fifty-nine pure-blooded
liison in Europe.

r^ESTRUCTION op Wild Animal Life.—
■^ Dr. Jean M. Ijinsdale, in The Condor,
XXXIII, pp. 92-106, May, 1931, has contributed
a most important and significant article entitled,
"Facts Concerning the Use of Thallium in Cali-
fornia to Poison Rodents — Its Destructiveness to
Game Birds, Song Birds and Other Valuable Wild
Life."

In a calm and dispassionate account Doctor
Linsdale reviews the history of the element thal-
lium and its known properties as a poison, sets
forth the data on its use in California, and county
by county records the statistics which indicate
the destructiveness of thallium. These statistics
reveal an appalling situation and emphasize the
single-mindedness of some advocates of mammal
control, who are willing to kill off all the wild life
of a given region if only they can exterminate a
single obnoxious species (in this case the ground-
squirrel) .

In this same number of The Condor, pp. 131-
132, Dr. J. Grinnell comments on the Linsdale
article, and his pertinent conclusions should be
brought to the attention of every conservationist.
Doctor Ginnell writes:

Wholesale Poisoning of Wild Animal Life. — It is with a
peculiar feeling of despair that we read the statement of
findings summarized by Doctor Linsdale in his article pub-
lished in the present issue of The Condor. His findings show
that over one-third the area of California is being subjected
to repeated applications of a poison, to kill ground squirrels,
so insidious and far-reaching in its efTects as to threaten the
existence within that whole area of important native birds
such as mourning doves and valley quail, as well as, second-
arily but even more certainly, of carnivorous birds and
mammals generally. And this has been going on, under
State and Federal authorization or recommendation, despite
our frequent solicitious inquiries of those agencies as to the
harm suspected, until a stage has been reached when the
malignant situation must be made known to the public
through private initiative, in the hope that the practices
will be discountenanced.

There is a certain administrative type of mind to which
the human "use" of all natural resources and the correlated
elimination of anything which looks to be detrimental, or
even not immediately and clearly of value, loom as the only
"practical" aims. Doctor Linsdale refrains from giving
much in the way of conclusions in his paper, leaving it for
each of his readers to make interpretations suitable to his
o^vn understanding. However, we feel so apprehensive on
the subject that we yield to the temptation to comment on
our own part on some of the more obvious implications.

The total area poisoned in the year ending June 30, 1929,
was over .5,000,000 acres (10th Annual Rept., Calif. Dept.
Agri., December, 1929 [issued in 19.311, P- 792); 558,000
pounds of grain poisoned with thallium were scattered. In

one year, 1028, over two million pounds of \ntwint^i Krain
were UBCd. The behavior of Ihulliurn-poiKonMj antnutis in
Huch that few dead unimalN «>me to the attenliuri of the
human obBcrvi-r, pcrliapH much leiuf than one p«?r cent. But
evcn»o. I iMr i.|,<.rt over. VKW dead aiiirnuU identi-
fied and ■' !■ - than one per ■■(•« of the total area

poiHoncil \\ ■ I !i- III-- from thi-s that in the lust four years
not lc«^ i!j;ni Vi r'. /'-.'< animal)^ othrr thim ground B'juirreli
have been kdlr-d in California throuifh th(i»e operations! Au
to the money cowt of Mueh poiHon campaiKrLS, $412. 47k were
spent in California in the year 1030 for r'xlent control alone.

Now all this doHtruction of our liiRher vert<?brat« animaU
is done in the interesta of but a part of the human p^jpula-
tion. Indeed, clf>se analyiit, of the many anglen in the
problem Icada to the query whether tlii.s exiK'iiditure hail
not been a total wa«le econoniieally. — not only that but luui
involveda positive loss besides!

The pity of it ia that these campaigns of destruction are
carried on "in cooperation with" the Biological Survey, a
governmental organization which we were brought up to
believe, upon the best of grounds, was consecrated to the
practice and encouragement of real conservation, and noth-
Hig else. While much of the work of this Bureau remains
truly consorvational in character and is thus to be highly
commended, there has crept in of late years this insidious
tendency toward a "practical" type of "coiuservation,"
wiiich means saving profits for thosegroups of persons whose
financial interests cnn be iM-nefited by "control" (that is,
extermination) ni' aIM :ir,inj li life.

It is a curinii- p. . . ,i -urely, when "conservation'*
is appealed to tn J i.f .,^1.

In our mind, at t Ik- pt i -i [ii iMonient, the wholesale poison-
ing of wild animal lite (hircls. ciirnivorous mammals, rodents)
on uncultivated terrain, ought to cease: not only that, but it
should be prohibited by law. The first step to be sought is
the stoppage of the use of thallium: and what is needed here
is to reach those governmental authorities who are willing
to heed facts and to act in the interests of people at large.
not in the interests only of small potent minorities. Read
Doctor I.insdale's report; then if your conscience directs.
exert vour personal influence toward stopping this destruc-
tion of our wild animal life.

/CONSERVATION Med.\l Awarded.— .\t the
^^ spring meeting of the N. Y. Zoological
Society, Prof. Henry Fairfield Osborn presented
to Mr. Madison Grant, on behalf of the Board of
Managers, a six-inch bronze medal in recognition
of Mr. Grant's constructive work as a conserva-
tionist, as chairman of the Bronx River Parkway,
for the fine work he has done in the Redwoods of
California, and as president of the N. Y. Zoo-
logical Society.

The medal was designed by Mr. John R. Sin-
nock, of Philadelphia, and cast by the Medalhc
Art Co. On one side of the medal is a portrait in
reUef of Mr. Grant, and on the other an appro-
priate design signifying his various activities.

EDUCATION
C UMMER Uni\tersity Courses by American
^ Museum Cueatohs. — The University of
Chicago has invited Dr. G. Kingsley Noble to
give a course in comparative anatomy of verte-
brates and also a graduate course in experimental
biology during the summer semester. Dr. Ch'de
Fisher is conducting two courses this summer at
Cornell University, namely one on general
natural history, the other on visual education.

EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
INVESTIGATION of Spring Water Pollu-
■^ TioN. — William G. Hassler of the department
of herpetology and experimental biology of the
American Museum has been working for several

446

NATURAL HISTORY

months with the Cattaraugus County depart-
ment of health with a view to determining
whether salamanders are responsible in any way
for the pollution of spring water.

FOSSIL VERTEBRATES
U'OSSIL Proboscideans in the University
■'■ OF Nebraska. — One of the largest collec-
tions of fossil elephants in existence is located at
the University of Nebraska, where it is housed in
the State Museum. The Nebraska collection
represents the results of forty years of collecting
in the fossil fields of the great plains, by parties
from the University under the direction of Prof.
Erwin H. Barbour. This extended period of
collecting has been made possible through the
munificence of Mr. Charles H. Morrill, a bene-
factor of that institution.

A recent letter from Doctor Barbour, director
of the State Museum, informs us that he has
made a recount of the material on exhibition. To
quote from the letter: "There are four hundred
and thirty teeth on exhibition with an indefinite
number stored. There are one hundred and sixty
tusks, counting everything, and there are fifty
mandibles of which twenty are four tuskers."

The American Museum has been in close co-
operation with the Nebraska Museum for many
years. In accordance with this poUcy of mutual
benefit between the two institutions, the Nebras-
ka proboscidean collection is being used exten-
sively in the studies of fossil elephants now being
pursued at the American Museum. Last summer
the Nebraska collection was thoroughly examined
and measured. Since that time many new speci-
mens have been added to the collection, speci-
mens that will be of great aid in the further
prosecution of studies into the evolutionary his-
tory of the elephants. — E. H. C.

A Dinosaur Footprint. — There has just been
■'*■ placed on exhibition in the foyer of the
American Museum a slab of rock containing one
of the largest footprints of a dinosaur ever dis-
covered. This came from the roof of a coal mine
at Sego, Utah, and was obtained through the
courtesy and cooperation of Mr. R. M. Magraw,
manager of the Chesterfield Coal Company.

The imprint, which shows the three toes dis"
tinctl}', measures thirty-nine inches in length and
nearly three feet across the tips of the outer toes.
The animal's stride as measured on a line of
tracks on the roof of the mine was nearly thirteen
feet, and this probably represents the step as the
animal walked about in a leisurely fashion. This
dinosaur was undoubtedly one of those with
bipedal locomotion, but whether of the carnivor-

ous or herbivorous type cannot be definitely
determined.

I OWER Pleistocene Age of Peking Man —
'-^ Of great interest is the geologic age of
Sinanthropus pekingensis from the cave of Chou
Kou Tien, thirty-five miles southwest of Peking.
Teilhard de Chardin gives us {L'anthropologie,
1931), the first clear critical light on this impor-
tant subject, dating the Peking Man as un-
doubtedly early Pleistocene — quite as ancient as
the Gibraltar Man and much more ancient than
the Neanderthal Man. Chou Kou Tien was a
true cave, although filled by a succession of
deposits and consequently displaying different
stratigraphic levels; it is certainly older than the
widespread Upper Pleistocene yellow loess of
China characterized by the woolly rhinoceros {R.
tichorhinus), the urus (Bos priynigenius) , the
stag (C. elephus), the spotted hyena {H. crocuta),
etc., with occasional Palaeolithic quartzite im-
plements of Mousterian and Aurignacian type.

The Chou Kou Tien fossil deposits positively
belong to the early Pleistocene containing the
giant rhinoceros {Rhinoceros cf. sinensis), the
primitive hyena (H. sinensis), the saber-toothed
hyena (i/. machairodus) , the fossil dog {Canis
sinensis) and the fossil horse {E. sanmeniensis),
species which closely correspond with similar
forms in the Nihowan deposits, but Chou Kou
Tien lacks certain of the distinctively Upper
Pliocene fossils found in Nihowan, such as Hip-
parion sinense, Chalicotherid {Circolherium) , etc.
Clearly distinguished from the Upper Pleistocene
'yellow loess,' the formation is a series of sands,
clays, and 'reddish' loess which begins at the end
of the Pliocene and extends into the Lower
Pleistocene.— H. F. O.

MAMMALS
D ECENT Accessions. — The American Mu-
■•■^ seum has just received an adult, a juvenile,
and an embryo chimpanzee from Lukolela, on the
south bank of the Congo River. These specimens,
collected by Dr. James P. Chapin, are of a race
new to the collection. Pan satyrus paniscus.
Though the colonial residents have for yeans
known of the presence of chimpanzees south of
the Congo River, it was not until 1929 that the
scientific world became aware of this. Dr. E.
Schwarz of Berlin then described the left bank
race on the basis of a specimen from south of
Befale, which is to the northeast of Lukolela.
Now it is established that the chimpanzee occurs
throughout the forest south to the Sankuru
River.

The race paniscus is characterized by its small
size, black round face, and small ears. It is also

NOTES

447

said to make different vocal sounds than the
chimpanzees of the right bank. — R. 'J'. II.

]\^R. RiciiAHD Archboi.d of the dopartiiienl of

^"■'- iiiariHiialiiny of the American Mu.seum is

this summer studying mammals of New Guinea

and Celebes in the collections of the Museum

d'Histoire

Naturelle of

Paris and the

Museum fiir

Naturkunde

of Berlin,

with a view

to identifying

comparable

material which the

-American Museum

now has.

HONORS

r THE UPPEH I.KKT AND LOWER HIOHT }

PICTUIIED THE OBVERHE A.ND IIEVEIUE

OF THE ELLIOT MEDAL

Hen-ry F.u:

recipient of

elliot me

A WARD OF THE

■*^ Daniel Giraud
Elliot Medal. — At
the Annual Dinner of
the National Academy
of kSciences held in
Washington, April 28,
1931 , the Daniel Giraud
Elliot gold medal was
presented for the year
1929 to Prof. Henry
Fairfield Osborn.

The Daniel Giraud
Elliot Fund of the
National Academy was
established in 1917 by
the gift of Miss Mar-
garet Henderson Elliot to carry out the provision
in the will of her father for the medal award :

One such medal and diploma shall be given in each year
and they, with any unexpended balance of income for the
year, shall be awarded by the said National Academy of
Sciences to the author of such paper, essay or other work
upon some branch of zoology or paleontology published
during the year as in the opinion of the persons, or a
majority of the persons, hereinafter appointed to be the
judges in that regard, shall be the most meritorious and
worthy of honor.

Twelve awards of the medal have been made,
the first in 1917 to Dr. Frank M. Chapman,
curator of the department of birds in the Ameri-
can Museum, for the work entitled "Distribu-
tion of Bird Life in Colombia." The subsequent
awards are as follows:

1918 William Beebe — "A Monograph of the Pheasants,"

Volume I.

1919 Robert Ridgway — "Birds of North and Middle

America," Part VIII.

1920 Othenio Abel — " Methoden der Palaobiologischen

Forschung."

1921 Bashford Dean — " A Bibliography of Fishes," Volume

1922 William Morton Wheeler — "Ants of the American

Museum Congo Expedition."

1923 Ferdinand Canu— • .N'orth American LaU-r Tertiary

and Quaternary Hryozoa."

1924 Henri Brouil — "Lea CombBrcUee de« Eyiiea" (joint

authorship).

192.') Kdinund Beecher WiUon—" The Cell in Development
and Heredity."

11127 Erik A. Son Stenttiu — "The Downttjnian and Devo-
nian Vertebrat4?s of SpitzberKcr."

1928 ErneHt Thompson Seton — " Lives of Game AoimaU,"

The medal for 1929 is conferred upon Professor
Osborn for his great
work, "The Titano-
thcres of Ancient Wy-
oming, Dakota and
Nebraska," Mono-
graph 55 of the United
States Geologicai
Survey. The prepara-
tion and publication
of this monograph in-
volved the intensest
kind of labor on the
part of Professor Os-
born, bis assistants,
and the Geological Sur-
vey for nearly thirty
years. The appearance
of the volumes in De-
cember, 1929, marked
an important milestone
inthehistory of science.
Dr. Frank R. LiUie,
chairman of
the Com-
mittee on the
ElUot Medal,
wrote in his
report to the
secretary of
the National
Academy :

This monumental work, the product of labors of a life-
time, is regarded by Professor Scott as "the outstanding
contribution to paleontology of this generation."

r^R. G. KiNGSLEY Noble was recently elected
■^-^ an associate editor of the Journal of
Morphology and Physiohgy. The journal was
founded in 1S87, and was the first national
pubUcation of its kind in the United States. Its
appearance marked the beginning of American
morphological literature. The editor of the
Journal is Prof. C. E. McClung of the University
of Pennsylvania. The associate editors are
elected by the American Society of Zoologists
to serve for a period of years.

HISTORY OF THE EARTH
I_IOW Old Are the Cape York Meteorites?
•^ ■*• — This is a question which the astronomers
and geologists would be pleased to have answered.
While notable advances have been made in

448

NATURAL HISTORY

recent years as to the age of various radioactive
minerals and some of the meteorites, the age of
the huge meteoritic irons from Greenland remains
to be determined.

In 1818 when Captain John Ross in the ship
"Discovery" explored Baffin's Bay, the Eskimos
of Prince Regent's Bay presented to Captain
Ross knives of iron with bone handles. The iron
was obtained from these meteorites.

In 1894, when Lieut. R. E. Peary visited the
region, three large meteoritic masses named " The
Tent" or Ahnighito, "The Woman" and "The
Dog " were shown to him. They weighed respec-
tively about 36^ tons, 3 tons, and 960 pounds.
"The Woman " and "The Dog " were found about
thirty-five miles east of Cape York on a narrow
isthmus which connects Ironstone Mountain
with the ice-covered mainland. Glacial debris
was strewn over the glaciated surface of gneissio
rock. "The Ahnighito" was found on Savig-
siviki Island in Melville Bay six miles south of
the Ironstone Peninsula.

Peary removed "The Woman" and "The
Dog" in 1895 after much difficulty and exciting
work, an incident of which was the breaking of
the cake of ice on which ' ' The Woman ' ' was being
floated to the ship. For lack of sufficient equip-
ment, Peary had to abandon his 1896 attempt
to remove "The Tent." He finally secured it in
1897.

The specimens were eventually delivered to the
Brooklyn Navy Yard where they lay for a few
years. They were unwieldy objects, and for a
time it was proposed that they be sold for scrap
iron although they contained about 8 per cent of
nickel. Through the generosity of Mrs. Morris
K. Jesup the specimens were purchased and
presented to the American Museum in 1904.
"The Ahnighito" specimen, which resembles a
tent in outline, is the largest meteorite in any
museum.

In 1913, another specimen, the Savik meteorite,
weighing Sji tons, was found on the tip of the
Savik Peninsula. This location is about four
miles east of Ironstone Peninsula where "The
Woman" and "The Dog" were obtained. In
1925, this specimen was transported from Green-
land to Denmark where in 1926, it was placed in
the Natural History Museum in Copenhagen.

In recent years Dr. Fritz Paneth of Konigsberg
University, Germany, has developed an elaborate
and very successful technique for studying the
age of iron meteorites from highly exact measures
of their radium, thorium, and helium contents.
He is now developing a technique for treating
stony meteorites. He finds that the irons when
heated to high temperatures do not lose their

helium content. The oldest specimen which he
has examined yields a reported age of 2,600,000,-
000 years. He finds, however, that the Savik
specimen contains no helium, hence its age can-
not be determined by this method.

Following the receipt of letters from Doctor
Paneth, Prof. L. M. Dennis of Cornell Uni-
versity, Dr. George F. Kunz of Tiffany & Com-
pany, and Dr. Harlow Shapley of Harvard Col-
lege Observatory, the officials of the American
Museum have approved of the sawing of a 100
gram piece from each of the three Cape York
meteorites in New York, and the transmission
of these samples to Doctor Paneth for study. In
sawing these irons it was found that the Ahnighito
was much harder than the other two, a fact the
Eskimos had noted more than a century ago.
When polished and etched, each sample showed
medium octahedrite Widmanstatten figures. The
specimens are now on their way to Doctor Paneth.
It is hoped that they contain helium and that
their age may thus be determined. Should this
prove to be true, then Doctor Paneth will be
confronted with another problem, the explana-
tion of why the Savik specimen, which has Wid-
manstatten figures of similar pattern, does not
contain helium. — Chesteh A. Reeds.

MEETINGS OF SOCIETIES
pREDATORY Mammal Control.— The A-
■*• merican Museum was well represented at the
meeting of the American Society of Mammalo-
gists, held at the Academy of Natural Sciences
in Philadelphia from May 12 to 15. Professor
Gregory discussed the origin of the mammalian
palate and jaw. Reports of their recent expedi-
tions were recounted by Messrs. Arohbold,
Goodwin, and Raven. Natural history studies
were presented by Messrs. Goodwin, Tate and
Hatt, and unnatural history as it is found in
native accounts of animal behavior was described
by Mr. Carter.

The most discussed item on the program was a
report of the Society's special committee on
problems of predatory animal control, presented
by its chairman, Mr. H. E. Anthony, curator of
mammals of the American Museum. This report,
which was the summary of the committee's
investigations covering a year's study, strongly
censured the present widespread poisoning cam-
paign carried out by the United States Biological
Survey against predatory mammals. In support
of the opinion of naturalists throughout the
country, the committee found that the Survey
has been poisoning large areas of the West in such
a manner as seriously to menace the entire flesh-
eating fauna of the region. This destruction.

NOTES

449

though iiimod primarily at the coyotes, hiis
proved highly unselcctive, as many other species
of mammals and birds highly beneficial to man
pick up the baits and die. It has also been shown
that this killing off of the coyotes is done largely
for the assumed benefit of a small xroup of stock
raisers, willioiit any adequate knowledge of the
actual food habits of the species killed nor their
economic status. The dollar value of the mam-
mals destroyed by poison may equal or even
exceed the sums saved to special interests.

The committee recommended and the Society
voted :

That the Society strongly urges the Biological
Survey that the use of poison as a control measure
against predatory mammals be drastically cur-
tailed, with the view to complete suspension of
poisoning as soon as it is reasonably possible.

That the Society deplores the propaganda of
the Survey which is designed unduly to blacken
the character of certain species of predatory
mammals, giving only part of the facts and with-
holding the rest, and which propaganda is educat-
ing the public to advocate destruction of wild
life.

That the Society asserts the claim of the great
nature-loving public to a voice in the administra-
tion of our wild life resources, and challenges the
right of a federal organization, such as the
Biological Survey, to consider only the interests
of a very small minority, the livestock interests.
— R. T. H.
""PHE American Association for the Ad-
•*■ VANCEMENT OF SCIENCE this year launched
the plan of holding annually a summer meeting
of really national character. The first of these
meetings was held in Pasadena, California,
from June 15 to 20 inclusive. The 1932 meeting
will be held in New Haven, the 1933 meeting in
Chicago, and the 1934 meeting in San Francisco.

Dr. Frank E. Lutz and Mr. Barnum Brown,
of the American Museum, attended the Pasadena
meeting.

INTERNATIONAL Geological Congress.—
•*• The Committee on Organization of the Six-
teenth International Geological Congress has
voted to postpone the meeting of the Congress for
a year, to the latter part of June, 1933. It was
felt that the generally adverse economic condi-
tions throughout the world made this postpone-
ment desirable.

A circular is now being prepared giving more
detailed information. This will be sent to all
those who received the first circular and to others
interested who request it from the Secretary,
Sixteenth International Geological Congress,
U. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. C.

/'^ENTEN'.MIV OF the British Association.
^^ — The British Ajswjoiution for the Advance-
ment of Science will celebrate its centenary during
the week September 23 to September 30 of this
year. The meeting is to be held in Ivondon, for
the first time in the history of tlie Association,
under the Presidency of I^t.-General the Right
Honorable Jan Christiaan Smuts of South
Africa.

Some interesting notes regarding the British
Association may be extracted from its pre-
liminary program.

The initial practical step toward tbc foundation of the
A88i)ciiitiiiri was taken by Sir David Urcivstcr, I'Ml.S., who
proposed to John PliillipB, the Kcologiiit, then secretary of
the Yorkshire Philosophical .Society, that a meeting
shouUl ho held in York, aa a convenient geographical centre,
to establish " a British Association of men of science." The
cooperation of the society and of the municipal authorities
and influential citizens of York was secured, and tbc first
meeting look place in York on September 26, 18.31. . . .

The objects of the Association were then laid down, and
have remained: "To give a stronger impulse and a more
systematic direction to scientific inquiry: to promote the
intercourse of those who cultivate science in different parta
of the Hritish Empire with one another and with foreign
philosophers; to obtain more general attention for the
objects of science and the removal of any disadvantages of a
public kind which impede its progress."

Other events of considerable scientific interest
are scheduled at approximately the same time as
the Association meetings. On September 21
and 22 the centenary of Faraday's discovery of
electro-magnetic induction will be celebrated in
London by various societies; there is the Clerk
Maxwell celebration, and the jubilee of the
Natural History Museum immediately follows
the Association's week.

The Association itself "is doing what it can to
give the occasion an imperial and, indeed, a
world-wide significance by inviting representa-
tives from all the places where it has met in the
past, both at home and in the dominions, and
also a notable list of foreign guests."

The American Museum of Natural History will
be officiallj' represented by its president, Profes-
sor Henry Fairfield Osborn, an honorary cor-
responding member of the Association since 1894.
Dr. William King Gregory will accompany
Professor Osborn as the representative of Colum-
bia Universit.v.

SCIENCE OF MAN
Vy/'ITH great regret the Trustees of the Ameri-
** can Museum have accepted the resignation
of Dr. Ronald L. Olson as assistant curator of
South American archaeology, in order that he
may accept the important post of associate
professor of anthropology in the University of
California. Doctor Olson will continue his valu-
able service to the American Museum as re-
search assistant in Peruvian archaeology during
such time as he can spare from his duties in the
University.

450

NATURAL HISTORY

■"PHE Aztec Ruin National Monument was
■*■ recently enlarged through the gift of an
additional small plot of land adjoining the
property previously deeded by the American
Museum to the United States Government. The
Museum has now turned over all its property at
Aztec to the Government. As is well known to
readers of Natural History, the creation of this
National Monument to conserve the famous
Pueblo ruins, known as Aztec Ruins lying near
the town of Aztec in New Mexico, was initiated
by the American Museum and made possible
through the generosity of Mr. Archer M.
Huntington in providing the necessary funds.
From 1916 to 1922, Mr. Earl H. Morris con-
ducted e.xcavations at the Aztec Ruin, It be-
came obvious during the course of this work
that the conservation of this and adjacent ruins
would be impossible if left in private hands.
The Museum therefore, in 1920, with funds do-
nated by Mr. Huntington, purchased the plot
of ground on which the Aztec Ruin stands; this
was presented to the United States Government
and in 1923 was proclaimed a National Monu-
ment by President Warren G. Harding. Later, the
Museum also purchased adjoining property on
which were six additional structures. This was
presented in 1928 and promptly added to the
Monument area. Thus, with the recent final
gift, the Museum has presented to the United
States Government nineteen acres of land on
which stand seven important Pueblo ruins, one of
which has been excavated in part.

The creation of the National Monument has
served not only to conserve and care for these
remains of the prehistoric inhabitants of the site,
but the exhibition of the objects used and made
by them, uncovered by the Museum's excava-
tions, has made it possible to reconstruct very
vividly for the visitor to the Monument the life
of the ancient people.

NEW PUBLICATIONS
Cope: Master JSfo.tiiralist. By Henry Fairfield Osborn,
viith the cooperation of Helen Ann Warren. Princeton
University Press. 1931.

VTOWADAYS it is the fashion for scientists to
'■ ~ pubhsh curves and graphs, illustrating, for
example, the increase of population in any given
country or the growth of the average citizen from
infancy to old age. While not a single graph
adorns this rather bulky volume, it is none the
less an authentic and absorbingly human docu-
ment, recording the mental development and
stirring history of one of the greatest naturalists
that America has yet produced.

The hero of this work largely tells his own story
by letters that he wrote at first to his father.

mother, and sisters, later to his wife, his daughter,
and one of his scientific friends, who is also the
author of the biography. This material is so well
arranged and classified that the reader easily
follows the many-sided life story almost from
infancy onward.

In 1847, when hewas seven years old, the young
naturalist was taken by his kindly Quaker father
on a seven-day sea voyage from Philadelphia to
Boston. Among other charmingly direct and
vivid entries is the following:

"2nd day. Today some whale killers came
near. They are large black fish and they blow
water out of their heads. Some of them have
white spots on their sides. One came alongside
of the vessel. The captain ran and got a harpoon
to catch one, but it was too late, they had all
swam away."

Below this is a spirited drawing of a grampus,
half-turned over above the waves, with one
flipper pointing upward. We follow young
Cope through his experiences at an excellent
Quaker boarding-school: "I thank thee," he
writes to his father, "very much for the figs,
almonds & other good things which thee very
kindly gave me. . . . Please give me some
Envelopes. Farewell. Please give me some
wafers."

There are several explanations of low marks in
conduct and apologies for mistakes in his last
letters. Also :

"Thee talks about 'miserable goodies'; by
goodies I dont mean candy, cakes, pies &c
(though I confess they dont appear to do any
harm), but crackers, figs, walnuts, shelbarks, &
the like. If I, who have just eaten 3 big pieces of
pie & drunk a porringer of milk, cant bear" these,
I must be rather a strange boy. On pie night at
supper I never stop under 2 pieces of pie & a
Westtown piece is about 6 inches long by 4 wide
at the top by % inch thick & yet with all that I
am as well as could be. . . . That Quarter dollar
is not gone by any means, I only began to ask
soon as I thought some more might be hard
to get. ..."

This at twelve. But at fourteen, after two
seasons' work on a farm, we read this:

"I brought with me the little book of Ruschen-
berger's on Entomology that thee gave me.
There are two other volumes of the series viz.
Ornithology & Herpetology & Icthyology which
I should like to have very much so that I might
know something more about the birds & snakes &
fishes that abound here; — that is, if thee thinks
right, or if it is convenient or proper. I should
think from the looks of the Entomology that they

NOTES

451

were quite cheap, hut perhaps I am mistaken.
At any rate I dont want to ask too much. . . ."

In one of the biographer's brief l)ut illuminating
interhides we learn that Alfred Cope, the father
of the youns naturalist, "did his best to educate
him as a practical farmer. Edward dutifully
responded to this plan between the years 1856
and 1860, when his father finally yielded to his
strong intellectual predisposition for a scientific
career and permitted his first studies under
Joseph Leidy, the leading anatomist and pakc-
ontologist of the time. With great affection,
foresight, and liberality, Alfred Cope provided
his son with the best literature, the best of con-
temporary culture, and finally a most influential
journey abroad, during which Edward not only
seized every opportunity to meet the distin-
guished anatomists and naturalists of the day but
visited all the museums and institutions, which
were so far in advance of America at that time,
and enriched his mind with the advanced civiliza-
tion and art of Europe. No formal college or
university education could compare with this."

Fortunately for his biographer, diu'ing this
long transition and highly influential period he
was away from the home that he loved and had
the gift of WTiting in great detail and in a most
charming and witty style of his observations and
experiences. Of this period we may stop long
enough to pluck this gem from Cope's letters to
his father:

" . . . As a member of the zoological society
I have become acquainted with many members as
Sclater, Wallace, the East Indian and Brazilian
traveller Bates, just out in a book on the Amazon,
and Salvin just returned from Guatemala. It is
however a different thing from an equivalent
party of Germans at a kneipe: here there is quiet
endeavour after the inviolable and unutterable
majesty of the gentleman, there all is brother-
hood and nature. ..."

Meanwhile Cope was fairly launched on his
great career as a naturaUst. By the time he was
twenty-two years of age he had already published
no less than thirty-one papers on the classifica-
tion of the snakes, hzards, and batrachians.
Dr. G. Kingsley Noble, curator of the depart-
ment of herpetology of the American Museum of
Natural History, summarizes Cope's contribu-
tions to this subject as follows:

"Herpetology was Cope's first scientific love
and remained a field of active research through-
out his productive Mfe. His monumental
Batrachia of North America (1889), and his The
Crocodilians, Lizards and Snakes of North
America (1900) are the standard te.xts of Ameri-
can herpetology. to which every serious student

of American reptiles and amphibians must turn.
Cope described many species of reptiles and
amphibians new to science, but it was chiefly
his major classifications which brought the great-
est advance to herpetology. In these phylo-
genetic studies he displayed a jirofound knowledge
of the anatomy of reptiles and amphibians, and
the conclusions which he reached were often
revolutionarj'."

As to his writings on living and extinct fishes,
the curator of the department of fishes in the
same Museum writes thus:

"... His labors in ichthyology alone, as
recorded in one hundred and twenty-five titles,
would suffice to establish the reputation of an
ordinarily industrious ichthyologist, and yet we
find that collectively they were but a tithe of his
wTitings, as his vast bibliography lists one
thousand, three hundred and ninety-five titles!
Ichthj'ology was neither his first nor his chief
field, and while, as we have seen, his contribu-
tions to the major classification of the fishes
were remarkable both for their boldness and
originality and for their wide influence, especially
in American ichthyology, they were neither so
numerous nor so fundamental as his contribu-
tions to herpetology and to mammalian pale-
ontology. We realize accordingly that Cope was
a veritable titan of the natural sciences."

As to Cope's contributions to mammalogy,
the excellent bibliographies prepared under
Professor Osborn's direction supply us with the
fact that Cope was the author of no less than
three hundred and eleven papers and notes on
Uving and fossil mammals betw"een the years
1862 and 1897, besides which were papers on
fossil faunas, many of which dealt largely with
mammals. Thus he made known to the world an
immense number of extinct species of mammals,
many of which were of great importance in the
story of Ufe in North America. This quantita-
tive aspect of the subject, however, is perhaps
purposely not stressed by the author of the
biograph}', who dwells rather on the generaliza-
tions regarding the evolution of the mammals
that Cope endeavored to establish. Of these the
greatest and most enduring were undoubtedly
first, the "law of trituberculy," that all later
types of molar teeth in mammals have originated
in modifications of the tritubercular molars of
the mammals of the basal Eocene, and second,
the generalization that the hoofed orders of
mammals have arisen from the clawed types of
Creodonts (primitive flesh-eaters) and In-
sectivora (primitive insectivorous mammals).
These, Professor Osborn regards as "the great
generalizations which establish Cope's historical

452

NATURAL HISTORY

position in Mammalian Palaeontology. These are
the mountain peaks, the points where explora-
tion and discovery were followed by happy
inspiration, in a chain of contributions which
includes his exposition of the faunal succession
of the mammals from the base to the summit of
the Tertiary, as well as two or three discoveries
of great interest in the Cretaceous."

Of great human interest is the story of Cope's
struggles to obtain enough money for his fossil-
hunting expeditions through extensive field work
in search of mineral wealth, and of his financial
straits through unfortunate investment in mining
properties.

Rather sad reading is the story of the great
rivalry and scientific warfare of Professors Marsh
and Cope, which proved almost ruinous to Cope's
position and damaging to the reputation of
Marsh. And sombre is the story of Cope's last
illness and untimely demise. At the Quaker
funeral in 1897 the spirit finally moved his
friend, the author of this biography, to read some
excerpts from the book of Job, in which the
wonders of nature and their challenge to man's
feeble intellect are set forth in language of epic
grandeur. "Such were the problems," com-
mented Professor Osborn, "to which our friend
devoted his life."

Here then is a biography that is worthy of a
master naturalist in a century of great scientists.
The patient preparation of this book over a long
period of years has been a labor of love on the
part of Cope's friend and successor, who de-
fended Cope during his life and developed his
great generalizations after his death. — W. K. G.

ANTARCTIC WHALING

Whalhif/ in the AntnrcHc. By A. G. Bennett. Black-
wood, Edinburgh & London, 1931.

"Southern Whaling." By Sidney F. Harmer. Proo.
Linn. Soc. London, Session 142, pp. 85-163, London,
1931.

TPWO men who are particularly qualified to
■'■ speak of a subject with such great implica-
tions for all lovers of nature have recently pub-
lished works relating to southern whaling.
Although their productions are of quite different
scope, one being technical and statistical, the
other descriptive and popular, the authors have,
nevertheless, a community of sympathy and
purpose. They have, in fact, been in close con-
tact with each other, and have mutually sub-
mitted their respective findings during the course
of many years.

As representative of the British Colonial
Office in the Dependencies of the Falkland
Islands, Mr. A. G. Bennett, long a correspondent
of the American Museum, has had thirteen years'

experience in southern whaling. Upon such a
basis he has written an extraordinarily vivid and
accurate account of the gigantic exploitation
that has developed along the edge of the Ant-
arctic ice fields since the beginning of the present
century. To date some 200,000 whales have been
captured in the waters of the Far South, and a
further 20,000 lost after being struck with the
bomb harpoon.

Mr. Bennett traces the history of modern
whaling-gear since the successful experiments of
Svend Foyn, whose original apparatus has under-
gone modification rather than change. The outfit
used today is highly complicated, whether in-
tended for the shore factory or for the pelagic
factory; in the latter case everything must be
contained within large vessels built or adapted
for this work. Three or four hunting steamers
provide the prey, and the slaughter goes merrily
ahead, the only redeeming feature being that
nowadays an honest effort is made to utilize the
entire carcass of every whale, down to the last
scrap.

Very vivid and informing are the author's
notes on the zoology of whales, their migrations,
food, and breeding habits. His descriptions of
the hard life in Antarctic seas, of the everyday
living at shore stations or on pelagic steamers, of
the breath-taking details of whale hunting, and
of all the small but important exigencies that
tend to keep the life interesting for men of the
right temperament, are extremely well told.

The author's ideas of the bygone pelagic sperm
whaling have obviously been acquired second-
hand, for his brief resume is faulty in several
particulars. Moreover, he is not quite correct
in stating that no book has dealt with the modern
industry, because several excellent accounts in
book form have appeared during the last two
decades. Nevertheless, Mr. Bennett's work rests
upon a broader and deeper authority than any
of the others. It gives a correspondingly valu-
able picture of present conditions and of the
prospects. Three of the final chapters, devoted
to other creatures of the Antarctic, furnish a
useful and highly original compendium on the
seals and sea-birds.

Sir Sidney F. Harmer, formerly director of the
British Museum (Natural History), returns regu-
larly to the biological and conservational prob-
lems involved in modern whaling. In his presi-
dential address before the Linnean Society of
London, he now presents an analysis of recent
data from the Far South, and comes to the con-
clusion that events may fairly be described as
alarming in that they foreshadow a depletion of
the stock of whales within a short period of years.

NOTES

453

Sir Sidney, like Mr. Bennett, strcRses the enor-
mous Rommercial projects which have culminated
in such floatinK factories as the "Kosmos," a
vessel of over 22,000 tons, with a length of 550
and a beam of 77 feet. Into the howels of such
ships the whales captured by the chasers can be
hauled entire, subsec|\iently to 1)0 cut up and
rendered in high i)ressure steam boilers. The
"Kosmos" has a capacity of 135,000 barrels, or
22,500 tons of oil. Her cateh during the season
of 1929-30 represented about 1400 whales, the
operations of two average days exceeding the
entire season's production of the first type of
whaling factory that worked in the Antarctic.

Norwegian whaling preponderates increasingly
over that of the rest of tho world, and now com-
prises more than two-thirds of the total. Ant-
arctic whaling accounts for nearly 87 per cent of
the products, and the destruction of whales has
been extended so rapidly, since floating factories
began to supersede shore stations, that the whale-
men themselves are at length becoming concerned.
Hitherto such anxiety has been confined mainly
to those who regard the future of the great whales
as a question of biological and ethical importance.

By a detailed study of statistics available from
all sources, and the reduction of many of them to
graphic form. Sir Sidney has presented a wealth
of information concerning the life history and
migrations of whales. His data reveal, for in-
stance, the periodic movements of most of the
important species. The times of these respective
migrations do not coincide, but rather follow one
another in orderly sequence. These differences
are shown to be largely due to ecological distinc-
tions caused by the annual cycle of the melting
of south polar ice and the subsequent increase of
special food supplies, or even to causes more
directly dependent upon temperature. As an
example of the latter, it is stated that the newlj'
born young of blue whales and fin whales have
extremely thin blubber, which may account for
the fact that these ice-loving species retire to
warmer seas for the birth of their offspring. In
contrast with this condition, the young of the
bowhead, the narwhal, and the white whale, all of
which breed in cold water of North Polar oceans,
are born with exceptionally thick blubber. It is
probable that adult whales in good condition are
not directly affected by water temperature,
whether warm or cold, and that they select their
respective ranges rather because of the nature of
the food to which they are best adapted. At any
rate, a table of distribution shows that a few of
the warmth-loving sperm whales each year enter
the icy waters of both West Antarctica and Ross
Sea. In the former locality 29 sperm whales were

killed during the sea-soii of 1928-29 ae against
9,179 blue whales, 3,502 fin whales, 411 sei whales
and 10 humpbacks.

The data show, furthermore, a constantly de-
creasing number of blue whales of more than 90
feet in length and, indeed, of large-sized whales of
any species. The blue whale must reach a length
of 75 or more feet before becoming sexually ma-
ture, and the steady decrease in the average size
of whales constitutes one of the most serious
forebodings not only of the end of the industry,
but al.so of a perilous reduction in the breeding
stock of the mightiest of all creatures. — R. C. M.

A MONG the many and varie<i (juestions
^ ^ which we are asked concerning the study of
insects arc those relating to books and magazines
for people who are just entering this interesting
and important field.

Of magazines there is, unfortunately, none.
The entomological periodicals published bj"
"amateur" societies are really professional in
character, because the distinction between an
advanced amateur entomologist and a profes-
sional one is largely a matter of source of income.
Many an amateur is more proficient than the
average professional and the Ijeginner has no
magazine devoted to the rudiments of his hobby.

The situation as to books is not quite so bad,
and the purpose of this note is to call attention to
several rather recent ones, without, however,
attempting to exhaust the field.

Scribners have just issued a revised edition of
Mrs. Robertson-Miller's Butterfly and Moth
Book. This, first published about twenty years
ago, records the failures as well as the successes
of a "butterfly lady" in rearing her pets from egg
to adult. In this connection we should mention
another somewhat similar book that has for years
been a standard with amateurs who are interested
in the life-histories of motlis. It is Caterpillars
and Their Moths by Ida M. EUot and Caroline
G. Soule, published by the Century Company.

One of the recent additions to the Putnam
Field Book series is Miss Ann H. Morgan's Field
Book of Ponds and Streams: An Introduction to
the Life of Fresh Water. It touches on all the
aquatic groups from plants and protozoa to
frogs but, of course, this range includes insects
and some of the most interesting insects are
aquatic.

About six years ago an Englishman, Dr. A. D.
Imms, published a wonderfully good General
Textbook of Entomology including the Anatomy,
Physiology, Development and Classification of
Insects. Parts of this book are as technical as its
title suggests, but there is much in it for the be-
ginner, and it gives a world-wide survey of the

454

NATURAL HISTORY

subject. Although the first edition is still J'oung,
a revised edition giving several pages of "Ad-
denda" was published in 1930, and this year
Blakiston's Son and Co. have published Recent
Advances in Entomology by the same author.
This contains a great deal of very interesting
material, together with copious references to the
scattered literature. It is a "reading book"
for mature minds that have had at least some
training in science.

Finally, for the present, are two histories of
entomology. One is Thomas Say, Early American
Naturalist by Harry B. Weiss and Grace M.
Ziegler, published by Chas. C. Thomas; the
other is A History of Applied Entomology {some-
what Anecdotal) by Dr. L. O. Howard, pubhshed
by the Smithsonian Institution.

On glacing over this short list of relatively re-
cent books one feels guilty because of the omis-
sions. " Of the making of books there is no end,"
and, when attempting to gather together the
scattered hterature on some subject, one is
tempted to feel the same way about periodicals.
However, there really should be some magazine
devoted to the interests of real beginners.

— F. E. LuTZ.

nPHE second volume of the Final Reports of
■^ the Central Asiatic Expedition "The
Permian of Mongolia" by Dr. A. W. Grabau
was issued early in the year, and complimentary
copies have been forwarded to the Geological
Survey of China and to Dr. W. H. Wong, director
of the Survey. Various authors are working on
other volumes of this series, and Doctor Andrews,
who is now in Peking, writes that he is preparing,
for the Narrative Volume, the story of the 1930
exploration, which proves to have been one of the
most profitable of the Expedition's five trips into
the Gobi.

ERRATUM
A N error in transmission of the original cable
■^^ message from Mr. James L. Clark of the
O'DonneU-Clark African Expedition caused
Natural History Magazine to state in the
May-June number that the Expedition had
secured five bull and five cow elands for the
American Museum group. The message should
have read, "a fine thirty-five inch bull and fine
cow secured." The Expedition altogether se-
cured only two specimens of this species.

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Series of illustrated lectures held on alternate Thursday evenings in the autumn and spring of

the year are open only to members or to those holding tickets given them by members.

In addition to these lectures, illustrated stories for the children of members are presented on

alternate Saturday mornings in the autumn and in the spring.

MEMBERS' CLUB ROOM AND GUIDE SERVICE
A handsome room on the third floor of the Museum, equipped with every convenience for rest,
reading, and correspondence, is set apart during Museum hours for the exclusive use of members
when visiting the Museum. Members are also privileged to avail themselves of the services ot an
instructor for guidance.

SCIENCE O^ MUSEJM M RESEARCH

EDUCATION V?i N>jIK^ M exploration

pXTIETH ANNIVERSARY ENDOWMENT FUND. Already, §2,500,000 has been
contributed to this $10,000,000 fund, opened in Januarj-, 1929, to commemorate the Six-
tieth Anniversary of the Founding of the American Museum of Natural Historj' and to
further the growth of its worid-wide acti^'ities in Exploration, Research, Preparation,
Exhibition, Pubhcation, and Education. Committees are now engaged in seeking the $7,500,000
which remains to be contributed. It is greatly to be desired that this fund, so vital to the scien-
tific and educational progress of the Museum, shall reach completion at an earlj- date.

EXPEDITIONS from the American Museum are constanth' in the field, gathering infonnation
in many odd corners of the world. During 1930, thirty-four expeditions visited scores of different
parts of North, South, and Central America, of Europe, Asia, Africa, and Polynesia. New e.xpe-
ditions are constant^ going into the field as others are returning with their work completed, or
in order to digest material gathered preparatorj- to beginning new studies.

SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS of the Museum, based on its explorations and the study
of its collections, include the Memoirs, devoted to monographs requiring large or fine illustrations
and exhaustive treatment; the Bulletin, issued in octavo form since ISSl, dealing with the scientific
acti^^ties of the departments except for the department of anthropology'; the Anthropological
Papers, which record the work of the department of anthropologj-; and Noviiaies, which are devoted
to the publication of preliminary' scientific announcements, descriptions of new forms, and similar
matter.

POPULAR PUBLICATIONS, as weU as scientific ones, come from the American Museum
Press, which is housed within the Museum itseU. In addition to Naturai Histokt
Magazine, the journal of the American Museum, the popular pubhcations include many hand
books, which deal with subjects Olustrated by the collections, and guide leaflets which describe
individual exhibits or series of exhibits that are of especial interest or importance. These are all
available at purety nominal cost to anyone who cares for them.

THE LIBRARY of the American Museum is available for those interested in scientific re-
search or study on natural history subjects. It contains 115,000 volumes, and for the at-eommo-
dation of those who wish to us^e this storehouse of knowledge, a well-equipped and well-manned
reading room is pro's'ided. The LIBRARY may be called upon for detailed lists of both popular
and scientific pubhcations with their prices.

COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY SERVICE. Tl.e President of the Museum and the Cura-
tor of Pubhc Education are con-stantly extending and intensifying the courses of college and uni-
versity instruction. Among some of the institutions with which the Museum is cooperating are
Columbia University, New York University, CoUege of the City of New York, Hunter College,
University of Vermont, Lafaj»ette CoUege, Yale Universitj', and Rutgers College.

PtTBLIC AND NORMAL SCHOOL SERVICE. The increased facihties offered by this
department of the Museum make it possible to augument greatly the Museum's work, not only in
New York City public schools, but also throughout the United States. More than 22,500,000 con-
tacts were made with boys and girls in the schools of Greater New York alone, and educational
institutions in more than thirty states took advantage of the Museum's free film service during 1930.
Inquiries from all over the United States, and even from many foreign countries are constantly
coming to the school service "department. Thousands of lantern shdes are prepared at cost for
distant educational Institutions, and the American Museum, because of this and other phases of
its work, can more and more be considered not a local but a national — even an international —
institution.

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

77th STREET and CENTRAL PARK WEST
NEW YORK, N. Y.

SCIENTIFIC STAFF fContinuedj

Living and Extinct Flnhes
William K. GiiEaoRY, Pn.D,, Curator-in-Chief*
John T. Nichols, A.B., Curator of Recent FieheB
E, W. GaoaBn, Ph.D., BiblioKrapher and Abeociato
Francbbca R. LaMonte, A.B., AsHintant Curator
Chahleb H, Townsend, Sc.D,, Retioarch Aaaociate
C. M, Bredbu, Jn., Research Aaaociato
LouiH HussAKOF, Ph.D., Research ABSociato in Devonian

Fishee
Van Campen Heilnbr, M.Sc, Field Representative

♦Also Research Associate in PalieontoloKy and Associate
in Physical Anthropology

Amphibians and Reptiles, and ^Experimental
Biology

G. Kinqsley Noble, Ph.D., Curator
Clifford H. Pope, B.S., Assiatant Curator ■
Helen Teale Bradley, A.B., Stafi" Assistant
Leah B. Richards, M.A., Stall Assistant
Bertram G. Smith, Ph.D., Research Associate
William Douglas Burden, A. M., Research Associate
Frank S. Mathews, M.D., Research Associate
Homer W. Smith, Sc.D., Research Associate
O. M. Helff, Ph.D., Research Associate

Anthropology (Cent.)

Geor«e C. Vaillant, I'h.D., AKftociate Curator of Mexican
Archujology

Harry L. Siiapiho, Ph.D.. AitBociatc Curator of Physical
Anthropology

Margaret Mkad, Ph.D.. AuiistuDt Curator of Ethnology

Clarence L. Hay, A.M., Reitearch Associate in Mexican
and Central American Archtcology

MiLO Hkllman, D.D.S., Research Associate in Physical
Anthropology

Geouoe E. Breweii, M,D.. I,I..D., Jlesearch Aaaociate in
Somatic Anthropology.

Ronald L. Olhon. I'h.D., Rcf*oar<h .Associate in Peru-
vian Archusology

Asiatic Exploration and Research
Roy Chapman Andrkwh, .Sc.D.. CuruLor-in-Chief
Walter Grangbr, Curator in I'alu'ontology
Charles P. Berkey. Ph.D., Si .D., [Columbia University],

Research Associate in Geology
Amadeus W. Gradau. S.D.. [National Geological Survey

of China), Research Associato
PfeRE Trilhakd de Chardin [National Geological Survey of

Chinal, Research Aissooiatp in Mammalian PaUeontology

Birds

Frank M. Chapman, Sc.D., Curator-in-Chief

Robert Cushman Murphy, D.Sc, Curator of Oceanic

Birds
Jambs P. Chapin, Ph.D., Associate Curator of Birds of the

Eastern Hemisphere
John T. Zimmer, B.S., M.A., Associate Curator of Birds

of the Western Hemisphere
Elsie M. B. Naumburg, Research Associate

Mammals of the World

H. E. Anthony, M.A., Curator

Robert T. Hatt, A.M., Assistant Curator

George G. Goodwin, Assistant Curator

G. H. H. Tate. B.S. Assistant Curator of South A

Mammals
William J. Morden, Ph.B., Field Associate

Comparative and Human Anatomy

K. Gregory, Ph.D., Curator
H. C. Raven, Associate Curator
S. H. Chubb, Associate Curator
Marcellb Roigneau, Staff Assistant in Comparative

Anatomy
J. Howard McGregor, Ph.D., Research Associate in

Human Anatomy
Dudley J. Morton, M.D., Research Associate

Anthropology

Clark Wissler, Ph.D., LL.D., Curator-in-Chief

N.^C. Nelson, M.L., Curator of Prehistoric Archieology

Preparation and Exhibition

James L. Clark, Vice-Director (In Charge)
Aldert E. Birji.KR, .-Vssociate Chief

EDUCATION. LIBKAEY AND

PUBLICATION STAFF

Education

George H. Sherwood, Ed.D., Curator-in-Chief

Clyde Fisher, Ph.D.. LL.D., Curator of University.

College, and Adult Education
Grace Fisher Ramsey, Associate Curator
William H. Carr, Assista.nt Curator
Dorothy A. Bennett, A.B., Staff Assistant
Paul B. Mann, A.M., Associate in Education
Frank E. Lutz, Ph.D., Research Associate in Outdoor

Education

Library and Publications

Ida Richardson Hood, A.M., Curator
Hazel Gay, Assistant Librarian

Jannette M.\y Lucas, B.S., Assistant Librarian — Osborn
Library

Printing and Publishing

Hawthorne Daniel, Curator, Editor of Natural History
A. Katherine Berger, Associate Editor of Natural

History
Ethel J. Timonier, Associate Editor of Scientific Publica-
tions

Public and Press Information

George N. Pindar, Chairman

Entered as second-class matter April 3, 1919, at the Post Office
at New York, New York, under the Act of August 24, 1912.

Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in
Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized on July 15, 1918.

BLAZING THE TRAIL

RARELY has Natural History Magazine
been so fortunate as it is in preparing the il-
lustrations for the September-October number, in
which a score or more of original paintings of East
Indians wiU be reproduced. A result of eighteen
months of intensive work on the part of Mr.
Hubert Stowitts in painting the, disappearing
native types of India, these works of art, which
recently were on display at the American Mu-
seum, form an important
and a beautiful record of
the life of the East.

ANOTHER, and a very
. different, account of
the East, has been pre-
pared for the next number
by Dr. I. Wyman Drum-
mond in collaboration
with Mr. Herbert P.
Whitlock. In no place in
the world is the art of the
lapidary more remarkably
developed than in China
and Japan. Carved jade,
carved crystal, and many
other carved semi-pre-
cious stones, besides, of
course, carved ivory and
carved amber, form some
of the most beautiful of
the artistic work of the
East, and it is ot these,
and of the patient artists
who carve them, that
Doctor Drummond and
Mr. Whitlock have writ-
ten. The illustrations are
from the extraordinary
collection that Doctor
Drummond, during a long
period of years, has
brought together.

AFTER an eleven months sojourn on the
L Congo River, Dr. James P. Chapin has re-
cently returned to the American Museum, and
the September-October number will present the
first of two articles on his work there. Almost
single-handed, owing to an injury suffered by his
associate, Franklin Edson, 3d, Doctor Chapin
gathered an enormous collection of material for a
new bird group ultimately to be set up in the
Museum.

IT is not invariably possible to do all that we
plan, and because we made an announcement
before an article that was scheduled had actually
materialized, it is now necessary for us to apolo-
gize for its non-appearance. Captain J. F. Hell-
weg, superintendent of the United States Naval
Observatory, was prevented, by a rush of official
work, from completing the article on the Ob-
servatory that was announced as coming in this
number. We are glad to state that it will make
its appearance in the next issue.

THE COVER OF THIS ISSUE

A HOWLER Monkey of Pan-
ama," the subject of the cover
for this issue of Natural HisTORr,
was painted by Francis L. Jaques,
of the American Museum staff of
artists.

By virtue not alone of his voice,
but by his character as well, the
howhng monkey is the dominant
personalit}' of a tropical American
forest. His appalhng vociferations
bespeak so fierce a nature that were
he terrestrial one would not venture
to enter his haunts unarmed.
Doubtless his bite does not match
his reverberating, roaring bark, but
so rarely does he leave his home in
the highest trees and so soon does he
die in captivity, that few naturahsts
have been permitted to look an adult
howUng monkey in the face. The
artist, therefore, who would paint
his portrait must draw freely on his
imagination. Form and pose he can
get accurately, but the black,
saturnine countenance of this largest
of American monkeys is still un-
familiar to us.

READERS of Natural History Magazine
will recall several articles that have been
written by Mr. R. T. Hatt, of the American Mu-
seum's department of mammalogy. The last of
these was called " Collector's Days and Nights in
Yucatan," and an earlier article that attracted
more than a httle dehghted comment was "The
Odyssey of a Ground Squirrel." Now Mr. Hatt
has written an article on how various animals
prepare for winter. It may
be that we are slightly pre-
mature in planning to pub-
hsh such an article in the
September-October num-
ber, but certainly our more
northern readers will have
felt a little of the crispness
of coming winter before
October has passed, and
their interest in the subject
may thereby be enhanced.

IN view of the plans
that are being made for
the Pacaraima-Venezuela
Expedition, as announced
in the last number of Nat-
ural History, it is fit-
ting that we should be
able to pubUsh an article
on another expedition
that has already taken one
of the leaders of the com-
ing expedition into Vene-
zuela. Mr. G. H. H.
Tate, who is to be As-
sistant Leader and Mam-
malogist of the coming
expedition, has written an
article on his expedition to
Mt. Turumiquire, in Ven-
ezuela. This will appear
in the following number.

THE very fine work the Mexican govern-
ment is doing to conserve the wonders of its
historic past will be described by Dr. George C.
Vaillant in the September-October issue. He
will also describe the New Middle American
architectural models recently acquired by the
American Museum.

TEN years after his passing, John Burroughs
still lives in the hearts of his friends and ad-
mirers. In the next issue. Dr. Clyde Fisher will
recount some of his delightful associations with
Burroughs, the beloved naturalist of "Slabsides."

AFTER many months sojourn among the
L natives of Melanesia, Dr. Margaret Mead
brought back with her a history of these people,
their manner of living, their customs, and occupa-
tions. These wiU be depicted in a miniature group
at the American Museum, and in the next issue.
Miss Dorothy Edwards of the editorial staff of
Natural History will tell the story of this Mu-
seum model.

I STORY

Vol. XXXI, No. 5

1931

Sept. -Oct.

A HINDU GYPSY OF THE NATH TRIBE

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN
MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Fifty Cents
a Copy

NEW YORK, N. Y.

Three Dollars
a Year

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

FOUNDED IN 1869

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Henbt Fairfield Osbokn, President
Clevelamd Eael Dodge
Lincoln Ellsworth
Childs Frick
Madison Gkaut
Chacncey J. Hamlin
Archer M. Huntington
Ogden L. Mills
Junius Spencer Morgan, Jr.
A. Perhv Osborn

Fiist Vice-President
J. P. Morgan, Second Vice-President
James H. Perkins, Treasurer
Clarence L. Hay, Secretary
George F. Baker, Jr.
George T. Bowdoin
Frederick F. Brewster
William Douglas Burden
Suydam Cutting
Frederick Trubee Davison

James J. Walker, IMayor op the City op New York
Charles W. Berbt, Comptroller of the City op New York
Walter R. Hersick, Commissioner op the Department op p!rk,
"George F. Baker, formerly First Vice-President, deceased May i, 1931

Daniel E. Pomeroy
George D. Pratt

H. RrV'INGTON Pyne

A. Hamilton Rice

Keemit Roosevelt

Henry W. Sage

Leonard C. Sanford

William K. Vanderbilt

Felix M, Warburg

Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

George H. Sherwood, Director and Executive Secretary
Roy Chapman Andrews, Vice-Director (In Clwr.., „f F i "^""^""^^ „

James L. Clark Vicc-DircctorfTn r), ,1 Exploration and Research)

Frederick H. Smyth, Bursar ■^^^i.

Francis Bushell, Assistant Bursar George N. Pindar, Registrar

H. F. Beers, Chief of Construction ' Ethel L. Newman, Assistant Registrar

J. B. Foulke, Superintendent of Buildings ^: '' '^''"'""' °'"' ^°^'°^«'

SCIENTIFIC STAFF

Henry Fairfield Osborn, D.Sc, LL.D., President
■ George H. Sherwood, Ed.D., Director

^ZZ^r^"'"'\f''-^-r:- ^'"^-Di^'^ot" (I- Charge of Exploration and Research)
James L. Clark, Vice-Director (In Charge of Preparation and Exhibition)

DEPARTMENTAL STAFFS
Astronomy

Clyde Fisher, Ph.D., LL.D., Curator

Minerals and Gems

Herbert P. Whitlock, C.E., Curator
George F. Kunz, Ph.D., Research Associate ii

L Gems

Honorary

Fossil Vertebrates

Henry Fairfield Osborn, D.Sc, LL.D.,

Curator-in-Chief
Childs Frick, B.S., Honorary Curator of late Tertiary and

Quaternary Mammals
Walter Granger, Curator of Fossil Mammals
Barnom Brown, A.B., Curator of Fossil Reptiles
G. G. Simpson, Ph.D., Associate Curator of Vertebrate

Palteontology
Charles C. Mook, Ph.D., Associate Curator of Geology

and Palaeontology
Rachel A. Husband, A.M., Staff Assistant
Walter W. Holmes, Field Associate in Paleontology

Geology and Fossil Invertebrates

Chester A. Reeds, Ph.D., Curator

Living Invertebrates

Roy Waldo Miner, Ph.D., Sc.D Curator
WiLLARD (3 Van Name, Ph.D., Associate Curator
Frank J. Myers, Research Associate in Rotifera
Horace W. Stunkard, Ph.D., Research Associate in

Jrarasitology
A. L. Treadwell, Ph.D., Research Associate in Annulata

Insect Life

Frank E. Lutz, Ph.D., Curator

A. J^ Mutchler, Associate Curator of Coleoptera

C. H. CuBRAN, M.S., Assistant Curator

Frank E. Watson, B.S., Staff Assistant in Lepidoptera

W lliam M Wheeler, Ph.D., LL.D., Research Associate

in bocial Insects
Charles W^Leng, B.Sc, Research Associate in Coleoptera
Herbert F. Schwarz, A.M., Research Associate in

Hymenoptera

VOLUME XXXI IN /v 1 U rv/v L SEPT.-OCT.

NuMBEii f) T I ¥ ^ ""T/^^ D X/" ''^'*^

The Journal of The American Museum of Natural History

Hawthorne Daniel ^bA^^M ^' Catherine Berger

Editor maJ^IH^Iv Associate Editor

CONTENTS

Hindu Gypsy of the Nath Tribe Cover

From a Painting by Hubert Stowitta (See Page -450)

A Rampur Holy Man Frontispiece

From a Painting by Hubert Sto\vitt3

Vanishing India 459

A Series of Paintings by Hubert Stowitts Depicting the True India

Up THE Congo To Lukolela James P. Chapin 474

The Site Chosen tor a West African Bird Group in the American Museum

The United States Naval Observatory Capt. Frederick Hellweg 488

The History of One of the World's Leading Observatories

With John Borroughs at Slabsides Clvde Fisher 500

Recollections of the Famous Poet-Naturalist and His Mountain Retreat Near Riverby

Modern Methods of Carving Jade Herbert P. Whitlock 511

The Art of the Chinese Lapidary of Today

When Winter Comes to the Mammal World Robert T. Hatt 519

How Warm-blooded Animals That Live in Variable Climates Survive the Cold Months

Enlivening the Past George C. Vaillant 530

Models of Four Ancient Temples from Middle America in the American Museum

The Ascent of Mount Turumiquire George H. H. Tate 539

The First Ascent of the Hub of the Mountainous Portion of Venezuela Adjoining Trinidad

A Miniature Melanesia Dorothy L. Edwards 549

A New Exhibition Model at the American Museum Which Depicts the Life of the Manus

American Museum Expeditions and Notes 558

Published bimonthly by The American Museum of Natural History, New York, N. Y. Sub-
scription price $3 a year.

Subscriptions should be addressed to James H. Perkins, Treasurer, American Museum of Natural •
History, 77th St. and Central Park West, New York, N. Y.

Natural History is sent to all members of the American Museum as one of the privileges of member-
ship.
\^ CopjTight, 1931, by The American Museum of Natural History, New York.

A RAMPUR HOLY MAN

He is very much respected by the people of the whole

country-side, who flock to tell their troubles to him

and profit by his advice and wisdom

See "Vanishing India,'' Page 459

VOl.UMJ']
XXXI

NATURAL
HISTORY

SEPTEMBER-OCT( )I5 J.:k, ] 9.3 1

N U M B E R
FIVE

VANISHING INDIA

The True India Which Has Escaped Occidental Influence Is Depicted

by Hubert Stowitts in a Series of Ethnographic

Paintings Executed in Fresco Secco, from Life

NOW and then an individual appears
who has the wit to see. The fact
is widely accepted, but is seldom
stated, and we are prone to think of
seers as men of the distant past, almost
lost in' the mists of time. Yet the paint-
ings that make up this series of illustra-
tions of the India that is passing are the
work of such a man.

For a generation or more, hardly a
visitor has returned from British India
who has not at least commented on the
fact that " Europeanization " is going on
apace in that ancient land. Yet until now
no one has thought to make a pictorial
record of that which seems, today, to be
so rapidly fading into the past. Why this
should be so it is difficult to say, except,
of course, that often the most obvious is
the least seen.

It is interesting that Hubert Stowitts
should have seen the importance of the
task where others have failed to do so.
It is another of those demonstrations of
individuality, perhaps,— the individuality
of thought and purpose and action that
makes the world so much more interest-
ing than it would otherwise be.

Born in Nebraska, which seems to be
almost as distant from India as any corner
of the globe — a student of economics at

the University of California, which sug-
gests few connections with the imeconomic
East — for a time Pavlowa's premier
dancing partner, appearing in the great
and very modern cities of South America,
which again suggests no interest in the
almost voiceless millions of the heated
Indian plains and jungles, Mr. Stowitts
still somehow saw the need for what he
has so ably done.

Beginning his work in Java, he has felt
impelled to carry it on in other portions
of the East. The pictures reproduced
here have been chosen from among the
scores he put on canvas during eighteen
months in India in 1929 and 1930. And
as this article appears, the artist is once
more on his way to those lands that he
"east of Suez," this time to continue
his chosen work on the almost idjdlic
island of Bali.

For ten days during April of this year.
Education Hall, at the American Museum,
was hung with well over a hundred of
these paintings, and it is from this con-
siderable collection that the accompany-
ing reproductions were chosen. It is
unfortunate that these gorgeous represen-
tations of the East cannot be reproduced
in their original colors, and that the limi-
tations of space have precluded the use of

(Continued on Page 473)

TURBAN WEAVER
The weaving indus-
try is slowly dying
out as its place has
been taken by the
enormous industrial
mills. When cloth
is wound for the tur-
bans, a special width
is used, according to
the fashion in which
the turban is to be
tied

COTTON SPINNER
This is the wheel
which Gandhi has
taken as the symbol
of nationalism in In-
dia, and through
which he wishes to
restore India to its
former condition as
the wearer of home-
spun exclusively

COTTON CLEANED
The cotton industry
in India is older than
the time of Herod-
otus. When early
Europeans were still
wearing animal skins,
the Indians had long
been weaving fine
cotton cloth. To re-
move the seed from
the boll, the boll is
put through a wringer

COTTON FLUFFER
By means of an arch-
er's bow, from the
string of which hangs
a sort of harp, a dou-
ble vibration is
caused through
which the cotton is
pickedup and
thrown through the
air to fluff out

COBBLER'S FAMILY
Three generations
making the embroid-
ered shoes of Jaipur
Rajputana. These
shoes are famous all
over the Orient for
beautiful workman-
ship in embroidered
silks and gold thread.
Note how the shoe
is held with the feet
while the sewing is
done with the hands

WORKERS
In northern India
one sees in the mar-
ket places beautifully
decorated pots which
look like enamel.
It is, however, really
sealing wax pressed
into the designs
which have been en-
graved in the brass.
The inside of the ves-
sel is heated just at
the point where the
color is to be applied
on the outside

SHUKAWATA
WOOD CARVER
The finest wood carv-
ers in India are at a
distant village far in
the interior of the
great Indian desert,
where there is not
even one tree, and all
the wood must be
imported. This is
because the patrons
of the wood carvers
are rich bankers and
money lenders who
have stationed them-
selves in the interior
of the desert where
they are immune
from attacks of rob-
bers

LAC TURNER
Table legs and round
boxes and trays are
decorated by revolv-
ing them rapidly and
pressing against the
part to be decorated
a stick of colored lac
or sealing wax. The
heat of the friction
melts the wax and
attaches it to the

wood in layers

HIS HIGHNE SS THE MAHARANA

OF UDAIPUE
His Highness is of the oldest family
known on earth, with an ancestry
traced back to 140 generations be-
yond Agamemnon. Maharana is a
title higher than Maharajah. The
Maharana of Udaipur is descended
from Rama, whose life and adven-
tures are the theme of the great
Indian epic, the Ramayana

SWEEPERS
(UNTOUCHABLES)
This caste, or rather these
outcasts, are the Dravidians
of lower orders which were
found in India when the first
Aryans came, and which the
lawgiver Manu forbade his
Aryan followers to marry.
They have recently had a
number of prophets, who
have gradually raised their
standard of living and their
opportunities for education,
and in the south one finds
them taking responsible
places in the government

PARSI PRIEST, FRANJI
NARINAN OF BARODA
The Parsees came to India
from Persia when the perse-
cuted followers of Zoroaster
were driven out of that country
by the Mohammedans. They
settled in Bombay and have
become the richest merchant
class there. At a wedding the
Parsi priest holds a flower

± ^'

(

'g////

-\ -- -y. -^^ ^-\ r^^^:^'

zi.

