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New  Maori  Family 

"AT  HOME" 

IN  POLYNESIAN  HALL 


IN  the  history  of  the  South  Pacific  the  Maori  of  New  Zealand  stand  out 
as  an  exceptional  people.  Not  only  did  they  attain  excellence  in  govern- 
ment, in  navigation,  and  in  the  art  of  warfare,  but — more  importantly — 
their  achievements  in  the  decorative  arts,  in  music,  and  in  poetry  stand  as 
enduring  reminders  of  the  sophisticated  and  artistically  sensitive  society 
they  were  able  to  develop  in  an  isolated  area  of  the  world. 

During  January  the  Museum  will  focus  on  the  Maori  in  a  new  featured 
exhibit-of-the-month — a  life-size  reconstruction  of  a  typical  family  scene  in 
a  Maori  council  house  in  New  Zealand  shortly  after  the  coming  of  the  white 
man.  The  exhibit  is  located  in  the  Museum's  Hall  of  Polynesian  and  Micro- 
nesian  Cultures  (Hall  F,  ground  floor,  east),  which  opened  earlier  this  year. 


Illustrations: 

Artist-preparator  Susan 
Schanck  works  on  life- 
size  models  for  new  per- 
manent exhibit  in  Maori 
Council  house. 

The  exhibits  were  pre- 
pared under  the  direction 
of  Dr.  Roland  Force, 
Curator  of  Oceanic 
Archaeology  and  Ethnol- 
ogy- 


Photographs,  including 
cover,  by  John  Bayalis 
and  Homer  Holdren. 


Page  2  January 


Set  against  a  patterned  background  of 
colored  woven  mats,  the  reconstructed 
family  of  seven  includes  two  children, 
who  are  playing  happily  on  the  floor  and 
do  not  seem  to  mind  their  lack  of  cloth- 
ing, in  spite  of  chilly  weather.  Their 
grandmother  sits  opposite  them  smoking 
a  carved  pipe.  Off  in  the  corner  grand- 
father is  dozing,  while  another  man 
sleeps  on  a  floor  mat.  Nearby,  an  im- 
posing Maori  chieftain,  with  face  com- 
pletely tattooed,  has  risen  to  welcome  a 
male  visitor.  Across  the  shoulders  of 
both  men  are  draped  feather  capes  of  ex- 
quisitely blended  colors.  Around  the 
chiefs  neck  is  a  valuable  hei-tiki — a  green- 
stone neck-pendant  representing  the 
Maori  deity,  Tiki,  the  father  of  mankind. 
The  children  are  playing  cat's  cradle,  a 
game  which  their  pipe-smoking  grand- 
mother appears  to  be  enjoying  as  much 
as  they.  In  the  Maori  fashion  for  women, 
grandmother  is  tattooed  only  around 
her  mouth.  Carved  feather-boxes,  ances- 
tor figures,  and  a  variety  of  weapons 
complete  the  interior  scene. 

The  council  house  providing  the  set- 
ting for  the  family  group  is  nearly  60  feet 
long,  20  feet  wide,  and  14  feet  high  in- 
side. It  is  one  of  the  largest  and  finest 
on  exhibit  in  the  world  today.  Maori 
council  houses  more  than  25  feet  long 
were  always  exceptional,  and  very  few 
houses  of  any  size  have  been  preserved. 
The  council  house  is  also  the  only  one 
now  in  existence  with  a  completely 


carved  front.     Incorporated  in  the  entrance  design 
are  many  eye-shaped  pieces  of  abalone  shell. 

The  Museum's  featured  exhibit  clearly  demonstrates 
the  universality  of  the  spiral  (pitau)  in  Maori  decorative 
art.  Supposedly  the  pitau  evolved  from  the  study  of 
natural  objects  (the  term  is  derived  from  the  first  un- 
folding fronds  of  the  fern  tree).  The  web  of  the  spider, 
the  wave-like  markings  on  sandstone  cliffs,  and  the 
markings  on  one's  thumb,  all  have  been  given  by  the 
Maori  as  being  the  original  sources  on  which  the 
carver  and  tattooer  based  their  designs.  The  spiral  is 
everywhere  in  Maori  decorations — in  their  carved 
houses,  in  canoe  figureheads  and  stern-posts,  and  in  the 
elaborate  tattooing  on  their  faces  and  hips.  The  recon- 
structed family  group  uses  authentic  examples  of 
Maori  decorative  arts  to  create  a  scene  that  is  accurate 
to  the  most  minute  detail. 

A  Polynesian  people,  the  Maori  are  believed  to  have 
been  the  original  inhabitants  of  New  Zealand.  Unlike 
many  other  native  peoples  of  the  South  Pacific,  how- 
ever, the  Maori  did  not  die  out  with  the  coming  of  the 
white  man.  Instead,  they  have  taken  their  place  in  the 
economic  and  social  life  of  the  new  society  that  has 
grown  up  in  New  Zealand  under  the  British. 

Marilyn  K.  Jindrich 

January  Page  3 


anua 


LENGTH       OF       DAYLIGHT 

JANUARY    1  _0 


... -arctic;-' 

::■:■:■:  im*?-: : .  : 

oo 
23° 

\            etjvjalti*: 

0° 

o             mm 

_oo° 

SS:      v '                            m 

z  o 
66° 

<5                      antarctic 

on° 

24    HOURS 

Above:  The  duration 
of  daylight  through  the 
latitudes. 


Upper  right:  The 

earth  in  its  orbit  around 
the  sun. 


Right:  The  course  of 
the  sun  in  the  sky.sum- 
mer  and  winter,  over 
Chicago. 


-tl 


7'5A.M. 


SUMMER 


4-.15A.I 


By  DR.  AUSTIN  L.  RAND,  : 

THE  seasons  follow  the  sun,  which  reac : 
22,  nearly  over  the  southern  tip  of  Fl<  i 
December  22,   when  it  is  nearly  over  Rio 
ment  of  the  sun  is  caused  by  the  tilt  of   tl 
earth's  orbit  around  the  sun.    In  the  north 
sented  to  the  sun's  rays  for  six  months  of 
from  the  sun,  has  its  southern  winter  and  si 
is,  of  course,  true  during  the  southern  sum 

In  the  temperate  and  polar  regions  the 
it,  producing  the  succession  of  the  seasons:  1 1 
But  in  the  tropics,  where  the  sun  is  alway 
seasonal  changes  they  are  correlated  with 
seasons  and  wet  seasons  follow  each  other  w 
season  stimulates  the  greater  amount  of  rep 
dry  season  is  very  severe,  some  species  als 


NOR 

Chicai 
Pole  and 
it  is  the 
winter,  v 
The  Ian. 
woodlots 
pines;  fr< 
cattail; 
shore  an 
are  snow 
few  inse< 
are  man; 
— also  cl 
rows,  am 
and  squi 
meadow 


TROPICS 

Barro  Colorado,  in  latitude  10°N.:  Here  the  average 
January  temperature  is  80°F..  There  is  no  spring,  sum- 
mer, autumn,  and  winter  based  on  temperature.  Rather, 
January  is  the  end  of  the  wet  season  and  the  beginning 
of  the  dry;  only  certain  trees  lose  their  leaves,  but  the 
forest  floor  is  carpeted  with  rustling  dead  leaves.  Balsa 
trees  are  loaded  with  vase-like,  ivory-colored  flowers  six 
inches  long,  and  to  these  come  a  dozen  species  of  birds — 
parakeets,  hummingbirds,  tanagers,  and  honeycreepers 
— monkeys,  and  insects,  to  eat  flower  parts  or  juices. 
Another  big  forest  tree  bears  ripe,  two-inch  nuts  with  a 
thin,  fleshy  coating.  Raccoon-like  coatis  and  howling 
monkeys  climb  among  the  branches,  pick  the  nuts,  eat 
off  the  flesh,  then  drop  the  nuts.  These  are  scooped  up 
from  the  ground  by  agoutis  and  peccaries. 


TROPICS  AT  EQUATOR 

The  mouth  of  the  Amazon  River,  in  latitude  0°  near 
Para  (Caripi):  It  is  early  January,  with  cloudless  blue 
skies;  a  sea  breeze;  the  murmur  of  water  on  the  beach. 
The  river  bank  is  masked  with  lofty  walls  of  green  trees, 
and  there  are  many  palms.  In  the  clearings  are  palm- 
thatched  huts;  beyond  are  groves  of  bananas,  mango 
trees,  cotton,  and  papayas.  Orange  trees  are  loaded 
with  blooms,  about  which  hummingbirds  whirl.  At  dusk,, 
moths  come  to  the  flowers,  and  bats  emerge  from  the 
red  tiles  of  the  house  roofs.  In  late  January,  the  dry 
season  abruptly  ends.  On  the  first  rainy  night  tree  frogs, 
crickets,  goatsuckers,  and  owls  join  in  a  deafening  chorus. 
In  the  daytime,  dragonflies  swarm  and  winged  ants  and 
termites  come  forth  in  great  numbers. 


TROPIC  EDGE     ^^ 

Southern  Florida,  in  latitude  23°-2!t°  N.:  This  t: 
average  January  temperature  of  71  °F.,  with  fro 
occasional  years  and  a  growing  season  of  365  d 
the  temperate  zone  concept  of  summer  and  wir 
down.  It  is  summer,  judging  by  swallows  feedir 
green,  wet  prairies,  the  flowers  in  the  gardens,  a 
tivity  of  butterflies  and  dragonflies.  Ocean  b; 
fishing  continue,  but  it  is  late  summer  or  autui: 
time  judging  by  the  green  vegetables  and  ripe  or 
the  shore  birds  on  the  beaches;  winter,  judging  1: 
less  cypress  and  gumbo  limbo  trees,  the  need  for 
houses  for  warmth  some  days;  and  spring,  judj 
nesting  of  herons.  A  visitor  from  the  tropics  wo  ; 
palms  and  bamboos  familiar,  would  recognize  t 
bougainvillaea  and  hibiscus,  caladium  and  crotc  i 

SOUTH  TEMPI, 

The  La  Plata  River  ,  i 
It  is  the  hottest  mont  i 
January  temperature  o 
season  for  birds,  which  > 
is  past;  rheas  and  tinar 
on  the  plains;  many  o 
still  here,  and  will  no 
winter  home  in  Brazil 
equator  refugees  from 
barn  swallows,  bobolii 
the  many  sandpipers,   a 
of  months  ago  on  the  v  t 
of  the  pampas,  will  sta: 


:l. 


ief  Curator,  Zoology 

:s  farthest  point  north  on  June 
I  and  its  farthest  point  south  on 
aneiro.  This  apparent  move- 
fth's  axis  to  the  plane  of  the 
ummer,  the  North  Pole  is  pre- 
;hf,  while  the  South  Pole,  away 
nths  of  darkness.    The  reverse 


brings  warmth  and  withdraws 
;,  summer,  autumn,  and  winter, 
rly  overhead,  while  there  are 
mount  of  rainfall,  so  that  dry 
nsiderable  regularity.  The  wet 
tion  and  growth,  but  unless  the 
w  and  reproduce  then. 


TEMPERATE       ^^^^^ 

jtitude  1,2°  about  halfway  between  the  North 
quator  {2,800  and  2,600  miles  away) :  Here 
le  of  the  coldest  month  of  the  northern 
i  average  January  temperature  of  -f-27°F. 
•  is  of  snow-covered  fields,  grey  leafless 
ak  or  maple,  occasional  groves  of  green 
ands  rimmed  with  leafless  shrubs  and  dead 
Michigan  with  an  ice  barrier  along  the 
ting  wind-driven  ice  fields.  Farmsteads 
and  plant  life  is  dormant;  many  birds,  a 
d  some  bats  have  migrated  south.  There 
er  birds,  such  as  ducks,  on  Lake  Michigan 
ees,  woodpeckers  in  woodlots,  tree  spar- 
row hawks  in  the  fields.  Raccoon,  rabbits, 
save  trails  in  the  snow,  while  shrews  and 
ive  in  burrows  beneath  it. 


eloigned  and  illustrated         by 

•  .    John     pf  iff  ner  ,    staff    artist 


HIGH  ARCTIC 

Western  Ellesmere  Island,  in  latitude  80°N.,  about  600  miles 
south  of  the  North  Pole:  This  is  the  middle  of  the  arctic  night, 
where  the  sun  does  not  appear  above  the  horizon  for  four 
months,  and  the  depth  of  the  arctic  winter,  where  the  aver- 
age winter  temperature  is  —38°.  The  annual  average  tem- 
perature is  —  4°F.,  and  arctic  conditions  are  extreme.  It  is  a 
country  of  glacier-topped  mountains;  bare  ridges  blown  clear 
of  snow,  exposing  rock,  gravel,  and  sparse,  scattered,  dwarf 
plants;  and  snow  drifts  up  to  100  feet  deep  in  sheltered 
places.  The  rivers  and  lakes  are  frozen  shut,  and  new  ice, 
six  feet  or  more  thick,  joins  the  coast  with  the  equally  thick 
ice  fields  covering  the  polar  sea.  All  the  land  birds  have  long 
since  departed,  as  have  the  many  shore  and  water  birds 
which  nested  in  June.  Musk  ox  feed  on  exposed  plants; 
lemmings  in  burrows  under  the  snow. 


LOW  ARCTIC 

Southampton  Island,  in  latitude  6i°N.:  It  is  midwinter, 
with  a  temperature  average. of  -26°F.,  and  extremes  of 
—  60°  and  +32  F.  The  tundra  snow  cover  varies  from  a 
few  inches  to  snowbanks  20  feet  deep — at  most,  a  few  twigs 
of  dwarf  willow  stick  up  through  the  snow.  Four  to  eight 
feet  of  ice  cover  the  lakes,  and  there  is  a  foot  of  snow  on  the 
sea  ice  which  locks  fast  the  shoreline  and  extends  far  offshore 
to  where  waves  keep  the  sea  from  freezing.  The  sun  comes 
above  the  horizon  for  only  a  short  time  at  midday.  Caribou 
and  arctic  hares  feed  in  the  open;  lemmings  under  the  snow"; 
seals  and  white  whales  at  the  edge  of -the  ice.  Wolves,  arctic 
foxes,  weasels,  polar  bears,  ptarmigan,  and  snowy  owls  live 
on  the  land;  eiders,  murres,  and  gulls  at  the  open  water.  The 
female  polar  bears-  bear  young  in  chambers  in  the  snow. 


mtina,  in  latitude  85°  S.: 
e  year,  with  an  average 
The  peak  of  the  breeding 

September  and  October, 
ive  young  following  them 
ummer  nesting  birds  are 

back  for  their  southern 
nonth  or  so.  The  trans- 
thern  winter,  such  as  the 
How-billed  cuckoos,  and 
irrived  in  force  a  couple 
ns  and  the  flooded  ponds 
er  couple  of  months. 


ANTARCTIC 

The  Antarctic  Archipelago  ("Palmer  Land,"  "Graham 
Land,"  etc.),  in  latitude  62°-70°  south:  The  average  January 
temperature  is  34 'F.  This  is  the  middle  of  the  southern 
summer,  with  a  prolonged  antarctic  day  in  a  land  of  extreme 
polar  conditions.  Mountains  rise  to  10,000  feet,  and  even 
in  summer  the  snow  falls  faster  than  it  melts,  so  that  snow 
lies  everywhere  except  on  steep  slopes.  Much  of  the  adja- 
cent sea  is  covered  with  pack  ice.  Vegetation,  all  low  and 
herbaceous,  is  at  a  minimum,  and  the  few  land  invertebrate 
animals  are  active  for  but  a  small  part  of  the  year.  About 
25  species  of  birds  have  been  recorded  in  the  archipelago, 
but  some,  such  as  the  albatrosses,  are  wanderers  from  more 
northern  latitudes.  Some  15  species  of  birds  breed,  drawing 
all  their  sustenance  from  the  sea;  these  include  penguins,  a 
cormorant,  a  sheath  bill,  skua,  a  kelp  gull,  and  the  antarctic 
tern,  which  have  eggs  or  young  in  January. 


CHICAGO 
NATURAL 
HISTORY 
MUSEUM 


News 


Trustees  Meet 


At  its  December  meeting,  the  Board 
of  Trustees  elected  four  members  to  fill 
vacancies  on  the  Board.  They  are  Bow-en 
Blair,  investment  banker,  John  M.  Simp- 
son, steel  executive,  John  Shedd  Reed, 
railroad  executive,  and  Clifford  C.  Gregg, 
the  Museum's  Director. 


John  Shedd  Reed  Clifford  C.   Gregg 


Mr.  Blair  is  a  graduate  of  Yale  Uni- 
versity and  is  a  Partner  in  the  firm  of 
Wm.  Blair  &  Co.  He  is  a  son  of  Wil- 
liam McCormick  Blair,  President  of  The 
Art  Institute  of  Chicago  and  a  member 
of  the  Museum's  Board. 

Mr.  Simpson,  President  of  A.  M.  Castle 
&  Co.,  steel  distributors,  is  a  graduate  of 
the  University  of  Chicago.  He  is  a  son 
of  the  late  James  Simpson,  who  was  a 
member  of  the  Museum's  Board  and 
who  contributed  the  James  Simpson 
Theatre  to  the  Museum. 

Mr.  Reed  is  a  graduate  of  Yale  Uni- 
versity and  of  the  Advanced  Manage- 
ment Program  at  Harvard.  He  is  Vice- 
President  in  charge  of  Finance  of  the 
Santa  Fe  Railway. 

Dr.  Gregg  has  been  with  the  Museum 
since  1926  and  has  been  Director  since 
1937.  He  is  a  graduate  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Cincinnati  and  is  a  retired  Colonel 
in  the  United  States  Army  Reserve. 

