The San Francisco call., 1906-11-30
VESSEL BRINGS
GALAPAGOS
PARTY
Expedition of California
Academy of Sciences
Brings 10000 Specimens
BIG TORTOISES TO
REPLACE MAMMOTH
Bird Men, and bug
Men" Spend IL Months
on Interesting Islands

This morning the California Academy
Of Sciences has new collection TO re-
place, in measure. the one destroyed
by fire on April Is This new museum
arrived by water yesterday in the
shape of the snug little white schooner
Academy bearing party Of scientists
winch has spent seventeen months on
the Galapagos Islands There are 75,-
GOO specimens In the new collection
and while IL contains no rehabilitated
mammoths with curly tusk> it has
fourteen OF the Galapagos variety of
tortoise, and they are the largest
Things OF their genera in the world.
Every member of the party filled the
double roll Of scientist and seaman. r
IL Beck was director of the party cap
tain OF the Academy and ornithologisE
and E. ". Nelson was mate and navi-
gator Others in the party were: J.
: Hunter. University of California.
ornithologist; J. r. Steven, herbitolo-
gist; Ernest King Of San Jose. assist
ant Psychologist; Alban Steward OF
the University Of Kansas, botanist; E.
w Clifford OF the Academy of Sciences,
ornithologist; Francis F. X Williams.
entomologist; ". o. Ochsner. geologist
and paleontologist, and J. W White.
steward.
OATHER $4,000 SPECIMENS
The Galapagos group of islands in
the Pacific, of the coast of Upper
South America. has been the happy
hunting ground for scientists since
Charles Darwin became its Columbus
Darwin made observations of the fora
and fauna OF these islands, which fur
nished him with material for theories
Of vast Importance on the subject of
the influences OF environment on the
species. The academy expedition is not
the first Of recent years TO visit the
group. but its results are of great i'm
portance and it viii contribute largely
to scientific research.
OF the $4,000 specimens gathered in
the islands the bird collection of ].
= Hunter is Of great value Hunter
secured specimens OF 10000 geospiea.
bird OF the type of English finch
but differing from all known con-
tinental species. The specimens have
been mounted carefully and viii be
preserved in the new museum OF the
California academy. Included in the
10000 specimens are many rare species.
-Four thousand specimens of reptiles
are brought TO port on the little
schooner-all probably dead The Gal
apagos Island. il would appear. differs
materially from the Emerald Isle in its
post ST Patrick days. but the academy
party did its best TO reduce the num-
Der Of crawling things Ten thousand
specimens of plants were collected by
the botanists and Psychologists The
largest single collection is that of
shells. 10000 specimens Of both land
and sea shells having been gathered
by the party. During the trip the clas-
sification OF these sundry specimens
was commenced and viii be finished di-
rectly. For the present some OF the
more interesting specimens will be
mounted in the museum at Golden
Gate Park
..BUGMEN- AND @BIRDHES-
Ten days after the local disaster the
party heard of II from a gunboat of
Ecuador In speaking of the destruc-
tion OF the museum Of the Academy of
Sciences. J. s. Hunter said. as he stood
in the moonlight on the deck of the
boat clad in tropical costume we
are the collection OF the academy now.
We had a pleasant trip, he continued,
except during the last days, when our
jib was carried away just outside the
Golden Gate during storm that ragged
We were ar New AIbemaTle when we
learned of the disturbance of san
Francisco All of the party stood the
trip in fine style. but we are darned
glad 10 get back.
While the academy party did splen-
did scientific work. there is nothing of
the pedantic about its personnel. They
don't call each other 'ologists." This
one is a "bugman' and another d
..birdman
When the little white schooner. with
its two masts. its disiocated jib and its
smell of the sea and OF Galapagos
birds beasts and reptiles is out of
quarantine. it viii be more than A
Mecca for the old men who wear spec
no place TO go where they could find
common and unknown things wearing
the incognita of polysyllabic Latin
names Now they can get all of that
sort of entertainment anchored of
Meiggs wharf