N'AGA
MILITARY ASCETIC
The Nagas were a sect founded
300 or more years ago by a
Ijrother of the Maharajahs of
.lodhpur who came to Amber
and lived in a grotto beside
the palace. The cadets of the
noble families were sent to him
to study, and he established
his great military priesthood
in which the bo^'s were taught
the arts of war. The twenty
teachers still alive are the con-
summate type of the finest
characteristics of Rajputana
chivalrv

PRAYER
At the abandoned
Ali Mosque at
Rampur. Old relig-
ions, old customs,
old tools, old tech-
niques, all the pic-
turesque heritage of
the past which is
fast disappearing
from India, are the
themes of the paint-
ings from life made
in India's remote
regions by Mr.
Stowitts, as a per-
manent contribu-
tion to science

POTTERY
PAINTER
The beautiful Del-
hi blue, famous the
world over, before
it goes into the
oven is painted in
designs on the pot-
tery. Its color is
black. It is the fir-
ing which brings
out the blue and
green colors

RAM PUR STATE
ELEPHANT
In all its Rorgeous
trappings, with real
jewels and plates
decorated with em-
eralds, rubies, and
diamonds, and car-
rying a howdah of
gold and silver, this
royal animal is
rarely seen except
on state occasions,
as it has been given
up as a mode of
conveyance and
has been replaced
by the motor car

WOMAN
GRINDING FLOUR
In India flour is not
bought in the ba-
zaar but is ground
each da-\ at home
before the unleav-
ened bread it, made
To a Westerner s
eyes the bread looks
Uke pancakes and
it is cooked m the
same fashion

BALUCHISTAN MOSLEM
FAKIR
Almost all the people in
Baluchistan are of the same
type and wear the same
type of clothing. Their hair
is long and uncut, but very
' well groomed, and their
clothing usually is white
and immaculate

MUNA DAS NO. II
BANDARI, NAWAI
Each one of Mr. Stowitts'
one hundred and fifty paint-
ings shows a different aspect
of the life of the India that
is vanishing. There are por-
traits of types ranging from
the noble Rajput princes to
the lowest pariah sweepers
of the streets; from the Hin-
du Brahman to the muezzin
Mussulman; from the Pa-
than and the Sikh in the
northwest to the aboriginal
from the forests of Tra-
vancore

MOPIAMED KHAN IN
CHAIN MAIL
At the great feasts 500 chain
mail horsemen manoeuvre in
a glittering array. They are
usually all Mohammedans,
even though they are at a
Hindu court, leading one to
believe that chain mail was
brought into India from Persia

inMriiMrtffiFTWBWffi:Tlt»--'''^^r*yfT¥r-tf¥

4^d&l' t^dii,&*-*aC->(

CAPTAIN ABDUL KADIR
KHAN
A. D. C. RampuT of the
Rohilla Pathans, the great
warriors who swept over
northern Asia and India in

the Seventeenth Century.
Mr. Stowitts was fortunate
in obtaining the interest and
cooperation of the native
princes of India and their
entourage, who posed for
him, after which he found
it possible to persuade the
native Indian craftsmen to
allow him to paint their
portraits also

KANIYAN

ASTROLOGER

MUSICIANS

W hen Marco Polo

\ isited the Malabar

( oast, he said that

it was preeminently

a land of astrolo-

sers and it is still

so today. The most

insignificant event

of life is decided

by astrologers

PRECIOUS STONE

CUTTER
By means of j the
emery wheel, pre-
cious stones are cut
either cabochon or
in facets. The stone
is attached to the
end of a stick with
scaling wax, and the
stick is held steady
by resting the arm
on the knee while
the emery wheel' is
turned

MKTZAKALI
STKEET DltAIMA
This is a pcjjiukr
street form of the
famous Kathakali,
the Malabar na-
tional drama, al-
though there are
only two companies
leftjthoseoftheMa-
harajah of Cochin
and of the Mahara-
jah of Travancore

LAC ETCHING
By the process of
friction, one layer
of colored lac after
another is put on a
round box, or table
leg, then the etcher
scratches a design
through the lacquer
to the depth of the
color which he
wishes to bring out.
It is practically a
lost art

KANIKAR ABORIGINALS

The Kanikars were the original in-
habitants of India, long before even
the Dravidians or Aryan invasions.
There are only a few families remain-
ing. Her Highness, the Maharani of
Travancore sent the Conservator of
Forests into the fastnesses of the hills
to bring back this family to be painted

THE EAMPUR BARDS
These bards stand on the steps of the
palace when the Maharajah goes out
or returns, and chant in verse the ex-
ploits of the Maharajah's ancestors.
The leaves decorating the turbans are
from a sacred tree which brings good
luck

VA Ml SUING INDIA

473

the others of the grouj), for on these
canvascfs Mr. Stowitts has recorded
British India.

It is, however, British India without
the British that has been portraj^ed, and
among the paintings are many that might
serve as well to illustrate irnmeinoi-ial
India.

Among this valuable collection one
finds portraits of noble Rajput princes
and paintings of outcast sweepers of th(^
streets. Brahman, Mussulman, Pathan
and Sikh are pictured, along with ab-
originals from the forests of Travancore.
Furthermore, Mr. Stowitts has portrayed
potters and founders, ivory and wood
carvers, cotton carders and weavers,
dancers and warriors, and others still.
Nor have his problems been only those of
the painter, for it - was only after six
months of work that he was able to begin
his first painting. It was only by begin-
ning with maharajahs and princes
educated in Europe that he was able to

overcoine the innate objection of the
native Indian to having his likeness set
down — fearing, as his kind has feared for
centuries, that in making such a likeness
the artist was, bj^ .some .strange black
magic, obtaining an undesirable or even a
dangerous control over the very spirit of
the portrayed person.

It is Mr. Stowitts' expressed desire
that his paintings be viewed for their
ethnographic rather than their artistic
value, and it is as an ethnographic
record that they are being made, but in
the words of Mr. Alfred Foucher, of the
Institute of France, "he cannot prevent
us from having eyes that see, and what we
see is that these paintings are not only
documents — as one says in the modern
jargon — but also that he has done that
which those who offered themselves or
resigned themselves to pose for him
feai-ed he would do. He has brought away
with him a good part of their verj^ souls."
— H. D.

VAYS OF THE

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Up'

Old Man River in Africa, with a steamer of American build

UP THE CONGO TO LUKOLELA

A Forested River Bank Chosen as the Site of a New Group in the American Museum
to Show the Woodland Birds of Western Equatorial Africa

By JAMES P. CHAPIN

Associate Curator of Birds of the Eastern Hemisphere, American Museum

THE name of the place, I am often
told, has a musical sound. So
have many words in Bangala, the
handy trade-language of the central
Congo. If one of my black helpers
wished to know whether men were to be
summoned, he might ask "Nabinga
bangu?" — without the slightest thought
of a Hawaiian guitar. The origin of the
word Lukolela is still a mystery to me.
It seems not to refer to any old chief or
tribe, — but is merely a name for the lo-
cality, the derivation of which has been
forgotten.

Lukolela is not exactly a town — and I
am glad of that. It is a small state post,
with two plantations, a few trading stores,
a mission, two sawmills, and a station of
the steamer company. These are strung
out for eight miles along the left bank of
the Congo River, some five hundred miles
from the coast.

The founding of the post dates back to
September 22, 1883, when Stanley in-
stalled E. J. Glave, a young Englishman,

with a garrison of twenty-five black
soldiers. Their first task was to make a
small clearing in the heavy forest cover-
ing the spot purchased three months
previously from the native chiefs luka
and Mungawa.

The white population now amounts to
fifteen men and eight women. There are
several native villages, and with the
people working for Europeans, the black
inhabitants may be estimated at 2000.
For the Congo it is an old settlement. In
school days I might have been asked
questions about it, since Frye's Geog-
raphy of 1895 showed it as one of fifteen
named locaUties in the Congo State.

Lukolela was important for its forest,
as Stanley had pointed out. At this
strategic point the river emerges from the
southern margin of the equatorial forest.
Leopoldville, two hundred miles down the
river, needed wood for its shipyards, and
Lukolela is still supplying Leopoldville and
Kinshasa with lumber. At the beginning
of this century the Congo State had a little

UP THE CONGO TO LUKOLELA

475

sawmill buzzing and scrocching in a deal-
ing on the river l)ank.

Lukolela — like most equatorial forests
— has a great variety of trees, intricately
intermingled. Some have soft wood,
easily worked, but prone to attack by
insects and rot. Others split too easily.
Still others furnish useful timber, often
reddish or brown in color, and highly
resistant to termites, beetles, or fungi.
Many trees are not worth felling, and
some individuals of the valuable kinds
grow so large that their handling be-
comes unprofitable. The area near a saw-
mill need not be wholly devastated.
Many large trees I'emain untouched,
while the undergrowth receives
increased sunshine and ramifies
into nearly impassable thickets,
totally different from the open
under-wood that existed pre-
viously.

Although I had passed but
two afternoons at Lukolela, it
occupied a conspicuous niche in
my memories. There, during my
first trip up the Congo, the old
barge "1-bis" (a number, not
a bird-name) had tied up toward
noon on July 18 in 1909; and
Herbert Lang and I went roam-
ing in the forest. What birds
more characteristic of the Congo
forests than the "boulicoco"
and large hornbills? Who could
forget the spot where he first
followed them through the
woods?

The bands of red Colobus
monkeys, crashing from tree to
tree, were still there in 1914,
and they or their descendants
are still to be seen from the
river bank. At dusk, on the way
back to the boat, I stared with
wonder at my first pennant-
winged nightjar, flapping over
the post, long streamers trailing

from its wings. Tht; ijoulicocos (great
blue plantain-eaters) were still giving the
rolUng coos and clucks that have earned
most of their native names. They have
not been silenced.

Memories improve with age. Heat and
niosquitos fade into forgetfulness. The
high river bank at Lukolela I always
rememliered. Likewise the little sawmill,
and the majestic forest that for five years
had stood unharmed clo.se be.side it.

An alcove in the American Museum
stood waiting for a group of the birds of
the West African forest. The correspond-
ing fauna of the New World was already
fittingly displayed in the Barro Colorado

ABOVE LUKOLELA POST
Here sketches and photographs were made for the back-
ground of the group, which is to show a view toward the
river

476

NATURAL HISTORY

A LOG BEING DRAWN TO THE SAWMILL
Cut from a huge "molundu" tree, it contained about seven tons of hard brown wood, similar in

quality to teak

group, and Mrs. Dwight Arven Jones had
offered to finance the collection of the
African group. Dr. Frank M. Chapman
asked me where we could best obtain the
material. He favored the Congo River,
at some spot with a high bank. Lukolela
was the logical answer,
"t" "b -f -f

From the rail of the good ship "Anvers-
ville" my friend Franklin Edson and I
were reading:

"The most re-
doubtable enemy of
this country is the
mosquito."

This in letters six
feet high, on the
floating drydock at
Boma. Had we gone
on to the farthest
frontier of the great
Belgian colony we would still have met this
good counsel posted on the doors and walls
of government buildings, with additions:

"Have you taken your quinine today?
If not, take it at once. Beware of tsetse
flies."

LE plus REDOUTABLE ENNEMl DE CE PAYS
EST LE

MOUSTIQUE

AVEZ-VDOS PRIS voire dose de

SI NON.PRENEZ LA IMMEDIATEMENT!

MEFIE2-V0US DES TSETSES

Edson and I began taking our quinine.
My companion was lured to Africa by
his fondness for mammals, and this was
to be his first evening ashore. We took
our "focusing" flashlights and strolled
about the outskirts of Boma. When I
had lived in Boma I lacked the handy
electric key to the secrets of night.
Time and patience had to suffice. Now
we had no difficulty in finding the geckos
flattened against
trees and walls.
Just opposite the
little house where I
once dwelt, round
spots of glowing
yellow proved to be
the eyes of a pair of
goatsuckers squat-
ting in an open
field. We could
watch them at three yards, and recognize
the species by its mottled brown pattern.
Similar points of reflected light were
moving about among the upper branches
of a large silk-cotton tree — the eyes of
fruit-bats feeding on the flower buds.

I 'I' TIIK CONCO TO IJKOLELA

477

Our first ov(uiinp; wus u decided success,
and we boardetl the ship again, ready for
Matadi on th(! morrow.

From Boma up to Matadi, the head of
navigation for ocean steamers, the Congo
is a deep river, with grassy hills on both
sides, and graceful fan-palms near the
banks. The current is swift, as well it
should be, for a million cubic feet of
water are slipping seaward every second.
Just above Matadi are the rapids of Kasi,
and just below it Hell's Caldron, a widen-
ing of the river forming a gigantic whirl-
pool. The steamer circles around its
northern side before tying up at its
destination. Matadi is translated literally
as "the rocks."

The town is built on a steep hillside,
and our hotel was near the top. Even if
Matadi were not one of the hottest places
in the Congo, the climb would make it
seem so. We were glad to take the train
for Kinshasa in the cool, gray dawn;
here it is never cool after sun-up. The
first part of the railway line skirts
precipices and stares down ravines. Then
it winds for a long day through hilly

country, mainly savanna-clad, but with
woods in many of the valleys.

Naturally I kept one eye on the birds.
This was the dry season, the widow-birds
all in brown, like the grass. Weaver-
birds' nests in hundreds on palms and
silk-cotton trees were all deserted. Brown
kites with forked tails circled listlessly
over the .slovenly native villages. Two
hoopoes were more beautiful; and after
sundown two blackish hawks, of the
notable genus Machicrhamphus were
circling near a station where we stopped.
They prey on small bats, and are never
seen in broad daylight.

The railway trip of 240 miles around
the cataracts used to take two days.
Though the line is being straightened and
the rolling stock improved, the second-
class cars on this train were those in use
as first-class coaches in 1909. Small,
but comfortable enough, they are kept in
good repair.

What a bustle as we drew into Kinshasa
late in the ev'ening; it was tj'pical of the
changes in Africa. We took a taxi to a
large hotel ablaze with electric lights.

MATADI, THE SEAPORT OF THE CONGO

View from the hotel, looking down toward Hell's Caldron. Glave, the founder of Lukolela, died of
fever in 1895 at a mission on the distant promontory shown in the left of this picture

478

NATURAL HISTORY

A CANOE ON THE RIVER NEAR LUKOLELA

The wooded islet in the background was not indicated on the pilots' chart, although it lay close to

the course now used by steamers

Yet the name of the town is said to mean
"the place for antelopes." When first I
saw it, Kinshasa was a sleepy trading post
under a group of large baobab trees, on
the shore of Stanley Pool. A half-dozen
small brick buildings housed an insignifi-
cant government post with a couple of
Europeans, and the offices of a well-
known company called the S. A. B. A
quarter of a mile to the westward the
genial Mr. Howell conducted a small
mission. That was all of Kinshasa.

Five years later Kinshasa had become
the terminus of railway and river steam-
ers, the principal business center of the
Congo. It had hundreds of white in-
habitants, a wireless station, a bank,
shops in abundance, a great palm-oil
.depot, the three-story hotel where
Edson and I were now living — and a
European barber!

The changes between 1909 and 1914
were more astonishing than any that have
occurred since, yet growth has continued
till the white population is now more
than 2000. Officially, Kinshasa has fused
with Leopoldville, although they were
five miles apart, and between them is the

new capital of the Belgian Congo.

Here we paid our visits and found old
friends. Monsieur Van den Abeele was
getting us our hunting licenses. I felt
a little anxiety, and could not suppress
a question:

"Did the old Ford run well?' '

It was reassuring to learn that it had
continued its good behavior. In 1926, on
the far eastern edge of the colony, De
Witt Sage and I had sold him a battered
truck. It is still rolling around in the
Ituri, where Sage has seen it recently.

Governor General Tilkens had visited
the American Museum with King Albert
in 1919 ; and I found that I could scarcely
board a river steamer without meeting
old friends.

As I looked off the upper balcony of the
hotel at the sparkling waters of the Pool,
in the foreground stood some of the same
old baobabs, draped with hanging "mon-
key bread." It pained me to see one
being chopped down to widen an avenue.
One of the surviving Borassus palms on a
near-by street furnished apartments for
small palm-swifts, modestly colored but
full of grace as they darted to and fro.

UP T/IJ'J CONGO rO LUKOLELA

479

lu'cdlcss of black men in store clolhes.

The altitude of Kinshasa is 1200 feet.
In the stillness of night the roar of the
cataracts, six miles away, is clearly
audible, as the waters of Stanley Pool
start on their mad rush to the sea.

The mail steamer was full, so we were
booked on a cargo boat, the "Capitaine
Hanssens," named for one of the great
Belgian pioneers. It was a broad-beamed
stern-wheeler, like most of the Congo
steamers. They burn wood, the fuel
being stacked up at many stations,
villages, and special "postes a bois" all
along the river.

Passengers of our tastes find many
opportunities to stretch their legs on
shore. The water of this portion of the
river is low in February and March, and
drops again during July and August.
There are accordingly two periods of
high water each year. It was now July,
but the current is always strong. Five
hours'steaming was required to reach the
head of Stanley Pool, with its white
cliffs, recalling those of Dover on the
English Channel.

The Congo may have fewer aquatic
birds than the Nile or the Niger, but when
sandbars emerge from the ebbing waters,
fair numbers of birds are visible on them.
The birds show no desire to approach a
noisy steamer, and the captain keeps his
course as far as possible from the bars.
On this day I noted among old bird-
friends gray pelicans, snake-birds, wattled
lapv'ings, skimmers, kites and fi.shing
eagles. Old enemies, too, were recognized
in the shape of crocodiles lying here and
there on the sands.

Near Maluku we entered the narrow
strip of river known as the Channel,
bordered by high hills. Here begins a
sort of woodland, not as luxuriant as the
true equatorial forest, forming dark green
patches of varying size and shape. On
the French side thej^ are largely confluent.
Elsewhere the yellow-brown grasslands
are thickly dotted with small crooked
trees and bushes.

The water in the Pool and the Channel
is dark brown, but the reflection from the
sky adds an olive tinge to its surface.
The bow-wave reminds one of coffee with-

UNDER THE OIL-PALMS AT BOLOBO

The populace watching the steamer at the landing. A lively trade is carried on in smoked fish and

other edibles with the black crew and passengers

480

NATURAL HISTORY

out milk. Pushing on against the in-
creased current, the steamer finally tied
up at Mambutu, a wood-post on the
Belgian bank. The northern side is
French territory.

mostly dead, often pieces of trees felled
to make room for cultivation. Most of it
comes from within a few hundred yards
of the river, and the larger trees are
spared. Along the greater part of the

Chart of the Congo Rivfr near Lukolela
situated at the striking constriction of the stream mfridians are 5^4 miles apart

It was a half-hour before sunset, time
for a walk through manioc fields to the
edge of the tangled woods. Vociferous
"boulicocos" protested the intrusion.
As we returned to the steamer after dark,
goatsuckers' eyes responded to the beams
of our flashlights. Not only is it possible
to approach them behind the protecting
glare of the lamp, but with patience one
may sometimes succeed in capturing a
bird in the hand.

After dinner we beheld a novel exhibi-
tion of fishing. The two black fisher-
men had neither hooks nor nets, but
walked through the shallow water, each
bearing a huge torch made of a bundle of
reeds. The other hand wielded a machete.
Gazing fixedly in the water, they struck at
the fish with the heavy knives.

The following afternoon we stopped at
the wood-post of Fumu Djale, and made
another excursion. Each steamer burns so
much wood per day that one wonders how
the supply holds out. In reality the
damage is slight. The wood gathered is

wooded banks, swampy in many places,
evil results are practically nil. The clear-
ing of land for cultivation, or to drive
tsetse flies back from habitations, is
inevitable. Careless native farming be-
yond a doubt has made the greatest
inroads on the primeval Congo forests.

During the third day we called at
Kwamouth, the mouth of the Kwa, or
Kasai River, largest of the southern
affluents of the Congo. Its appearance
now showed how little rain was falling
south of the equator, for a pebbly bar
rose in midstream, beneath the telegraph
wires spanning its breadth. In April a
dark brown flood rolls high over the bar,
carrying innumerable clumps of floating
marsh-growth.

The night's stop was at Tshumbiri,
where we were entertained at the mission
by Mr. Metzger, an old-timer. He dis-
cussed sleeping sickness with some
authority, having been cured of it him-
self. He thought that 25 per cent of the
native inhabitants might still be infected.

UP THE CONGO TO IJKOLI'JLA

481

Of 6000 people living near the mission
when it was founded, scarcely 600 re-
mained. Many a time have; mission sta-
tions been abandoned because of the
dreaded disease. Monsembe and Beni
are two cases I know, and I have seen
government posts removed from fly-
ridden lowlands for the same reason.

Fortunately in the Congo it is only here
and there that infection is so widespread.
Even in the worst places only one fly in
many hundreds is a carrier, so the
transient white man is not running a
very grave risk. The Congo medical
service wages unceasing war on trypano-
somes, and the Rockefeller Institute has
contributed tryparsamide, the best cura-
tive of West African sleeping sickness.

Above Tshumbiri the river widens
again, and from here up to Basoko, a
distance of 680 miles, it is plentifully
bestrewn with islands of all sizes, the
vast majority wooded.

On the fourth day from Kinshasa we
made a brief stop at Bolobo, with another
important mission, and before nightfall
reached the old wood-post of Mistand-

unga. l''ruit-bats became the specialty
of the evening. The species we had seen
at Boma has a weak call ; one might think
it came from some small tree-frog. But at
Fumu Djale we began to hear one of the
loud-mouthed kinds — my old friend
Epomops. Who could guess, on first
hearing its nasal "kyurnk!" repeated
without pause for a half-hour or more, and
so loud as to carry a quarter of a mile,
that the author was a bat? When I first
heard it from the deck of a Congo steam-
er, I vowed it was some nocturnal bird.

At Mistandunga, then, I determined to
introduce Edson to Epomops. What a
task it proved! Back from the river, in
woods that had evidently suffered from
native activities so that the under-
growth presented a thick tangle, one was
calling persistently. With two of our
fellow passengers, who must have thought
us more than mildly insane before we
finished, we began to stalk our bat. Each
time we thought the bough where it
hung had been accurately located, and
turned the light on it, the beast would
stop calling and take wing unseen. A

J HI, I.AMnNG AT THE PL.A.NTATION

Near here in 1883 lived an old chief named Mpuk^ who coveted Glave's skull to decorate the roof of

his house. Hi.s attack on the post was repulsed, and Mpuke later became most friendly

482

NATURAL HISTORY

A YOTNG "HAMMER-HEAD" BAT

Being a male, he called vigorously though still

of tender age

minute or two later it would be heard
from another direction. For an hour and
a half we pursued it, this way and that,
pushing, tripping, and crawling through
the underbrush. Finally it made the fatal
error of chnging a Uttle too long to its
support, so that its eyes could be seen
glowing yellow in the night.

Amongst this group of fruit-bats the
males make most if not all the noise, for
their larynxis exceptionally well developed.
The large "hammer-head bat," Hypsi-
gnathus, is also to be heard in most parts
of the forested Upper Congo, reiterating
a still more powerful "pwock!" Never
was there a more efficient organism for
transmuting fruit juices into sound. The
male of Hypsignathus has a voice-box
that extends from the throat down into
the thorax, seeming to crowd the heart
into a far corner, and almost touching the
diaphragm.

The river was fast beginning to look
like a lake. One could seldom tell
whether he was looking at the far shore,
or just another long island. One more
night, the fifth, we had to spend tied up
along the French shore, at the tiny forest
village of Makulu Ndambu, named

"half a leg" for a headman who had been
maimed. We arrived long after dark,
and saw httle of interest save a camp of
native hippo-hunters and the red glow
from the eye of a crocodile, illuminated of
course with the flashUght. No eye glows
in the dark of itself — not even a lion's,
as I can attest.

We were on the French side because the
channel is deeper there. The next morn-
ing when I awoke we were already steam-
ing toward the narrows, where Loukolela
Frangais gazes at Lukolela Beige across
two miles of gUding water. The changes
in weather and waves seem to cause them
to approach and recede. A wind blowing
upstream, even in fair weather, makes
crossing in a dugout perilous.

"makings" for bonbons
The seeds contained in these melon-like cocoa
pods, after fermentation and careful drying,
provide food and drink for the civilized world

UP THE CONGO TO IJKOLELA

1S3

The village on the l''rench side ha.s a
mission and a trader, but no resident
official. Just opposite are Lukolela
Plantations, where we were to accept the
cordial hospitality of Monsieur de Belle-
froid. My dear friend Doctor Schoutcden
had written ahead to him from the Congo
Museum in Belgium, and at Kinshasa a
telegram of welcome told us we were
awaited. The Belgian government post is
three and a half miles upstream from the
Plantations.

The "Capitainc Hanssens" edged toward
the left bank, allowing for the swift cur-
rent, and whistled to announce its arrival.
Whether ascending or descending the
river, the steamers make fast with bow
upstream. To avoid grounding, the

A TERMITE PAGODA

Abundant in the forest, these hard clay abodes of

"white ant" colonies stand about two feet high.

Many will support a sitting man

A FISHING EAGLK

On his lofty bough he quietly let the boat pass

beneath him

anchor is dropped; and a husky team of
river natives jumps off from bow and
stern, swimming ashore with wire cables
to be tied round trees or posts. The
cables are tightened, and gangplanks run
ashore.

At the Plantation landing stood Doctor
Abrassart, one of the directors, who
greeted us warmly and made us put on our
sun-hats again. This is an outstanding
feature of Congo etiquette; and while I
do not beUeve in sunstroke, I have to
buy a helmet. Soon Monsieur de Belle-
froid joined us, and Madame Abrassart
led us in to a luncheon table that would
make one forget this was Africa. To me
it was indeed a new Lukolela.

Back in 1909, the colony had a small
agricultural station here. The rubber
trees still stand, but they serve now only
to shade the cocoa trees. In 1910,
Monsieur de Bellefroid was placed in
charge of the government's experiment as
to agricultural possibilities. After the
war, when the colony turned over many of
its plantations to private enterprise, Mon-
sieur de Bellefroid returned with Doctor
Abrassart as his partner, and they founded
a splendid plantation, the like of which I

484

NATURAL HISTORY

VIEW ACKO.SS Till'; I4IVKR
Between the islands, in the dim distance, are the silk-
cotton trees rising over the village of Kassa on the French
shore

had never seen in the Congo. Within ten
years, more than 500 hectares had been
planted with cocoa and a Httle coffee.
The area is equivalent to a square nearly
a mile and a half on each side. In
reality, the cocoa groves ranged south-
ward for a distance of four miles, since
irregular bands of swampy forest, useless
for any purpose, extend back from the
river. In 1929, two hundred and fifty-
two tons of dried cocoa were shipped from
Lukolela, and in 1930 more than one
hundred additional hectares were planted
with cocoa. There are only six white
men on the plantation. Needless to add
that they work with a will.

The cocoa tree is a delicate
plant, it cannot stand evapora-
tion, and so wherever possible
it is planted in the shade of
forest trees. A certain thinning
out of the forest is required,
and Monsieur de Bellefroid was
well aware that I had come to
see the virgin forest. He offered
us the hospitality of the ' 'Plaine, ' '
a small patch of natural grass-
land at the far edge of the
plantation. All about it stretched
the primeval forest, as yet un-
touched by the workmen who
prepared the areas to be planted.
There stood a little station,
only three years old, adorned
with huge fan-palms that bore
witness to the age of the opening
in the forest. It was not made
by natives. There was no fringe
of second growth such as their
farming would have entailed.

So after lunch we were driven
to the Plaine, and installed in a
neat little brick house. As we
sped through several miles of
thriving cocoa groves, typifying
the change that is coming over
Africa, I recalled many weary
miles trudged afoot, and the
hardships of the poor savages who used to
bear our boxes. The speed of the car
provided a cooling breeze, and the blacks
were singing as they rode on trucks with
our luggage.

The automobiles used on the plantation
had no road to permit their straying even
to the adjacent government post. From
our little home in the Plaine, we could
watch monkeys feeding in the treetops,
or listen to the hornbills, plantain-eaters,
and pigeons calling in the forest.

Now it was time for work. A spot must
be selected for our group, and I studied
the bank of the river for several miles
above and below the Plantation. Except

UP THE CONGO TO LlKOLliLA

485

whore the shore was so low as to he
flooded occasionally, human occupation
had gcmerally altered its vegetation.
Below the Baptist Mission there was a
succession of old-established villages,
almost hidden under oil-palms. Going
upstream, one passed through other vil-
lages, the wide clearing phintcul with coffee
by the ' ' Synkin ' ' (Syndicate of Kinshasa) ,
other clearings, Portuguese stores, one
more palm-shaded village, and finally the
old state post. Back from the river there
was forest aplenty, but we wanted a
view of water for our background.

The post of Lukolela now belonged to
the steamer company, except for the
rambling grass-thatched residence of
Monsieur Pieters, Agent Territo-
rial. Even the post office, di-
rected by the charming Madame
Pieters, was in a wooden build-
ing belonging to the steamer
company, known as the
"Unatra."

I was anxious to revisit the
forest just above the post. How
had it fared since my departure?
The little sawmill had ceased to
chug and buzz. Most of its
machinery was dismantled, and
a newer mill had been estab-
lished at Mompoto, two miles
upstream, across a bay. Had
my forest been depleted?

The forest was best approach-
ed by a narrow path, following
a single strand of wire strung on
iron poles. Until a few months
before the war the wire had
carried telegrams from the outer
world into the Upper Congo.
Messages from the American
Museum to Lang and Chapin
had thrilled its copper spine.
Now it was only a telephone,
carrying the voice of a black
man who repeated radiograms „, ,
caught from the air by the sta-

tion at Coquilhatville.

Five minutes walk along the same path
brought me to the happy hunting ground
of yore. Almost too good to be true.
On the high ground it would have been
hard to say where a tree had been
removed, and I roamed through the open
undergrowth again, listening to the
"boulicocos" and other familiar forest
voices. Then I sat down between the
buttresses of a great tree to write .some
brief letters home.

Lukolela has a very large wood-post;
and just along shore, where wood gath-
erers came by canoe to collect fuel for the
steamers, the forest had been somewhat
thinned out. In a way this was fortunate,

LARGE "MOLUNDU

same family as the mulberry, it bears green fruits
that find favor with swarms of large bats

486

NATURAL HISTORY

THE "TABOEA" about TO CALL FOR A SHIPMENT OF COCOA

The palms in the foreground are among the riches of the Congo. They bear fruit furnishing an oil
long used in soap-making

for it provided the glimpses of open water
which were desired.

Thus the spot on which I had counted
in New York was still available. The
land rose to about fifty feet above the
river, and the vegetation was exactly, the
same as in the forest close to our house at
the Plaine. Sketches and photographs
were made on the river bank, but much
of the other work could be done near the
Plantation.

We arrived at Lukolela during the two
dry months of the year. From September
on, one day in every three or four was
wet. This made the forest all the more
beautiful, and at worst only delayed us a
little. Work proceeded.

In the evenings Edson and I went strol-
ling again along the forest roads, "shin-
ing " the eyes of bush-babies, little lemurs
that run like squirrels on the forest
boughs, listening to fruit-bats and tree
hyraxes, finding large flying squirrels, and
wondering when our lights might fall on
the eyes of a prowling leopard. Sometimes

we made a special search for frogs, and
those of Lukolela exhibit some unusual
preferences in places for laying eggs.

It was all too happy to last. My con-
genial friend fell ill. The heat told on his
strength, and it was decided that he
should return to a better climate. Early in
November the "Tabora," one of the mail
steamers, swung in to the Plantations,
and we waved Edson a fond good-bye.

Besides the work on the accessories for
the group, there were a few birds to be
collected for it. All too many other things
were waiting to be studied in this forest
at Lukolela. If only there were more
time.

A small number of natives had been
trained as helpers. When more men were
needed for heavy work, they could be
borrowed from the Plantation. My last
task was to secure the trunk of a but-
tressed tree, and in this Mr. Bourry,
manager of the Unatra station, gave me
his invaluable help.

With the exception of a short trip to the

UP THE CONGO TO LUKOLELA

487

Bank at Coquilhatvillc, I had not left the
vicinity of Lukolcla. There is an ad-
vantage in watching the course of the
seasons at one place. Even on the
equator, flowers come and go. So do
certain of the bird.s: swifts and swallows
from Europe, cattle herons from the
Sudan. The river rises and falls. It was
now late in March, the water had been
low since early February. A half dozen
huge crocodiles basked habitually on a
crescentic sandbar just opposite the
government post. Flocks of small gray
pratincoles alighted on other bars, as did
marsh terns, lapwings, skimmers, and
many more aquatic birds.

Numbers of blackish birds like swal-
lows, but with red beaks, were tunneling
their nests in the sand. This was the
"rare" Pseudochelidon, not known to
breed elsewhere than on the Congo
River.

Swallows were leaving for Europe, and
it was long past the time when I should
have begun my own homeward migra-

tion. So I prepared to leave by the
"Kigonia," the largest of the pa.s.senger
steamers, which was on her way down
from Stanleyville. She pulled in after
nightfall on April 6, and a sweating
gang of half-naked roustabouts struggled
to put my huge bo.\es aboard. Farewells
to the good friends of Lukolela occupied
the rest of the evening.

One dear friend whom I had lost at
home was Mrs. Dwight Arven Jones, who
had made the expedition pos-sible. She
had written to me since my arrival at
Lukolela. My deepest regret was that .she
could not have been spared until we could
show her the results of her generous
support.

As day broke, the "Kigoma" cast off
and went gliding down her flowing road.
One passenger at least stood looking back
as the red disk of the sun detached itself
from the low wooded horizon bej^ond
Lukolela. No, it was not homesickness,
but a feeling closely allied. Parting is a
sweet sorrow.

Daybreak at departure

The Main Building of the United States Naval Observatory

THE UNITED STATES
NAVAL OBSERVATORY

The History of One of the World's Leading Observatories — The Ever Widening
Scope of Its Service to the Commercial and Scientific Life of the Nation

By CAPT. FREDERICK HELLWEG

Superintendent, XJ. S. Naval Observatory, Washington, D, C.

AN amateur astronomer — William
Lambert — presented a memorial
to Congress in 1809 recommend-
ing the estabhshment of a first meridian
in the United States at the permanent
seat of the government. Lambert had
determined the longitude of Washington
and submitted his calculations with his
memorial to Congress.

The mental inertia of Congress caused
it to procrastinate in settling this import-
ant question. After it had been repeatedly
referred to various committees and com-
missions, James Monroe, the Secretary
of State in 1812 took the first positive
action in recommending the establish-
ment of an observatory. In 1815 Con-
gress finally acted, but the President
took no action.

John Quincy Adams in his first message
to Congress in 1825 urged the establish-
ment of a national university and the

erection of an astronomical observatory
either separate or as part of the univer-
sity. For erection of buildings $14,500
was requested and $4000 for cost of
operation.

Ten years later, in 1835, the Secretary
of the Navy called attention to the great
importance to the government of a Naval
Observatory, its effect on the defense of
the country, its bearing on the Navy, and
on our commercial and scientific pursuits.
Attention was called to the necessity for
employing an officer of science to keep
maps and charts, to regulate chronom-
eters, and to preserve all mathematical
and nautical instruments required
for the Naval Service. No action was
taken.

In 1838, John Quincy Adams entreated
the President — Van Buren — to use the
income from the Smithsonian bequest in
establishing an astronomical observatory.

THE UNITED STATES NAVAL OBSEliVATORY

489

and to pay the salary of one astronoiiuir
and one assistant, for nightly observa-
tions, the periodical publications, and for
annual courses of lectures upon natural,
moral, and political sciences. In 1842
John Quincy Adams again urged the
estabhshment of a national observatory.

In the memoirs of Adams it is stated
that the powerful opposition to the estab-
hshment of an astronomical observatory
during this long period was due in a large
measure to the political enmity toward
himself. But in spite of all this determined
opposition, the establish-
ment was effected in an
entirely different way, a
way not contemplated by
either the advocates or
the opponents of such an
institution.

Until 1830, each vessel
of the Navy when fitting
out, obtained its instru-
ments and charts by
requisition on the Board
of Naval Commissioners,
the purchases being made
by a Navy agent from
foreign governments or
from private dealers. No
tests were made of either
instruments or charts
prior to their purchase.
When a ship went out of
commission her instru-
ments and charts were
piled in a store house
where they were neglected
until another ship went
in commission and needed
them. Then they fre-
quently were found unfit
for use. So, in 1829, a
definite recommendation was made by
the Secretary of the Navy covering the
inspection, testing, and preservation,
when not in use, of instruments and
charts.

CAPT. FREDERICK HELLWEG,

U. S. N.
Captain Hellweg, present super-
intendent of the United States
Naval Observatory, planned the
details of the modernization of
the Observatory, which will take
about three years to complete

In 1830, Lieut. L. M. Gold.sborough
made a definite recommendation that
a suitable place be designated for the
stowage of all chronometers, instruments
of precision, theodolites, circles, tele-
scopes, charts, etc., and that a competent
officer be made personally responsible for
all instruments submitted to his charge.

Based on Lieutenant Goldsborough's
recommendations, the Secretary of the
Navy in 1830 ordered a depot of charts
and instruments to be established in
Washington, D.C., and placed Lieutenant
Goldsborough in charge.
Among the functions of
'""•^i.^ this depot was the ascer-

taining of errors and rates
of chronometers. This
was accomplished by
means of sextant and circle
observations. These in-
struments were mounted
in a circular building near
a house rented on what is
now G Street between 17th
and 18th.

At the time of the estab-
hshment of the depot,
charts and books were
purchased abroad and fre-
quently were in a foreign
language. The 'Navy
Commissioners ordered
Goldsborough upon the
latter's recommendation
to make modifications in
charts, reduce them all to
the meridian of Greenwich,
and translate all notations
into English.

Goldsborough was re-
lieved, in 1833, by Lieut.
Charles Wilkes who, in
1834, evidently tired of the procrastination
of everyone and built the first observatory
building at his own personal expense.
It was only sixteen feet square. He
mounted a transit made by Troughton in

490

NATURAL HISTORY

LIEUT. CHARLES WILKES, U. S. N.
Lieutenant Wilkes, the famous explorer who con-
ceived and led the Wilkes Expedition, was super-
intendent of the Depot of Charts and Instru-
ments from 1833 to 1837

England for the Coast Survey in 1815.

Lieutenant Wilkes was relieved in 1837
by Lieut. J. M. Gilliss and the latter was
relieved in 1842 by Lieut. M. F. Maury.

From such a meagre beginning the
present observatory grew. In 1842 the
Secretary was finally authorized to con-
tract for the building of a suitable house
as a depot of charts and instruments.
Lieutenant Gilliss prepared the plans
after going abroad and consulting dis-
tinguished astronomers.

In 1844 Lieutenant Maury who had
relieved Gilliss, was ordered to take charge
of the new quarters, the first real observa-
tory, and to move all instruments, charts,
etc., into the new building. Lieutenant
Maury therefore became the first super-
intendent of the Naval Observatory.

Wilkes was at heart an astronomer;
Maury was more inclined to develop the

hydrographic and meteorological work.
While considerable work had been done
by Wilkes and by other officers in the field
of hydrography, it was Maury who really
laid down the foundations of the extensive
system for hydrographic work of the
Navy Department. He organized the
system for collection of information from
the logs of all ships both naval and
merchant. He collected information all
over the world of ocean currents, wind
and air pressures, temperatures, water
temperatures and other marine and
meteorological phenomena from which he
made charts. The system still continues
and on it is based the present efficient
and excellent work of our Hydrographic
Office whose publications are now so
eagerly sought by mariners all over the
world.

But it was not until one year later, 1845,
that observations of the sun, moon,
planets, and brighter stars were begun

LIEUT. JAMES M. GILLISS, U. S. N.

Lieutenant Gilliss was superintendent of the

Depot of Charts and Instruments from 1837 tc

1842

THE UNITED STATES NAVAL OBSERVATORY

491

systematically, and have been ol)-
served since. The results of the first
year's observations were puhlisht^d in
1846 and the publication was character-
ized as "The first volume of astronomical
observations ever issued from an institu-
tion properly entitled to the name of an
observatory on this side of the Atlantic."

In 1846 the Secretary of the Navy,
in referring to the observations taken, said
that the Observatory might now produce
its own nautical ephemcris, a small
appropriation being sufficient to accom-
plish the object, the expenditure for
which would be returned by supplying
our merchant vessels with nautical al-
manacs at cost.

The Naval Observatory gained con-
siderable prominence among world astron-
omers in 1847 through the discovery by
one of the staff that the planet Neptune
which had been discovered September
23, 1846, was identical with a star seen

LIEUT. L. M. GOLD.SBOROUGH, U. S. N.
Lieutenant Goldsborough was the first superin-
tendent of the Depot of Charts and Instruments
from 1830 to 1833

LIEUT. MATTHEW FONTAINE MAURY,

U.S.N.

He was superintendent of the Depot of Charts

and Instruments from 1842 to 1844, when he was

ordered to take charge of the Naval Observatory,

where he remained until 1861

twice by Lalande in INIay, 1795, and
which had since been listed as star No.
26266 in Lalande 's catalogue. The
researches which resulted from the Ob-
servatory's discovery afforded the means
of accurately determining the orbit of
Neptune.

In 1849 the first practical chronograph
— Doctor Locke's magnetic clock — in
which electricity was first employed in the
recording of observations, was installed
at the Observatory. It is now in our
our museum.

Between 1854 and 1860 three minor
planets were discovered by the Ob-
servatory.

As the instruments of the Observatory
were of too low power to enable the
astronomers to meet the demands of the
time, a new meridian circle was mounted

TWENTY-SIX INCH
EQUATORIAL
With micrometer attachment.
This is the largest instru-
ment at the Naval Observa-
tory. Its object glass has a
diameter of twenty-six inches,
and it was completed in 1873.
At that time it was the won-
der of the scientific world

LIBRARY OF THE
NAVAL OBSERVATORY
This library has the reputa-
tion of being one of the most
complete of its kind in the
world. It is used by many as
a reference library because of
its numerous old records and
its rare publications, some of
which date as far back as the
Fifteenth Century

SIX-INCH TRANSIT CIRCLE,
U. S. NAVAL OBSERVATORY

Here the astronomer is mak-
ing observations of the transit
of the stars from which our
time is calculated. The dif-
ference between the observed
time of transit and the pre-
dicted time of transit over
the meridian is the error of
the cloclis

THE CONSTANT
TEMPERATURE ROOM

The time service is one of the
most important functions of
the Naval Observatory. In
this room chronometers and
other time pieces used in the
Navy are thorouRhly tested
and rated at different con-
stant temperatures to insure
their accuracy before issue to
the Service

494

NATURAL HISTORY

NO. 2 TRANSMITTING CLOCK, A DUPLICATE OF NO. 1

Astronomer Paul Sollenberger, in charge of the time service, is tuning in to receive the tick over^the

air which will be broadcasted by the No. 2 clock

in 1865, which enabled the Observatory to
measure the right ascensions and the
polar distances at the same moment and
with equal exactness. The new instru-
ment's program of observations was be-
gun January 1, 1866. In 1870 Congress
authorized the construction of the largest
size refracting telescope of American
manufacture to cost not more than
$50,000. A subsequent act provided for
housing the telescope.

Alvan Clark of Cambridgeport, Mas-
sachusetts, constructed a refracting tele-
scope with a twenty-six inch clear aper-
ture mounted equatorially on the German
plan with all the usual counterpoises and
other easy motion devices, with driving
clock, etc., etc. The telescope was
mounted in 1873. We are still using that
instrument.

The excellence of the work of the
Observatory began to be recognized by
the world's astronomers and the United

States was invited to send representatives
to all international conferences.

In 1842 Lieutenant Wilkes was the
first to use the telegraph for ascertaining
differences of longitude. His first at-
tempt was that between Baltimore and
Washington. In 1868 and 1869 with the
aid of the Western Union Telegraph
Company, the Naval Observatory under-
took the determination of longitudes by
means of telegraph of stations in Havana
and several continental stations in the
United States. In 1912 the Superin-
tendent of the Naval Observatory by
letter to the International Conference
held in Paris, suggested the determina-
tion of the difference of longitude be-
tween the Naval Observatory at Wash-
ington and the Observatory at Paris by
means of radio time signals. This was
done in 1913 and 1914, the naval radio at
Arlington and the Eiffel Tower radio at
Paris being used for the communication.

THE UNITED STATES NAVAL OliSEIiVATOHY

495

These observations wore the first direct
determiniitions of the difference; of longi-
tude and the vc^Iocity of trunsinission of
radio waves between the United States
and Europe, and was the first tinu; that
radio was used for transatlantic longitude
determination.

The Observatory has participated in
the observations of all eclipses, and when
funds were available; has sent represent;i-
tives to all International Conferences.

This brief history of the Observatory
gives an idea of the steady development of
its work since it received its first humble
start. Let us now look at its present-day
activities.

The Naval Observatory is a national
institution. By the time it was trans-
ferred to its present location it had become
recognized as one of the highest ranking
observatories in the world, due to the
character of its work in astronomical
research. The Observatory has been as-

signed to the Navy but it is the only
national institution of its kind in the
United States.

The present site on Massachusetts
Avenue was, by act of Congress, made
circular in form around the clock vault
with a 1000-foot radius. This was done
to prevent the vibrations of passing heavy
motors from adversely affecting the stand-
ard clocks and astronomical instruments
of precision.

The (Jb.servatory has a dual personality.
It serves the Navy in manj' ways. It
also serves the general public throughout
the country in equally important ways.
It is the only government institution of its
kind to render this .service. Its primary
mission is the determination of ab.solute
position by astronomical observations
and the maintenance of a continuous
series of observations of the sun, moon,
planets, and the standard stars of the
American Ephemeris in order to be able

Tin; iu:pair shop
A finely equipped workshop is maintained for repairing all the instruments used m the safe naviga-
tion of all vessels of the United States Navy

496

NATURAL HISTORY

OBSBEVATION HOUSE AT THE NAVAL OBSERVATORY
This photograph shows how the roof splits and separates so as to
insure absence of conflicting air currents that would disturb the ac-
curacy of observations

to prepare all the necessary tables for the
Ephemeris, as well as to maintain a series
of such stars as may be necessary to
serve possible future needs.

Another part of its mission is the pro-
curement and supplying of an adequate
number of instruments for the naviga-
tional needs of the Navy.

Our work therefore naturally divides
itself into two distinct groups. First: —
The astronomical work including all the
observations with the various instru-
ments, and the resultant work of pre-
paring and publishing the nautical
almanac and the American Ephemeris.
Second : — The procurement, inspection,
and upkeep of all instruments used in
connection with the navigation of naval
vessels. This includes compasses both
magnetic and gyro, all equipment under
the cognizance of the Bureau of Naviga-
tion such as binoculars, spyglasses, sex-
tants, and the like.

Under this department comes one of the
most important functions of the Naval
Observatory: — the Time Service. In the
center of the reservation is our clock vault
in which we keep our standard clocks.
They are sealed airtight and are main-

tained at a constant
temperature. They are
electrically wound and
they are never reset, but
accurate records of their
rates are maintained.
These clocks keep side-
real or star time. A
specially designed small
transit instrument is
used for the time de-
termination. As the
earth's rotation causes
certain fixed stars to
cross the celestial merid-
ian, the transit instru-
ment is set on them. An
automatic mechanism
causes the eyepiece to
travel so that the stars appear to the
observer to be stationary. By means
of a differential mechanism, the astrono-
mer keeps the star exactly on a spider
line. The automatic mechanism trans-
mits a series of electric impulses which
indicate the time of the star's meridian
passage. These are recorded chrono-
graphically on a chronograph, together
with the second ticks from one of the
standard clocks in the vault. By meas-
urement of the record it is possible to
determine the time of the star's transit
according to the clock, and therefore the
error of the clock.

We have three old standard Riefler
clocks and one modern Shortt clock in
use at the present time. By keeping the
clocks at constant pressure and constant
temperature their rates are more uniform
and the accuracy of the result is greatly
increased. For the purpose of transmit-
ting our time signals, secondary or trans-
mitting clocks are used. These clocks
can be set. They are compared with the
standard sidereal clocks by means of a
chronograph and are set electrically to
the smallest fraction of a second. The
astronomer broadcasting the time signals

THE UNITED STATES NAVAL OBSERVATORY

497

measures the difference between the trans-
mitting clocks and the sidereal clocks as
shown by simultaneous records of each
clock's performance on a chronograph
drum. By measuring the difference with
a scale and applying the proper correc-
tion, the error of the mean time clock can
be determined with great accuracy. By
means of an electrical control the mean
time or transmitting clock can then be
retarded or advanced until it is exactly
on time. This is done every time im-
mediately prior to the broadcasting of
the time signal.

When this has been accomplished, the
mean time clock is accurate to about the
one-hundredth of a second. At five
minutes before the zero hour, the switch
is thrown and the tick of the transmitting
clock is magnified and automatically
broadcast from Arlington and from
Annapolis, where our high power broad-
casting stations are situated.

In order to check the accuracy of our
own broadcasts, our own receiving set
catches the record of the ticks which are
in turn projected on the drum of the same
chronograph with the transmitting clock
tick and the sidereal clock tick. In this
way we have a visual ,
record of our sidereal
time, our mean time '
broadcast, and the
broadcast from both An- ji^^^
napolis and from Arling-
ton. Immediately after
the broadcast of each
time signal, the astrono-
mer on watch measures
the error, if there is
any, and correction
sheets are prepared show-
ing to one-hundredth
of a second the error for
each broadcast for each
day. These correction
sheets are mailed weekly
to all activities in this

country, including all private enter-
prises, observatories and, in fact, any
one who requires extremely accurate
results for manufacturing or scientific
purposes. These bulletins are mailed
free of charge to tho.se requiring
them, and by them it is possible for
the various activities to check back and
determine with mathematical accuracy
their own errors on any particular daj' at
any particular broadcast.

These time signals were originally
broadcast for the u.se of navigators at sea,
but now they are used for hundreds of
purposes and the number of u.ses is daily
increasing. You will probably be sur-
prised to learn that all the accurate de-
terminations of gravity all over the
Western Hemisphere are dependent upon
the broadcast of our time signal for the
accuracy of their work. Mineralogists
use the time signals in locating deposits
of oil in the bowels of the earth. Radio
development now demands exceptional
accuracy for frequency determination,
and there are many commercial uses
which are daily developing, each requir-
ing added accuracy in the broadcasting
of the time signals.

THE PHOTOHELIOGRAPH AT THE NAVAL OBSERVATORY

Photographs of the sun are made daily, showing the sun spots

about which so much as been written recently

498

NATURAL HISTORY

At present, our time signals are broad-
cast three times daily: at 3 a.m., noon,
and 10 P.M., but plans are under way
now for increasing the number of broad-
casts per day in the very near future. It is
expected that the number of broadcasts
will be doubled daily.

The method of broadcast has been
developed to a high degree of efficiency.
At five minutes befor the zero hour and
when the transmitting clock has been
accurately adjusted to 75th meridian
time, the astronomer throws the switch
which automatically starts the entire
mechanism described above. Each tick
of the pendulum is magnified and trans-
mitted by radio practically all over the
world. In order that any one receiving
the time signal can identify the position
in the time broadcast, the 29th second of
each minute is silent. This omission acts
like a finger pointing to the next second so
that after you hear 28 ticks, the 29th will
be silent and you will know that the next
tick is the 30th second of some minute.

The 56th, 57th, 58th and 59th seconds'
ticks of the 55th, 56th, 57th and 58th
minutes are silent, acting as a finger
pointing to the next audible tick, so that
you know that, after a silence of four
seconds, the tick following this silence is
the 60th second, or the beginning of a
minute. During the 59th minute there
are no ticks from the 50th to the 59th
second, so that when you note the long
silence of 9 seconds, you know that the
next tick will be the zero hour — either 3
A.M., noon, or 10 p.m., 75th meridian time.

As those receiving the time signal may
not be able to begin the reception exactly
on the 55th minute, a system of identifi-
cation signals has been arranged so that if
you tune in at any time during the broad-
cast you may be able to tell how many
minutes there are still to go before the
zero hour. This is done by omitting the
51st, 52d, 53d and 54th seconds' ticks on
successive minutes. The number of ticks

that then remain between the identifica-
tion ommission and the 55th second tick
indicates the number of minutes to go.
For instance, if the 51st second tick is
omitted you will then hear the 52d, 53d,
54th and 55th seconds' ticks, indicating
that there are four more minutes to go
before the zero hour. If the 52d tick is
omitted, you will count three ticks before
the four-second silence, indicating that
there are three more minutes to go. If
the 53d second's tick is omitted, you will
then hear only two ticks before the four-
second silence, indicating that you are
listening to the 57th minute and that
there are but two minutes to go. If the
54th second's tick is omitted, you will
only hear one tick before the four-second
silence, indicating that you are listening
to the 58th minute and that there is only
one minute to go. On the 59th minute,
you will hear the tick at the 50th second
and then there will be an absolute silence
until the 60th second, the zero hour.
The 60th second tick is twice as long as all
other ticks in order to accentuate the
zero hour.

When the importance of the time
service to the commercial and scientific
life of the nation is considered, no ex-
pense is too great to insure the maximum
accuracy. The three Riefler clocks at the
Observatory are approximately thirty
years old. Naturally many improvements
in precision timepieces have been made
since their purchase. Last year, one of the
new Shortt clocks was purchased. It is a
great improvement over the older clocks,
but the ever-increasing demands for
greater accuracy and for increased service
require constant searching for newer and
better methods of maintaining accurate
time. This in turn requires the newest
and most accurate equipment, and the
newer equipment requires additional
construction for housing the instruments.

In another month we will break ground
for our new clock vault which will really

THE UN IT EI) STATES NAVAL OHSEUVATORY

499

bo approximately like an (snonrious
thermos bottle. It will consist of a large
hollow tile vault, completely surrounded
by another reinforced concrete vault,
from which it will be separated by a two
and-one-half foot air space. The inner
vault will have electrical temperature
control and will be maintained at 83
degrees. Within the inner vault there will
be six piers on which our sidereal clocks
will be mounted. All pier faces will be
•set at varying angles so that all pendulums
will swing in difTcrent planes. Constant
pressure will be maintained and every
effort will be made to insure absolutely
uniform conditions throughout the year,
thereby insuring absolutely uniform per-
formance of the clocks. The inner vault
will be brilliantly illuminated by external
illumination, similar to the magazine
lighting on board ship. Visual inspec-
tion of the vault and all clocks will be
possible by a periscope let down from the
office above, through the outer and the
inner vaults, so that astronomers and
visitors can inspect the operation of the
clocks from the office above, without
endangering the performance by going
below. Congress, in its last session, has
appropriated funds for this construction
and for the building of a new astrographic
laboratory.

All large observatories of the world are

equipped with photographic apparatus
for recording permanently the positions
of stars at any given time. The Xaval
Observatory, for the past thirty years,
has been unable to keep abreast of the
times due to lack of funds, but the recent
action of Congress will correct the long
period of inaction, and within the next
two or three years the Naval Observatory
will have resumed its position as one of
the leaders so far as its equpiment is
concerned. The Observatory has never
relinquished its position as a leader
so far as the quality of its astronomical
work is concerned. Recently, a report
from one of the foreign observatories
which had collected, tabulated, and
compared the work of the principal ob-
servatories in the world and had assigned
efficiency weights to the results obtained,
rated the work of the Naval Observatory-
as ten. No other observatory received a
perfect mark for all of its work. One of
the German observatories received ten
for one of the coordinates, but not for the
other. This excellent work represented
the result of over two years of labor.
The Secretarj^ of the Navy took occasion
to commend the astronomers of the Naval
Observatory for ha^ving attained this
premier position, which was recognized
by one of the foremost astronomers of
the world.

John Burroughs' Rustic Cabin, Slabsides

WITH JOHN BURROUGHS
AT SLABSIDES

Recollections of the Famous Poet-Naturalist and His
Mountain Retreat near Riverby

By CLYDE FISHER

Curator of Visual Instruction, American Museum

PHOTOGBAPHS BY THE AUTHOR

March 29, 1931, 7n.arked the tenth anniversary of the passing of John Burroughs,
whose life and. works are so well known to many readers of Natural History
Magazine. The John Burroughs Merrwrial Association has honored this anniver-
sary by the publication of The Slabsides Book of John Burroughs, which is just off
the presses of the Houghton Mifflin Company. The following is a chapter as written
for this book, by one whose friendship for John Burroughs extended over a period of
many years. — The Editors

IN the waning days of the Nineteenth
Century there happened to fall into
my hands a Httle volume of essays
entitled Signs and Seasons written by
John Burroughs, the first of this author's
books that I had ever seen. I am not
sure that I can tell why it impressed me.
The unobtrusive style surely had some-
thing to do with it, but there was much
more than that. The simplicity, the
genuineness, and the sympathy of the
man shone out through the lines, and I

came to feel a strong affection for the
writer as a man before I had finished
reading the book. This affection grew as
I read his earlier books and deepened as I
read his later ones — those which followed
Signs and Seasons.

John Burroughs believed that litera-
ture is observation plus the man, and this
is indicated by his reply to a friend who
had urged him to write his autobiography:
"My books are my autobiography."

It seems to me that John Burroughs

win/ JOHN BiJiiuouGiis at slahsidhs

fjOl

lias succeeded in puttinjz; himself in his
hooks as few men of letters have
done.

Of John Burroughs' style, one of his
critics has said, "His manner of writing is
HO unaffected that we feel we could write
in such a manner ourselves. Only we
cannot."

Although his essays read so easily,
much hard work, much revision, was
necessary to make this possible. How-
ever, our literary naturalist always pro-
tested against his books being called
"The Works of John Burroughs," since
so much of play had gone into the making
of them. Here we note the joy he had in
his writing, a fact most significant.

"Man can have but one interest in
nature, namely, to see himself reflected
or interpreted there, and we quickly neg-
lect both poet and philosopher who fail
to satisfy, in some measure, this feeling."
So wrote the Sage of Slabsides in the first
of his books that I ever read. It is an

important, u really fundamental truth,
which every teacher and every writer
should bear in mind.

I am now convinced that it would have
made no difference which of the early
books of Burroughs came first to my
attention, although when my advice is
asked, I usually recommend prospective
readers to begin with his first outdoor
book, Wake-rohin, written in Washington,
D. C, and while Abraham Lincoln was
president of these United States. Bur-
roughs' description of the song of the
hermit thru.sh (in itself a classic) is
in this vohune. To him this song was
"the finest sound in nature." Altogether,
it is doubtful whether Burroughs has
written a more charming collection of
essays than Wake-rohin. In this book,
chiefly about birds, he chose for its sug-
gestive title the name of a wild flower that
blooms in the woods when the birds are
returning in the spring. His study of the
birds and flowers went hand in hand, and

RAMBLING THROUGH THE NOVEMBER WOODS
.John Burroughs and Clyde Fisher examing an herb-robert flower near Slabsides

502

NATURAL HISTORY

JOHN BURROUGHS IN SLABSIDES

Taken November 7, 1920, this photograph proved to be the last one

made of Mr. Burroughs at Slabsides. At this table he wrote

Whitman: A Study, and many of his nature essays

we find them in close proximity on his
page, as they are in nature.

In Wake-robin, Burroughs says, "Take
the first step in ornithology, . . . and you
are ticketed for the whole voyage." I like
to paraphrase this as follows: "Take the
first step in John Burroughs' books, and
you are ticketed for the whole long shelf-
ful."

My first letter from John Burroughs
came in 1902 in response to a question
of mine concerning the reason and instinct
of animals. In that reply he stated:
"My opinion is that animals have powers
that are analogous to, or the same as, the
first rudimentary steps of human reason —

that is, they draw infer-
ences from facts and com-
pare one thing with
another." This letter
was written a year before
the nature-faking con-
troversy broke out and
swept the country, but'
it is an interesting co-
incidence that the sub-
ject is the same, especial-
ly since it was an article
l)y John Burroughs
( ' ' Real and Sham Natur-
al History") in t\iG At-
lantic Monthly which
started the controversy.
When in 1903 I first
came to New York City
from Ohio, the thing I
wanted most to do was
to hunt out John Bur-
roughs in his home
haunts. Impulsively I
took the Hudson River
Day Line boat for Pough-
keepsie, crossed the river
to the village of
Highland on the west
bank, then went by rail
six miles north to the
little hamlet. West Park,
where he lived. How eagerly I walked
the quarter of a mile from the railway
station to his home! Actually within a
few minutes of meeting face to face the
author of Signs and Seasons, and all the
other books I had by then come to love!

Perhaps you can imagine my suppressed
excitement as I waited at the door of his
picturesque stone dwelling at Riverby for
the response to my ring. A long wait,
and the door was slowly opened by Mrs.
Burroughs, who told me, inexorably, that
Mr. Burroughs had gone to Slide Moun-
tain in the Catskills and would not be
home till the next Wednesday.

Now I had to return to Ohio before

WITH JOHN HI'h'UOfJfJHS AT SLA/iSfD/'JS

503

"next Wednesday."
Suddenly I became
a sadder and a wiser
man as it dawned
upon me that I
should have written
to see if Mr. Bur-
roughs would be at
home, and whether
it would be conve-
nient for him to have
me call. I must
have assumed un-
consciously that he
who was always in-
terested in Nature
at his door would
always be at home.
Although it was a
case of "Hamlet
with Hamlet left
out," I did look
about Riverby a
bit, — saw the lay of

^«!^7~// "^mmju^ d^Ji^it'i,^ —

"^^ /*«^ ^a***^

The first letter Clyde Fisher received from
Mr. Burroughs, dated July 7, 1902

the land, with its
many acres of
vineyards, as it
slopes down to the
liver, the pictur-
i-sfiue Bark Study,
the summer-house,
;ind the stone
ilwelling which was
1 1 is home for more
tiian forty years,
I lie building of
which he describes
so vividly in "Roof-
tree," the last essaj'
in Signs and Scfi-
sdiis. There he says :
" Everj' man's
house is in some
sort an effigy of
himself. It is not
the .snails and shell-
fish alone that ex-
crete their tene-

SLABSIDES
Interior view, showing fireplace in which Burroughs cooked his food, and the table on which he did

his writing

504

NATURAL HISTORY

THE WOODS KOAD LEADING TO SLABSIDES
After leaving the main highway, the road to Slabsides winds through a beautiful stretch of hemlock

forest

ments, but man as well. When you seri-
ously build a house, you make public
proclamation of your taste and man-
ners, or your want of these." Speaking
of his success in finding suitable blocks
of stone on the surrounding slopes, he
remarks, "But when you bait your hook
with your heart, the fish always bite."
His ideas of inside finishing are thus in-
dicated in the same essay: "The natural
color and grain of the wood give a rich-
ness and simplicity to an interior that no
art can make up for. How the eye loves a
genuine thing; how it deUghts in the
nude beauty of the wood! A painted
surface is a blank, meaningless surface;
but the texture and figure of the wood is
full of expression."

More than ten years passed before I
had the opportunity of redeeming the
disappointment concerning my first visit
to Riverby. Mr. and Mrs. Burroughs
were then living with Dr. Clara Barrus in
" The Nest " at Riverby, an attractive cot-

tage on a bench of land below the stone
dwelling, a few rods from the Bark Study.
Mrs. Fisher and I had the privilege of
taking luncheon at "The Nest" with Mr.
Burroughs and Doctor Barrus (who
became later his literary executor and
biographer). Mrs. Burroughs being ill
at the time did not join us at luncheon.

Before going to Riverby, I had learned
that Mr. Burroughs did his writing chiefly
in the forenoon. I knew that he had said,
"My mind works best, and my faith is
strongest, when the day is waxing and not
waning." He was never a burner of mid-
night oil. In view of his habits as to
writing, we proposed not to disturb him
until lunch time. I had brought my
camera, hoping to get a picture of the
poet-naturalist, so started out before
noon to make a few pictures about his
home, first undertaking to photograph
the summer-house, a few steps from the
bark-covered study. In this summer-
house, which commands a wonderful

WITH JOHN BUUROUGHS AT SLABSIDES

505

viow up and down tlic river, Mr. Bur-
roughs used to sit by the hour during the
warmer months of the year, reading or
thinliing out the essays he has given us.
Just as I was focusing my camera on the
summer-house, Mr. Burroughs, who,
from within, had seen me, appeared in the
doorway of his study. He greeted me
cordially, and said unaffectedly, "I
thought you might like to have me in the
picture." Delighted with his kind offer,
I turned and photographed him as he
stood in the door of the little bark-covered
study; again, when he was examining the
wren-box on the big sugar maple by the
summer-house, and again as he sat by the
fireplace in the study. My photographic
wishes were thus unexpectedly more than
fulfilled before lunch time.

At luncheon we talked of the farm. I
have always felt that my stock went up

with Mr. Burroughs when he learned
that I was born and reared on a farm. In
deference to my training as a botanist,
he told us about some of the rare plants
he had found in that vicinity, especially
the climbing-fumitory, ormountain-fringe,
and the sliowy lady'.s-.slipper.

Besides having both been farm-boys,
and having a keen interest in the wild
flowers, we discovered anotlier common
bond — our ancestors, on both sides, had
been Old School, or"Hard-shell," Baptists.

Now of course we were eager to see
Slabsides, for of all the homes associated
with Mr. Burroughs, Slabsides is the
best known. After luncheon, he con-
ducted us up to this rustic cabin, which is
located about a mile and three-quarters
in a westerly direction from Riverby.
We left the main highway, and follow'ed
a winding woods road which leads through

FALLS ON BLACK CREEK NEAR SLABSIDES
Near this point Walt Whitman, when visiting John Burroughs, sat on a fallen log and wrote a descrip-
tion of the region which was later printed in Specimen Days

506

NATURAL HISTORY

INTERIOR OF SLABSIDES

Showing the dining table; a rustic chair; the partition-wall between the living-room and the down-
stairs bedroom, made of yellow-birch poles with the bronze-colored bark still intact; Mr. Burroughs'
bed through the open doorway; and a young visitor on the stair

a beautiful stretch of hemlock forest.
It was a fine day in early November,
and as we walked along, Mr. Burroughs
would occasionally pluck a gorgeous leaf
from a young oak tree, and, holding it up
between his eye and the sun, would com-
ment on its beauty. I never realized until
then how much more beautiful an autumn
leaf is by transmitted light than by re-
flected light.