At  the  meeting,  the  resignation  of 
Clarence  B.  Randall,  Trustee  of  the  Mu- 
seum since  1946,  was  accepted  with  re- 
gret.    Since  his  retirement  a  few  years 

Page  6  January 


ago  as  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Inland 
Steel  Company,  he  has  been  active  as  an 
economic  adviser  in  the  interests  of  the 
Federal  Government.  Mr.  Randall  cited 
the  pressure  of  other  duties  and  his  in- 
ability to  attend  the  Board  meetings 
as  the  reasons  for  his  resignation. 

In  Memoriam 

Just  as  the  Bulletin  was  going 
to  press,  we  received  word  of  the  death 
on  December  13  of  Captain  A.  W.  F. 
Fuller  of  London,  England.  Captain 
Fuller  devoted  his  life  to  the  assembling 
of  what  is  recognized  as  the  world's  fin- 
est collection  of  Polynesian  and  other 
Oceanic  artifacts.  His  splendid  collec- 
tion came  into  the  possession  of  the 
Museum  in  1958. 

Captain  Fuller  was  devoted  not  only 
to  Oceanic  ethnology  but  became  a  de- 
voted member  of  the  Museum.  His 
splendid  assistance  in  documenting  his 
collection  and  his  generosity  in  present- 
ing to  the  Museum  some  especially  fine 
pieces  he  acquired  after  the  purchase  of 
his  collection  caused  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees in  January  of  1959  to  elect  him  a 
Patron  of  the  Museum.  Subsequently, 
he  was  elected  a  Contributor,  and  in 
November  1961  he  was  elected  a  Bene- 
factor. His  deep  interest  in  the  Museum 
and  in  his  collection  continued  even  to 
the  hour  of  his  death.  His  death  is  a 
blow  to  the  science  of  ethnology  and  he 
is  deeply  mourned. 

Museum  Events 

"An  Evening  of  Renaissance  and  Ba- 
roque Music" — the  fourth  program  in 
the  1961-62  series  offered  by  the  Free 
Concerts  Foundation,  Mrs.  J.  Dennis 
Freund,  sponsor — will  be  presented  on 
Monday,  January  8,  at  8:15  p.m.  in  the 
Museum's  James  Simpson  Theatre. 

The  program  consists  of  vocal  and  in- 
strumental solos,  and  vocal  ensembles, 
both  accompanied  and  a  cappella,  by 
the  following  musicians:  Charles  Bress- 
ler,  tenor;  Huges  Cuenod,  tenor;  Albert 
Fuller,  harpsichord;  Donald  Gramm, 
baritone;  Thomas  Paul,  bass;  and  Joseph 


Chicago  Natural  History  Museum 

Founded  by  Marshall  Field,  1893 

Roosevelt  Road  and  Lake  Shore  Drive,  Chicago  5 

Telephone:  WAbash  2-9410 

THE  BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES 


Lester  Armour 
Wm.  McCormick  Blair 
Bowen  Blair 
Walter  J.  Cummings 
Joseph  N.  Field 
Marshall  Field,  Jr. 
Stanley  Field 
Clifford  C.  Gregg 
Samuel  Insult,  Jr. 
Henry  P.  Isham 
William  V.  Kahler 

♦Resigned 


Hughston  M.  McBain 
J.  Roscoc  Miller 
William  H.  Mitchell 
John  T.  Pirie,  Jr. 
♦Clarence  B.  Randall 
John  Shedd  Reed 
John  G.  Searle 
John  M.  Simpson 
Solomon  A.  Smith 
Louis  Ware 
J.  Howard  Wood 


OFFICERS 

Stanley  Field,  President 

Hughston  M.  McBain,  First  Vice-President 

Joseph  N.  Field,  Third  Vice-President 

Solomon  A.  Smith,  Treasurer 

Clifford  C.  Gregg,  Director  and  Secretary 

E.  Leland  Webber,  Assistant  Secretary 

THE  BULLETIN 

EDITOR 
Clifford  C.  Gregg,  Director  of  the  Museum 

CONTRIBUTING  EDITORS 

Paul  S.  Martin,  Chief  Curator  of  Anthropology 

John  R.  Millar,  Chief  Curator  of  Botany 

Sharat  K.  Roy,  Chief  Curator  of  Geology 

Austin  L.  Rand,  Chief  Curator  of  Zoology 

MANAGING  EDITOR 
Paula  R.  Nelson,  Public  Relations  Counsel 

ASSOCIATE  EDITOR 
Marilyn  Jindrich,  Associate  in  Public  Relations 


Members  are    requested    to    inform    the    Museum 
promptly    of    changes    of    address. 


Iadone,  lute.  Among  the  composers 
whose  works  will  be  heard  are  Costeley, 
Milan,  Monteverdi,  Morley,  Dowland, 
Couperin,  Scarlatti,  de  Mudarra,  and 
Clerambault. 

For  free  tickets,  please  send  a  stamped, 
self-addressed  envelope  to  the  Museum, 
Roosevelt  Road  at  Lake  Shore  Drive, 
Chicago  5. 

On  February  3,  Free  Concerts  Foun- 
dation will  present  an  a  capella  concert 
by  the  Netherlands  Choir,  under  the 
direction  of  Felix  de  Nobel.  Tickets  will 
be  available  after  the  concert  on  Janu- 
ary 8. 

The  Chicago  Chamber  Orchestra, 
under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Dieter  Kober, 
will  present  a  series  of  nine  free  concerts 
in  the  Museum's  James  Simpson  Thea- 
tre on  selected  Sunday  afternoons  from 


January  through  May.  The  complete 
list  of  dates  is  as  follows :  January  7  and 
21,  February  25,  March  4  and  18,  April 
1,  15,  and  29,  and  May  13.  On  Janu- 
ary 7  will  be  heard  the  Suite  No.  3  in  D 
by  Bach,  Haydn's  Symphony  No.  60  in 
C,  and  Franz  Waxman's  Sinfonietta  for 
String  Orchestra  and  Timpani.  On  Jan- 
uary 21  the  program  will  include  the 
Suite  No.  2  in  B  by  Bach,  Mozart's  An- 
dante for  Flute  (K.  315),  Wagner's 
Adagio  for  Clarinet  and  Strings,  and  the 
Chicago  premiere  of  Bernard  Heiden's 
Concerto  for  Small  Orchestra.  Admis- 
sion is  free  and  without  ticket.  Complete 
program  information  for  this  series  of 
Museum  concerts,  as  well  as  a  schedule 
of  the  orchestra's  other  appearances, 
may  be  obtained  from  the  Chicago 
Chamber  Orchestra  Association,  332  S. 
Michigan  Ave.,  Chicago  (HA  7-0603). 


On  Sunday,  January  28,  the  Illinois 
Audubon  Society  continues  its  wildlife 
film-lectures  with  "Nova  Scotia — Land 
of  the  Sea,"  by  Robert  C.  Hermes.  This 
color  motion  picture  records  a  visual 
journey  through  the  spruce  and  hem- 
lock forests  in  Canada's  lovely  province- 
by-the-sea.  J  The  lecturer  follows  a  tiny 
stream  from  its  woodland  source  to  the 


Atlantic,  where  time-lapse  photography 
focuses  on  the  Minas  Basin  tides  and  the 
changing  patterns  of  oceanic  life.  The 
free  film  will  be  presented  at  2 :30  p.m.  in 
the  Museum's  James  Simpson  Theatre. 


The  deadline  for  entries  in  the  17th 
Chicago  International  Exhibition  of  Na- 
ture Photography  is  January  15.  The 
exhibit  of  photographic  work  will  be 
presented  in  the  Museum  from  Febru- 
ary 3  through  18,  with  showings  of  slides 
in  the  James  Simpson  Theatre  on  Feb- 
ruary 4  and  11  at  2:30  p.m.  Photogra- 
phers wishing  to  enter  the  exhibition  may 
obtain  entry  forms  from  Frank  Pfleger, 
exhibition  chairman,  2347  Harvey  Ave- 
nue, Berwyn. 

Staff'  Changes 

Dr.  Joseph  Curtis  Moore  is  joining 
the  staff  of  the  Museum  on  January  1 , 
1962,  as  Curator  of  Mammals.  Dr. 
Moore  attended  the  University  of  Ken- 
tucky and  received  a  doctorate  at  the 
University  of  Florida.  He  spent  several 
years  with  the  National  Park  Service  in 
the  capacity  of  Park  Biologist  at  the 
Everglades  National  Park.  He  is  also 
a  Research  Fellow  of  the  American  Mu- 
seum of  Natural  History  in  New  York. 


Dr.  Moore  has  been  a  prolific  writer  of 
both  scientific  and  popular  reports  in 
the  fields  of  his  interest. 

Mr.  Philip  Hershkovitz,  who  has  been 
Curator  of  Mammals  at  the  Museum 
since  January  1,  1956,  and  served  as 
Assistant  Curator  and  Associate  Curator 
since  March,  1 947,  will  become  Research 
Curator  of  Mammals.  In  this  capacity 
he  will  be  able  to  devote  more  time  to 
the  studies  he  has  been  conducting. 


Mrs.  Dorothy  Gibson,  secretary  in  the 
Department  of  Botany,  has  been  ap- 
pointed Assistant  in  that  department. 
Her  appointment  comes  as  the  result  of 
contributions  she  has  made  to  botanical 
research  while  in  the  service  of  the  Mu- 
seum. Since  joining  the  Museum's  staff 
in  1958  she  has  acquired,  through  out- 
side study  and  through  working  with 
the  herbarium,  a  basic  knowledge  of 
systematic  botany.  Studying  plants  has 
long  been  an  avocation  of  Mrs.  Gib- 
son. Her  extensive  collections  from 
her  native  state  of  Kentucky  have  been 
deposited  in  the  Museum's  herbarium, 
and  formed  the  basis  for  her  "Life  Forms 
of  Kentucky  Flowering  Plants,"  pub- 
(Continued  on  next  page) 


What 


Is 


It? 


No,  the  peculiar  animal  pictured  is  not  a  dinosaur  or  even  a  " living  fossil"  that  has  survived  from  some  prehistoric  age.  It  is  a 
pangolin,  an  ant  and  termite-eating  mammal  found  in  Southwest  Africa  and  parts  of  Asia.  Most  pangolins  grow  15  or  16  inches  long, 
excluding  the  tail,  although  a  few  giants  have  been  known  to  reach  the  size  of  a  small  sheep.  The  most  striking  feature  of  the  animal's 
appearance  are  the  horny,  overlapping  scales  that  cover  all  but  the  under  part  of  the  body.  It  has  been  claimed  that  the  scaly  plating  of  a 
mature  pangolin  is  so  strong  and  streamlined  that  it  will  ward  off  a  .303  bullet  fired  point  blank  from  a  distance  of  100  yards.  When 
forcefully  snapped  together,  these  scales  are  said  to  be  capable  of  cutting  off  the  paws  of  an  attacking  animal.  Small  wonder  that  African 
Bushmen  and  other  native  tribes  use  the  scales  as  charms.  The  pangolin' s  strong  front  claws,  which  extend  backward  as  it  walks,  are 
well  adapted  for  digging  into  and  breaking  open  the  hard  mud  nests  of  termites  so  that  the  mammal  may  extend  its  sticky  foot-long  tongue 
into  the  nests'  tunnels  to  scoop  up  their  inhabitants.     A  pangolin  may  be  seen  in  Hall  18  during  January  and  February.  MKJ 


January  Page  7 


lished  recently  in  The  American  Midland 
Naturalist. 


The  retirement  at  the  close  of  the  year 
of  Emil  Sella,  Curator  of  Exhibits  in  the 
Department  of  Botany,  is  announced 
with  regret.  Mr.  Sella  joined  the  staff 
of  the  Museum  in  1922  as  a  glassblower 
and  preparator  in  the  Stanley  Field 
Plant  Reproduction  Laboratory  of  the 
Museum.  He  advanced  over  the  years 
to  Chief  Preparator  of  botanical  exhibits 
and  in  1947  was  appointed  Curator  of 
Exhibits  in  the  Department  of  Botany. 
Hundreds  of  plant  models  at  the  Muse- 
um bear  silent  testimony  to  his  unusual 
ability  and  skill  in  reproducing  in  per- 
manent form  a  wide  variety  of  plants. 


Mr.  George  Langford,  Curator  of  Fos- 
sil Plants,  also  retired  at  the  end  of  the 
year.  Mr.  Langford  came  to  the  Mu- 
seum in  1949  after  his  retirement  from  a 
business  career.  A  native  of  Denver, 
Colorado,  he  graduated  from  Sheffield 
Scientific  School  of  Yale  University  in 
1897.  His  great  interest  in  the  coal  fos- 
sils in  the  strip  mine  areas  of  Wilming- 
ton, Illinois,  and  his  general  interest 
both  in  paleontology  and  certain  phases 
of  anthropology  brought  him  to  the 
Museum  first  as  a  volunteer  and  later 
as  a  staff  member. 


Dr.  C.  Earle  Smith,  Jr.,  Associate 
Curator  of  Vascular  Plants,  resigned  at 
the  end  of  the  year  to  accept  employ- 
ment with  the  United  States  Department 
of  Agriculture.  He  will  be  stationed  at 
Beltsville,  Maryland.  Dr.  Smith  joined 
the  staff  of  the  Museum  in  January  of 
1959  and  has  been  interested  especially 
in  tropical  vegetation. 

BROR  ERIC  DAHLGREN 
1877  —  1961 

Dr.  B.  E.  Dahlgren,  Curator  Emeritus 
of  Botany,  died  of  a  heart  attack  at  his 
home  on  December  16,  1961.  This  ended 
a  varied  career  that  began  with  emigra- 
tion from  his  native  Sweden  to  the  United 
States  when  he  was  in  his  teens.  After 
receiving  his  degree  from  the  University 
of  Minnesota,  Dr.  Dahlgren  engaged  in 
the  practice  of  orthodontic  dentistry  in 
New  York  City  at  the  turn  of  the  cen- 
tury.    His  studies  of  the  comparative 

Page  8  January 


anatomy  of  the  mammalian  palate  led 
to  use  of  the  collections  at  the  American 
Museum  of  Natural  History,  and  subse- 
quently to  an  interest  in  problems  of 
museum  exhibition.  Employing  some 
of  the  materials  and  techniques  of  me- 
chanical dentistry,  Dahlgren  constructed 
models  of  invertebrate  animals,  includ- 
ing insects,  that  were  superior  to  any 
known  at  the  time.  Eventually  he  gave 
up  the  practice  of  dentistry  and  became 
a  staff  member  at  the  American  Museum. 

In  1909,  Dr.  Charles  W.  Millspaugh, 
the  Museum's  first  Curator  of  Botany, 
with  the  support  of  Mr.  Stanley  Field, 
President,  induced  Dahlgren  to  become 
head  of  the  department's  Division  of 
Modeling.  In  1935  Dr.  Dahlgren  be- 
came Curator  of  Botany,  a  title  that  was 
changed  the  following  year  to  Chief 
Curator  of  Botany. 

Under  his  direction  a  program  of  bo- 
tanical exhibition  was  begun  that  re- 
sulted in  the  famed  Stanley  Field  Col- 
lection of  Plant  Models  and  botanical 
exhibits  considered  to  be  the  finest  any- 
where. Among  the  most  spectacular  of 
these  is  the  restoration  of  a  Carbonifer- 
ous forest  on  display  in  Hall  38  of  the 
Museum.  Illustrations  of  this  restora- 
tion have  appeared  in  most  textbooks  of 
geology  published  since  the  completion 
of  the  exhibit. 

Dr.  Dahlgren  was  an  authority  on  wax 
palms  and  conducted  a  number  of  bo- 
tanical collecting  expeditions  to  Jamai- 
ca, British  Guiana,  Brazil,  and  Cuba. 

Scientific  Meetings  and  Honors 

The  government  of  Guatemala  has 
honored  two  former  staff  members  of 
Chicago  Natural  History  Museum  for 
scientific  work  accomplished  relating  to 
that  country.  On  September  15,  Dr. 
Julian  Steyermark  received  Guatemala's 
"Order  of  the  Quetzal"  from  the  Guate- 
malan government  at  Caracas,  Vene- 
zuela. The  same  honor  was  bestowed 
on  Mr.  Paul  C.  Standley  at  Tegucigalpa, 
Honduras,  on  October  11,  1961.  The 
honors  were  bestowed  in  recognition  of 
the  scientific  studies  of  these  botanists  on 
the  flora  of  Guatemala. 


Rupert  L.  Wenzel,  Curator  of  Insects, 
has  returned  from  a  trip  to  the  Canal 
Zone  where  he  worked  and  conferred 
with  Major  Vernon  J.  Tipton,  U.  S. 


Army.  Wenzel  and  Tipton  are  writing 
a  paper  on  the  batflies  of  Panama.  The 
study  is  part  of  a  U.  S.  Army-sponsored 
research  program  directed  by  Major 
Tipton,  who  is  Chief  of  the  Environ- 
mental Health  Branch  of  the  Division 
of  Preventive  Medicine,  U.  S.  Army 
Caribbean. 


