The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-03-02
OFF FOR PATAGONIA.
Much Hoped From a South American
Exploration.

MuSu HUpSu IIOm d oVu'h hmSiiS"h
Exploration.
Professor j. B. Hatcher of Princeton
college and Mr.. o. A. Peterson, for a.
long time collector in the employ of
the American Museum of Natural History
OF New York, sailed for Patagonia in the
steamship Calico from New York Satur-
day. 1t is their intention to spend at
least year exploring the deserts OF that
country for the purpose of making col
lection of such objects Of scientific inter-
est as the reg ion affords. Not since the
days Of Darwin and the Beagle kas any
scientific man gone to Patagonia on such
mission, although not unimportant dis
coveries have since that day been made
by quasi-scientiic men who have fiuttered
about the most frequented ports The
| American party will not alone collect the
bones of prehistoric animals who lived In
| Patagonia when the country had torri1
| instead of a perpetual late-in-th e-fall clim-
ate. These will, of course, receive full at
| tention, and Princeton will be enriched,
| for instance, by no end of skeletons OF
birds that had teeth and no feathers
worth mention; of armadillos that
weighed as much as oxen; of salt water
serpents that had legs, perhaps, and other
oil geology mad ONE things hitherto un-
known. But in addition to that the pres
ent fauna will be carefully studied, where
| Darwin had a chance merely to glance at
| 1t from ships cutter that failed TO reach
the head of the Santa Cruz river. The
| fora will not be omitted. And what is
| of still greater human interest the Te-
huelche Indians, whom Darwin did not
study, will for the first time be considered
| by sympathetic, ,unprejudiced, " ell trained
| observers Vocabularies of their language
will be compiled and a record will be
IL II al
4 products of the brains of the red novel
| lists of the Patagonian desert. Although
| this mighty tribe has been almost an
| initiated, and the remnant greatly de-
| based, within the past year or so, enough
| will be found OF the old stock to give the
Investigators material for an chronological
report Of unsurpassed interest.
OF course the geological 70 nation itself
will be examined ana new facts Will be
obtained-perhaps something will be
learned of the origin OF that curios
layer Of black, gold-bearing sand that
constitutes the sea beach placers from
the Gallegos river down to Cape Virgin,
and on into TERRA del Fuego for that
matter. In short, no more interesting
voyage of discovery, from a scientific
point Of view, has ever been planned in
the United States than this that has been
undertaken for Princeton Go lege.
In addition to his commission as an In
Hatcher has been appointed special
agent and collector by the Buie of
Lthnology at Washington. AS far as pos
sible duplicates OF all finds will be
brought home for the Smithonian, and,
in addition, as many photographs as pos
sible of the eborigines will be made for
the benefit of The bureau.
The first stop will be made at Buenos
Ayres, where the Patagonia collections In
the National Museum (at la Plata will be
inspected, and the private collections of
a couple OF Italian scientific men as WELL
From there the party will very liRely go
to Paunta Arenas, in the Straits of Macel-
Ian, and there iit out for their life in
the wilds. The Spanish-American gov
ernments are Away friendly To scientific
explorers, but coming, as these two men
do, under the authority of an educational
institution like Princeton, and under hat
OF the United States government, and,
what Is just now not unimportant con-
sideration. coming as American citizens,
they are sure of cordial reception and OF
receiving every aid from the two South
American governments that control the
region.