On the way through the woods we
flushed a ruffed grouse, or partridge, as
Mr. Burroughs called it, from the road in
front of us, and it whirred away through
the woods. We were all delighted
with this glimpse of wild life. As Mr.
Burroughs watched the bird's flight he
said fervently, "I hope it will escape the
gunners this fall." On many subsequent
visits to Slabsides I have been peculiarly
gratified to see this bird, or its tell-tale
' ' signs, ' ' around the cabin.

Slabsides is so well hidden by the en-

circling hills that one comes almost upon
it before seeing it. It is sheltered under
the brow of a steep, rocky cliff. The
weather-boarding is made of slabs with the
bark still on — hence the expressive name.
At the south end is a chimney connecting
with the large fireplace within, built from
stones from the near-by cliff.

On the inside, Slabsides, with its rustic
furniture, and its partitions of yellow
birch with the beautiful bronze-colored
bark still intact, is even more attractive
than the outside. There are rustic hick-
ory chairs, and two wonderful rustic beds,
with old-fashioned, home-spun, woolen
coverlets, which Mr. Burrough's mother
had had made. The bed in the bedroom
on the first floor is built into the house and
has a substantial and comfortable look.
The one in the south room upstairs is
even more picturesque. It is made chiefly
of bark-covered yellow birch, the upright
pieces at the head being of sinuately fur-

wiT/f JOHN m iwoi '(;//s a t slabs/ des

.J07

rowed and I'idgosd horii-bcam (CarpinuH).
The legs of the writing table are tridents
of stag-horn sumac. The author tohl me
that he had found these inverted, sym-
metrical tripod-formations more fre-
quently in stag-horn sumac tlian in any
other of our trees or shrubs.

That Mr. Burroughs had an eye for the
picturesque in the natural forms to be
found in the woods is evidenced many
times in his cabin, notably in the arm at
the end of a window-seat, in the hemlock
crosspiece above the fireplace, made
spiral by climbing bittersweet or some
other twiner, and in the peculiar, X-
shaped pine root over
the door of the bedroom
downstairs. This last,
and another similar to
it, which lies back of the
front door in the living-
room, had been dug up
when the swamp south
of the cabin was drained.
Mr. Burroughs told me
about also unearthing
from this peat soil a
piece of wood that had
been cut by beavers
probably hundreds of
years ago.

It was in 1895 that
Mr. Burroughs built
Slabsides, in order to get
away from the annoy-
ances and interruptions
of civilization. During
the late eighteen-nine-
ties and early nineteen-
hundreds he did much
of his writing there. Al-
though his residence
continued to be at Riv-
erby, he spent consider-
able time at Slabsides
during these years,
sometimes staying
only a day or two at a

time, again remaining for several weeks,
usually, liowever, with daily trips to
Riverby to keep an eye on the vineyards.
All the wild life about this mountain
cabin holds unusual interest because it
has been so sympathetically interpreted
in the essays of Burroughs. He named
the region round about Slabsides, includ-
ing that of Black ("reek, "Whitman
Land." Not that Whitman ever saw
Slabsides, for the cabin was not built till
several years after the poet's death, but
Whitman had roamed with Burroughs
about that region anrl had written a vivid
description of Black Creek and its en-

JOHN BURROUGHS' BED
Note the X-shaped pine root above the bedroom door, and the stag-
horn-sumac legs of the stand. The headboard of the bed is made of
yellow-birch poles split in half, with bark still intact

508

NATURAL HISTORY

virons, which is printed in his Speci-
men Days. Furthermore, Burroughs
said that the sentiment of the wild and
the elemental, which one experiences
there, suggests these same qualities so
characteristic of Whitman.

I learned on my first visit to Slabsides
that John Muir, the Naturalist of the
Sierras, had been one of Slabsides' earliest
guests. He had come in 1897 and had
spent some days there.

"Muir told us the story of Stickeen one
night while he was there," said Mr. Bur-
roughs, who added that it is one of the
greatest dog stories in literature, ranking
with Dr. John Brown's "Rab and his
Friends."

Our host talked much of his friend
Muir, their journeyings together in Alas-
ka, and, a dozen years later, in the
Petrified Forests of Arizona, the Grand
Canon of the Colorado, and in Yosemite.

It was especially interesting to hear Mr.
Burroughs' lively account of the visit of
President and Mrs. Roosevelt to Slab-
sides in July, 1903. They had come up
the Hudson in "The Sylph" on the hot-
test day of the summer — 96 degrees in the
shade at Slabsides. The host and his
guests walked from the river up to the
mountain cabin. At luncheon in Slab-
sides, the President jumped up several
times during the meal to refill his cup at
the pail of cold water brought from the
near-by spring. As he told us of the
strenuous life of the President, and their
experiences during the camping trip the
previous spring in Yellowstone Park, Mr.
Burroughs said: "There is no dead wood
in Roosevelt."

At President Roosevelt's summer place
at Pine Knot, Virginia, Mr. Burroughs
visited him one May during the height of
bird migration. The two friends went
birding and worked hard all day to see
how many species they could identify.
In all, they found some seventy different
kinds, two of which were new to the

President and two of which were new to
Mr. Burroughs. Had they found the
Lincoln's sparrow, which President Roose-
velt had seen there before, but which Mr.
Burroughs had never seen anywhere, the
President would have been one ahead.

"And," said Mr. Burroughs, "I had
been studying birds more than fifty
years."

He told about the difficulty he and
Roosevelt had in identifying a female
blue grosbeak. In closing this story, Mr.
Burroughs said with emphasis, "Roose-
velt knows the birds."

When our naturalist President dedi-
cated one of his outdoor books to Oom
John, as he was pleased to call Mr.
Burroughs, he wrote him, "It is a good
thing for our people that you have lived."

It was a delight to find a wild flower in
bloom so late in the fall (November 6)
on that memorable day when I had my
first woodland ramble with John Bur-
roughs— a little reddish-purple fiower, the
herb-robert. The tiny flower seemed
quite at home when placed between the
leaves of Wake-robin, which I had brought
along in order to get Mr. Burroughs to
inscribe it for me ; and it still graces the
little volume, properly mounted, and duly
labeled, as the first botanical specimen I
ever gathered while walking with Bur-
roughs.

The hearty words which Mr. Burroughs
said as he bade us farewell that evening
at the little station at West Park, rang in
our ears all the way back to New York:

"Whenever you want to come to Slab-
sides the key is yours ! "

Could hospitality farther go? In
response to this generous invitation, we
have camped in the rustic cabin for two or
three days at a time, about twice a year
since our first visit. We have been
there in May when the warblers were
abundant, and we have been there the
last week in November, with the ther-
mometer down to twenty at night, when.

WITH JOHN lil'UUOl '(II I H A T SLAIiSI DI'IS

.')09

THE BUlUAiXD STEAK

John Burroughs and Clyde Fisher cooking a brigand steak, — the last that Mr. Burroughs ever

cooked at Slabsides

instead of warblers around the cabin,
we had the winter wren, the junco, and
the chickadee. On one of these trips,
Thomas B. Harned, one of the hterary
executors of Walt Whitman, was among
the guests.

My last visit with Mr. Burroughs was
during the week-end of November 6-8,
1920, the first of these three days being
the anniversary of my first visit. We
camped in Slabsides, and on the second
day (November 7) Mr. Burroughs spent
several hours with us at the cabin. He
cooked one of his favorite brigand steaks
for luncheon — the last he ever cooked at
Slabsides. The brigand steak reminds me
of the shish kebab of the Armenian restau-
rants, and I wonder whether there is any
relation in the origin of the two.

It was an event to see Mr. Burroughs
prepare the brigand steak, first cutting
sticks of sugar maple about six feet long
and about three-quarters of an inch in
diameter at the larger end, and from there

sloping down to the size of a thick lead
pencil. He removed the bark from about
eighteen inches of the smaller end and
sharpened the tip. The steak was sliced
thin — about three-quarters of an inch —
and then cut into pieces about two inches
in diameter. Besides the steak, there were
sliced bacon and young onions. Yes,
onions! Mr. Burroughs reminded us
that cooking takes all the conceit out of
an onion. It is necessary to have young,
succulent onions, which do not fall to
pieces when threaded upon the skewer or
spit. I noted how deftly he ran the
sharpened stick through the young onion,
transversely just above the bulb.

First, he pushed a piece of steak over
the point of the spit, following it with a
folded piece of bacon, and then a young
onion; again a piece of steak, the bacon,
and the onion, and so on, in this order, as '
beads on a string. Having placed a big
stone on the opposite side of the fire,
upon which to rest the tip of the long.

510

NATURAL HISTORY

slender spit, he rotated the prepared food
over the fire, the while a most appetizing
odor regaled the standers-by.

When I saw Mr. Burroughs thrust the
brigand steak right into the flame, I
said to him,

"Aren't you going to wait until the
fire burns down to a bed of coals?"

"Oh, no," he replied, "the brigands
didn't have time to do that. The
smoke won't hurt it."

And it did not. It requires but a few
minutes to cook a brigand steak. Salt
it, and eat it while it is hot, and you
will detect in yourself a fellow feeling for
Robin Hood and all his merry band, and
for life under the greenwood trees.

Accepting the Universe had been pub-
lished shortly before this visit of ours to
Slabsides, and as Mr. Burroughs was
preparing the brigand steak, we talked of
the new book, its author expressing keen
pleasure at the evident warmth with
which it had been received.

On the afternoon of that November
day, I made my last photograph of John
Burroughs, and what also proved to be the
last photograph made of him at Slabsides.
A few days later he started for California .

My last visit with Mr. Burroughs at
Slabsides was almost an exact anniversary
of my first, and we found, as on the first
visit, the punctual little herb-robert
blooming there. We found in bloom two
other flower neighbors with whom the
Sage of Slabsides had long been on friendly
terms, — the climbing-fumitory, or moun-
tain fringe, and the flower with which Na-
ture says goodbye for the year, — the deli-
cate, pale yellow bloom of the witch-hazel.

Toward evening, as John Burroughs
left Slabsides to go down to the Nest at
Riverby, we walked with him to the bend
of the road, and there, under the hemlocks,
bade him goodbye. It proved to be our
last goodbye, for in the spring his earthly
journey ings ended as he was returning
home from California.

We shall never speak with him again,
or feel the friendly clasp of his hand, or
look into his honest gray-blue eyes, but he
lives in our hearts. John Burroughs did
perhaps more than any one else to open
our eyes to the beauty of nature, and he
has left us a priceless legacy in his books.
But greater even than the poet-naturalist
and philosopher is John Burroughs, the
simple, genuine, human man.

JOHN BURROtJGHS
E SONG OF THE
RMIT THRUSH WAS
E FINEST SOUND
IN NATURE

Jade Belt

OltNAMK.VT

MODERN METHODS OF CARVING JADE'

The Art of the Chinese Lapidary of Today Shows Many
Advances Over That of Two Centuries Ago

By HERBERT P. WHITLOCK

Curator, Minerals and Gems, American Museum

IN all the manual arts the artist de-
pends upon perfection of skill in the
execution of his work rather than
upon elaborate tools or accessories. The
same kinds of brushes, the same form of
palette, and to a large extent the same
pigments with which Raphael wrought
his masterpieces would serve equally well
the painter of today.

A modern violin virtuoso actually pre-
fers to play upon an instrument made by
Stradivarius two hundred and fifty years
ago. It is because the tools of these arts
are simple that we have not improved
upon them ; because the hand and the eye
are so essential that they are hampered
rather than aided by mechanical con-
trivances. It is said that Ruskin pro-
duced his best etching with the broken
tine of a steel fork.

What is true of all the manual arts is
especially and significantly true as applied
to the carving of small objects executed by
the Chinese and the Japanese.

Between these two groups of artisans
there are certain essential differences.
The Japanese express their glyphic sense
mainly through the medium of ivory and
wood. The sole exception to this general-
ization, if we may call it an exception, is
the fashioning of polished spheres from
rock crystal.

On the other hand Chinese carvers work
chiefly in the decorative stones such as
jade, rock crystal, amethyst, chalcedony,
jasper, rose quartz, carnelian, turquois,
lapis lazuli, not to mention softer mediums
such as serpentine, malachite, and amber.

Again, whereas the Japanese artists
employ an elaborate realism, albeit often
with a certain grotesque humor, the
lapidaries of China conventionalize their
subjects, frequently developing this con-
ventionalization into a symbolism rich in
significance and beauty.

The ivory and wood carvers of Japan
sign their work, thus handing down their
names to posterity, whereas the master-

^The carved jade pieces illustrated

1 this article are from the collection of Dr. I. W. Drummond and were recently
presented by him to the American Museum.

POLISHING EDGES

The Chinese lapidary
craftsman is polishing
the edge of a jade carv-
ing on a wheel made of
successive layers of ox-
leather charged with
putty powder, rouge, or
ruby dust. The two
treadles which are at-
tached to the ends of the
belt passing around the
spindle are operated by
alternate pressure of the
feet. The direction of
rotation changes with
every stroke of the foot

DRILLING

Drilling a hole in a piece
of jade is the first step
in the carving of a snuff
bottle or vase. The
drill is turned by means
of a bow operated by the
right hand. With his
left hand the lapidary
is feeding abrasive paste
to the drill

CUTTING

These two men are cut-
ting a block of jade by
means of a wire charged
with emery. The wire is
operated much as a cross
cut saw is used by
lumbermen. The boy in
the middle of the picture
is keeping the cut liber-
ally supplied with a thin
paste of emery and
water

PRIMITIVE
EQUIPMENT

The mechanical stock in
trade of the Chinese
lapidary is primitive in
the extreme. The disk
of metal with which the
craftsman shown in the
picture is cutting the
block of ornamental
stone, is charged with a
paste of abrasive. Other
grinding and polishing
attachments lie at his
feet

514

NATURAL HISTORY

piece of a Chinese lapidary, however
elaborately or skillfully it may be wrought ,
is never signed. It would almost seem as
though to the patient and highly skilled
artists of the Flowery Kingdom the execu-
tion of an admirable work constitutes its
own reward.

The most ancient as well as the most
interesting medium employed by Chinese
lapidary artists is that group of mineral
varieties known as jade. At present
the sources of raw material for Chinese
carved jade are as various as the ma-
terial itself. From the Khotan district
of Eastern Turkistan comes the white or
nearly white nephrite known as yil. The
dark green colors include nephrite from
the neighborhood of Lake Baikal, and the

opaque brighter green jadeite from Yun-
nan. The choicest emerald green jadeite
known to us as "imperial jade" is mined
in the Mogaung district in upper Burmah.

Simple as are the tools of the modern
Chinese carver of jade they are probably
many steps in advance of those used
prior to the K'ien Lung Dynasty. With
the reign of the Emperor K'ien Lung in
1736, Chinese art experienced a rennais-
sance which in the instance of jade carving
found expression in a supple and intricate
technique.

In all probability the advent of this
impulse toward more elaborate work in
jade carving found the lapidaries using
some primitive form of rotary drill proba-
bly aided and supplemented by incised
tool work such as we find
the world over in early

work

hard

POLISHING TOOLS
For polishing the parts of an intricate carving the craftsman uses
a small gourd skin or ox-leather wheel. In the actual cutting of
the design even smaller abrasive wheels and drills are employed

carved
stones.

Today the block of jade is
cut into slices by an iron wire
drawn across from side to
side, a liberal supply of
abrasive mixed with water
being supplied to the cut-
ting wire. A circular disk
of metal, rotated in alter-
nating directions by foot
treadles and also served
with abrasive, is used to
rough shape the piece much
as a draughtsman would
use charcoal to roughly
outline a design.

The design in relief and
what under cutting is nec-
essary is executed with
wheels of various sizes and
thicknesses all operated by
the simple device of a broad
belt passing over the spindle
of the cutting wheel and
drawn backward and for-
ward by the pressure of the
feet on treadles.

OLD JADE TUBE

Carved about 800 A.D., with an
incised geometric pattern. This
piece shows no evidence of hav-
ing been worked with a wheel

JADE SWINGING ORNAMENT
This( piece shows the remarkable
skill with which the K'ien Lung
lapidaries carved from one piece of
jade three links of a chain and a
swiveled Joint

JADE BOWL

Ming Dynasty
(A.D. 1368-1643).
Great simplicity
of design charac-
terizes this piece.
There is no orna-
ment and the
tools and methods
used were most
primitive

JADE DISK

DECORATED

WITH DRAGONS

The carving
shows the elabor-
ate detail in relief
and under cutting
of the K'ien Lung
period, with drill
and wheel work

A BELL OF JADE

K ' i e n Lung
period (1644-
1912). This
liandsome piece is
carved from old
jade. Ths decora-
tion shows elabor-
ate drill and wheel
work in sharp re-
lief

OLD JADE
BUCKLE
Decorated with a
primitive incised
pattern. IMing per-
iod (A. D. 1368-
1643). The pho-
tograph shows the
buckle mounted
on a stand

518

NATURAL HISTORY

Pendant
hite jade drilled for the insertion of
vhich will cut out on the dotted lines of the right

HALF OF "a". "b" SHOWS THE FINISHED DESIGN THE SYMBOL FOR

HAPPINESS SURROUNDED BY TWO DRAGONS AMID CLOUDS

When the
design has
been cut, the
same device
serves to ro-
tate the pol-
ishing tools, —
disks made of
fine-grained
wood or gourd
skin, or ox-
leather rolled
into narrow
but thick rolls
and smeared with ruby dust.

The intricate patterns of openwork
which characterize many of the pendants
and belt ornaments of the K'ien Lung
period were achieved by numberless holes
drilled through the thin jade plates in the
corners of the design by the use of
diamond drills operated by a wrapped
bowstring. The holes thus made were
connected by cuts made with wire saws,
which neatly sawed out the piece repre-
sented by the opening. How this was ac-
complished in the case of a rather simple
pierced work, is shown above.

The hollow which constitutes the inside
of a snuff bottle is always cut before the
outer surface. A hole is bored by means
of a tubular drill which is rotated with
a bow string to the depth needed. Then
small lap wheels inserted through the
neck gradually work out the shape of
the inside surface. Some of the contours
of these inside surfaces are by no means
simple, such elaborations as hour glass
contractions and square shoulders leav-

mg us com-
pletely mysti-
fied as to how
any rotating
tool could
have shaped
them. The
difficulty of
the inside of
the bottle
having been
successfully
overcome, the
outer sur-
face presents no hardships being treated
with various wheels like any other object.
For abrasives, the Chinese lapidary
uses (a) yellow sand (quartz); (b) red
sand (garnet); (c) black sand (emery);
(d) jewel dust (powdered ruby) .

It is with the last of these that the semi-
final polishing is accomplished, the actual
final polish being acquired by years of
fingering and rubbing in the hands of
generations of Chinamen who are the
fortunate owners of such a piece.

These are the bare outlines of the
jade carver's methods. It sounds simple,
and so does the drawing of a bow across a
violin string sound simple. One must re-
member that there are no sketches pre-
ceding these works of art. They must all
be visualized before tool touches stone,
and there must be no slip or mistake in the
execution of the design. Patience, al-
most infinite patience, is the price paid
for their perfection, — such patience, as
none but an oriental can attain, and no
westerner can even vaguely realize.

Jadb Manchu Hairpin

CARVED WITH THE OPEN PATTERN OF THE k'iEN LUNG PERIOD. THIS TECHNIQUE INVOLVED THE DRILLING OF ft
which were SUBSEQUENTLY CONNECTED WITH CUTS MADE WITH A WIRE SAW TO FORM THE OPEN PARTS OF '

TnElSEAVKHM HlT

IN Winter is an
Imprecnaole

FoRTREfiS

WHEN WINTER COMES TO THE
MAMMAL WORLD

How Nature Provides During the Cold, Lean Months for the Sur\-ival
of Many Warm-blooded Animals That Live in Variable Climates

By ROBERT T. HATT

Assistant Curator, Department of Mammals, American Museum

AS the earth spins along its circuit
of the sun, tilted as though Atlas
was wearied by the weight of the
land masses of the North, there comes a
period of the year in which the northern
hemisphere receives too little solar radia-
tion for our comfort. The mercury in the
thermometer emulates the woodchucks
and hides away in its nest at the bottom of
the tube. Waters expand, and the still
lakes develop hard, slippery coats over
their upper surfaces. Such water as
drops from the sky stays on the ground as
a mantle which levels the terrain and robs
the landscape of all its familiar little
features.

To the mammals, descendants of the
tribe of scaly sun baskers, this is a catas-
trophy that must be avoided or overcome.
Plant food is largely hidden, the entrances
to the dens are masked, scent is killed.

Land movers flounder in the drifts of
snow, tunnelers find the ground too hard
to dig, and swimmers may search in vain
for air holes in the ice. The predator
finds its dark summer coat too conspicu-
ous against the new, white background for
a successful stalk, and the preyed upon
finds it difficult to hide from the foe.
Light summer coats are inadequate pro-
tection against the penetrating north
winds and no amount of shivering keeps
the thinly clad mammal warm.

To flee the hostile winter is beyond the
powers of most mammals and the only
species which make migrations compar-
able to those of birds are such ocean
dwellers as the sea lions and the whales.
Bats and many others do migrate from
one district to another but in no known
case is the movement a very long one.

Some mammals which stay in or near

520

NATURAL HISTORY

BETWEEN SLEEPS

Between the seasons of snow the bears feed well and become as fat as pigs, so that by the time winter

comes these great beasts are able to sleep through it

the summer range spend the winter in a
profound comatose sleep called hiberna-
tion.

There are many of these great sleepers,
among them bears, ground squirrels,
woodchucks, chipmunks, skunks and
jumping mice, chiefly members of the
lower orders of mammals whose tempera-
ture regulation is less perfect than that of
higher creatures.

A bear, whether polar, grizzly, brown or
black, when it lives in northern latitudes
or high mountains, feeds bounteously in
the summer and autumn so that by the
time winter sets in in earnest, bruin does
not need to feed. For several days, if he
is healthy, he will not eat. His stomach
bunches up into a hard muscular knot
bearing more resemblance to a gizzard
than the distended bag of the berry
season. Days or weeks before this the
creature has probably hunted out a
crevice in the rocks, a protected place
beneath a fallen tree or some other site
where the snow will drift. Here he doses
off into a deep sleep which is more or

less continuous until spring brings him
forth.

The bear's sleep is not always profound,
however, as is attested by the tales of
hunters who have broken in on it.
The cubs are born here in the winter den
and the she-bear has not the advantages
of a continued twilight sleep to help her in
her travail. Her fat of the previous
summer must sustain not only her
through the long retirement but also the
growing twins. Perhaps it is for this
reason that bear cubs at birth are smaller
in proportion to the size of their mother
than any North American mammal
other than the opossum. But in spite of
all this drain on its resources, the bear is
usually fat even when it comes out from
the winter den and may not eat for a few

People do not often become over-
inquisitive about bear dens, but many of
us have disturbed the smaller sleepers,
and from these our knowledge of hiberna-
tion comes.

Many changes occur in the animal when

WffEN WINTER COMES TO THE MAMMAL WORLD

521

MEADOW STORE
The meadow mice most frequently keep
their houses under ground in winter but
sometimes the Rrassy globes of the
upper world are used the year around,
and in winter the snow may be found
melted just above the nests

Photograph by R. T. Halt

it hibernates. The rodents curl
up in a ball, their nose tucked
tightly in between the rear legs,
and the tail, such of it as there
chances to be, coiled about the
body. In this manner the animal
presents the least possible surface
to the cold world. No motion is
perceptible except occasional shallow
breathing movements. These latter in a
ground squirrel are only about one-one
hundredth of the average rate when
awake — their number decreasing with
lowered temperature. If respiration
ceases entirely for several minutes the
animal never breathes again. Heart
beats drop to an eightieth of the number
counted during normal slumber and the
circulation becomes so sluggish that from
a deep cut, which in summer would show
spurting blood, now but a few drops ooze
out. The body temperature sinks down
to within a few degrees of the air tem-

perature, and if the thermometer registers
nmch below freezing, the animal's seem-
ing death becomes actual.

The senses of the animal, if hiberna-
tion is deep, are functionless. Neither
light, noise, nor touch disturbs it. More
than one incredulous person has dissected
out a nerve of a dormant rodent and
pinched it without the animal exhibiting
response.

Metabolism is however not entirely

suspended, as proved hy the observation

that hibernating squirrels lose as much as

forty per cent of their autumnal weight.

Waking may be produced by handling

the animal for a long time or by

warming it, and such waking

usually occupies an hour or more,

though this may be hastened.

The golden-mantled ground

squirrel shown on page 523,

though so far below the level of

activity that it would not move

if pinched, under the influence of

the bright sunlight uncurled and

ran away in seventeen minutes.

The waking-up process is often

THE JUMPING MOUSE
Though most of our mice keep active,
under the snow, the jumper rolls up
into a tight ball, wraps his long tail
about him, and all but suspends life
itself, until the season of flowers

Photograph by M, C. Dickerson

522

NATURAL HISTORY

Photograph by R. T. Halt

FROSTED MUSHROOMS FOR A CHICKAREE

The red squirrels cut and dry great numbers of

mushrooms which they hang in trees and seek

out again when better foods are gone

first evident in shaking movements and a
lessening in the tension of the flexor
muscles. The head rocks violently. If
touched on the face at this stage the
head moves towards the pressure but
the eyes remain closed and the animal
makes no move to bite. The eyelids part
slowly but for minutes after the eyes
are open they seem not to see. The fore
limbs gradually become active, and,
eventually, the rear feet come under
voluntary control so that
the animal, senses alert,
may run away.

The woodchuck is one
of the most profound
sleepers of the lot but is
not so regular in his
habits as he is given
credit for being. These

GRAY HARVESTERS
The gray squirrel, though less
of a northerner than the red,
has the instinct to put away
food for the winter strongly
developed, and without
hibernation spends the winter
comfortably

Photograph by M. C. Dickersori

animals usually retire at the end of Sep-
tember, and, if the weather is mild, may
come out on the appointed ground-hog
day; but probably it is not their
shadow that sends them back to the den
for a last wink before the busy spring
season comes.

Our several species of tree squirrels curl
their bushy tails about their noses and
remain quiet during days of very stormy
weather but they do not hibernate even
at the northern limit of tree growth.

The chipmunk sleeps from the first of
November to March, but he buries a good
supply of food in the winter den, and it is
suspected that he frequently wakes up
enough to slip out to the pantry to satis-
fy a well-earned appetite.

The winter sleep of bats may be called a
hibernation for it is a long period of
inactivity, yet their slumber is light, and a
little handling will cause the animals to
shake off all lethargy. Some of the species,
at least, hang up in the warmest place that
they are able to find. I remember finding
a pair of brown bats suspended from a
beam in the boiler room of a large build-
ing, but these, though I took them in mid-
winter, were wide awake.

Mankind has been so jealous of the
ability of the "lower animals" to lie dor-

WHEN W/NTEIi COMES TO THE MAMMAL WORLD

523

mant, needing nothinfr, wunting nothing,
for the bad months of th(; y(!ar, that a long
Hne of researches has centered about the
subject. So far have the researches gone
that it has proved possible to produce
in dogs and cats a state simulating the
hibernation of animals that normally
undergo this annual sleep. These mid-
summer hibernating dogs and cats have
been anesthetized, cooled off in a cold
bath, and given insulin. Several hours
later, vt^ith the blood sugar concentration
greatly reduced, the animals did not shiver
even though their body temperature was
30 degrees below normal. Wide-awake
woodchucks, given enough insulin to
produce a profound deficiency of blood
sugar, pass into deep hibernation even
though but moderately cooled. Ground
squirrels, whose natural habits include the
comatose sleep of the snow months, are
encouraged to hibernate by obesity, by
reduced food rations, low temperatures,
and even confinement.

Many are the animals that stay near
their summer homes without hibernating,
and there probably is not one of these
that does not insulate itself against the
cold by donning a new coat of thick
winter fur and by laying on fat. Some
animals specialize in fur and others in fat.
"The porcupine for example could find

Photograph by R. T. HaU

HIBERNATING GROUND SQUIRREL

Hibernation is a close approach to death. The

heart slows down, breathing all but stops, and

the animal is without sensation

little comfort in his coat if he did not
carry beneath it enough suet to insulate
an ocean dweller from the water's con-
stant cold. Man's best fur supplj^ comes
not from the creatures whose fat is their
chief defence against the cold, but from
those who beneath a sleek guarding layer
of long, thick hairs carry a dense, velvety
mat of soft, woolly fur. The best of these
pelts are found on the flesh-eaters and the
water-dwelling rodents. The latter must
face the problem of keeping a layer of air
next to the skin, and
they do this in the same
way as the flesh-eaters
whose enemy environ-
ment is the cold air. The
beaver was once the basis
for the great fur trade
that first carried the
civilization of the Old

A WINTER SLEEPER
The .chipmunks busy them-
selves in autumn getting fat
and putting away stores of
food that must be used to
satisfy a yearning for some-
thing to eat in a mid-winter
awakening

Photograph by M. C. Dickerson

524

NATURAL HISTORY

World into the north and west of America.
Commodities were priced in beaver skins
and these at the trading posts largely
took the place of money. Today the
range and abundance of the beaver has
so decreased that the animal is a minor
item in the fur business, but its little
cousin, the muskrat,
which parasitized
the beaver ponds
in beaver days has
taken the dam
builder's place as
the chief item of the
fur trade. Louisi-
ana's broad
marshes produce a
major share of the
crop, and the value
of these furs is
double that of all
furs from all species
produced by any
other state, and
very nearly double
that of Ontario, the
greatest fur-pro-
ducing Canadian
province. The total
number of Loui-
siana pelts is close

to that produced by the whole of the
northern Dominion.

Though the pond- and stream-dwelUng
vegetarians give us many fine pelts, the
most prized furs are borne by the rarer
flesh-eaters. Sable, silver fox, and otter
are famous for the beauty and the luxuri-
ousness of their coats, and these are so
much in demand that the creatures who
bear them are now bred as farm animals,
though not easily.

The caribou has a coat which, though
without the air-retaining under-fur, is
both light and warm. Each one of its hairs
is a hollow cylinder of air and these hairs
are so closely packed that the coat is as
perfect for its purpose as any that we know.

Photograph by R T Halt

4 CllICKAUEE'S W \IirHOT -lE

Near the nest tree the Httle red squirrels put

away underground both cones and nuts that

they dig out when other supphes fail them

If the animals had to carry these heavy,
warm winter coats throughout the year,
they would weary of the summer, so
nature has provided that all mammals
living in the zones of well marked
warm and cold seasons may change their
clothing twice a year.

The bi-annual
shedding and re-
placement was most
probably at first a
provision for ther-
mal regulation, but
now among some
species other
changes than the
heat-adjusting
mechanism have
followed with the
shift, and these ad-
justments seem to
those of us who
would see harmony
in everything, as
adaptational. As
was observed be-
fore, the obliterat-
ing summer color
pattern of our
mammals stands
out against the
snow as conspicuously as a white sail
against the blue sea. A few of our four-
footed neighbors have been so lucky as
to have mutated or otherwise produced
a causative factor for the winter appear-
ance of a white coat. The weasel turns
to ermine in the winter, the arctic fox
changes from blue to white, the Greenland
hare from a grayish tone to the shade of
snow. The shifting shades are not quite
absolute. The ermine holds the tip of its
tail black, the northern hares the tips of
their ears. And, as we must be logical,
we excuse these slips of Nature's fitness by
stating that the hares and ermines keep
the black beauty spots so that their
friends may find them.

Wfll'JN WINTER COMES TO THE MAMMAL WOULD

525

It is good roriuiic lor th(^ species
that the change in color does not
follow the species and the calen-
dar wherever the creatures go.
Our southern weasels in snowless
areas and the arctic hares in
regions of perpetual snow are
allowed to keep their most favor-
ing coat color the year around.
Hair is one of Nature's great in-
ventions, possibly the greatest
single one to which the mammals
lay claim. It allows them to re-
tain their heat, to change their
color ; it keeps off the rain, pro-
tects the skin from the scratches
of vegetation and the fangs of
foes. Some northerners have
found another use for it: to broaden
their feet that they may walk lightly
over the drifted snow where small-footed
animals would sink in to their bellies.
The snow-shoe hare has gained his name
from such a winter change of feet. The
bob cat, too, expands its silent paws with
a growth of stiff hairs, as though he had
learned a lesson from his principal ob-
ject of pursuit. The moose has been
hard pressed by winter snows and has
taken to long stilt-like legs that he may
keep his belly well above the drifts;
but even with this advantage over the
deer, the deep northern snows prove

///i bu n. T. llaU
A HI,.sLlil m i

The desert wood-rats build great, trashy houses full of

thorns that in winter are blanketed with snow and must

approach the comfort of a beaver's lodge

too much for the species and, instead of
wandering at will to browse where fancy
dictates, a lone bull or a cow and her calf
will take to some sheltered place of abun-
dant food and, by moving back and forth
over the space of a few acres, keep a well-
packed yard free for their feeding and
their exercise. As one section becomes
exhausted of food, they will enlarge their
yard to include new trees, or the ani-
mals will set out to establish a new
stamping ground. Gunners take advan-
tage of the yarded moose and easilj^ shoot
them when they are forced to leave their
home circle for the treacherous drifts.

There are few mammals
that circumvent the winter
spectre by migration, for
most of them are not capable
of the long period of trek,
i Some seals, sea lions, and
certain whales spend their
summers in the northern

A SQUIRREL'S IDEA
One summer a camp's supply of
candles mysteriously disappeared.
Later this cache was found, and
the campers knew that a red
squirrel had a new idea concern-
ing winter food

Photograph by R. T. Halt

626

NATURAL HISTORY

Photograph by R T. Hail

AFTER GROUND-HOG DAT

The woodchuck sleeps deeply and the winter

puts his home in disrepair. His reawakening is

signalized by the fresh lot of earth pushed out of

the hibernating den

latitudes and breed there, but move
southward before the ice. The sea hons
probably do this to follow up the south-
ward moving shoals of fish, the whalebone
whales to feed where micro-organisms are
the most abundant.

The caribou make great shifts in their
feeding ranges but these shifts are not
regular, and the Indians of Canada who
look to these great herds of deer for meat
to carry them through the winter do not
know in advance where they must inter-
cept the drift. It has often happened
that a band of Esquimaux or Indians have
perished in their search for the moving
herd. Our western wapiti are more regular
in their movements, but here the moun-
tainous terrain gives the animals little
choice of the routes that they shall follow.
In the Yellowstone, one large group, the
"southern herd," a diffuse mass of some
19,000 individuals, moves southward over
the boundary of the Park into the Jack-
son's Hole region. At the momer;t of
crossing the border of their summer ref-
uge thousands have been slain by hunters
who knew exactly where to expect them.

The mountain sheep and mountain
goats, most wary of our game, spend the
summers high in the hills, but the snows
that early reach the peaks force the sheep
to move down into the valleys and make
it necessary for the goats to go below
timber line. These creatures have a
danger confronting them that even the
most mountain-wise old billies cannot
inevitably escape, the snow slides or
avalanches, which in spring thunder down
the steep slopes and completely wipe out
everything in their way.

The seasonal movements of bats,
though our ignorance concerning these is
greater than our knowledge, are appar-
ently chiefly local changes of habitat and
hardly true migrations. The bats of our
latitude are dependent on the insect sup-
ply, and when this fails with the onset of
cold weather, the bats spend their time in
sleep. Some species at least change their
abodes from the cool, well aerated summer
roost to a warmer or more protected site,
where they are less likely to be dis-
covered by the naturalist. It is improb-

Photograph I

THE PRAIRIE DOG'S HOME

Though prairie dogs may be seen on sunny days

out on the snow, they usually keep inactive and

hve on their summer's fat

WHEN WINTER COMES TO THE MAMMAE WOEIJJ

527

alile thiit any phase of North American
mammalogy is in a more virginal state
than the study of the seasonal move-
ments of bats, and any group of bird
banders that switch their attention t<i
these more elusive flyers will, if they can
recover some of their bands, reap a harvest
of unique information.

Few carnivores store up food, for most
of them are too particular to touch meat
that is long hung, and even though th(\\-
choose to keep their kill for their own later
consumption, flesh has a way of announc-
ing its presence to a large and greedy
population. The European mole is the
best example of a carnivorous mammal
that stores its food. It is known that it
paralyzes earthworms and stores them
away in great balls for future use, pre-
sumably the winter. Such proceedings
have not yet been observed in this coun-
try, but this may only await the proper
combination of patient investigator,
trowel, and luck.

Vegetarians may provide better for the
winter since their food will preserve more

Pliolograph by It. T. Halt

A RABBIT'S FIND

The rabbits are not as provident as their cousins,

the conies, and must hunt over the snow for the

slender picliings that are left them

rhuloaraph h), II. E. Anthony

MOrXTAl.N' HAV

Up among the roclcs the httle conies make hay

while the sun shines, to nourish them through the

winter. The rock shown above is sheltering a

thriftv store

readily. Some squirrels store nuts, mush-
rooms, truffles and cones. Our gray
squirrels, above all southern creatures,
are improvident and scatter their sav-
ings in countless little pockets which
probablj^ they may locate again only by
chance, but the industrious Httle red
creature of the North saves everything
and tends to centralize his holdings.
When the mushroom crop is at its height
he eats his fill and then carries a bounte-
ous supply of the left-overs to the trees
where they are left to dry. Alaskan
naturalists describe the mushroom store-
houses of the squirrels as resembhng
Christmas trees. Around New York the
worldly-wise squirrels do not put all their
eggs in a single basket but, in fear of a
raid, scatter the wherewithal for Christ-
mas cheer. Cones of spruce, pine, balsam
and of arbor vitse are put away under
ground while they are green so that the
seeds will not be scattered by the wind.
Under one rotted stump I dug out. the
winter playhouse of a pair of squirrels,
and leading off from this, several pockets in
which were more than one hundred cones.

528

NATURAL HISTORY

The beaver cuts branches in the summer
season which it sticks into the mud bot-
tom of its pond. These soon become
water-logged and stay well in place. In
winter, when the lake is frozen over, a
short swim out from the lodge to the
underwater pantry is all the trouble that
is necessary to obtain a meal. Usually
these stores are of the beaver's favorite
trees, aspen and the various soft woods of
the stream border, but where food is
scarce they will eat even the bark of the
conifers and will store branches of these
for the winter.

Two animals of the mountains of our
West are haymakers, the cony or rock
rabbit, and the "mountain beaver" or
sewellel. This latter animal though
living near streams is not the
water-loving creature that it
is commonly supposed to be.
It cuts the vegetation into
convenient lengths and drys
it in low bushes or across
logs. Some naturalists state
that the sewellel uses this

SPRUCE UNDERWATER
Long before the season of ice, the
beaver prepares for winter by sink-
ing a copious supply of branches
beneath the water. These soon
become waterlogged and stay well
in place

Photograph by R. T. Halt

WATER MIGRANTS
The sea lions give birth to their
young on land, and for this they
seek isolated islands in the far
north; then, as winter approaches,
they move southward along the
coasts to warmer fishing grounds
Photograph by R.C. Andrews

hay only for nest building
but inasmuch as storerooms
of it have been found care-
fully plugged up with sohd
balls of earth it seems prob-
able that the animal may, if
*' hungry, steal a little nest ma-
terial to satisfy its appetite.
The creature that has made the
Rocky Mountain rock slides famous is the
rabbit's dwarf cousin, the cony, haymaker
or pika. He does not live out in the
barren center of a great talus, but within
one hundred yards or less of its border
where he may make forays to the sur-
rounding green world in search of food.
This he cuts and piles up beneath the
shelter of some rock, where, nevertheless
it will catch the sun and ripen. The cony
is diurnal as strictly as may be, yet if a
rain comes up at night out he comes to
save his hay and carry it beneath the
safety of the rocks. It is an old moun-
tain fable that one may judge the severity
of the coming winter by the size of the
pika's haypile, but there is no reason to

WfffJN WINTER COMES TO THE MAMMAL WOULD

529

A SOURCE OF HEAVEH FUR
The bark of (,lie quaking aspnn i.s
the beaver's favorite food. With
the denuded branehes and Io^h,
this giant rodent often builds the
dams and huts that so moderate
its winter life

Plwlograph bu R. 7", lliiU

believe that this lowly lago-
morph can foretell the
weather better than the
dominant primate.

The summer nests of mam-
mals are not always suited to
the winter weather. The
gray squirrel prefers to spend
the warm weather in a lightly built "dray"
out in the tree limbs, but in winter he
appreciated the solid comfort of a hollow
tree. Through the greater part of the
range of the red squirrel, hollow trees or
empty woodpecker holes are scarce, and
the animals spend the winter between
their underground nests and in the
outside drays which usually become
frozen solid early in the winter.

The meadow mice spend the breeding
season, which in the East is by far the
greater part of the year, in the grassy
spheres which they construct on the
surface of the ground, but usually with
the passing of Indian summer they desert
these for smaller nests along their sub-
terranean burrows.

Beaver do not seem to alter their huts
for winter. Indeed, it seems doubtful
that they could improve the construction.
The walls are always damp and in the
summer must keep the interior cool. In
winter these walls freeze as solidlj' as the
lake surface, except for the ventilation
shaft at the summit, and must keep the
animals warm. Certainlj^ the walls of the
hut are, when frozen, impregnable to any
enemy but man.

Muskrat huts are built freshly in
late summer or the old one patched
up at this season. At this time the
population is at its peak and new
houses are in demand. During spring
and early summer the old indi^-iduals
are busy with young and have little
time for nest building. If
these duties of construc-
tion are put off too long,
however, the vegetation
sinks to the bottom and
rots, or early freezing
catches the animals with
their task undone.

A MASTER BUILDER
Largely because the beaver in
winter is well sealed in his thick-
walled hut and ice-coated pond,
lie has no enemies but man at this
time of year

Museutn Pholooraph

Photograph by La Rochester, Mexico
Pyramid of the Sun, San Juan Teotihuacan, Mexico

ENLIVENING THE PAST

Models of Four Ancient Temples in the American Museum Suggest the Majesty
of Bygone Times in Middle America

By GEORGE C. VAILLANT

Associate Curator of Mexican Archseology, American Museum

THEIR cases jammed with serried
ranks of imperishable objects in
pottery and stone, the American
Museum's halls of archaeology offer to
many of its visitors a prospect of unmiti-
gated boredom. The new halls of animal
life, on the other hand, disclose captivat-
ing vistas of nature in their wondrously
well-executed habitat groups. The infer-
ence is very naturally drawn that by a
similar arrangement the archaeological
halls would be relieved of their monotony.
In point of fact, had we the data to make
them, there would, indeed, be habitat
groups of the people of the past; but an
examination of any one of these vital
presentations of animal life will show that
the charm of its realism depends upon
details of fur and leaf and feather,
perishable substances which are lost by
decay in the course of time.

There are stimulating representations
of the life of the Plains and Southwest
Indians in the ethnological sections of the
Museum, but in the case of these models
and life groups, there are accessible for
observation living Indians who still re-
tain their native dress and customs, traits
rarely recoverable from a bygone people
studied by the trowel and spade of archae-
ology. Moreover, these living Indians
have a more or less simple and unified
existence so that in a relatively small
compass one can span the extent of their
activities. It is apparent, therefore, that
a successful reconstruction of a human
group depends largely upon its primitive
quality and its present existence. The
social fabric must be simple in order that
every important phase of the culture be
depicted, and the people must be living so
that knowledge and not inference may

ENLIVENING THE PAST

531

govern the creation of those details that
fiivc vitahty as well as verisimilitude.

Presentations have been made of
details of more complex social orders, like
the historical models in the Museum of
the City of New York and elsewhere.
Instead of a cultural cross-section,
episodes are shown in this case which are
buttressed by a rich literature not only of
history, but also of social mores and in-
dividual personalities. Rome, Greece,
and Egypt offer equivalent sources of
information for the creation of similar
models; and wherever the literature is
inadequate, it is possible to refer to wall
and vase paintings, and to the many
perishable objects still preserved. So
detailed a background is lacking when one
attempts a life group illustrative of
Middle American civilization. Dr. H.
J. Spinden did achieve a very successful
Maya group at the Buffalo Museum
of Science, but the indigenous sculp-
tures are often too conventionalized

to be useful, and the Spanish chron-
iclers give, in last analysis, accounts
of ceremonies too impressionistic to be of
much avail in depicting a specific rite.
Furthermore, the masses of figures neces-
sary to vivify such a scene cause the
sculptor profound technical difficulties
in the amount of work involved, not to
speak of such obstacles as the absence of
data on details of costume and on the
correct ritualistic arrangement of the
participants.

Models of important temples offer one
of the best ways at our command to
recapture the spirit of the past in Middle
America. They not only suggest the
majesty of bygone times, but also in-
dicate the course of cultural evolution in
the development of architectural styles.
A thoughtful person, contemplating
these models, can richly savor the past as
he peoples the temples according to his
fancy and equips the imagined cere-
monials with the objects in the cases.

„,^,

|^^^^w;'i 3 « ' .■!^-^^-

:,,S^VJ., '- .

Photograph by La Rotht^Ur, Mexico
'ANZAI.ro, CUEENAVACA, MEXICO
The original temples and stair are in the background;
the stair of a later superimposed building rises in the foreground

THE TEMPLl'

One of the best preserved Aztec temples.

532

NATURAL HISTORY

Perhaps the mind is more stimulated by
such suggestion than by the observation
of a conception whose every detail is
indicated. But we must defer judgment
on this point until we can realize the effect
upon visitors of the four models acquired
last year for the Mexican Hall, which
supplement notably those already on
exhibition.

Each of these
models represents a
different civiliza-
tion significant in
the history of Mid-
dle America; they
comprise examples
of the architecture
of the Mayas, the
Totonacs, the Teo-
tihuacan-Toltecs,
and the Aztecs.
The Teotihuacan-
Toltec and the
Aztec models were
obtained through
the generosity of
Mr. Clarence L.

Hay, secretary of the Board of Trus-
tees of the Museum and sponsor of
the program of stratigraphical research
in the Valley of Mexico. The Maya model
was the gift of the Carnegie Institution of
Washington, and the Totonac model was
donated by the Ministry of Public Edu-
cation of the Mexican Government.
These last two models enhance their
historical value by commemorating the
spirit of cooperation in research which
animates the work of three great institu-
tions, the Ministry of Public Education
which, besides carrying on a program of
significant archaeological research in
Mexico, preserves as national monu-
ments its most important ruins; the
Carnegie Institution which is attacking
Maya history not only from the point of
view of archaeology, but also in its
biological, sociological, and historical

-"^

THE GREAT AZTEC CALENDAR STONE

The original is some twelve feet in diameter and
its present weight is twenty tons. It represents
the disk of the sun and the history of the world

aspects; and the American Museum of
Natural History which for the last four
years has been working on Mexican
chronology by the stratigraphical method.
A brief description of the originals of
the models will make clear to the reader
the historical significance of our new
acquisitions.

, The Totonacan

model given the
Museum by the
Mexican Ministry
of Public Educa-
tion portrays the
best preserved
building at the
ruins of Taj in, near
Papantla, which
lies in the jungles
of the north central
portion of the State
of Vera Cruz. Al-
though there are
several tree-covered
mounds in a dis-
integrated condi-
tion, this structure
alone is well enough preserved to
give an idea of its original state. The
base of the pyramid is some thirty-
five meters square and is composed
of a hearting of rubble veneered with
dressed slabs of volcanic stone. This
substructure rises in six terraces to a
thick-walled cella or temple whose walls
are so designed as to give the effect of a
seventh terrace. Cornices and rows of
niches which are symmetrically disposed
and originally contained statues, relieve
the monotony of the vertical faces of
terrace and temple wall. Access to the
top was gained by a stair on the east side,
consisting of a broad central flight broken
by three groups of niches and flanked on
either side by two narrower flights.

Although the Mexican Government
has had a custodian at the site for many
years to protect it from vandals and the

ENLIVENING THE PAST

533

ever-encroaching jungle, no prolonged
study was undertaken until this year when
Dr. and Mrs. H. J. Spinden of the
Brooklyn Museum cleared several build-
ings and made some important studies,
an account of which they are soon to
publish. Hitherto, the site had been
visited by several scholars, who photo-
graphed and measured it and assigned it
to the Totonac civilization without any
implication of great antiquity. Since the
finest sculpture in Mexico comes from the
Totonac area and since the Spindens
have begun their fruitful research, we are
exceptionally fortunate in receiving from
the Mexican Government an example of
the architecture of these gifted people.

The model donated by
the Carnegie Institution
represents the most ancient
Maya building known.
Temple E Vll-sub of the
site of Uaxactun which is
buried in the almost im-
penetrable bush of the
Peten district of northern
Guatemala. It forms part
of a complex of buildings
surrounding one of the
several plazas which com-
prise the site. Mr. Sylvanus
G. Morley discovered the
ruins in his search for Maya
cities and gave it the name
Uaxactun, Maya for Eight
Stone, in honor of the
Eighth Cycle dates on the
monuments, the earliest
Maya stelse ever discovered.
Later Messrs. Ricketson
and Amsden began exca-
vations of the same plaza in
which the stelae were found,
and while digging into a
ruined pyramid, they came
upon a corner of this
structure within. The
succeeding season Mr.

Amsden cleared away the covering
pyramid E-VII, and brought to light
temple E-VII-sub in as good condition
as the day it was finished. For some
reason the Maya in enlarging the plaza
had decided to cover up this building
with another structure which, although
itself disintegrated by the jungle growth,
had preserved the temple it supplanted.

Temple E-VII-sub was built of rubble
which was then covered with plaster, and
in that soft medium, the ornamental
masks were carved. There was no build-
ing on top of it although holes were
found as if to socket the poles of a canopy.
It has little of the appearance of a char-
acteristic olfl Empire building. Dr. A. V.

CAST OF THE NATIONAL STONE
An Aztec sculpture which might be called a model, since it
probably represents the Calendar Stone (page 532) set on a
pyramid (page 531). The original is about a metre square and
is richly adorned with carvings pertaining to worship of the
Sun God

THE TEMPLIO OF TA.TIN, CENTRAL VERA CRUZ, MEXICO
Bands of niches, which probably contained statues, are built into the stair, the temple walls, and each

of the six terraces

MODEL OP THE TEMPLE OF TAJIN
Donated by the Mexican Government. This gives an impression of the stateliness of the building
before vegetation had begun its destructive action. Observe the decorative effect of the niches

Just after excavation.

UAXACTUN, GUATEMALA, TEMPLE E-VII-SIK

Its perfect preservation is due to the superposition of another building over
this structure. Note the heavy jungle

MODEL OF TEMPLE E-VII-SUB AT UAXACTUN

Donated by the Carnegie Institution of Washington. This is the oldest temple yet discovered in the

Maya area, and comparison with the photograph above shows its remarkable preservation

536

NATURAL HISTORY

MODEL OF THE TEMPLE OF QUETZALCOATL
This is the most ornate building discovered at the Toltec ceremonial center of San Juan Teoti-
huacan. Note the alternating heads of Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent, and the Obsidian
Butterfly, two of the chief divinities of these ancient people

Kidder, chief of the Division of Historical
Research of Carnegie Institution, and the
writer, then a guest of that Institution,
visited the site that year and made excava-
tions which proved this temple to be older
than the stela before it, thus substantiating
the evidence of antiquity offered by the
non-Maya quaUty of the architecture.
Moreover, in digging underneath Temple
E-VII-sub we found beds of debris yield-
ing pottery and figurines cruder than any
group of Maya pottery encountered
before, a discovery which led to intensive
work by Mr. Ricketson the following
year.

The site of Uaxactun is then of con-
summate importance in Maya archae-
ology by reason of its early dates and the
stratification which produced several
stages of an archaic Maya civilization.
To have an example of proto-Maya archi-
tecture in the Museum, with the models
we already possess, will make it possible
to show much of the evolution of Maya
architecture. Furthermore, the spirit of

fostering the research of other scientific
organizations which the Carnegie Institu-
tion has displayed is well exemplified not
only by this magnificent gift, but also
by the many courtesies extended to the
writer.

The Toltec-Teotihuacan model, which
is still under construction, represents the
Temple of Quetzalcoatl at San Juan
Teotihuacan. It is as important to the
archaeology of the Valley of Mexico as
Temple E-VII-sub is to that of the
Maya. This temple was uncovered by
the Mexican Government at Teotihuacan
during the excavation and reconstruction
of the mound groups called the Ciuda-
dela, when, in the trenching of a large
mound, an ornate fagade was disclosed.
This had been preserved like the Maya
pyramid by the ancient custom of using
an existing structure as the core for a
newer and larger building.

The stairway and front fagade of the
substructure were well preserved, but the
corrosive forces of weather and neglect,

ENLIVENING THE PAST

537

coupled with certain demolitions de-
manded by architectural necessity, have
razed the temple and destroyed much of
the fagade on the other three sides. The
construction of this foundation, like that
of practically every Middle American
building, was of rubble veneered by cut
stone. The platform rises in six terraces,
each of which is framed by a cornice and
rests on a sloping foundation. Within
the frames are set projecting heads of the
Obsidian Butterfly, a much revered Toltec
deity, and the Feathered Serpent which
symbolizes Quetzalcoatl, the eponymous
hero of the ancient Mexicans. The sinu-
ous coils of the Feathered Serpent, with
various kinds of sea shells carved in the
spaces left by the undulations, form a
background to the
heads, while his body
in profile adorns the
sloping foundation.
Heads of the same
divinity are set in the
balustrade of the stair.
All these ornamental
details were painted and
the eyes of the divinities
were made of inlays of
obsidian.

The site of Teoti-
huacan is dominated
by two great pyramids,
called according to
legend the Sun and the
Moon. A series of
plazas, composed of
small sub-structures
surmounted by build-
ings and joined by long
platforms, are disposed
with vague symmetry
around them. The
largest of these groups
is theCiudadela wherein
the temple of Quetzal-
coatl is situated. In al-
most every plaza there

has been a reconstruction whereby, as in the
case of this temple, the original buildings
were covered up to act as foundatioas for
later structures. Yet none of the earlier
or the later buildings are as elaborately
carved as the temple of Quetzalcoatl,
although many are richly adorned by
frescoes. If one could know the relation-
ship between the various stages of build-
ing in the site and tie these relationships
in with the sequences of pottery and
figurine styles, one would greatly advance
knowledge of Mexican archaeology. To
this problem the next season of strati-
graphical work in the Valley of Mexico
is to be devoted. Consequently, if we are
successful in our work, the Temple of
Quetzalcoatl will loom large as a time

THE TEMPLE OF QUETZALCOATL, SAN JUAN TEOTIHUACAN,

MEXICO

The building at the left of the picture was erected over the original

temple and this preserved its ornate fagade, even as the Uaxactun

temple was preserved. (See page 535.)

538

NATURAL HISTORY

marker in Mexican history, besides being
a magnificent example of pre-Columbian
architecture in the Valley of Mexico.
It is especially fitting, moreoever, to have
a model of this temple, since the Museum
possesses through the generosity of the
Paramount-Famous-Players-Lasky Cor-
poration one of the original heads which
is the only architectural detail of the
monument outside of Mexico.

Our model of Aztec architecture is the
cast of a stone sculpture, about four feet
high and three feet square, now in the
National Museum in Mexico. It was
discovered in the foundations of the
National Palace in the Eighteenth Cen-
tury, but it was too heavy to move al-
though its position was carefully noted.
In 1926 the sculpture was extricated suc-
cessfully and removed to the Museum.
It represents apparently a pyramid sur-
mounted by the great Aztec Calendar
Stone, but the sides and top are so
ornately carved that it is unlikely that an
exact replica was intended. The figures
and inscriptions have been minutely
studied and two interpretations have been
made of its purpose. The carving on the
back depicts an eagle killing a rattle snake
which signifies in Aztec glyphs the
founding of Tenochtitlan or Mexico City.
Since this device is used on the coat of
arms of modern Mexico, the sculpture has
been called the National Stone and is
thought to commemorate the prehistoric

founding of the Mexican nation. The
second interpretation, that of Professor
Caso, which is more probably correct,
ascribes a more esoteric purpose to the
sculpture; namely, to symbolize the
sacrifices men and gods must make to
enjoy the Sun God's favor. According to
this theory, the eagle and the snake are
part of the symbolic aspects of the sun in
the west as opposed to those of the rising
sun depicted on the front of the monu-
ment. Thus, by this miniature of the
calendar stone on its pyramid the Aztecs
epitomized their theology.

Our collections already contain such
leading examples of Maya architecture as
temples from the Old Empire site of Tikal
and from the New Empire cities of
Palenque and Chichen Itza. Moreover,
a model of a tomb in Oaxaca gives a speci-
men of Zapotec architecture. Thus with
the Totonac temple represented by the
Mexican Government's gift, with the
archaic Maya building donated by the
Carnegie Institution, and with the Aztec
and Toltec models given by Mr. Hay, the
Museum's collection is probably un-
surpassed in the United States. However,
several more models must be acquired
before we can synthesize completely
Middle American architecture; and the
aim of a museum is not so much to surpass
other institutions as to achieve lucid ex-
positions of life in its infinite manifesta-
tions.

THE ASCENT OF MOUNT TURUMIQUIRE

The Hub of the Mountainous Portion of Venezuela Adjoining Trinidad
Is Climbed for the First Time

By GEORGE H. H. TATE

Assistant Curator of South American Mammals, American Museum

Subsequent to its discovery and settlement, the history of the exploration of the
Turumiquire region is relatively brief. The earliest visitor with a scientific training
seems to have been Humboldt rvho in 1799 and ISOO, inth the botanist Bonpland,
climbed B600 feel. Since then, others have explored all around its base, but the moun-
tain never has been ascended above 6000 feet. It was practically virgin territory,
therefore, when in 1926 Mr. Tate decided to explore the mountain and its general
vicinity. Accompanied by Mr. H. J. Clement of the American Museum, he reached
the summit, and brought back with him a small collection of mammals, reptiles, birds,
plants, etc., which contained a number of species new to science. — The Editors.

SEEN from the blue waters of the
Gulf of Cariaco a line of low sun-
drenched coast broken by a tiny
pier and a few houses, the port of Cumana,
contrasts sharply with its background of
sombre mountains with their dark, man-
tling clouds. Ashore, a mile of motor road
crosses the shimmering, sandy plain, so
well pictured by Humboldt, toward large
groves of coconut palms marking the
sites of the Manzanares River and
Cumana proper, a town of perhaps 5000
inhabitants.

In 1925 Cumana was developing cotton
and copra manufactures which promised
to bring it to the fore commercially, but
a short while ago another of the earth-
quakes from which it has suffered repeat-
edly, destroyed most of the town.

Our arrival at Cumana coincided with
the date of the greatest festival of the
year — the Carnival. Because aU shops
were closed and everybody was celebrat-
ing happily, we managed only after con-
siderable delay to have our baggage taken
from the port to the hotel in the town.
And as for arranging to go out at once,
well, that was simply out of the question.
So, after we had disposed our possessions
conveniently about our rooms and par-
taken of a very good lunch, we strolled
forth to view the town. The sun was
still high and although occasional sounds
of revelry could be heard behind closed
shutters, few persons were about. As the
day cooled, more and more movement
became apparent. Cars with gaily colored
streamers fluttering behind them ap-

540

NATURAL HISTORY

THE RIVER JUAJUA
After leaving its gorge in the mountains, this
stream meanders through the cane fields to the
Manzanares River

peared touring the streets. People began
to stroll about in the open and a general
concentration of humanity occurred at the
plaza where the great event of the day —
the procession, would appear. The parade,
observed by us from a point along its
route, consisted of a number of vehicles
dressed up to represent various concep-
tions: one was a battle-ship crammed
with sailors and admirals; another a
chariot driven by gladiators; a third a
palm-leaf pavilion inhabited by Hawaiian
girls in grass skirts who threw candies at
the spectators. From these and similar
elaborate displays the procession dwindled
down through several Fords to an append-

age composed of ox-carts and "burros."
As darkness fell the parade broke up,
and the rest of the evening was spent in
dancing and merry-making.

On February 22, leaving the coast we
journeyed by auto truck through the long,
winding ravine of the Manzanares River
to Cumanacoa. Thence on March 4, us-
ing pack-animals, we crossed the south-
western chain of hills into the headwaters
of the Neveri River. On March 18 we
returned to Cumanacoa and ascended to
Co collar at the eastern foot of Turumi-
quire. After completing work at these
first camps we prepared for the ascent of
the mountain, during which excursion
two stations on the slopes were occupied;
Carapas, 5600 feet, and a camp at 7900
feet from which the eastern peak, about
9800 feet, was several times visited.
Afterward, between April 20 and May 24
we collected at San Antonio de Maturin;
La Latal, about five miles south of Cuma-
nacoa; Barbacoas, in the cactus scrub
region a few miles west of Cumana;
and in the mangroves bordering the Gulf
of Cariaco some miles to the east of
Cumana.

Cumanacoa, in the upper valley of the
River Manzanares, is a small town of
several hundred inhabitants. The floor of
the hill-encircled valley, which is several
miles across, seems level and apparently
formed by sedimentation. Almost the
whole rather densely populated area
appears to be under cultivation — prin-
cipally sugar cane. Northwest the valley
narrows to form the ravine of the
Manzanares which flows out to Cumana
and the sea. We were invited to stay at a
sugar-cane estate, Cuchivano, at the foot
of the slope on the southwest side of the
valley a few miles from Cumanacoa. On
one hand lay the cultivated valley, on the
other rose seamed limestone slopes. The
hills were cut into at intervals by deep,
bat-haunted gorges such as that of the
brook Juajua at Cuchivano. On the

THE ASCENT OF MOUNT TlJRrM IQIIliE

541

exposed, rock-strewn hillsides u tniilinK
ribbon cactus grew plentifully and
amongst the brush at their foot the
raucous-voiced but toothsome "cha-
chalaca," a bird resembling a very small
turkey, gave voice morning and evening.
Trapping among the cane fields of the
valley showed four sorts of rats plenti-
ful: Heleromys (pouched rat), Oryzomys
(rice rat), Akodon (South American field
mouse), and Proechimys (spiny rat).
These animals, given conditions causing
their undue increase, might well form a
serious menace to the crops of the area.

At Cuchivano we always had a few
visitors lounging around our skinning
table, watching every operation closely,
commenting on the appearance of our
outfit, our specimens and ourselves.
Some came and went again in a few
minutes, but the majority stayed for
hours. Not content with one visit they
returned day after day to stand and
watch. This close surveillance was apt to
get on one's nerves, and I could see that
it worried Clement more than he would
admit.

From Cuchivano, Turumiquire appears
composed of twin peaks nearly equal in
height connected by a slightly lower
ridge. The eastern peak, which we later
reached, is slightly higher than the west-
ern. The mountain, framed by a fore-
ground of canefields and the slopes of the
near-by hills, stands much too far away
for one to distinguish the character of the
vegetation on its sides or even on those
of the great northward jutting promon-
tory which we first had to ascend.

The humid region at the headwaters
of the Never! River which was next
visited, provided an environment from
which many interesting forms were se-
cured, particularly a new genus of the
group known as fish-eating rats described
by Mr. H. E. Anthony in American
Museum Novitates No. 383, 1929. The
valley is rough and irregular, bounded by

high hills, and clothed with heavy tropical
forest. Camp was built at 2400 feet in a
woodcutter's clearing, where yams and
Irish potatoes were growing.

In crossing the divide between Cuma-
nacoa and the Neverl we climbed at
once to the top of a lateral spur and then
traveled inward along the crest to the
scarcely higher main chain. Even as low
as 3500 feet we obiserved the denuded
condition of the crests and the modified
vegetation brought about by the exposed
environment with its thin soil and low
water table. In contrast, the forest of
the valleys on either .side extended up
the slopes almost to the crests.

Between 3000 and 6000 feet one is in

THE CLEARING AT NEVERI

Here in the heart of a splendid forest the roar of

howHng monkeys resounded almost daily

542

NATURAL HISTORY

the heart of the coffee-growing belt.
The plantations, which vary much in
size, are prepared by first partially clear-
ing the hillsides of forest, then setting
out both the coffee bushes and the trees
(higa sp.) which are to give them shade.
Many of the older estates have no original
forest left, but consist solely of coffee and
Inga. At some central point along the
road as it passes through each coffee
hacienda are constructed an adobe house
for the supervisor and a large, level, clear-
ed space some 50 by 100 feet for drying
the coffee. The latter is simply a dirt floor,
packed hard and kept free from weeds,
where the ripe berries are spread out to
ferment and later the seeds are left to dry.

CocoUar (3600
'feet), which
forms part of the
divide joining
Turumiquire to
Cerro Negro, we
found in strong
contrast to the
rest of the
region. Its cli-
mate in the dry
season is almost
arid. The land

Area Visited by the Expedition
the dotted line shows the places visited
in the turumiquire region. heighth in
meters. map prepared by courtesy of the
american geographical society from an ad-
vance copy of their "millionth map"

produces coarse, low grass, which
gives nourishment to numbers of
cattle. The most striking vege-
tational feature is offered by the
great, banyan-like "cope" trees,
growing as a rule wherever the
bare limestone breaks through.
These trees, of the family Guttiferae,
seldom reach a height greater than fifty
feet, but their branches, which send
down supplementary roots to be con-
verted in time into additional trunks,
achieve an enormous horizontal spread.
In this way one tree may cover half an
acre of ground. Small woods composed
mainly of Mimosa and the like occur here
and there in hollows. Although they are
rather low and their leaves fall off during
dry weather, their branches interlace
over head and all the birds of CocoUar
seem to gather in them. For this reason
they provide ideal collecting conditions.
Water at CocoUar in the dry season is so
scarce and yet so very dirty that a bath

ENLARGEMENT OF THE
SMALL SQUARE SHOWN
ON THE MAP ABOVE. THE
CONTOURS ARE MODI-
FIED TO CONFORM WITrl
OBSERVATIONS MADE BY
MR. TATE WHILE ON THE
MOUNTAIN-TOP. BAROM-
ETER READINGS SHOWN
IN FEET

THE ASCENT OF MOUNT TURUMIQUIRE

543

AT THE NEVEIli
Even at as early an age as five or six
years, the youngsters in the remoter
parts of Venezuela are taught to use
the machete and are sent out to gather
firewood

may be considered both a luxury
and a penance.