Dr.  Paul  S.  Martin,  Dr.  Donald  Col- 
lier, Dr.  Roland  W.  Force,  Mr.  Phillip 
H.  Lewis,  and  Mr.  George  I.  Quimby, 
all  of  the  Department  of  Anthropology, 
recently  attended  annual  meetings  of  the 
American  Anthropological  Association 
in  Philadelphia.  Mr.  Lewis  presented  a 
paper  on  "Comparison  of  Art  of  Primi- 
tive and  Civilized  Societies."  His  mono- 
graph, A  Definition  of  Primitive  Art,  has 
just  been  published  by  the  Museum  Press 
(Fieldiana:  Anthropology,  Vol.  36,  No. 
10;  21  pages,  5  illustrations;  50c).    At 


Effigy  hanger,  New  Guinea.    Illustration  from 
"A  Definition  of  Primitive  Art" 

the  meetings,  Dr.  Force  discussed  "The 
Concept  of  Process  and  the  Study  of 
Cultural  Change."  Dr.  Force  is  now 
en  route  to  his  new  post  as  Director  of 
the  Bernice  P.  Bishop  Museum  in  Hono- 
lulu, Hawaii. 

PRINTED  BY  CHICAGO  NATURAL  HISTORY    MUSEUM  PRESS 


HICAGO 
NATURAL 
HISTORY 
VIUSEU 


CHICAGO 
NATURAL 
HISTORY 
MUSEUM 


News 


New  Director  Chosen 

The  Board  of  Trustees  of  Chicago 
Natural  History  Museum,  at  its  January 
meeting,  elected  a  new  Director,  a  new 
President,  and  a  new  Chairman  of  the 
Board. 


E.  Leland  Webber  Stanley  Field 

Mr.  Stanley  Field,  who  has  served 
as  President  of  the  Museum  since  1909, 
was  relieved  of  that  duty  at  his  own 
request  and  elected  to  the  new  position 
of  Board  Chairman.  During  his  53  years 
as  President,  the  Museum  developed  in- 
to an  institution  of  worldwide  reputa- 
tion, known  for  its  scientific  research 
and  its  outstanding  collections.  It  is 
worthy  of  note  that  Museum  attendance 
in  1909  was  209,170  against  1,307,567 
in  1961.  Expenditures  in  1909  were 
$312,934.98  compared  with  approxi- 
mately $1,500,000  in  1961.  In  his  new 
capacity,  Mr.  Field  will  continue  to  be 
intimately  associated  with  the  work  of 
the  Museum  which  has  made  such  phe- 
nomenal progress  under  his  direction. 

The  new  Director  is  Mr.  E.  Leland 
Webber,  who  joined  the  staff  of  the 
Museum  in  1 950.  After  serving  as  Exec- 
utive Assistant  to  the  Director,  he  was 
appointed  Assistant  Director  in  1960. 
He  has  been  active  in  the  American 
Association  of  Museums  and  the  Mid- 
west Museums  Association.  He  is  also 
a  member  of  the  American  Association 
for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  and 
the  Association  of  Science  Museum  Di- 
rectors. Mr.  Webber  lives  in  Wilmette, 
Illinois,  with  his  wife  and  three  children, 
and  has  been  active  in  community  and 
church  affairs. 

He  succeeds  Clifford  C.  Gregg,  who 
has  been  Director  of  the  Museum  since 

Page  2  February 


1937  and  who  was  elected  President  of 
the  Museum,  succeeding  Mr.  Field. 

Free  Lectures  and  Films 

The  Museum's  1962  spring  series  of 
illustrated  travel  lectures  for  adults  will 
begin  with  a  film  trip  to  Mandalay  on 
March  3,  followed  on  March  10  by  a 
motion  picture  excursion  to  Germany. 
Travel-lecturer  for  "The  Road  to  Man- 
dalay" is  William  Moore,  with  Gordon 
Palmquist — a  familiar  lecturer  on  the 
stage  of  James  Simpson  Theatre — pro- 
viding the  narrative  for  "Germany." 
The  complete  schedule  for  the  spring 
travel  lectures  will  be  announced  in  the 
March  Bulletin.  The  programs  to  be 
presented  each  Saturday  during  Marcn 
and  April  begin  at  2:30  p.m.  Reserved 
seats  in  the  James  Simpson  Theatre  will 
be  held  for  Museum  Members  until 
2:25  p.m. 

The  Saturday  morning  programs  for 
children  will  also  be  listed  in  the  March 
Bulletin.  They  begin  on  March  3  at 
10:30  a.m.  in  the  James  Simpson  The- 
atre. 


"Once  Around  the  Sun,"  a  motion 
picture-lecture  explaining  why  the  sea- 
sons change,  the  tides  ebb,  and  the  days 
turn  to  night,  is  the  February  18  pro- 
gram of  the  Illinois  Audubon  Society's 
current  wildlife  film  series.  The  pro- 
gram begins  at  2 :  30  p.m.  in  James  Simp- 
son Theatre. 

Free  Choral  Concert 

The  Netherlands  Chamber  Choir,  di- 
rected by  Felix  de  Nobel,  will  be  pre- 
sented in  James  Simpson  Theatre  by  the 
Free  Concerts  Foundation  on  Wednes- 
day, February  7,  at  8:15  p.m.,  in  a  con- 
cert of  a  cappella  music  dating  from  the 
16th  Century  to  the  present.  (The  date 
has  been  changed  to  February  7  from 
February  3,  as  listed  in  last  month's 
Bulletin.)  The  choir  will  sing  selec- 
tions by  Morley,  Farmer,  di  Lasso,  Bar- 
ber, Ravel,  and  others.  Free  tickets  may 
be  obtained  by  sending  a  stamped,  self- 
addressed  envelope  to  Free  Concerts, 
Chicago  Natural  History  Museum, 
Roosevelt  Road  at  Lake  Shore  Drive  (5). 


Chicago   Natural   History  Museum 

Founded  by  Marshall  Field,  1893 

Roosevelt  Road  and  Lake  Shore  Drive,  Chicago  5 

Telephone:  WAbash  2-9410 

THE  BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES 


Lester  Armour 
Wm.  McCormick  Blair 
Bowen  Blair 
Walter  J.  Cummings 
Joseph  N.  Field 
Marshall  Field,  Jr. 
Stanley  Field 
Clifford  C.  Gregg 
Samuel  Insull,  Jr. 
Henry  P.  Isham 

J.  Howard 


William  V.  Kahler 
Hughston  M.  McBain 
J.  Roscoe  Miller 
William  H.  Mitchell 
John  T.  Pirie,  Jr. 
John  Shedd  Reed 
John  G.  Searle 
John  M.  Simpson 
Solomon  A.  Smith 
Louis  Ware 
Wood 


OFFICERS 

Stanley  Field,  Chairman  of  the  Board 

Clifford  C.  Gregg,  President 

Hughston  M.  McBain,  First  Vice-President 

Joseph  N.  Field,  Second  Vice-President 

Bowen  Blair,  Third  Vice-President 

Solomon  A.  Smith,  Treasurer 

E.  Leland  Webber,  Secretary 

Solomon  A.  Smith,  Assistant  Secretary 

THE  BULLETIN 

EDITOR 

E.  Leland  Webber,  Director  of  the  Museum 

CONTRIBUTING  EDITORS 

Pau!  S.  Martin,  Chief  Curator  of  Anthropology 

John  R.  Millar,  Chief  Curator  of  Botany 

Sharat  K.  Roy,  Chief  Curator  of  Geology 

Austin  L.  Rand,  Chief  Curator  of  Zoology 

MANAGING  EDITOR 

Paula  R.  Nelson,  Public  Relations  Counsel 

ASSOCIATE   EDITOR 
Marilyn  Jindrich,  Associate  in  Public  Relations 


Members  are    requested    to    inform    the    Museum 
promptly    of    changes    of    address. 


Nature  Photo  Exhibition 

Nature  photographs  from  all  over  the 
world  will  be  on  display  in  Stanley  Field 
Hall  February  3  through  18  in  the  17th 
Chicago  International  Exhibition  of  Na- 
ture Photography.  Sponsored  jointly  by 
the  Museum  and  the  Nature  Camera 
Club  of  Chicago,  the  exhibition  is  the 
largest  in  the  world  devoted  to  nature 
photography,  and  comprises  several  hun- 
dred of  the  best  of  more  than  three  thou- 
sand entries.  The  entries  include  both 
color  and  black-and-white  prints,  and 
color  slides  of  scenic  and  unusual  natural 
phenomena,  plant  life,  and  animal  life 
photographed  by  both  amateur  and  pro- 
fessional photographers.  The  exhibi- 
tion's most  outstanding  slides  will  be 
shown  in  James  Simpson  Theatre  on 
February  4  and  1 1  (Sundays)  at  2 :30  p.m. 


February's   Featured   Exhibit 


In  a  world  full  of  strange  and  curious 
things,  the  cannonball  tree  ranks  high 
on  the  scale  of  the  unusual  among  trop- 
ical trees.  It  is  native  to  Guiana,  the 
general  region  of  northeastern  South 
America,  where  it  grows  as  a  tall  forest 
tree.  A  few  examples  have  been  estab- 
lished in  Florida,  one  at  the  Fairchild 
Tropical  Garden  in  Coconut  Grove  and 
another  in  the  garden  of  the  Royal  Palm 
Hotel,  Fort  Meyers.  The  name  "can- 
nonball" derives  from  resemblance  of 
the  reddish  brown,  six  to  eight-inch 
spherical  fruits  to  old-time,  rusty  artil- 
lery shells. 

The  tree  bears  large,  showy  flowers 
with  five  to  seven  fleshy  petals  colored 
crimson  on  their  inner  surfaces.  The 
crimson  color  blends  to  white  at  the  base 
of  the  petals  where  they  surround  a  pe- 
culiar hood-like  structure  bearing  two 
sets  of  stamens.  Numerous  short  sta- 
mens cover  a  flat  disc  at  the  center  of 
the  flower  while  a  fleshy,  white,  re- 
curved extension  of  the  disc  terminates 
in  an  equally  numerous  set  of  larger, 
tentacle-like  stamens.  Large  black  bum- 
ble-bees that  seem  to  be  the  principal 
pollinators  thus  are  dusted  top  and  bot- 
tom with  pollen  as  they  force  their  way 
under  the  hood.  Flowers  and  fruits  are 
borne  on  pendulous  branches  located  on 
the  lower  part  of  the  trunk  well  below 
the  leafy  crown  of  the  tree.  These 
branches,  gnarled  and  woody  as  they 
seem,  are  appendages  of  the  inner  bark 
and  are  not  united  with  the  wood  of  the 
tree  trunk. 

The  cannonball  tree  is  ornamental  but 
otherwise  of  no  importance  to  man, 
whereas  some  of  its  botanically  close  rel- 
atives, the  Brazil-nut  and  monkeypot 
trees,  the  tauary  tree,  and  Colombian 
mahogany  serve  utilitarian  purposes. 
Brazil  nuts  of  commerce  are  obtained 
from  wild  trees  of  the  Amazonian  forest. 
The  angular  seeds  are  contained  in  thick- 
shelled  globular  fruits  gathered  from  the 
forest  floor  after  they  have  fallen  natur- 
ally from  high  in  the  leafy  crown  of  the 
giant  Castanheira  do  Brasil  (Brazilian 
chestnut  tree).    The  tauary  tree  is  the 


The  Cannonball  Tree 


John  R.  Millar,  Chief  Curator  of  Botany 


source  of  a  bark  cloth  similar  to  tapa  and 
was  used  by  South  American  Indians. 
So-called  Colombian  mahogany  is  one 
of  the  numerous  substitutes  for  true  ma- 
hogany (Swietenia  mahogani). 

The  name  "monkeypot"  refers  to  the 
form  of  the  fruit,  which  comes  in  a  vari- 
ety of  sizes  and  shapes,  from  the  giant 
monkeypot,  which  looks  like  a  scallop 


squash  with  an  opening  and  lid  on  one 
end,  to  others  known  as  monkey's  drink- 
ing cups,  vases,  and  so  forth,  with  stop- 
pered openings.  The  name  "monkey- 
pot" may  be  fanciful,  like  Lovers'  Leap, 
or  Jacob's  Ladder,  or  perhaps  there  is 
truth  in  the  travelers'  tales  that  when  a 
monkeypot  is  baited  with  sugar  a  mon- 
{Continued  on  page  7) 

February  Page  3 


Dr.   Robert   L.   Flemin 


Museum  Field  Associate 


Reports  on 


a  1960-61 


84 
28 


85 


86 


27 


26 
84 


^\ 

L, 

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1  A           V 

85 


86 


SCIENTIFIC  EXPEDITION  TO  THE 


Initial  Planning 

Early  in  1960,  while  I  was  in  the 
United  States,1  Dr.  Clifford  G.  Gregg, 
Director  of  Chicago  Natural  History 
Museum,  asked  me,  as  a  member  of  the 
Museum  staff  living  in  Katmandu, 
whether  I  would  represent  the  Museum 
on  a  forthcoming  expedition  to  the  Hi- 
malayas. The  expedition  was  being 
planned  by  the  World  Book  Encyclo- 
pedia and  would  be  under  the  direction 
of  Sir  Edmund  Hillary.  My  particular 
job  would  be  to  collect  birds  and  small 
mammals  for  the  Museum.  Since  my 
vacation  was  due  and  I  would  be  return- 
ing to  Katmandu  from  the  United 
States  in  less  than  a  month,  I  accepted. 

Two  weeks  later  I  was  jetting  to  the 
Orient.  Plans  for  the  World  Book  En- 
cyclopedia Scientific  Expedition  to  the 
Himalayas  had  taken  definite  shape. 
The  major  effort  would  be  a  study  by 


1  Dr.  Fleming  is  representative  of  the  Board 
of  World  Missions  of  the  Methodist  Church 
and  Superintendent,  Katmandu  Area,  United 
Mission  to  Nepal.  Readers  of  the  Bulletin 
will  remember  his  article  on  "The  Changing 
Seasons  in  Nepal"  (March,  1960). 

Page  i  February 


a  group  of  medical  men  as  to  the  effect 
of  altitude  on  the  human  body  and  the 
scaling,  without  oxygen,  of  Makalu,  the 
world's  fourth  highest  mountain.  A  sec- 
ond purpose  of  the  expedition  would  be 
to  prove  or  disprove  the  existence  of  the 
"yeti."  The  third  part  of  the  expedition 
would  be  my  work  for  Chicago  Natural 
History  Museum.2  Chief  Curator  Rand 
outlined  a  rough  program  for  me :  to  en- 
list the  assistance  of  several  Nepalese 
helpers  for  my  collecting,  and  to  choose 
my  own  time  and  area  of  operation  in- 
dependently of  Sir  Edmund  Hillary's 
group. 

Planning  Our  First  Expedition 

To  make  the  most  of  our  trip,  it 
would  be  necessary  to  select  men  who 
would  work  well  together.  I  therefore 
conducted  four  short  trial  camps  near 
Katmandu  at  various  altitudes  to  6,000 
feet.  Six  of  us  took  part  in  these  camps 
— two  Americans   and  four   Nepalese. 


2  A  grant  from  the  World  Book  Encyclope- 
dia to  the  Museum  made  possible  this  phase 
of  the  expedition's  work. 


Later  we  added  a  Scottish  doctor.  I 
discovered  that  these  men,  despite  their 
varied  backgrounds,  acted  as  a  team. 

One  must  always  keep  the  weather 
factor  in  mind  when  arranging  a  field 
trip  in  Nepal.  When  we  made  our 
first  trial  camp  in  September,  the  weather 
was  wet  and  miserable.  We  remained 
at  that  camp  just  long  enough  to  be  bit- 
ten by  mosquitoes;  and  later  two  of  us 
came  down  with  malignant  malaria — a 
fumbling  start.  We  decided  that  we 
could  do  better  work  at  less  health  risk 
in  the  bright,  clear  days  of  fall.  Since 
November  is  our  driest  month,  we  fixed 
on  that  time  to  set  out. 

First,  however,  we  had  to  furnish  sev- 
eral different  government  departments 
with  a  complete  listing  of  our  proposed 
routes,  fire  arms,  and  plans  in  order  to 
secure  their  formal  permission  to  trek 
through  the  country.  One  always  needs 
extra  time  when  seeking  such  permits 
because  there  are  142  holidays  a  year  in 
Katmandu.  When  you  least  expect  it, 
you  are  likely  to  find  an  office  closed  and 
to  be  told  to  come  back  bholi  (tomor- 


88 


I  B  E  T 


it  Everest 


»  / 

Biratna^ar^.— ' 


SIKKIM 


Darjeeling 


27 


26 


HIMALAYAS 


row).  Then  you  had  better  check  to  see 
whether  "tomorrow"  isn't  another  of  the 
142  holidays. 

Along  the  Everest  Trail 

On  November  2  we  began  our  first  ex- 
tended trip.  Our  goal  was  an  area  east 
of  Katmandu  and  south  of  Mount  Ev- 
erest. After  being  driven  by  car  the  first 
eighteen  miles  on  our  way  out  of  the 
city,  the  road  tapered  off  and  we  set  out 
on  foot.  Our  equipment  was  carried  by 
porters.  Ordinary  travelers  cover  about 
eight  miles  a  day  in  this  fashion,  and 
this  rate  suited  us.  At  night  we  camped 
by  streams  in  the  woods,  and  we  ate  the 
food  our  cook  prepared  from  stores  we 
carried  or  purchased  at  markets  and  tea 
houses  along  the  way.  After  several  days 
of  such  travel  (during  which  two  of  our 
porters  crept  away  during  the  night  and 
had  to  be  replaced  by  local  men),  we 
crossed  the  rim  of  a  wide  valley  and 
there,  off  to  the  northeast,  glimpsed  the 
top  of  the  mighty  Everest.  It  was 
crowned  with  a  snow  plume  that  glowed 
with  warm  pink  in  the  fading  sunlight. 
A  memorable  conclusion  to  a  day's  trek 


in  the  Himalayas! 

