Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-08-14
THE EVENING STAR SATURDAY, AUGUST II, 19l5-PART !
SMITHSONIAN REPORT
TELLS OF FIELD WORK
Brief Accounts of 1914 Explorations
Contained in PAM
phlet.
DR.. Charles D. Walcott, Found in

DR.. Charles D. Walcott, Found in
+ Montana the Oldest Known
! Animal Remains.
The Smithsonian Institution has recent
| ly published a fully illustrated pamphlet
containing brief accounts of the more inn
portant exploration and field work uhder-
taken during 1871. by members of the stan
of the institution proper and or its
/ branches, the National Museum, the bu-
reau of American ethnology and the AS
trophysical Observatory. Tie researches
covered practically the entire world, ex-
petitions having been sent to hfteeh dif-
! ferent countries, on every continent OF the
| globe and to seventeen different states III
this country. They include work along
geological, geological, botanical, anthropo-
| logical and astrophysical lines of inVesti-
cation.
Secretary Charles II. Walcott briefly
outlines his summers work i'll British Co
| lumbia and Montana. in continuation OF
| his previous geological explorations III
! those regions. In the lower portion of Deep
! Creek Cannon, southeast of the city of
Helena, a deposit of siliceous shale was
examined, where some years ago Dr wal
colt discovered the remains OF craDllke
animals suggesting in form the fresh
water cray fishes found i'll streams and
ponds all over the world.
Oldest Animal Remains.
"These fossils" says DR.. Walcott, ARE
the oldest animal remains now known.
and the algal deposits which occur at in
tervals for several thousand feet below
the shales containing the crustaceans are
the oldest authentic vegetable remains. 1t
is also most interesting that two types OF
bacteria have been found i'll a fossil state
in the rock in association with the algal
remains Among other interesting Illus
trations, the account includes Il beautiful
and unusual panoramic photograph OF the
entire Asukan Glacier, taken by Mrs.
Walcott.
Continuing the excavations at the cave
deposit near Cumberland, Md, J. w. Gid
ley of the United States National Museum
added to the Already important collection
from this region over 400 specimens of
| FOSSIL animals, deposited there in far-off
pleistocene time Among these was a
practically complete skeleton of the large
extinct pecoary, measuring something over
four feet in length a partial skull OF a
wolverine and several skulls of extinct
species of the black bear Mr.. Gidley
hopes that the proposed further work on
this deposit will yield even more interest
ing and important results.
In letter from distant CelebeS, Ma
lay Archipelago, H. c. Raven, who has
been collecting animals and birds for
the Smithsonian Institution through the
generosity of w. l.. Abbott, gives inter-
esting information of the region and
it's inha bitantS and on the animals of
Ia fa n
Mr.. Raven, is not nearly so plentiful in
CelebeS as in Borneo, where he was
collecting during the previous season,
but several peculiar animals have been
captured by him. among them a speci-
men of babirussa, pig with peculiar
erect tusks curved backward above the
forehead. The specimens from Borneo
sent in by Mr.. Raven to the National
Museum number more than 1900 ami
mails and birds, forming very i'm
portant addition to the museums nat
ural history collections.
! = Survey of Cuban Coast
An expedition under the JOINT aus
pices Of the Smithsonian, institution
and the Cuban government spent two
months on the coast of western Cuba
for the purpose of making complete
biological survey of the waters of that
region and incidentally to obtain speci-
mems for the exhibition series of the
National Museum. The Smithsonian In
stitution was represented by John B.
henderson, a regent OF. the institution.
and DR.. Paul BartSch of the National
Museum. Extensive dredging opera
tions for securing marine specimens
were carried on daily and from several
shore stations immense numbers of
specimens of land forms were taken
successful
and a great quantity of valuable ma
terial is now in the hands of special
lists of the National Museum for final
report. Particularly good were the col
lections of marine organisms, especial
Nv the mollusks aid it is expected
that this and folio wing expeditions to
other parts of the Antillean regions
will give a clear understanding OF the
faunas and faunal relationship OF the
West Indies.
Early in the year arrangements were
made whereby Neil NJ. Judd of the Ma
tional Museum was enabled to accept
an invitation Ito participate in the
archaeological Investigations in Guate-
mala conducted by the American School
of Archaeology.
Plaster Casts of Monuments.
Mr.. Judd's special work was to super
intend the making of plaster casts of
several of the huge stone monuments
that have made worldfamous the
ruins of the so-called Temple Court"
the religious center of the sacred city
of Quirigua After this work Mr.. Judd
made hasty trip by Indian footpaths
from Guatemala City to the. Mexican
border to ascertain the anthropological
possibilities among the Indian tribes of
this region. But little survives, in the