From Cocollar a burro-trail
leads southeast through a maze
of small ravines to the prosper-
ous little town of San Antonio
de Maturin, situated in a rather
broad valley through which a
stream flows toward the Atlantic. The
bottom land of this valley is planted with
sugar cane and garden crops, the hill slopes
with coffee. At San Antonio I was con-
ducted to see a "mina de azuf re" or sulphur
mine, which proved to be nothing more
than a spring whose water was impreg-
nated with sulphur. The river below the
town is the home of several pairs of capy-
baras (animals like gigantic guinea-pigs
with aquatic habits).

During, our stay in San Antonio we
enjoyed the hospitality of a very delight-
ful family named Tucker. Mr. Tucker, a

professional orchid hunter, who was not at
home at the time of our visit, was an
Englishman who had settled in Vene-
zuela many years before. Mrs. Tucker, a
Venezuelan lady, and her grown-up son
and two daughters verj^ kindly put a room
at our disposal. We found it most agree-
able after months of camping in the open
to sit at meals on their porch overlooking
a delightful garden filled with choice
tropical plants and converse with intel-
ligent and understanding people. Victor,
the son, conducted me one day to a pond
on the top of a near-by hill where I shot
jacanas and
pied-billed
grebes. Much
later at Cuman-
acoa we met Mr.
Tucker, who was
just bringing an
orchid collecting
sortie to a suc-
cessful close. He
showed us the
results of the

THE CAMP AT
THE NEVERI
Camp life at the
Neveri was a simple
affair. The wife of
the owner of the
clearing was an in-
terested spectator
while Clement was
preparing his bird
specimens

544

NATURAL HISTORY

A VIEW FROM CUMANACOA

The twin peaks of Mt. Turumiquire ten miles south of Cumanacoa, although hazy through the day,

stood out sharply morning and evening. The highest peak at the left is that ascended by Mr. Tate.

Drawn from a photograph

work — hundreds of orchids, most of them
Cattleyas, packed closely on the cool
stone floor of a small house where they
might be watered easily; and in another
room the crates in which they would be
packed for their trip to Europe.

In preparation for the climb up the
mountain we returned to Cumanacoa to
refit. Since few mules or horses were to be
had, burros were again used to carry
equipment around the northeastern spur
of Turumiquire up on to the savana of
Cocollar. Thence we followed a pack-
trail southwest up the narrow valley of
the Aricagua River to the junction of the
above mentioned spur with the parent
mass (6000 feet) . At this altitude a sub-
tropical climate prevails and the two
highest coffee plantations — indeed the
highest habitations of the entire region —
Carapas and La Trinidad, are located.

At Carapas some two weeks were
spent. It was then March, and the
climate remained generally fair, but winds
of gale force blew almost every night
from the east. Most of the land was
originally covered with tall forest, of
which, although much still exists, a
certain portion has been cut to make
room for coffee plantations. At two
places on the crest of the ridge the soil is

washed clear and the limestone juts out.
Here the vegetation becomes specialized,
various rock-loving plants such as the
orchid Habenaria being at home.

From the biological standpoint Carapas
was the most important station occupied
by the expedition. The birds, which
include five new forms, have already
been reported upon by Dr. Frank M.
Chapman in American Museum Novitates,
No. 191, 1925. Mammals found there
were squirrels, three genera of rats and
two of bats. One hundred and nine
plants were collected.

Just below Carapas and La Trinidad,
in the valleys on either hand tropical
and subtropical conditions inosculate.
At El Guamal in the eastern valley one
comes upon the tropical butterflies,
Heliconius and Euptychia and others; in
the opposite direction, west of La Trini-
dad, the ground falls away so rapidly
that the torrid zone is soon reached.

Above Carapas difficulties began to
appear. The mountain rose up boldly
in successive jutting headlands which
formed the outer ends of narrow knife-
edges. It was necessary first to choose the
easiest-appearing way up and then sketch
and partly memorize the precipitous
topography, in order that after the ascent

THE ASCENT OF MOUNT TUliUMlQUlHE

545

had been begun and we had entered the
maze of gulH(!S and ridges, we might
hold to our main plan of ascent.

For the first part of the climb we found
that some years before fire had swept the
slopes, leaving a tangle of fallen trees
which the steep slope and a concealing
growth of bracken rendered difficult and
dangerous to penetrate. Also, at steep
places the soil was so friable that it
scarcely supported one's weight. After
chopping trail for three days on the
bracken slopes, breathing dusty, spore-
laden air, scrambling up crumbling ridges
where little sedums with flame-colored
flowers grew, we reached a zone of vege-
tation known locally as "suro" or "jua-
jui." Juajui is allied to bamboo; but
instead of growins; erect, thick and tall, its
slender stems, which are endowed with
sufficient toughness to deflect the edge of
any but the sharpest machetes, arch over
almost to the ground. This plant forms
densely matted thickets on the hillsides
from six to ten feet deep which can be
penetrated only with much labor. As a
rule, when well established it successfully
eliminates other vegetation.

Above the juajui we found ourselves
entering the very beautiful cloud forest
present on most equatorial mountains at
this altitude (7500 feet). The trees,
growing outward at an angle from the
slope, were small-leaved, low, thick, and
gnarled. Their branches were literally
laden with closely packed bromeliads.
In addition, every bit of surface, not only
of bark but even of the leaf-blades, was
coated by varied forms of liverworts and
mosses. Underfoot a yielding carpet of
frond-like Selaginella rendered our steps
almost noiseless.

Thus far the work had all been done
from the base camp at Carapas, the walks
out in the morning and in again at night
becoming longer and longer as the trail
head advanced. To facilitate the com-
pletion of the trail a small camp was now

established in the high forest at 7900 feet
close to the foot of the final steep ascent.
This place, in a narrow ravine, was the
highest at which at that season water
could be had. It was taken a cupful at a
time from a tiny seepage basin. All about
the gully grew a delicate Tropaeolum with
graceful, finely formed flowers .scarcely
half the size of the garden variety. It
thrived amazingly in that cool, shady
place.

Owing to the steepness and difficulty
presented by several parts of the ascent
only the barest necessities could be taken
to this upper station. Indeed, much
credit was due to the several men from La
Trinidad for carrying the packages up.
such a trail. Loads were of course as light

A NEVER I DWELLING

The owner of this palm-thatched hut at Neveri

raised only a few potatoes and some cassava for

himself and his family. Their only source of

meat was the wild creatures of the forest

546

NATURAL HISTORY

ONE OF THE TWIN PEAKS OF MT. TURUMIQUIRE

Part of the summit of the eastern peak of Mt. Turumiquire. Among the weather-beaten hmestone

everywhere exposed grow many small heathlike shrubs and herbs

as possible, articles being packed for the
occasion in kerosene boxes, since our
regular trunks were far too ponderous.
Food, collecting materials, blankets, and a
single tent-fly were all we allowed our-
selves. In this camp we spent several cold
and uncomfortable nights lying on beds
of cut "suro" cane on an incline which, in
spite of earlier efforts to terrace the
ground, repeatedly rolled us out of bed.

The final ascent, probably averaging
45°, led steeply up for about 700 feet.
Trees grew out from the hillside almost
horizontally, so that our trail resolved
itself into a series of great steps whose
treads were formed by nearly prone
trunks and whose backs were composed of
soil or rock. Moist festoons of moss and
debris so swathed everything that in
places the way became almost a tunnel.
About 8500 feet marked a decrease in
steepness together with dwarfing of the
trees and a proportionate increase in the
brush. The interlaced stems were now so
wiry and so densely matted that as we
climbed upward they supported us several

feet above solid ground. The constantly
dimishing slope showed that we were
approaching the top of the mountain.
Vegetation became smaller and smaller.
Trees were left behind. Huge cushions
of pinkish-brown sphagnum moss two
and three feet deep swelled out from
between bowlders. With the slope re-
duced to only about 10°, we found our-
selves at one moment walking over
splintered masses of limestone, again
plunging waist deep into crevices filled
with wiry, harsh-leaved shrubs which
rather resembled the American mountain
laurel. At length, emerging on a spot
where a little humic soil had become com-
pacted, we rested comfortably upon the
low, heathery growth which covered it.
We had reached the top.

From the eastern of the two main peaks,
where our trail had ended, a narrow knife-
edge connected with the western point.
Southeast another ridge joined a slightly
lower third peak. Southwest our view
was cut off by a large, nearly parallel
ridge with high !cliffs which seemed to be

THE ASCENT OF MOUNT TUfii'Mf(jriRE

547

CONTINUATION OF PART OF THE EASTERN PEAK

From the eastern peak a ridge, invisible from Cumanacoa, extends southeast to a slightly lower peak,

shown on the topographical map at the bottom of page 542

an offshoot from the western peak. The
intervening valley in the foreground, the
upper part of which contained small
savanas, deepened rapidly in a south-
westerly direction. In short, the highest
parts of Turumiquire were seen to occupy
only a small area and to comprise nothing
but one main and several subsidiary ridges
which fell steeply away on either side.
Certainly there was no space for the
fabulous lake we had been told of in
Cumanacoa. The crests were rugged and
seamed with disintegrating limestone in
the form of rocks and bosses everywhere
sticking out. Although we moved about
considerably in our search for specimens
we made no attempt to reach any other
part of the summit.

A splendid view was afforded to the
north. Below, seemingly within a stone's
throw, we could discern Carapas and La
Trinidad, their clearings dwarfed by
distance to checkerboard dimensions.
Beyond, the flat valley of the Manzanares
showed very clearly — although on ac-
count of intervening foothills Cumanacoa

could not be seen. To the northwest a
dwindling series of hills marked the
divide between the Manzanares and the
wet Neverl basin visited by us some weeks
before. Beyond Cumanacoa to the north,
sharp and distinct we saw the blue of the
Gulf of Cariaco and the Caribbean Sea
with the Araya Peninsula between them.
And farthest of all the Island of Mar-
garita. This view was possible during the
first ascent, on the afternoon of April 6,
1925. During subsequent visits to the
summit, swirling mist prevented us from
obtaining even a glimpse of Carapas.

The aneroid reading of the first after-
noon was 9750 feet; three days later it
registered 9850 feet. A compensated
Keufel and Esser aneroid barometer was
used. The marked difference between
the readings and the altitudes obtained
by Humboldt suggest that although
Turumiquire may not reach 9000 feet it
probably exceeds 2047 meters.

At the time of our visit the weather re-
mained fair, for although clouds usually
gathered in the immediate neighborhood

5i8

NATURAL HISTORY

of the peaks, conditions in general were
dry. The lichen Usnea became so brittle
that specimens broke to fragments when
pressed. On the other hand, a handful
of the hygroscopic sphagnum moss when
squeezed dripped water as a wet sponge
would.

Under stones at the summit a small
snake, and some Teiid Uzards were dis-
covered, and some insects (wasp, flies,
yellow Pierid butterfly) were taken in
flight. The reptiles are noted by Burt in
the Bulletin of the American Museum of
Natural History, LXI, 1931. Birds seen
or collected at the summit were a species
of hawk, giant swift, black thrush, and a
small flycatcher. No evidence was found
denoting the presence of mammals near
the summit, although a small mouse
{Oligoryzomys) was trapped at the 7900-
foot camp. On the summit 98 numbers
of plants and at 7800 feet and downward
along the trail 146 numbers were col-
lected.

The descent from the mountain top
was made with ease. The men came at
the hour agreed upon and carried our
equipment down to Carapas whence in
due course we set out for the lowlands.
After going over our materials, we made
a short excursion from Cumanacoa to
La Latal, 3000 feet,
among the foothills
of Turumiquire.
This was part of the
property of Seiior
Francisco Martel of
Cumanacoa, whose
kindness and hos-
pitality it is a pleas-
ure to acknowledge.
Here both coffee
and cocoa grew
well. Although col-

THE HIGHEST STATION OCCU-
PIED IN TURUMIQUIRE. THE
VERY MINIMUM OF MATERI-
ALS WAS CARRIED UP TO THIS
SPOT {7900 ft.) THISWASTHE

lecting showed that pouched rats were
abundant, few other forms were caught.
Among larger animals, foxes, red howling
monkeys, collared peccaries, tapirs, and
kinkajous were rather plentful. The
climate (May) was relatively dry.

Returning to Cumana two other brief
excursions were made. First a day was
spent at a hamlet named Barbacoas in
the arid scrub land to the west. The hills
here, although scarcely reaching 500 feet
above sea level, were broken and much
dissected, and the vegetation was thorny
with low trees scattered through dense,
leafless brush. Cacti were numerous.
Fortunately, many woodcutters' roads
traversed the region so that one could
move about with considerable freedom.
At the time of our visit the water in a
small river was so low that only a series
of unconnected pools containing numbers
of small fish remained. In this region
deer and a small species of rabbit, neither
seen by us, were said to be common.

East of Cumana the mud flats and
beaches of the Gulf of Cariaco, where we
made our last collecting station, are bord-
ered by low growing mangroves which
harbor numerous kinds of shore birds.
After going by boat for some four miles we
landed. Many herons, scarlet ibis, spoon-
bills, cormorants,
plovers, sandpipers,
stilts — the complete
list is too long to
give — were either
observed or secured.
It is hoped that
this preliminary
survey may form
the basis for further
scientific research
on this little known
mountain.

Photograph hy H J Clement

HIGHEST POINT AT WHICH
EVEN A TRICKLE OF DRINK-
ING WATER COULD BE FOUND.
THE SUMMIT WAS MORE
THAN 1000 FEET HIGHER

Melanesia in the American Museum

A MINIATURE MELANESIA

A New Exhibition Model at the American Museum Shows in Miniature

How the Manus of the South Seas Construct the

Necessities of Life in Their Watery Domain

By DOKOTHY L. EDWARDS

Editorial Sta£F, Natural History Magazine

IN the present age of skyscrapers a
community of gigantic proportions is
being constructed in the heart of
New York — Radio City. At the American
Museum of Natural History another com-
munity of equally astonishing dimensions
has just been completed. No towering
skyscrapers here, but diminutive dwel-
lings approximately a foot in height;
no tremendous masses of steel and cement,
but gracefully curved structures of wood
and thatch. For, while this community
is in New York, it is not of it. Indeed,
to find its duplicate one must journey
halfway around the world to a remote
corner of the South Seas known as
Melanesia. Here one will see rows of
rust-colored houses supported on sturdy
wooden pillars extending above the shal-
low, turbid water dotted here and there
with tiny islands. And here one will feel

the ordered activity of many people intent
on the occupations which are part of
their every-day lives.

Few of us are fortunate enough to be
able to journey to this distant region,
but Dr. Margaret Mead, assistant curator
of ethnology at the American Museum,
has not only made such a voyage, but has
spent many months in intimate associa-
tion with this Melanesian world, sharing
the troubles, participating in the festivi-
ties, observing the tabus and the many
strange customs of the natives there.
Returning to America, she brought with
her not only specimens of their handi-
work and other concrete material, but, of
even greater interest, a thorough under-
standing of these primitive people which
she had acquired. In her book Growing Up
in New Guinea, and in numerous articles,
two of which have appeared in former

550

NATURAL HISTORY

PHOTOGRAPHED ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD
Dr. Margaret Mead obtained numerous camera studies of Melanesian life during her months of field
work in the South Seas. Above is one of these showing the relatives of a Manus bridegroom congre-
gating to make a marriage payment to the relatives of the bride

issues of Natural History (March-
April, 1930, and January-February,
1931), Doctor Mead has vividly described
the lives of the Melanesians and their
complex social organization.

Their material culture has now been
depicted by Mr. Basil E. Martin of the
Museum's preparation staff, in a minia-
ture group which covers no more than
approximately sixteen square feet of
space, yet which gives a complete and
accurate picture of this little known area.
By reproducing a representative section
of Melanesia on a scale of one-half inch
to the foot, it has been made available
for the study and pleasure of the thou-
sands who visit the Museum, affording
a striking contrast to the turmoil of
western civilization that lies outside the
Museum's doors.

The Manus, possessors and inhabitors
of the wide lagoons which are formed

between part of the south coast of the
Great Admiralty Island and a coral reef
over which break the waves of the Pacific,
are an ingenious people. Numerous
are the handicaps which they must over-
come, and varied the obstacles they must
face, yet they surpass in commercial
success their nearest land neighbors.
Numbering altogether about 2000, the
Manus live in small groups, the average
community embracing a cluster of about
twenty-five houses. In the Museum
group are included two homes of typical
people, and one larger house. This last
differs from the others in so far as it is
occupied by the man who would be the
community's leader in case of war. It
is distinguished not only by its greater
size but also by its location, as such a
leader is privileged to build nearest the
largest patch of land, or land platform.
The ovalis shells which are hung

A MINIATURE MELANESIA

551

along the verandah are also indications of
his rank.

Buildin}>; a house in Melanesia is a task
not lightly undertaken. Since building
lots consist solely of muddy water, the
first step in the construction of a home is
to sink foundation piles into the lagoon.
Immediately the question arises as to
where these wooden piles may be obtained,
for obviously no sizable trees can grow
where the only land consists of scattered
bits of volcanic outcroppings or small, man-
made islets. However, by skillful trade
with their land neighbors, they exchange
fish for the necessary wood, and the
foundation of the home can then be laid.
Next, the arched walls are constructed
and thatched with sago leaves — provided
additional trading has been done to
obtain the sago leaves. The carpenters

are content to forego windows in these
long, graceful dwellings, an opening at
each end taking care of light and ventila-
tion, although some air seeps through the
slats which form the floor. But a con-
cession has been made to the curiosity
of the natives, for in the thatched walls
of every house there is a small portion
which may be pushed upward and out-
ward, allowing a view of whatever is
going on outside. Thus, unobserved,
the inquisitive Manus may keep a check
on the activities of his neighbors — or
of an ethnologist who inexplicably has
become part of the communitj'.

One of the miniature dwellings, how-
ever, has been constructed with thatch
covering only one side of the arched walls.
This gives the Museum visitor an oppor-
tunity which a visitor to Melanesia

PHOTOGRAPHED AT THE AMEKICAiN MLWEIM

The miniature group constructed by Mr. Basil E. Martin for the South Sea Hall of the American
Museum reproduces a typical scene in the Admiralty. Between the two native dwellings may be
seen a pig-sty, which indicates that one of them belongs to a prosperous family, for the Manus use
pigs as a medium of exchange much as occidentals use paper money

552

NATURAL HISTORY

would not have, of looking, unobserved,
into a Manus home. Inside, the houses
are most unpretentious. Though they
are usually spacious, the average house
having a length of thirty to fifty feet and a
width of about one third of that, they are
shared by so many people that this space
is none too adequate. Too, in considering
the plans of a house, one must bear the
native tabus in mind. For instance, a
married woman may not be seen by her
husband's older male relatives nor by the
husbands or fiances of her younger
female relatives. Therefore, almost always
when two families are sharing a house, cer-
tain members of one family may not be
seen by certain members
of the other, so long mats
are an essential equip-
ment in each household,
for these may be hung
in the center of the room
to secure the necessary
privacy.

Also because of tabus,
not one, but four hearths

THE ONE-ROOM INTERIOR
Before the front was put on
this house a photograph of
the interior was made. Two
of the four hearths which are
built in every house may be
seen, and the racks on which
will be stored pots and fish

THE FRAMEWORK OF A
MANUS HOME

This miniature structure is a
replica of that of a typical
Manus dwelhng. It is made
of supple wood, and is sup-
ported on heavy wooden piles
in the water. At this stage it
is ready to be thatched with
sago palm leaves

are needed. As well as
making it possible for
one in-law to shun an-
other when necessary,
there are times when one
fire must be devoted to
a particular person. For
instance, after a boy has
had his ears pierced, everything he eats
for thirty days must be cooked on a
fire that is used for nobody else. The
fireplaces are constructed of wood ashes
on an old mat, framed with wood
logs on which are placed several large
stones. On these may be propped the
cooking pots. The women squat on the
bare floor boards while cooking their
simple fare. Smoke from these fires
soon blackens the interior of the house,
thereby giving an increasingly dingy ap-
pearance to the never-festive room.

Sets of swinging shelves hanging from
the ceiling are all that might, by a stretch
of the imagination, be termed "furni-

iKHH

^^H^^^~

^^^M^W

K' '

■

***.L,

K^^TL

™*^^=a

A MINIATURE MELANESIA

553

A VIEW THROUGH THE ROOF

In the Museum group one half of the roof of one of the miniature liouses has been left unt hatched,

permitting an aerial view of the interior. A woman may be seen cooking at a hearth, while her

baby sits near by on a mat. A mother never takes her baby out of the house until it can be depended

upon to cling to her neck under the most strenuous conditons

ture," and these are used merely to accom-
modate drying fish and clay pots. Neces-
sarily the shelves are always well stocked,
for fish must constantly be on hand for
trading and for food. In a prosperous
home will be found a goodly supply of
the black clay pots, for these are also an
important factor in Melanesian trade.
The larger ones also do duty as containers
for oil and water, while the shallower ones
are used for cooking.

Canoes play perhaps as important a
part in the lives of the Manus as do their
homes. Although the natives must
depend on trading to obtain the necessary
wood, they are so proficient in the manu-
facture and use of these light craft that
they are nevertheless masters of the water.
In them they are able to make great hauls
of fish, and in them they carry their
wares to be exchanged for other essentials
in trade with their shore neighbors.

Canoes are also as essential for social
use as are automobiles and trains to New
York civilization. Naturally, therefore,
there are various types : the large, broad-
beamed outrigger canoes which carry
the heavier cargoes; the medium-sized
outrigger canoes which are most adaptable
for fishing; the small canoes used for
house to house transportation; and
canoes which even the very young
children can manipulate efficiently. The
larger craft are usually elaborately deco-
rated, and on the canoe platform is
supported a small hearth to carry fire on
overseas trips. Since a journey to the
mainland of New Guinea or the Bismark
archipelago where valuables are traded
means a trip of about 200 miles across
the open water, it is most desirable to have
some sort of shelter on the canoes used
for such great distances. Accordingly
a half arch of thatch forming a curve

554

NATURAL HISTORY

about three feet high, which may easily
be supplemented by more thatch to form
a small, round hut, is built on the canoe
platform. In open water the canoes are
sailed with occasional paddling by the
natives, while in the shallow water of the
lagoons they are punted.

Except for scattered bits of volcanic
outcroppings, even the tiny islets so
useful to the natives must be built by
them. First, stakes must be driven to
form a boundary; then a platform
of coral rubble is built which rises
above the water level even at high tide.
On this is thrown quantities of bark and
leaves. Eventually one or two small
trees will spring up whose roots aid
materially in holding together this bit
of man-made territory, even if the trees
serve no other purpose. On these islands
feasts may be held, ceremonials enacted,
and work carried on. Each Manus

village has its share — perhaps three or
four of them.

In the model which Mr. Martin has
constructed the chief activity at the
moment is centered about one of these
small islands. Due to the elaborate
Manus customs, so many occasions call
for a special ceremony or feast that
rarely a day passes without one or the
other, or both, occurring. Betrothals,
marriages, births, ear piercings, deaths —
all mean that certain rites must be per-
formed. In this particular instance a
presentation of goods is to be made by
the relatives of a newly married woman
to the relatives of her husband. As a
bride price, the man has given shell money
and dog's teeth to his in-laws, and the
the wife's relatives are now gathering to
make a return gift of grass skirts and pots.
This will be accomplished with much
ceremony.

MAKING A FISH TRAP
The Manus are dependent upon fish not only for food but for trade. In exchange for them they obtain
other necessities of hfe from their land neighbors. The cylindrical trap upon which this fisherman is
working is made of wooden withes, and has an opening at one end through which the fish enter

A CARGO OF CLAY POTS
Large outrigger canoes are
used to carry clay pots and
other valuables to neighbor-
ing communities where they
are exchanged for other com-
modities. The Manus are
past-masters at constructing
types of canoes to meet all
their needs

THE THRESHOLD OF A
MANUS HOME
Since the only land in this
community consists of man-
made islets, the small porches
on the front and back of each
home are used for work and
play as well as for landing
platforms for canoes. At high
tide the porches are almost
level with the water, but at
low tide one must use a ladder

to ascend from the canoe

556

NATURAL HISTORY

UNDER FULL SAIL

In open water the canoes are propelled by sail and sometimes by

paddling. A voyage to the Bismark archipelago or the mainland

of New Guiana means crossing about 200 miles of water

In this festive group the people are,
of course, in gala costume, which consists
of bracelets and beads added to the
ordinary dress. The women wear snug-
fitting belts from which are suspended
skirts formed by two aprons made of
large leaves, shredded until they re-
semble crinkled grass ribbons. It is quite
a feat to put on one of these belts, for
since they are so tight about the waist,
the difficulties encountered in pulling
them over the shoulders are considerable.
Usually a woman requires the help of
three or four friends in donning her
simple costume. Married and unmarried
women are easily distinguishable, as

immediately after mar-
riage a woman shaves
her head in order to les-
sen her charms. The
older unmarried children
wear bead belts. The
mats covering the heads
of some of the women are
not really part of their
costumes, but are used
to shield them from the
sight of tabued relatives.
A man merely wears a
gi string made of bark
cloth ; and the small chil-
dren are unencumbered
with clothes of any sort.
Adorrmients of all
kinds, as among all primi-
tive races, are extremely
popular. The ear lobes
are greatly elongated as
a result of the heavy rings
continually hung on
them. Beaded armlets
into which are stuck the
bones of dead relatives
are worn by both men
and women, as are beaded
anklets and wristlets. A
display of style and
wealth is combined in the
necklaces of dogs' teeth which gleam on
many a dusky throat. The men affect
complicated head-dressings, tying their
hair in Psyche knots.

A sign of affiuence is the presence of a
pig sty next to the home. Pigs are used
in exchange much as we use paper money,
and they sometimes change hands six or
seven times in a single day. Eventually,
of course, they replenish the larder of
some fortunate family. Incidentally,
they furnish amusement as pets, for
children delight in riding on their backs
in the water, and each pig is given a name
which it recognizes. Every evening they
are released and allowed to swim about till

A MINIATURE MELANESIA

557

morning, wh(!n they arc lifted bodily
from the water to be penned for another
day. This work is done by the women.

Further ingenuity is demonstrated by
the Manus in the making of fish traps.
One kind is a long fence eight feet tall,
made of pieces of split bamboo, which are
bound together with rattan. This type
offence, which may be seen on the landing
platform of one of the miniature houses,
is set in the water in a complicated maze
which fish can readily enter, but cannot
easily leave. After several days the
fishermen enter this labyrinth in their
canoes, and with little difficulty spear
great quantities of fish. A cylindrical
fish trap is also popular. Made of wooden
withes, it has a funnel-shaped opening at
one end which leads into the other end
of the trap. These traps are lowered in
the reef and weighted with stones. Here

they are left for several days, during
which the active fish population is de-
creased by many scores. The Manus
boys early in life take an interest in
fishing and find amusement in spearing
fish or shooting at them with bow and
arrow. This trains their eyes to an amaz-
ing alertness, so that by young-man-
hood every Manus man is an adopt fisher-
man.

The unique and little known civiliza-
tion worked out bj' the Melanesians,
as yet unchanged by missionaries or by
too much contact with the more progres-
sive world, is of special value to the
ethnologist, and Doctor Mead has made
the most of her ethnological and linguistic
abilities to glean a wealth of information
concerning them. To the South Seas
Hall of the American Museum the Manus
group has added new vitality and interest.

IN MINIATURE
The average height of the Manus men is about 5 feet 6 inches, and of the women about 5 feet. In
fashioning the Museum model Mr. Martin has used a scale of one half inch to a foot, as may be seen
by this family group and their canoe, which rest comfortably in the palm of Mr. Martin's hand

1. Central Asiatic Expeditions; 2. Whitney, South Sea, Island of Kwasie, for birds; 3. Boekelman Shell Heap Project;

4. Frick-Blick, Colorado, for fossils; 5. Frick-Falkenbach, Wyoming, for fossils; 6. Frick-Rak, Santa F6, New Mexico,

for fossils; 7. Olalla Brothers, Brazil, for birds and mammals; S. Naumburg-Kaempfer, Southern Brazil for birds;

9. Scarritt, Patagonia, for fossil mammals

AMERICAN MUSEUM EXPEDITIONS
AND NOTES

Edited by A. KATHERINE BERGER

li is the purpose of this department to keep readers of Natural History inforTrfec^

as to the latest news of the Museum expeditions in the field at the time the magazine

goes to press. In many instances, however, the sources of information are sj'distant

that it is not possible to include up-to-date data

/^ENTRAL Asiatic Expedition. — Dr. Roy
^^ Chapman Andrews, leader of the Central
Asiatic Expedition, returns to the Museum in
early October after a summer spent in Peking in
an unsuccessful attempt to induce the Chinese
authorities to grant permission for further work
by the e.xpedition in the Gobi. The expedition
headquarters in Peking have been closed tem-
porarily. In the meantime the magnificent col-
lection obtained in 1930 is being rapidly prepared
in the laboratory of the department of vertebrate
palaeontology, and the preliminary scientific re-
ports on this material will begin to appear
shortly.

OCARRITT-Patagonian Expedition.— Dr.
*^ George Gaylord Simpson, leader of the Scar-
ritt-Patagonian Expedition, who is at present
in Buenos Ayres studying the great Ameghino
collection of Patagonian fossils, is due back at

the American Museum October 1. Mr. Cole-
man Williams, assistant on this expedition, re-
turned in June after the close of their highly
successful field work in the Eocene deposits of
Patagonia, and brought the entire collection
with him to the Museum. Preparation work on
this most important addition to the department
collections is proceeding, and a special exhibit
will be made this autumn.

A PRIMITIVE Tbiassic Reptile From
■'* Arizona. — Mr. Barnum Brown, curator of
fossil reptiles, American Museum, reports a most
successful field season in the western states. At
Cameron, Arizona, he found, early in the sea-
son, a nearly complete and most perfectly pre-
served little skeleton of one of the primitive
Ti'iassic reptiles, Pseudosuchians, which are
closely related to the stem forms that gave rise
to the crocodiles. This remarkable specimen.

NOTES

559

.about three feet Ion;;, is creamy white in color
and lies imbedded in brick-red sandstone. As
both the dorsal and abdominal plates are present
and but little displaced, the slab is being pre-
pared for exhibition in a vertical position so that
both sides may be seen. This specimen appears
(o represent a form new to science jind will un-
doubtedly throw much light on the origin of the
Crocodilia.

r^INOSAUR Skeleton From Montana. —
■'-' Near Billings, Montana, Mr. Peter Kaisen,
of the department of vertebrate paleontology,
excavated a skeleton of a small dinosaur which
was located by Mr. Brown four yaws ago and
the exposed parts covered up and left until such
time as he could return. Curator Brown reports
that the skeleton proves to be complete, except
for ten inches of the tail, and is beautifully pre-
served. It comes from the Lakota, Cretaceous,
beds and belongs to the group of small herbivor-
ous bipedal dinosaurs known as Camptosaurs.
Preparation work on this specimen will begin
directly upon Mr. Kaisen's return from the field
in early September and the mounting will prob-
ably be taken up this winter. It is described
as one of the medium-sized Camptosaurs, which
would mean a length of fifteen or twenty feet.

"T^HE Madagascar Expedition. — Philip
■*■ DuMont and Austin L. Rand of the Mission
Zoologique Franco-Anglo-Americaine both re-
turned to the United States during the summer
after the successful completion of the work in
Madagascar. The splendid collection of birds
and mammals made by this international ex-
pedition was studied at the Paris Museum by
Mr. J. Delacour, Mr. G. Grandidier, and Pro-
fessor Bourdelle, and divided into three equal
parts : one part will remain at the Paris Museum
while the other two have been sent to the British
Museum and the American Museum respectiveh'.
The American Museum's share in the collection
amounting to some 4000 specimens of birds has
now been received.

The expedition collected all but a half dozen
of the species of birds known with certainty to
inhabit Madagascar. About a dozen new forms
of birds, including one genus of warbler which
has been named Randia, have been discovered
by this expedition. In addition to the bh'ds, a

large and very valuable mammal collection was
included in the shipment. Since Madagascar
has been represented in the Museum series by
merely a handful of specimens, the acquisition
of this s))lendid material which represents almost
all the known mammal fauna of Madagascar
is an event of major importance. After the
mammals are unpacked, an additional note
describing them more in detail will appear in
a later number of Natural History Magazine.

■"PHE Legendre Indo-China Expedition. —
■*• An expedition under the auspices of Mr.
and Mrs. Sidney Legendre with Mr. T. Donald
Carter as the American Mu.seum representative
left for Indo-China late in August. The expe-
dition will enter at Hanoi and proceed south
through the mountains to Saigon.

Although the plans include general collecting,
the primary object is to collect mammals and
birds of this region. The Museum's collections
contain very little material from this part of the
world, so any specimens brought back will be of
great value.

CTHNOLOGICAL Field Work in New
•'— ' Guinea. — Dr. Margaret Mead is sailing on
August 22 for New Guinea where she will do
two years' ethnological field work. She will
make collections of specimens and obtain notes
for the construction of a small model so as to
complete the South Seas Hall with a repre-
sentative New Guinea exhibit from one care-
fully studied area. At the completion of this
expedition the South Seas Hall will have six
detailed local South Sea exhibits in addition
to the synoptic collections from manj' parts
of the South Seas. Doctor Mead will also
make special studies of primitive women and
children. She has selected as her special prob-
lem the genesis of the attitudes which are typical
of the sexes in an endeavor to discover what
factors are cultural and what biological. Doctor
Mead will work in conjunction with her hus-
band, Dr. Reo Fortune, who will pursue parallel
researches into the religion and social organiza-
tion of the same tribes. Doctor Fortune is work-
ing under the auspices of the Columbia Uni-
versity Council for Research in the Social
Sciences.

NOTES

TT'ALL Program of the Amateur Astronomers
*■ Association. — The officers of the Amateur,
Astronomers Association take great pleasure (n
announcing for the fall series of lectures the.

speakers listed herein. It is hoped that this
year may be one of the most interesting the Asso-
ciation has had. The meetings of the society are
held ordinarily on the first and third Wednesdays

560

NATURAL HISTORY

of each month, at 8:15 P.M., in the large audi-
torium of the American Museum of Natural
History. The pubHc is cordially invited to
attend.

September 16 — Dr. Harlow Shapley, director
of the Harvard College Observatory, will speak
on "The Harvard Program of Galactic Explora-
tions," describing the work being done at
Harvard in extending the known Hmits of the
universe.

October 7 — Dr. E. E. Free will discuss ''Cos-
mic Chemistry "^how chemical calculations of
what must happen to atoms and molecules in a
cooling mass of gases may help to explain the
histories of stars and what other planets are like,
as well as the origin of life on earth.

October 14 — (This is not the regular date, but
is chosen to suit the speaker's convenience.) Dr.
William de Sitter, the Dutch astronomer who
demonstrated that the movement of the peri-
helion point of Mercury is in accordance with Ein-
stein's Theory of Relativity, will talk before the
society.

November 4 — Mr. David B. Pickering, a
member of the Executive Council of the Ama-
teur Astronomers Association, will speak on
''Observatories on the Pacific Coast and in
Japan." Mr. Pickering has just returned from an
extensive tour and detailed personal investiga-
tion of these observatories.

November 18 — Dr. Clyde Fisher, president of
the Amateur Astronomers Association, will speak
on "Mars, the Ruddy Wanderer of the Sky."

CONSERVATION
npHE Status of the Bear. — In the February
■*■ and March issues of Outdoor Life, Harry
McGuire has taken up the cudgel for the bear,
in two articles entitled respectively, "Staking
out the Sportsman's Claims in Alaska" and "The
Status of the Bear. " In this day of the specialist,
when conservation is so apt to be tempered to
the taste of special interests, it behooves every
nature lover to maintain constant attention upon
the status of our wild life lest the privileges
granted to a few demand a prohibitive conces-
sion from the many.

Mr. McGuire writes upon a timely subject,
one that is of paramount importance not only
to the naturalist but to the sportsman. He con-
cludes that the Alaska brown bear is faced with
the threat of excessive killing, if not actual ex-
termination over much of its range and makes
a plea for a sane and careful consideration of all
the factors which enter into the case of the bear
versus the residents of Alaska. New game laws
have been drafted and recently put into effect,
providing what is tantamount to an open sea-

son on Alaska brown bears throughout the year
for the resident of Alaska.

The old regulations set a season limit of September 1
to June 20. The new law provides absolutely no closed
season for a resident, except in certain areas where the
season is September 1 to June 20. And both the old and
new regulations allow a resident to kill any number of
bears whenever he judges them to be dangerous 'to per-
sons or property.'

Plainly, the new regulations have taken all legal bars
away from the resident who wants to kill bears. So much
for the camouflage about the new law giving more protec-
tion than the old. We may as well face the fact that as
long as a resident can kill as many bears as he wants to —
the only provision being that he convince himself the bears
are dangerous before he shoots them! — there is no gen-
uine protection except such as is afforded by the bear's
habits and habitat, and his remoteness from human beings.

One of the most interesting documents on what is to
be done about the brown bear is included in the annual
report of the Commissioner for the Department of Agricul-
ture for Alaska, to the Secretary of Agriculture. It is
written by Jay P. Williams, U. S. Forest examiner. After
giving some sound advice about brown bear habits and
about how those who have to work in bear country should
prepare themselves for an emergency meeting with a
brownie, he points out the dangers of anti-bear agitation:
'The Forest Service, as an organization, can not con-
sistently espouse a policy of extermination against the
brown bear. Neither should we make commercial expe-
diency tlie all-embracing criterion which determines our
attitude. Many things are quickly done but slowly un-
done. Before anything be done, the bear question should
be weighed carefully, constructively, and broad-mindedly.
The largest carnivorous animal in the world, he helps
give distinction and fascination to our territory.

The immediate need is for sportsmen and conservation
societies to hold conferences, forget personalities, and agree
upon (1) the passage of a bill through Congress for creat-
ing one or more brown bear sanctuaries; (2) the location
of those sanctuaries.

Influential societies like the Western Association of
State Game and Fish Commissioners, the American
Society of Mammalogists, etc., have already joined Out-
door Life in officially advocating such sanctuaries. At
the moment it is not necessary that sportsmen concern
themselves about the details of such preserves — but
it is vitally necessary that you get your game and fish
associations to pass resolutions favoring the idea, and it
is necessary that you let your Senators and Congressmen
know that you want the brown bear of Alaska given
protection.

Do you want poison or protection for the great brown
bear of Alaska?

The above quotations relate to the situation
in Alaska, but McGuire in "The Status of the
Bear" shows that closer at hand the case is
equally depressing for those who would like to
have bears as part of our great fauna.

In short, the last and most important reason why bear
protection is so often a cruel farce is that Federal and state
officials, holding offices primarily dedicated to the service
of sportsmen, have often given that service to sheep in-
terests and a few powerful stockmen. They discourage
laws designed to perpetuate the bear. They spread propa-
ganda about his alleged destructiveness. They ignore
the protests of sportsmen, except to shed a few stage tears.

As a last specimen of the attitude which will lead to bear
extermination if the sheep interests have their way, I
quote from the last annual report of the New Mexico
game commissioner, printed in the New Mexico Conser-
vationist, As an example of the extent to which some
western game commissioners take their orders from the
enemies of wild life, I think this statement is unparalleled
(italics mine);"

'Contrary to popular prediction there has been little
complaint of damage by bears to live stock, but we have
made it a point to issue permits promptly to any stock-
man making such a complaint, to remove the guilty in-
dividual. So long as this policy is adhered to, I believe
that there will be but little friction between stockmen and
sportsmen on the score of bear protection.

' The grizzly bear is practically, if not quite, extinct in New
Mexico at this writing. One specimen was killed under

NOTES

561

nnri

Haid l.hiit iiiiother still cxiHts there. It tH with regret
llijit wc write the obituary of this great oreiiturc, but hia
nuHHiiiK iw i)erh(ip3 inevitable. Prone by nature to be a
killer, he haf eauned every stockman's nand to be raised
aRainst him.'

The irony in that!

There is one grizzly left in New Mexico! And 'So long
as this policy is adhered to, I believe that there will be
but little friction between stockmen and sportsmen on
the score of bear protection.'

ly/lARINE Mammals. — In a report delivered
^^^ at the May meeting of the Board of Man-
agers of the New York Zoological Society, Dr.
Charles H. Townsend, director of the New York
Aquarium, discussed the status of the elephant
seal (Mirounga anqusliroslris) and the Town-
send fur seal {Ardocephabis loumsendi), both of
which were long considered extinct. The fact
that these two species of marine mammals can
no longer be so considered is largely due to
Doctor Townsend's unceasing efforts toward
their restoration.

After a prolonged period of supposed exter-
mination the elephant seal was rediscovered on
Guadalupe Island off the west coast of Mexico
in 1911. The herd at this time numbered about
100, but under the protection of the Mexican
Government it has increased to such an extent
that an expedition recently sent out by the
Zoological Society of San Diego was able to
count well over 1400 members.

The Townsend fur seal, of great commercial
importance one hundred years ago and formerly
abundant in the region of Guadalupe Island,
was also recently rediscovered. An extended
account by Doctor Townsend on this rare sea
lion has recently been published by the New
York Zoological Society.

Of considerable interest was Doctor Town-
send's review of the whaling industry. Under
the impetus of modern methods the industry
today constitutes a real menace to the main-
tenance of the stocks of whales. This is in part
due to the use of "factory steamers" some of
which are as large as 22,000 tons and are equip-
ped with airplanes and steam hunting boats
which kill the whales and bring them to the
floating factory where the animal is reduced to
oil, fertilizer and canned meat. It is believed
that the catch for the season of 1930 may ex-
ceed 30,000 whales. With whale oil selling at
$26 a barrel and the average yield from each
whale approximating SO barrels, this would
represent, in a normal market, a dollar value
of some 40 millions, sufficient economic stimulus
to render the situation serious.

It is only to be expected then that some con-
cern should be evidenced, and in this respect
Norway, who has the greatest commercial in-
terest in the question, has taken the lead.

Legislation enacted in 1929 forbids the killing
by all Norwegian whalers of the right whale and
all whale cows with calves. To discourage
slaughter, whaling crews are no longer to be
paid according to the number of whales killed,
and all parts of the animal containing oil must
be utilized. Overproduction of whale oil in the
past few years and the generally depressed con-
dition of the oil market throughout the world
have further led the Norwegians to suspend
whaling activities for the season of 1931.

This is a step in the right direction, but as
Doctor Townsend points out, much remains
to be accomplished in the field of whale con-
servation.

EDUCATION
AUTUMN Lecture Courses. — Arrange-
•^ ^ ments for the autumn lecture courses have
been completed by the department of public
education of the American Museum. The free
lectures for the children of the public schools
will begin on October 5. There will be nine ex-
hibitions of educational motion pictures, seven
lectures on nature and industries, seven on geog-
raphy and history, and two on hygiene and
civics. The first Saturday afternoon program
for school children, parents, and the general
public will be given on September 12 at 2:30
p. M. This series will include fifteen motion
pictures and six lectures. The series of ten week-
ly free lectures in biologic science for students
of the high schools and training schools opens
on October 1 at 3:40 p. m. Special lectures
have been arranged as usual for pupils of the
public schools who are handicapped b}' defective
vision. Exhibition hall talks, with emphasis on
the study of Museum exhibits, have also been
arranged for school children. The Junior As-
tronomy Club will have an attractive series of
lectures, starting on November 7.

Several courses will be given especially for
teachers. Dr. Clyde Fisher will conduct a course
for high school teachers on the identification and
classification of natural history objects, and Mrs.
Grace Ramsey will direct two courses for teach-
ers, in the Theory and Practice of Visual In-
struction and in the Mechanics of Visual In-
struction. In the latter course Mr. L. Wales
Holden, in charge of projection at the Museum,
will give most of the lectures.

Further information about all lectures may be
obtained upon application to Room 306, School
Service Building, American Museum of Natural
History.

I ECTURES FOR Members.— The special lec-
■^' tures for members of the American Museum
will begin on Thursday, October 22, at 8:15 p. m.

562

NATURAL HISTORY

when Mr. H. C. Raven will have some interest-
ing material about "Gorillas at Home." Other
subjects for the season are "The Fishing Bank
and Fishing," by Basse tt Jones, November 5;
"With Byrd to the Bottom of the World," by
Laurence M. Gould, November 19; "The Glor-
ies of the Apache Trail," by Robert Frothing-
ham, December 3; and "Mountain Lions," by
William L. Fmley, December 17.

I ECTURES FOR Children of Members
■*— ' start Saturday morning, at 10:30 o'clock,
October 24, with "Natm'e Poems and Pictures,"
by Mrs. Ruth Crosby Noble; to be followed
November 7, by "Indian Music," interpreted
by Rosebud Seymour; "The Story of the
Beaver," by William H. Carr, November 21;
and "From Coast to Coast Across Africa," by
Harold L. Green, December 5.

ANOTHER Course of Lectures for
■^"^ Teachers in experimental schools begins
Wednesday, September 30, at four o'clock, con-
tinuing until May 25, 1932. This course is in
collaboration with the Metropolitan Museum of
Art, and is entitled "Backgrounds for Progres-
sive School Units."

'T"'HE Bear Mountain Nature Trails and
■*■ Trailside Museum opened the fifth season
on May 1, under the direction of Mr. William
H. Carr, assistant curator in the department of
public education of the American Museum. Mr.
Carr reports the most successful season since the
Museum started the project, with a total of
186,000 visitors from May 1 through August.
The trails are visited by large numbers of camp
groups from the surrounding region, as well as
by visitors from all over the world, many of
whom use these trails and the Trailside Museum
as models for similar projects of their own. Regu-
lar meetings are held every two weeks for all
nature councillors and museum directors of the
regional museums and camps. Nature teaching
at the Trailside Workshop, or "Craftshop, " has
been expanded and enriched this year, mak-
ing it a most important project. Botany, fish,
and turtle pools have been added in the vicinity
of the Craftshop, as well as a large rustic snake
cage, and a fernery with the various species la-
belled. Major Welch, general manager and chief
engineer of Interstate Park, calls the Craftshop
with the suiTounding teaching aids, an "Out-
door University." Grateful acknowledgment is
here made of the valuable cooperation extended
in many ways by the Commissioners of the Inter-
state Park.

Mr. Carr has recently been appointed director-
in-chief of all the Regional Museums in Inter-

state Park. The Trailside Museum has thus
been officially recognized as the leading nature
headquarters in the area. It also means that the
department of public education of the American
Museum now actively directs natural history in-
struction in 106 camps during July and August,
reaching 90,000 children and adults.

FISHES
C OME Interesting Accessions for the De-
^ PARTMENT OF FiSHES. — Mr. Ellis S. Joseph,
the well-known importer of wild animals, has
presented to the American Museum] specimens
of the interesting South American "electric eel,"
Eledrophorus electricus, and lungfish, Lepidosiren.
Of the three genera of lungfishes living in the
world today, one in Africa, one in Australia, and
one in South America, this is the rarest in mu-
seum collections in our country. It occurs along
the course of the Amazon River and its main
affluents in wide-spreading marshes and swamps
almost choked by vegetation, rising to the sur-
face to breathe with its "double lung" when the
oxygen content of the water becomes low, and
hibernating in a deep tubular burrow in the mud
when the swamps dry up in the dry season. The
eggs are laid shortly after the fish is liberated
from this prison bj^ the advent of the rains. The
male remains to guard them, and it is thought
that highly vascular blood-red filaments which
develoj) on his pelvic fins at this time act as acces-
sory gills to enable him to guard the eggs with-
out being forced to resort to the surface for air.

CTURGEONS prom the Caspian Sea.— The
^ American Museum has recently received as
a gift from Mr. Ferdinand Hansen, president of
the Romanoff Caviar Company, two large
mounted sturgeons from the Caspian Sea, both
more than five feet in length, and representing
different species important in the Russian stur-
geon fishery. They will form a valuable addition
to the Museum's world series of this group of
fishes, and will have, as well, especial interest
due to their commercial importance.

/CHINESE Fishes.— The Department of fishes
^^ at the American Museum has for some years
been giving particular attention to a study of the
fresh-water fishes of China, and may, we think,
claim some credit for recent growth of interest
in ichthyology among Chinese students. In any
event a very useful check list of Chinese fishes.
Index Piscium Sinensium, " the most recent prod-
uct of the industry of Prof. Yuanting T. Chu of
St. Johns University, Shanghai, which has
reached us, gives much credit to work in this
Museum. Among several others who are now
actively working in this field we may mention

NOTES

563

Dr. C. F. Wu of Yenching University; Messrs.
P. W. Fang of the Metropolitan Museum, Nan-
king, and Tsen-Hwang Shaw of the Fan Memo-
rial Institute of Biology antl Tsing-Hua Univer-
sity, Peiping; also Dr. Tchung-Lin Tohang,
who has been studying in Paris.

LINDSAY MORRIS STERLING
'T^HE department of vertebrate palaontology
•*• at the American Museum has the sad duty
of recording the death, on ,July 30, at the Engle-
wood, New Jersey, Hospital, of Mrs. Lindsay
Morris Sterling,
the head of the
department staff
of artists.

Mrs. Sterling,
who died in her
fifty-fifth year, be-
gan her work with
the American Mu-
seum in 190 1
under the direc-
tion of Professor
Henry Fairfield
Osborn. Prior to
this time she had
been making
drawings of the
comparative
anatomy of verte-
brates, for use in
the Columbia
University course,
taught by Profes-
sor Osborn. This
collection of draw-
ings is now in Dr. Gregory's hands, and will be
used by him in his volume on the Evolution of
the Vertebrates.

In 1908, Mrs. Sterling began a series of draw-
ings on the osteology of the Proboscidea, chiefly
the crania of fossil and living forms. She con-
tinued this work through many years, completing
for the Proboscidea Memoir several hundred
drawings. The last of her work was concerned
with the final touches on the illustrations for
Chapter XX of the Proboscidea Memoir.

Her work is marked by extraordinary accuracy,
a fidelity to truth, and an artistic finish. The
high-water mark was reached in the illustrations
of the crania of living Proboscideans.

It is difficult to express, in a few words, our
appreciation of her very fine qualities of personal
character and cheerfulness, and her intense
scientific and artistic enthusiasm. Her name
ranks with that of Erwin Christman among the

LINDSAY MORRIS STERLING

1876-1931

Former head of the staff of artists for the department of

vertebrate palaeontology at the American Museum

artists in the department of vertebrate palaeon-
tology.—H. F. O.

NTEW E(jUAL Ahea Mai- of the Co.vtine.vts.
^ ^ One of the last and most enduring works
of Lindsay Morris Sterling was a new world map,
technically known as ' homalographic' Ijecause
so far as possible the continents are drawn in
equal areas, with the exception of the north polar
region including Greenland, which is relatively
enlarged.

This map will
form a new basis
for plotting all the
American Mu-
seum expeditions
and exploration
of the continents.
I ts especially
novel and out-
standing feature,
in contrast with
all maps in cur-
rent use, is that
the great mother
continent of Asia
is placed in the
center, with North
America to the
east and Europe
and Africa to the
west; this central
zoogeographieal
position of the
great continent of
Asia is practically
the result of the remarkable discoveries made
by our Central Asiatic Expeditions under
Roy Chapman Andrews and Walter Granger,
for these expeditions have demonstrated that
Asia is not only the mother of the continents
but the foster mother of the greater part of the
forms of reptile, mammal, and probably bird life.
It is not only the center but the chief migration
route eastward and westward of animals
originating in the lesser continents of America
and Africa. The well-known homalographic
base map of Professor Goode of the LTniversity
of Chicago follows the old method of placing
Eurasia and Africa on the east and the American
continents on the west; it is inferior to our new
Sterling map also in inadequately coping with
the extremely difficult problem of the flattening
out of any part of a sphere.

Curator Chester A. Reeds from the beginning
has supervised the making of this new equal area

564

NATURAL HISTORY

map, and during the past two years with the ad-
vice of Curator Osborn has devoted a great deal
of time to its preparation. It will be distributed
immediately throughout the Museum for plot-
ting purposes and will be available for other in-
stitutions. An important and effective use is
being made by Doctor Antevs with the coopera-
tion of Doctor Reeds in plotting the four glacia-
tions of the Northern Hemisphere; this will also
be printed in color and issued by Doctor Reeds
as a Museum Bidlelin. In the autumn a second
printing of the Sterling map will be issued in
four colors, also a second edition of it so arranged
as to bring the North American continent close
to Asia at the Behring Strait junction.

HONORS
(~\ N June 29, the Belgian Consul in New York
^-^ City delivered to Dr. James P. Chapin
the insigna of the "Ordre de la Couronne. "
This decoration was conferred by King Albert
in recognition of Doctor Chapin's twenty-two
years of researches in the zoology of the Bel-
gian Congo.

MEETINGS OF SOCIETIES
/CANADIAN Biological Conference. — Mr.
^^ H. E. Anthony, curator of the department
of mammals, represented the American Museum
as a delegate to the 1931 Canadian Biological
Conference held at Mr. Copley Amory's camp
on the Matamek River on the north shore of the
St. Lawrence, July 23 to August 1.

This conference was planned and called by
Mr. Copley Amory, an American who has been
a summer resident at Matamek for many years
and has noted the great economic effect of the
cycles of animal abundance and scarcity upon
the population of Labrador. The periodic fluc-
tuations in the abundance of cod or of fur-bear-
ers have a profound influence upon the people
of a region where the principle natural resources
are animal in nature. The records of the Hud-
son's Bay Company, covering a period of several
hundred years, upon analysis by Charles Elton
of Oxford, disclosed a regular rythm of increase
and decrease in the number of furs taken. Mr.
Amory has been hoping that a better under-
standing of such phenomena might enable one
to prophesy such an event as the disappearance
of the cod for a given period from their normal
banks in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the people
might make provision in advance of what or-
dinarily proves to be an economic calamity.

The conference was attended by scientists from
many institutions and representing many fields
of research. Several delegates from Europe were
present, but the majority were from Canada and

the United States. Canadian officials both of
the National Government and of the Province
of Quebec were much interested in the confer-
ence and its purposes. A luncheon was given
to the delegates at Quebec on July 22 by the
Provincial government. The Clarke Steamship
Company placed a steamer on a special run from
Rimouski to Matamek and return to carry the
delegates to Mr. Amory's camp. At Matamek
they were the guests of Mr. Amory who had gone
to great length to provide admirable facilities
for the deUberations of the conference and the
comfort and recreation of the members.

A full daily program occupied the time of the
conference from 8:30 each morning until five or
later in the afternoon. The occasion was unique
among scientific gatherings in the fact that
practically one hundred per cent attendance
marked each session. It was the unanimous
opinion of those present that the conference was
eminently successful and that a real beginning
upon the problems of periodic fluctuations had
been made.

An abstract of the daily proceedings will be
published at an early date and special papers
presented at the conference will doubtless be
published. In general, the program brought to-
gether and correlated a host of observations
upon the cyclic phenomena of animal life. The
outstanding cases of such fluctuations are the
lemmings of Scandinavia, a four-year cycle, the
varying hares of northern North America, a ten-
year cycle, and the ruffed grouse of eastern North
America, also a ten-year cycle. Fluctuations in
the numbers of salmon and of cod show that pul-
sations in numbers occur in the waters as well as
on the land. A study of the growth rings of trees
reveals a periodicity in the annual factors of
climate favorable to growth. While there
seemed to be little question as to the existence
of a flow and ebb in animal populations, the in-
terpretation of these phenomena brought forth
some differences of opinion among the delegates.
It soon became apparent that there must be
cycles of different lengths, but these were ac-
counted for by the climatologists with an array
of solar and lunar cycles of activity which might
well lay the ground work for these biological
events through a direct action upon climate.
Sun-spot cycles were frequently cited as the
underlying cause of fluctuations.

One of the points which was well established
is the need of thorough research into life histories
of the species which display fluctuations in num-
ber, as well as those which do not, in order to
discover the mechanism by which numbers are
built up or destroyed. One of the most signifi-
cant topics discussed was the effect of epizootic

NOTEfi

565

disease upon large animal poijulation.s and a
possible cycle of virulence shown by the epizootic.
Furthermore, it would appear that well marked
cyclic phenomena are confined to particular geo-
graphical regions, and this suggests a geograjjhi-

was a good example, while the least fluctuation
took |)lace in the great tropical rain forests of
South America and Africa. He also served on
the Committee on Resolutions and is a member
of the Committee on Future Arrangements.

A NEW ARRIVAL FROM THE GOBI DESERT
Examining a skull of the remarkable new amblypod related to Dinoceras of the Rocky Mountains.
Left to right are Albert Thomson, assistant on the staff of the Central Asiatic Expeditions; H. F.
Osborn, president of the American Museum and honorary curator of the deptartment of vertebrate
palaeontology; Walter Granger, chief of the paljeontological division of the Central Asiatic Expeditions

cal pattern of fluctuation which may be corre-
lated with certain climatic factors.

The conference closed with the hope that such
an auspicious beginning would lead to note-
worthy accomplishments in the future. With a
much better understanding of the problems in-
volved, many of the members outlined plans for
promising lines of research. A second confer-
ence was expected to result, possibly after three
years, and details of this meeting as well as of a
permanent organization to deal with fluctuations
was referred to a committee of which Mr. Amory
will be the guiding spirit.

Mr. Anthony presented a paper on the general
subject of fluctuations in the numbers of mam-
mals, with special reference to the scarcity of
cyclic phenomena in South America, and sug-
gested that the greatest degree of fluctuation
was to be found in special areas, ofwhich Canada

'"PHE National Education Association. —
During the week beginning June 29, Mrs.
Grace Fisher Ramsey represented the depart-
ment of public education of the American Mu-
seum at the annual meeting of the National
Education Association held in Los Angeles. She
attended the meetings of the department of
visual instruction in which she holds the office
of Secretary-Treasurer. The emphasis of the
meetings was placed on the need for training
teachers in the use of visual and other sensory
aids.

VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY
A Remarkable New Amblypod from- the
■^*- Gobi Desert. — One of the most surprising
of the new animals discovered by the Central
Asiatic Expedition in the Gobi in 1930, in strata
of Upper Eocene age, is an Amblypod closely re-

566

NATURAL HISTORY

lated to the Dinoccms of North America. One
of the several skulls obtained of the new form is
shown in the photograph on page 565. Evident-
ly the Gobi region was highly favorable to the
development of the heavy-footed Amblypods, for
the group survived into Middle Oligocene time,
contemporaneously with the giant Baluchither-
ium, whereas m the Rocky Mountains the Dino-
ceras line died out in Upper Eocene time, and
the Coryphodop. line died out in Lower Eocene
time. In the Gobi there survived the corypho-
don known as Eudinoceras, previously described,
also a giant supercoryphodont, of a most sur-
prising new type and of Oligocene age, which
wil! be described by Curators Osborn and Gran-
ger in an autumn issue of Novitates.

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FAIR
nPHIS year the American Institute Children's
•'• Science Fair will be held from December 9 to
1 1 , at the American Museum of Natural History.

Since 1821, the American Institute has held
fairs in New York City; early in the Nineteenth
Century, in Niblo's Garden and Castle Garden,
later in its own building.

In 1928 the American Institute, cooperating
with the American Museum of Natural History
and the School Nature League held the first
Children's Science Fair, an exposition for boys
and girls designed to focus attention on the
sciences and to foster a scientific interest in agri-
culture, gardening, nature study, and conser-
vation.

In this, the Fourth Children's Science Fair,
organizations, schools, and individuals eighteen
years of age or younger may exhibit work in
many fields of science, — biology, chemistry,
physics, astronomy, geology, agriculture, nature

study, and conservation. For information con-
cerning the plans for the fair, address The
Children's Science Fair, Office of the American
Institute, Lincoln Building, New York City.

APPOINTMENTS
r^R. Wendell C. Bennett has been appointed
■'-^ assistant curator in anthropology begin-
ning September 1, 1931.

IV/IISS Kathbrine F. Kumpf, of Mount
*''■'■ Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massa-
chusetts, took up her duties as assistant in ex-
perimental biology, at the American Museum,
September 1, 1931.

THE ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL
/^N October 27, 1931, Governor Roosevelt
^^ will lay the cornerstone of the New York
State Roosevelt Memorial Building, which is
being erected at the axis of Seventy-ninth Street
and Central Park West, New York City. The
date selected for the ceremony will be the
seventy-third anniversary of the birth of Theo-
dore Roosevelt, former President of the United
States, to whom the building is to be dedicated.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS
" Wild Gnmc.^Xts Zeanl Status." By E. I. Du Pont
de Nemours & Co., Wilmington, Delaware.

■"PHIS is a compilation of the laws and court
■*■ decisions relating to the ownership and
regulation of wild game from early times down
to the present. It is a useful resume of such
legal data and is available for distribution, free
of charge, to those interested as long as the
supply lasts. Naturalists and nature lovers who
are interested in posting themselves upon the
legal status of game would do well to write to
this company for a copy of the brochure.

NEW MEMBERS

Since the last issue of Natural History, the following
persons have been elected members of the American Mu-
seum, making the total membership 12,100.

Life Members
Mrs. Charles E. F. McCann.
Mr. Paul Moore.

Sustaining Member
Mr. G. F. Steele.

Messrs. Perkins Bass, Leon A. Birck, 0. B. Carrott,
Dbory W. Cooper, Jr., Wm. de Krafft, Thomas E. Dunn,
Robert S. Fletcher, J. Ritchie Kimball, Nathan J.
Levine, Edmund Platt, A. Phimister Proctor, Ben
LeRoy Stowell, Otto Willi Ulrich, I. K. 'Ward,
Sylvan E. Weil.

Associate Members
Baronne de Radzitzky-D'Ostrowicky.
Mesdames John F. Biddle, Alfred H. Bryan, Harry L.
Garrett, T. S. Murfitt, W. J. Surganty.

Prince Taka-Tsukasa.

Count Nils Gyldenstolpe.

Prof. Wm. J. Kerr.

Doctors Edmond Bechtold, Harmon P. B. Jordan,

Nagamichi Kuroda, Hooker Oliver Lindsey, Joseph

Mullen, Alipio de Miranda Ribeiro, Thos. E. Wine-

COFF.

Colonel David M. McKell.

Messrs. Frank A. Beier, Jefferson S. Benner, J. L.
Bhaduri, Frans Ernst Blaauw, Leonard H. Cadwell,
John D. Carter, M. J. Cassidy, Walter E. Coe, Henry
B. Cross, C. B. Cunningham, James G. Dailey, Alfred
E. Dart, Leonard H. Dreman, Jr., Herbert Eddy
Easton, Spencer Ervin, Arthur M. Grass, Burgess
Green, Marcus H. Green, Willis B. Hall, R. W. Ham-
mond, Samuel Hawkes, Fred Heilfurth, Benjamin
Chapman Hiatt, Henry A. Hoover, Jacob Kjode, Gus-
TAVE Langelibh, William F. Leggett, Boris A. Lurs,
Roderick L. Macle.ay, E. W. Maynard, Hugo L. Menke,
Albert K. Miller, Robert M. Moore, J. T. Power,
Joseph Gales Rams.ay, Ch.arles Ray, How.ard Robert-
son, Fritz Rohrig, Robert H. Rose, John W. Sherwood,
A. B. Smith, G. Russell Steininger, A. G. Sudheimer,
James G. Suthard, Arthur T. Watson, Marcus White,
Carter R. Whittaker, Willis B. Wood, R. G. Wood-
bridge, 3d., Thomas Worthen.

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

FOUNDED IN 1869

SIXTY yenis of public and scientific seivice have won for the American Museum of Natural
History a position of recognized importance in the educational and scientific life of the nation,
and in the progress of civilization throughout the world. Expeditions trom the American
Museum and members of the scientific stalT are interested in facts of science wherever they
may he found. As a result, representatives of this institution are forever studying, inve.stigat-
ing, exploring, not merely in their laboratories and their hbraries, but actually in the field, in
remote and uncivilized corners of the world, as well as in lands nearer home.

From those adventuring scientists and from observers and scientists connected with other
institutions, Natural Histouy Magazinl, obtains the articles that it publishes. Thus it is able
to present to the members of the American Museum the most fascinating, the most important,
and the most dramatic of the facts that are being added to the sum total of human knowledge.

MEMBERSHIP MORE THAN TWELVE THOUSAND
For the enlargement of its collections, for the support of its exploration and scientific research,
and for the maintenance of its many pubUcations, the American Museum is dependent wholly
upon members' fees and the generosity of its friends. More than 12,000 members are now enrolled
and ai'e thus supporting the work of the Museum. There are ten different classes of members, which
are as follows:

Associate Member (Persona residiDg fifty miles or more from New York City) . . annually $3

Annual Member annually $10

Sustaining Member annually S25

Life Member ... S200

FeUow S500

Patron §1,000

Associate Benefactor $10,000

Associate Founder $25,000

Benefactor $50,000

Endowment Member $100,000

Memberships are open to all those interested in natural historv and in the American Museum.
Subscriptions by check, and inquiries regarding membership should be addressed: James H Perkins.
Treasurer, American Museum of Natural History, New York City.

FREE TO MEMBERS

NATURAL HISTORY: JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM
This magazine, pubhshed bi-montiily by the American Museum, is sent to all classes of
members, as one of their privileges.

AUTUMN AND SPRING COURSES OF PUBLIC LECTURES
Series of illustrated lectures held on alternate Thursday evenings in the autumn and spring of

the year are open only to members or to those holding tickets given them by members.

In addition to these lectures, illustrated stories for the children of members are presented on

alternate Saturday mornings in the autumn and in the spring.

MEMBERS' CLUB ROOM AND GUIDE SERVICE
A handsome room on the third floor of the Museum, equipped with every convenience for rest,
reading, and correspondence, is set apart during Museum hours for the exclusive use of members
when visiting the Museum. Members are also privileged to avail themselves of the services of an
instructor for guidance.

SCIENCE g^ MUSEUM B RESEARCH

EDUCATION pi N-MpRAL H EXPLORATION

IXTIETH ANNIVERSARY ENDOWMENT FUND. Already, $2,500,000 has been
contributed to this $10,000,000 fund, opened in January, 1929, to commemorate the Six-
tieth Anniversary of the Founding of the American Museum of Natural History and to
^^H further the growth of its world-wide activities in Exploration, Research, Preparation,
Exhibition, Publication, and Education. Committees are now engaged in seeking the $7,500,000
which remains to be contributed. It is greatly to be desired that this fund, so vital to the scien-
tific and educational progress of the Museum, shall reach completion at an early date.

SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS of the Museum, based on its explorations and the study
of its collections, include the Memoirs, devoted to monographs requiring large or fine illustrations
and exhaustive treatment; the Bulletin, issued in octavo form since 1881, dealing with the scientific
activities of the departments except for the department of anthropology; the Anthropological
Papers, which record the work of the department of anthropology; and Novitates, which are devoted
to the pubUcation of preliminary scientific announcements, descriptions of new forms, and similar
matter.

POPULAR PUBLICATIONS, as well as scientific ones, come from the American Museum
Press, which is housed within the Museum itself. In addition to Natural Histoht
Magazine, the journal of the American Museum, the popular publications include many hand
books, which deal with subjects illustrated by the collections, and guide leaflets which describe
individual exhibits or series of exhibits that are of especial interest or importance. These are all
available at purely nominal cost to anyone who cares for them.

THE LIBRARY of the American Museum is available for those interested in scientific re-
search or study on natural history subjects. It contains 115,000 volumes, and for the accommo-
dation of those who wish to use this storehouse of knowledge, a well-equipped and well-manned
reading room is provided. The LIBRARY may be called upon for detailed lists of both popular
and scientific publications with their prices.

PUBLIC AND NORMAL SCHOOL SERVICE. The increased facilities offered by this
department of the Museum make it possible to augument greatly the Museum's work, not only in
New York City public schools, but also throughout the United States. More than 22,500,000 con-
tacts were made with boys and girls in the schools of Greater New York alone, and educational
institutions in more than thirty states took advantage of the Museum's free film service during 1930.
Inquiries from all over the United States, and even from many foreign countries are constantly
coming to the school service department. Thousands of lantern sUdes are prepared at cost for
distant educational institutions, and the American Museum, because of this and other phases of
its work, can more and more be considered not a local but a national — even an international —
institution.

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

77th STREET and CENTRAL PARK WEST
NEW YORK, N. Y.

SCIENTIFIC STAFF (Continued;

Living a^nd Extinct Fiahes
William K. GREoonY, Ph.D., Curator-in-Chief*
John T. Nichols, A.B., Curator of Recent Fiehca
E. W. GuDQER, Ph.D., Bibliographer and Associate
Francebca R. LaMonte, A.B., ABsiatant Curator
Chauleb H. Townsbnd, Sc.D., Research Aseociatc
C. M. Bkbdeb, Jn., Research Aseociatc
Louift HuBBAKOP, Ph.D., RcBcarch Associate in Devonian

Fishes
Van Campen Heilnrr, M.Sc, Field Representative

♦Also Research Associate in Pala)ontolo(!y and Associate
in Physical Anthropology

Amphibians and Reptiles, and Experimental
Biology

G. Kingsley Noble, Ph.D.. Curator

Clifford H. Pope, B.S,, Assistant Curator

Helen Tbalb Bradley, A.B., Staff Assistant

Katiierinb F. KuMi'F, Staff Assistant

Leah B. Richards, M.A., Staff Assistant

G. Smith, Ph.D., Research Associate
Douglas Burden, A. M., Research Associate

Frank S. MATHEwe, M.D., Research Associate

Homer W. Smith, Sc.D., Researcli Associate

O. M. Helff, Ph.D., Research Associate

Anthropology (Cent.)

GBonaEC. Vaillant, Ph.D., Associate: Curator of Mexican
ArchicoloKV

Harry L. SnAPino, Ph.D., AsBOciatc Curator of Pbyeical
Anthropology

W. C. Bknnktt, Ph.D., Asuistant Curator in Anthropology

Mauoaret Mead, Ph.D., Aasistant Curator of Ethnology

Clarence L. Hay, A.M., Re»eureh Aasociate in Mexican
and Central American Archajology

MiLo Hell.man, D.D.S., Research Associate in Physical
Anthropology

Georoe E, Brewer, M.D., LL.D., Research Associate in
Somatic Anthropology.

Ronald L. Olson, Ph.D., Rescareli Associate in Peru-
vian Archaiology

Asiatic Exploration and Eeseaxch
Roy Chapman Andrews, Sc.D., Curator-in-Chief
Walter Granger, Curator in Paloeontology
Charles P. Berkey, Ph.D., Sc.D.. (Columbia Univereity).

Research Associate in Geology
Amadeus W. Gradau, S.D.. [National Geological Survey

of China], Research Associate
PiiRE Teilhard deChardin [National Geological Survey of

China], Research Associate in Mammalian Pakeontology

Birds
Frank M. Chapman, Sc.D., Curator-

,n-Chief

Curator of Oceanic

Robert Cubhman Murphy, D.Sc,

Birds
James P. Chapin, Ph.D., Associate Curator of Birds of the

Eastern Hemisphere
John T. Zimmer, B.S., M.A., Associate Curator of Birds

of the Western Hemisphere
Elsie M. B. Naumburg, Research Associate

Mammals of the World

H. E. Anthony, M.A., Curator

Robert T. Hatt, A.M., Assistant Curator

George G. Goodwin, Assistant Curator

G. H. H. Tate, B.S. Assistant Curator of South Ai

Mammals
William J. Morden, Ph.B., Field Associate

Comparative and Human Anatomy

William K. Gregory, Ph.D., Curator

H. C. Raven, Associate Curator

S. H. Chubb, Associate Curator

Marcellb Roignkau, Staff Assistant in Comparativ

Anatomy
J. Howard McGregoh, Ph.D., Research Associate i

Human Anatomy
Dudley J. Morton, M.D., Research Associate

Anthropology
Clark Wissler, Ph.D., LL.D., Curator-in-Chief
N. C. Nelson, M.L., Curator of Prehistoric Archseology

Preparation and Exhibition
James L. Clark, Vice-Director (In Charge)
Albert E. Butler, Associate Chief

EDUCATION. LIBRARY AND

PUBLICATION STAFF

Education

George H. Sherwood, Ed.D., Curator-in-Chief

Clyde Fisher, Ph.D.. LL.D.. Curator of University,

College, and Adult Education
Grace Fisher Ramsey, Associate Curator
William H. Carr, Assistant Curator
Dorothy A. Bennett, A.B., Staff Assistant
Paul B. Mann, A.M., Associate in Education
Frank E. Lutz, Ph.D., Research Associate in Outdoor
Education

Library and Publicatioxis '

Ida Richardson Hood, A.M., Curator
Hazel Gay', Assistant Librarian

Jannette May Lucas, B.S., Assistant Librarian — Osborn
I>ibrary

Printing and Publishing

Hawthorne Daniel, Curator, Editor of Natural History
A. Kathekinb Berger, Associate Editor of Natural

History
Ethel J. Timonier, Associate Editor of Scientific Publica-
tions

Public and Press Information

George N. Pindar, Cha

Entered as second-claas matter April 3, 1919, at the Post Office
at New York, New York, under the Act of August 24, 1912.

Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in
Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized on July 15, 1918.

BLAZING THE TRAIL

LIVING the year round in tents on a high pla-
teau, 15,000 feet and more above sea level,
and constantly swept by terrific winds, is a race
of people who have literally conquered the el-
ements. Last summer Mr. C. Suydam Cutting
traveled and camped on the nomad plateau of
Southern Tibet, and he describes in the next
issue of Natural History, how the hardy no-
mads manage to keep happy and comfortable,
despite their unpropitious environment.

MR. James L. Clark,
Vice-Director of the
Museum in charge of
Preparation, has recently
returned from a difficult
collecting trip in the re-
gion of the Upper Nile,
where he went in com-
pany with Mr. C. Oliver
O'Donnell to obtain speci-
mens of giant eland. In
the twenty-one hunting
days he was able to spend,
he covered 227 miles on
foot, often at tempera-
tures exceeding 100° in
the shade, and in that
time obtained only two
shots. It speaks much for
Mr. Clark's patience and
his marksmanship that
with those two shots he
obtained an excellent male
and an equally good fe-
male of the species re-
quired for the Museum's
collections. It is con-
cerning this expedition
that Mr. Clark will write
in the November-Decem-
ber issue.

R. James P. Chapin,
whose article "Up the

THE COVER OF THIS ISSUE

IT is unfortunate that Natural
History Magazine has not been
able to reproduce in color all the
selections from Hubert Stowitts'
remarkable series of ethnographic
paintings that appear in this issue.

The picturesque "Hindu Gypsy
of the Nath Tribe" that has been
chosen to adorn the cover of the
September-October number is only
a single example of the richness of
color and the exactness of detail
possible in the use of Fresco Secco,
the medium with which Mr. Sto-
witts has so magnificently por-
trayed the fast vanishing types,
arts, and crafts of ancient India.

The Fresco Secco method of
painting was used by the early
Italians, who mixed the pigment
with yolk of egg, diluted it with
water, and applied il on dry plaster,
as contrasted with the true Fresco
method which consisted of apply-
ing water color on wet plaster. Mr.
Stowitts used the Fresco Secco
method on canvas.

jured. A fracture of one wing bone did make
possible its capture, and the bird was turned
over to Mr. T. Donald Carter, of the Depart-
ment of Mammalogy, at the American Museum
to be "stuffed." Mr. Carter, however, had
other ideas, and for the better part of a year en-
tertained this unusual visitor from distant parts
as a guest in his New York apartment. The
bird was "stuffed," if at all, only by the food
presented to it by its host, and during its so-
journ in the city, not only recovered perfectly
from the effects of its in-
jury but also became a
thoroughly entertaining
member of the household.
Ultimately the bird was
released on Long
Island, and no doubt be-
took itself to lands farther
north. Natural
History Magazine, how-
ever, has obtained from
Mr. Carter for the next
number an account of the
bird's activities as a resi-
dent of New York.

Congo to Lukolela" appears in this number,
will \wite an account of his scientific work and
the collections he made in the heart of Africa.
The difficulties of collecting, observing, and
photographing under the conditions that one
must face in tropical Africa are such as to make
the stay-at-home wonder at the scientific enthusi-
asm that alone makes possible the success of such
an undertaking.

THE American Museum now has under con-
struction four huge additions to the already
enormous structure that houses its collections.
Furthermore, plans for beautifying the new ap-
proach to the partially built Roosevelt Memorial,
are under way. Mr. George N. Pindar, Registrar
of the American Museum, will wTite on this new
development of the Museum.

SOME time ago a snowy owl, wandering far
from its Arctic or sub-arctic haunts, was
shot not far from New York. LuckOy, however,
the bird was not killed, nor was it seriously in-

THOSE of us who are
gardeners, as well as
those of us who do not
fully appreciate such en-
thusiasms, are often prone
to think of plant life in
connection only with
spring, summer, and au-
tumn. Plant life in win-
ter, however, can, in some
of its phases, be as inter-
esting as plant life at
other seasons of the year.
For the next number of
Natural History, Mr.
Ohver Perry Medsger has
wTitten an article on this
aspect of the subject.

CANOE country reaches from the arctic tun-
dra of the barren grounds northwest of
Hudson's Bay, southward to the International
Boundary between Lake Superior and the Lake
of the Woods, and dipping into Minnesota.
These enormous areas in Canada, rich in lakes
and water courses, have been reached only by
the canoe and paddle, except for the recent
flights of the airplane. Mr. F. L. Jaques, artist
on the American Museum staff, has paddled
along this ancient canoe route of the Indians. In
the next issue of Natural HisTORY'he will tell
of this true wilderness unmarred by civilization,
and will illustrate the story with his own unique
pen drawings of the animal life he has seen there.

OTHER material covering the progress of the
American Museum in the field and in the
laboratory will keep the readers informed of the
many scientific and educational activities in
which the Museum is engaged at the present
time.

I STORY

Vol. XXXI, No. 6

1931

Nov. -Dec.

GIANT ELAND OF THE SOUTHERN SUDAN

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN

MUSEUM

OF NATURAL

HISTORY

Fifty Cents
a Copy

NEW YORK, N. Y.

Three Dollars
a Year

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
FOUNDED IN 1869

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Henry Fairfield Osborn, President
Cleveland Earl Dodge
Lincoln Ellsworth
Childs Feick
Madison Grant
Chauncet J. Hamlin
Archer M. Huntington
Ogden L. Mills
Junius Spencer Morgan, Jr.
A. Ferry Osborn

Danie

* First Vice-President

J. "P. Morgan, Second Vice-President
James H. Perkins, Treasurer
Clarence L. Hay, Secretary
George F. Baker, Jr.
George T. Bowdoin
Frederick F. Brewster
William Douglas Burden
SuTDAM Cutting
Fhedebick Trubee Davison

James J. Walker, Mayor of the City of New York

Charles W. Berbt, Comptroller op the City of New York

Waxteb R. Herrick, Commissioner of the Department of PABSi

^George F. Baker, formerly First Vice-President, deceased May 2, 1931

e. pomeroy
George D. Pratt
H. Rrv-iNGTON Pyne
A. Hamilton Rice
Kermit Roosevelt
Henry W. Sage
Leonard C. Sanfobd
William K. Vanderbilt
Felix M. Warburg
Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitne

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

George H. Sherwood, Director and Executive Secretary
Rot Chapman Andrews, Vice-Director (In Charge of Exploration and Research)
James L. Clark, Vice-Director (In Charge of Preparation and Exhibition)
Wayne M. Faunce, Assistant Director (General Administration) and Assistant Secretary
United States Trust Company op New York, Assistant Treasurer
Frederick H. Smyth, Bursar George N. Pindar, Registrar

Francis Bushell, Assistant Bursar Ethel L. Newman, Assistant Registri

H. F, Beers, Chief of Construction H. J. Langham, Chief Engineer

J. B. Foulke, Superintendent of Buildings

SCIENTIFIC STAFF

Henry Fairfield Osborn, D.Sc., LL.D., President

George H. Sherwood, Ed.D., Director

Roy Chapman Andrews, Sc.D., Vice-Director (In Charge of Exploration and Research)

James L. Clark, Vice-Director (In Charge of Preparation and Exhibition)

DEPARTMENTAL STAFFS
Astronomy

Clyde Fisher, Ph.D., LL.D., Curator

Minerals and Gems
Herbert P. Whitlock, C.E., Curator
George F. Kunz, Ph.D., Research Associate in Gems

Fossil Vertebrates
Henry Fairfield Osborn, D.Sc, LL.D., Honorary

Curator-in-Chief
Childs Frick, B.S., Honorary Curator of late Tertiary and

Quaternary Mammals
Walter Granger, Curator of Fossil Mammals
Barnum Brown, A.B., Curator of Fossil Reptiles
G. G. Simpson, Ph.D., Associate Curator of Vertebrate

Charles C. Mook, Ph.D., Associate Curator of Geology

and Palifiontology
R.vchel a. Husband, A.M., Staff Assistant
Walter W. Holmes, Field' Associate in Palaeontology

Geology and Fossil Invertebrates

Chester A. Reeds, Ph.D., Curator

Living Invertebrates

Roy Waldo Miner, Ph.D., Sc.D., Curator
Willard G, Van Name, Ph.D., Associate Curator
Frank J. Myers, Research Associate in Rotifera
Horace W. Stunkard, Ph.D., Research Associate in

Parasitology
A. L. Treadwell, Ph.D., Research Associate in Annulata

Insect Life

Frank E. Lutz, Ph.D., Curator

A. J. Mutchler, Associate Curator of Coleoptera

C. H. CuRRAN, M.S., Assistant Curator

Frank E. Watson, B.S., StafT Assistant in Lepidoptera

William M. Wheeler, Ph.D., LL.D., Research Associate

in Social Insects
Charles W. Leng, B.Sc, Research Associate in Coleoptera
Herbert F. Schwarz, A.M., Research Associate in

Hymenoptera

SCIENTIFIC STAFF (Continued,

Living and Extinct FlsheB
William K. GtiEaoav, Pii.D,, Curator-in-Chicf*
JouN T, NiCHOM, A.B., Curator of Recent FiuliCB
E. W. GoDQisn, Ph.D., BiblioKrupher and Aasociato
Pbancbbca R. LaMontp), A.B., AsaiBtant Curator
Charles H. Townbbnd, Sc.D., Research AsBoeiate
C. M. BnBDER, Jr., Research Aesociato
Louis liusSAKor, Ph.D., Research Aasociato in Devonian

Fishes
Van Campen Heilnbr, M.Sc, Field Representative

*AIbo Research Associate in Palajontology and Associate
in Physical Anthropology

Amphibians and Reptiles, and Knperimental
Biology

G. KiNOBLEY Noble, Ph.D., Curator
CLirroRD H. Pope, B.S., Assistant Curator
Helen Teale Bradley, A.B., Stad Assistant
Leah B. Richards. M.A., Staff Assistant
Bebtham G. Smith, Ph.D., Research Associate
William Douqlas Borden, A. M., Research Associate
Frank S. Mathews, M.D., Research Associate
HoMEH W. Smith, Sc.D., Research Associate
O. M. Helfe, Ph.D., Research Associate

Birds

Frank M. Chapman, Sc.D., Curator-in-Chief

Robert Coshman Murphy, D.Sc, Curator of Oceanic

Birds
James P. Chapin, Ph.D., Associate Curator of Birds of the

Eastern Hemisphere
John T. Zimmer, B.S., M.A., Associate Curator of Birds

of the Western Hemisphere
Elsie M. B. Naumburg, Research Associate

Mammals of the World

H. E. Anthony, M.A., Curator

Robert T. Hatt, A.M., Assistant Curator

George G. Goodwin, Assistant Curator

G. H. H. Tate, B.S. Assistant Curator of South American

Mammals
William J. Mobden, Ph.B., Field Associate

Comparative and Human Anatomy

William K. Gregory, Ph.D., Curator

H. C. Raven, Associate Curator

S. H. Chubb, Associate Curator

Marcelle Roigneau, Staff Assistant in Comparative

Anatomy
J. Howard McGregor, Ph.D., Research Associate in

Human Anatomy
Dudley J. Morton, M.D., Research Associate

Anthropology
Clabk Wisbler, Ph.D., LL.D., Curator-in-Chief
N. C. Nelson, M.L., Curator of Prehistoric Arohseology

Anthropology (Cent.)

0 EonoE C. Vaillant, Ph.D., Associate Curator of Meiican
ArchiEology

Harry L. Shapiro, Ph.D., Associate Curator of Physical
Anthropology

W. C. Bennett, Ph.D., Assistant Curator in Anthropology

Maroaret Mead, Ph.D.. Assistant Curator of Ethnology

Clarence L, Hay, A.M., Research Associate in Meiican
and Central American Archaeology

MiLO Hellman, D.D.S., Research Associate in Physical
Anthropology

Georob E. Brewer, M.D., LL.D., Research Associate in
Somatic Anthropology.

Ronald L. Olson, Ph.D., Research Associate in Peru-
vian Archajology

Asiatic Exploration and ResearcL
Roy Chapman Andrews, Sc.D., Curator-in-Chief
Walter Granger, Curator in Pala-ontology
Charles P. Berkey, Ph.D., Sc.D., [Columbia University).

Research Associate in Geology
Amadeos W. Grabad, S.D., |National Geological Survey

of China], Research Associate
PiRE Teilh.ird de Ch.ardin (National Geological Survey of

China], Research Associate in Mammalian Palieontology

Preparation and Exhibition
James L. Clark, Vice-Director (In Charge)
Albert E. Bhtleb, Associate Chief

EDUCATION, LIBRARY AND

PUBLICATION STAFF

Education

George H. Sherwood, Ed.D., Curator-in-Chief

Clyde Fisher, Ph.D., LL.D., Curator of University,

College, and Adult Education
Grace Fisheb Ramsey, Associate Curator
William H. Cabb, Assistant Curator
Dorothy A. Bennett, A.B., Staff Assistant
Paul B. Mann, A.M., Associate in Education
Frank E. Lutz, Ph.D., Research Associate in Outdoor
Education

Library and Publications

Ida Richardson Hood, A.M., Curator
Hazel Gay, Assistant Librarian

Jannette May Lucas, B.S., Assistant Librarian — Osborn
Library

Printing and Publishing

Hawthorne Daniel, Curator, Editor of Natural History
A. Kathebine Bebgee, Associate Editor of Natural

History
Ethel J. Timonieb, Associate Editor of Scientific Publica-
tions

Public and Press Information

Geobge N. Pindar, Chairman

Entered as second-class matter April 3, 1919, at the Post Office
at New York, New York, under the Act of August 24, 1912.

Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in
Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized on July 15, 1918.

BLAZING THE TRAIL

AMONG the travelers and explorers who have
L penetrated to the heart of Asia behind the
forbidding wall of the Himalayas, fev/ are better
known or more accurately informed than William
J. Morden. He has spent more than a little time
on the caravan trails of the lands to the north of
India, and for the January-February number of
Natural History has written on the devil dancers
of Tibet. His information was, of course, gained
at fii'st hand, and the article will be illustrated
by photographs taken by Mr. Morden himself.

THE readers of Na-
tural History are
familiar with the charming
articles and photographs
of birds written and taken
by Alfred M. Bailey,
director of the Chicago
Academy of Sciences. For
the next number of the
magazine Mr. Bailey has
written another article,
but tliis time giving an
account of an expedition
to the Simyen Mountains
of Northern Ethiopia. It
is illustrated, of course, by
Mr. Bailey's own excellent
photographs, and while
far afield from his dehght-
ful study of American
birds, is done in his own
inimitable style.

DURING the past sum-
mer Mr. Barnum
Brown, of the American
Museum's department of
vertebrate palaeontology,
discovered a spot in Mon-
tana where he unearthed some hundi-eds of flint
arrow heads. Furthermore, a careful study of
the site showed him plainly that it was there that
the Indians formerly drove herds of buffalo over
a low cliff, thus obtaining food and skins in
abundance. Mr. Brown has written an article
describing his "find," while Arthur A. Jansson,
whose paintmgs so often appear on the covers of
Natural History, has drawn two stirring pic-
tures of the stampeding buffaloes as they ap-
proach and plunge over the cliff at the base
of which the arrow heads were found.

SOME of the most dramatic of all historical
accounts deal with Cortez in Mexico and
Pizarro in Peru. Nor are their stories complete
without some mention being made of the gold of
the people they conquered. Natural History
has an article, which will appear in the next
number, telling of the gold of the nations con-
quered by the Spaniards. It has been written
by Dr. Wendell G. Bennett, who has recently
joined the staff of the American Museum as
assistant curator in anthropology.

READERS of Natural History will recall
an article by Dr. G. Kingsley Noble which
appeared in the January-February, 1931, num-

THE COVER OF THIS ISSUE

THE cover of this number,
painted by Mr. Arthur Jansson,
of the department of preparation
staff, who has made most of the
outstanding cover designs famiUar
to our readers, shows a male and
female giant eland in a characteristic
setting.

This issue presents an interesting
article on the quest of these fine
animals for a Museum group. Ow-
ing to the use of black and white pic-
tures in illustration and the fact
that no photographs exist of the live
animal in the wilds, by reason of the
extreme difficulty of even seeing
them, we have chosen this subject
for the cover in order to give our
readers some appreciation of the
handsome coloring of these antelope
and a conception of what a beautiful
exhibit the final group will be.

ber, describing the yawl "Basilisk" buUt es-
pecially for voyaging among the islands of the
West Indies in order to further scientific study
there. Gilbert C. Klingel, the builder and
captain of this little vessel, has now wiitten
an article giving his account of the adven-
tures and studies carried on by him. The
story of the "Basilisk" has never, so far, been
completely told, and Natural History is
glad to be able to present this additional in-
formation in its next number.

NEW GUINEA IS one of
the world's greatest
islands, and contains, at
the same time, large areas
of unexplored country. It
is of a journey to the Arfak
Mountains of New Guinea
that Dr. Ernest Mayr has
wTitten for the next num-
ber of N.4.TUEAL History.
Alone, save for his native
"boys," Doctor Mayr
climbed the diflacult slopes
of these little known
mountains in his study of
birds, and for the first
time has written a popular
account of his siientific
journey.

IN referring to individu-
als who find themselves
in positions in which they
do not seem to fit we
often use the expression
"Uke fish out of water."
But now Miss Francesca
La Monte of the depart-
ment of ichthyology of
the American Museum has wTitten an article
entitled "Fish Out of Water," which shows very
plainly indeed that it is far from impossible for
certain fish to take care of themselves perfectly
well even when they are not surrounded by the
medium with which we all naturally associate
them. That certain fish can fly all of us know
well enough. That other fish burrow in the mud
above water mark while others, still, occasionally
chmb trees, is less widely appreciated. It is of such
odd creatures that Miss La Monte has written.

IN the study of astronomy it is obvious that
those heavenly bodies closest to the earth
are most intimately known. By terrestrial
measurements they are all — even the moon— at
vast distances from us, of course, but astronomical-
ly speaking they are very near. Proxima Centauri,
the nearest star, is about four light years away — •
that is, about 100 million times as far as the moon,
and about 260,000 times as far as the sun is from
the earth. Consequently we can view the sun
and the planets as being comfortably near by.
Dr. Clyde Fisher, curator of astronomy of the
American Museum, has written an article about
these closest associates of the earth — the planets,
and Natural History is looking forward to its
publication in the next number.

VOLUME XXXI iN TV 1 U iV/V L NOV.-DEC.

NnMHER (i T I ¥ ^ '"T/'^ D X/^ ^''''^'

The Journal of The American Museum of Natural History

Hawthorne Daniel ^^AJ^B ^- Katherink BKRG^:R

Editor ^IHBHHr Associate Editor

CONTENTS

The Giant Eland of Southern Sudan Cover

From a Painting by Arthur A. Janason (See Pago 568)

Easterly Approach to the Roosevelt Memorial Frontispiece

The Theodore Roosevelt Memorial George N. Pindar 571

The Structure Being Erected by New York State in Memory of a Great NaturaUet and Statesman

The Giant Eland of Southern Sudan James L. Clark 581

An American Museum Expedition in Search of the Largest of All Antelope

Day by Day at Lukolela James P. Chapin 600

Natural History Notes from the Congo River Gathered while Collecting Materials for a Bird Group

Among the Nomads of Tibet C. Suydam Cutting 615

Wanderers on the Roof of the World, Behind the Great Wall of the Himalayas

Plant Life in Winter Oliver Perry jMedsger 627

Hardy and Colorful Flora that Enliven the Winter Woods

Canoe Country Frakcis L. Jaques 634

An Artist Describes an Ancient Canoe Route of the American Indian

Telling the Beaver Story William H. Carr 640

Bringing to a Wide Public a First-Hand Knowledge of the Daily Life of a Beaver Familj'

Under Sail to the Cape Verdes Robert H. Rockwell 651

The Voyage of the "Blossom" on a Deep-sea Cruise for Oceanic Birds

"Jimmy" T. Donald Carter 663

a Snowy Owl's Sojourn in a Great Metropolis

American Museum Expeditions and Notes 668

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EASTERLY APPROACH TO THE ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL

A bird's-eye view looking toward the west across Central Park, showing how the American Museum

will look when it is completed, and the concourse 160 feet wide and 500 feet long, as planned by the

architect, John Russell Pope

VOUUME

XX|XI

NATURAL
HISTORY

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1931

NUMBER
SIX

THE THEODORE ROOSEVELT
MEMORIAL

The Structure Being Erected by the State of New York Adjacent

to the American Museum of Natural History in Memory

of a Great Naturalist and Statesman

By GEORGE N. PINDAR

Secretary of the Board of Trustees, New York State Roosevelt Memorial

On the axis of Seventy-ninth Street and Central Park West, in the city of New York, there is being erected
a building by the people of the stale of New York which, in the hearts of Americans, alwiys will be
associated intimately with the man it memnrializes. The corner stone of this building, which is known as
The New York State Roosevelt Memorial, was laid with appropriate ceremonies on October 37, 1931
by Franklin D. Roosevelt, governor of the state of New York. — The Editors.

With something of the savant and the sage,

He was, when all is said and sung, a man;

The flower imperishable of this valiant age,

A True American.*

— Clinton Scollahd.

AFTER the death, on January 6,
/A 1919, of Theodore Roosevelt,
President Henry Fairfield Osborn,
of the American Museum of Natural
History, in cooperation with the New
York Times and the New Yoi'k Woiid,
advocated the erection of a memorial to
Roosevelt that would be educational in
character and connected with the Ameri-
can Museum, inasmuch as Roosevelt was
a keen student of natural history, with
the result that the Legislature of New
York, in 1920, created a Commission con-
sisting of two senators, Samuel J. Ram-
sperger and George L. Thompson; two
assemblymen, Louis A. Cuvillier and
Raymond T. Kenyon, and two members
at large, Peter D. Kiernan and Henry

Fairfield Osborn. The law provided "An
Act creating a commission to investigate
and report on the proposed Roosevelt
memorials, and making an appropriation
therefor." In his advice to the Commis-
sion, Governor Smith stated that he would
like to see a plan which "would for all
time stand as a visible expression of the
recognition of the services of one who
had been most active in the welfare and
development of our State and Nation."

In planning the Memorial, three factors
were considered :

First, to interpret the character of
Roosevelt as naturalist and as citizen.
John Burroughs wrote of him with an
understanding acquired through close
association and kindred tastes:

Such unbounded energy and vitality impressed
one like the perennial forces of nature. . . . He
was a naturalist on the broadest grounds, unit-
ing much technical knowledge with knowledge
of the daily lives and habits of all forms of wild
Ufe. He probably knew tenfold more natural
history than all the presidents who preceded him,

572

NATURAL HISTORY

and I think one is safe in saying, more human
history also.

Roosevelt was a many-sided man and every
side was hke an electric battery. Such versatility,
such vitality, such thoroughness and such
copiousness have rarely been united in one man.
. . . His Americanism reached in to the very
marrow of his bones. The charge that he was an
impulsive man has no foundation; it was a wrong
interpretation of his power of quick decision.
. . . His uncompromising character made him
many enemies, but without it he would not have
been the Roosevelt who stamped himself so
deeply upon the hearts and the history of his
countrymen.

This Memorial must reflect that char-
acter and translate it in unmistakable
terms to the generations to follow.

Second, it must be essentially an edu-
cational institution. No other would
adequately memorialize the broad, hu-
manitarian intelligence that Roosevelt
possessed. To those who wish to study
nature in all its phases should be given
every facility from every possible angle in
order that they may appreciate and be led
to emulate the extraordinary knowledge
that Roosevelt attained.

Third, it should suggest a lofty
standard of ideahsm through harmonious
lines inspired by models chosen from the
golden age of architecture. There should
be evolved a design that will symbolize
the spirit of Roosevelt, and by its im-
pressiveness infuse those ideals for which
Roosevelt strove and many of which he
attained. The words of John Ruskin
most aptly describe the goal of the
builders of this Memorial :

When we build, let us think that we build
forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for
present use alone. Let it be such work as our
descendants will thank us for.

Thus was started a great monument,
dedicated to the perpetuation of the ideals
of civic integrity, to the amelioration of
those conditions which are oppressive and
to a fearless stride forward to hold the
nation to a higher social and humanitarian
level.

As soon as the form of the Memorial
was decided, there arose the question of
location; whether Albany, as the Capital
City, was the more fitting place, or New
York City, where such a memorial would
not only be accessible to millions of people
but also could more adequately function
as an educational factor in the life of the
nation. In 1924 the Legislature decided
that it should be placed in New York,
adjacent to the American Museum of
Natural History, at a cost to the state not
to exceed $2,500,000 and the sum of
$250,000 was appropriated to defray the
expenses made necessary by the Act.

In October, 1924, when the first Com-
mission had completed its work. Governor
Alfred E. Smith appointed a Board of
Trustees for the New York State Roose-
velt Memorial as follows: The Governor,
ex-officio ; Henry Fairfield Osborn, chair-
man; Peter D. Kiernan, vice-chairman;
Chauncey J. Hamlin of Buffalo; Dr.
Charles W. Flint of Syracuse; Sullivan
W. Jones of Yonkers; Mrs. Douglas
Robinson of New York City; Mrs.
WiUiam H. Good of Brooklyn. The
personnel of the Commission has remained
the same except that in 1930 Mr. George
Gordon Battle was appointed to fill the
vacancy created by Mr. Sullivan W. Jones
whose term of office had expired. In
1925, the Board of Trustees decided to
invite the leading architects of New York
State to enter a competition and present
plans for the Memorial. Eight architects
took part in the competition and
submitted their plans. Mr. Arnold W.
Brunner was selected to act as the pro-
fessional adviser of the Board of Trustees
and formulated the program of competi-
tion. At his death, on February 14,
1925, the work was taken over and com-
pleted by Mr. Charles Butler. The
judges were Mr. William Mitchell Ken-
dall, of the firm of McKim, Mead &
White, and Mr. Milton B. Medary, Jr., of
Philadelphia. In this competition the

Tim TiiKODoiit: I{()()sI':vi':lt .mi'aiouial

573

ENTRANCE TO THE THEODORE ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL

Facing Central Park West, at the intersection of Seventy-ninth Street. The sketch model of the

equestrian statue is by James E. Fraser. The figures give an idea of the scale

design of John Russell Pope of New York
won the award.

The Program of Competition stated
that "The nature lover should be stressed
by monumental architecture, sculpture
and mural paintings. The design should
symbolize the scientific, educational, out-
door and exploration aspects of Theodore
Roosevelt's life rather than the political
or literary." In Mr. Pope's plan these
features are blended most harmoniously.
A monumental structure, graceful in
every line and inspired by the stately
designs of the old Roman architecture, it
conveys to the beholder an impression of
spaciousness and enduring strength.

The fagade is modeled on the triumphal
arches of ancient Rome. The entrance
arch rises to a height of sixty feet above
the base,' and is flanked on either side by

huge granite columns supporting heroic
figures of Lewis, Clark, Audubon, and
Boone, outstanding characters in early
American history. It will be crowned by a
solid parapet wall which wiU bear the
following inscriptions :

STATE OF NEW YORK MEMORIAL

THEODORE ROOSEVELT

I GREAT LEADER OP THE rOUTH OF AMERICA, IN

ENERGY AND FORTITUDE, IN THE FAITH OF OUR

These prominent features, together with
its deep recesses, shadows, and reflec-
tions, and its mammoth bronze screened
window, most successfully unite the
exterior with the interior.

From the practical and educational
standpoint the building is splendidly

574

NATURAL HISTORY

equipped with class rooms, exhibition
rooms, a lecture hall that will seat six
hundred people, a hall for the display of
the resources of New York State, and a
room devoted to Rooseveltiana. At the
right of the entrance vestibule will be
placed administration offices and a Trus-
tees' Room, while at the left will be a
group of superbly finished panelled wood
interiors, forming a suite of rooms to be
known as the Governor's Rooms. A cafe-
teria will be arranged in the basement and
from that floor direct access will be had
to the platform of the Eighth Avenue
Subway.

The fagade of the building will be
executed in pink granite. A paved ter-
race, 350 feet in length, will be flanked at
both ends by pedestals carved in bas
relief. A vehicular driveway will adjoin
this terrace, passing about the rear and
will lead to the flrst floor entrance. In the
center of the terrace, immediately in front
of the great entrance arch, upon a polished
granite pedestal, will be an equestrian
statue of Roosevelt with two accompany-
ing figures on foot, one an American In-
dian and the other a native African,
representing his gun bearers and sug-
gestive of Roosevelt's interest in the
original peoples of these widely separated
countries. This group will rise to a height
of thirty feet above the sidewalk. It is
the work of James E. Eraser, the weU-
known sculptor, who will also design and
execute the four statues to surmount the
columns in front of the fagade.

In niches at either side of the entrance
arch will be sculptured figures of two
typical specimens of American big game,
the bison and the bear. They will be the
work of Mr. James L. Clark, and it is
intended that the bear shall typify
courage, tenacity, and power; the bison,
romance, fortitude, and endurance, out-
standing characteristics of Roosevelt.
The arch itself is a coffered granite vault,

and in the background is a mammoth
screen composed of bronze, glass, and
marble, by means of which direct light-
ing of the interior hall is obtained.

Passing through this entrance, one
steps into the Memorial Hall itself, a
conception of grandeur and dignity in
harmony with the spirit of Roosevelt's
lofty ideals and fearless character. This
hall, exclusive of recesses, wfll be 67
feet wide by 120 feet in length. The floor
will be richly patterned in marble mosaic,
the walls, to a height of nine feet, being
of dark green marble surmounted by
mellowed limestone extending to an
elaborate Corinthian cornice and cul-
minated by an octagonal coffered barrel
vault, reaching to a height of 100 feet
above the floor. At either end of this
vaulted ceiling the walls are penetrated
by large circular-headed windows which
will furnish the hall with ample daylight.
In order to avoid the deteriorating effects
of direct daylight on murals, the archi-
tect has skilfully designed recesses in the
walls at three sides of the room. The
vaulted ceiling will be supported by
marble columns fifty feet high, crowned
with Corinthian capitals and executed in
antique red marble.

Spaces have been reserved within the
Memorial for quotations from Roosevelt's
writings and sayings, arranged under four
headings as follows:

"There is a delight in the hardy life
of the open."

"There are no words that can tell the
hidden spirit of the wilderness, that can
reveal its mystery, its melancholy and its
charm."

"The nation behaves well if it treats
the natural resources as assets which it
must turn over to the next generation
increased, and not impaired in value."

"Conservation means development as
much as it does protection."

THE THEODORE ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL

bio

"the senate bust"

By James E. Eraser

A portrait that -ndU always live

MANHOOD

"A man's usefulness depends upon his
living up to his ideals insofar as he can. "

"It is hard to fail, but it is worse never
to have tried to succeed."

"All daring and courage, all iron en-
durance of misfortune, * * * make
for a finer, nobler type of manhood."

"Only those are fit to live who do not
fear to die; and none are fit to die who

have shrunk from the joy of life and the
duty of life."

youTH

"I want to see you game, boys, I want
to see you brave and manly, and I also
want to see you gentle and tender."

"Be practical as well as generous in
your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars
and keep your feet on the ground."

576

NATURAL HISTORY

"Courage, hard work, self-mastery,
and intelligent effort are all essential to a
successful life."

"Character, in the long run, is the
decisive factor in the hfe of an individual
and of nations ahke."

THE STATE

"Ours is a government of liberty by,
through, and under the law."

"A great democracy must be progres-
sive or it will soon cease to be great or a
democracy."

"Let us give every man in this country
his rights without regard to creed or
birthplace or national origin or color."

"In popular government results worth
having can only be achieved by men who
combine worthy ideals with practical good
sense."

On the first floor, in the New York
Hall, space is planned for five wall tablets;
two to contain the names of eminent
scientists, native or adopted sons of
New York State, and two others to con-
tain the history and purpose of the
Memorial. And, finally, one tablet to
contain the names of the Trustees, the
Architect, the State Superintendent of
Pubhc Works, and others, with the
heading:

THE PEOPLE

ERECTED BY
OF THE STATE OF NEW TORK
1932

On the axis of the great hall, and from
within the receptive recesses, monumental
doorways with massive bronze doors lead
directly into a wide, encircling corridor.
This corridor provides a spacious connec-
tion to the present and future wings of
the Museum, to the stairways and ele-
vators, to the class rooms, educational
and exhibition rooms. The doorway
opposite the main entrance connects not
only with the corridor, but leads to the
future Akeley African Hall. Since Mr.
Akeley and Colonel Roosevelt were co-

workers and companions on several hunt-
ing expeditions and on the latter's trip
to Africa, it seems most fitting to
perpetuate this close relationship in such a
lasting association of memorials.

With great energy and perseverance
Architect Pope succeeded in completing
the plans and specifications on July 26,
1926, and they were forwarded to the
State Architect on December 14, 1926.
Since that time various members of the
Board and the Secretary have studied the
needs and requirements of public build-
ings and obtained all possible suggestions
that might aid in establishing in the
Memorial every convenience for the hosts
of visitors who will be encouraged to make
use of it.

As an aid in vizuaUzing the completed
Memorial, a model in plaster was pre-
pared which has served to illustrate the
plan better than any drawing could do.
By means of this model, now standing in
Memorial Hall of the Museum, one can
study all the outward details in their rela-
tions to one another. The details inside
the Memorial, doorways, location of
lecture halls, and all such matters, have
been fully adjusted in conferences. To
further assist the Trustees in their work,
the Secretary, with the approval of the
Chairman, prepared a book of condensed
plans which mcludes views of the Me-
morial, together with new perspective and
interior views and suflacient text material
for complete explanation.

Chairman Osborn, assisted by the
Secretary, has labored, often under great
difficulties, to secure the appropriations
for this Memorial which he feels will be a
powerful influence for the dissemination
of patriotic ideas and to instruct future
citizens, both American and foreign born,
in the responsibilities of freedom. He
once stated in an annual report to the
Legislature that he wished "to make this
Memorial a living tribute to the memory
of a man whose chief thought and hope

THE THEODORE liOOSEVELT MEMOli/AL

577

INTERIOR OF MEMORIAL HALL

This great memorial hall will be 67 feet wide and 120 feet long, reaching 100

feet afcove the floor. With walls of green marble and mellowed limestone, it

will truly form a material conception of grandeur and dignity

and deed was directed toward the better-
ment of his fellow man through a liberal
and broad-minded education."

In the year 1929 an appropriation of
$1,000,000 was granted by the Legislature
for the foundations up to the second floor
of the great building which is to be the
dominant feature in the fagade of build-
ings facing and overlooking Central Park.
Adjacent to the Memorial will be Museum
structures. Upon the south will be the
Hall of South Asiatic Mammals, a hall
devoted to living reptiles and fishes, and
an unexcelled collection of fossil reptiles.
On the north will be the new Whitney
Wing for birds. On the west is the almost

completed Akeley African Hall, which will
contain a series of specimens of the faunal
life of Africa, a series to which Roosevelt
contributed.

At the instance of Chairman Osborn
and in order to facilitate construction,
amendments were made to previous laws
which placed the construction of the
Memorial under the direction of the
Department of Public Works and author-
ized the Superintendent of the Depart-
ment to advertise for bids and award
contracts for construction. On July 25,
1929, the deed of land for the Memorial
was received from the city of New York.
On September 24 bids for the foundations

578

NATURAL HISTORY

'r- ^^'

SKETCH MODEL OF BISON

For the niche at the left of the entrance. Submitted by

James L. Clark

and sanitary work were opened and the
contracts awarded. On October 16
Secretary Pindar turned over the first
shovelful of earth to start the construc-
tion and the great Memorial was under
way.

In April, 1930, with the approval of the
Governor, there was included in the State
bond budget an allocation of $2,100,000
for the continuance of the building pro-
gram. During the summer Architect
Pope completed the detailed plans in
order that the contract could be adver-
tised, and on November 25, 1930, the

contract for the superstructure
was awarded to the firm of J.
Harry McNally & Company.
On November 1 work under the
first contract was completed by
M. Shapiro & Son up to the
level of the second floor, and
this contractor accomplished a
diSicult problem to the entire
satisfaction of the Trustees and
the Superintendent of Public
Works. The Commission has at
all times been conducted with
the lowest possible expenditure
of funds, but during the years
in which the project has been
materializing, the costs of build-
ing have been mounting, so that
the original appropriation of
$2,500,000 became insufficient
and was increased by law on
April 1, 1930, to $3,500,000. Of
this amount, $3,350,000 has been
appropriated to date.

When Chairman Osborn ac-
complished the objective of the
Memorial, he again turned his
attention to the matter of a
proper approach from Central
Park to the building. In the
year 1922 he began working for
an inter-museum pathway to
connect the Metropolitan Mu-
seum of Art and the American
Museum of Natural History. In that year
he appeared before the Board of Estimate
and Apportionment and presented a dia-
gram showing the location of the Memorial
and its easterly approaches across Central
Park. At the time he suggested a com-
mittee representing the City and the two
Museums to consider the matter. Borough
President Miller advised the appoint-
ment of a committee from the City for
the conference and the Board of Estimate
adopted the following resolution :

Resolved, That the Board of Estimate and
Apportionment hereby appoints the Comptroller,

THE TIIKODORE ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL

579

the President of the Borough of
Manhattan, the President of the
Board of Aldermen, the Commissioner
of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity,
and the Commissioner of Parks,
Borough of Manhattan, as a Special
Committee to confer with representa-
tives of the Metropolitan Museum of
Art and of the American Museum
of Natural History as to the use to
be made of the southern reservoir
area in Central Park when said area
is released for other than water sui>
ply purposes.

Since that time Chairman
Osborn has steadily continued
his efforts for such an approach.
In 1924 Commissioner Gallatin
of the Park Department gave
his support to the plan of an
approach to the Memorial, and
in 1925, each architect who com-
peted for the design of the
Memorial was supplied with a
plan of the Park and was in-
formed that a broad plan of
approach to the Memorial was
contemplated. The plan of the
approach which was submitted
was not approved by the Park
Department because of the engi-
neering difficulties. In October
of 1930 another hearing was had
before the Board of Estimate
and, in the enforced absence of
the Chairman, the Vice-Chair-
man addressed the Board on a request
for $500,000 to build an approach to the
Memorial. His request was received and
referred to the corporate stock and tax
note calendar.

The plan of the Approach as designed
by the architect, John Russell Pope,
provides for a concourse 160 feet wide and
almost 500 feet long, consisting of a
broad central space for lawn, flanked on
either side by wide drives bordered with
ginko trees or elms shading foot paths
still farther removed from the central
green, the whole running from the west

SKETCH MODEL OF BEAR
For the niche at the right of the entrance. Submitted by
James L. Clark

drive of Central Park to the Memorial
building.

The vista opening from such a drive
showing the stately facade of the Me-
morial and the remarkably fine eques-
trian statue of Roosevelt by the sculptor
James E. Eraser, will be striking. No
visitor in Washington approaching the
Lincoln Memorial from the Mall can
question the mutual enhancement of both
landscape and architecture in the com-
bination of a deep, formal approach with
the monument.

In the case of the Roosevelt Memorial,

580

NATURAL HISTORY

in addition to its architectural value and
utilitarian features as a direct approach,
such a tree-bordered concourse with its
wide open vista will no doubt attract
numerous visitors passing through the
park who might otherwise, with the
present screen of foliage, be entirely
obUvious of the proximity of this national
monument and the beauty of its archi-
tecture and setting. The importance of
this Approach has never been lost sight
of since the Memorial was decided upon,
for the winning design, as well as those of
the other seven competing architects.

emphasized this approach as part of the
desired final scheme.

To envisage the Roman architectural
quality of simple, restrained detail in the
building proper, executed in such massive
proportions as has been afforded, the
broad paved terrace, and at its focal
point, the equestrian group rising to a
height of some thirty-four feet, it is to be
hoped that the city authorities, with all
the vision displayed by their predecessors
in providing Central Park itself, will add
to its beauties by such an approach, the
worthy setting for such a gem.

K. A L P 'N R K

The plan proposed provides for a concourse 160 feet wide and almost 500 feet long, extending from the
west drive of Central Park to the Memorial Building

S'lATURE 8EETCII MODEL
THF- Cr.ANT ELAND GROUP
iM AMERICAN MUSEUM.
D BY JAMES L. CLARK
. . -MLTED DY JOBN W.
i 1. \.\li DUDLEY BLAKELY

THE GIANT ELAND OF
SOUTHERN SUDAN

Through the Arid Plains of Africa on a Quest for the Largest of All Antelope-
American Museum Expedition Collects for a New Group
for the Akeley African Hall

By JAMES L. CLARK

Vice Director (In Charge of Preparation and Exhibition), American Museum

-An

IT was like "looking for a needle in a
haystack" when we went in search of

the giant eland in the Southern Sudan.
Early in December Mr. C. OUver
O'Donnell had expressed a desire to
participate in some "worthwhile expedi-
tion" and asked in what anunals the
American Museum was particularly in-
terested. The new building for the Ake-
ley African Hall was nearing completion.
More groups were needed and the giant
eland was one of them. This appealed
to Mr. O'Donnell and after President
Osborn had accepted his offer of coopera-
tion, the expedition was organized, leav-
ing in January, 1931.

It was a month before we reached
Khartoum, our point of outfitting. Here
the Sudan Government Railways and
Steamers Department supplied us with
one of their regular hunting boats with full
staff and provisions for our personnel of
six. We set sail up the Nile, and ten
days later we reached Shambe, 860

miles south of Khartoum.

Disembarking here with supphes and
two autos, three of us headed inland to
learn where we might best try for eland.
At Khartoum almost no definite informa-
tion could be obtained concerning these
animals. The Game Department could
help us but little, as they apparently did
not know.

The eland is the largest of all the ante-
lope— a beautiful and finely shaped ani-
mal, with straight horns carrying a heavy
twist. There are but two species, both of
which are found only in Africa. To the
layman they are much the same, unless
we point out the smaller horns (averaging
about 25 inches in length) of the lesser
eland, the narrow and pointed ears, and a
dewlap which starts at the throat instead
of at the chin. The rest of the body in
form and color is about the same in both
species.

The lesser eland is not as shy as his
giant cousin, and ranges over open grassy

EN ROUTE TO THE ELAND

COUNTRY
The expedition's boat
steamed through the Bahr el
Zeraf, a branch of the Nile
resembling a canal across an
arid desert. Many kinds of
antelope were often seen close

to the river

THE RIVER STEAMER
"AMKA"
The Museum party lived on
the second deck of the steamer
while its auto equipment and
supplies were conveyed on the
barge to the right. The
forward barge carried 100 tins
of gasoline below deck and
firewood for the boiler on top

THE PEBSONNEL OF THE

EXPEDITION
On the forward deck of the
river steamer. Left to right
are John W. Hope, preparator,
W. T. Hunt, field assistant,
Dudley Blakely, field ai-tist,
C. Oliver O'Donnell, associate
leader, James L. Clark, leader.
Jack Robertson, the expedi-
tion's photographer, took the
picture

MR. C. OLIVER O'DONNELL
The associate leader and
organizer of the O'Donnell-
Clark African Expedition for
Eland

584

NATURAL HISTORY

plains and bush country. Practically all
African hunters secure one or more of these
lesser eland without much trouble, as they
are quite easily seen and shot.

The giant, or Derby, eland is quite
different in habit and temperament.
His typical habitat is flat, drj^ country,
thickly covered with small trees, and is
localized in two comparatively small areas.
(See map below). The type specimen
described was from Senegambia on the
west coast.

Scientists have classified them in four
groups :

1. Lord Derby's Elaxd (Taurotragus derbi-
anus), the tj'pical race of Senegambia.

2. Cameroon Race (Taurotragus derbianus

cameroo7iensis) from northwest Cameroons.
A race apparently smaller than the tj'pical
race, though no complete skins have 5'et
reached us.

3. Congo Race. {Taurotragus derbianus con-

golanus.)

i. StJDAN Race {Taurotragus derbianus gigas).
Found on the west bank of the Nile where
a few herds are scattered, throughout the
Mongalla and Bahr el Gazeh Province and
southwestern Sudan.

(See Game Aniinah of the Sudan, by Capt. H. C.
Brocklehurst).

Accessibihtj^ was the main reason for
hunting the Sudan variety.

Generally they stand about 5 feet 7 inch-
es at the shoulders and carry a verj^ fine.

THE RANGE OF THE GLiNT ELAND

As shown in Life Histories of African Game Animals by Roosevelt and Heller. The

type specimen described was from Senegambia on the west coast, and it is probable that

at one time these two ranges were connected

THE GIANT ELAND OF SOUTHERN SUDAN

585

ARRIVING AT SHAMBE
A river station. From here the party disembarked for the back country to search for eland

smooth coat of hair of a grayish buif,
with eight or ten narrow white stripes run-
ning down the sides of the body.

This tan color of the body, which tends
to blue-gray in the older bulls, continues
down the outer surfaces of the legs, termi-
nating in black ankles, with a small white
patch in the front. A black patch also is
conspicuous on the rear of the front leg
above the knee.

The slender, bo^dne tail is tufted with an
abundance of soft, black hair. The head is
colorful and vividly marked, with a dark
forehead which is cut by a white chevron.
Above the eye and on the cheek are two
white patches which accentuate the dark
eyes. The hps and chin are also white.

Large, well-rounded ears for keen hear-
ing are fringed with white and a salmon
pink on the inner parts, while the back is
almost a solid black.

On the back of the neck is a thick layer
of long, dark hair which sometimes girdles
the base of the neck completely.

It is surprising to find such an exquisitely
deUcate and well-chiseled face with trim,
small muzzle on so big an animal. It is,
in fact, that of the bongo and bushbuck

rather than the elongated face of the
grazing antelope.

Closely related to the bongo, which still
inhabits the densest jungle bush, the giant
eland is in a state of transition from the
bush to the plains. Already the common
eland has made Ms way to the open bush
and plains, and has lost his big ears and
his protective spots of color and
lengtheued his face for grazing. The giant
eland has now left the deep forest but still
lingers in the intermediate belt of thick
bush and grass country while yet retain-
ing many of his jungle characteristics.

Few people, even among the local
officials, have ever hunted these giant
eland, and they could tell us Uttle except
where they were supposed to be. Much
time was therefore spent in traveling
hundreds of miles seeking what informa-
tion we could gather to guide us in estab-
lishing an inland base.

While on the Nile in '28 I had met a
British officer, Major Bostock, who a year
or two before had secured one eland after
much effort, and it was his information
we were endeavoring to amplify.

At Khartoum we had met Captain

586

NATURAL HISTORY

A DINKA VILLAGE
South of the great papyrus swamp are Dinka villages. The Dinkas are a haughty and independent
people stiU untamed by white man. They are much like the Masai and have great herds of cattle,

sheep, and goats

Holland, who for eight years had been
stationed at Amadi, but had retired and
left the country some three years since.
He gave us the most valuable advice,
which checked with that of Bostock, but
admitted that during the three years he
had been away, disease had attacked the
- herds and conditions might have ma-
terially changed.

And so it was. Disease had greatly
diminished the eland and in certain locali-
ties had wiped them out completely.

We were told in Khartoum, "If
you get your eland, you will have very
well deserved them," a phrase the true
significance of which we later learned to
appreciate. We were told of their ex-
treme wariness and that "the minute
they see you, they leave the country."

Our first attempt was after a hundred-
mile journey westward to a place called
Rumbeck. Here we saw Captain Laugh-
frey, the D. C, who advised us to go

another fifty miles farther west to a spot
known as "York House," which was only
a grass hut by a water hole where the
Duke and Duchess of York had, on their
recent visit, established this camp to try
for lions.

It was in this remote part of the already
remote Sudan that eland were supposed to
be, but the royal party had never seen
them.

We tried here, and by good luck on the
first day jumped the only herd in the
country. There was absolutely no chance
of a shot and, after eight hours' trekking,
we gave them up.

The conditions were so bad and the
heat so extreme, that we decided to waste
no time here, but try elsewhere. Al-
though reluctant to leave a place where
we had actually seen eland, we believed
hunting conditions could surely be no
worse, and the next morning found us on
our way via Yirol Post.

rilf<: GIANT ELAND OF SOUTHERN SUDAN

587

From here. Dudley Hlukcily, Uio expedi-
tion's field artist, continiuid with two
trucks toShambe to bring back John Hope,
our zoological preparator, and supplies
from our boat. At eight the next morning
they were back at Yirol and we were soon
off, headed south through the same water-
less, flat, bush country, which is characi er-
istic of this whole section.

An all-day grind brought us to Amadi
Post at 4 p. M. We found it a delightful
little spot under District Commissioner
Cann, who had been officially informed of
our expedition and did much to get us
started right.

Staying but one night, we were off
early, backtracking on the road by which
we had come to a point some sixteen miles
distant, where one of the rest-camps was
assigned to us. A deep well dug by the
natives supplied this camp with the only
available water, but at this time it was
very low and was not fit to be used except
in emergency.

At Amadi, however, ran a good-sized
river, and although this was now but a
series of big pools in a sandy bed, the

A ROAD CAMP
This served as a maintenance base when the
expedition party was in camp six miles away.
Eland camp was established in an arid country,
and each day it was necessary to send 44 miles
for water

BY THi; latEAT PAI'-iltUS liKIJS
Dinkas were seen in their dugout canoes paddling
through these immense grassy beds of the Nile

water was clear and drinkable after
boiling.

Due south from our road camp lay a
big section of country in the form of a
triangle, each side of which was twenty-
five miles or more. It was in here that
another small herd of eland ranged.

Our first move was to send out scouts to
locate signs. But only word of tracks,
and mostly old ones, came back. They
informed us, however, that about three
hours' march away there was an old,
native camp around which signs w^ere
most plentiful. I decided to take Hope
and start very early the next morning to
make a personal reconnaissance and
determine, if possible, whether this coun-
try was worth trying.

Four o'clock the following morning
found us in total darkness, trailing our
guides by feel and sound along native
paths. When daylight broke, we were
well on our grounds and another hour
brought us to the old camp. Here we
left our men and made a big circuit
through the same type of country we had
found at York House.

Not an eland was to be seen. Old
tracks and many broken trees on which

PREPARING ACCESSORIES

The collection and preparation of trees, bushes, grasses, and other accessories, which are an important

part of a museum group, is as necessary a part of the expedition's worli as securing and preparing]

the skins of the animals

PAINTING THE BACKGROUND FOR THE GROUP

Mr. Blakely, the expedition's artist, painting a detailed study for the group background. Besides this

there were made many detailed color studies of accessories to be reconstructed for the group

"iisi

V--. * •<? -■

■-v;/^,, V

>,-'i

TYPICAL GIANT ELAND COUNTRY

Khfv' wTh llT '^''°'"'" ''^ *^ eland when feeding. The burned grass helped the hunting
siderably. With the rams comes the ne^v, thick grass, which grows six or seven feet high compl
shutting off the hunter's view

„ con-
high, completely

A PRIZE CATCH

This photograph of the fine giant eland bull just as he fell, shows well the massive horns and the

narrow white stripes running down the sides of the bodj'

590

NATURAL HISTORY

V ..(

GIANT KLAND AND LKS.SKU KLAND HOK.VS
Left, horns of the cow giant eland. The beautiful, well-modeled twist is characteristic of the giant
eland. In a straight line these horns measure 27^2 inches from base to tip. Center, horns of the male
giant eland. These horns are heavier and have wider tips than those of the female. These are 35
inches long and 26 inches from tip to tip. Right, an average pair of horns of a male common or
lesser eland. Their length is 24 inches. Their divergence is slight and the rib of the twist not so

pronounced

they had fed indicated their occasional
presence and, although the outlook was
generally discouraging, we decided to try
it out.

The following day was spent in organiz-
ing our campaign and equipment. Two
trucks were sent to Amadi with all avail-
able tins for water. We were going into a
waterless country where each day to main-
tain our camp we must send forty-four
miles to Amadi and back for our supply.
Arrangements were made for the rest-
house to serve as base camp, and for our
foot-safari into the thick bush food and
equipment were packed for going light.

By noon the camp staff with thirty
porters were on their way with orders to
proceed and pitch camp, while Hope and
I were to follow in the "cool" of the
afternoon. During this period of estab-
lishing our new camp, O'Donnell and
Blakely returned to our steamer on the
Nile to look over some elephants which,
it was reported, were spending much time
along the banks. Upon returning, they
were to bring in Robertson, our photog-
rapher, and all the supplies they could
carry.

After seeing this eland country, I began
to realize the great part luck would play
in our success, even though we hunted
hard and conscientiously. The first thing
was to locate the eland; second, to see
them first; and third, to see enough of
them to pick the desired specimen.

Although we had come to the Sudan
officially from our Museum and were so
accepted by the government, we were very
hmited as to eland. Two full licenses were
taken out by Mr. O'Donnell and myself,
each permitting us to shoot one eland only.
Director Sherwood had oSicially applied
for permission for us to collect two more,
which would give us a male and female
and young, with a margin of one in reserve
as a factor of safety.

Although for a scientific institution and
especially for the Akeley African Hall,
this very usual request was officially and
flatly refused, though their game regula-
tions provide for the granting of such
concessions to science. Instead, they
found a way to sell their game, which they
are so carefully protecting, at the highest
possible price, and they finally granted us
the privilege of killing two extra eland

77//'; (IIANT ELAND OF SOLTIIKliN SUDAN

591

if tho MusiMiin would pay the "export
duty" fee "on live uniinals" listed at $500
each. With a misplaced shot costing
1500, our difficulties in picking a proper
specimen were increased just so much.

As on the morning previous, Hope and
I were well on our way long before day-
light, and we hunt(!d faithfully the better
part of the day, but with no success and
little enlightenment as to what we could
do to better our chances. Eland tracks
were about — many old, some promisingly
fresh, yet we toiled and searched far and
wide and never saw hide nor hair.

Native fires had cleared much of the
ground of grass, leaving the small trees
and bush, which strangely enough were
quite green, thickly but evenly dispersed
over the entire country. Occasionally a
larger tree towered high above and offered

some shade, while here and there were
still a few areas of unburned grass, six or
seven feet high.

In country such as this one gets no
long vistas. Our average visibility was
about 75 yards. Hunting under these
conditions was necessarily .slow and ever
cautious. At best, it would be the switch
of a tail, the movement of a single ear, or a
suspicious-looking spot in the bush that
might prove to be an eland. As for color,
these animals blend almost perfectly with
their surroundings.

Wary to the extreme, the eland never
stop to feed, but travel along, zigzagging
only to reach for leaves or to break down
with their horns the small trees which
bear them.

Many times fresh tracks took us on
long, winding journeys, onlj^ to find that

CLAY MODEL OF THE GIANT ELAND BULL
Modeled by John W. Hope from field observations, detailed measurements, and many photographs.
From this clay model a plaster mold and a final manikin are made, over which the tanned skin is applied

592

NATURAL HISTORY

the eland were still "on their way,"
traveling faster through this maze of
bush than we could cautiously follow
them. When the sun neared the zenith,
the wind would become erratic and blow
in all directions, compeUing us to give
up rather than to have them get our scent
and travel far beyond our hunting radius
of another day.

On the third day our luck changed.
We had been proceeding methodically for
some hours when my bearer spotted eland
to our right. They were spread through
the bush, coming and going from sight as
they moved to feed, and all we could see
was a tail here, a shoulder there, a bit of a
side, and so on.

Luck had favored us. We had seen
them first. We dropped to the ground,
but they were moving along and fast

leaving us. Something had to be done. I
had to take a chance or lose contact,
which we had at last successfully made.

Slowly I rose among a cluster of small
trees and searched the bush all about with
my glasses. I saw a head sweep up, pull
off some leaves, and move on. I could not
tell whether it was cow or bull. Then, in
the far distance, another body with horns
came into view and passed. I felt sure
those patches ahead were the last of the
herd and would soon disappear.

As I stood motionless wondering what
best to do, there came a deep bellow.
Immediately the bush was aUve with
eland and off they went, and with them
went my first opportunity.

Then day followed day, while we
hunted faithfully, leaving camp long
before daylight to be well out in the bush

Courtesy of the N. Y. Zoological Society
COMMON OR LESSER ELAND
A fine old bull photographed at the New York Zoological Park. Compare this head with that of the
giant eland shown on page 593

THE GIANT ELAND OF SOUTHERN SUDAN

593

in the cool and quiet of the early morning
when it was light enough to shoot.

We were becoming hardened to the
intense heat and each day seemed easier,
in spite of increased distances.

O'Donnell had
now returned
from his river
trip and we took
a swing around
together. This
we learned was
not practical.
There were too
many of us.

The next day
we hunted in dif-
ferent directions.
This also had its
drawbacks for, if
luck favored us
both, we might
both draw a bull
or both a cow;
opportunities
were too few to

specify which one we should choose, and
to let one go by was to lose a rare chance.

As there was much work to be done
about camp on accessories, I took time
off and helped Robertson with the photo-
graphs and Blakely with the collecting
and preserving of accessories, while
O'Donnell took another turn at the hunt-
ing.

For three days he hunted hard and long
without seeing an eland and little other
game, except a few scattered hartebeest
and a couple of warthogs. Bird life was
practically nil and, in all, the hunting was
just long, hard tramping, with little to
interes one otherwise. It was indeed
unfortunate for him that at this time,
just as we were really getting started,
he was called home by the serious illness
of his mother and had to be deprived of
the participation in the thrills and joys
which later came with our success.

IIE.VU OF GIANT ELAND BULL

This photograph shows the large rounded ear and the

white markings on the face

Two weeks had now gone, and still no
eland. Tracks were followed for hours,
which only led us on and on until the
shifting winds defeated our hunting
and forced us to return.

And again, one
morning I swung
westward back
over ground
hunted many
times before. At
the bottom of a
.slight descent our
ever-watchful
guide stopped,
went ahead, and
stopped again. I
saw what looked
to be a fresh
track, mereh' a
displacement of a
tiny bit of dusty
gravel. We fol-
lowed as he slow-
ly advanced zig-
zagging through
grassy patches and around clumps of
bush. Nipped terminal branches and bits
of leaves on the ground indicated that
the trail was very fresh. Apparently
there was but a single animal, probably
a bull.

The growth was particularly thick and
the dry, unburnt grass made progress
difficult and noisy. Often we could see
less than twenty yards ahead. Step by
step we cautiously advanced, balancing
on one foot until we could properly place
the other, moving slowly and with the
utmost care.

We came to an opening, looked about,
but saw no eland. On the ground we saw
well-defined fooi marks. He had jumped
and made off. We had been almost on
top of him, yet we neither heard a sound
nor saw the slightest movement.

Our hopes sank, but we followed the
marks of long strides and spread toes as

594

NATURAL HISTORY

THE FOOD OF THE ELAND
Not only were entire trees brought back to the
Museum, but plaster casts and detailed color
notes were also made of the "accessories" of the
group to guide in their reconstruction in wax at
the Museum

they went over some open ground. Then
we noticed a second track and stopped to
examine it.

While intent on this, my shikari sudden-
ly motioned for us to get down quick.
Cautiously he pointed to a spot in some
thick bush about 150 yards to the left.
It was part of an eland, standing per-
fectly still.

Here we were — clean in the open, with
hardly a blade of grass to shield us. How
we had gone this far without being de-
tected and how the shikari picked up this
tiny spot is one of those breaks in hunting
that can't be explained and which we
call "luck."

I looked through my glasses, but all I
could see was a single spot of tan. I
could not distinguish just what part of
the animal it was, but I was sure it was an
eland. Then to the right my eye caught

the swish of a tail. This gave me his
general position, and looking at the other
side of the spot, I saw the tip of a horn.
Everything else was a wall of leaves.

Apparently he was facing left and
ahuost broadside. Fortunately the same
leaves that shielded him also shielded us
from his view.