On  the  following  day  we  were  up  in 
the  chilly  grey  dawn  to  cross  a  river  on 
a  suspension  bridge  that  had  seen  better 
days.  Beyond  it,  we  put  out  our  mam- 
mal traps  and  admired  a  flight  of  thirty 
or  forty  Kestral  falcons.  Over  the  next 
ridge  we  could  see  the  hills  running  into 
the  high  country,  the  land  of  the  Sher- 
pas,  but  Everest  was  not  our  aim,  so  we 
soon  turned  off  the  trail  toward  the  hills 
on  the  northeast.  Here  the  Swiss  have 
built  several  model  cheese-making  in- 
stallations. We  pitched  our  tent  on  a 
grassy  knoll  beside  one  of  their  "fac- 
tories," and  were  invited  to  tea  by  the 
Swiss,  sampled  their  cheese,  inspected 
their  wooden-shingled  houses,  their  cow 
and  buffalo  stalls,  and  the  kiln  where 
they  make  bricks.  Among  all  these  signs 
of  civilization  we  saw  a  score  of  men 
working  on  the  building  of  an  air  strip 
where  shortly  before  there  had  been  only 
wilderness. 

It  was  good  to  stop  here  for  a  bit  and 
have  time  for  collecting,  instead  of  hav- 
ing to  snatch  specimens  as  we  traveled. 
The  children  had  a  young  civet  for  a 
pet,  and  the  villagers  brought  us  an 
adult  specimen  for  the  Museum.  There 
were  a  few  jackals  about,  and  a  field  of 
millet  was  being  devoured  by  rats.  In 
a  scrub  jungle  we  found  more  of  the 
birds  we  wanted,  especially  a  red-headed 
babbling  thrush  and  the  elusive  snow 
pigeon. 

In  the  High  Country 

Later  we  climbed  toward  the  Swiss 
milk  collecting  stations  located  at  vari- 
ous altitudes  from  1 1,600  to  12,600  feet. 
As  we  left  the  trees  behind  and  made  our 
way  through  masses  of  rock,  we  passed 
lovely,  large  orchids  overhanging  the 
cliffs  along  the  trail.  We  found  where 
the  Kansu  rose  finch  sheltered  under 
overhanging  rocks  above  the  "Lake  of 
Ghosts"  (Bhoat  Pokhari),  and  we  saw 
the  little  mouse-hares,  relatives  of  the 
Rocky  Mountain  pika,  pop  out  of  their 
burrows  between  the  rocks  when  the  sun 
warmed  the  chilly  hillside.  At  these 
heights,  white  clouds  stretched  below  us 
for  miles  toward  the  southwest. 

In  the  forest  fringing  a  ridge  at  10,500 
feet  there  were  laughing  thrushes,  gros- 
beaks, and  rose  finches.  Blood  pheasants 
clucked  from  the  bamboo  thickets  a  bit 


lower  down.  Along  the  base  of  steep 
cliffs  at  still  lower  altitudes  lived  serow 
and  musk  deer;  and  we  also  saw  the 
holes  of  shrews  and  voles  among  the 
undergrowth.  At  one  point  we  halted 
to  watch  a  dozen  brilliant  Impeyan 
pheasants  digging  for  tubers  under  the 
evergreen  trees. 

Bigu 

Before  returning  to  Katmandu  we 
decided  to  stay  a  few  days  at  Bigu.  A 
new  batch  of  porters  led  us  toward  the 
town  on  a  much  more  difficult  route 
than  was  necessary — -after  hacking  our 
way  through  the  jungle  for  nearly  a  day, 
we  reached  the  well-trodden  road  we 
should  have  taken  all  along.  We  found 
compensation,  however,  in  being  able  to 
buy  fresh  oranges  off  the  tree  for  one 
pice  (Mc)  apiece. 

Reaching  Bigu  on  Thanksgiving  Day, 
November  24th,  we  immediately  began 
to  explore  the  surrounding  countryside. 
And  here  we  made  a  real  discovery — 
the  honey  guide.  Although  the  Hima- 
layan honey  guide — a  small,  dull  bird 
related  to  woodpeckers — is  largely  un- 
known, its  African  counterpart  is  known 
to  be  a  social  parasite.  Some  of  them 
eat  beeswax,  and  at  least  one  African 
species  guides  humans  to  bee  trees  so 
that  the  men  will  open  the  wild  hives 
and  the  birds  can  eat  a  share  of  the  wax. 
In  about  the  third  century  A.D.,  a  Chi- 
nese scholar,  Chang  Hua,  had  ascribed 
similar  habits  to  the  Asiatic  honey  guide. 
Now,  seventeen  centuries  later,  I  was  to 
confirm  his  observations  as  being  true, 
also,  of  the  Himalayan  species. 

It  came  about  this  way.  Near  Bigu, 
the  villagers  told  us  that  they  had  been 
collecting  honey  near  the  cliffs.  As  we 
approached  the  place  by  a  narrow  path 
winding  down  beside  the  cliffs,  our  bird 
boy,  Sagar  Rana,  who  had  gone  on 
ahead,  ran  back  to  us  from  the  bee 
combs.  "The  men  showed  me  where 
they  have  been  scraping  the  wax  off  the 
rocks,"  reported  Sagar,  "and  there  was 
a  bird  upside  down  on  a  comb!"  The 
honey  guide  at  last,  with  its  stomach 
crammed  full  of  wax.  That  evening  we 
celebrated  our  find  with  a  complete 
Thanksgiving  Day  dinner  of  curried 
chicken,  generously  furnished  us  by  the 
head  man  of  the  local  village. 
{Continued  on  next  page) 

February  Page  5 


Here,  near  the  bee  cliffs,  there  was  an 
important  change  in  the  people.  On 
the  lower  terraces,  the  villagers  had  been 
Nepalese-speaking  Hindus.  On  these 
upper  hillsides  lived  Tibetan-speaking 
Buddhists,  each  with  his  own  neat  little 
house  fronted  by  a  fluttering  prayer  flag. 
On  one  of  the  upper  levels  of  the  village 
was  a  well-constructed  gompa,  its  central 
portion  elaborately  decorated  with  scenes 
from  Buddha's  life,  while  on  either  side 
were  separate  living  quarters  for  nuns 
and  monks. 

At  Bigu  the  medical  man  of  our  party 
was  very  busy.  There  was  no  other 
medical  aid  in  the  town,  and  almost  half 
the  population  crowded  around  the  doc- 
tor's tent  wanting  to  be  examined  and 
to  receive  medicines. 

Return  to  Katmandu 

The  route  from  Bigu  back  to  Kat- 
mandu led  over  a  10,000  foot  pass.  With 
four  weeks  of  mountain  trekking  behind 
us,  we  were  able  to  cover  greater  dis- 
tances each  day.  Soon  we  were  down  to 
an  altitude  of  2,700  feet  and  had  a  real 
bath  in  a  warm  valley  stream.  The  next 
day  we  met  Doctors  West  and  Ward  of 
the  Hillary  expedition;  they  and  their 
sherpas  were  washing  in  the  river  when 
we  arrived.    They  were  away  very  early 


next  morning,  carrying  extremely  bulky 
packs.  "Getting  acclimatized,"  they 
called  it.  We  set  off  in  the  opposite 
direction  and  soon  reached  the  motor 
road,  where  we  intercepted  a  truck 
headed  for  Katmandu.  We  were  now 
"acclimatized,"  ourselves,  to  hard  trav- 
eling, and  as  we  covered  the  last  eighteen 
miles  of  our  thirty-mile  trip  that  day,  we 
enjoyed  watching  a  full  yellow  moon  rise 
and  flood  the  dark  hills  with  pale  light. 
Altogether,  we  had  had  a  wonderful 
experience  among  the  Himalayan  hills. 

Eastern  Nepal 

Our  attention  now  shifted  to  far  east- 
ern Nepal.  This  is  an  area  from  which 
we  have  little  data  concerning  birds,  and 
from  which  many  new  records  were  to 
be  expected.  Our  party  decided,  there- 
fore, to  spend  part  of  February  and  most 
of  March  in  the  Ham  area  on  the  Sikkim 
border  near  Darjeeling.  Accordingly,  six 
of  us,  along  with  800  pounds  of  luggage, 
flew  from  Katmandu  to  Biratnagar,  the 
taking-off  place  for  our  second  expedi- 
tion, on  February  12,  1961. 

Touring  the  Terai 

From  Biratnagar,  we  traveled  for  45 
miles  eastward  in  two  buffalo  carts,  mak- 
ing about  nine  miles  a  day.  We  passed  by 


cultivated  fields,  jolted  through  forests, 
and  crossed  sixteen  rivers.  How  different 
from  the  birds  of  the  hill  country  were 
those  of  the  tropical  terai:  rails  and  lap- 
wings, bitterns,  herons  and  egrets,  terns 
and  black-necked  storks  of  the  streams 
and  marshes  were  especially  conspicuous. 
One  day  we  found  the  den  of  an  Indian 
fox  and  watched  the  young  ones  gambol- 
ing and  basking.  At  Jhapa,  a  town  with 
a  fairly  good  bazaar  but  a  limited  supply 
of  food  for  sale,  we  camped  in  the  court- 
yard of  a  temple  where  all  night  long 
devotees  rang  a  temple  bell  when  they 
came  to  pray.  Then  we  turned  north  to 
the  hill  country  and  Ham. 

One  village,  Santali,  interested  us  par- 
ticularly, for  its  people  were  in  India  be- 
fore Dravidian  times  (4,000  B.C.)  and 
long  before  the  Aryans  came  (1,500 
B.C.).  Part  of  their  fare  still  comes  from 
the  wild,  for  while  skirting  one  reedy 
swamp,  we  met  three  Santal  boys  armed 
with  bows  and  arrows  and  aided  by  five 
hunting  dogs,  each  with  a  bell  on  its 
neck.  The  boys  had  a  string  of  birds:  a 
hawk,  crane,  water  hen,  kingfisher  and 
shrike  that  they  would  have  for  supper. 

Tiger! 

A  disagreement   arose   that   evening 
{Continued  on  next  page) 


What   Is    It? 


These  horn-shaped  objects  are  known  to  have  been  fashioned 
from  a  variety  of  materials,  such  as  silver,  cloisonne,  and  tortoise 
shell.  The  ones  in  our  photograph  are  of  silver  and  are  shown 
at  about  actual  size.  Here  is  a  hint.  Among  the  Chinese  upper 
classes  before  the  present  regime,  these  objects  were  a  minor, 
but  effective,  status  symbol. 

What  are  they?  . . .  They're  fingernail  guards,  worn  to  protect 
the  long  fingernails,  sometimes  several  inches  in  length,  that 
symbolized  the  freedom  from  manual  labor  enjoyed  by  the  old 
Chinese  leisure  classes.  Several  fine  examples  of  fingernail  pro' 
tectors  were  photographed  recently  when  exhibits  in  the  hall  of 
Chinese  ethnological  materials  were  dismantled  in  connection 
with  plans  now  under  way  to  reconstruct  the  hall  completely 
during  the  coming  year. 


Page  6  February 


The  Cannonball  Tree 

{Continued  from  page  3) 


.'«  :  *-^*^*k! 


Also  exhibited  in  Hall  29,  near  the  cannonball  tree  are  other  members  of 
the  monkeypot  family.  Shown  here  are  the  fruits  of  some  of  them.  The 
name  "monkeypot"  refers  to  the  form  of  the  fruit,  which  comes  in  a  variety 
of  sizes  and  shapes,  many  with  stoppered  openings. 


key  may  stick  his  head  in  the  opening, 
not  be  able  to  withdraw  it  and  thus  may 
be  caught.  Or,  in  another  version,  when 
a  monkey  clutches  a  handful  of  nuts  in 
the  interior  of  a  monkeypot,  he  may  not 
be  able  to  withdraw  his  clenched  hand, 
his  greed  being  so  great  that  he  will  not 
release  the  nuts  even  at  the  risk  of  being 
caught.  At  any  rate,  the  "paradise  nuts" 
produced  by  various  species  of  Lecythis 
(the  monkeypots)  are  deemed  superior 
in  flavor  to  Brazil  nuts;  but  because  the 
fruits  lose  their  "lids"  or  "stoppers" 
while  still  on  the  tree,  the  seeds  or  "nuts" 
scatter  over  the  ground  and  are  labori- 
ous to  gather,  and  hence  scarce  on  the 
market. 

A  full  scale  reproduction  of  the  lower 
trunk  of  a  cannonball  tree  may  be  seen 
in  Martin  A.  and  Carrie  Ryerson  Hall 
of  Plant  Life  (Hall  29,  second  floor,  east), 
opposite  the  entrance  to  the  Hall  of  For- 
eign Woods  (Hall  27).  Other  members 
of  the  monkeypot  family  may  be  seen  in 
Case  860  near  the  south  end  of  Hall  29. 


{Continued from  preceding  page) 

when  I  proposed  camping  in  a  forest 
clearing.  Our  cartmen  strongly  disa- 
greed— tigers  might  attack  and  kill  their 
buffaloes !  But  camp  we  did,  despite  pan- 
ther and  tiger  tracks  in  the  sand.  As  the 
camp  went  up,  the  men  scurried  around 
to  find  wood  and  in  a  few  minutes  had 
assembled  the  impressive  amount  of  fuel 
needed  to  keep  a  fire  going  all  night. 
Perhaps  it  was  just  as  well,  for  the  mon- 
keys woke  us  with  alarm  calls  at  mid- 
night, and  we  heard  a  panther  begin  its 
deep-throated  "wood  sawing"  calls  at 
minute-and-a-half  intervals.  At  that  mo- 
ment, the  walls  of  the  tent  seemed  aw- 
fully thin!  The  next  morning,  a  man 
from  a  nearby  village  reported  that  one 
of  his  goats  had  been  killed  and  eaten 
during  the  night,  and  that  the  carcass  of 
one  of  his  pigs  was  hanging  from  a  fork 
in  a  forest  tree.  Probably  buffalo  meat 
was  too  tough  for  the  panther,  which  was 
fortunate  for  us ! 

In  a  few  days  we  left  our  cartmen  and 
hired  porters  and  horses  for  the  journey 
farther  north.  Quickly  we  left  the  plains 
behind  and  started  a  gentle  climb.  There 
were  small  streams  and  thick,  tropical 
forests  full  of  bamboo,  tangled  vines,  and 
tall  trees.  As  we  approached  Ham,  we  re- 


called that  much  of  the  country  nearby 
used  to  be  covered  with  pines,  but  not 
a  single  pine  now  remains.  Well  built 
homesteads,  cultivated  fields,  and  exten- 
sive terraces  of  tea  bushes  now  are  the 
rule  here.  The  country  is  one  of  the  most 
advanced  in  Nepal.  Every  mile  or  so  one 
finds  a  village  or  town. 

A  Forest  Camp 

We  continued  to  climb  rolling  hills, 
each  one  higher  than  the  one  preceding. 
After  being  entertained  with  tea  and  a 
radio  program  by  the  leading  Brahman 
of  one  town,  a  guide  was  furnished  to 
take  us  to  a  suitable  camping  place  in 
the  forest.  Here  we  stayed  eight  days. 
The  ravines  were  filled  with  clouds  at 
times;  cliffs  towered  overhead.  To  the 
south,  the  slopes  were  dry  and  grassy. 
On  the  northern  slopes,  however,  much 
of  the  forest  remained  and  the  ground 
was  covered  with  moss  and  ferns.  Large 
sprays  of  yellow-green  orchids  hung  from 
the  trees  above  our  camp  and  water 
rushed  loudly  below  us.  Small  birds 
were  plentiful,  but  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant specimens — the  Myxornis,  a 
bright  green,  sparrow-sized  bird  with  a 
slender  bill  and  a  brush  tongue — eluded 
us.   We  finally  found  what  seemed  to  be  a 


Myzornis  drinking  sap  from  a  large  oak 
tree,  and  bagged  the  specimen  for  fur- 
ther study  at  the  Museum. 

The  Lowlands  and  Home 

After  adding  many  more  birds  to  our 
collection — thrushes,  babblers,  minivets, 
fulvettes,  sunbirds,  brush  robins,  dippers 
and  fork-tails  from  the  streams,  red- 
starts, wren  babblers,  flowerpeckers,  and 
others — we  descended  again  to  the  low- 
lands. There  it  felt  and  smelled  like  a 
hothouse  in  comparison  with  our  forest 
camp.  We  stayed  overnight  in  a  tropical 
mango  grove. 

A  quick  trip  to  Darjeeling  by  Land 
Rover,  a  beautiful  view  of  Kinchen- 
junga,  and  we  began  the  trip  back  by 
car.  Changing  eventually  to  a  little  Nep- 
alese  train,  we  reached  Simra,  where  we 
missed  the  plane  and  had  to  camp  in  the 
airdrome  all  night.  The  next  morning, 
twenty  minutes'  flying  time  brought  us 
home  to  Katmandu  on  March  23,  1961. 
Our  expedition  arrived  just  in  time  for 
me  to  be  home  to  celebrate  our  25th 
wedding  anniversary! 

{As  a  result  of  Dr.  Fleming's  collecting  ac- 
tivities in  the  Himalayas,  he  has  sent  the  Mu- 
seum some  382  bird  and  150  mammal  speci- 
mens, including  some  rarities  and  new  records 
for  the  country.) 

