The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-10-24
WORK OF SCIENCE STUDENTS
EVERY COLLEGE HAS HAD a
PARTY OF EXPLORERS OUT.
Returning Laden with Spoils-Young
Scientists Who Have BraVed Ship
wreck and yellow Fever to Pur-
sue Their Researches-Cclumb
Men IN alaska.

There is q general opinion that from
the time of the final boat races in June
TO the opening OF the football season
in October the activities of our great
universities and colleges are wholly sus
pended. In reality some Of the most
important scientific and experimental
work carried on by the big educational
institutions is done during the long va
cation. OF recent years it has become
more and more the custom for parties
OF college professors and students to
scour the land and skim the seas in
search Of animal, vegetable and mineral
life to add to their laboratories and TO
the sum total of human knowledge.
During the past summer an unusual
number Of these expeditions have been
in the field and they have been scat
tered from the Arctic circle TO far be
low the equator. While their mates
have been busy at tennis ana golf these
enthusiastic young scientists, under the
direction of older specialists, have been
dredging along the Pacific coast. turn
ing over the sands of the southwestern
desert or searching among the rocks
and crags of the great mountain
ranges. They have been shipwrecked,
Fislled the perils OF fever and malaria,
and endured al the danger and hard
ships that fall to the lot of explorers.
Nest of these parties have returned
within the past few weeks bringing
specimens of more or less value to add
TO the museums Of their various insti-
Jutions.
COLUMBIA PARTIES.
Although Columbia has been busy all
summer moving into her new quarters
she has been represented in the field
by more parties than any other single
institution. The most important of these
was the geological expedition, under the
direction of Professor z. 3. Wilson.
This party consisted of 10 persons, and
left New York in June to study the
marine life Of Puget sound and the
Alaska coast. AT Port Townsend they
found many interesting specimens. and
after three weeks work in this region
they stored their specimens and took
passage for Sitka. Alaska. For a month
they explored the waters of the coast
and inletg, and obtained many speci-
mems Of the i've known marine life
of this northern coast. It was hard
work for all the members of the party
dredging along the shore in open boats
and sorting the fshy specimens, but
the men brought as much enthusiasm
to the work as the crowd of argo-
nautS rushing past them to klondike
did in their search for gold. At the
conclusion Of their iabors the whole
party, with their precious specimens,
took passage for home on the Inflated
steamer City of Mexico.
AS the newspaper public knows the
steamer was wrecked and the Column
bia students lost not only their collec-
lions but their baggage and inStru-
ments as well. and they We're lucky to
get off With their lives. They reached
Seattle stripped of most OF the results
OF their summers work Nothing daunt-
ed by their ilIluck the collegians bor-
roWed some instruments from the Uni
versity of Washington and renewed
their explorations of Puget sound This
time as though in reparation for their
previous misfortunes they were re-
Warded by finding some rare specimens
which scientists, among them Profess
sor Wilson. have been seeking for years.
They included several specimens Of the
parasite molluslcs, known as sea Gu
cam bers, which are exceedingly fmDor-
tant in establishing the origin of the
snail family. certain jelly fish never be
fore found and some new coral-like ami
mails.
q consider that we were amply rec
ompensed for our llardships and
losses by our finds about Port Town
send said Professor Wilson in dis
cussing the matter. We nave found
that Puget sound is a most valuable
field for research for certain forms Of
marine life The particular specimens
which we obtained are highly inter-
estins- from the scientists point OF
view believe that this field work is
about the most useful that a uniNer-
sity can undertake and l am glad to
see that With every year more and
more parties are going out
EXTINCT ANIMAL LIFE.
While these Columbia men we're
roughing 1T on the northwest coast a
party of their fellow students, under
fbe direction OF Professor Osborn. were
searching in Colorado and Wyoming
for specimens Of extinct animal life.
They we're amply rewarded. finding
among other specimens, the skeleton
of a huge dinoSaur and proving that
these great animals once occupied this
region as well as the equatorial dis
fricts in which their bones have form
e1-Iy been found. sim q third party of
Columbia men were busy at Woods
Hole. on the Massachusetts coast,
gathering botanical and biological
specimens
The Pacific coast WAS the scene of a
great deal OF scientific activity during
the summer months. One of the most
IpretentiouS of these efforts was that
of Pres jordan and his party Of Leland
Stanford students This particular eX-
T,f,3ition visited the Pribylon islands
FOR the particular purpose OF studying
the seal and also 10 brand the younG
seals in accordance with the provisions
of the United States government The
'rrip was successful and several hun
.Sired young seals were branded in
manner that is expected 10 protect
them from the pelagic hunters for the
coming three seasons.
In British Columbia Dr. Franz Boas
of the American museum of natural
history, and DR.. Livingston FarTdnd
OF Columbia were packing across the
country. gathering specimens Of the
weapons. manufactures and ornaments
Of the Indians, in that region. and
studyins their language, customs and
physical characteristics.
STUDYING INDIANS.
They were absent from civilization
Tor several weeks, camping in the
open. and having no society except
that Of their Indian guides and work
men. One OF the principal difficulties
that they encountered was in getting
the consent of the Indians to make eS
cayations among their ancient burial
mounds and or the sites of abandoned
towns. They secured a fun outfit of
an Indian village, and took casts Of
the forms and features Of the lnhabit
ants. from which models will be con-
Structed for a group in the American
museum. They also obtained some of
the tokens charms and religious en-
lIenss Of the Indians. DR. BOas re-