Although I searched the bush for others,
not a sign could I find and I turned again
to study his position. At last I had an
eland before me, but was it what I
wanted? I suspected I saw the tip of the
other horn, and slowly edged my body
sidewise to locate the head, if possible.
I saw a big ear swing into view and from
its position figured he must be looking our
way, yet I could see no part of the face
and not until this ear changed its position
did I dare to move. When the ear swung
back, a tip of horn came into view and

ANOTHER FOOD PLANT OF THE ELAND

Infinite pains were taken by the expedition to

secure photographs of exquisite detail so that

every possible phase of an accessory was recorded

for the future work of the preparators

THE (IIANT ELAND OF SOUrUERN SUDAN

595

TERMITE NESTS

A close-up of the "roofed" termite nests characteristic only of the open, grassy fields. Some or the

species of southern and tropical Africa build great nests of clay twenty feet or more in height

from this I finally put together the puzzle
of his head.

The patch we saw was part of his
shoulder and from what I saw of the tip
of the horn I figured it was undoubtedly
a bull, but was too small for the Group.
At one time I decided to let him go and
try for a bigger one. Then I began to
refiect upon the days I had trod the
ground with never the sight of one, and
here was my first chance, the only shot I
had had presented in all the fifteen days of
hunting. Finally I said to myself,
"Don't be a fool. Here's a bull eland, and
you may never see another. Take him!"

I could see the point of the elbow and a
bit of the brisket and from these I judged
the position of the heart. Cautiously I
changed my glasses for my gun and slowly
brought myself to a sitting position. Now
I was ready to shoot.

With my mark spotted more by the
bushes than by the now indistinct body, I
took aim, but I was inwardly too excited,
and the front sight would not settle down

to quiet. I began shaking like a leaf. I
was getting buckfever. I dared not risk
the shot, so I took the gun from my
shoulder.

It was with supreme effort that I re-col-
lected my scattered nerves and calmed
myself to steadiness. Then, holding my
breath, I began to squeeze the trigger as
I held the gun with braced elbows on my
knees. It finally went off and at the
report I saw the animal jump and a pair
of heels fiy into the air. Somehow I was
confident, but rushed ahead to follow
through.

When I neared the spot, I saw through
the bush my eland lying motionless and,
to my great surprise, there stood two
more fine buUs but a few yards away.
Startled by the ring of the shot and their
comrade's fall, they stood and watched
me. Hurriedly I looked them over. I
had by sheer luck drawn the best.

During the few moments they stood, I
took many rapid mental notes — the car-
riage of their heads, the conformation of

596

NATURAL HISTORY

their fine bodies, the fines of their low-
swinging dewlaps, all of which gave them
so much style. I could have shot them
both, but gladly let them pass from sight
into the bush, which they quickly did.

Returning to my buU, I found him a
really magnificent specimen. How thank-
ful I was that I had not let him pass!
My shot had hit its mark, passing through
the heart, killing him instantly. How
glad I was to see his fine horns and
perfect skin, no one will ever know.
Success had come at last, but only after
120 miles of hard foot-hunting had that
element called "luck" finally favored me.

By two o'clock the skin was entirely
salted and the skeleton and meat divided
into loads. Our safari back to camp was a
long line in mixed attire. Some of the
personal boys, who had come out with the
porters, were in long, white gowns, while
others came half-dressed, as they were.
The natives, for the most part naked
except for a small loin cloth, carried the
meat and bones, which dripped and
smeared their bodies from head to foot.
Little they seemed to care, when our eland
and fresh meat were at last in camp,
and they trudged along singing and happy
in anticipation of a feast. There were
another two and a half hours of hot, solid
walking before we reached camp, and
from then until late into the evening we
worked on our precious skin, before we
left it with a feeling of assurance.

Camp was a happy, buoyant place that
evening, and our first success made the
future look much brighter. Complete
failure was now defeated and hopes for
the cow seemed more promising.

By the next evening the skin was prac-
tically dry, so on the following day I was
out again looking for the cow. As was
expected, none was seen and another day
of unfruitful endeavor made us decide
to try for eland elsewhere. We felt that
hunting over this ground for the past two
weeks had probably forced the eland out

and chances would be far better with some
fresh herd.

A full week was wasted going and com-
ing from other eland grounds a hundred
miles farther west, where not a single
eland was seen. We could not speculate
further, time was too short, so I decided
to make our last stand from Dry Camp
where we got the bull. Hopeless though
it seemed, we at least knew eland were
there, and they had had a rest. So back
we went, now with more hope and renewed
spirit.

Much stuff was left at road camp for
relaying to the boat while we went in
very Ught. Our boat was to sail from
Shambe on April 1st at 8 a.m. and we were
about 125 miles away. This meant we
had to break and leave eland camp
early on the morning of the 30th of March
(two days before) and if it did not rain
and there were no breakdowns or bad
roads, we would make that boat.

We had just six days of hunting left.
Each and every morning Hope and I left
camp long before daylight and did our
usual seven or seven and one-half hours
of hard hunting in this, our supreme
endeavor.

Days passed as before — hot, toilsome,
and discouraging, but never did we falter
in our efforts.

It seemed, and actually was, sUghtly
cooler now. Showers had cooled the air
and the ground, and at the end of each
day great rain clouds swept the sky and
glorified the setting sun.

The evening of the 28th we were
thoroughly discouraged. We had failed
to get our Group. Our last day was now
upon us. It seemed useless again to
tread the ground at this eleventh hour in
the hope of getting a cow, when already
we had spent five weeks and hunted a
total of 220 miles on foot and had not
even seen one. Surely we could not
expect success now. But we must try
to the very end.

THE GIANT ELAND OF SOUTHERN SUDAN

597

A GROUP OF DINKAS

The Dinkas brave the waters of the Nile and its many crocodiles in small "Ambak" canoes. These

are made of a kind of reed which floats buoyantly. A somewhat similar reed boat is used by the

Indians of South America on Lake Titicaca

Late that afternoon clouds gathered
and filled the sky while continuous
thunder and hghtning burst forth and
rent the air. Two heavy black clouds
poured their fury over camp while on the
west others glowed red and orange
against bits of blue and turquoise.

It was a bad omen for us. The next
day was our very last and I had hoped the
rain would not defeat our last chance for
hunting or prevent us from moving toward
our boat. Food was about gone and other
things were timed for this last day and no
more.

After dark the storms subsided and the
morning of the 29th broke behind a wall
of gray clouds. An early start had again
put us well along the trail on our eland
grounds to the west. Dampened from
the rains, the going was cool and quiet.

The gray, dull light was to our ad-
vantage, making us less conspicuous, while

the overcast skies kept the morning air
perfectly quiet. All tracks of the days
before were now washed out and we knew
that any we saw would be but a few hours
old.

It was, in fact, an ideal morning for
hunting. For at least two hours we
hunted slowly and carefully, covering
ground as fast as we could and still being
duly cautious. Not a single track was seen
and we began to lose heart, but methodical-
ly plodded on, hoping against hope

There was not the slightest indication
of eland ahead. Suddenly my shikari
stopped, clutched my arm and whispered,
"Boga, Boga — Katel, Katel" (Eland,
eland — many, many!)

Instantly my eyes swept the bush, but
I could see nothing. He pointed, but all
I could see was the usual wall of small
trees. There was not a sign of an animal.
Taking my glasses, I caught a glimpse of

598

NATURAL HISTORY

jM Mex ^

RETURNING TO CAMP WITH THE FIRST SPECIMEN

The return to camp after a successful hunt is always a joyous time for the safari, and the boys trudge

along singing and happy, bearing their precious loads

two or three rumps as they disappeared
to the left, and farther on I saw some legs.
They were perhaps seventy-five yards
away, yet there was only a glimpse.
Obviously they were feeding, moving
steadily along.

My shikari took me by the arm and
moved me to his position, while with the
other hand he grabbed the guide by the
back of the neck and without ceremony
forcibly pushed his head to the ground
with orders not to move.

From this point I caught glimpses of
eland galore. What a break! At last,
here we were, face to face with the whole
herd and we had seen them first! What
a piece of luck! That one chance in a
thousand had at last come and on our
very last day.

Never would I see them again. Now,
of all times, no errors must be made.

Eland seemed to be everywhere, yet I
could see but tiny patches. A few steps
forward gave me a better position, but
I was on open ground beneath a few
scattered trees where they might easily

To my great surprise they were feeding
straight toward me and I slowly sank to
my knees. Now I could see more of them
— here a horn, there a face, and here a
shoulder, still not enough of any one to
tell me what it was. Constantly shifting,
each time coming closer, now and then
showing some of their bodies, yet still I
could not pick.

I felt positive they would see me or
get my scent and be off like a flash, for
now they were only thirty or forty yards
away. I dared not move. Would it be
fate to have them bolt before I could pick
the one to shoot? Just one shot would
be possible and it must be a good cow,
with typical horns, or our Group would
not be complete.

Immediately in front of me two animals
broke through some bush. They were
partly blocked by the leaves. There
were two bodies — one was a medium-
sized male; the other, I could not tell
what. All about me were moving eland.
My eyes were flashing rapidly in all
directions to guard against being trapped.

For weeks I had been trying to see

THE GIANT ELAND OF SOUTHERN SUDAN

599

iihmd and now, ;it tliis njoincnt, eland
were so thick about me that I was actually
hemmed in by them. These were indeed
eventful seconds and my heart beat until
it seemed they would hear it.

Then ahead came the two, straight foi-
me, heads low, slowly stepping and pulling
off leaves, first from one twig and then
another. Still partly obscured, I felt now
that all was up. They would be on me in
a few more steps and, if not what I
wanted, off they would go at my sight
or scent, taking the whole herd with
them.

Then one just in front of me slowly
veered and showed the head.

"Thank the Lord, a fine cow!" I said
to myself, and she swung behind some
leaves.

But now I had my cow marked. Again
luck played my way. Had it been any
other, I should have been completely
stumped.

I knew I had her if she would but show
herself again, and I could hardly wait.
Would she linger behind that bush not
twenty yards away while others came
ahead, or would Fate bring her out in
time? Fate it must have been that turned
her back into the open and presented her

to me on clean, open giound. She carried
her h(;ad low. I could see her eyes and I
thought she looked at me.

My gun was now to my shoulder and I
was ready to pull the trigger. She could
not get away now. I had her. There
was not a thing between us. I wanted to
make a clean job of it, so, steadying my
nerves, I waited as she came straight
toward me. It was so close as to be dan-
gerous. With one lunge she could have
pinned me to the ground, even though I
fired and hit.

A slight turn to the left presented her
shoulder just as I wanted it and I pulled
the trigger. Confusion reigned as eland
broke in all directions. She wheeled and
made a jump. Instantly I was up. She
was still on her feet and another shot
brought her down for good.

The rest of the herd, bewildered by the
shot, still milled about in the near-by
bush, but as soon as I showed myself,
they were off.

She was a fine specimen, fully adult,
with beautiful and typical horns. '';S All
was now set. Luck had accomplished the
impossible and we could now make our
boat, for we had found "the needles in
the haystack."

Clouds Presaginq the Coming Rainy Season

Morning Mists at the Edge of the Forest

DAY BY DAY AT LUKOLELA

Natural History Notes from the Congo River Gathered
While Collecting Materials for a Bird Group

By JAMES P. CHAPIN

Associate Curator of Birds of the Eastern Hemisphere, American Museum

This article is a continuatinn of "Up the Congo to Lukolela," by Doctor Chapin,
which appeared in the September-October issue of Natural History Magazine.

— The Editors.

AMONG travelers on the Congo
River steamers the "monotony"
of the forest is proverbial. The
wall of foliage, viewed from a distance,
does seem lacking in variety as it slips
past day after day, and the occasional
clearings with their houses attract far
more attention. But walk into the forest
with a desire to see, and there is enough
to keep you looking for years.

The little station at the Plaine awoke at
5 :30 to the roll of a wooden drum such as
serves the natives for a wireless telephone.
Light had begun to break some ten or fif-
teen minutes earlier, and before that there
often came from the forest the deep toot-
ing of the large cuckoos known as coucals.

Perhaps a little before the reveille from
the drum a pair of ibises {Lamprihis
rara) might have flown over on their way
from the swamp where they had slept, to a

feeding place in another inundated stretch
of forest. Silent during the remainder of
the day, they make up for lost oppor-
tunity as they go to and from their roosts.
Almost every wing-beat is accompanied
by a repetition of their raucous "k-hah!"

Now other birds would begin to call,
and a few to sing: the common brown
bulbul (Pycnonotus tricolor), the black-and-
white wagtail {Motacilla aguimp), both
village birds; a brown warbler {Cisticola
lateralis), haunting the adjacent field of
high grass; and a gray-and-rufous thrush
(Cichladusaruficauda), with the sweetest
voice of all, as it awoke in the fan-palms.
Gray parrots squawked and whistled as
they flew over from their dormitory in a
group of pahns a half-mile distant.

The forest was so close that its bird
voices also reached us distinctly. Among
the earliest, a long-drawn whistle, curi-

DAY BY DAY AT LUKOLELA

601

ously low in pitch, came from a small
brown "babbler" {lUado-psis fuivescens),
which gives entirely different notes
during the middle of the day. Others
quickly joined the chorus, and one could
sit with a pencil jotting down their
names : doves, barbets, hornbills, cuckoos,
bulbuls, and sometimes the toadlike
croak of a brown broadbill (Smithornis
rufolateralis) .

If one stood at dawn beneath one of the
towering Borassus palms close to the work-
men's village, the black-headed weavers
{Textor cucullaliis) could be seen slipping
out from the round doorways beneath
their swinging nests. It would not be long
before the males began to return with long
green strips of grass trailing from their
beaks, to resume their weaving where it
had been left off. Although there were
about 190 nests on this palm, the occu-
pants may not have numbered more than
70 pairs of birds.

Females do little or no work on the

outside of the nest, but apparently con-
cern themselves with its lining. While
the eggs are being incubated, the males
continue to weave more nests, and
accompany their labors with a loud,
wheezy chattering. From time to time
dozens of them beat their wings and
wobble from side to side as they hang
back-down beneath their nurseries.

Up in the top of the palm-crown lived
a half-dozen pairs of another species of
weaver {Melanopteryx nigerrimus) , the
males pure black with bright-yellow eyes.
These were a trifle less demonstrative.
Both kinds of weavers continued nesting
from July to April, and probably kept on
through the whole year.

With little fear of man, the weavers
often prefer to nest close to villages. They
have several winged enemies, especially a
large gray hawk {Gymnogenys) that comes
very frequently to pull out the young
weavers. Even at night, while the weav-
ers are asleep in their baskets, they are in

CATTLE HERONS WITH SHEEP AT LUKOLELA POST
The protection these birds receive by law is strengthened many fold by sentiment among Europeans

in Africa

602

NATURAL HISTORY

A BORASSUS PALM AT THE PLAINE

On" this the weavers had built a large colony

These hung from the extremities of the fan-

which were twelve feet long

danger of attack from the nocturnal hawk,
Machxrhamphus. A third more insidious
enemy is the didric cuckoo {Chrysococcyx
caprius) which manages to have its young
reared by the weavers.

A stroll in the neighboring forest will
perhaps prove disappointing until one
learns the ways of the birds. High in the
trees one may see — and more often hear —
a fair number of birds: fruit pigeons,
plantain-eaters, hornbills, barbets, and
glossy starlings. The trees, however, are
forty yards or more in height, and the

foliage abundant. Down in the
undergrowth birds prove scarce
until one happens upon a mixed
feeding party combing the boughs
for insects. The party may in-
clude representatives of a dozen
or more species, belonging to
groups so diverse as woodpeckers,
flycatchers, sunbirds, and weav-
ers. Two species of greenish bul-
buls (Trichophorus calurus and
Phyllastrephus iderinus) are so
regularly associated with them
that the calls of these bulbuls,
whenever heard, suggest the prox-
imity of a bird-party. The birds
keep moving along together as
they feed, and often they are so
shy that it is no easy task to learn
just which ones are present.

The woods are full of termite
colonies, some dwelling in struc-
tures of toadstool form, others in
great mounds of tough clay, and
still others in globular nests sad-
dled in the trees. All send forth
winged broods, especially at the
beginning of the rainy season.

A flight of termites during the
day is a signal for birds of most
diversified habit to become fly-
catchers. Weavers mount to the
tops of trees and palms, circling
out from their perches to seize
the slow-flying but succulent
termites. At night bats and toads reap
the harvest.

All such activities vary with the
weather. During nine or ten months,
each week has a few wet days. The rainy
days are the only cool days, but a ther-
mometer in the shade at Lukolela seldom
goes above 95°. The heat would be more
bearable if there were more breeze, or the
air a little drier.

As the sun mounts higher, on a clear
day, mosquitoes stop biting. But in the
forest the tiny, stingless bees (Trigona),

of nests,
leaves

DAY BY DAY AT LUKOLELA

603

attracted by perspiration, alight on one's
hands and neck, or hover before one's
eyes. Even true honey-bees come, too,
and beware how you brush them away.

Driver ants work day and night, avoid-
ing only the glaring sun. Some of the
popular tales about them are exaggerated,
they are scarcely a menace to larger
creatures like man. Several species of
small, thrushlike birds (especially of the
genera Alethe and Neocossyphus) are
actually attracted by moving columns of
driver ants, and steal the plunder they
are carrying. Sometimes they go so far
as to eat a few of the ants.

Throughout the Congo, when one hears
of blackbirds, they are glossy starlings; or
of toucans, they prove to be hornbills.
At Lukolela hornbills come in many sizes,
from the diminutive gray Lophoceros
hartlaubi up to the great black Ceratogym-
na atrata. Those most commonly seen
are two black-and-white species of By-
canistes. In early youth, reading one of
Mayne-Reid's books, I learned of the way
the female of an Indian hornbill remains
closed up in her nest and is fed regularly

WEAVER-BIHD HOMES

A leaf of a Borassus palm, draped with swaying

nests of weaver-birds

by her mate. Little did I suspect then
that I would some day be finding hornbill
nests in Africa. These studies
were continued at Lukolela.
One morning in December,
as I stood near our house at
the Plaine, a male Bycanistes
albotibialis came fijang along
the edge of the forest. There
was nothing unusual in such
a sight, except that this bird
carried something between
the tips of his big mandibles.
That made me keep looking.
I noticed that he entered the
forest, and soon stopped at
a large tree scarcely more

Drawing by Dudley Btakely

SOCIABLE INSECT HUNTERS'
The two commonest bulbuls of the
mixed bird-parties in the forest:
Trichophorus, with white beard,
and Phyllastrephus, with plain
yellowish underparts

604

NATURAL HISTORY

than a hundred yards away, where he
clung to the upper part of the trunk.
Clearly he had a nest, but careful scrutiny
through a glass was required to see the
small hole into which he had passed the
food. Off he went for more. Devoted
husband!

For more than a month we watched him
provisioning his family, busy all the day
long, except for a little rest toward noon.
I doubt if he had ever entered the nest.
The small knothole through which his
mate had wormed her way in would
scarcely admit his great beak, and now it
was closed up to a small slit.

In order to know just how often he
came I sometimes placed a black boy on
watch, with a sheet of paper marked with
circles. On this, at each visit, Epoyo
sketched the posi-
tion of the hands of
my alarm clock.
On December 22
the father hornbill
came eighteen
times between 7 :26
A.M. and 5 :48 P.M.
Even toward noon
he did not skip an
hour, and it is pos-
sible that we missed
the first visit of the
morning. On Janu-
ary 12 he came first
at 6:10 A.M. and
paid fourteen visits,
the last at 4:57
P.M.

Fruit is the prin-
cipal food of this
species, and no
doubt that was
what he was bring-
ing. He went off
each time to a dis-
tance, usually many
hundred yards, and
seldom was any-

A CAPTIVE TICK-BIRD

Climbing on the clothing of a native boy. Its

claws have exceptionally sharp points, which aid

the bird greatly in keeping hold on the skins of

its everyday hosts

thing visible in his beak as he returned.
Clinging at the nest opening, he would
turn his head to one side — most often the
right — and then with short jerks of the
neck bring up the provender in small
helpings, to be passed into the nest. This
seemingly uncomfortable behavior would
be repeated several times, sometimes a
dozen or more, before the hornbill took
wing again.

I grew very fond of my hornbill, and he
showed no great fear of me. But as weeks
passed I realized that if I wanted to know
the whole story, the nest tree would have
to be cut down. How many young were
there? Was the female molting her
flight feathers rapidly in the nest,
as many smaller hornbills do? How
was her doorway walled up?

Finally on Janu-
ary 14, with a feeling
of shame, I had
the tree felled. The
pursuit of knowl-
edge is often cruel.
In the nest we
found a single
young hornbill,
about three-quart-
ers grown, with its
mother. She was
fully able to fly, for
her wing-quills were
being molted gradu-
ally, not all at once,
as happens in other
hornbills of smaller
size like Lophoceros
and Tropicranus.
Her tail-feathers
were dropping out
more rapidly, so
that if she had left
the nest within the
next couple of
weeks the new quUls
would still have
been growing.

DAY BY DAY AT LUKOLELA

605

Drawing by Dudley Blakely
THE WEAVEH-BIRD AT ITS NEST

A male weaver-bird as it flaps beneath the entrance to its nest, the interior of
which is so constructed that the eggs do not fall out

As for the partition that narrows the
nest entrance to a sht just wide enough for
the male bird's beak, it proved to be com-
posed entirely of dung ejected by the
female, and molded naturally around the
inside of the hole. The male had brought
no clay to plaster on the outside, as has
often been claimed.

The African native has no pity for
hornbill families. Rather is he dehghted
at the prospect of eating them, for the
female is usually fat during her voluntary
confinement. It happened thus that I
saw another nest of the same kind of
hornbill after it was raided by the negroes.
It likewise had contained only a single
young bird. The larger African hornbills
seem to lay but a single egg, whereas some
small ones may have four of five. One
African species which lays two eggs is

Twpicranus albocristafus, often spoken of
by natives of West Africa as the monkey-
bird. It is said to roam the forest in com-
pany with bands of monkeys. One might
assume that fruit would attract the horn-
bill to the same tree with the monkeys,
if we did not know that Tropicranus feeds
mainly on insects, and seldom touches
fruit.

Among the seven kinds of monkeys
more or less common about Lukolela the
two Colobus monkeys eat tender leaves
rather than fruit. Occasionally one sees
bands including two or three species of
monkeys, even fruit-eating guenons {Cer-
copithecus) with the red Colobus tliolloni.
The black Colobus angolensis, with white
on the sides of face and neck, is f amiharly
known as the "magistrat," in allusion to
judicial robes. Monkeys and squirrels

606

NATURAL HISTORY

THE FAMILY PROVIDER
This male hornbill, with beak inserted in the door of the nest, is
deUvering food. He is clinging against the trunk, in the middle of the
picture

are not welcomed on a cocoa plantation,
for they bite into the fruit and destroy an
appreciable part of the crop.

It was long thought that chimpanzees
did not occur in forests on the left bank of
the River Congo. But Doctor Schouteden
succeeded in proving that there are chim-
panzees in the large area of forest south
of the upper Congo River. They are
relatively numerous at Lukolela, occa-
sionally coming to the edge of the planta-
tion near the Plaine.

One of the natural checks on monkeys
is the crowned eagle, Stephanoaetus coro-
natus. Of course it must occur at
Lukolela, but how common was it? Did it

have a recognizable call?
One day a shrill "kee-a-

ree, kee-a-ree "

was heard repeated over
and over from high above
the forest. "Nkawli,"
said the boys, using a
name that is applied to
birds of prey in general.
Later on they explained
that this particular kind
preyed largely on mon-
keys, and was called
"Pongonyoli."

Knowing the cry, I
continued to listen for it,
and soon saw the eagles
soaring high in the air,
generally in the middle
of the day. Frequently
there was a pair, and be-
fore long the bird was
identified as the crowned
eagle. One eagle might
indulge in graceful swoops
which seemed to be a
kind of display. A pair
of these eagles would be
expected to hold a terri-
tory two or three miles
in diameter, and I was
shown a nest, high in a
silk-cotton tree, well known to natives.
One of its owners perched regularly on a
forest tree about a hundred yards away.
Watching it with the field glass was ful-
filling another old wish. Why bear ill-
will toward such a noble bird, blood-
thirsty though it be? Its rightful flocks
and herds are the monkeys on the forest
boughs.

At the edge of the Plantation, from
time to time, the advance of civilization
would be punctuated by the thunderous
fall of some great tree, removed to make
place for cocoa seedlings. As the last
blows were dealt at its base and the upper
boughs began to sway, the bystanders

DAY BY DAY AT LUKOLELA

607

broke into cheers and wild yells of joy.
After the prolonged crash the yelling of
the wood-choppers continued — savages
exulting (jver the destruction of a glori-
ous tree. Yet we who like cocoa are in the
end responsible. The more civilized wc;
are, the more we must regret many things
that civilization demands.

The equatorial belt, of all parts of the
earth, is least affected by seasons. ICven
there many plants exhibit a seasonal cycle.
A beautiful amaryllid dotted the forest
floor with its delicate red flower-clusters
from November to January. The birds
that nest in the forests of Equatorial
Africa are not migratory, and many of
them breed throughout a major portion of
the year. But the region is visited by
many refugees from the rigors of northern
winter, and by certain African migrants
that run no risk from cold. Drought
seems to be the condition that drives them

A YOUNG HORNBILL

Behind the bird is the inner wall of its nest.
The opening left in the doorway shows just
above its head

ALERT
The hornbill at the nest, as he withdrew his beak
and looked around toward the camera. Photo-
graph retouched to show the bird more clearly

toward the well-watered equator. Many
of the migrants from the Sudan stop at the
northern margin of the Congo forest, yet
certain of them cross the forest belt, and
show themselves in clearings like those at
Lukolela.

Here I first saw the pennant-winged
nightjar (Cosmetornis vexillarius) in July,
1909, and began the series of observations
which proved it to be a migratory bird.
In February, 1931, I saw it appear at
Lukolela again in the course of its annual
northward migration. Early in the same
month a flock of some three hundred
Abdim's storks tarried a little at the
Plaine, on their long voyage from the
southern half of the continent back to
their nesting grounds in the Sudan. A
Sudanese bee-eater, Aerops albicollis,
spent its "winter" in flocks about Luko-
lela, from November to April.

Still more familiar were the cattle

608

NATURAL HISTORY

A TRAVELING COLUMN OF DRIVER ANTS

With some large soldiers on guard beside it.
Most of the species are dark reddish-brown

herons (Bubulcus ibis), which never nest
in this part of Africa. A few examples
seen at Lukolela in August and September
may have been migrants from Southern
Africa. It was only in November that the
species rapidly became numerous. Their
plain white plumage showed they had
finished breeding, and it was clear that
they could only have come from the
north, where they nest in the Sudan
during June and July.

Parties of cattle herons now appeared
daily at certain spots near stations and
villages, especially where sheep or goats
were kept. At the Plaine their numbers
gradually increased to 35 or 40. The
herons eat grasshoppers, and love to walk
about with the hoofed animals, snapping
at insects all the while. They never slept
at the Plaine, but arrived soon after 6
A.M., and departed toward the north-
west or north a little before sunset. All
the cattle herons of the vicinity gathered

for the night on a small, wooded islet
near the far bank of the river.

These "wintering" birds have their
established roosts, and it seems not un-
likely that the same birds return year
after year, in company with younger
generations. At Leopoldville, too, their
sleeping quarters were well known. Some
eight hundred cattle herons assembled
here nightly in April in the palms and
other trees directly in front of the resi-
dence of the Provincial Governor.

It is my belief that many river birds of
Africa perform regular migrations to
avoid the periods of high water. The
scarcity of such birds when the rivers are
in flood is very pronounced. When the
rivers immediately north of the equator
are ebbing, those just south of it are about
to rise. Near Lukolela the sandbars of
the Congo emerge twice a year, and at
both seasons are frequented by pelicans,

CHIMPANZEE FROM LUKOLELA
On the southern bank of the Congo lives the
recently described race, Pan satyrus paniscus,
which is relatively small in size, unusually hairy
on forehead and cheeks, and black-faced,\from
birth

DAY BY DAY AT LUKOLELA

609

SMALL STINGLESS BEES
They gathered in numbers on Doctor Chapin's hand while he was at work in the forest,
and back were equally attractive to them, and his eyes even more so

His neck

skimmers, saddle-billed storks, and other
birds which seem virtually absent when
the river is high. Whether the skimmers,
lapwings, and pratincoles nest on the
bars twice a year, or only once, remains to
be ascertained.

It seems probable that Pseudochelidon
eurystoniina, a swallow-like bird that
nests in tunnels in the sandbars during
February and March, is absent from the
region between June and December. I
have looked for it in vain during July and
August; but like Doctor Schouteden,
I found that they nest near Lukolela in
February and March.

Besides its forest and the river, Lukolela
offers another type of country, restricted
in area, but quite distinct. Lying close to
the southern edge of the forest belt, it has
patches of natural grassland, as distin-
guished from mere clearings about vil-
lages.

The httle Plaine was such an area. A

few miles to the south were many more,
some of larger size, and thickly dotted,
with old Borassus pahns. The birds of
such savannas are sharply differentiated
from those of the forest, as are also the
antelopes and many other mammals.
Buffaloes, however, wander from forest to
savannas, for they find better grazing
in the grasslands, better concealment and
shade in the woods.

It was a surprise to hear that tick-
birds (Buphagus africanus) were weU
known about Lukolela. As a rule they
are not found in forested country. A
clever native hunter, Bahoi, one day
brought me a dead example. He had
shot a buffalo, and in its fall a tick-bird
was pinned underneath, still ahve. Bahoi
caught the bird and brought it in, but
unfortunately it died on the way.

Some months later the same accident
occurred to another tick-bird, and this
time I received it alive. We put it on an

610

NATURAL HISTORY

A SMALL BROWN TREE-FROG

Hyperolius perched at night on a stalk of one of

the leaves where its eggs are laid

old antelope hide, with a stout thread
attached to one foot. Off it flew to the
ground, and then up to the back of the
boy who was holding the thread. There
it behaved as though at home on the
flank of a buffalo, edging away to escape
a hand just as it would have dodged the
swish of the buffalo's tail.

Life in the forest shows no great change
as the day advances, until late afternoon,
when there is a lessening of many noises,
and the insect musicians begin to make
themselves heard. Orthopterous insects
have of times reminded me, as I trudged
along forest paths, that I had better
hurry to get in before dark. The sun
disappeared behind the forest a little be-
fore six. Franklin Edson, my companion,
made a little sun-dial that facilitated regu-
lation of our timepieces during the day.

Between 6:10 and 6:30 P. M., the
ibises that squawked so frequently at
daybreak were very apt to make another

noisy crossing over or around the Plaine,
two or three pairs assembling for the
night in some large tree in a swamp. So
Uttle was known of the habits or voice of
Lampribis rara that I felt highly favored
by their frequency here, and took some
pains to verify my identification.

Right after six o'clock the large insec-
tivorous bat, Saccolaimus peli, appears in
the sky, and might almost be mistaken
for a fruit bat, did it not make erratic
swoops that show it to be chasing insects.
Here and there a single fruit bat of in-
determinate species may pass over with
labored wing-flaps. Sometimes they ap-
pear in larger numbers. When one begins
to see hundreds, it is safe to assume — in
the Congo — that one is looking at Eidolon
helvum, the common roussette, related to
the flying foxes of the East.

Whether Eidolon can be called truly
migratory is doubtful. It certainly

BUSH-BABY

The small nocturnal lemur {Galagoides demidoffi)

so abundant in the Congo forest. It spends the

day in a nest lined with green leaves

DAY BY DAY AT IJKOIJ'J.A

611

ostiiljlLshcs roosts which may bo fre-
quented for some weeks or even months.
T'hen the group moves off to another spot.
At Lukolela, in brief, they had such a
roost along the river from mid-August to
October 20, and again — though the num-
bers were less — in early December. It
was said to be on an island. At dusk these
large bats flew out to feed, and for wt^eks
at a time it seemed as though the majority
came our way. We were able to ascer-
tain that they flew on a front at least a
mile wide, beginning to cross the Plaine
close to 6:20 P.M., and from the duration
of the flight and the number counted per
minute crossing a short section of the
road, we arrived at a grand total of 22,400
bats. I think we were conservative.

Going into the forest later, we could
sometimes see them fluttering about the
crowns of trees with fruit, snarling as they
struggled to get their food, or we could

JELLY ''NEST" OF HYPEROLIUS

Adhering to a leaf over water in a swamp. The

eggs of the tree-frog have already developed into

tadpoles

FROTHY "NEST" OF ilIIHOMANTIS

This tree-frog's nest was kept on a glass plate until

weU-developed tadpoles began sliding out of it

"shine" their eyes as they hung lower
down. The large forest goatsucker {Capri-
mulgus batesi) lives at Lukolela, but in
small numbers. Caprimulgus fossil, of
the savarmas and clearings, was likewise
scarce. Fortunately there were many
other creatures to watch : lemurs, genets,
palm-civets, flying squirrels, and elephant
shrews. No leopard crossed our path.

I recalled that there should be a green-
and-gray tree-frog which lays its eggs in a
frothy mass on leaves and logs well above
the water. For the time its name had
completely escaped me ; but I knew it by
sight, and soon found it sitting on branches
around the forest swamps. It gave a call
like a few taps with the finger on an empty
cardboard box, frequently varied or
followed by a rasping sound. In . the
second half of October, after the rains
had begun, I began to find its "froth-
nests" here and there on fallen logs and

612

NATURAL HISTORY

fftss

iiiiiiiiiiirHii

♦ V.

AFRICAN "WOOD-SWALLOWS"

They are resting on a sandbar where they breed. Though supposedly allied to the Oriental wood-

swaUows, Pseudochelidon is more like a bank swallow in nesting habits

large leaves in the swamps. Egg-laying
is carried out only between 9 and 11 P.M.,
so it required some searching in places
swarming with mosquitoes before I was
able to put the flashlight on the frogs as
they laid. The egg-mass becomes filled

NEST-TUNNELS OF Pseudochelidon
Opening in the nearly level surface of the sand. They run
down obhquely for three to six feet, the plain white eggs
being laid at the far end

with bubbles of air, and its outer surface
dries out and helps to support it while the
eggs are developing into tadpoles. At the
end of four or five days the interior of the
"nest" becomes very liquid, breaks
through the bottom, and the tadpoles
tumble into the water. Usually
they fall only a couple of feet,
sometimes six or eight.

Several "nests" were taken to
the house and kept on glass plates
over a tray of water, so that when
the tadpoles wriggled toward the
water I was able to photograph
them. Sometimes the adult frogs
turn to a browner coloration, and
this may be the explanation of
their scientific name, Chiromantis
rufescens.

Other small tree-frogs in the
same swamps, belonging to the
genus Hyperolius, were also laying
their eggs on leaves out of the
water. Their tadpoles developed
in a clear mass of sticky jeUy, and
seemed not to fall into the water
before a period of ten days. Rain
was probably needed to free them
from their elevated position.

DAY BY DAY AT UIKOLELA

613

Sometimes as I flashed the lifcht
about the woods a brilliant firefly
caused a momentary surprise, but
one night I noticed what seemed
to be the steady lights of numer-
ous glow-worms on the floor of 1 1 n
forest. Looking closer I fouml
that there were no glow-worms,
only tiny white mushrooms grow-
ing out of dead wood. Their slimy
little stalks, but not their rounded
caps, gave forth a greenish light,
similar to radium paint. A buncii
of these twigs, held up by a black
companion, was visible at night
from a distance of forty yards.

On the way back to our house
we frequently passed under the
tall palm with its weaver colony.
Silence reigned, unless one struck
the base of the tree, when the birds *-*" ^"'^
would awake in their nests and
indulge in a loud burst of chattering.

The gasoline lantern on our verandah
proved a glowing attraction for hordes
of tiny insects, and some large ones such
as mantises, moths, and cicadas. Flights
of termites were distracted by it, and
occasionally littered our dinner table.

FKOTHY "nest" OF Chiromanlis
lower side of a fallen tree, over stagnant water in a
swamp

Large termites are edible, but do not mix
well with dessert or coffee.

As long as we could fight off the mos-
quitoes it was pleasant to sit and watch
for new arrivals near the lantern, and
listen to the soimds drifting in from the
forest. Among the fruit-bats Hypsig-

FUNGI WITH LUMINOUS STALKS

Mushrooms of the genus Marasmius growing from dead sticks. The picture was taken by a six-hour

exposure at night, supplemented by a few seconds' illumination with an electric flashlight

614

NATURAL HISTORY

nathus and Epomops were frequently
heard, as was the hooting of the common
wood owl. Tree hyraxes repeated a
seemingly endless succession of short
cries in complaining tone.

Among normally diurnal birds the
cuckoos are very apt to call at night.
Four species did so rather frequently,
their identification then being simpler by
ear than with a field-glass by day. Espe-
cially on moonlit nights one or two gray
parrots are apt to go flying over noisily,
and once in a while a boulicoco {Cory-
thseola cristata) awakes as if from a bad

dream and coos lustily from the forest.

Early to bed is not always good advice
for a naturalist, but he must go sometime.
Often the mosquitoes drove me to turn
out the lamp and jump under the mosquito
net.

From the corner of my little room a
dim, green glow might still be noticeable,
where some of the luminous fungi were
being cultivated on twigs in a tray of
water. The rats from the thatched roof
were now free to climb down and dance
across the mosquito bar. We'll have to
set some traps for them tomorrow.

the Tiliftall Plana I

AMONG THE NOMADS OF TIBET

Wanderers on the Roof of the World — The Sturdy Inhabitants

of the Vast Tibetan Plateau Who Live Behind the Great,

Snow-Covered Wall of the Himalayas

By C. SUYDAM CUTTING

Trustee of the American Museum

IF there is any one race of people that
shows an utter disregard for the ele-
ments of nature, it is the nomads of
the great Tibetan plateau. Living the
year around in tents in a high and wind-
swept land, often well over fifteen thou-
sand feet above the level of the sea, they
appear to be completely happy and
thoroughly comfortable.

It was during the summer of 1930 that
I visited this bare and elevated land.
Having obtained the permission of the
Dalai Lama himself, I went to India, and
thence traveled up over the steep and
winding trails among the world's most
mpressive mountain range to the south-
ern borders of Tibet, which lie just to the
north of Darjeeling, where that fascinat-
ing little city is situated within sight of
Mt. Kinchinjunga and her greater sister,
Mt. Everest.

Along the border of this country of
nomads, one finds a few villages where
agriculture is practised, and to one of
these, Khampa Dzong, we made our way.

Being on the frontier, it boasts quite a
large fort which, for purposes of defense, is
elevated about 600 feet above the plain.
Angling steeply down to the foot of the
hill on which the fort is erected, runs a
heavy wall built to protect the defenders
when they come down to get water.

Even so close to the giant Himalayas
this portion of Tibet is largely level, and
looking to the south one sees the glittering,
snow-covered peaks beyond a great plain
that, near Ivhampa Dzong, is dotted with
the irregular fields tilled by the local
Tibetans. A cluster of low, flat-roofed
houses Hes on the level ground below the
fort. On a near-by hill a smaller fort
stands, built as a secondary protection,
while an old, and now disused execution
tower stands deserted at the foot of a
steeply sloping rock. ' ' ' . '

We were received with che utmost
friendUness by the Dzong Pen, or governor
of the town, and for two nights were put
up in his home.

Away from these border villages one

THE FORT AT KHAMPA DZONG

Built to guard the southern boundary of Tibet, this ancient fort stands high on a hill near the town

on Khampa Dzong. The wall constructed on the hillside leads to the fort's water supply

INSIDE THE FORT AT KHAMPA DZONG

The small fort on the hilltop in the distance is for the purpose of preventing an enfilading attack.

Neither fort, naturally, could withstand an attack by modern artillery

KHAMPA DZONG

The city wall is shown mnning steeply down the hillside, while a part of the viUage is visible at the

toot ot the hiil. Khampa Dzong is one of the few places where agriculture is practised

THE EXECUTION TOWEK
This ancient structure at Khampa Dzong is no longer in use. The size of the tower can be estimated
from the horses that appear to the left of its base

618

NATURAL HISTORY

LOOKIX(; SOUTH FKOII THK FOltT AT KIIAMPA DZONG

The irregular patches of fields are tilled by the local Tibetans. As one

travels north from this village, the country rises, with the result that

agriculture becomes impossible. The mountains shown in the

distance are the Himalayas

finds conditions radically different. De-
pendent upon grass and moss for the sus-
tenance of their herds, and uninterested in
agriculture, the Tibetans wander here and
there across the windy plateau, leading
their hardy, nomadic lives.

Their herds are made up of sheep,
goats, horses, and yaks, which, with the
exception of the yaks, feed on the grass
which is to be found in the stream bot-
toms. The yaks, however, indigenous as
they are to the region, are permitted to
wander about among the hills where they
find the moss that is their favorite food.

The country is well adapted for long

marches, and traveling
with a caravan is easy,
for the going is good and
water is to be found
readily. The coarse
grass of the country is
common although it dis-
appears as one climbs
the ridges, moss taking
its place. The latter is,
to a great extent, the food
of the game of the coun-
try— the sheep, Ovis am-
nion, Bhurrel, gazelle,
and wild ass.

Large lakes are com-
mon, but are often brack-
ish. Springs are rare and
are invariably thermal,
very hot and impregnated
with sulphur. The
streams are of snow
water, excellent to drink,
and are very numerous.
In the course of almost
any march one is likely
to pass one or more, some
of which attain consid-
erable size.

The nomads always
camp near these streams,
as along their banks a
more luxuriant type of
grass is to be found. It is here that one
sees the sheep, the goats, and the horses,
while the yaks wander off to the ridges,
where they roam all night feeding. These
beasts require an abnormally long time to
feed, and must be allowed to wander at
will, with the result that a good two hours
must be spent in the early morning in
collecting the yaks and loading them be-
fore a caravan can move.

It is true that the yak is ideally suited
to the country. Nature has given him
ample protection from the cold and the
wind. He finds his food in the most un-
promising districts, and can carry a pack

AMONG THE NOMADS OF TIBET

619

of considcriiblo dimensions. His marches,
however, should not greatly exceerl ten
miles a day, which makes rapid cross
country travel impossible. On the other
hand, with proper treatment the animal is
indefatigable and can be used indefinitel3^
Furthermore, from the herds of yaks the
natives obtain almost every necessity.
Yak butter is a staple article of food.
Their wool and their skins are used in the
manufacture of clothes and tents, while
yak dung suppHes the most widely used
fuel of the region.

Slowly — at no more than two miles an
hour — the yak does his day's march,
groaning constantly as he goes. And
whether on smooth going or along precipi-
tous and dangerous trails his pace never
varies. Heavily laden, he will mount the
most appalling slopes at very high alti-
tudes and, despite the most uncertain
footing, will maintain the same speed as
on the level.

The people of this rugged land have
literally conquered the elements. They
are the survival of the fittest. Those who
could not combat the severity of the
elements of the higher sections of the
Tibetan plateau have either moved else-
where or died long ago.

The plateau has very little rainfall —
about eight inches a year. On the ridges
and peaks, however, the latter of which
often rise to twentj' thousand feet or
more, there is much greater precipitation,
and from these comes the plentiful water
supply.

What a person unaccustomed to Yixmg
in such a land mil mind by far the most is
the terrific wind. The higher the alti-
tude, the greater is the wind's severity.
In summer, at fifteen to sixteen thousand
feet, it starts blowing between eleven and
twelve o'clock noon, and blows violently
all day until sunset, when it dies down to a
dead calm. At higher elevations, it starts

THE GOVERNOR OF KHAMPA DZONG
With his three sons. The two figures in the background are servants who were eager to be photo-
graphed but were not permitted to take more prominent positions

A CARAVAN AT AN ALTITUDE OF 15,000 FEET
The country is excellent for travel with caravans. Though rain seldom falls, the country is well
watered by streams formed by melting snow on the higher peaks. Grass grows along these streams

THE PRINCIPAL TIBETAN BEAST OF BURDEN
Yaks not only supply milk from which the nomads' important diet of butter is made, but these animals
also are ridden, are used to carry heavy packs, and are able to find sustenance on the higher ridges

m 4

MR. CUTTING'S CAMP

Beside a lake at an elevation of 17,200 feet. Heavy winds constantly sweep this barren land, growing

stronger as the altitude increases

LUNCH WITH THE GOVERNOR

On the roof of the "gubernatorial mansion." Signs of western influences are not lacking. The chairs

are of the type once common in American soda "parlors"

622

NATURAL HISTORY

A NOMAD VILLAGE

These tents were pitched at an altitude of 15,900 feet. They are securely and cleverly anchored by

the use of heavy stones, and seem able to withstand even the most violent gales

earlier, and in winter it blows during all
the daylight hours.

The tents of the nomads are perfectly
adapted to the windy land in which they
are almost the only shelter, and the natives
have learned to perfection the art of
anchoring them with stones, for tent pegs
in such a land would prove useless.
Taut ropes keep the tents from rattling
and also keep that section of the tent
that is to windward from blowing in.
No matter how high the wind is, these
tents rarely seem to move or rattle.
Tiny and flea-ridden, with rarely a fire
except for cooking, and only a slit in the
top through which smoke can escape, these
tents are yet perfectly acceptable as dwell-
ing places to the Tibetans. It seems fortu-
nate that these people are so comfortable
and at ease out of doors, for during wind,
snow, or rain, they must be out most of the
time.

We often made our camp beside that of
some Tibetan group, and were interested

in many of their customs. A curious one
is the milking of the sheep. Shortly
before sundown every day, after the
animals are brought in from grazing, they
are all roped together. When properly
aligned — and sometimes there are two or
three dozen fastened together — milking is
begun. Astonishingly little milk is col-
lected, but it is carefully put away to be
made into butter. Nor is the least care
taken to keep the milk clean. Whatever
filth may get into the containers is re-
moved— if at all — without the least
hurry.

The butter that they make is one of
their most important articles of diet.
Although they have plenty of excellent
mutton — excellent, too, in its abiUty to
keep well — they rarely eat it. It is on
buttered tea that they seem principally
to subsist. This strange concoction is
sometimes mixed with millet, but is often
prepared more simply. The butter is
made from the milk of yaks, goats, or

AMONG THE NOMADS OF TIBET

623

sheep, and then is clarified. This latter
process makes it keep very w(!ll although
it is always somewhat rancid. ■ The brew
of buttered tea is a hot, thick liquid. The
tea is the black type from China, im-
ported into Tibet in brick form. It is
inferior in quahty, as it is merely the
sweepings of poor tea.

This is put into a wooden churn and
churned up when the liquid butter is
poured over it. The liquid, if not too
rancid, is palatable enough, especially if
one is hungry and cold. As for the taste
of the tea, there simply isn't any. All one
tastes is the hot, rancid butter sometimes
flavored with salt. When mi.xed with
millet it is made into cakes called tsaniba.
The average Tibetan can consume vast
amounts of this nourishment.

The economic and social world of the
Tibetan nomads is interesting and in

some characteristics almo.st unique. They
have little need for money, as bartering is
largely carric^d on among themselves.
Their usual exports con.sist of sheep and
goats, skins, and buttered tea packed in
animal gut.

In marriage the.se people often practice
polyandry, a wife sometimes having two
or three husbands. This type of marriage
seems to work out in eternal domestic
felicity. Brothers are very apt to be the
husbands of a girl and the peace and
harmony resulting from this marriage
regime seem to be the direct opposite of
that of polj'gamy.

The women of this part of Tibet are far
from beautiful to western eyes, but they
are often cheery and friendly. Their cos-
tumes are somewhat voluminous and are
rarely — perhaps never — clean. The out-
standing characteristic of the Tibetan

A NOMAD CAMP
Though these tents are able to stand in the heaviest winds, they are not Ukely to appeal to any but
nomads. They are small and overrun with fleas, while any fires built inside fill them to the choking

point with smoke

624

NATURAL HISTORY

NOMAD WOMEN

These women are can-ying water to camp, and ai'e wearing the

typical nomad headdress, which is known as the Lhassa type

feminine costume is the headdress, which
is of the so-called Lhassa type. The whole
top hamper on the women's heads is held
in place by being interlaced with many
wisps of their hair. This interlacing is so
complex that the hats are never taken
off, except possibly at long intervals
in order to be reset. These nomad
women always wear their headdresses
at night.

Babies, when they are born, are quite
light in color. This color, however, does
not last long owing to the presence of the
soot from the dung fires. As they grow
older they become darker and darker.
Washing is quite out of the question.
The water is too cold and there is no

proper way of heating it
in sufficient quantities for
bathing.

Because of the average
temperature and the dry-
ess of the air, both being
due to the extreme alti-
tude, Tibet is a healthful
coimtry. To dwellers ac-
customed to lower alti-
tudes, it is quite livable,
provided they have
normally strong hearts
and do not go to Tibet
at too advanced an age.
It is, however, a common
saying in Tibet that
should Tibetans go to the
plains of India, they
would die. Of course, al-
though the low altitudes
of India would be oppres-
sive to a race that has
lived for generations at
an altitude of more than
10,000 feet, it is the great
heat of India that would
wear them down.

Villages in Tibet,
though they may be
filthy, have no stenches
such as one finds on the plains south of
the Himalayas. In Tibet there are no
pests of flies or crawling insects. The air
seems always fresh and the water clean.

Tibetans all look, and are, healthy.
Plague and cholera have never crossed the
great divide and entered their land.
Although they drink snow water, there is
very little goitre. They have inherited a
country that is cold and bare, with a
season between frosts of barely four
months. Yet they thrive. Virile and
hardy to a great degree, they are kindly
and happy. No famines ever visit Tibet,
for food to their liking is abundant.

The hierarchy of priests, at the top of
which is the Dalai Lama, who is the head

HERDED
FOE MILKING
The sheep are collected
shortly before sundown
each day and tied with
their heads together as
shown in this picture

MILKING SHEEP
This nomad matron,
with her Lhassa type
headdress, is engaged in
milking her herd. All
the milk is churned into
butter, from which the
staple dish of "but-
tered tea" is made

626

NATURAL HISTORY

of the spiritual as well as the temporal
government, wishes to keep foreigners out
of the country, and to preserve the
autonomy of Tibet. Foreigners, as a rule,
should have no business in Tibet. It can
never become a tourist route. Should
the governing body of Tibet adhere to
their present principles, it would be un-
reasonable for anyone to dispute them.

The Tibetan landscape is usually very
impressive, due to the grandeur of the
gigantic snow-covered peaks and the vast
and almost level valleys. The term "Roof
of the World " alone has its allure. If the

scenery were to be analyzed, it would
seem to be hardly more than slide rock
and distance, yet no such statement is fair
to the land. Shut off from the north by
the vast distances of central Asia, and
from the south by the glittering peaks of
the Himalayas, among which Mounts
Everest and Ivinchinjunga stand supreme,
this land is likely for generations yet to
come to live as it has lived for generations
past — almost untouched by the outside
world — little affected by the problems,
the advantages, and the handicaps of
civilization.

THE HIMALAYAS
Rising above the plateau. The spot at which this picture was taken was 19,000 feet above

PLANT LIFE IN WINTER

A Variety of Hardy and Colorful Plants Enliven the Winter Woods
After the Warmer Seasons of the Year Have Departed

By OLIVER PERRY MEDSGER

CERTAIN forms of plant life are
more noticeable in winter than they
are at other times of the year, for
during the cold season, their green colors
make a fine contrast to the prevailing
grays and browns of the forest. A walk
in the woods is pleasing at all times
to the real student of nature and loses
none of its charms because the weather
happens to be cold. Mosses, lichens,
liverworts, club mosses, certain species of
ferns, along with some of the higher types
of plant life, show their forms and colors
to best advantage when other plants seem
lifeless.

I find the name "wintergreen" is apphed
to twenty different species of flowering
plants in northeastern United States.
The one best known is the true or aro-
matic wintergreen, Gaultheria procum-
bens, from which, by distillation, we get
the wintergreen flavor. The essence of
wintergreen is also procured by distilling
the bark and twigs of the sweet or black
birch, Betula lenta. The true winter-

green is an evergreen slirubby plant with
slender, creeping stems. The glossy,
dark green leaves are clustered at the ends
of the branches. They are oval or oblong
with sharp, saw-toothed edges. The
nodding, five-toothed white flowers ap-
pear about July. These are followed by
the bright-red berries formed by the
fleshy calyx. Leaves, flowers, berries,
all have the spicy wintergreen flavor.
The berries hang on the plant for a year
and may be gathered all through the
winter and spring. They are generally
most abundant in clearings. Birds,
especially partridges, are very fond of
them, and the plant is frequently called
the partridge-berry. I recall a certain
wooded hiUside, sloping to the south,
that I often visited as a boy in winter or
early spring when the ground was free from
snow. There I could hear the partridge
whir, and could fill my pockets with the
berries which are quite solid and do not
crush readily. I find recorded twenty-five
common names for this plant. In my

628

NATURAL HISTORY

youthful days we always spoke of it as
mountain-tea. The plant was much used
by the early settlers as a substitute for
tea and in places it is still used for that
purpose.

Another common plant observed on
winter walks is the partridge-vine, Mitch-
ella repens. Many of the common
names applied to the last species are also
given to this one. It is a dainty little
evergreen plant spreading flat upon the
ground. The opposite, ovate or nearly
round leaves are dark green and glossy.
The bright-red berries are edible but
rather tasteless. The tubular white
flowers appear in twins with their ovaries
united in such a way that it takes two
blossoms to form one berry. Or, as John
Burroughs puts it :

Mitchella with her floral twins,
Crimson fruit that partridge wins.

The winter rambler can scarcely miss
seeing the pyrola or shinleaf, sometimes
called wintergreen. There are several
species, the most common of which is
probably Pyrola elliptica. The leaves
all come from the root, usually on mar-
gined petioles. The blade is about two
inches long and two-thirds as wide, bright
green and tough. The plant is one of the
conspicuous evergreens of the woods, but
the nodding flowers do not appear until
mid-summer.

A PARMELIA EIGHT INCHES
ACROSS
This very slow-growing conamon
lichen (P. caperata) is perched
against the bark of a hickory tree.
When fu-st photographed by Mr.
Medsger on August 6, 1929, its
diameter was eight inches

Besides the aromatic win-
tergreen and the shinleaf,
there are many other mem-
bers of the heath family
(Ericaceae) with leaves that
are evergreen and that add
cheer to the winter woods.
Among these we may mention
the rhododendron and mountain laurel,
whose leaves are so much used and abused
at Christmas time. Another is the trailing
arbutus, probably the most beloved of all
our wild flowers. It is fairly common in
some places in the North, but near our

Photographlby Clyde Fisher
WITCH-HAZEL IN FLOWER
The latest wild flower of the autumn in the east-
ern United States. The flowers that bloom one
autumn do not develop into fruit until the next
autumn. When the fruit is ripe, the plant has the
interesting habit of shooting its seeds into space

PLANT UFIi IN WINTER

629

A parmklia's growth

IN ONE YVjAM
The same specimen of lichen as
that shown on pase 028, photo-
graphed by Mr. Medsger exactly
one year later, August (i, 1930. Its
diameter had increased less than
one-quarter inch

large cities it has been col-
lected so much as to become
rare. I was recently grieved
to see its stiff, leathery, ever-
green leaves used in winter
decorations.

In the North we find the
bearberry (Ardostaphylos)
spreading its numerous evergreen branches
flat on the earth. Its bright-red berries
(tempting to the human eye but proving in-
sipid to the palate) are much eaten by birds
and probably by animals, too. Another
evergreen of our northern woods, whose

Pholosjraph by Elsie M. KiUredge
ROUND-LEAVED AMERICAN WINTERGREEN
Pyrola- aniericana, the leaves of which are con-
spicuous in winter, is more commonly known as
shinleaf . Its flowers, which are delightfully frag-
rant, have a superficial resemblance to lilies-of-
the-valley, but it belongs to the heath family

creeping vines clingclose to the ground,
is the creeping snowberry or ivory-plum.
Both common names refer to its snow-white,
oblong fruit, which has the spicy flavor of
wintergreen. Personally I am very fond of
these delicately flavored berries, but the
birds usually find them first. The whole
plant has the aromatic wintergreen flavor,
and the Indians of Maine told Henrj^ D.
Thoreau that it made the best tea of any
wild plant in the woods.

The wild cranberry, found in bogs, is
another evergreen belonging to this
family. So also is the spotted wintergreen
{Chiinaphila maculata), and the pip-
sissewa or prince's pine (Chimaphila
umbellata). These plants are found in
nearly every woods but rarely abundant.
The mottled leaves of the former and the
glossy leaves of the latter are always
pleasing to the eye. They are conspicu-
ous in the winter woods, but in summer we
are apt to pass them by.

The nature rambler in winter finds many
little things in the fields and woods that
hint of spring and a growing season to fol-
low. The leaves of such plants as the dan-
delion and evening primrose make rosettes
upon the ground. The hepatica, one of
the first wild flowers of spring, has fresh
evergreen leaves that gradually take on a
reddish or purplish hue — colors that absorb
heat and thus give the plant an early start.

Plolograiik by Clyde

TRAILING ARBUTUS

One of our earliest spring flowers is the trailing arbutus whose evergreen leaves form beautiful

patches of dark green in the winter woods. John Burroughs called it "the most poetic and the

best loved of our wild flowers"

l'l<,',i,iu,pi l„, ( hid, I'lsher

ROCK TRIPE

A rock-encrusting lichen {Umbilicaria pustulata) that is classed among the edible winter plants.

Richardson and Franklin, the great northern explorers, lived on rock tripe for months. Its taste when

properly prepared and cooked is somewhat like tapioca with a slighl; flavor of licorice

;'),,.',„/,,.,,/: .,, I l,„U Fisher
PARTRIDGE BERRY IN FRUIT
This is sometimes called twin-berry, because two flowers develop into one berry with one stem and two
blossom-scars. Its gloss.y, green leaves with whitish streaks down the middle, and bright-red berries
are seen at Christmas time in round glass bowls at the florists

Photograph by M. C. Dickerson
IN THE WINTER WOODS
A bit of the carpet of the forest floor in which may be seen several of the typical plants of the winter
woods. Mosses, lichens, ferns, etc., show their forms and colors to best advantage when other plants

seem lifeless

Photograph by Clyde Fishf,

HERB-ROBERT IN BLOOM

This dainty, reddish-purple wild geranium blooms well into November in the latitude of New York
City, as is evidenced by the above photograph which was made on November 28, 1925

Phulograph by Clyde Fi'-her
SKUNK-CABBAGE IN FLOWER
Our earliest wild flower, which blooms often while snow is still on the ground. The flower-bearing
spadix may be seen through the opening of the hood at the lower left of the picture

PLANT LIFE IN WINTER

633

We will not mention the pines, hemlock,
spruce, juniper, and other conifers that
ure so important to the winter landscape.
The holly, which plays such a prominent
part in our Christmas decorations, grows
from Sandy Hook, New Jersey, to Florida.
It is a slow-growing evergreen tree and
now needs our protection.

The club mosses or ground pines (Lyco-
pocliuni) form another group of ever-
greens that many people see only at
Christmas time. They are now sent to
the cities in great quantities. These
plants are familiar to the wood lover and
are most conspicuous in winter and early
spring if the ground is free from snow.
The most common species are the shining
club-moss (Lycopodium lucidulum), the
ground pine (L. obscurum), the running-
pine (L. clavatum), and the trailing
Christmas-green (L. complanatum) . The
last two grow in festoons often six or
eight feet long.

Several species of ferns ai'e evergreen
and add cheer to the winter landscape.
Among these we may mention the Christ-
mas fern, the evergreen wood-fern (Dryop-
teris marginalis) , and the common poly-

pody. The last named species often
covers rocks many feet square. Its thick,
leathery leaves are unaffected by cold
weather. The walking fern or walking
leaf is also evergreen. It is not abundant
and prefers limestone rocks, but we like
to look for it on our winter walks.

Many mosses are at their best during
the cold season or in early spring, so also
are some of the lichens. The rock tripe
{Umbilicaria) grows on dry rocks. Sev-
eral species are found in eastern United
States. Arctic explorers have lived on
rock tripe weeks at a time. I have tried
it out and find it is nutritious but it will
never be considered a delicacy. The
Parmelias are a genus of Uchens that grow
flat against the bark of trees or against rocks
and stones. The one in the photographs
on pages 628 and 629 is perched against a
hickory tree. It is more than eight inches
in diameter and in one year increased its
diameter less than a quarter of an inch.

The plants that have been mentioned
are only a few of those that a nature
student or those interested may find on a
winter ramble in the woods. Look for
them, and you will see many others.

CLIMBING BITTERSWEET IN FRUIT

The scarlet fruit is more attractive in color than

the inconspicuous greenish flowers

CANOE COUNTRY

As an Artist Sees the Primitive Wildernesses Still Existing
Along the International Boundary Between Lake
Superior and Lake of the Woods

By FRANCIS L. JAQUES

Assistant ia Preparation, American Museum

CANOE country reaches from the
arctic tundra of the barren grounds
northwest of Hudson's Bay, south-
ward to the International Boundary,
between Lake Superior and Lake of the
Woods, and dipping into Minnesota.
These enormous areas in Canada, rich in
lakes and water courses, have been
reached only by the canoe and paddle,
except for the recent flights of the air-
plane.

A true wilderness area, unmarred by
civilization, still exists along the interna-
tional boundary waters, contained within
the area drained by the Rainy Lake.
This Quetico-Superior region is particu-
larly interesting not, only because of its
rugged topography and its urraiolested
animal life, but also because it is within
the range of the white and Norway pines
and the white cedar, as well as trees of
more northern latitudes, and because its
borders are easily accessible.

When, in 1731, Sieur de la Verendrye

and his sons first used the ancient canoe
route of the Indians, beginning at the
Grand Portage on Lake Superior, and
established a fort far to the west on Lac
la Pluie, or Rainy Lake, we have the first
recorded use by the white man of what are
now the international boundary waters.
Verendrye carried his explorations far to
the west, and claimed to have seen the
summits of the Rockies from the plains.

With the founding of the Northwest
Company in 1783, this waterway was
used more and more until 1798, when a
new route was found, north of the old,
leaving Lake Superior at what is now Fort
William. This was to avoid the necessity
of using the Grand Portage to the Pigeon
River, for throughout its entire course of
nine miles, it lay in United States terri-
tory.

The new route joined the old at Rainy
Lake, and it also passed through the
country which is the subject of this article.
Over these same portages, landing on the

CANOE COUNTRY

635

very rocks U8cd today, the hardy men of
the Northwest Company maintained, by
their canoes, the only communication
with posts as far west as Saskatchewan
and the Yellowstone, and explored the
Mackenzie and Frazer rivers.

Finally, when the Webster-Ashburton
treaty was passed in 1842, it stipulated
that the route "as now actually used, shall
be free and open to the use of the citizens
and subjects of both countries." This
treaty is still in effect. Of about forty
portages between Lake Superior and Rainy
Lake, only the Grand Portage has fallen
into disuse. In at least one place. Bottle
Portage, the International Boundary
follows the portage trail. I have used it
many times.

The Rainy Lake watershed drains this
region, the water finding an outlet through
the Lake of the Woods, the Winnipeg
River, and eventually the Nelson River to
Hudson's Bay. It is as large as Massa-
chusetts, Connecticut, and
Rhode Island, and no man will
ever know how many lakes it
contains until the region is
mapped by airplane. The Su-
perior National Forest, in
Minnesota, and the Quetico
Provincial Park, in Ontario, lie
within the area, and in these
latter fire-arms are not
permitted.

The entire region is of an-
cient granite, heavily scored in
several directions by the former
ice cap, resulting in numerous
depressions filled with deep,
cool lakes of clear water. Lakes
away from the main water-
courses sometimes are unbe-
lievably clear, so that one has
the weird impression that one's
canoe is floating through the air.

Waterfalls and rapids are
numerous, and beautiful bits
of sandy beach hide along the

heavily forested shore. Virgin stands of
both Norway and white pine still exist.
Little change can have taken place since
Verendrye first set foot on these same
portages two hundred years ago. The
names of the lakes are a curious mixture
of French, Scotch, and Indian, —
Kahnipiminanikok, for example, Lac la
Croix, McNiece Lake, and Poo Bah.
Except for its forest products, which are of
very slow growth due to the rocky nature
of the surface, the region is only useful as a
wilderness area, — a real museum of the
past, a "university of the wilderness."
Never a region of teeming animal life,
as were the plains, this primitive country
is still inhabited by its savage creatures.
Conditions are almost unchanged. Moose
are much less abundant than they were
fifteen years ago, but who can say that
they were always numerous here? The
caribou are no longer found, but they
probably were never numerous. The

BIRD CALLS ONCE
NORTH-
iS, CAN
NEVER BE FORGOTTEN

636

NATURAL HISTORY

migrations of the sturgeon have been
stopped by the power dam at the outlet
of Rainy Lake. Deer have increased.
Otherwise animal life must be much the
same as it was before America was dis-
covered. Indian paintings of unknown
age, done in red pigment on some of the
chffs at Crooked Lake, Lac la Croix, and
Dark-water Lake, show, with the single
exception of the caribou, the same animal
life now found in the region.

Indians occupy reservations in several
parts of this region, and are its only
permanent inhabitants. The portage
signs of the rangers are the only evidences
of the passage of time.

Of the creatures of the lakes, the great
northern diver, or loon, is most character-
istic. Voiceless on our coasts in winter,
his weird call, once heard in this northern
wilderness, can never be forgotten. Mak-
ing camp in the evening, you may be
serenaded by several curious loons, or on
quiet mornings you may see and hear
them far overhead. A great line of spray
suddenly disturbs the still water. A
loon, so distant as to be invisible, is
alighting in a long slide on the quiet sur-
face. I Or a series of small geysers suddenly
spring into view. It is a great, heavy-
bodied bird running over the surface to
gain sufficient speed for a successful
flight.

Great blue herons are found in the
shallows, and herring gulls breed in
single pairs or small colonies on the lesser
islands. In August fleets of grown but
still flightless mergansers swim about in

CANOE COUNTRY

637

lllllllllliiiii
long lines, or if alarined, race toward the
center of the lake in a shower of spray

Bald eagles, and occasionally a golden
eagle may be seen, and ospreys nest in
the tall, dead pines, or you may find on
the cliffs the nest of that greatest of
feathered sportsmen, the duck hawk, i
bird which kills swiftly and surely, but
according to a definite set of rules.

The moose bird, or Canada jiy,
author of a number of strange and un-
associated sounds, will visit your camp
and steal anything he can get, though
quite, as his big, friendly eyes will attest,
without any knowledge that he is a rob-
ber. Ruffed grouse and Canada grouse
may be seen in greatly varying numbers
from year to year.