February  Page  7 


This  Month's  Cover  Story 


MUSEUM  EDUCATION 

REACHES  OUT  TO  THE  BLIND 


ii~XT  FEELS  so  shiny" — was  the  com- 
_L  ment,  as  the  boy's  hands  slipped 
over  the  surface  of  the  calcite  crystal. 
Quickly  but  thoroughly  he  "saw"  in  de- 
tail first  the  crystal  and  then  a  piece  of 
graphite,  which  he  described  as  "slip- 
pery." 

Though  the  descriptions  were  unusual, 
they  were  easily  understood  by  six  of  the 
youngster's  classmates,  who,  like  the  boy, 
were  blind.  Part  of  a  28-student  group 
studying  rocks  and  minerals  in  a  work- 
shop conducted  by  the  Raymond  Foun- 
dation, the  seven  children  were  the  first 
sightless  students  to  take  part  in  a  Mu- 
seum workshop  program. 

Page  8  February 


Joanne  Evenson 

Staff  Member,  Raymond  Foundation 

They  were  participating  in  the  pro- 
gram with  their  21  sighted  classmates  in 
the  hope  that  they  would  get  more  from 
the  experience  while  in  the  company  of 
their  friends.  Few  modifications  in  the 
usual  workshop  were  necessary  for  these 
unusual  students.  The  normal  schedule 
— a  color  film  on  rocks  and  minerals, 
time  spent  in  the  "laboratory"  for  the 
testing  and  the  identification  of  mineral 
specimens,  and  question  sheets  answered 
after  studying  the  Museum's  geology  ex- 
hibits— was  followed.  However,  the 
questions  for  the  blind  children  had 
been  prepared  in  advance  in  Braille  by 
their  teacher,  and  the  minerals  were  es- 


Above  photograph  and  cover  by  Division  of  Photography 


pecially  chosen  for  their  definite  or  un- 
usual texture  rather  than  their  color. 

Results  were  quickly  seen.  One  boy, 
after  handling  a  geode,  described  the 
quartz  crystal-lined  stone  as  "rough  on 
the  outside  but  rough  and  beautiful  on 
the  inside,"  an  extremely  accurate  de- 
scription from  one  who  could  "see"  only 
with  his  fingers.  With  their  question 
sheets,  the  blind  students  were  given 
styli  with  which  they  could  imprint 
their  answers  in  Braille  on  the  special, 
heavy  paper  provided  them.  Sighted 
classmates  helped  them  to  find  the  an- 
swers in  the  exhibit  cases. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  one-and-a- 
half-hour  session,  observers  felt  that  the 
blind  children  had  learned  as  much  as 
the  sighted.  Among  the  comments 
made  by  the  Braille  participants  was 
one  from  Robert  Weiland,  who  was  es- 
pecially interested  in  seeing  the  meteo- 
rite because  "he  couldn't  believe  that  a 
rock  could  be  that  big." 

PRINTED  BY  CHICAGO  NATURAL  HISTORY    MUSBUM  PRESS 


■*«  -* 


CHIC/fed' 
NATURAli 
HISTORY  ^/^ 
MUSEUM  ^ta*cA 


m 


•     4T 


-vv, 


CHICAGO 
NATURAL 
HISTORY 
MUSEUM 


News 


Nature  Photography — 
This  Month's  Cover 

Winners  of  silver  medals  in  the  Chi- 
cago International  Exhibition  of  Nature 
Photography,  displayed  last  month  in 
the  Museum,  represent  states  from  the 
East  to  the  West  coasts,  and  include  a 
resident  of  the  Chicago  area. 

In  the  "Print"  category,  silver  medals 
were  awarded  to:  John  Kohout,  La 
Grange  Park,  Illinois;  Fred  E.  Unver- 
hau,  Danbury,  Connecticut;  and  Charles 
L.  Norton,  Topfield,  Massachusetts. 
(Two  prize-winning  photographs  are  re- 
produced on  this  page.)  In  the  "Slide" 
category,  medals  went  to:  Gertrude 
Russ,  Glendale,  California;  Agnes  M. 
Hoist,  Phoenix,  Arizona;  and  Beatrice 


Nature   Photo   Winner   by   Charles    L.   Norton 

Petersen,  Niagara  Falls,  New  York. 
The  Bulletin  cover,  entitled  "Guard- 
ing the  Nest,"  is  by  Grant  M.  Haist  of 
Rochester,  New  York. 

Children's  Programs 

Children  will  have  an  opportunity  to 
step  back  into  ancient  Mexico  and  to 
compare  it  with  Mexico  as  it  is  today 
when  the  Museum's  new  Journey  for 
spring  begins  on  March  1 . 

"Journey  to  Mexico"  starts  at  a  mini- 
ature view  of  the  great  market  in  Mex- 
ico City  in  the  year   1515,   five  years 

Page  2  March 


before  the  coming  of  Cortez.  From 
that  embarkation  point  the  journeyer 
travels  to  such  fascinating  exhibits  as 
the  Temple  of  Quetzelcoatl,  in  which 
the  feathered  serpent  god  was  wor- 
shipped, and  on  to  displays  showing  the 
modern  Aztec,  Tarascan,  and  Zapotec 
Indians.  Information  sheets  and  ques- 
tionnaires are  available  at  the  Informa- 
tion Desk  and  at  the  North  and  South 
doors  of  the  Museum.  All  children  who 
can  read  and  write  are  eligible,  and  the 
Journey  will  be  in  effect  during  March, 
April,  and  May. 

As  an  introduction  to  the  new  Jour- 
ney, and  the  beginning  of  the  Muse- 
um's spring  series  of  free  programs  for 
children,  the  color  motion  picture,  "Jour- 
ney to  Mexico,"  will  be  presented  on 
March  3  at  10:00  a.m.  in  James  Simp- 
son Theatre.  During  March  and  April 
free  programs  for  children  will  be  held 
every  Saturday  morning  at  this  time. 
Following  is  the  complete  schedule : 

March  3 — Journey  to  Mexico 

{Cartoon  also) 

March  10— The  Red  Balloon 

(.4  Parisian  boy' s friendship  with  a  red  balloon) 

March  17 — The  Magic  Thread 

girl  scout  day  (Movie,  slide  story,  and  stage 
show) 


Chicago   Natural   History  Museum 

Founded  by  Marshall  Field,  1893 

Roosevelt  Road  and  Lake  Shore  Drive,  Chicago  5 

Telephone:  WAbash  2-9410 


THE  BOARD 
Lester  Armour 
Wm.  McCormick  Blair 
Bowen  Blair 
Walter  J.  Cummings 
Joseph  N.  Field 
Marshall  Field,  Jr. 
Stanley  Field 
Clifford  C.  Gregg 
Samuel  Insull,  Jr. 
Henry  P.  Isham 

J.  How 


OF  TRUSTEES 

William  V.  Kahler 
Hughston  M.  McBain 
J.  Roscoe  Miller 
William  H.  Mitchell 
John  T.  Pirie,  Jr. 
John  Shedd  Reed 
John  G.  Searle 
John  M.  Simpson 
Solomon  A.  Smith 
Louis  Ware 

rd  Wood 


OFFICERS 

Stanley  Field,  Chairman  of  the  Board 

Clifford  C.  Gregg,  President 

Hughston  M.  McBain,  First  Vice-President 

Joseph  N.  Field,  Second  Vice-President 

Bowen  Blair,  Third  Vice-President 

Solomon  A.  Smith,  Treasurer 

E.  Leland  Webber,  Secretary 

Solomon  A.  Smith,  Assistant  Secretary 

THE  BULLETIN 

EDITOR 
E.  Leland  Webber,  Director  of  the  Museum 

CONTRIBUTING  EDITORS 

Paul  S.  Martin,  Chief  Curator  of  Anthropology 

John  R.  Millar,  Chief  Curator  of  Botany 

Sharat  K.  Roy,  Chief  Curator  of  Geology 

Austin  L.  Rand,  Chief  Curator  of  Zoology 

MANAGING  EDITOR 

Paula  R.  Nelson,  Public  Relations  Counsel 

ASSOCIATE  EDITOR 

Marilyn  Jindrich,  Associate  in  Public  Relations 


Nature    Photo   Winner   by   John   Kohout 


Members   are    requested    to    inform    the    Museum 
promptly     of    changes    of    address. 


March  24 — Islands  of  the  World 

CUB  SCOUT  DAY 

March  31 — Our  New  Frontiers 

camp  fire  girl  day  (Movie  and  stage  show  on 
Alaska  and  Hawaii) 

April  7 — Congo  Safari 

museum  traveler  day  (Dr.  Robert  F.  Inger 
of  the  Museum  staff  tells  the  story  of  his  recent 
expedition  to  the  Congo) 

April  14 — Japan  Harvests  the  Sea 

(^1  Disney  "People  and  Places"  movie — cartoon 
also) 

April  21—  NO  PROGRAM  (Easter 
Saturday) 

April  28 — A  Night  Out  with  Mr. 
Toad 

(And  other  films  on  the  world  of  nature — cartoon 
also) 

(Continued  on  page  8) 


MARCH  EXHIBITS 


Indians  of  the  Overland  Trail 

PAINTINGS  OF  PLAINS  INDIANS  BY  PAUL  DYCK 

AND 

The  Pawnee  Thunder  Ceremony 

A  MINIATURE  DIORAMA 


"  The  clouds  shall  touch  the  earth 
And  the  earth  shall  receive  power  from  above." 

PAWNEE  CHANT 


w, 


hen  the  first  sound  of  spring  thun- 
der was  heard  by  the  Pawnee  Indians 
who  occupied  the  dry,  sandy  slopes  of 
the  Platte  River  valley  before  the  com- 
ing of  the  white  men,  the  sound  signified 
that  the  gods  were  ready  to  turn  their 
attention  earthward  and  to  receive  once 
again  the  prayers  and  offerings  that 
opened  the  religious  ceremonial  year. 

The  voice  heard  in  the  thunder  was 
that  of  the  god,  Paruxti,  messenger  of 
the  supreme  deity,  Tirawa.  As  Paruxti 
passed  over  the  land  in  the  first  spring 
storm,  his  voice  awakened  the  earth  and 
kindled  life  anew.  Hearing  this  mes- 
sage, the  priests  assembled  their  sacred 
bundles  and  began  a  ritual  of  chants  and 
sacrifices  that  symbolized  and  ensured 
the  renewed  concern  of  the  gods  for  the 
welfare  of  men. 

It  is  this  event  that  is  portrayed  in  the 
Museum's  featured  exhibit  for  March — 
a  miniature  diorama,  displayed  in  Stan- 
ley Field  Hall,  of  the  Pawnee  thunder 
ceremony.  Concerning  it,  the  noted  an- 
thropologist, Ralph  Linton,  has  written 
in  a  Museum  publication:  "The  thun- 
der ceremony  was,  more  than  any  other, 
at  the  bottom  of  [Pawnee]  ceremonial 
life.  ...  It  promoted  the  well-being  of 
the  tribe,  and  was  efficacious  in  driving 
back  the  malignant  being  of  the  south- 
west, the  bringer  of  disease.  It  instructed 
the  people  as  to  their  duties  and  privi- 
leges in  their  relationship  to  the  deities; 
and  finally  it  afforded  many  opportuni- 


ties for  direct  communication  with  the 
deities  themselves  in  a  number  of  rites 
of  sacrifice  .  .  ."  Linton's  detailed  de- 
scription of  this  interesting  ritual  of  early 
spring  is  available  at  the  Book  Shop  for 
fifty  cents. 

Also  on  exhibit  during  March  is  an  ex- 
citing gallery  of  Indian  portraits  painted 
by  Arizona  artist  Paul  Dyck,  delineating 
"Indians  of  the  Overland  Trail."  These 
brilliant,  almost  lifesize  paintings  of 
plains  Indians  in  full  ceremonial  dress 
depict  representatives  of  the  Nez  Perce, 
Sioux,  Blackfeet,  Cheyenne,  Crow,  and 
Shoshoni  at  the  zenith  of  their  tribal  ex- 
istence. 

Dyck  has  lived  among  a  number  of 
Indian  peoples,  having  received  from 
the  Sioux  a  particularly  appropriate 
name  meaning  "Rainbow  Hand."  He 
imparts  to  his  paintings,  which  he  calls 
"a  labor  of  love,"  the  qualities  of  ac- 
curate observation,  compassion  for  the 
American  Indian,  and  an  impressive 
command  of  historical  background.  In 
the  illustrated  catalogue  that  accom- 
panies the  exhibit,  Dyck  writes  of  his 
work:  "The  Indian  recreated  in  these 
paintings  is  the  free  man  of  the  buckskin, 
porcupine  quill,  bow  and  arrow  days;  a 
primitive  man  but  one  rich  in  his  way 
of  life  .  .  ."  The  Museum  is  pleased  to 
bring  this  special  exhibit  to  Chicago  fol- 
lowing its  recent  successful  showing  in 
the  Phoenix  Art  Museum. 

P.  R.  Nelson 


Shoshoni  "Digger"  Warrior:  Paint- 
ing by  Paul  Dyck.  In  Western  Idaho  and 
Nevada,  a  barren  country  empty  of  large 
game,  lived  the  poorer  bands  of  the  Shoshoni 
Indians,  commonly  called  "Diggers"  by  the 
whites.  They  did  not  own  horses,  and  lived 
in  primitive  houses  that  were  mostly  mere 
brush  shelters.  Their  fare  was  rabbits,  small 
birds,  roots,  nuts,  seeds,  and  in  bad  years 
often  only  the  desert  insects.  Rarely  using 
moccasins  or  garments,  their  artistic  develop- 
ment was  limited  to  a  few  work  utensils. 
That  the  "Diggers"  survived  on  their  in- 
hospitable land  speaks  well  of  them  as  a 
people. 


March  Page  3 


Presenting; 
the  117th 


Adult  Travel  Lectures 

March  3  through  April  28,   1962 


Osaka  Castle.   From  "Fabulous  Japan." 
Page  U  March 


March  3 — Laos,  Focus  of  Conflict 

Arthur  Niehojf 

As  village  development  adviser  in 
Laos  for  the  International  Cooperation 
Administration  during  1959-61,  Arthur 
Niehoff  lived  through  the  events  that 
have  made  Laos  front-page  news  during 
the  past  two  years.  An  anthropologist 
and  Asian  specialist,  Niehoff  learned  to 
speak  both  Lao  and  French  for  his  as- 
signment and  thereby  came  to  know  the 
Lao  people  well.  He  is  unusually  quali- 
fied to  present  an  intimate  picture  of  the 
people  and  their  country.  In  his  au- 
thentic film  documentary,  Niehoff  has 
captured  both  the  old  and  the  new — 
the  quiet  isolated  country  of  yesterday, 
almost  unknown  to  Americans  two  years 
ago,  and  the  rapidly  changing  Laos  of 
today,  focal  point  of  the  current  struggle 
for  world  power. 

March  10 — Germany 

Gordon  Palmquist 

Germany,  though  in  the  forefront  of 
the  news,  is  still  an  unfamiliar  country 
whose  problems  are  not  well  understood 
by  many  who  have  not  been  there.  In 
an  attempt  to  shed  light  on  contempo- 
rary Germany,  Gordon  Palmquist  pre- 
sents the  intensely  human  story  of  its 
people  divided  between  East  and  West. 
In  his  program  he  contrasts  May  Day 
scenes  of  soldiers  and  tanks  in  Russian 
controlled  East  Berlin  with  a  romantic 
children's  procession  at  Dinkelsbuhl,  the 
gay  life  of  Munich  at  festival  time,  and 
the  rich  cultural  life  of  rebuilt  West 
Berlin.  Add  to  this  a  Rhine  journey  at 
grape  harvest  time  and  visits  to  the 
world  famous  Hanover  Industrial  Fair, 
the  Volkswagen  factory,  and  Mad  Lud- 
wig's  Castle — and  you  have  a  refreshing 
documentary. 


March  17 — Mormon  Land  High- 
lights 

Alfred  M.  Bailey 

All  the  magnificent  features  of  our 
country's  great  West,  which  have  kin- 
dled a  desire  for  adventure  and  beauty 
in  Americans  from  frontier  days  to  the 
present,  are  dramatically  presented  in 
this  outstanding  film  on  Utah.  Through 
the  years,  Alfred  M.  Bailey,  Director  of 
the  Denver  Museum  of  Natural  History, 
has  photographed  the  changing  seasons 
of  this  western  state,  from  the  deep  can- 
yons on  its  southern  borders  to  the 
rugged  mountain  tops  toward  the  north. 
Among  the  highlights  of  his  film  adven- 
ture are  sequences  devoted  to  Bryce  and 
Zion  National  Parks,  Arches  National 
Monument,  the  Natural  Bridges  to  Mex- 
ican Hat,  and  a  six-day  journey  down 
the  rapids  of  the  San  Juan  into  the  Colo- 
rado River. 

March  24— The  "Yankee"  Sails 
Across  Europe 

Captain  Irving  Johnson 

A  boat  that  does  almost  everything 
but  fly  was  the  vehicle  employed  by 
Captain  and  Mrs.  Irving  Johnson  to  ex- 
plore a  Europe  unknown  to  most  trav- 
elers. On  this  trip,  the  Johnsons'  goal 
was  to  seek  out  the  romantic  and  out- 
of-the-way  places  of  Holland,  Belgium, 
Germany,  France,  Italy,  and  Greece. 
The  Johnsons'  boat,  a  ketch  called 
"Yankee,"  crossed  oceans,  negotiated 
tunnels,  harbored  on  remote  beaches, 
and  folded  her  sails  to  dodge  under 
bridges.  To  broaden  still  further  the 
scope  of  their  picture-taking,  the  John- 
sons carried  two  motor  scooters  on  deck, 
which  they  put  ashore  from  time  to  time 
over  a  specially  built  aluminum  gang- 
plank. These  the  two  sailors  used  for 
touring  Europe's  rolling  countryside. 


March  31 — Tangier  to  Istanbul 

Clifford  J.  Kamen 

The  Strait  of  Gibraltar,  the  Suez,  and 
the  Dardanelles  are  three  gateways  that 
have  exerted  a  powerful  influence  on 
Mediterranean  lands  since  ancient  times. 
"Tangier  to  Istanbul"  is  a  story  of  those 
three  vital  waterways.  Whether  it  be 
the  mysterious  Casbah,  the  ancient  forti- 
fications of  Gibraltar,  the  blue  grotto  of 
Capri,  or  the  famed  cedars  of  Lebanon, 
Clifford  Kamen  has  the  ability  to  pre- 
sent the  familiar  from  an  unconven- 
tional point  of  view.  His  film  is  espe- 
cially noteworthy  for  its  extensive  pho- 
tographic coverage  of  crucial  military 
areas  where  photography  is  generally 
forbidden.  Concluding  the  program  is 
a  stop  at  Istanbul,  the  world's  only  city 
that  stradles  two  continents,  where  the 
historic  Basilica  of  St.  Sophia,  the  Blue 
Mosque,  and  the  most  massive  city  walls 
ever  built  in  ancient  times  still  stand. 


unique  covered  coaches,  while  70-foot 
lions  guard  the  entrances  to  its  fabled 
temples.  William  Moore  has  made 
Mandalay  the  last  stop  in  an  enticing 
film  trip  that  includes  Singapore,  gate- 
way port  between  East  and  West;  Bang- 
kok, whose  Royal  Palace  is  familiar  to 
lovers  of  "Anna  and  the  King  of  Siam"; 
and  Rangoon,  home  of  the  Reclining 
Buddha,  the  largest  image  of  the  Hon- 
ored One  in  the  world. 


April  14- 


-Fabulous  Japan 

Willis  Butler 


Japan's  phenomenal  industrial  recov- 
ery and  growth  following  the  war  has 
created  a  country  that  blends  the  cul- 
tures of  East  and  West.  Motorbike 
rickshaws,  700-year-old  plays,  television 
towers  and  skyscrapers,  exotic  temples 
and  shrines — all  are  intermingled  to 
create  a  new  milieu.  Willis  Butler  shows 
in  his  program  that  as  typical  now  of 


April  21 — Poland 

Kenneth  Richter 

Biscopin,  a  reconstructed  prehistoric 
lake  village;  Poznan,  Poland's  first  capi- 
tal; Gdansk,  the  ancient  Hanseatic  port 
town;  glowering  Marlbork,  greatest  of 
the  Teutonic  castles;  Krakow,  beautiful, 
undamaged,  a  gem  of  the  Renaissance; 
Warsaw,  "the  Paris  of  the  North" — 
these  are  the  places  that  form  the  back- 
drop for  Kenneth  Richter's  delightful 
film  story  about  the  Polish  people.  You 
will  meet  a  steel  worker  in  the  new  So- 
viet-equipped steel  complex  of  Nova 
Huta;  a  young  woman  who  works  among 
the  antiquities  of  a  museum  in  Krakow 
by  day  and  at  night  joins  her  friends  at 
a  Jazz  Club  that  meets  in  a  16th  Cen- 
tury cellar;  a  University  of  Warsaw 
student  of  atomic  science;  and  finally, 
a  farm  family  living  in  the  magnificent 
Tatra  Mountains  near  Zakopane,  who 
each  Sunday  don  brightly  colored  peas- 
ant costumes  to  attend  church  in  the 
little  village  of  Bukovina. 


Marlbork  Castle,  seat  of  the  Teutonic  Knights.    From  "Poland." 


April  7 — The  Road  to  Mandalay 

William  Moore 

In  the  heart  of  Burma,  within  the 
shadow  of  Mandalay  Hill,  lies  the  mys- 
tic and  far-off  city  made  famous  by 
Rudyard  Kipling.  Mandalay,  formerly 
the  home  of  Burma's  last  kings,  today  is 
a  mecca  for  yellow-robed  Buddhists,  In- 
dian fakirs,  beggars,  and  snakecharmers. 
Along  its  busy  streets  rumble  oxcarts, 
rickety  two-wheeled  carriages,  and 


Japan  as  rice  paddies  and  temples  have 
been  in  the  past  is  the  mushrooming  of 
new  industries,  such  as  the  manufacture 
of  transistor  radios,  cameras,  and  other 
electronic  equipment.  At  the  same  time, 
no  film  of  Japan  would  be  complete 
without  the  traditional  attractions  that 
have  captured  the  hearts  of  visitors  for 
centuries — Mt.  Fuji,  the  world-famous 
gardens  of  Kyoto,  the  Kabuki  Theatre, 
Tadaiji  Temple,  and  the  "Floating 
Shrine"  of  Itsukishima. 


April  28 — An  Ozark  Anthology 

Leonard  Hall 

Possum  Trot  Farm  in  the  legendary 
Ozarks,  an  area  abounding  in  wildlife 
of  all  varieties,  has  afforded  Leonard 
Hall  with  many  opportunities  to  observe 
nature.  It  is  on  this  farm  that  much  of 
his  "Ozark  Anthology"  was  filmed.  In 
this  color  motion  picture  of  a  pictur- 
esque and  seldom  portrayed  region,  Hall 
unfolds  the  story  of  the  Ozark  hills.  On 
the  soil  of  one  of  the  oldest  land  areas 
on  our  continent  live  the  woodland  crea- 
tures that  play  leading  parts  in  Hall's 
film — raccoon  and  opossum,  chipmunk, 
flying  squirrel,  and  whitetail  deer.  Great 
blue  herons  are  shown  patroling  the  riv- 
ers, while  green  herons  stalk  the  spring 
peepers  at  the  water's  edge.  And  in 
the  air  the  great  horned  owl  and  the 
osprey  soar  on  tireless  wings.  There -is 
a  human  side  to  this  story,  as  well,  in 
glimpses  of  the  mountain  people  who 
have  made  their  homes  in  the  deep  hol- 
lows of  the  Ozarks. 


All  programs  begin  at  2 :30  p.m.  in 
James  Simpson  Theatre.  Reserved  seats 
will  be  held  for  Museum  Members  until 
2:25  p.m. 

March  Page  5 


0L  *.: 


Sea  lamprey  larvae  shown  in  their  burrows  in  mud  of  lake  bottom  (re-drawn  from  Applegate) . 


SEA    LAMPREY    EXHIBIT 

Shows  Different  Feeding  Structures 

of  Larvae 
and  Adults 


Figure  1:  Mouth  of  adult  sea  lamprey. 
Page  6  March 


Figure  2:  Head  of  larval  sea  lamprey. 


LOREN  P.  WOODS 

Curator  of  Fishes 

Recently  the  Museum  placed  on  ex- 
hibit in  the  Hall  of  Fishes  (Hall  O, 
ground  floor,  west)  enlarged  models  of 
the  mouth  of  both  the  larval  and  the 
adult  forms  of  the  sea  lamprey. 

These  models  show  the  great  differ- 
ences in  feeding  structures  between  the 
immature  and  the  mature  lamprey.  The 
adults  possess  the  horny  teeth  and  rasp- 
ing tongue  that  enable  them  to  cling  to 
other  fishes  and  suck  their  blood  (Fig- 
ure 1).  But  the  sea  lamprey  is  a  para- 
sitic menace  to  other  fishes  only  during 
its  relatively  short  adult  life.     For  the 


first  four  to  eight  years  (nobody  knows 
just  how  many)  of  its  existence,  it  is  a 
blind  and  harmless  larva,  called  an  am- 
mocoete,  which  lives  in  a  burrow  in  the 
soft  mud  of  quiet  pools  and  eddies,  and 
in  the  main  body  of  lakes  just  off  the 
mouths  of  streams.  These  ammocoetes 
possess  a  dendritic  structure  (Figure  2) 
that  acts  as  a  filter  in  separating  micro- 
scopic food  organisms  from  the  surround- 
ing water. 

Shortly  after  hatching,  the  tiny,  trans- 
parent ammocoetes  work  their  way  up 
through  the  gravel  of  their  nest,  where 
they  are  caught  in  the  current  and  car- 
ried downstream.  As  soon  as  the  cur- 
rent slackens  they  dive  for  the  bottom, 
burrowing  into  the  soft,  oozy  mud  that 
is  usually  found  there.  Here  they  stay, 
unless  washed  out  by  eroding  floods  that 
sometimes  carry  them  along  with  their 
cover  further  downstream  or  out  into 
the  main  body  of  the  Great  Lakes. 

At  intervals  the  larvae  come  to  the  en- 
trance of  their  burrows  and  feed  on  the 
microorganisms  that  are  especially  abun- 
dant in  the  thin  layers  of  debris  lying  on 
the  lake  bottom.  Dr.  V.  C.  Applegate 
of  the  U.  S.  Fish  and  Wildlife  Service 
has  described  this  behavior  in  detail: 

"When  ready  to  feed,  the  ammocoete 
squirms  upward  in  its  burrow  until  the 
oral  hood  is  at  or  near  the  surface  of  the 
bottom.  Here  it  may  lie  for  long  periods 
of  time,  the  branchial  area  expanding 
and  contracting  as  water  is  pumped  in 
and  out  for  respiratory  and  feeding  pur- 
poses. .  .  .  Pumping  action  into  the  oral 
hood  is  easily  discernible  by  following 
bits  of  detritus  suspended  near  the  bot- 
tom as  they  are  drawn  into  the  hood. 
Microscopic  organisms  are  drawn  into 
the  hood  on  the  water  currents.  At  least 
some  of  these  organisms  are  separated 
out  from  the  detritus  by  the  sieve  appara- 
tus and  passed  to  the  intestine  for  diges- 
tion. Periodically  the  detritus  accumu- 
lated on  the  sieve  is  blown  out.  The 
larva  is  seen  to  expand  its  branchial  re- 
gion, the  gill  openings  close,  and  with  a 
rapid  convulsive  movement  of  that  re- 
gion and  the  head,  a  cloud  of  small  par- 
ticles is  ejected  from  the  hood.  Typical 
pumping  is  resumed  at  once  ...  At  irreg- 
ular intervals,  the  ammocoetes  retreat  to 
the  depths  of  their  burrows  for  varying 
periods." 


Rare  Lizard  Reaches  Museum 


ROBERT    F.    INGER 

Curator  of  Amphibians  and  Reptiles 


Several  weeks  ago  the  Division  of  Am- 
phibians and  Reptiles  received  a  highly 
publicized  lizard  from  Mr.  Tom  Harris- 
son,  Curator  of  the  Sarawak  Museum  in 
Borneo.  This  lizard,  called  "Jorgen"  by 
Mrs.  Harrisson  but  Lanthonotus  borneensis 
by  herpetologists,  is  a  member  of  a  spe- 
cies about  which  we  know  very  little. 

Brown  without  a  conspicuous  pattern, 
about  thirteen  inches  long,  short  legs, 
small  eyes,  flattened  head,  long  tail — 
nothing  about  this  lizard  is  especially 
striking  except  to  a  herpetologist.  Scien- 
tific interest  attaches  to  Lanthonotus — the 


the  ground  in  the  rain  forests  covering 
Borneo?  These  are  the  simplest  questions 
to  ask  about  an  animal,  yet  we  had  no 
answers. 

Now,  however,  the  Harrissons  have 
supplied  at  least  partial  answers.  Our 
specimen  was  found  about  ten  inches 
below  the  surface  in  soil  of  formerly 
cultivated  land.  The  Harrissons  kept  the 
lizard  alive  for  several  months  and  after 
trying  all  sorts  of  food,  induced  it  to  eat 
the  eggs  of  the  green  sea  turtle,  some- 
thing Lanthonotus  never  encounters  in  na- 
ture.   "Jorgen"    could   swim   well    and 


&&*j&*£M 


earless  monitor — because  it  is  the  least 
known  member  of  the  group  of  lizards 
from  which  snakes  arose.  If  we  are  to 
understand  the  origin  of  snakes,  we  must 
first  know  their  ancestors. 

The  mere  half  dozen  or  so  specimens 
that  reached  museums  between  1878 
(when  Lanthonotus  was  first  discovered) 
and  1961  were  sent  by  men  who  ob- 
tained the  lizards  from  natives  and  were 
not  interested  in  the  biology  of  Lantho- 
notus. All  we  knew  until  this  year  was 
that  the  animal  lived  in  Sarawak  on  the 
northwest  coast  of  Borneo.  Did  it  live  in 
water?  Did  it  burrow  in  the  soil?  Or  was 
it  one  of  those  many  lizards  that  live  on 


would  stay  submerged  for  long  periods 
in  a  wash  basin,  though  the  lizard  was 
found  a  hundred  yards  from  water. 

Two  more  specimens  of  Lanthonotus 
have  been  caught  in  the  last  two  months. 
It  has  always  been  this  way — an  animal 
is  rare  until  we  know  where  and  how  to 
look  for  it.  As  more  individuals  are 
found,  it  will  be  possible  to  make  more 
observations  on  their  behavior  and  to 
study  their  anatomy  more  thoroughly. 
Whether  these  studies  will  actually  help 
us  unravel  the  ancestry  of  snakes  cannot 
be  foretold.  At  the  very  least  we  should 
have  a  better  understanding  of  the  evo- 
lution of  lizards. 

March  Page  7 


MUSEUM  NEWS 

{Continued from  page  2) 


Free  Concerts 

George  London,  bass,  will  appear  in 
recital  at  Free  Concerts  Foundation's 
April  3  (Tuesday)  concert  at  8:15  p.m. 
in  the  Museum's  James  Simpson  Thea- 
tre. He  will  be  accompanied  by  Leo 
Taubman,  pianist,  in  a  program  that 
will  include  works  by  Handel,  Schubert, 
and  Moussorgsky. 

Also  to  be  presented  by  the  Founda- 
tion during  April  will  be  a  violin  recital 
on  Wednesday  the  18th  by  Sidney  Harth, 
concert  master  of  the  Chicago  Sym- 
phony Orchestra.  Harth  will  play  the 
sonata  recital  he  performed  during  his 
1961  Russian  concert  tour.  His  piano 
accompanist  will  be  Christiane  Ver- 
zieux. 

For  free  tickets  to  both  events  send  a 
stamped,  self-addressed  envelope  to  Free 
Concerts,  Chicago  Natural  History  Mu- 
seum, Roosevelt  Road  at  Lake  Shore 
Drive,  Chicago  5,  Illinois. 


A  lecture  on  "What  Is  a  Chamber 
Orchestra"  and  a  concert  for  wind  in- 
struments will  be  the  March  4  and  18 
(Sundays)  free  programs  of  the  Chicago 
Chamber  Orchestra  Association,  each  to 
be  held  at  3:30  p.m.  in  James  Simpson 
Theatre. 


Exhibition  Held  Over 

"Winter  Fur  'N  Feathers,"  the  tem- 
porary exhibit  announced  in  the  Decem- 
ber Bulletin,  has  been  so  popular  with 
the  public  and  with  school  groups  that 
it  is  to  remain  on  exhibition  during  the 
spring  and  summer.  While  originally 
announced  as  a  winter  exhibit,  and  com- 
bined with  the  winter  Museum  Journey 
of  the  Raymond  Foundation,  the  exhibit 
actually  covers  both  summer  and  winter 
aspects  of  bird  and  mammal  coats. 

Staff  Changes 

Mr.  James  I.  Good  rick  joined  the  staff 
on  February  1  as  Assistant  to  the  Di- 
rector. After  Army  service  in  World 
War  II,  Mr.  Goodrick  spent  17  years 
in  the  field  of  industrial  administration. 
His  most  recent  affiliation  has  been  with 
Wyatt  &  Morse,  Management  Con- 
sultants. 


Dr.  John  W.  Thieret,  Curator  of  Eco- 
nomic Botany,  resigned  on  February  28 
to  enter  the  teaching  profession.  Dr. 
Thieret  joined  the  staff  of  the  Museum 
in  October,  1953.  Earlier  that  year  he 
had  accompanied  the  late  Dr.  Bror  Dahl- 
gren  on  a  field  trip  to  Cuba  in  connec- 
tion with  the  study  of  palms  of  the  genus 
Copernicia.  In  January,  1954,  he  be- 
came Curator  of  Economic  Botany  at 
the  Museum.    He  conducted  field  trips 


to  the  Great  Plains  of  the  United  States 
and  Canada  in  1958,  1959,  and  1961. 
Dr.  Thieret  will  be  associated  with  the 
University  of  Southwestern  Louisiana. 

University  Cooperation 

Six  curators  from  the  Department  of 
Zoology  and  two  from  the  Department 
of  Geology  will  present  a  new  course  en- 
tided  "Zoogeography,  Phylogeny,  and 
Evolution"  for  the  University  of  Chi- 
cago during  the  winter  quarter  (Janu- 
ary-March). The  course  is  designed  for 
seniors  and  graduate  students  in  the 
University's  Department  of  Zoology,  and 
will  introduce  them  to  the  range  of  re- 
search problems  that  occupy  museum 
staff,  and  acquaint  the  students  with  the 
kinds  of  biological  information  that  can 
be  extracted  from  museum  specimens. 