Beaver are numerous and have become
quite a nuisance in places, flooding poit-
age trails and throwing dams across
watercourses. Have you ever tried to
break a beaver dam? It's a tough struc-
ture! Once a beaver kept us awake an
entire night by slapping his tail at
regular intervals as a protest against the
presence of the strange creatures m a
white tent.

Bears are usually well behaved and
dignified, as becomes a bear, though we
saw one who, when he thought he was
invisible to us, made a frightened speed
that was amazing! If you are lucky you
may hear the thrilling wail of the timber
wolf. Deer are increasing in number, as I
have said. But the greatest prize, not
seen as frequently as in former years, is to
find a great, slow-witted moose in the
water.

The voracious great northern pike is

The Poetage Trail ,
iibrness area, unmahred ny civilization

638

NATURAL HISTORY

4v; I

the most abundant fish, together with the
wall-eyed pike perch. Large-mouthed
black bass may be found in some of the
smaller lakes and in certain bays of the
larger ones, while lake trout, in summer,
are deep down in the clear lakes, and re-
quire special tackle.

With these creatures you are, if you
are on a canoe trip, almost one. The canoe
offers, in the opinion of the writer, at
once the most primitive, satisfying, and
intimate way of living in touch with the
wilderness and its denizens. In it you
may travel as inexpensively, as safely, and
as comfortably as you wish.

There are only a few simple rules that
may be wisely observed in order to insure
the maximum amount of safety; for in-
stance, the canoe of the Indians was, and
still is, the birch bark. While it was
adopted by the early traders and used for
many years, even the great birch bark
canoe for use on Lake Superior, it has
given way to the more practical canvas-
covered canoe. The writer has one of the
latter, weighing but slightly more than
fifty pounds, yet it will carry two persons,
a complete camp outfit, and food enough
for a month.

Since canoe and outfit must be carried
over many portages, the weight must be
reduced to a minimum. One's outlook

immediately changes, and one lives close
to the source of things. In the bottom
of the canoe there should be a compass
and a map, — beyond lie hundreds of
clear wilderness lakes through which to
choose one's way in wandering. Truly,
mild adventure offers no more alluring
prospect!

Keep the load, including the personnel,
low in the canoe. Stay in camp if the
water is too rough, and don't take chances
in the fast water. Portages have been
provided in all doubtful places by the
rangers. For comfort, keep dry. Water-
proof clothing can be carried in the ends of
the canoe, where it is instantly available,
and a canoe which keeps water out from
underneath will keep it out from above,
if it is inverted and the duffle placed
beneath it on the shore. Storms give
sufficient warning so that you have time
to reach land.

Be careful of fire. On a hot, windy
day a fire can be started even a few hours
after a heavy rain. Put your camp fires
out thoroughly. Nothing disturbs your
peace of mind so much on a dry and
windy day as the thought that you may
have left a burned-out camp fire un-
drenched that morning.

Weather, largely overlooked in the city,
becomes of vital importance. The direc-

CANOE COUNTRY

639

tion and velocity of the wind determine
the route you take, or whether you travel
at all. You scan the map anxiously for
long reaches of open water, and try to
avoid them. You come to feel a relation-
ship between cloud shadows and gusts of
wind. You treasure the rare days when
the water is like glass, showing the in-
verted image of the sky, and the lakes
seem full to overflowing, — truly a setting
to inspire the lover of the outdoors.

The writer wishes that this article
might end here. It is not pleasant to say
that this wilderness is threatened. Com-
mercial interests have proposed that at all
the larger boundary lakes dams be con-
structed to permit the storage of water,
ostensibly to help navigation, and for
power purposes, at International- Falls
and Fort Francis and on the Winnipeg
River. The proposal is to raise the

water varying amounts from five to eighty-
two feet with the resulting destruction of
present shore lines, and a rise and fall of
water which leaves an encircUng fringe of
dead trees, examples of which may be
found in many places through the north.
A determined group of men, represented
by the Quetico-Superior Council, 1218
Flour Exchange, MinneapoKs, Minnesota,
is working against odds to preserve this
area in its original state. They have
secured the passage by Congress of the
Shipstead-Newton-Nolan act, restricting
further alteration of water levels on the
American side, but much still remains to
be done. A treaty must be secured with
Canada adequately to protect the region.
Let us hope that the lakes of Verendrye
and the first route to the Northwest maj^
remain intact and unchanged for the
people of the future!

\T BLUE HEROX

Photograph by

Clyd-i Fisher

TELLING THE BEAVER STORY

Experiences in Bringing to a Wide Public a First-Hand Knowledge
of the Daily Life of an Industrious Beaver Family

By WILLIAM H. CARR

Assistant Curator, Department of Public Education, American Museum

Each year the Trailside Museum at Bear Mountain, operated by the Department of
Public Education of the American Museum of Natural History, introduces a variety
of mild animal guests to new human friends. The beaver in the confines of the Bear
Mountain Harriman Section of the Palisades Interstate Park are now known to
thousands of campers and tourists. Readers of Natural History will recall Mr.
Carr's "Indian Beaver Legends" which were published in the January-February
issue. — The Editors

THE country telephone on the cabin
wall rang "four shorts." Mr.
Adolph, Park Forester, was calling :
"We have some beaver here in the
greenhouse. Major Welch wants to send
a pair to North Carohna. There are two
more for you. The trouble is, we can't
seem to decide which ones are Johnnies
and which Jennies! Could you come up
and help?"

We could and did. On the way, along
a road that twists across the shoulders
of Bear Mountain far above the gleaming
Hudson River, we wondered how long the
beaver had been confined in a glass-
covered plant nursery. Somehow the
presence of healthy, hungry beaver in a
greenhouse compared very favorably with
the proverbial bull in the china shop,
with the exception that bulls do not
include chinaware on their menu!

The plants were perfectly safe, how-
ever, for we found the broad-tailed
animals confined in large wire baskets.
Soon the pair for southern journeyings
was selected and placed in a zinc-lined
traveling box. Then, at the last minute,
it was decided to postpone shipment for a
few days.

"Why don't you take all of the beaver
over to the Bear Mountain Trailside
Museum?" asked Major Welch, who was
an interested spectator. " You could keep
them for awhile and make some photo-
graphs while waiting for cooler weather
before starting the pair off on an express
train."

We followed the Major's suggestion and
most of the pictures used in this article
are the result.

There were three furry, round young
beaver and one very large, shiny-coated

TELLING THE BEAVER STORY

641

adult. They had been captured in the
Bear Mountain-Harriman section of the
Palisades Interstate Park in New York.
For the past twelve years we have been
patiently observing beaver in this area.
In 1919 these large rodents were intro-
duced into our section of the rolling Hud-
son Highlands and from the very first
readily accepted the new environment.
Today, there are at least thirty active
colonies in the region. Not satisfied with
merely occupying the fourteen thousand
acres of the preserve, the animals have
wandered far on every hand. They have
crossed the Hudson and have strayed to
the North, South, East, and West,
following stream beds and river courses,
gradually repopulating some of the terri-
tory that originally knew them as its own
some 280 years ago.

Newspaper accounts, motion pictures,
radio talks, roadside signs, exhibits in our
Trailside Museum, n\imcrous lectures and.

best of all, the work of the animals them-
selves, have all served to acquaint thou-
sands of men, women, and children with
the story of the often mentioned "engineer
of the animal world."

Several years ago a thriving beaver
colony with dams, houses, and tree cut-
tings could be easily viewed from the state
road that ran through the center of the
Park. Many trees had been killed bj'
flooding, for beaver destroy more timber
in this way than by cutting for food.
State Park authorities decided to chop
down dead trees in an effort to improve
the appearance of the country-side. The
rodents were moved to a new location at
the same time. Very shortly, complaints
both verbal and written came pouring in.
Indignant motorists, many of whom had
journeyed for miles to watch the beaver,
were strong in their protests against the
removal of the woodland architects.
Eventually public opinion won the contest ,

Pl.^to^rjtpK oj Cljde tisher
DIXING ON CHERRY BRANCHES
A variety of tree species is accepted by beaver as food. Their diet of bark and other plant food is
not rigidly restricted

642

NATURAL HISTORY

Photograph by Clyde
A GENTLEMAN OF THE OLD SCHOOL
Dignity is seldom lacking in the beaver's deliberate movements on land. Note the handlike forepaws

and once more beaver were encouraged at
the spot. Now, at almost any hour of the
day or night, automobiles may be seen
parked near by!

From the outset there has been no
question as to public approval of success-
ful experimentation in the reestablish-
ment of beaver. This was clearly demon-
strated by hundreds of visitors who ex-
amined the greenhouse beaver while they
were in temporary quarters near the
Bear Mountain Bridge. In some strange
way the grapevine telegraph functioned,
and from morning until night it was a case
of "Where are the beaver!"

Beaver kittens and a. sixty-seven pound
grandfather were certainly attractive
enough to draw crowds anywhere. The
flat, paddle-shaped tails always fascinated
onlookers.

"They use their tails as trowels to pat
down the mud," said ninety-five per cent
of the curious parents while initiating
their wide-eyed children into the mysteries
of nature lore. It seemed that the news-

papers, the radio, and other vehicles of
public information had failed, at least
where accuracy was concerned. For this
reason we had a large sign in the museum
reading :

^ER DO NOT USE THEIR TAILS AS '
r ARE NOT USED AS FERRIES FOR THE TRANS-
r OF MUD OR STONES, EITHER!

To answer the query, "What are their
tails used for?" we had this label:

The most important use of the beaver's tail

IS AS A SEAT FOR ITS OWNEr! Jt SERVES AS A
PROP TO BRACE THE ANIMAL WHEN CUTTING
DOWN TREES AND IS OFTEN EXTENDED FORWARD
IN A MANNER ENABLING THE BEAVER TO ACTU-
ALLY USE IT .AS .A P.\D OR CUSHION WHEM REST-
ING. The tail is -\i-so used to strike or

"whack" the water as -A SPLASH-WARNING
SIGNAL TO other BEAVER THAT DANGER IS

NEAR. Still another use is that of a rudder

AND A "sculling OAr" IN SWIMMING, PARTIC-
ULARLY UNDER WATER.

We have learned that one way of arous-
ing enthusiasm in natural history exposi-
tion is to provoke arguments. If onlook-
ers can be informed that we do not agree
with their established ideas about certain
things, a stimulating talk often ensues.

TELLING THE BEAVER STORY

643

Here are some signs, that, more than once,
have had the desired effect.

Tubes do n

BEAVEIl WAN'
SOMETIMBH U

necbhsahili

ALL THK WAY

5M TO." In fact beaver are

E TO CAD8E TREKS TO FALL IN
[UECTION WHATSOEVER, EVEN THOUGH THE
:S ARIi HEVERBD. FaLLINO TREES OFTEN
AGAINST THEIR NEIOHBOHS AND REMAIN
COMPARATIVELY UPRIGHT POSITION FOR
MONTHS OR EVEN YBARS!

Beaver do not feed upon the bark of pop-
lar, WILLOW AND ALDER TREES, ALONE. HeRB,

IN THE Palisades Interstate Park, they eat

CHERRIES. PINES, SPUUCEH, OAKS, WALNUTS,
MANY OTHKR VARIETIES OP TREES.

Lah

IVY

ALSO J

severed!

Fish have no place on the beaver's bill of

FARE. The rodents subsist upon bark,

aquatic plants, leaves and grasses, They

are strict vegetarians!

warm day and our Nature Trails were
host to a perspiring multitude. The
access to our museum is none too easy,
even to persons possessing every faculty.
The stony path winds up and down rocky
prominences in a way discouraging to
high-heeled shoes and uncertain feet in
general. We were surprised and pleased,
therefore, to see a blind man, led by a
thoughtful boy, enter the doorway. As
the two elbowed their way about, the
boy would read labels aloud and describe
various exhibit details to the best of his
abihty. His less fortunate companion
made inteUigent remarks about the
snakes, fish, plants, and minerals on dis-
play. After a time the couple paused
before our beaver exhibit.

: Beaver do

CARRY STONES, i

The monkey

-LIKE FOREPAWS

AND THE CH

N ARE USED IN i

■ THIS OPEEATI

ON. Often the

BEAVER MOV]

S STONES BY THE :

SIMPLE EXPEl

IENT OF PUSHING

THEM ALONG

WITH ITS HEAD.

In our minds, people and
beaver are closely associated.
We have maintained beaver
for the people and the people
have responded with ques-
tions and other evidences of
awakened interest almost too
numerous to recall. The
beaver and its habits and
accomplishments as revealed
to others and to ourselves
has become a center and
source of information about
which revolve endless chains
of closely interrelated and
unforgettable experiences
with both human and animal.

One of the most cherished
incidents we ever had in this
connection, one that will ever
stay in our memory, occurred
with a blind man in the
Trailside Museum. It was a

Photograph by Wilfred A. Miller
A PAUSE BETWEEN CHEWS
The large beaver severed half-inch branches with two bites —
no more, no less!

644

NATURAL HISTORY

Photograph by M Peter Keenc
A LOG HALF CUT FOR TRANSPORTATION
When trees are too heavy to be moved to the pond, the beaver cuts them into convenient sections

Here a supporting stand had been made
of timber actually cut and peeled by
beaver. Tooth marks in the log sections
were very plain. On the stand was a
colored plaster-of-Paris model of a typical
beaver colony. At one side was a
mounted beaver skull and on the other a
plaster unpression of a large beaver
track taken from the mud. Signs and
pictures amplified the story.

We walked over in an endeavor to aid
the boy in his task of explaining. It was
then we learned that the man had been
blessed with sight until he was fifteen
years old. He had lived in the country
and recalled, with an amazing show of
cheerfulness, incidents with various birds
and animals during his youth. We talked
for awhile about the beaver and had
begun reading some of the labels, when he
said:

"Please take my hand and 'show' me
what is here. Just guide my fingers to the

various objects as you talk about them."

We did as he wished and noticed at
once how sensitive were the fingers long
used to the reading of Braille. First we
directed him to the beaver skull.

"My what powerful teeth beaver
have!" was his comment. "I can readily
understand how the animals are able to
fell trees. The teeth are curved, aren't
they?"

And then, after a pause, during which
the visitor handled the flat-domed skull
and strong jaw connections, he asked the
question so often forthcoming from people
who are not denied vision.

"Why do beaver cut down trees, any-
way?"

As our model was made partly to answer
this question we next guided the inquisi-
tive fingers downward to where the object
rested. We indicated the pond house or
lodge and the miniature bank house made
of twigs glued together and placed half

TELLING THE BEAVER STORY

645

on the bank and half in the water in the
diagrammatic pond. We read a con-
venient label which said:

ANY UKASONS KOIt KKI.LING
)N TRUNKS, BHANCHES AND

AUK MANY OF THE LEAVES.
ARE CUT INTO SECTIONS

I) A HALF I-EET IN LENOTH
DUACKiED TO THE FOND

• UAUK, TJIEV AltE KLOATED

EH IN HOUHE Olt DAM CON-

In the FALL SMALLER TREES ARE CUT DOWN,
FERRIED WITH UAItK INTACT TO A POSITION NEAR
THE HOUSE AND THERE ANCHORED UNDER WATER
NEAR THE LODGE ENTRANCE TO SERVE AS A
WINTER FOOD t*UPl'LY. ThE BEAVER DOES NOT
HIBERNATE. It MUST HAVE FOOD EVEN THOUGH

IING

EK8

After our blind pupil had digested the
contents of this label he asked another
common question.

"Why do beaver go to all the trouble of
making a pond? I should think that, like

many other four-legged creatures, they
could live on land in a den or hole and feed
easily enough wherever there were forests!"
Once more a sign came to the fore:

The Beaver is pekfectly at home in wateu.

It m AN EXPERT KWIMMEK AND DIVKH. On
LAND, HOWEVER, IT FALLS AN EASY PREY TO
CARNIVOROUS ANIMALS SUCH AH WOLVES. BEAKS,
FOXES AND OTHERS. ThE HEAVY HINDQUART-
ERS, FLAT TAIL. AND WEBBED HIND FEET IKE-

TJIi: IiKW KK f^Al L UtOM NEARLY ALL MARAUDERS
KX( KI'l TIIK in'iKH AND AN OCCASIONAL HAWK,

cou

THE

If no poxd or lake is available, thb beaver

MAKES ITS OWN. WaTER ALSO 6EUVEB AS A
MEDIUM FOR FLOATING BUILDING MATERIAL AND
FOOD, AND PROVIDES, A PROTECTIVE MOaT TO
THE UNDERWATER LODGE ENTRANCES. BeaVKR
KITTENS ARE SAFE, TOO, IN THE DEPTHS OF THEIR
NATAL POND. So DEPENDENT IS THE BEAVER
UPON WATER THAT IT SOMETIMES LIVES IN HOLES
ALONG STREAM BANKS.

The blind man remarked that the beav-
er house was about as high above water as

Photograph by Wilfred A. Miller
BEAVER SKULL MOUNTED FOR HANDLING
Whenever possible, all specimens of this type are presented to satisfy the tactile sense of Trailside

Museum visitors

646

NATURAL HISTORY

Photograph by Clyde Fisher
BEAVER IN THE BIRD BATH
The two infant beaver were content — for awhile — to accept strange and decidedly alien surroundings
to facilitate photography

below, and we explained that although
beaver could remain under water for
several minutes at a time, they were by
no means fish. Five minutes is an un-
usually long time for a beaver to be sub-
merged, as we have observed. Others
report they have known the creatures "to
stay under for as long as eleven minutes."
At any event, the beaver's sleeping
chamber within the lodge and its home at
the end of a bank hole are, of course,
always above water level.

After an hour or so, our visitor had to
go. We asked his name and he volun-
teered his occupation. We learned that he
sold papers on a corner of Broadway in
New York City, not far from the Ameri-
can Museum of Natural History. With-
out a doubt we had purchased papers
from him many times during the winter!
Furthermore, the man informed us that
he visited the museum often, had lis-
tened to many lectures there and was
acquainted with two of the curators. No

wonder he braved the path to our small
woodland museum !

We only wish now that the blind news-
dealer had come during the time we were
being entertained by the four beaver.
We would have made it possible for
him to touch and to listen to them as
they fed unconcernedly before our eyes.
How he would have appreciated it! Our
enjoyment at pleasing him would have
been as great as his in being pleased.
We could not help but feel that the bhnd
friend knew more of beaver ways after
leaving our little museum than many
another visitor who could see as well as
feel.

At the place where the four beaver were
held in temporary captivity, we worked
out a scheme for making photographs.
Dr. Clyde Fisher, of the American Mu-
seum, spent two days with us for this
purpose. EarUer in the season we had
constructed a bird bath, — small stones
surrounding a natural saucer-shaped

TELLING THE BEAVER STOKY

(347

depression in bed rock. An underground
drain from a fish pond provided water.
Goldfinches, catbirds, song sparrows,
robins, and our tame crow deUghted in the
clear water on warm summer days; but we
never thought that beaver would occupy
our bird bath! However, after having
exhausted all available sites for picture
taking, the birds' pool appealed to us as
the most logical spot.

Several dry-land portraits had been
made, but the subjects showed a distres-
sing tendency to wander. They simply
would not stay "put." We persuaded
them to explore the bird bath and there
was no more difficulty. They settled
down and soon were feeding on small
branches of cherry. They performed very
nicely while both still and motion-picture
cameras recorded their actions. If the
catbird had come by for a drink how out-
raged he would have been at the sight!

We have often been asked about beav-

er sounds. Yes, beaver do make noises —
not only when feeding, either. Many
times we have heard adults, disturbed
upon shore, expel air through their
nostrils with just the suggestion of a
".snort." Snorting is by no means re-
served for horses! The effect in the
beaver's case is probably akin to me.ssages
of intimidation given by manj'^ animals
in many ways. As a rule beaver we have
observed, both in a wild and captive
state, are anything but aggressive. Their
very appearance expresses a docile, meek
outlook on life. Our natural history
literature contains but few references to
beaver onslaughts upon human beings
and, always, the human is in the role of
initial attacker. We have twice been
"rushed" by beaver — once by a kitten
and again by a fuU-grown individual.
In each instance we were about to grasp
the animal by the tail. The beaver made
a decisively rapid movement in our

.A5Jl<4i','**»;

sfaBf

]'h„lnurnt,h hy Wilfred A. M ilhr

A PLACID EXPRESSION

Beaver ashore have a resigned appearance suggestive of their actual helplessness away from the

preferred watery habitat

648

NATURAL HISTORY

S^—.-.

., ..<^»-y,

Photograph by Wilfred 4. Miller
A NEW USE FOR BIRD BATHS
Dr. Clyde Fisher making motion pictures of two beaver kittens. The Trailside Craftshop is in the

background

direction. The intent was so unmistak-
able that we jumped back and approached
the picking-up angle from the logical end.

Beaver young have a curious whine or
grunt that has often been mentioned.
Beaver of all sizes have the "tooth grind-
ing" complex possessed by wood-
chucks, chipmunks, gray squir-
rels, and some other rodents.
They rasp their teeth to-
gether, apparently to
remind one that the
chisel-like implements
are there without a
doubt!

The numerous lakes
in the Palisades Interstate
Park are used by campers
for swimming.. Beaver Uve in
many of the same lakes. The Photograph by
question frequently arises as to
whether there is any danger in the com-
bination of beaver and bathers. We in-

variably answer, "Only to the beaver!"
Many of our guests were amused by the
beaver's feeding habits. The kittens,
especially, remind one of piccolo players
in their expert use of handlike forepaws
which hold the sticks and turn them as the
teeth rapidly chew off succulent
bark. The crisp, efficient
sounds remind one of the
vibrations caused by clap-
y ping one's hands rapidly,
using only the finger
tips in the process.

The first time we
ever heard beaver
chewing was at dusk,
on a cool, spring evening.
We were unable to cata-
logue the sound. Its repeti-
wiifred A. iimer tlous wBTB SO rapid and its
vibrant tone so uniform in
volume that it seemed like the regular song
of some insects related to the crickets.

TELLING THE BEAVER STORY

649

Presently a tree fell and the wood hewer
came swimming across the pond carrying
its burden. In another moment a second
pond occupant appeared to assist its
mate in eating the bark, and then we
definitely identified the sound
to our complete satisfaction

Our experience in sharing
and in promoting beaver
knowledge extends over
a number of years.
Many are the devices
we have used to forward
the study. Once we
built a little tree house
in the wide branches of
a large maple tree on the
edge of a beaver pond. One
could climb the ladder and,
lying on the platform some
twenty feet above the water's surface,
have an unobstructed view of all that

Phologravh hu Clyde Fish

transpired below. Many were the boys
and men who used that platform. It was
real sport to stay up there on bright
moonlight nights and watch the shining
ripples of the beaver's comings and goings,
to hear the sleepy voices of birds,
and to absorb in every pore
the beauty of a tree-fringed
pond at night.

Although not quite
in keeping with the gen-
eral esthetic spirit of the
evening's program, we
would sometimes play
the mean trick of break-
ing the main beaver dam.
The hole was usually about
two feet wide and two deep.
When a beaver discovered the
leak, he would make repairs
immediately. Often the breach would be
invisible in the space of twenty minutes

Detail of the beaver pond model in the Bear Mountain Trailside Museum. This simple exhibit tells

its own story

650

NATURAL HISTORY

or less time. Sticks, sod, and mud would
fill the gap, and then the worker would
go about his usual evening task.

Our tree-top perch enabled us to watch
the beaver swimming under water in
late afternoon. We could see to best
advantage how swiftly the large, brown
body could travel. As a rule not a ripple
was in evidence, nor did bubbles mark the
swimmer's progress; yet the animal
seemed perfectly aware of surface dis-
turbance near by. As he swam toward us,
we would drop a small branch some ten
feet ahead of him. Instantly his course
would be altered. We found it possible
to make the beaver swim in circles under
water by dropping or throwing small
stones in front of him. Each time he
sensed the splash, he would change his
swimming direction and move away from
the source of disturbance. Night after
night we devised schemes and systems of

experiment until it is a wonder the beaver
did not cut down our observatory and
throw us into the pond!

Despite the annoyance we caused, we
nevertheless learned many things, at
first hand, that books had failed to tell us.
We were exceedingly thankful in later
years that we had spent these fruitful
hours beside beaver ponds. When we
lectured before groups, especially those of
children, the questions that engulfed us
caused us to call upon nearly all observa-
tions we had ever made. Furthermore,
we only regretted that they were not
more numerous. Children certainly do
want to know the "Why, When, Where,
and How" of things, and so do their
elders. If the day ever comes when the
sight of beaver or of beavers' creations
fail to arouse interest in the minds of
human observers — but why speak of the
impossible?

Mit'^Mk--

"ay < ■

Drawing by Merle Keith

Photograph hy George Finlay Simmons
The "Blossom" Under Fall Sail

UNDER SAIL TO THE CAPE VERDES

The Voyage of the "Blossom" on a Deep-sea Cruise for Oceanic Birds. —

The Cleveland Museum of Natural History Expedition to the

North and South Atlantic Collecting on the Islands

of the Cape Verde Archipelago

By ROBERT H. ROCKWELL

Other articles hy Mr. Rockwell will appear in later numbers of Natural History
telling of further experiences on this voyage which covered 20,000 miles in thirty-one
months of continuous exploration. The author of this article, now a member of the
department of preparation of the American Museum, was a member of the scientific staff
of the schooner "Blossom" for eighteen months. — The Editors

IT seems strange, in this modern age of
record-breaking speed, that anyone
should select a sailing ship as a means
of getting anywhere. Perhaps it is the
very slowness of the thing that makes its
most potent appeal. Anyway, when such
a cruise was proposed to me it seemed to
be a rare opportunity to depart from the
high speed and tension of modern life
and, at one swoop, take on a new
existence. Looking back at it now from
the proper perspective, this adventure
seems like a brief sojourn on another
planet. Perhaps it was the romance of
manning our own ship, the lure attached
to the sea, or the thought of landing on
strange, desolate islands that led us to
leave famiUes and comfortable homes.
Some of our friends assured us that we
were not quite right in our minds, but our
enthusiasm couldn't be dampened. It

ran high and even the newspapers caught
it to such an extent that they said we
were going to look for the Lost Con-
tinent of Atlantis.

The plans of our journey were large
but the object of the expedition was
definite. We proposed to collect sea birds
and sea mammals on the islands of the
South Atlantic, as well as the huge,
southern sea elephant from Kerguelin
Island in the Indian Ocean. What we
expected to do and what was done were
quite different! But we sailed our ship
for 20,000 miles. We visited that in-
definite stretch of ocean known as the
Sargosso Sea. We spent more than four
months on the Cape Verde Islands and
about the same amount of time in Senegal,
at both places making large collections of
birds and obtaining a few animals from
the African interior, including a rare

652

NATURAL HISTORY

Photograph by Hobert tl. Hockwell

THE LIGHTHOUSE AT SAINT VINCENT

Reinha Amelia Light stands on a bare and precipitous rock
on the southwest side of the harbor of the principal port in
the Cape Verdes Islands

species of lion. We visited South Trini-
dad Island, the Martin Vas Rocks, and
then Rio de Janeiro ; from here I returned
home. The expedition later visited St.
Helena, Ascension, Fernanda Naronha,
and Rocas Reef before returning, finally,
to the United States, and was able,
after two and a half years, to deliver
nearly 13,000 natural history specimens
to the Cleveland Museum together with
the written and photographic records of
the voyage.

^ ^ ^ ^

One might naturally suppose that one
of the very first requisites for such a
prolonged voyage would be sailors — sailors
of experience and ability — yet, when we
cast off our lines at New London, Con-

necticut, on the 29th of October,
1923, and were towed to an an-
chorage in Gardiner's Bay, Long
Island, sailors were not numerous
on board. We were, except for
Captain Gray, "Long John"
DeLomba, the mate, and one or
two others, a "lubberly" lot,
without experience at sea, know-
ing httle or nothing of halyards
and sheets, and less, if possible,
of port and starboard and all the
rest of the specialized language of
the sea.

Several times it has been an-
nounced in print that the schooner
we sailed was only one third the
size of Columbus' "Santa Maria."
As a matter of fact, the "Santa
Maria" was hardly more than
one third the size of our schooner,
but that did not make our
"packet" large. She registered
250 tons, which means that the
"Leviathan" is some 240 times
as great. It is obvious, there-
fore, that with supphes for so
extended a voyage as we were
beginning, and with sixteen, all
told, in the crew, there was some-
what less space on board then we could
have utihzed to good advantage.

Our ship had once been called the
"Lucy R" and had been built several
years before for the coasting trade. She
was a three-masted schooner that, to my
inexperienced eye, seemed husky and able
and fairly well adapted to the task that
faced her. She was overhauled and re-
fitted— though, for some reason, the task
was none too brilliantly accomplished —
and was renamed the "Blossom," in
honor of Mrs. Dudley S. Blossom, a
trustee of the Cleveland Museum, whose
very great generosity made the voyage
possible.

When I joined the ship, as a member of
the scientific party, she was lying at her

UNDER HAIL TO THE CAPE VEIWES

653

New London pior piled high with a mass
of suppHes such as no land lubber could
possibly imagine. Her hold already
seemed full to the bursting point, yet on
deck was an accumulation of supplies
that suggested the need of a secondary
ship to carry it. Boxes, bales, barrels,
and bags of every conceivable sort were
piled high amidship, cluttering up the
httle ship's deck until it was difficult to
clamber about. Scientific supplies, shot-
gun shells, tobacco, tins and cases and
bales of food, spare parts, coils of line,
and scores of other things lay helter
skelter, while the men on board were
busily endeavoring to sort it and stow it.
The task looked almost impossible.

As a matter of fact, it took ten days
from the time we dropped our anchor in
Gardiner's Bay until we were finally
ready for sea, and consequently it was the
10th of November before we set our

canvas and headed E.N.E. on the star-
board tack. At dusk that evening we
rounded Montauk Point and headed
out into the broad Atlantic with the Cape
Verde Islands, off the coast of Africa, as
our finst port of call.

Crossing the Atlantic under sail ap-
peals to many individuals as a romantic
and altogether delightful experience, and
it was with that point of view that most
of us began our voyage on the "Blossom"
but that was because of our inexperience
and our lack of understanding of the dis-
comforts that we were to find on the way.

A schooner of 250 tons is, as I have
suggested, not a large craft. Nor was the
"Blossom" an ideal vessel for the task in
hand. She was not easj^ to handle. By
no means could she be called fast, nor
could she be prevailed upon to make head-
way "to windward." Furthermore, gales
are not uncommon in the North Atlantic

photograph by Robert H, Rockwell

THE MARKET PLACE AT SAINT VINCENT

The Cape Verdes Islands are, for the most part, dry and desolate. On some of them, however, the

rains fall regularly enough, though on others rain may not fall for a year or more. Their produce is

marketed at Saint Vincent, the principal port of the group

654

NATURAL HISTORY

in the autumn. The result of all this was
that no sooner had the weather changed
for the worse — which it soon did — than
our httle ship began to go through the
most amazing motions. Swept up to the
crests of the great seas, she swept down
again with the most sickening plunges.
No express elevator ever dropped so
rapidly away from under one's feet as
did the deck of our vessel, as, with the
passing of a heavy sea, yawning troughs
appeared ahead. Spray swept constantly
over her low rail. Solid water roared
across her midship deck, ran forward and
aft with the pitching of the ship, swept
below far too often when some hatch was
opened, and trickled constantly through
the badly calked decks to soak our blankets
and keep our bunks in a state of damp
discomfort.

With every possible hatch battened
down in order to keep out the water, the
hull soon reeked with the foiil odors of

constantly sloshing bilge water, which, of
all odors, is hardest on a land lubber's
powers of resistance. Rolling and pitch-
ing, boarded constantly by green water
and flying spray, the ship soon became a
habitation scarcely fit for hardened sailors,
and more than her crew of inexperienced
men had bargained for.

It was impossible to eat a meal at the
mess table for weeks. Instead, we must
needs make our way forward through the
rushing water, holding firmly to rigging
and life lines, in order to reach the galley,
there to seize a mug of coffee or a ponder-
ous sandwich before wedging ourselves
into some corner in the hope of wolfing
our food before having it soaked or diluted
with sea water.

Most of us were seasick for a few days,
and, despite the humorous attitude that
many observers have toward seasickness,
it is not pleasant. After a short time, how-
ever, most of us got our sea legs and were

Photograph hi/ liahrrl If. Rorkirdl

"the beach" at furna

The little town of Furna is on the island of Brava, about a hundred miles to the south of Saint Vincent.

It was on this island that Mr. Rockwell spent three months collecting birds

UN Dim HAIL TO THE CAPE VlilWES

655

Photograph by Robert H. Rockwell
THE " BLOSSOM" AT FURNA, ISLAND OF BRAVA
So nearly landlocked is this little harbor that it cannot be seen from sea until the approaching vessel
has almost reached its entrance. Nevertheless, there is room within for many ships of the size of the
"Blossom," and even for larger ones

able to take our meals. Mr. George F.
Simmons, however, who, as curator of orni-
thology at the Cleveland Museum, was
the leader of the expedition, was unable to
stand for almost the entire forty-day voy-
age to the Cape Verdes. It speaks worlds
for his determination that, after so severe
an attack of mal de mer, he was either
willing or able to continue the voyage,
which he did to its very end, thirty-one
months later.

It took us nearly six weeks to reach St.
Vincent, the principal port of the Cape
Verdes, and in that time we fortunately
had other kinds of weather than received
us during the first three weeks. Pleasant
winds and calms, head winds and sudden
squalls aided us or held us up or blew us
off our course. Nor were we fortunate in
obtaining more than a few specimens of
birds while we were at sea.

In fine weather as we approached the
Cape Verdes we often went swimming,
especially when the ship was becalmed.

We hooked dolphins, and harpooned an
eleven-foot shark. We watched whales
spout as we passed them, and even
went out in the whaleboat with "Long
John" DeLamba at the steering oar in a
hopeless chase of some of these giants of
the deep.

Furthermore, from necessity, and be-
cause our opportunities were frequent,
we learned something of the sailors'
tasks. We took in canvas or set it. We
stood our "tricks" at the wheel, or stood
watch in the bow, and before the moun-
tain peaks of the Cape Verdes finally ap-
peared above the horizon, we were a more
capable, if a less romantically inclined,
crew than had come aboard at New
London.

And at last we anchored in the harbor
of St. Vincent, eager to go ashore — to
feel again the firm earth beneath our feet —
to sleep in quiet, motionless beds, to eat
fresh food, and to get away, for a time,
from those with whom, perforce, we had

656

NATURAL HISTORY

Photograph by Robert H. RocTcweU
WOMEN PORTERS ON THE ISLAND OF BRAVA
The men do little heavy work, leaving to the women such chores as the carrying of burdens and

pushing coal cars

lived so intimately and so uncomfortably
for almost six weeks.

Furthermore, as is always the case with

Phologrnpl, I,; li„h,r! II Rockirell

WOMEN PORTERS OF BRAVA

There are no horse-drawn vehicles on this little

island, but one finds thoroughly sturdy women

who can handle any load up to sixty pounds

ships and as was especially true with ours,
innumerable repairs had to be made. The
result was that, while we collected birds
ashore, the ship underwent an overhaul-
ing— which was sadly needed.

For a month we remained at St. Vin-
cent, collecting many of the birds of that
precipitous and almost barren island.
And, during this period, it was decided
that, with John DeLamba, who was
himself a native of the Cape Verdes, I
was to go to his home island of Brava,
there to collect birds during ten days, at
the end of which the "Blossom" would
call for us before continuing our search
for the scientific specimens on the other
islands of the group.

It was on a native sailing craft that we
sailed the hundred mUes or so from St.
Vincent to Brava — a native craft laden
with natives, with goats, and pigs, and
chickens. Furthermore, we stopped at the
island of St. Antone on the way while the
negro crew and the Portuguese captain la-
boriously added several kicking, plunging
mules to our cargo after these animals had
been forced to swim out to our ship.

UNDER SAIL TO THE CAPE VERDES

657

A hundred miles in two days and a half
is not breathless speed, yet one must not
measure time and distance in the Cape
Verdes as we do in America. Nor must
one ask for too much privacy on board
such a vessel as we had taken.

There was but one cabin, and intending
to turn in the first night out, I venturetl
below, only to find that I had to pick my
way over five girls who lay alseep under
their shawls on the floor. The second
night I tried the cabin again, but sleep
was impossible because of the odor of
rum and cigarettes and other odors even
less desirable. I grabbed my blankets
and went on deck where I slept well
enough only to awaken in the early morn-
ing to find that a dog and a goat lay
curled up beside me and two chickens
roosted close to my head.

The entrance to the harbor of Brava is
strikingly beautiful. Rugged mountains
standing high are tinged with green, and
dotted here and there with tiny white
houses almost to the summits six thousand
feet above the sea. The little bay is pro-
tected by a cliff behind which one would

A sri;Ki, I IX i;i:a\ a
The houses are sparsely scattered over the island
from the beach almost to the peaks of the bare
moimtains. The roacl.s are surprisingly good

hardly imagine a harbor could he. Fairly
good paved roads wander over the whole
island, and lines of steeply terraced

Photograph by Robert H. Eocl;u-dl

JOHN DE LAMBA AND HIS FAMILY

With a part of his family and many of his friends, John, like other natives of Brava, had gone to

America to earn his fortune. He became mate of a whaler and finally mate of the " Blossom." At the

completion of the expedition, he bought the "Blossom"

658

NATURAL HISTORY

FhotO'jraph tnj d

■V BOOBY COLONY
4n outlying island
of the Cape Verdes
group where brown
boobies breed
and rear their
young among the
rooks

gardens spread over many of the hills
and narrow valleys.

It is a difficult spot on which to earn a
livelihood, and were it not for the fact
that many of the native sons have gone
to the New England fishing ports to earn
the better pay that America affords, it is
difficult to see how the people, miserably
poor as they are, can live at all. With
the small amounts sent to them, however,
by their voyaging relatives, they manage
to exist.

With only ten days to spend upon the
island I had brought but little in the way
of supplies, and had little enough time to

collect the birds that were to be found
there. Furthermore, as an American —
a real citizen from that golden land of
opportunity — I attracted endless atten-
tion. I worked with native boys and
girls and men and women constantly
looking on. If I went out with DeLamba
to hunt, we were followed by bands of
boys, eager to help, but often hindering
us. Our suppUes were carried by the
women, who, with sixty-pound burdens
balanced on their heads, seemed always
capable of endlessly trudging up the steep
grades. I often felt ashamed of my in-
ability to climb those hills without puffing

MB. ROCKWELL
AND A BOOBY
This old bird an-
grily pecked at peb-
bles that were
tossed at her, and
refused to move off
the nest

P} otograph by Georoc 1 I

UN Dim HAIL TO THE CAPE VERDES

659

LITTLE JOE
A lonely islet four
miles off the shore
of Brava, where
thousands of white-
faced and other
petrels make their
nests

and blowing like a porpoise when, ahead
of me, one of these barefooted Cape Verde
Amazons was plodding tirelessly along
with my often weighty belongings balanced
on her head, and sometimes smoking a
pipe as she did so.

With DeLamba as my very able assist-
ant, I collected scores of the islands'
birds — boobies, tropic birds, duck hawks,
Egyptian vultures, fish hawks, kestrels,
brown-necked ravens, kingfishers, finches,
and others. Nor was our task an easy
one. Often we were forced to cross the
faces of the most fearsome and precipitous
cliffs on our way to the nesting grounds of

Photograph by Rohert //. Rockwell

the birds, and on one occasion I lost my
footing on a steep shale clifi'side several
hundred feet above the roaring surf that
pounded in from the sea below me. I fell
flat on my face, reaching wide with arms
and legs, and felt myself sliding slowly
down, the loose stone slipping gradually
beneath me.

For several feet I slid, slowly approach-
ing the sheer drop that lay only a little
way below me — a spot from which, should
I reach it, I could not do otherwise than
fall abruptly into the surf so far below.
I shut my eyes and searched with my toes
and fingers for a hold, and finally found

A TRAIL ON
SAINT VINCENT
The bird collector
sometimes finds
himself in ticklish
positions trying to
reach the nesting
places of the birds

Phalograph by Robert H. Rockwell

660

NATURAL HISTORY

one. I had no idea whether or not it
would hold me, but lay there tensely,
wondering.

And now De Lamba, who had gone ahead
of me across the more dangerous spot,
turned about and saw me. Just how
he managed to
crawl back and
help me up I do
not know, but
with his help I
reached safety
and viewed the
depth of the
plunge that I
had barely es-
caped.

On another
occasion, and in
a place almost
as steep, John
managed to
pull a tropic
bird alive from
its hole in the

hillside, but having secured it, h3 did not
know how to kill it without ruining it as
a specimen. Not being able to gather
much from my directions, he wrapped the
bird up in his flimsy sweater and sent it
rolhng and tumbling down to me where I
stood below him. But as I watched it
come, I saw the head and neck of the bird
appear from the folds of the sweater. Next
she puUed her wings free, and suddenly
I saw the bird flap furiously, saw her rise
from the steep hillside, and in a moment,
with the sweater still dangling from her
back, saw her go sailing off, while the
Hght sweater swayed and flapped in the
air to signal her departure. Where the
bird went with her prize, I never learned,
but the last I saw of her she was flying
bravely out over the deep Atlantic, with
the sweater still waving behind.

Brava boasts almost no trees, but for
all that the island is inhabited by a race
of very agile monkeys which, living among

Photograph by George Finlay Simmons

PREPARING BIRD SKINS ON DECK

Allan Moses, Kenneth W. Cuyler and Mr. Rockwell,

engaged at their work while at sea between the Cape

Verdes Islands and the African coast. Only in ideal weather,

of course, could such work be done on deck

the rocks, are wont to raid the limited
garden patches of the natives.

Thinking to add a few of these to my
collection, I started out to hunt them,
and my decision cost me many a weary
hour of hard labor. Why they should be
so very fearful
of my approach
when they
sometimes
raided the gar-
den patches
almost under
the very noses
of the natives, I
do not know,
but while I
often saw them
among the dis-
tant rocks, I
seldom was able
to come close to
any of them.
And, many
times, after my
most careful stalks, I peered forth to find
that I had been under observation all the
time and that my quarry was safely away,
perched on some rock that was, for me,
utterly insurmountable.

I did manage, after endless trouble, to
get three of the yellowish-brown creatures,
and spent more than a little care on the
proper preparation of their skins. These
were to me prize specimens, the only
wild animal found on the Cape Verdes.
I spread the skins high on a wall to dry,
and went about my other duties. When
I returned, however, the skins were gone,
and when, at last, I found them, it was to
learn that some marauding cat had been
the robber, and, furthermore, had eaten
portions of my valued specimens.

With the passing of the ten days during
which I was to complete my work, I
naturally began to look for the arrival of
the "Blossom." Still, I knew that sail-
ing ships sometimes have difficulty in

UNDER HAIL TO THE CAPE VERDEH

061

keeping to schedules, so I did not stop
my work nor move my l^clongings down to
tiie cove. I was living with John De-
Lamba's family, and while the food that
was available on the island was not all
that could be desired, I felt no great
hardships.

When two weeks had passed, however,
I began to wonder. When three weeks had
passed, my limited supplies began to run
low. When four weeks had passed my
shoes, of which 1 had only one pair with
me, began to show the signs of wear,
what with clambering over the rocks and
searching along the shore.

I began to get a little worked up, and
went to the highly inefficient radio station
on the island with a message to the "Blos-
som." I was told the message was sent,
but no reply came. More weeks went past.
My only suit of clothes began to give
way at important points. My ammuni-
tion ran out, and I borrowed an ancient

muzzle loader that was out of repair.
This I fixed by heating it in the fire and
removing the breech plugs, taking out sev-
eral rusty rags with which the barrel was
choked. Later I managed to find a little
powder and shot. Two months passed,
and still no word came from the ship
that was to call for me. I did not know
but what she had gone down with all
hands. My clothes, by now, were utterly
disreputable — my shoes were all but torn
to bits. John and I were forced ultimately
to use snares to catch our birds. I tried to
buy some canned food, but the only thing
the island store afforded was two cans of
condensed milk, which had been on the
shelves from sometime far earlier in the
islands' history. I opened the cans eagerly,
and found the contents useless, resembling
half-hardened plaster of Paris.

More weeks went by, and I wondered
whether I should feel sorry for my ship-
mates at the bottom of the sea, if so great

Photograph by George Fmlaii Simmons
MR. ROCKWELL ON THE BEACH OP BRAVA
For almost three months the author of this article collected birds on this barren Uttle island, finally
continuing on the "Blossom" to the African coast and to other islands in the South Atlantic

662

NATURAL HISTORY

Birds Collected on the Island of Bhava and Outlying Rocks Four Miles Off Shore

White-faced petrel Pelagodroma

hypolt

Whitb-rumped

Oceanodroma castro castra

Bulwers petrel Bulweria bulweri bulweri
Small shearwater Puffi-nus Vherminieri boydi
Large shearwater Calonectris kuhli edwardsi
Brown booby Sula leucogaster leucogaster
Red-billed tropic bird Phxlhon sethereus
Large brown hawk Buteo buteo bannermani
Kestrel Cerchneis tinnuncula neglecta
Fish hawk Pandion haliastus hoLisetus
Quail Coturnix coturnix inopinata

Ferigren]

Turnstone plover Arenaria interpres interpres
Rock pigeon Colitmba livia subsp.
Darwin's kingfisher Halcyon leucocephala acteon
Barn owl Tyio alba detorta
Swift Micropus unicolor alezandri
Black cap Sylvia atricapilla alricapilla
Raven Carvus ruficollis ruficollis
Weaver bird Estrilda astrild subsp.
Cape Verde sparrow Passer jagoensis
Spanish sparrow Passer hispaniolensis hispaniolensis
Pharaoh's chicken Neophron percnopterus percnopterus
falcon Falco peregrinus

a misfortune had befallen them, or
whether to boil up and demand abject
apology when they showed up.

By now, I found myself troubled by
fleas and jiggers as were the natives about
me. I had been forced, because of lack of
ammunition, to give up all but the simp-
lest collecting, gathering only birds that
were tame enough to catch by hand.

And finally, when I was fit to be tied,
a radio message came. In two weeks the
"Blossom" would come. But two weeks
passed and two weeks more went by
before, finally, I saw her three topsails
appear upon the horizon. With a com-
pany of native women bearing my collec-
tions, I marched sternly down the steep
hills to the cove. The ship came in and I
heard her cable roar as the anchor was
let go. Still stern — still angry — I went

aboard. What I had planned to say I do
not know, but whatever it was I never
said it, even when I learned that the
expedition had changed its plans and
visited almost every other island of the
group before coming to Brava for me. For,
probably recognizing that I had a cause
for complaint, Mr. Simmons, our amiable
leader, met me as I reached the deck. He
put his arm on my shoulder and before I
had an opportunity to burst forth, an-
nounced that the expedition was all but
ready to sail for the African coast where I
(as a reward, perhaps, though he did not
say so) was to be sent into the interior
after other things than island birds —
after mammals — perhaps after lions. And
I, keen to have so great an adventure,
swallowed my wrath, or forgot it, in the
prospect of hunting big game in the jungle.

Photograph b

George Finla

Simmons

The "Blossom"
IN THE Harbor
of Saint Vincent

"JIMMY"

A Snowy Owl's Sojourn in a Great Metropolis
Bv T. DONALD CARTER

Department of Mammals, American Museum

THERE is no doubt that the snowy
owl is one of our most distin-
guished looking birds, and observ-
ing one in the field is an experience long
to be remembered by the bird student.
Near New York City it is a rare winter
visitant, although hardly a season passes
that at least one is not discovered along
the near-by beaches. The winter of
1926-27 will long be remembered by the
local ornithologists as quite unusual, for
large numbers of rare visitors from the
north moved southward into the more
settled sections of the country, thus
giving opportunity to observe for the
first time these unfamiliar feathered folk.
The most noteworthy of these was the
large flight of goshawks and snowy owls.
The latter appeared in such abundance
that their presence was frequently record-
ed in the news columns. This flight ex-
tended throughout the northeastern part
of the United States, birds being reported
as far south as North Carolina. In The
Auk, Vol. XLIV, page 479, Mr. Alfred 0.
Gross gives a very full account of this
flight. The first bird that came to my

attention was on November 6, 1926,
when a friend of mine showed me a snowy
owl that had been killed the day before
near Nyack, New York.

We cannot boast that we were very
hospitable hosts to our snowy visitors,
for the greater number of these birds
were shot as soon as they were discovered.
Very few appear to have survived their
southern excursion. They were con-
demned wherever seen. Although on
occasion they destroy poultry and game,
the stomach contents of specimens I have
had the opportunity to examine and those
inspected by friends of mine, prove that
the snowy owl, especially around New
York City, is a very beneficial bird. One
man claimed that the owls were killing
off the meadow larks in a certain section
of Long Island. To prove this claim he
brought in three birds that he had shot.
Upon examination it was found that the
stomachs of two of the owls contained
nothing but rat remains and the third
stomach was empty.

"Jimmy" was a member of this south-
ern flight. She fared well until she

664

NATVBAL HISTORY

ON HEE FAVORITE PERCH
Although Jimmy had many visitors she never would trust strangers and had no difficulty in distin-
guishing them from members of the family

reached Steuben County, New York.
There, aUghting too near a farmer's
chickens, she nearly met the fate of so
great a number of her kin. She was more
fortunate than many, however, suffering
only a broken wing.

The first I heard of Jimmy was in a
letter from a friend. He said he was send-
ing me a live white owl and would like to
have it stuffed. The next day Jimmy
arrived. With much snapping of her
bill she was taken from the shipping box.
Her great beauty at once impressed us.
Then and there we knew that she never
would be "stuffed," if we could help it.
We made up our minds to keep her— friend
or no friend. Although the bird had been
christened "Jimmy," we soon decided
that this name belied her sex. The
females of these owls are apt to be larger
and darker than the males and she was
one of the largest and darkest I had ever
seen.

We found Jimmy to be in fine condition

with the exception of a broken bone in
the wing. That night I took her home
with me to my New York City apart-
ment and liberated her in the kitchen.
She appeared to be unusually tame and
after a great deal of coaxing ate most of a
chicken's head.

As the days went by we became better
and better acquainted, and she even
allowed us to stroke her and soon began
taking food from our hands. We placed a
box near the window so that Jimmy could
look out, and she spent most of her time
gazing at the passers-by, four stories
below. It was not long before she at-
tracted their attention and at times a
goodly number of people would collect
and exclaim about the "odd parrot"
staring at them.

The box, which was a pasteboard
carton, afforded Jimmy no end of fun.
She began by tearing a small hole in the
side. This hole finally grew until the
box collapsed. The wreckage she would

"JIMMY"

665

take Ijy one corinu- ;ui(l draff around the
kitchen floor.

In a week she was able to reach the top
of the wash tubs and for some time these
became her favorite roosting quarters.
We left a pan of wattn- in the sink where
she went regularly to drink. In three
weeks the injured wing appeared able to
hold her weight, so she changed her roost-
ing place to the top of the bread box on
the gas oven. This was undoubtedly the
hottest place in the room, but she seemed
to prefer it, although she must have felt
the heat greatly.

Although we left the kitchen door open
most of the time, Jimmy offered to come
out of the kitchen only once. I was
seated on the sofa fixing a camera, while
Mrs. Carter was busily writing at her
desk across the room from me. A patter
of feet across the hardwood floor and

there was .Jimmy on the sofa beside me.
After surveying the camera for a mo-
ment, she flew across the room, landing on
the back of Mrs. Carter's chair. Here she
remained for a few minutes. Just as she
had about decided to explore the top of
the Vjookcases, the remaining occupants of
the room had unanimously decided that
the place for snowy owls was in the
kitchen away from breakable crockery and
knickknacks.

One evening, while the family were
sitting in the front room, a strange noise
was heard coming from the kitchen.
There was a sharp, metallic bang followed
in just a few seconds by another and then
another. Wondering what the queer
noise might be, I proceeded into the
kitchen and turned on the Ught. There
sat Jimmy in her accustomed place on the
bread box as unconcerned as could be. I

FROM THE COUNTRY OF THE ESKIMO

This'ovvl was undoubtedly a female, as is shown by her large size and heavy barring. The adult

male is smaller and much whiter

666

NATURAL HISTORY

FRIENDLY ADVANCES
Jimmy soon became tame enough to be handled with dis-
cretion and appeared to enjoy being stroked or having her
head scratched

returned to the front room, after turning
out the Hght. In a few moments the
banging was repeated. Again I investi-
gated but, upon turning on the hght, I
found Jimmy as before. This time, how-
ever, I left the hght turned on and seated
myself where I could watch. In a few
moments Jimmy reached down and
grasped the handle of £he roll-top bread
box in her beak and, lifting it for about
three inches, let go. Down came the
cover with a bang. This was repeated
again and again. Jimmy had discovered
a new game and was enjoying it to the
fuU.

On another evening Jimmy was respon-
sible for our having fried eggs instead of
lamb chops for supper. I was late arriv-
ing home. Supper was all ready with the

exception of frying the chops.
These were placed in the frying
pan and covered over. Upon our
entering the kitchen preparatory
to frying the chops, we found
only the empty frying pan. Jimmy
had in some way discovered the
meat and made the best use of
it as far as snowy owls were
concerned.

The more pranks Jimmy played
the better we liked her. On an-
other occasion, when we were
eating a hurried supper in the
kitchen, Jimmy flopped on the
bread plate in the center of the
table and, grabbing shces of bread,
shook them as a terrier would
shake a rat so that chunks of
bread flew all over the room.

On another day Mrs. Carter
was preparing to wash some
clothes and had the boiler on the
stove. The water was just com-
ing to a boil when — plop — came
Jimmy into the middle of every-
thing. There stood the bird, her
great white feet with their black
toe nails planted on the bulging,
floating island of wet clothes, her big,
round eyes bhnking calmly. Perhaps
she mistook the clothes for a cake of ice.
Everything went well until the clothes
island began to sink under the weight
of the heavy bird. As the boihng hot
water reached her feet she felt the great
discomfort but was unable to understand
it, and simply danced clumsily around in
a circle. It was not until Mrs. Carter
dashed a pan of cold water over our pet,
that she flew to the tubs.

Jimmy's wing being now healed, no
part of the kitchen was left unexplored.
The top shelf always had been filled with
kitchen utensils, including an aluminum
nester set. This shelf Jimmy soon
adopted for her own and not even the
aluminum set was allowed to share the

"JIMMY'

G67

shelf with lier. After two or three ex-
periences of picking up the pots and pans
from the kitchen floor, we granted Jimmy
her squatter's rights, and as long as she
remained with us this shelf was her roost.

Perhaps Jimmy was not as friendly as
she might have been to some strangers.
If they approached too closely she would
snap her beak in quite a violent manner.
One morning the gas man arrived to read
our meter. Jimmy was on the tubs
hidden behind some towels. The gas meter
was over her head but high on the wall
and the man had to lean over the tubs to
read. I thought that he saw the half-
hidden bird and I made the remark that
she was perfectly safe. But the man had
not discovered the owl for, as he was
looking intently at the meter, Jimmy,
evidently thinking the man too close,
stuck her head out from among the towels
and clapped her bill four or five times.
The next thing we knew the man was
seated on the gas stove across the kitchen.

Shortly after this we heard from the
landlord. Although it was hard to believe,
he said that he was ready to have the

apartment repainted for us. This placed
us in a quandary. How could a painter
and an Arctic owl occupy a city apart-
ment at the same time? We hated to
think of parting with Jimmy since we
had become such good friends and her
comical ways had made for her many
admirers outside of our household, people
who came in daily to see her. Yet we did
want to see that paint go on our walls.

At last our problem was solved. A
friend living out in the open stretches of
Long Island offered to take her and keep
her safely until the approach of spring,
when her enemies would be more apt to
have put away their guns. On one of her
legs we placed an aluminum ring with a
number upon it — 20063 — which will
serve to identify her if she is ever caught
again. Later she was to be turned loose,
once more to have the freedom of all out-
doors. Did Jimmy ever find her way back
to the far northland? We certainly hope
so. But wherever she may wander, this
great bird that came from the country of
the Eskimo wiU be followed by the best
wishes of a host of loyal friends.

VSIDE FROM HER BILL

CLAPPING AND > LOW

III^S, THE ONLY SOUND

JIMMY EVEB UTTERED WAS

A WHISPERED WHINNY

AMERICAN MUSEUM EXPEDITIONS
AND NOTES

Edited by A. KATHERINE BERGER

It is the purpose of this department to keep readers of Natural History informed

as to the latest news of the Museum expeditions in the field at the time the magazine

(joes to press. In many instances, however, the sources of information are so distant

that it is not possible to include up-to-date data

CENTRAL Asiatic Expedition. — Dr. Roy
Chapman Andrews has recently returned to
the American Museum from Peking where he
spent the summer vainly attempting to make
arrangements with the Chinese Commission for
the Preservation of Antiquities, to allow the
Central Asiatic Expedition to continue work in
Mongolia during 1932. Last year the Commis-
sion was responsible for driving out of Chinese
Turkestan Sir Aurel Stein, the famous British
anthropologist, and has made such difficulties tor
the French Citroen-Hardt Expedition that at
last reports, the members of this party were being
escorted out of China by armed guards. The
opposition to foreign scientific work can only be
construed as being a definite anti-foreign move
by this society, which has no constructive work
to its credit.

The Central Asiatic Expedition has by no
means abandoned hope of continuing its work in
the future, however, and still maintains its head-
quarters in Peking. It is hardly conceivable that
the obstructionist attitude of the Chinese can
continue indefinitely, and it is felt that the
Expedition is only temporarily suspended.

Doctor Andrews completed the manuscript of
Volume I of the Central Asiatic Reports during
the summer spent in Peking.

OHILDS Prick's Explorations for 1931. —
^ Explorations in search for further knowledge
as to the extinct mammaUan faunas of America
have been conducted in seven widely separated
areas — five in the Late Tertiary and two in the
Quaternary. The former include the continua-
tion of the explorations carried on for years past
in the Mio-Pliocene horizons in the vicinity of
Barstow,Cahfornia, Santa Fl^ New Mexico, and
Ainsworth, Nebraska, and the added investiga-
tion of the Pawnee Creek of Colorado. A fifth
exploration for the purpose of securing more
ample knowledge of the immediate predecessors

of these above faunas, was undertaken in the
Lower Miocene of northeastern Wyoming. The
two Quaternary operations include a reconnais-
sance carried on in the early winter in Ecuador,
and the continuation of collecting for the third
summer season, in cooperation with Alaska Col-
lege, in the Quaternary of that area. Shipments
from the field since June 1, exclusive of some forty
cases coming from Alaska, total 125 cases.
Exclusive of many larger trophies there are suflB-
cient moderate to smaller specimens to fill 450
trays. The laboratory force, Messrs. Charles
Hoffman, Joseph Rooney, Floyd Blair, and Haa-
kon Dehlin, will be occupied for many months in
the preparation of this material. A prehminary
and rapid survey of the so far received finds in-
dicates, in the presence of a wealth of rare data
as to the respective faunas, the good fortune
that again has attended the different field
parties. New remains of camels, antelope, horses,
rhinoceroses and of occasional carnivora will
afford much additional information for the de-
tailed studies in progress on these groups. Dur-
ing the summer the writer and his family had
the pleasure of a four weeks' safari from the Black
Hills of South Dakota southward across the
great fossil fields lying to the east of the Rockies,
from the Mauvaises Terres of the White River
Oligocene to the Santa Fc marls of New Mexico,
en route consorting and consulting with the
several field parties, digging a few bones on their
own, viewing again the famous Agate quarries
in the Lower Miocene of Captain Cook's ranch,
and for a first time, the embryo quarries in the
underlying Ohgooene at Torrington, Wyoming,
of the Colorado Museum of Natural History and
Harvard University, and finally winding up with
a tlu-ee-day pack trip across the volcanic tuffs
of the high and lovely Jemez range. It was the
cause of general regret that the writer's old friend
and chief field lieutenant, Mr. Joseph Rak, to
whose ability and energy the sum of data about

NOTES

669

mammals of I Im Late TerUary has been so largely
increased, throufjsh continued disability was
prevented from being of the party.

The seven different investigations of the
present year may be briefly summarized:

(II HiiiHtow. M.iIkivo Dosert, Culifornia. Party under
Mr. .I:irl^ Wil Mil, -III. I itiiliiiK for a second year for Mr.
JoHi-pti I; il I ..III mm il ilii i.ftllectinK for the ninth winter.
A f...n i.l. I li.l. ,1. .mill. II p|]cr horizon was painstakingly
li ^i.i.cimons secured from all three

stnr.pc.l iiiiil ml.li
horizons.

(2) Santa Vt, New Mexico. Party with Mr. .lack
Wilson, for the seventh May to October season, continued
the investigation of this area. While certain useful asso-
ciated remains of camel, horse, carnivora, mastodon and
rhinoceros were olotained, the return, on account of the lack
of rainfall and attendant erosion over the two last years,
was relatively small.

(3) Ainsworth, Nebraska. Work was continued in this
area for a fifth June to September season by Mr. Morris F.
Skinner. Tlio rcHiilis were particularly gratifying, the party
obtMiiiii.:'. ill nMifiiin to other remains, a number of fine

caiijrl I I i iliinoceros crania, skull and jaws of a

triliiiil. .1 II I . i.ili.n, another skull of Mylmiaidm, a
largrK . ..m|.i. ii l.iiil of Adurodon, and the jaws of tapir
and maclmerodont forms.

(4) Pawnee Creek, Colorado. The present summer the
writer's friend, Mr. John C. Blick, undertook an examina-
tion of the classic Pawnee Creek horizon, and has been most
fortunate in bringing together a very useful collection from
this often workod-over area. lie was assisted in part by
Mr. Haakon Pehlin of the Museum force. Amongst the
more interesting trophies are remains of an Amphicyon of
the largest size, of Tomarctus bremrostris Cope, of Pseu-
dxlurus, of Teleocerine rhinoceroses, and of ever present
horses and camels. By far the most spectacular occurrence
of the entire season was the locating in place, through the
inquisitiveness of a little daughter of the writer, thirty feet
beneath the summit of the taller and more eastern of the
two historic Pawnee Buttes, of the skull, mandible and two
associated limb bones of a moderate sized camel.

(5) Lusk, Wyoming. Mr. Charles Falkenbach, thanks to
the hearty assistance of his many friends in the vicinity of
Lusk and following up a hurried reconnaissance of the
previous season, has brought together a magnificent col-
lection from the Lower Miocene beds of northeastern
Wyoming. A few carnivora specimens and a fine series of
oxydactylid, parahyppid and rhinocerine forms add greatly
to the heretofore known data as to the mammals of this
period. Magnificent specimens include the skull of a large
Diceratherine, apparently new to science, fine remains of
Dinohyus hoUandi and a massive block with a group of three
closely associated skulls, jaws and skeletons of the great
Oreodon, PTomerychochoErus carrikeri, matching Mr. O. A.
Peterson's fine group in the Carnegie iVluseum of Pittsburgh.

(fi) Punin, Ecuador. Mr. John C Blick for a second time
extended our investigations to deposits to the south of
.Mexico, he and Mr. Charles Falkenbach, with the gen-
erous cooperation of the local authorities, returning from
Ecuador in late February with a fine collection from the
Quaternary deposits in the vicinity of Punin and Salinas,
the same including a beautiful skull of MegatheriunL and
series of horse, deer, camel and other remains.

(7) Fairbanks, Alaska. In cooperation with President
Bunnel of Alaska College, and through the courtesy of Mr.
Neil W. Rice and the stalT of the U. S. Smelting, Refining
and Mining Company, Professor Albert S. Wilkerson, of
the Alaska College Department of Geology, continued the
collecting carried on the two previous seasons by Mr. Peter
Kaisen, of the Museum's laboratory, and reports securing
some forty additional cases of bones and important data
as to their occurrence, which latter he plans to publish
at an early date. An unusual find has been the frozen
and mummified posterior half of the body of a ground
squirrel associated with nest and plant remains.

At the present writing Mr. Jack Wilson has
has returned to Barstow, California, for the win-
ter season, and Mr. Charles Falkenbach is mak-
ing a reconnaissance of certain of the fossil
areas of northern Texas. — Childs Fkick.

CCARRITT-Patagonian Expedition.— The
^ American Museum was glad to welcome home
Dr. George Gaylord Simpson who returned to

New York November 1. As the leader of the
Scarritt-Patagonian Expedition, he has been
nearly a year and a half in South America. For
the past six months he has been engaged in the
revision and study of the unique Ameghino col-
lection of Patagonian fossils at the Museo
Nacional in Buenos Aires, and the Roth collec-
tion at La Plata. Doctor Simpson enjoyed the
privilege of being the first scientist to study the
Ameghino material since its recent acquisition
by the Argentine nation made it available.
With the data thus obtained, he is now beginning
work on the cataloging and description of the
expedition's fossil mammals, and preliminary
publications are expected shortly.

Mr. Coleman S. Williams, scientific assistant
of the expedition has been speeding the prepara-
tion of the collection, and about three fourths of
the smaller specimens are now ready for study.
The preparation has well confirmed field predic-
tions of the wonderful variety and quality of the
material. Among other specimens, a lower jaw
of the strange, problematic pseudo-proboscidian
Pyrolherium has been restored, and is now on
temporary exhibition.

A note of appreciation should here be added to
the Argentine authorities with whom the expedi-
tion came in contact. Dr. Martin Doello-
Jurado, the director of the Museo Nacional of
Buenos Aires, was most friendly and helpful.
He it was who put the Ameghino collection at the
expedition's disposal, and it was indeed fortunate
to get the services of so eminent a conchologist
to study its collection of fossil mollusca. Doctors
Tours and Cabrera of the Museo de la Plata were
also must helpful, both in matters scientific and
in cutting the Gordian knot of red tape that sur-
rounded the export of the expedition's material.
Finally, great thanks are due to the geologic staff
of the Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales (the gov-
ernment oil fields) for giving the expedition the
benefit of its explorations with secret maps and
personally conducted tours of interesting locaU-
ties, as well as such material aid as cheap motor
fuel and transport.

The Museum was privileged in having as its
guest for luncheon on November 2, Horace S.
Scarritt, the patron of the expedition. The
luncheon was a homecoming welcome to Doctor
Simpson, and the guests were afterward enter-
tained with a premiere showing of the cinema
pictures taken on the expedition. — C. S. W.