Curators  participating  in  the  course 
are :  from  the  Department  of  Zoology — 
D.  Dwight  Davis,  Curator  of  Vertebrate 
Anatomy;  Henry  S.  Dybas,  Associate 
Curator  of  Insects;  Philip  Hershkovitz, 
Research  Curator  of  Mammals;  Rob- 
ert F.  Inger,  Curator  of  Amphibians  and 
Reptiles;  Austin  L.  Rand,  Chief  Curator 
of  Zoology;  Rupert  L.  Wenzel,  Curator 
of  Insects;  and  Loren  P.  Woods,  Curator 
of  Fishes.  Also,  Rainer  Zangerl,  Cura- 
tor of  Fossil  Reptiles,  and  William  Turn- 
bull,  Assistant  Curator  of  Fossil  Mam- 
mals, from  the  Department  of  Geology. 


WHAT  IS  IT? 


Objects  like  the  one  shown  are  often  brought  to  the  Museum  by 
their  collectors,  who  usually  mistake  them  for  fossils.  Actually  the 
photograph  is  of  a  concretion,  a  name  given  by  geologists  to  the  concentric 
structures  that  result  in  nature  by  the  precipitation  of  some  soluble 
mineral  about  a  nucleus.  Concretions  occur  in  sedimentary  rocks, 
commonly  along  bedding  planes. 

The  mineral  constituents  of  concretions  consist  chiefly  of  the 
cementing  material  of  the  rocks  in  which  they  are  enclosed.  The  most 
common  cementing  minerals  are  silica,  calcite,  and  iron  oxide.  These 
are  carried  in  solution  by  percolating  waters  from  the  surrounding  rock 
and  redeposited  around  a  nucleus,  which  may  be  a  mineral  grain,  a  leaf, 
or  a  fossil.  Concretions  range  in  size  from  a  fraction  of  an  inch  to 
many  feet  in  diameter,  and  are  remarkably  diversified  in  form — sphe- 
roidal, oval,  disk-shaped,  or  fantastically  odd  and  irregular,  the  latter 
resulting  from  the  fusion  of  two  or  more  simple  forms  or  by  deposition 
around  an  irregular  object.  To  the  imaginative  finder,  these  structures 
may  very  well  resemble  familiar  animal  or  artistic  forms. 

Concretions  in  many  fascinating  shapes  are  displayed  in  Hall  34 
(at  Soundtrek  station  10)  and  at  the  east  end  of  Hall  37,  where  fossil- 
like formations  are  distinguished  from  true  fossils. 


Page  8  March 


PRINTED   BY  CHICAGO  NATURAL  HISTORY    MUSEUM   PRESS 


CHICAGO 
NATURAL 
HISTORY 
MUSEUM 


'OLUME  33 
JUMBER  4 
vPRIL  1962 


Tibouchina  granulosa:   "Flower  of  Lent' 


s 


EE  the  human  image  with  fresh  in- 
sight through  the  eyes  of  primitive  art- 
ists; compare  the  anatomy  of  your  heart 
with  the  hearts  of  other  mammals;  dis- 
cover what  would  happen  to  Earth 
plants  transported  to  Mars;  and  learn 
how  to  brew  a  proper  cup  of  tea — all 
at  Chicago  Natural  History  Museum's 
once-a-year,  behind-the-scenes  event — 
Members'  Night! 

On  April  27,  from  7  to  10  p.m.,  the 
entire  staff  of  the  Museum  will  play 
host  to  Members  in  the  offices,  labora- 
tories, studios,  and  workrooms  not  ordi- 
narily open  to  the  public.  In  addition 
to  special  exhibits,  lectures,  and  dem- 
onstrations, the  curatorial  staff  will  dis- 
cuss their  research-in-progress. 

Following  is  a  partial  schedule  of  the 
evening's  events: 

In  the  Department  of  Anthropology 


"The  Human  Image  in  Primitive  Art," 
a  new  exhibit  opening  on  May  1,  will 
be  previewed  by  Members  in  one  of  the 
world's  largest  permanent  exhibition 
halls  devoted  to  primitive  art  {Hall  2, 
first  floor).  Curator  Phillip  Lewis  will 
lecture  on  the  exhibit  in  Hall  9.  On 
the  third  floor :  a  special  exhibit  of  objects 
to  be  found  on  a  Chinese  scholar's  desk. 
Also,  lecture  demonstrations  on  (1)  how 
to  look  up  a  word  in  a  Chinese  diction- 
ary, and  (2)  tea — the  varieties;  how  they 
are  grown  and  processed;  and  the  proper 
art  of  brewing. 


In  the 
Department 
of  Botany 


"The  Guatemalan  Highlands,"  illus- 
trated talk  by  Curator  Louis  O.  Williams 
(Hall  9,  first  floor) .  A  new  exhibit  hall 
of  economic  botany,  in  progress  (Hall 
28,  second  floor) .  On  the  third  floor:  What 
happens  to  growing  plants  when  they 
are  subjected  to  the  conditions  presumed 
to  exist  on  Mars.  And,  the  "next-of- 
kin"  variation  in  plants. 

Page  2  April 


An  invitation  to 


Members'  Night! 


In  the  Department  of  Geology 

On  the  third  floor :  Demonstration  of 
stereoscopic  X-ray  techniques  used  in 
studying  fossil  fish  from  Indiana  that  in- 
habited an  epicontinental  sea  250  mil- 
lion years  ago  (see  photograph  above). 
Devonian  fish  and  Eocene  mammals  col- 
lected on  Museum  expeditions  to  the 
Bighorn  Mountains  and  to  western  Col- 
orado. Sectioned  and  polished  rock 
specimens  showing  cone-in-cone  struc- 
ture. Concretions  and  pseudo-meteorites 
— natural  formations  that  fool  the  un- 
wary collector.  On  the  second  floor:  The 
reinstalled  Hall  of  Gems  and  Jewels 
(Hall  72)  displays  recent  acquisitions  and 
a  bright,  new  look. 

In  the  Department  of  Zoology 


April  27,   1962 


to  Northern  Rhodesia  and  Suriname 
(Dutch  Guiana).  A  range  of  heart  spec- 
imens comparing  the  human  heart  with 
those  of  other  mammals  from  huge  bears 
to  tiny  mice.  The  jewel-like  colors  of  the 
insect  world.  On  the  jowth floor:  Pearl- 
producing  mollusks.  Displays  of  furs  and 
skins  from  rare  and  exotic  animals.  On 
the  ground  floor :  An  array  of  fish  skeletons 
illustrating  the  framework  that  holds  a 
fish  together.  Reptiles  and  amphibians 
with  bizarre  forms. 


On  the  third  floor :   Birds  and  mammals 
collected  on  recent  Museum  expeditions 


The  public  exhibition  halls,  the  Book 
Shop,  and  the  cafeteria  open  at  6,  with 
dinner  being  served  (at  usual  prices) 
until  8.  An  adjacent  room  will  be  avail- 
able for  those  who  bring  picnic  hampers 
from  home.  Tea  will  be  served  in  the 
third  floor  Library,  and  other  refresh- 
ments in  Stanley  Field  Hall.  Soundtrek 
tours  are  available,  and  nature  films  will 
be  shown  throughout  the  evening  in  the 
second  floor  Meeting  Room.  At  fre- 
quent intervals  chartered  buses  will  pro- 
vide transportation  to  and  from  State 
Street  and  Jackson  Boulevard. 


SURINAME  ZOOLOGICAL  EXPEDITION 


Philip  Hershkovitz,  Research  Curator,  Mammals 

Illustrations  by  E.  John  Pfiffner,  Museum  Artist 


The  Museum's  collection  of  Suriname  mam* 
mals  and  mammalian  ectoparasites  is  now 
the  largest  and  most  varied  in  the  world. 


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Suriname  and  the  author's  collecting  localities:  (7)  Paramaribo,  (2)  Lelydorpplan, 
(3)  Carolinakreek,  (4)  Loksie  Haiti,  (5)  La  Poule,  (6)  Dirkshoop.  Inset:  Position  of 
Suriname  in  the  Guianan  region  (bars)  and  South  America. 


Suriname  is  a  little  country  on  the 
northern  coast  of  South  America.  It 
has  about  the  same  land  area  as  Illinois, 
is  almost  entirely  covered  with  tropical 
rain  forest,  and  is  exceedingly  rich  in 
bauxite.  Formerly  known  as  the  colony 
of  Dutch  Guiana,  Suriname  is  bounded 
on  the  west  by  British  Guiana,  on  the 
east  by  French  Guiana,  and  on  the 
south  by  Brazil. 

Its  people  are  a  conglomeration   of 
Amerindians,  Africans,  Asiatics,  and 


Europeans.  Nearly  half  its  quarter  mil- 
lion inhabitants  live  in  the  capital  city, 
Paramaribo,  and  most  of  the  others  farm 
or  raise  cattle  along  the  fertile  coastal 
strip.  This  leaves  all  but  a  small  fraction 
of  land  in  the  possession  of  a  meager  pop- 
ulation of  primitive  Indians,  Bush  Ne- 
gros,  and  wild  animals. 

A  naturalist  can  begin  his  studies  of 
wild  animals  in  the  outskirts  of  Parama- 
ribo itself.  Thence,  good  roads,  navig- 
able   rivers,    and    regular    grasshopper 


plane  service  can  speed  him  in  a  few 
hours  to  high  forests,  isolated  savannas, 
and  table-topped  mountains  in  the  most 
remote  and  undisturbed  corners  of  the 
country. 

Suriname  is  part  of  a  natural  biolog- 
ical area  known  as  the  Guianan  region. 
This  is  a  vast  wilderness  territory  which 
extends  from  the  Orinoco  River  in  Ven- 
ezuela east  to  the  Atlantic  and  south  to 
the  Negro  and  lower  Amazonas  Rivers 
in  Brazil.  The  mammals  of  British  Gui- 
ana and  some  of  the  highlands  of  the  in- 
terior of  Venezuela  are  fairly  well  known. 
Those  of  the  remainder  of  the  Guianan 
region  are  hardly  known.  Least  docu- 
mented are  those  of  Suriname.  Less 
than  half  the  number  of  mammalian 
species  presumed  to  occur  there  have 
actually  been  recorded  in  scientific  liter- 
ature. Small  rodents,  which  make  up  the 
bulk  of  the  mammalian  fauna,  had  been 
nearly  entirely  passed  over  in  field  col- 
lecting and  in  published  records.  The 
habits  and  distribution  of  Suriname 
mammals  had  hardly  been  studied  and, 
prior  to  our  work,  only  a  negligible  num- 
ber of  specimens  had  been  preserved  in 
American  institutions. 

Review  of  Suriname  Mammalogy 

Suriname  mammalogy  begins  in  1719, 
with,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  the  post- 
humous publication  in  Holland  of  a 
book  on  insects  by  a  Dutch  artist  and 
amateur  naturalist,  Maria  Sibylla 
Merian.  Madame  Merian  arrived  in 
Suriname  in  1699  to  sketch  and  paint 
its  beautiful  butterflies  and  strange  in- 
sects. By  way  of  filling  up  the  lower  half 
of  the  last  plate  of  her  book,  she  drew 
what  she  described  as  "a  kind  of  wood- 
rat  which  always  carries  her  young  (of 
which  there  are  commonly  five  or  six), 
on  her  back."  She  went  on  to  say  that 
"when  these  rats  come  out  of  their  hole, 
either  to  play  or  seek  their  food,  they  run 
about  with  their  mother,  but  when  they 
are  sated  or  sense  the  presence  of  danger, 
(Continued  on  page  7) 

April  Page  3 


Page  It  April 


TRIBUTE  BEARERS  OF  ANCIENT  MEXICO:  "For  weeks 
the  people  of  Tepoztlan  heve  been  preparing  tribute  for  the 
Aztec  conquerors ....  The  carriers  are  loaded  and  start  on  the 
march  to  the  capital." 


MEXICO:    LIFE  IN  A  MEXICAN  TOWN 


Chapter  highlights  from  the  new 

Raymond  Foundation  publication  for  children 

written  by  Edith  Fleming  and 

illustrated  by  Marion  Pahl 


A  different  chapter  will  be  presented  each  week 

to  children  attending  the  Saturday  morning  programs 

at  the  Museum  this  spring 


JOURNEY  TO  MEXICO,  the  spring  journey  for  children, 
also  follows  the  Mexican  theme 


THE  FAMILY  FARM: 
"Last  January  Papa  . . . 
started  to  clear  a  new  field. 
First  he  cut  down  the  trees. 
Then  with  a  machete  he 
cut  down  the  bushes  and 
shrubs.  All  the  work  has 
to  be  done  by  hand, 
chopping  away  at  the  soil 
with  a  hoe." 


MARKET  DA  Y:  ". . .  Noise  and  bargaining 
and  laughter  and  strange  delicious  smells." 


April  Page  5 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO:  "When  Cortez  and  his 
conquistadores  reached  Tenochtitlan,  the  capital,  Montezuma 
received  them  kindly. . ." 


SCHOOL  DAYS:  "Mast  of  the  children  in 
the  town  start  school,  but  many  drop  out  each 
year  until  by  sixth  grade  there  are  few  left. 
Maria,  Pablo's  older 
sister,  was  very  sad 
when  she  had  to  stop 
school  and  stay  at 
home.  She  cried  a 
great  deal.  But  Pablo 
couldn't   understand." 


A  MEXICAN  BOY:  "Pablo's  home,  like  his  neighbor's,  is 
made  of  sun-dried  bricks  and  roofed  with  tile.  The  door 
of  the  one-room  house  opens  into  a  walled  yard  where 
there  is  a  row  of  cans  filled  with  bright  flowers." 


THE  FIESTA:  "The  dancers  from  Jalatlaco  have  made  a  vow  to 
dance  at  the  fiesta  this  year.  Their  leaders  carry  statues  of  the 
santo  and  bright-colored  banners  with  the  name  of  their  club .... 
They  look  very  fine,  both  the  men  and  women,  with  their  plumed 
headdresses  and  their  pink  and  red  costumes  embroidered  with  beads. 
A  procession  winds  down  the  street:  women  with  baskets  of  flowers 
and  incense,  men  with  great  candles  to  be  burned  in  the  church, 
musicians  with  flutes,  and  a  drummer  to  bring  up  the  rear.  'The 
firecracker  tower  is  coming, '  shouts  Pablo . . . ." 


CHICAGO 
NATURAL 
HISTORY 
MUSEUM 


News 


This  Month's  Cover 

The  Lenten  season  comes  to  Brazil 
in  fall.  Through  much  of  the  country 
the  heavy  rainy  season  is  past  and  many 
trees  and  shrubs  begin  to  come  into 
flower.  The  subject  of  our  cover,  77- 
bouchina  granulosa,  is  one  of  the  most 
colorful  of  trees  and  is  to  be  found, 
often  abundantly,  from  Para  and  Baia 
in  the  northeast  of  Brazil  down  through 
the  coastal  ranges  and  hills  to  Rio  de 
Janeiro  and  Sao  Paulo  and  westward 
to  Bolivia. 

There  are  many  fancy  Tibouchinas  in 
Brazil.  If  they  come  into  bloom  during 
the  Lenten  season  the  common  names 
quaresma,  flor  de  quaresma,  or  quaresmeira 
are  often  used  for  them.  These  names 
may  be  translated  as  Lent,  flower  of  Lent, 
or  tree  of  Lent.  It  is  common  practice  in 
Latin  America  to  name  a  showy  or  at- 
tractive plant  for  a  religious  holiday  dur- 
ing which  it  is  usually  in  bloom. 

The  Tibouchina  shown  on  the  cover 
is  a  model  constructed  of  hand-blown 
glass,  wax,  and  a  variety  of  plastics. 
It  is  one  of  the  Stanley  Field  Collection 
of  Plant  Models  displayed  in  Hall  29. 
The  photograph  is  by  the  Museum's 
Division  of  Photography. 


April  Concert 

Free  Concerts  Foundation  brings 
George  London,  baritone,  to  the  stage 
of  the  James  Simpson  Theatre  on  Tues- 
day, April  3,  at  8:15  p.m.,  in  a  recital 
of  works  by  Handel,  Schubert,  Brahms, 
and  Moussorgsky. 

Sidney  Harth,  violinist  and  concert- 
master  of  the  Chicago  Symphony  Or- 
chestra, will  lie  the  soloist  at  the  Foun- 
dation's free  concert  on  Wednesday, 
April  18.  Harth  will  perform  the  so- 
nata recital  he  played  during  his  1961 
concert  tour  of  the  Soviet  Union. 

Free  tickets  for  both  concerts  may  be 
obtained  by  sending  a  stamped,  self- 
addressed  envelope  to:  Free  Concerts, 
Chicago  Natural  History  Museum, 
Roosevelt  Road  at  Lake  Shore  Drive. 

Staff  Lecture 

Dr.  Robert  F.  Inger,  Curator  of  Am- 
phibians and  Reptiles,  recently  pre- 
sented two  lectures  to  the  Department 
of  Biology  at  San  Diego  State  College, 
California.  During  his  study  trip  to  the 
Coast,  Dr.  Inger  also  conducted  a  biol- 
ogy seminar  at  the  University  of  South- 
ern California,  and  lectured  at  the  Uni- 
versitv  of  Southern  California. 