""PHE Naumbukg-Kaempper ExpEDmoN.' —
■'■ Collections of birds continue to arrive from
Mr. Emil Kaempfer, in the employ of Mrs. Elsie
M. B. Naumburg, and now stationed at the border
line of Brazil and Uruguay. Mr. Kaempfer, who

670

NATURAL HISTORY

has been collecting for Mrs. Naumburg for the
past six years, is expected to complete his labors
on December 1. His material representing the
bird Ufe of entire eastern Brazil, from the vicinity
of Parti to Uruguay and Paraguay, numbers
approximately 12,802 specimens, and forms,
doubtless, the most exhaustive collection existing
of birds from this area. Through Mrs. Naum-
burg's generosity, it has been presented to the
bird department of the American Museum which
before contained almost no material from this
vast region.

A RCH^OLOGICAL Research in Mexico.
■'*• — Dr. George C. Vaillant left New York on
October 31 for Mexico, where he will conduct the
fifth season of stratigraphical research in the
Valley of Mexico, at the pyramid site of San Juan
Teotihuacan. The objectives of this work are the
establishment of a sequential dating of the site
based on pottery, an attempt to establish the
origin of the Teotihuacan civilization as in-
digenous or foreign to the Valley, and to try to
form a collection of dated skeletal material for
research in the races of Mexico.

NOTES

THE THEODORE ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL
/^N October 27th, at 2:30 P.M., the corner
^~^ stone of The Theodore Roosevelt Memorial
was laid by His Excellency, Governor Frankhn
D. Roosevelt. Among the speakers were ex-
Governor Smith, Aldermanic President Joseph
V. McKee, representing Mayor Walker, and
Chairman Henry Fairfield Osborn. About fifty
guests were entertained at luncheon by Chair-
man Osborn at one o'clock. Among these were
Rear Admiral WiUiam B. Franklin, Major General
WilUam N. Haskell, Col. Paul Loeser, Col.
Frederick Stuart Greene, superintendent of
pubHc works, in charge of the construction of
the Memorial, John Russell Pope, the architect,
James E. Fraser, the sculptor of the equestrian
statue which will stand in front of the Memorial,
Mr. FeUx M. Warburg, Mr. Clarence L. Hay,
Dr. Roy Chapman Andrews, Mr. A. Perry
Osborn, Dr. George H. Sherwood, Mrs. Douglas
Robinson, sister of Colonel Roosevelt, Mrs.
Franklin Roosevelt, the Trustees of the Memorial,
and others.

From 2:00 until 2:30 P.M. a concert was given
by the New York City Pohce Band of seventy
pieces under the able direction of Capt. Fritz
Forsch. A most pleasing feature of the concert
was the solos rendered by Mr. Theodore Alban,
tenor.

A colorful note was added to the occasion by
the presence of a guard of honor consisting of a
unit from the 258th Field Artillery, Theodore
Roosevelt's old regiment, known as the "Wash-
ington Grays," Col. Paul Loeser, commanding
oflBcer, and a unit from the First Battahon of the
New York Naval MiKtia, fittingly chosen
because of Roosevelt's interest in naval affairs.

The entire ceremony was carried to a nation-
wide audience through the National Broadcasting
Company and the Columbia Broadcasting System.

After the invocation by Dr. F. Christian Reis-
ner, formerly a close friend of Roosevelt, Col.

Frederick Stuart Greene, who presided, intro-
duced ex-Governor Smith. The biU authorizing
the erection of the Memorial was signed by Mr.
Smith and he made especial note of the pleasure
it was to see the building actually going forward
to completion. Mr. McKee following Mr.
Smith recalled that Roosevelt stood for the
"awakening of the American spirit." He also
stated that the city intended to see that a proper
approach from Central Park should be made.

In his brief address Chairman Osborn stressed
Roosevelt's "backbone" and our pressing need
of it today. He stated that Roosevelt "combined
in rare measure the qualities of head and of heart,
guided and controlled by intelligence motivated
by an erect and energetic spinal column, and
defended when necessary by a pair of stout arms
and ready fists."

Governor Roosevelt pointed out Theodore
Roosevelt's appeal to young people, adding —
"Fundamentally he was entirely right in his
emphasis that the future of the state, of the
nation, and of the race depended on straight
thinking and right acting upon the part of the
rising generation."

Just after Chairman Osborn presented the
silver trowel to Governor Roosevelt, Mrs.
Douglas Robinson, sister of Theodore Roosevelt,
raised the American flag which had covered the
cornerstone. Then the top of the copper box
which rests in the corner stone was soldered. It
contained copies of the New York Times and
other morning and evening papers of that date,
copper and silver coins, the Legislative Red Book
of 1931, copies of the reports of the Roosevelt
Memorial Commission and photographs of Henry
Fairfield Osborn, Governor Roosevelt, ex-Gover-
nor Smith, Mayor Walker, John Russel Pope,
architect, George N. Pindar, secretary, and J.
Harry McNally, builder.

The entire plaza was decorated with the
national colors, and seats for visitors were

NOTES

071

A\u's Photo.;, Inc

CEREMONIES AT THE LAYING OP THE CORNER STONE OF THE THEODORE ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL
Among the distinguished participants on this occasion were Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Alfred E. Smith. Henry Fair-
field Osborn, chairman of the board of trustees of The Roosevelt Memorial, and George N. Pindar, secretary of the board

arranged across it in front of the speakers'
platform. Because of the position of the corner-
stone, at the left of the wide flight of steps at the
main entrance, the platform was built over the
steps and was raised to a height of about ten
feet. However, the excellent placing of amplifiers
rendered the addresses perfectly distinct.

The Trustees hope to be able to dedicate the
budding on October 27, 1932. The State is
making every effort to complete it as soon as
possible in order that it may function as one of the
great educational features of the State. With the
completion of the building it is planned to build
an approach from the West Drive in the Park
which, from a distance of about 400 feet will give
a splendid view of the Memorial, flanked by
Museum buildings.

ASTRONOMY
' I 'HE large attendance at the fall meetings of
■*■ the Amateur Astronomers Association in-
dicates that the popular interest in Astronomy is
continued. The officers of the society announce
the following lectures:

December 2 — Mr. O. H. Caldwell, former
United States Radio Commissioner, and editor

of Electronics and Radio Retailing, will speak on
"The Electric Eye in Modern Astronomy."

December 16 — Mr. David B. Pickering will
talk on "Observatories on the Pacific Coast and in

Januaet 6 — Dr. Jan Schilt, head of the
department of astronomy, Columbia University,
on "Star Counts."

January 20 — Mr. Stansburj' Hagar, ethno-
astronomer, "Astronomical Temples of the Maya
and the Mound Builders."

These meetings are held in the large auditorium
of the American Museum of Natural History at
8:15 P.M., and the pubhc is cordially invited.

BIRDS
DIED Life of the East African Plains. —
■'-^ The fifth of the series of twelve faunal groups
of the birds of the world which are being planned
for the American Museum, was formally opened
to the public on November 9. The group, which
is the gift of Henry W. Sage, is one of the fruits
of the Ruwenzori-Kivu Expedition of 1926-27,
and dipicts a scene in the Kidong VaUey, forty
miles northwest of Nairobi, Kenya Colony.
The Kidong Valley, named from the small

672

NATURAL HISTORY

stream flowing through it, is merely one short
section of a long trough which can be traced from
Southern Palestine through the Red Sea, South-
ern Abyssinia, and Kenya Colony to Northern
Tanganyika Territory. This lengthy depression
in the earth's crust is known as the Great Rift
Valley. On both sides of the Kidong, separated
by twenty-five miles of level plain, rise bold
escarpments, which are pictured at the extreme
left and right of the background of the group.
The floor of the valley, here and there, is inter-
rupted by elevated strips due to former volcanic
activity, where boiling springs are stilU numerous.
One such strip extends across the distant back-
ground, culminating in Mount Longonot (alti-
tude 91 10 feet) at the right.

The birds of a plain like the Kidong — although
it is 5300 feet above sea level — are characteristic
of the savanna or grassland fauna which extends
over a vast area of the African continent, from
Senegal across the Sudan to Abyssinia, and thence
south through East Africa to the major part of
South Africa.

Field studies and collections for this group
were made by James P. Chapin, DeWitt L.
Sage, and Frank P. Mathews. The background
was painted by Arthur A. Jansson from his own
field sketches made during the same year. The
birds were mounted by Raymond B. Potter, and
the accessories prepared under the direction of
Albert E. Butler, of the Museum's department of
preparation, James L. Clark in charge.

CONSERVATION
PURCHASE OF Bull Ckeek and Dyerville
■*■ Flat Redwood Groves. — An important
event in the history of forest conservation took
place Sunday, September 13, 1931, at Dyerville
on the south fork of the Eel River, Humbolt
County, California. On that day the State Board
of Parks and the Save-the-Redwoods League
completed the purchase of Bull Creek and Dyer-
ville Flat groves, containing the finest Redwood
trees in existence, — perhaps the finest that ever
existed. These two groves of Redwoods
amounted together to about 10,000 acres and
were purchased from the Pacific Lumber Com-
pany for more than three and one-half million
dollars. This makes the total acreage preserved
to date by the Redwoods League over 24,000
acres, including 3000 acres of the Calaveras
Grove of Big Trees in the Sierras.

On this occasion the Tallest Tree in the World,
365 feet, was formally dedicated by the state of
California to the Founders of the Redwoods
League, Madison Grant, John C. Merriam and
Henry Fairfield Osborn, in recognition of their
having originated the movement which led to

the preservation of these trees. The tree in
question was ascertained to be the tallest living
tree after prolonged study and accurate measur-
ing. Many other trees were claimed by their
owners to be higher, but proved on investigation
not to be.

Major Burnham made the following address at
the dedication of the Tree :

Friends from beyond the mountains and those from across
the seas, Welcome! We are glad to have you with us today
on this joyous occasion. We Californians are flooded by
two streams of emotions — one of thankfulness that we
have averted the tragedy of destroying these forests, and
the other of joy in knowing they are saved for the pleasure
of all our friends and descendants forever.

It is an ancient and racial urge that has brought us
together today in the shade of this far western forest. Like
the druids of old, we feel we here are sheltered from the
storm and have closer communion with the Divine Presence.
It is no wonder we love the forests. The first cradle ever
made was woven by some fond mother in the bough of
a tree and, gently swayed by her hand, the infant was
lulled to slumber by her lullaby, just as you see today in the
wilds of Mexico and other primitive lands.

But, alas! we Californians, pioneering a great continent,
were so busy tunneling our mountains, dredging out our
harbors and building our cities, that for a time we forgot
our friends, the trees. With swift-moving hands of jagged
steel, driven by thunderbolts and aided by fire, we slashed
and destroyed these mighty giants. We were fast turning
our beautiful California into a land accursed. Yet, in
fairness, it should be remembered that, through all these
pioneer years, there were great voices raised that made
many of our good citizens uneasy in their minds at this
progressive slaughter and endless forest fires. To show you
this is true, let me for just a moment read you a paragraph
taken from California the Wonderful, a book long out of
print, by Edwin Markham.

" Let us be reverent a little as we stand here in the hush
of these leafy sanctuaries — be reverent a little if reverence
in this age is possible. These great trees belong to the
silences and the millennium. Many of them have seen
more than a hundred of our human generations rise, and
give out their little clamors and perish. They chide our
pettiness, they rebuke our impiety. They seem indeed, to
be forms of immortality standing here among the transitory
shapes of time."

So, when the three great druids, Grant, Merriam, arid
Osborn, called us again to the ancient groves to worship
and to save them from the ax, it fired our hearts. The dull
embers leaped to flame and the Save-the-Redwoods League
was formed. You all know its remarkable history, its years
of struggle.

I have in my hands a telegram from Madison Grant that
I should like to read to you. You have heard the eloquent
words of Doctor Merriam that so touched our hearts.

" Greatly regret my inability to be present at the dedica-
tion of the Bull Creek and Dyerville Groves. Please present
my congratulations to the Park Board and the officers of
the Save-the-Redwoods League on the preservation of these
superb forests and express my heartfelt appreciation for the
greatest of honors conferred on my associates and myself
by the dedication of the world's tallest tree.

(Sgd.) Madison Ghant"

Kad it not been for our Eastern friends I am afraid we
Californians would not have waked from our trance until
the last great Redwood had fallen. But, finally, our voice
was heard in the halls of Sacramento. We voted a few
million to make a start, six millions to be exact, to save
what wilderness beauty we could. This was entrusted to
your Commission and the sum has beeu matched by many
kind-hearted citizens and very bountifully by our Eastern
friends. We of California should never forget them. They
have started us on a great work. The first step is accom-
plished as you see today, and it shall go on to a triumphal
finish. So it is appropriate that we today symbolize the
gratitude in our hearts by dedicating this tallest of trees to
the founders of the Redwoods League, Madison Grant,
Dr. Henry Fairfield Osborn, and Dr. John Campbell
Merriam. It shall be called from this time forever "The
Founders' Tree."

The history of the founding of the Redwoods
League follows:

In August, 1917, Professor Henry Fairfield
Osborn, Madison Grant, and Dr. John C. Mer-
riam were at Bull Creek Flat and, appreciating

NOTES

673

the danger of the destruction of this magnificent
Rrove, wrote to Governor Stevens of Cahfornia,
who was at that time contemplatinR a visit to
Humbolt County. The followinj; year, 1918,
Madison Grant returned to the Redwoods
country with Mr. Stephen T. Mather and held a
publif^ nioetinf; at Eureka to protest against the
proposctl destruction of this great grove. They
were greatly assisted by .Judge Sawyer and Mr.
Arthur E. Conniok and the Save-the-Redwoods
League was started then and there.

The following winter, in 1919, Messrs. Grant
and Mather persuaded Dr. John C. Merriam to
accept the presidency and Mr. Joseph D.
Grant became identified with the chairmanship
of the Board. Mr. Newton B. Drury was
secured as secretary, and from that time on the
success of the League was assured. It has
progressed steadily, thanks to the devotion of
those interested in the project, until now it is a
model organization and able to record tliis great
triumph.

A tablet of bronze will be erected upon a
granite bowlder at the base of the Tallest Tree
with an inscription as follows:

This Tallest Tree in the World, height
365 Feet, is dedicated by the state of
California to Madison Gr.^nt, John C.
Merriam, Henry Fairfield Osborn, as
Founders of the Save-the-Redwoods
League

A LASKA Beown Bear Protection. — Of
•^*- interest to all lovers of wild hfe and its
protection is the appointment by the Executive
Committee of the New York Zoological Society
of a Special Committee to work for legislation
for the protection of the Alaska brown and grizzly
bears which are threatened with extermination
under the present inadequate laws.

Two years ago, under the pressure of a small
group of Uvestock growers in Alaska, practically
all protection for these magnificent animals was
withdrawn.

At its thirty-sixth annual meeting in 1930 the
Society passed resolutions urging the proper
governmental authorities to set aside two or more
suitable islands in the Alaska territory as in-
violate sanctuaries for these bears, in order that
they might be protected and preserved.

The Zoological Society, together with other
important conservation bodies, are now working
to have the former protective laws reinstated
and also to have Admiralty Island and Chichagof
Island made permanent sanctuaries and preserves.
The support of all lovers of wild life is being en-
listed in this effort.

An interesting booklet entitled "The Brown
and Grizzly Bears of Alaska At Home" and
descriptive of the proposed reserves and depict-
ing the true nature of these magnificent animals,
will be sent upon receipt of ten cents in stamps to
cover postage and printing. In this booklet will
be given full information as to the proper officials
to write to urging the reinstatement of protec-
tive laws and the establishment of sanctuaries.
Address request for this booklet to John M.
Holzworth, Chairman of the N. Y. Zoological
Society Committee for Protection of the Alaska
Brown and Grizzly Bears, Room 3G53, 120
Broadway, New York City.

EDUCATION
DUREAU OF ED0CATION. — For the accommo-
■'-^ dation of the numerous pubhc school classes
that visit the American Museum during the
winter months a bureau of education has been
established. It office is at the left of the main
entrance to the Museum, where all visiting classes
wiU register. A teacher in charge will meet the
children and their instructors to give them in-
formation and direct them to lecture halls or class
rooms. Information concerning forthcoming
lectures wiU also be given out from this bureau.

IV /I R. William H. Carr reports that the Bear
■'•'■'■ Mountain Nature Trail, Trailside Museum,
Craftshop and Zoo ended the fifth season of
operation on October 1st, 1931. More than
280,000 persons visited the area during the period
of May to October.

Several new features were added this year,
including an out-of-door snake and turtle exhibit,
a new fernery, a botany pond, and craftshop
exhibit. A new cabin was erected to house the
staff.

The Trailside Museum is controlled jointly by
the department of public education of the
American Museum of Natural History and the
Commissioners of the PaHsades Interstate Park.

/^AFETERIA Service for the Schools. —
^^ There has recently been installed in the
School Service Building of the American Museum
a cafeteria especially for the convenience of school
children and their teachers. Soup, several kinds
of sandwiches, milk and desserts wiU be offered at
reasonable prices.

MAMMALS
CMALL Mammals from Alberta. — This
*^ summer Mr. Alfred Ely set a splendid
example for sportsmen when he devoted a con-
siderable amount of time and care to coUeoting
small mammals in Alberta for the American
Museum. This was Mr. Ely's first attempt at

674

NATURAL HISTORY

preparing specimens for study, and he apparently
found it interesting, as he expressed his intentions
of carrying on this work next year. Mr. Ely's
material has proved to be a valuable contribu-
tion to the Museum collections, and consists of
fifty-three specimens, including a fine series of
fljdng squirrels, ground squirrels, wood-rats,
small rodents, and shrews.

REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS
]\ /IR. Tze Tuan Chen of the University of
^^^ Pennsylvania spent several weeks this sum-
mer in the department of herpetology of the
American Museum, securing material for the
study of protozoan parasites of Chinese frogs of
the Central Asiatic Expedition's large collection.
This work has direct bearing on problems of
amphibian evolution and distribution, so Mr.
Chen's report will be awaited with great interest.
Mr. Chen is an instructor in the department of
zoology of the University of Pennsylvania.

CORA SENNER WINKIN
■"PHE department of herpetology and experi-
■*■ mental biology in the American Museum has
suffered a great loss in the death, on September
25, of Dr. Cora Sermer Winkin. After receiving
the degree of doctor of philosophy at the Col-
lege of Physicians and Surgeons in 1922, Doctor
Winkin helped to advance the research program
of the Museum in several departments. Her
plan was to trace out a phylogeny of the physio-
logical processes in vertebrate animals. For
some years she worked as a volunteer assistant
with this end in view. In 1929 she was appointed
a research assistant in experimental biology. She
carried on with distinction investigations on the
molt mechanism and water regulation in verte-
brates. Her wide knowledge of biological prob-
lems and her extraordinary command of foreign
languages won for her a high place in the research
activity of the Museum. As an instructor in
physiology at the College of Physicians and
Surgeons she broadened the influence of the Mu-
seum by bringing medical students in direct
contact with Museum research and exhibition.
Doctor Winkin died in her thirty-eighth year at
the very beginning of the work she had been
preparing for in many ways. The memory of her
high ideals and cheerful personahty remain a
source of inspiration to her associates.

SCIENCE OF MAN
■"PHE Hall of South American Archaeology and
■*• Ethnology, which has been moved from the
third floor of the American Museum to its new
location in the west wing of the second floor has
just been officially opened.

A major part of this hall is devoted to the excel-
lent Peruvian collections. The principal archseo-
logical sites of the Andean region are represented.
Though the collections consist largely of pottery,
there is also exemphfied stone, copper, wood,
bone and gourd work. The gold and silver speci-
mens are on special display and contain many
unique pieces.

The Peruvian textile collection is one of the
finest in the world and is of interest to art
students and textile experts as well as anthro-
pologists. Good examples of weaving techniques
and designs do full justice to the excellent Peru-
vian art.

The archaeological regions of aU of the South
American continent are represented in the hall.
Furthermore, a number of cases are devoted to the
display of the work of Hving Indians from the
principal ethnological culture areas of South
America.

Such variety as mummies, "shrunken heads,"
delicately painted Chimu jars, and elaborately
embroidered textiles, are intended to appeal to
every one interested in art and culture.

/~> iFT OF Arch^ological Mateeials from
^~* Illinois. — The anthropology department
of the American Museum recently received a
valuable gift of specimens from Mr. Harold D.
Flautt, of Casper, Wyoming, a member of the
Museum. This gift included about one thousand
typical archaeological specimens of chipped and
ground stone implements, mostly from Jersey
and Calhoun counties, located at the confluence
of the lUinois and Mississippi rivers in the state
of lUinois; one fine Arapaho war bonnet, ob-
tained from Chief Goes-in-Lodge, the last sur-
vivor of the Custer Massacre, who died on
August 2 of this year after he had participated in
the annual Arapaho sun dance; a clay pipe and
some spear and arrow points of iron from New
Mexico; a mealing stone from Wyoming; and
about thirty invertebrate fossils from Wyoming
and other places. The archaeological material is
especially welcome, as it fills important gaps in
the Museum's IlHnois collections.

MUSEUM ACCESSIONS
■"PHE LiBRART of the American Museum an-
•'• nounces that it is the fortunate recipient of
Doubleday, Doran's eight-volume edition of
Ernest Thompson Seton's Ldves of Game Animals.
Miss Emma F. Randolph by this gift has given
concrete expression of her friendship for the Mu-
seum and of her interest in its aims and activities.

MEETINGS OF SOCIETIES
T the recent meeting of the American
Ornithologists' Union in Detroit, Dr.

NOTES

675

Ernst Mayr, of the departmont of ornithology,
American Museum, was elected a corresponding
fellow of the Union. Papers were presented at
the scientific sessions of the Union by Doctor
Mayr and Doctor Chapman, and Mr. Albert
R. Brand of the department of birds presented an
exceedingly interesting preliminary demonstra-
tion of the results obtained by him in recording
the songs of birds on film; a synchronized film,
showing the home life of the pied-billed grebe,
together with the remarkable sonorous calls of
this species, was particularly successful.

CENTENARY MEETING OF THE BRITISH

ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT

OF SCIENCE

At the Centenary Meeting of the British
Association for the Advancement of Science,
held in London, September 2,3-30, 1931, the
American Museum was represented by Prof.
Henry Fairfield Osborn and Dr. Wilham K.
Gregory.

The evening address by General Smuts, presi-
dent of the Association, was a notable review of
the present scientific picture of the universe by a
leader of men and great thinker of unusual sweep
and penetration. The speaker traced the in-
fluence of the newer concepts of physics and
astronomy upon the interpretation of biologic
phenomena, including evolution, following the
lines of his book on "Holism." He concluded
that "the essential character of the universe does
not preclude new creation, that there are indica-
tions of a certain measure of free movement and
creativeness throughout the world, which in-
creases in life and mind, and in the emergence of
new values. Within the deterministic limits of
the universe the human spirit may thus have an
assured status and a certain measure of creative
free play." Such conclusions contradict the
once fashionable philosophy of mechanistic
determinism, according to which Free WiU is a
complete myth and every action of every object
has been foreordained from the beginning of time.
They are also in accord with Professor Osborn's
well known views on "Creative Evolution,"
based on palaontological evidence.

The proceedings of the Section of Zoology
opened with Prof. E. B. Poulton's address,
"A Hundred Years of Evolution." Professor
Poulton is undoubtedly one of the most eminent
living exponents of what is known as "pure
Darwinism," or the doctrine that, given the
tendency to variabiUty, Natural Selection and
Heredity alone are sufficient to produce the ob-
served differentiation of species that have
descended from a common ancestor. Professor
Poulton could speak with special authority in this

field, in which he has played a conspicuous and
continuous part since the early days of the con-
troversy that arose over Darwin's work. After a
lively retrospect of the great debates on this
subject in early meetings of the Association, in
which he had taken part, he proceeded to exhibit
lantern views of some exceptionally arresting
cases of mimicry between different species of
moths and of butterflies. He cited much evi-
dence gathered in the field and in the laboratory
tending to show that the species with conspicuous
coloration do have a disagreeable taste or some
other defense against being eaten by sharp-
sighted enemies, and that the species which mimic
them do profit in the long run from their re-
semblance to these bad-tasting species.

Prof. Julian S. Huxlej' then spoke on de-
velopment and evolution. He gave some illus-
trations of the growth of the enlarged chelae of
fiddler crabs, of the antlers of deer, of the bony
horns of the titanotheres, etc., showing that the
increasing dimensions of the part as compared
with the whole animal could be expressed in a
simple logarithmic curve. He suggested that the
independent increase of the bonj' horn swellings in
different hereditary lines of titanotheres could be
interpreted as a mathematical result of the gen-
eral principles of growth rather than as an
example of orthogenesis.

Professor Osborn then presented his paper on
"New Principles of Evolution Revealed by

"In honour of Darwin our first thought is that
natural selection is the sole survivor of the age-
long theories and hypotheses clustering about
evolution. Selection alone has stood the test of
survival of the fittest, j'et we must severely limit
the powers of selection as Darwin imagined them
in his earUer and more sanguine frame of mind,
and glean the elements of truth pervading all the
other hypotheses and theories.

"When we consider the youthful zoology and
the infantUe palseontology of Darwin's time
(1809-1882), our admiration for his genius and
marvellous powers of generalization constantly
increases. What would his generahzations have
risen to with our present knowledge? He fore-
saw the promised land of palseontology, but did
not live to enter it. The ratio of the 8,767 verte-
brate species known in his time to the 65,939
species known in 1925, nearly 8 to 1, is about the
measure of the biological progress of the first
century of evolution."

The speaker then alluded to the fact that when
Darwin sailed on the "Beagle" on December
27, 1831, there were only two species of fossU
elephants known to science, the Mammoth and

676

NATURAL HISTORY

the Mastodon. Now, there are 395 known
species, clearly arranged along twenty-five differ-
ent Unes of evolutionary ascent. From this and
similar hundredfold expansion of our knowledge
of the actual processes of evolution may be
deduced no less than nine new and fundamental
principles as to the origins of new characters in
what may be called biomechanical adaptation
alone, for this is all that is revealed in the hard
parts of animals and plants which may be
preserved fossil.

Professor Osborn then gave a striking illustra-
tion of the rise of biomechanical adaptations in a
certain phylum of proboscideans which culminat-
ed in the great extinct "shovel-tusk" mastodon,
discovered by an American Museum expedition
under Roy Chapman Andrews in Mongoha. He
also gave illustrations of some of the other new
principles of evolution which had become evident
during his studies on the evolution of the titano-
theres and the Proboscidea, especially the prin-
ciples of predetermination and potentiality, of
rectigradation and aristogenesis. "Rectigrada-
tion" he defined as the observed origin and rise of
biocharacters from almost invisible beginnings
to an advanced stage of evolution in a single
direction, without deviation to one side or another.
The term "aristogenesis" was provisionally
used to describe the origin of the best adaptive
characters, directly from the germ and without
experiment.

The speaker's more general conclusion was as
follows:

"We can affirm that it is the essential living
principle of biomechanical reaction which calls
forth the adaptative biomechanical response,
whether in development or in evolution. While
we know infinitely more about the principles of
evolution than did Charles Darwin, and while we
can demonstrate beyond refutation the prevail-
ing twenty principles of biomechanical adapta-
tion discovered in ontogeny and phylogeny, we
are more at a loss than ever before to understand
the causes of evolution. One after another the
Buffonian, Lamarckian, Darwinian, Weissman-
nian and De Vriesian theories of causation have
collapsed; each, however, contains elements of
truth. All that we can say at present is that
Nature does not waste time or effort with chance
or fortuity or experiment, but that she proceeds
directly and creatively to her marvellous adap-
tive ends of biomechanism."

While especially desirous not to say a single
word which could be interpreted as dissent from
Darwin's main principles, the speaker felt com-
pelled by the synthesis of the wholly unexpected
principles revealed by Palaeontology since 1869

to oppose absolutely Darwin's central hypothesis
that the adaptive can arise out of the fortuitous.
He substituted the essentially new concept of the
direct rise of the adaptive out of the germ, not
in an experimental manner, but as a secular
process observable only in very prolonged periods
of geologic time. His address throughout was
entirely on an inductive basis rather than deduc-
tive or speculative.

In conclusion, Professor Osborn called for a
new physical concept of the evolution of Ufa
essentially different from the metaphysical con-
cepts of the "Emergence" of Lloyd Morgan or the
"Holism" of President Smuts.

At the Jubilee Celebration of the fiftieth year
of the Natural History Museum, as a separate
branch of the British Museum, delegates from
many parts of the world gathered to convey mes-
sages of good will and congratulation. Professor
Osborn said that the American Museum of
Natural History of New York was proud to offer
tributes, as a daughter to the mother from which
she had sprung. He recalled the fact that when
Prof. Alberts. Biekmore was planning the founda-
tion of the American Museum, he had visited the
British Museum in London and had been received
there with the greatest courtesy and helpfulness
by Professor Owen, who had given him a copy of
his plans for an ideal Natural History Museum;
and that the essential principles of these plans
had been embodied in the first wing of the Mu-
seum building in New York.

Before the Section of Anthropology Professor
Osborn explained his new method of assigning
geologic dates to the various fossil species of men
by measurement of the total length of the enamel
folds in the molar teeth of the associated forms of
extinct proboscideans.

An important evening lecture on "The Con-
struction of Man's Family Tree" was dehvered
by Sir Arthur Keith before a brilliant audience in
the hall of the Royal Geographical Society. The
first scientific "family tree of man" was pub-
lished by Ernst HEeckel in 1865 and, in the
opinion of the speaker, this was a remarkably
accurate and concise estimate of the degrees of
blood kinship of man, first to the African anthro-
poids, then to the extinct ape Dryopithecus and
so on down to the stem of the Old World monkeys,
which were correctly related at the base to the
New World monkeys. Proceeding to the results
of most later authors, including himself, Sir
Arthur showed that although they had all dealt
with different aspects of the anatomical material,
they were in essential agreement with Haeckel's
first diagram, the only differences being as to the
length of time that had elapsed since the separa-

NOTES

677

tion of the various branches froiri each other. To
Professors Osliorn and Gregory, who were the
guests of honor on the platform, Sir Arthur paid
a generous tribute for the high plane of good
hunnour in which they had carried on their recent
scientific controversy over the relative nearness or
remoteness of man's kindship to the anthropoid
apes. Personally he was inclined to accept
Professor Gregory's version of the family tree of
man, as he could not see how the relatively close
anatomical agreements between man and the
apes could be consistent with Professor Osborn's
view that the two groups had been entirely in-
dependent of each other since early Oligocene or
even Eocene times. Professor Osborn, in moving
a vote of thanks to the lecturer, said that a fairer
presentation of the subject could not have been
desired and thanked Sir Arthur also for his im-
portant contributions to the comparative anat-
omy of the apes and man.

The Director and Scientific Staff of the British
Museum of Natural History generously extended
to Professor Osborn and Doctor Gregory the
fullest opportunities for carrying on their respec-
tive researches. To Professor Osborn they en-
trusted the great collection of fossil proboscidean
teeth and skulls from the Siwaliks of India.
Professor Osborn, assisted by Mr. Edwin Colbert
of the department of vertebrate palaeontology of
the American Museum, made a rich harvest of
measurements and observations that will be
embodied in his monograph on the Proboscidea.

The departments of recent and fossil fishes
opened to Doctor Gregory their enormous stores
of fish skeletons, and during the five weeks of his
stay in London he was able to fill many lacunae
in his previous studies on the adaptations shown
by the skull of fishes to different habits of feeding
and locomotion.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Paradise Quest. A Naturalist's Experiences in New

Guinea. By I,ee S. Crandall, Curator of Birds, New York

Zoological Park. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York

and London, 1931, Svo.; pp. xvii, 226, 52 photos.

C TYLES will come and go, but let us hope that
^ never again shall we see the gorgeous plumes
of dead paradise birds flaunted above pretty
faces by Fashion. It is so much more wonderful
to see them on the hve birds where they grow.
Favored indeed is the dweller in our great city
who can have this pleasure any day he cares to
visit the New York Zoological Park. No need
has he to risk tropical diseases and parasites, or
dangerous savages, to feast his eyes upon these
birds of miraculous beauty from the far side of
our earth.

It is only in recent years that birds of paradise
have been shown in our Zoo. Someone must run

the risks I have mentioned, in order that we may
watch the antics of such beauteous birds close
to our own homes. Mr. Crandall confesses that
he longed to take his chances, and justifies him-
self by the reminder that " Fortunately, a natural-
ist is not supposed to be practical." Then be
goes on to show throughout his dehghtful book
how practical he was, and had to be in order to
succeed in the mission entrusted to him, of secur-
ing and bringing safely home a collection of live
birds of paradise.

One of the commonest questions is "Where do
birds of paradise come from?" The pubhc
cannot seem to remember, and it would be a
strange course in memory training that would
couple Paradise with New Guinea and the adja-
cent islands. The origin of the birds' name is
explained by Mr. Crandall. The first native-
made skins to reach Europe lacked both wings
and feet. This deficiency, "coupled with the
ethereal beauty of the birds' plumage" gave rise
to the romantic theory that they lived in the air
and never touched earth until they died. Truly
they must be birds of the gods.

The commercial exportation of paradise plum-
age is now forbidden, and the removal of live
specimens is carefully controlled under permit.
So while the birds are being made familiar to the
civilized world, their continued existence in their
homeland is fully assured.

A large part of the great island of New Guinea
is mountainous, and the greatest variety of
paradise birds is to be found in the highlands.
Securing the assistance of Mr. John Ward, an
experienced Australian bird-collector, Mr. Cran-
dall entered New Guinea by way of Port Moresby
and Yule Island on the southeastern coast, in
early October, 1928. The difficulties of the trip
into the interior were due not only to the un-
healthy climate and poor mountain tracks, but
still more to the independence and general un-
reUability of the sparse native population.

To reach Deva-Deva and Taruve in the
mountains of the Central Division, where blue
birds of paradise and other celebrated rarities
could be had, was no simple matter. Black
people who regard members of neighboring tribes
as legitimate game, and with whom simple con-
versation is a difiiculty, must be utiUzed as
beasts of burden and as guides. Fortunately
they were far more efficient as bird-catchers.
They eat small birds, and they prize the paradise
plumes as articles of adornment.

Ignorant as they are of iron-working, knives
and axes of the white man, together with mirrors,
cloth, and "sticks" of tobacco stimulated them
to unusual activity. In the surprisingly short

678

NATURAL HISTORY

space of two months Messrs. Crandall and Ward
were ready to sail again from Yule Island with a
collection of forty birds of paradise and two
hundred other birds.

One might suspect that the work of guarding
and feeding such an aviary would have been
enough to prevent its custodians from making
any other observations. Certainly the descrip-
tions of habits and behavior of the birds of para-
dise are charming, but Mr. Crandall's book is
brimming full with other information. Village
Ufe and methods of travel, hunting, and trapping
are vividly portrayed, including scenes at a
barbarously artistic dance which formed an
appropriate climax just before his departure.

A still more intimate picture is given of the
various natives who accompanied the party.
Their individual pecuUarities seem to have been
no less diverse than among a group of civilized
men. The oustanding figure among them all is
Koi, "cooky boy" and interpreter, man of illus-
trious appetite, bulging with sweet potatoes and
taro whenever possible, but a real helper with all
his faults.

"Friendly cannibals" Crandall found the
Mafulu tribe of the mountainous interior, but
they ate nothing worse than pig while he watched
them. It may be that when more fully subjected
to our civilization they will become less likeable.
Wise government measures discourage the wear-
ing of cloth above the waist, for it is known to
favor pulmonary disease. It does seem regret-
table that no more suitable medium of com-
munication has been adopted than Pidgin EngHsh.

The risks of the expedition must have seemed
at an end when the whole collection was safely
stowed on the S.S. "Morinda," saiUng out of
Port Moresby. The following morning the ship
grounded on a coral reef, and only on the sixth
day of bouncing on the reef could they be trans-
ferred to another steamer bound for Sydney.
No wonder the unsavory odors of Gowanus Creek
seemed strangely sweet when Crandall's precious
collection finally reached New York, late in
March, 1929. It was a splendid task well done.

The Earth — Our Ever-Changing Planet by
Chester A. Reeds, curator of geology, American
Museum of Natural History, has just been pub-
lished by the University Society, Inc . , and a review
will appear in the next issue of Nattiral History.

A Monograph on the Archeology of
■^"^ Kauai has just been issued by the Bernice
P. Bishop Museum in Honolulu. The author is
Dr. W. C. Bennett, who has just joined the
curatorial staff of the department of anthro-
pology at the American Museum. Kauai is

one of the smaller and more westerly inhabited
islands of the Hawaiian group. An intensive
study on this island by Doctor Bennett while he
was connected with the Bishop Museum in 1928-
29, showed Kauai to be rich in structures of stone
and other archseological remains. Some unusual
stone structures were those carrying irrigation
ditches around the faces of cUffs and across
ravines. In the best preserved the walls are of
well-cut stone, a feature unique in Hawaiian
antiquities. Of general interest is the apparent
individuaUty in the prehistoric culture of this
small island, its archEeology showing numerous
implements and structural forms not observable
in any of the other islands nor in Polynesia as a
whole. The author concludes, then, that in this
instance the island was sufficiently detached and
possessed of so virile a population that many
new variants of Hawaiian culture were created.

"Paleolithic Man and the Nile-Faiyum Divide." By K. S.
Sanford and W. J, Arkell. Vol. I of the Prehistoric
Survey of Egypt and Western Asia, issued by the Oriental
Institute of the University of Chicago. Edited by Prof.
James Henry Breasted.

SINCE Napoleon's military expedition to
Egypt, 1798-1801, the world has been kept
in a state of growing astonishment over the
gradual unearthing of the ancient and forgotten
historic civilization of the NUe valley. Whisper-
ings about things prehistoric have been heard
now and then for nearly fifty years, to be sure;
but though they were sometimes founded on
fairly extensive collections (one of which is in the
American Museum) they were drowned by exul-
tation over such discoveries as Tutankamen's
tomb.

Now, at last, there are signs that interest is
about to be fairly divided. The authors of the
above mentioned volume, representing the Uni-
versity of Michigan, are accredited geologists
thoroughly familiar with the typological succes-
sion of flaked, chipped, and ground stone imple-
ments and thus prepared to determine the essen-
tial synchronization of outstanding geological
and archaeological phenomena.

The publication before us is in the nature of a
partial or preliminary report on two seasons'
work (1926-28), covering a large portion of the
Nile valley proper and also the tributary basin
known as the Faiyum. In it are set forth in
clear and concise terms: (1) the geological origin
and history of the Nile valley as dating from
early Miocene times; (2) the origin and develop-
ment of the Faiyum basin as dating from early
Pleistocene times; (3) the absence of evidence
pointing to the presence of man in Egypt in
Pliocene times; (4) the presence of four river
terraces in the upper Nile valley which contain

NOTES

679

implements of Chello-Aoheulean and Mousterian
types; and (5) the presence in the Faiyum lake
basin of no less than eleven ancient beaches mark-
ing temporary standstills in the gradual drying
up of the lake and containing a succession of stone
implement industries which range from the Mous-
terian down to the Neolithic.

Limitations of space forbid further exposition,
but we have here obviously one of the most
beautiful chronological demonstrations ever put
forth by the joint labors of geologists and archse-
ologists. Professor Breasted and the authors
are deserving of the heartiest congratulations and
of encouragement that they go on to complete
their remarkable undertaking. — N. C. N.

BASHFORD DEAN MEMORIAL VOLUME
""PHIS Memorial, under the editorship of Dr.
■*• E. W. Gudger, is making substantial progress.
Three articles have been pubhshed and two are in
press.

Article I, A Memorial Sketch with seven por-
traits was published December 15, 1930. This
was by Dr. W. K. Gregory, curator of ichthyol-
ogy, an old student of Doctor Dean's.

Article II, The Segmentation of the Egg of the
Myxinoid Eel Bdellostoma, with two lithographed
plates from Doctor Dean's drawings, appeared on
May 7, 1931. The authors were Dr. E. W.
Gudger, bibhographer and associate in ichthyol-
ogy, American Museum, and Dr. B. G. Smith,
professor of anatomy. New York University.

Article III, The Genital System of the Myxi-
noidea, by Dr. J. LeRoy Conel, professor of
anatomy in the Boston University School of
Medicine, appeared on September 25, 1931.
This was illustrated by four lithographed plates
from Doctor Dean's drawings.

Articles IV and V are in press. Article IV,
The Structure of the Devonian Fossil Placoderm
Fish Dinichthys by Dr. Anatol Heintz of the
Paleontological Museum, Oslo, Norway, is in the
hands of the printer for second galley proofs.
From new as well as old material Doctor Heintz
has completely cleared up the puzzling points
in the structure of this fish on which Doctor
Dean worked for many years. Article V, The
Natural History of Chlamydoselachus by Doc-
tors Gudger and Smith, is now in the hands
of the printer for type-setting. This is based in
part on specimens and notes brought back from
Japan by Doctor Dean in 1901 and in 1905.

Other articles are being worked up and will
appear in the future.

CREDIT
nPHE photograph of the black bear and cub
■*• credited to the American Museum, which
appeared on page 520 of the September-October
issue of Natural History was taken by Mr.
J. M. Johnson, of New York City. Mr. Johnson
presented the negative to the American Museum,
and the editors of Natural History desire to
give Mr. Johnson full credit for the picture.

NEW MEMBERS

Since the last issue of Nattthal History, the following
persons have been elected members of the American Mu-
seum, making the total membership 12,032.

Mr. PiBRPONT Adams.

CoSEL, Eugene A. Demonet, Jr., Habrt Eldridge,
Thomas E. H.ardenbergh, B. Frank Hats, Alfred
Knight, Howard N. Knowles, L. A. Mac Coll, C. D.
Mallory, S. a. Megbath, Horace E. Patson, Lock-
wood M. PiRiE, Robert Schmeidler, Chahles D.
Schneider, John B. Sparks.

Life Member
Miss Florence C. Martin.

Sustaining Members
Mesdames Bertha B. Alexander, Dennis F. O'Brien.

Annual Members
Mesdames Edith Connor, Charles V. Drew, Charles J.
DuNLAP, John J. Gordon, George F. Gouge, D. G.
Legget, G. C. Marshall, J. J. Naugle, Harold G.
Perry, Edward Heath Peters, R. M. Raymond, John
J. Rudolf, Ruth Weiss, Mary W. Woltge.

Misses Elsie T. Bahr, Miriam Birdseye, Minna P.
Bolze, Laura F. Craft, Judith C. Dinkelspiel, Mar-
garet M. Finck, Adele Forbes, Emma L. Hauselt,
Viola Paucek, Dorothea Richtberg, Dorothea G.
Stephan, Regina Stolz, Bernice Wiesenfeld, Julia P.

WiLB

Doctors Joseph H. Abraham, C. Monford Cole, John
Johnston, Alois F. Kotarik, H. Hohton Sheldon,
Hugh Stuart.

Messrs. Sidney Bircher, Curtis J. Brooks, Max D.

Dr. Grace B. Holmes.

Misses ZoRA Deisner, Frances Densmore. Vera Y.
Foster, Lois T. Martin, Margery G. Poole, Ruth
Tyndai.l.

Doctors Arthur R. Barwick, Richard L. Cook, Lewis
C. Ecker, Robert B. Hiden, Thomas W. Kyle, Sidney
N. Parkinson.

Colonel Paul C. Hutton.

Messrs. Oscar E. Baynard, Wn.FRED M. Benson, W. P.
Borland, Paul W. Bowman, Edwar'3 H. Bright, Jr.,
Thomas C. Bright, E. F. Carter, Willis Collins, P. S.
Conrad, Jr., W. H. Donner, William E. Dunning,
Rhys Evans, A. E. Fivaz, Ross L. Fryer, Joe W. Han-
NON, G. W. Harris, Hermann E. Hobbs, Will A. Hub-
bard, Frank A. Jones, L. T. Jones, Chas. H. Kendall,
A. J. LaBaie, R. Mayer, Clement W. Miller, Frank
E. Morse, Amos S. Reeves, Fr. Schwenck, P. Seng,
Thompson M. Stout, Hugh H. Sullivan, Samuel P.
Wetherill, Jr., D. A. Wheeler, Irvin H. Williams,

NATURAL HISTORY

FORWARD!

Jl5eTWEEN now and Christmas America will
feel the thrill of a great spiritual experience.
In those few weeks millions of dollars will be
raised in cities and towns throughout the land,
and the fear of^cold and hunger will be banished
from the hearts of thousands.

Be sure that you do your part. Give
to the funds that will be raised in your commu-
nity. Give liberally.

And know that your gift will bless
yourself. It will lift your own spirit. More than
anything else you can do, it will help to end the
depression and lay the firm foundation for
better times.

The President's Organisation on Unemployment Relief

Walter S. Gifford

Director
Committee on Mobilization of Relief Resources

Owen D. Young

The President's Organization on Unemployment Relief is non-political and non-sectarian. Its purpose is to aid local welfare

and relief agencies everywhere to provide for local needs. All facilities for the nation-wide program, including this advertisememt,

have been furnished to the Committee without cost.

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

FOUNDED IN 1869

SIXTY years of public and scientific service have won for the American Museum of Natural
History a position of recognized importance in the educational and scientific life of the nation,
and in the progress of civilization throughout the world. Expeditions trom the American
Museum and members of the scientific staff are interested in facts of science wherever they
may lie found. As a. result, rei)resentative8 of this institution are forever studying, investigat-
ing, exjjloriiig, not merely in their laboratories and their Ubraries, but actually in the field, in
remote and uncivilized corners of the world, as well as in lands nearer home.

From these adventuring scientists and from observers and scientists connected with other
institutions, Natoual IIistoby Magazine obtains the articles tliat it publishes. Thus it is able
to present to the members of the American Museum the most fascinating, the most important,
and the most dramatic of the facts that are being added to the sum total of human knowledge.

MEMBERSHIP MORE THAN TWELVE THOUSAND
For the enlargement of its collections, for the support of its exploration and scientific research,
and for the maintenance of its many pubUcations, the American Museum is dependent wholly
upon members' fees and the generosity of its friends. More than 12,000 members are now enrolled
and are thus supporting the work of the Museum. There are ten different classes of members, which
are as follows:

Associate Member (Persons residing fifty miles or more from New York City) . . annually $3

Annual Member annually §10

Sustaining Member annually $25

Life Member $200

FeOow $500

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Associate Benefactor $10,000

Associate Founder $25,000

Benefactor $50,000

Endowment Member $100,000

FREE TO MEMBERS

NATURAL HISTORY: JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM
This magazine, published bi-monthly by the American Museum, is sent to all classes of
members, as one of their privileges.

AUTUMN AND SPRING COURSES OF PUBLIC LECTURES
Series of illustrated lectures held on alternate Thursday evenings in the autumn and spring of

the year are open only to members or to those holding tickets given them by members.

In addition to these lectures, illustrated stories for the children of members are presented on

alternate Saturday mornings in the autumn and in the spring.

MEMBERS' CLUB ROOM AND GUIDE SERVICE
A handsome room on the third floor of the Museum, equipped with every convenience for rest,
reading, and correspondence, is set apart during Museum hours for the exclusive use of members
when visiting the Miiseum. Members are also privileged to avail themselves of the services of an
instructor for guidance.

SCIENCE «/ MUSEUM M RESEARCH

EDUCATION H N-MURAL a EXPLORATION

IXTIETH ANNIVERSARY ENDOWMENT FUND. Already, $2,500,000 has been
contributed to this $10,000,000 fund, opened in January, 1929 to commemorate the Six-
tieth Anniversary of the Founding of the American IVIuseum of Natural History and to
further the growth of its world-wide activities in Exploration, Research, Preparation,
Exhibition, Publication, and Education. Committees are now engaged in seeking the $7,500,000
which remains to be contributed. It is greatly to be desired that this fund, so vital to the scien-
tific and educational progress of the Museum, shall reach completion at an early date.

SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS of the Museum, based on its explorations and the study
of its coUeotions, include the Memoirs, devoted to monographs requiring large or fine illustrations
and exhaustive treatment; the Bulletin, issued in octavo form since 1881, deaUng with the scientific
activities of the departments except for the department of anthropology; the Anthropological
Papers, which record the work of the department of anthropology; and Novitates, which are devoted
to the pubUcation of prehminary scientific announcements, descriptions of new forms, and similar
matter.

POPULAR PUBLICATIONS, as well as scientific ones, come from the American Museum
Press, which is housed within the Museum itself. In addition to Natural History
Magazine, the journal of the American Museum, the popular publications include many han
books, which deal with subjects illustrated by the collections, and guide leaflets which describe
individual exhibits or series of exhibits that are of especial interest or importance. These are all
available at purely nominal cost to anyone who cares for them.

THE LIBRARY of the American Museum is available for those interested in scientific re-
search or study on natural history subjects. It contains 115,000 volumes, and for the accommo-
dation of those who wish to use this storehouse of knowledge, a well-equipped and well-manned
reading room is provided. The LIBRARY may be called upon for detailed lists of both popular
and scientific pubhcations with their prices.

PUBLIC AND NORMAL SCHOOL SERVICE. The increased facihties offered by this
department of the Museum make it possible to augument greatly the Museum's work, not only in
New York City public schools, but also throughout the United States. More than 22,500,000 con-
tacts were made with boys and girls in the schools of Greater New York alone, and educational
institutions in more than thirty states took advantage of the Museum's free film service during 1930.
Inquiries from all over the United States, and even from many foreign countries are constantly
coming to the school service department. Thousands of lantern sUdes are prepared at cost for
distant educational institutions, and the American Museum, because of this and other phases of
its work, can more and more be considered not a local but a national — even an international —
institution.

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

77th STREET and CENTRAL PARK WEST
NEW YORK, N. Y.

INDEX TO VOLUME XXXI

TEXT AND ILLUSTRATIONS
Names of artidcH an; sH in rjipitaU and small capitals. Titles of works t

Akoloy, Mary L. Jobo, 223; 332-334
Aniorican MuHoum, liiatory of, 112
Am(in(I tiik NriMADS OF TiBET, C. Suydiuii Cutting, IlhlB-

iniir.l, cir, (,_>i;
.•1 ,;,■,, „/ ( '.. ,/; ,,/:,,„,, of the Andes, 340
Aiidni-, l:,,i (!,:,,, nmn: The Fate of the Uash Platybelo-

J"ii, I I.". l:-'s; 330-337

Natuhb Tbaii,, William H. Carr, IlluB-

I 12

And >, 1.1 i;: From Cuzco to Machu Picchu, 388-399

Arr'lil.nM, llirl,Mnl,447
AlvlnnoloKv:

iMKurinc! fi-.,m Mexico, 243 -2.52

Toinpic! niodi'le from Mexino, 339

Tompli; ii,.i.l(.ls rr,)rii Middle America, .530-538
Art ok tin Mi i.n Ci iana Bush Negro, Morton C.

Kahn, III. I h .1, .1, r,.-. UiS
AscKNT oi \i .1 I 1' I.I MiQuiiiB, The, George H. H.

Tate, llliiMiiii.il, ,..;.i -,48
Abtbkoidm, Ihe, Wulhuic .J. Eckert, Illustrated, 23-30
Astronomy:

Amateur Astronomers' Association, 107; 219; 332:
444; 559-560; 071

Asteroids, 23-30

Miniature planetarium, 107

Museum asti-onomical hall, 219

Planetaria, 147-154; 218
At a Mongolian Prayer Wheel, Cover Design, March-
April; 226
At the Sea Shore, Paul B. Mann, Illustrated, 275-280
Aztec Ruin National Monument, 450

Bailey, Alfred M: A Phantom of the Marshes, 188-194;

Sttc-a-Plomb, 417^23
Baker, George Fisher, 328-329

"Basilisk," The, G. Kingsley Noble, Illustrated, 93-100
Bear Mountain Trailside Museum, 434-442; 562; 673
Bearded Mystery, A. George C. Vaillant, Illustrated,

243—2,52
Bennett, W. C, 566
Birds:

African bird group, 474-489

Cape Verdes, 651-602

Collecting in Bougainville, 207-216

Congo collecting, 600-614

Kidong Valley Group, 671-672

King rail, 188-194

Owl, 663-667

Penguin, 336

Pied-billed grebe, 417-423
Blackwood, Beatrice: Mountain People of the South Seas,

424-430
Boa Constrictors and Other Pets, Paul Griswold Howes,

Illustrated, 300-309
Book Reviews:

Ancient Civilizations of the Andes, 340

Archaeology of Kauai, The, 678

Butterfly and Moth Book, 453

Caterpillars and their Moths, 453

Cope, Master Naturalist, 450-4.52

Djuka, the Bush Negroes of Dutch Guiana, 341

Field Book of Ponds and Streams, 453

Oame Animals of the Sudan, 340-341

General Textbook of Entomology, 453

Glimpses of Familiar Birds, 225

Growing Up in New Guinea, 111

"Paleolithic Man and the Nile-Faiyum Divide"

History of Applied Entomology, A, 454

Paradise Quest, 677-678

Permian of Mongolia, The, 110; 454

Recent Advances in Entomology, 453

Science of Life, The, 225

Stir of Nature, The, 111

Thirty Years War for Wild Life. 341-342

Thomas Say, Early American Naturalist, 454

Whaling in the Antarctic, 452-4.53

Wild Game— Its Legal Status. 586
Bureau of Education, 673
Burroughs, John, 500-510
Briggs basketry collection, 223
Brown, Barnum: The Largest Known Land Tortoise, 183-

187

Cafeteria service, 673

Camp Life on the Gobi Desert, Walter Granger, Illus-
trated. 359-373
Canoe Country, Francis L. ,Taques, Illustrated, 034-639
Carr, William H: Indian Beaver Legends, 81-92; Animals

of the Nature Trail, 434-142 ; Telling the Beaver Slorv

040-0.50
Carter, T. Donald: ", Jimmy," 003-007
Cattle, origin of, 287-299
Chapin, .James P: Up the Congo to Lukolela. 474-487;

Day by Day at Lukolela, 000-014; .5M
Chapman, Frank M: Seen from a Tropical Air Cattle.

347-3.50
Chen, TzeTuan, 074
Children's Science Fair, 506
Chubb, S. Harnisted: "Gallant Fox" and "Man O' War,"

318-327
Clark, James L: The Giant Eland of Southern Sudan,

581-599
Cockerell, T. D. A: Wild Bees of Morocco, 310-317
Conservation:

Bear, 560-501; 073

Big game animals, 107

Uison, 444-445

lull in, li.. I,:, I ..liMllf., |.!,,tection, 334-335

334

Cop, i;

'/..,(. 450-452

Coral 1. '

.7 1 387

Crosl.v, ^l

:iiiii~i '

,~. hirffelin, 219-220

CuttiliK, e

. .Suyd!

iMi: Among the Nomads of Tibet, OIJ

020

Day by Day at Lukolela, .James P. Chapin, Illustrated,

000-614
Day in Nazca, A. Ronald L. Olson, Illustrated, 400-408
Dean Memorial Volume, 109; 679
de Chardin, Teilhard, 335, 338-339
Djuka— The Bush Negroes of Dutch Guiana, 341
Drama of the Skies, The, Clyde Fisher, Illustrated, 147-

154

d, I. Wyman, 336

Earth, age of, 129-140

Eckert, Wallace J: The Asteroids, 23-30

Education, Bureau of, 073

Edwards, Dorothy L: A Miniature Melanesia, 549-557

Ellsworth, Lincoln, 222-223

Ely, Alfred, 073-074

Enlivening the Past, George C. Vaillant, Illustrated,

530-538
Expeditions:

Boekelman shell-heap project, 217-218

Brady, Florida, 105

Brown, Arizona, 558-559

Central Asiatic, 101-102; 217; 331; 357-373; 558; 668

Chapin, Congo, 103-104; 218; 443-144; 474^87;
600-614

Columbia University — Arrierican Museum, African,
218; 231-242

Frick-Bliek, 103; 069

Frick-Falkenbach, 103; 609

Frick-Kaisen, 103; 669

Frick-Rak, 102; 668

Frick-Skinner, 103; 60S

Good\vin-Carter mammal survey, 105

Kaisen, Montana, 559

Klingel, West Indies, 93-100; 218; 331

LeGendre, Indo-China, 559

Madagascar, 105; 331-332; 559

Mead, New Guinea, 559

Morden, Switzerland, 218

Naumburg-Kaempfer, 069-670

O'Donnell-Clark, African, 103; 218; 331; 581-599

Ottley-Anthcny, South America, 388-399

Pacaraima- Venezuela, 330

Scarritt, Patagonia, 104; 558; 609

Tate, Turumiquire, 539-548

Vaillant, Valley of Mexico, 217; 444; 070

Vernay, Kalahari Desert, 222; 262-274
Explorers' Club, 222

Fate of the Rash Platybelodon, The, Roy Chapman

Andrews, Illustrated, 115-128
Faunthorpe, John Champion, 75-80
Finnic, O. S: Reindeer for the Candian Eskimo, 409-416
Fish:

Beebe exhibit, 224

Chinese, 562

Electric eel, 562

Lungfish, 562

INDEX TO VOLUME XXXI

North Atlantic, 252-261

Sturgeons, 562
Fisher, Clyde: The Drama of the Skies, 147-154; With

John Burroughs at Slabsides, 500-510
Fishermen of Gloucester, The, Francesca LaMonte,

Illustrated, 253-261
Flautt, Harold D., 674
Forty Tons of Coral, Roy Waldo Miner, Illustrated,

374-387

Amblypod, 565-566
Ancient algse, lOS
Cretaceous pliosaur, 108
Crocodiles of New Jersey, 221-222
Crocodilia, research on, 221
Dinichthys, 220-221
Dinosaur footprint, 446
Dinosaur skeleton, 559
Elephants, 446

Evolution of titanotheres, 108
Florida shell mounds, 339
MongoHan, 115-128
Peking Man, 107; 446
Pliocene formations in China, 338-339
Primitive Triassic reptile, 558
Tortoise, 183-1S7
From Cuzco to Machu Picchu, Harold E. Anthony, lUus-
trilted, 388-399

" Gallant Fox" and "Man O' War." S. Harmsted Chubb,

lUustrated, 318-327
Game Animals of the Sudan, 340-341
Gatti, Attilio, 335
Geology:

Arkansas meteorite, 109

Cape York Meteorites, 447-448

Earth, age of, 129-146
George Fisher Baker (1840-1931), Henry Fairfield Os-

born, with portrait, 328-329
Giant Eland of Southern Sudan, The, James L. Clark,

Illustrated, 581-699
Giant Eland of the Southern Sudan, The, Cover Design,

November-December; 568
Glimpses of Familiar Birds, 225
Gorilla: The Greatest of All Apes, H. C. Raven.

Illustrated, 231- 242
Gorillas of the Belgian Congo Forest, Cover Design, May-
June. 228
Granger, Walter: Camp Life on the Gobi Desert, 359-373
Grant, Madison, 445
Great Kalahari Sand Veldt, The, Part I, Arthur S.

Vernay, Illustrated, 169-182
Great Kalahari Sand Veldt, The, Part II, Arthur S.

Vernay, Illustrated, 262-274
Gudger, E. W: Some More Spider Fishermen, 58-61

Hassler, V\ illiam G., 445-446

Hatt, Robert T: When Winter Comes to the Mammal
World, 519-529

Hellweg, Frederick: The United States Naval Observatory,
488-499

Hindu Gypsy of the Nath Tribe, A, Cover Design, Sep-
tember-October; 456

Howes, Paul Griswold; Boa Constrictors and Other Pets,
300-309

How Old Is the Earth? Chester A. Reeds, Illustrated,
129-146

Howler Monkey from Panama, A, Cover Design, July-
August; 344

Ichikawa, Shoichi: The Mysterious Natives of Northern

Japan, 195-206
Inca Background, An, Cover Design, January-February,

112
Indian Beaver Legends, William H. Carr, Illustrated

81-92

Bees of Morocco, 310-317
Benefits to man, 49-57
Fly collection, 224
Spiders as fishermen, 58-61
Study at Barro Colorado, 108-109
Insects vs. the People, Frank E. Lutz, Illustrated, 49-57

Jade, 336; 511-518

Jaques, Francis L: Canoe Country, 634-639
Jeans, Sir James, 332

" JiMMV," T. Donald Carter, Illustrated, 663-667
John Champion Faunthorpe, Arthur S. Vernay, Illus-
trated, 75-80
Johnson, J, M.. 679

. Bush Negro,

The Fishermen of Gloucester, 253-

Largest Known Land Tortoise, The, Barnum Brown

Illustrated, 183-187
Lecture courses, American Museum, 561-562
Library, American Museum, 338; 674
Living with the Natives of Melanesia, Margaret Mead

Illustrated, 62-74
Lutz, Frank E: Insects vs. The People, 49-57

Mammals:

Barro Colorado, 347-356

Beaver, 81-92; 640-650

Cattle, 287-299

Chimpanzee from Congo, 446

False killer whale, 223-224

Giant eland, 581-.599

Gorilla, 231-242

Horses, 318-327

Kalahari Desert, 222

Predatory mammal control, 448-449

Winter protection for, 519-529
Man:

Ainu of Japan, 195-206; 342

Bougainville, 424-433

Bush Negro of Dutch Guiana, 155-168

Hawaiian population, 31-48

Incas, 3-22

India, 458-473

Kalahari natives, 262-274

Manus, 62-74; 549-557

Nomads of Tibet, 615-626

Peking, 107

Prehistoric Peruvian, 400^08
Mann, Paul B: At the Sea Shore, 275-286
Maps:

Earthquake, 109

Equal area, of the continents, 563-564
Mather, Stephen T: 335
Mayan temple, 223
Mayr, Ernst, 219
Mead. Margaret: Living with the Natives of Melanesia,

62-74
Medsger, Oliver Perry: Plant Life in Winter, 627-633
Melanesia, 549-557
Members' visiting day, 335-336
Miner, Roy Waldo: Forty Tons of Coral, 374-387
Miniature Melanesia, A, Dorothy L. Edwards, Illus-
trated, 549-557
Modern Methods of Carving Jade, Herbert P. Whitlock,

Illustrated, 511-518
Mountain People of the South Seas, Beatrice Black-
wood, Illustrated, 424^33
Museum of Primitive Culture, 110
Mysterious N.atives of Northern .Tapan, The, Shoichi

Ichikawa, Illustrated, 195-206

Noble, G. Kingsley: The "Basilisk," 93-100; 445; 447
Old Empires of the Andes, Ronald L. Olson, Illustrated ,

Olson, Ronald L: Old Empires of the Andes, 3-22 ; A Day

in Nazca, 400^08; 449
Origin of Domestic Cattle, The, Arthur T. Semple,

Illustrated, 287-299
Osborn, Henry Fairfield: George Fisher Baker, 328-329;

447

Paradise Quest, 677-678

Pare National Albert, 332-334

Peabody, George Foster, 223 ^

Phantom of the Marshes, A, Alfred M. Bailey, Illus-
trated, 188-194

Pindar, George N: The Theodore Roosevelt Memorial,
571-680

Planetaria, 147-154

Plant Life in Winter, Oliver Perry Medsger, Illustrated
627-633

Prentice, Clare Ellsworth, 336

Race Mixture in Hawaii, H. L. Shapiro, Illustrated, 31-

48
Radio Nature League, 220

Raven, H. C: Goiilla: The Greatest of All Apes. 231-242
Reeds, Chester A: How Old Is the Earth? 129-146
Reindeer for the Canadian Eskimos, O. S. Finnic,

Illustrated. 409-416
Reptiles and Amphibians:

Snakes of Dominica, 300-309

Tree frog from Jamaica, 110
Richards, Guy: Trails and Tribulations of Bougainville,

207-216
Rockwell, Robert H: Under Sail to the Cape Verdes, 651-

662
Roosevelt Memorial, 566; 571-680; 670-671

Sac-a-Plomb, Alfred M. Bailey, Illustrated, 417-423
Science of Life, The, 225

INDEX TO VOLUMJO XXXI

III

Sea Shore Life, 275-280

Srrn from a TnopicAL Am Cahtle, Frank M. Chapman,
IlluHtrated, 347-350

Sompio, Arthur T: The Origin ot Domestic Cattle, 287-
299

Shapiro, H. L: Race Mixture in Hawaii, 31^8; 339

Societies:

American Asaociation for the Advancement of Science,

109; 449
American Ornithologists' Union, 074-875
American Society of ManinialoKista, 448-449
Canadian Biological Conference, 504-500
Centcniiry of the British Association for the Advance-
ment of Science, 449; 076-077
Galton Society, 110
Geological Society of America, 109-110
International Congress of Eugenics, 335
International Congress of Genetics, 335
International Geological Congress, 335, 449
National Education Association, 505-566
Society for the Preservation of the Fauna of the British
Empire, 335

Some More Spider Fishermen, E. W. Gudger, Illustrated,
58-01

Sterling, Lindsay Morris, 503

Stowitts, Hubert, 458-473

Tate, George H. H: The Ascent of Mount Turumiquire,

539-548
Telling the Beaver Story, William H. Carr, Illustrated,

640-650
Theodore Roobbvelt Memorial, The, George N. Pindar,

Illustrated, 571-580

ThiHy Ycart War for Wild Life, 341

Trails and Thibulationh ok Bougainville, Guy Kicliards,

Illustrated, 207-210
Turumiquire, Mount, .5.39-.548

Under Sail to the Cape Verdes, Robert H. Rockwell,
Illustrated, 051-002

Unemployment relief, (J80

United States Naval Observatory, The, Capt. Frederick
Hellwcg, Illustrated, 488-499

Up the Congo to Lukolela, James P. Chapin, Illus-
trated, 474-487

Vaillant, George C: Enlivening the Past, 530-538

VANiBiliMi tN-t)iA, Illustrated, 458-473

Vernav, \iil.iii - .Inhn Champion Faunthorpc, 75-80;
'11m ' ii.cii Sand Veldt, Part I, 109-182; The

(I. I I I -:,rrd Veldt, Part II, 262-274

Vernay I -inih ,r|,( Scuth Asiatic Hall, 105-107

Whalino in the Antarctic, 452^53

Wheeler, William M., 335

When Winter Comes to the \
Hatt, Illustrated, 619-529

Whitlock, Herbert P: Modern Methods of Carving Jade,
511-518

Whitney Wing, American Museum, 330

Wild Bees of Morocco, T. D. A. Cockerell, Illustrated,
310-317

Winkin, Cora Senner, 674

Wissler, Clark, 337

With John Burroughs at Slabbides, Clyde Fisher, Illus-
trated, 500-510

, World, Robert T.

^M^

. ''^=^^=^-^'^^^''

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