Chicago   Natural   History  Museum 

Founded  by  Marshall  Field,  1893 

Roosevelt  Road  and  Lake  Shore  Drive,  Chicago  5 

Telephone:  WAbash  2-9410 

THE   BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES 


Lester  Armour 
Wm.  McCormick  Blair 
Bowen  Blair 
Walter  J.  Cummings 
Joseph  N.  Field 
Marshall  Field,  Jr. 
Stanley  Field 
Clifford  C.  Gregg 
Samuel  Insull,  Jr. 
Henry  P.  Isham 


William  V.  Kahler 
Hughston  M.  McBain 
J.  Roscoe  Miller 
William  H.  Mitchell 
John  T.  Pirie,  Jr. 
John  Shedd  Reed 
John  G.  Searle 
John  M.  Simpson 
Solomon  A.  Smith 
Louis  Ware 


J.  Howard  Wood 

OFFICERS 

Stanley  Field,  Chairman  of  the  Board 

Clifford  C.  Gregg,  President 

Hughston  M.  McBain,  First  Vice-President 

Joseph  N.  Field,  Second  Vice-President 

Bowen  Blair,  Third  Vice-President 

Solomon  A.  Smith,  Treasurer 

E.  Leland  Webber,  Secretary 

Solomon  A.  Smith,  Assistant  Secretary 

THE  BULLETIN 

EDITOR 

E.   Leland  Webber,  Director  of  the  Museum 

CONTRIBUTING  EDITORS 

Paul  S.  Martin,  Chief  Curator  of  Anthropology 
John  R.  Millar,  Chief  Curator  of  Botany 
Sharat  K.  Roy,  Chief  Curator  of  Geology 
Austin  L.  Rand,  Chief  Curator  of  Zoology 

MANAGING  EDITOR 

Paula  R.  Nelson,  Public  Relations  Counsel 

ASSOCIATE  EDITOR 

Marilyn  Jindrich,  Associate  in  Public  Relations 


Members   are    requested    to    inform    the    Museum 
promptly    of    changes    of    address. 


APRIL'S 
FEATURED  EXHIBIT 

What  birds  inhabit  the  Chi- 
cago region,  and  how  may  they 
be  attracted  to  the  garden?  These 
are  questions  answered  by  the 
Museum's  featured  exhibit  for 
April  entitled,  "Resident  Birds 
of  Chicago."  The  exhibit  dis- 
plays mounted  specimens  of  typ- 
ical birds  of  this  area,  and  ex- 
plains what  plants  may  be  grown 
to  provide  birds  with  food,  nest- 
ing sites,  and  protection;  what 
water  receptacles,  feeders,  and 
foods  are  most  satisfactory  for 
local  birds;  and  how  feeding  sta- 
tions may  be  protected  from  bird 
enemies.  The  exhibit  is  located 
at  the  entrance  to  Hall  21  near 
the  south  end  of  Stanley  Field 
Hall. 


Page  6  April 


SURINAME 
EXPEDITION- 

{Continued from  page  3) 

they  return  to  their  mother's  back  and 
twist  theintails  around  that  of  the  parent 
who  runs  with  them  into  their  hole 
again."  In  spite  of  the  fanciful  descrip- 
tion of  the  tails  of  the  young,  and  other 
inaccuracies,  Merian's  little  animals  can 
be  positively  identified  with  the  mouse 
opossum  bearing  the  scientific  name 
Marmosa  murina  Linnaeus. 

The  next  original  contributions  to  Su- 
riname  mammalogy  were  published  in 
1734,  also  in  Holland.  They  appear  in 
the  first  two  of  four  lavish  folio-sized 
volumes,  called  the  Most  Complete  The- 
saurus, or  Treasury,  of  Natural  History.  The 
author,  Albert  Seba,  was  a  wealthy 
Dutch  naturalist  and  his  collection  of 
plants  and  animals  was  then  the  finest 
of  its  kind.  Most  of  the  species  shown 
in  the  Thesaurus  had  not  been  previously 
described  or  figured.  Its  armadillos  re- 
minded people  of  the  armored  beasts 
of  mythology.  The  marsupials  with  their 
pouches  for  carrying  young  had  never 
been  imagined  before.  The  huge  bats 
were  at  once  associated  with  legendary 
ghosts  who  sucked  the  blood  of  sleeping 
persons.  The  sloths  and  anteaters  with 
their  long  fore-limbs  armed  with  hook- 
like claws  baffled  all  European  savants 
of  the  time.  Some  depicted  sloths  in 
the  impossible  posture  of  standing  on 
all  fours,  and  others,  like  Seba,  exhib- 
ited the  animals  in  erect  man-like  poses. 

Seba,  like  his  contemporaries,  gave 
only  the  vaguest  indications  of  the  places 
of  origin  of  the  animals  mentioned  in 
his  Thesaurus.  He  did  state,  however, 
that  most  of  the  specimens  were  col- 
lected through  his  personal  contacts  in 
the  Dutch  colonies.  With  but  one  ex- 
ception, all  tropical  American  mammals 
described  by  Seba  could  and  probably 
did  originate  in  coastal  Suriname. 

The  great  value  of  the  Thesaurus  was 
apparent  to  Linnaeus.  In  the  tenth  edi- 
tion of  his  Systema  Naturae,  published 
in  1758,  the  great  systematist  gave  the 
first  valid  scientific  names  to  13  of  the 
species  of  Suriname  mammals  described 
by  Seba.  This  is  extraordinary  in  view 
of  the  fact  that  the  sum  total  of  South 
American  mammals  known  to  Linnaeus 
was  only  40.    Today  nearly  600  species 


Suriname  mammalogy  began  in  7779  with  this  picture  of  a  mother  mouse  opossum 
with  young  on  her  back,  their  taiis  unreaiisticalty  lengthened  and  entwined  around  hers. 
The  upper  half  of  the  plate  sliows  the  life  history  of  the  praying  mantis.  Adapted  from 
insects  of  suriname  by  Maria  Sybilla  Merian. 


are  recognized.  The  Linnaean  diag- 
nosis and  technical  name  for  the  com- 
mon opossum  of  North  and  South  Amer- 
ica, Didelphis  marsupialis,  is  based  on 
Seba's  account  of  the  Suriname  form. 
The  other  Suriname  mammals  of  the 
Thesaurus  which  received  technical 
names  from  Linnaeus  and  other  system- 
atists  include  the  woolly  opossum,  the 
four-eyed  opossum,  the  short-tailed  opos- 
sum, Merian's  opossum,  the  two-toed 
and  three-toed  sloths,  the  silky  anteater, 
the  cabassu  armadillo,  the  squirrel  mon- 
key, the  kinkajou,  the  remarkable  fishing 
bat,  Noctilio  leporinus,  the  largest  New 
World  bat,  Vampyrum  spectrum,  and  the 
commonest  tropical  American  bat,  Ca- 
rollia  perspicillata.   For  well  over  two  cen- 


turies Seba's  Thesaurus  remained  the 
source  for  the  description  of  the  greatest 
number  of  Suriname  mammals  based  on 
actual  specimens. 

Expedition  Objectives 

The  principal  objectives  of  the  Chi- 
cago Natural  History  Museum's  expedi- 
tion included  the  collection  of  as  com- 
plete a  representation  as  possible  of  the 
mammals  of  Suriname,  particularly  the 
rodents,  primates,  and  the  Linnaean 
species  based  on  Seba  and  Merian.  Field 
studies  were  to  be  made  of  the  distribu- 
tion and  the  relationship  of  the  animals 
to  their  environment,  especially  in  culti- 
vated areas.  Special  attention  was  to 
{Continued  on  next  page) 

April  Page  7 


{Continued  from  previous  page) 
be  given  to  the  preservation  of  the  ex- 
ternal parasites  of  mammals.  An  earlier 
Museum  expedition  to  Suriname,  con- 
ducted by  Harry  A.  Beatty  (see  Bulletin 
for  December,  1961),  had  already  made 
a  good  start  toward  these  objectives, 
although  its  efforts  were  mostly  devoted 
to  collecting  birds.  With  the  completion 
of  the  present  field  work,  all  missions 
were  accomplished.  Now,  the  Museum's 
collection  of  Suriname  mammals  and 
mammalian  ectoparasites  is  the  largest 
and  most  varied  in  the  world  and  the 
only  one  of  its  kind  in  the  western  hemi- 
sphere. 

Field  Work  Begins  at  Carolinakreek 

The  expedition  consisted  of  myself, 
Dr.  Jack  Fooden,  a  post-doctoral  student 
in  primatology,  and  one  or  two  native 
assistants  employed  as  needed.  Dr. 
Fooden  and  I  arrived  in  Suriname  on 
November  15,  1961.  Field  work  was  in- 
itiated in  Carolinakreek  about  32  miles 
south  of  Paramaribo  on  the  22nd  of 
November.  The  dry  season  had  already 
ended  and  the  rainy  season  was  gather- 
ing force.  The  wild  mammal  popula- 
tion at  this  time  was  extremely  low. 
The  previous  dry  season  had  been  un- 
usually long  and  rigorous  and  few  mam- 
mals survived  it.  Poor  collecting  here 
was  aggravated  by  the  great  number 
of  Sunday  and  holiday  hunters  who 
drove  in  from  Paramaribo  with  their 
retinues  and  dog  packs.  I  lost  little 
time  in  finding  a  more  secluded  camp 
site,  and  on  the  fifth  of  December  the 
expedition  was  installed  at  Loksie  Hatti 
on  the  left  bank  of  the  Saramacca  River 
high  up  in  Bush  Negro  country. 

Bush  Negroes  are  descendants  of 
slaves  who  escaped  into  the  forest  nearly 
three  centuries  ago.  Today,  these  proud 
and  independent  people  conserve  much 
of  the  way  of  life  of  their  West  African 
ancestors.  They  live  in  palm-thatched 
huts  in  small  clearings  along  the  banks 
of  the  river.  They  cultivate  corn,  plan- 
tain, cassava,  and  other  tubers,  raise 
some  chickens,  hunt  and  fish.  Most  of 
the  men  are  skillful  wood  carvers  and 
decorators  and  their  most  artistic  work 
is  done  to  curry  the  favor  of  their  be- 
trothed or  to  hold  the  affection  of  their 
wives.  The  Negroes  can  eschew  the  de- 
generating comforts  and  nerve-wracking 

April  Page  8 


inventions  of  European  civilization,  but 
they  cannot  resist  the  status  symbols  of 
outboard  motors  for  their  dugout  canoes, 
battery  powered  radios,  cardboard  suit- 
cases for  their  meager  personal  effects, 
and  even  umbrellas.  All  these  they  can 
and  do  acquire  from  the  proceeds  of  log- 
ging, rubber  hunting,  and  other  exploi- 
tations of  the  forest. 

Bush  Negroes  speak  a  language  of 
their  own  called  talkee-talkee.  It  is  a  mix- 
ture of  Dutch,  French,  English,  Portu- 
guese, and  West  African.  A  young  Bush 
Negro,  Edwin  Dafit,  whom  I  employed 
in  the  Saramacca,  had  no  difficulty  in 
communicating  with  me  although  nei- 
ther he  nor  I  understood  more  than  a 
few  words  of  each  other's  language.  Ed- 
win was  neat,  intelligent,  could  read  and 
write  talkee  talkee,  had  a  fine  sense  of  hu- 
mor, and  was  a  good  worker. 

Collecting  in  the  Saramacca 

Theoretically,  every  species  of  Suri- 
name mammals  could  be  found  at  one 
time  or  another  in  the  Saramacca  region 
within  a  half  day's  walking  or  paddling 
distance  of  my  camp.  A  few  species,  par- 
ticularly marmosets  and  monkeys,  might 
be  encountered  daily.  Some  mammals 
would  appear  only  during  certain  fruit- 
ing seasons.  The  vast  majority  of  species, 
however,  are  never  seen,  at  least  during 
the  day.  They  may  be  trapped  or  hunted 
at  night  in  some  seasons  and  might  just 
as  well  be  forgotten  at  other  times  of  the 
year.  Many  species  live  in  places  which 
the  best  of  collectors  might  overlook,  and 
the  rising  river  had  made  it  difficult  or 
inexpedient  to  search  for  mammals  with 
pronounced  aquatic  proclivities. 

Cultivated  and  fallow  fields  bordering 
on  the  forest  create  exceptions  to  the  or- 
dinary relationship  between  the  animal 
and  its  habitat.  The  fields  are  magnets 
for  many  kinds  of  small  herbivores,  par- 
ticularly rodents  and,  naturally,  the 
train  of  carnivores  which  preys  upon 
them.  Because  the  fields  are  relatively 
secure  as  habitats,  and  provide  an 
abundance  of  food,  they  sustain  abnor- 
mally large  numbers  of  individuals. 

Intensive  trapping  and  hunting  for 
small  mammals  in  climax  forest  on  the 
camp  side  of  the  river  was  hardly  re- 
warding. In  spite  of  all  efforts  and  every 
guile,  I  got  no  Merian's  opossum  and  no 
specimens  of  a  common  water  rat  from 


this  forest.  In  contrast,  traps  set  in  a 
cassava  field  upstream  on  the  other  side 
of  the  river  yielded  Merian's  opossum, 
water  rats,  and  other  kinds  of  small 
mammals  which  were  not  taken  in  their 
natural  forest  habitat. 

Mammals  of  the  Coastal  Region 

After  a  month  at  Loksie  Hatti,  the 
number  of  different  species  being  added 
to  the  collection  had  fallen  to  a  point 
where  it  was  no  longer  feasible  to  con- 
tinue operations  there.  The  next  few 
weeks,  from  mid-January  to  early  Feb- 
ruary, were  spent  in  the  intensively 
cultivated  coastal  region.  Three  stations 
were  worked  successively.  The  first  was 
in  Lelydorpplan,  an  agricultural  colony 
about  15  miles  south  of  Paramaribo;  the 
second  at  La  Poule,  a  government  ex- 
perimental farm  specializing  in  citrus 
fruits  about  21  miles  west  of  Paramaribo; 
and  the  last  was  at  Dirkshoop,  a  cit- 
rus farm  five  miles  farther  west.  The 
most  abundant  native  mammals  here 
were  squirrel  monkeys,  sloths,  common 
opossums,  Merian's  opossums,  raccoons, 
spiny  rats,  cotton  rats,  the  common  bat, 
Carollia,  and  the  nectar-eating  bat, 
Glossophaga.  The  same  species  were 
present  but  rare  at  Loksie  Hatti.  A 
progressive  increase  in  the  number  of 
rats,  bats,  and  small  opossums  was  noted 
with  the  advancing  rainy  season.  Col- 
lecting now  called  for  more  ingenuity 
and  foresight  than  ever  to  prevent  the 
common  species  from  monopolizing  the 
traps. 

By  mid-February,  it  was  time  to  com- 
plete our  preparations  for  the  return 
trip  to  Chicago.  In  the  final  days  re- 
maining to  us,  some  collecting  was  done 
in  and  about  Paramaribo  in  collabora- 
tion with  Dr.  Van  Dosburg  Jr.,  Chief 
Zoologist  of  the  Suriname  Ministry  of 
Agriculture. 

The  cost  of  the  expedition  was  de- 
frayed by  a  grant  from  the  National 
Science  Foundation.  Much  of  the  suc- 
cess of  the  expedition  was  due  to  Dr. 
D.  C.  Geijskes,  Director  of  the  Suriname 
Museum  in  Paramaribo,  who  provided 
many  facilities  and  assisted  in  other 
ways  in  expediting  our  work  and  travels. 
Studies  of  the  collection  in  the  Museum's 
laboratories  have  already  been  initiated, 
and  the  results  will  be  published  in 
scientific  journals. 

PRINTED   BY  CHICAGO   NATURAL   HISTORY   MUSEUM   PRESS 


CHICAGO 
NATURAL/ 
HISTORY 
MUSEUM 


VOLUME  33 
NUMBER  5 
MAY     1962 


Page  2  May 


RIGHT:  SHAMAN'S  MASK.   19th  Century. 
Tlingit  Indians,  Alaska 

LEFT: 

RELIQUART  FIGURE 

Early  20th  Century. 

Bakota  Tribe, 

Gabon  Republic,  Africa 


#HE    PRESENTATION    OF 

in  Primitive  Art"  as 
May  signals  the  open- 
new  Hall  of  Primitive 
galleries  of  its  kind  in 


"The  Human  Image 
the  featured  exhibit  for 
ing  of  the  Museum's 
Art,  one  of  the  largest 
the  world. 


The  exhibit  brings  to  culmination  more  than  two  years  of 
work.  From  the  fifty  to  one  hundred  thousand  specimens  of 
primitive  art  in  the  Museum's  archaeological  and  ethnological 
collections,  more  than  200  objects  have  been  selected  for 
display  in  the  new  exhibit.  These  have  been  drawn  largely 
from  primitive  societies  of  Africa  and  the  Oceanic  areas  of 
Melanesia,  Polynesia,  Micronesia,  and  Malaysia;  and  also  in- 
clude art  works  from  American  Indian  societies  of  North  and 
South  America. 


The  subject  of  the  exhibit — 
the  human  image  itself — is  the 
most  universal  in  the  art  of  any 
people  and  is  especially  preva- 
lent in  primitive  art.  Visitors  to 
the  Hall  will  see  man — and  some 
of  his  gods — portrayed  in  a  mul- 
tiplicity of  ways:  in  calm  and 
supernal  beauty,  as  ferocious  and 
cruel,  or  as  satirical  and  funny. 

The  first  art  was  probably  not 
painting  or  sculpture  at  all,  but 
the  posing,  gesturing,  and  danc- 
ing of  the  living  person.  Thus 
many  of  the  images  of  man  pre- 
sented in  the  Museum's  new  ex- 
hibition picture  him  in  elaborate 
dress,  ready  to  take  part  in  the 
important  social,  ceremonial,  and 
religious  occasions  of  his  life. 
Such  moments  were  caught  and 
fixed  by  the  tribal  artists  in  sculp- 
ture, painting,  or  in  the  ornamen- 
tation of  utensils  and  weapons. 


Photographs  by  John  Bayalis  and  Homer  Holdren 


BELOW:    DAXCE  MASK 
Early  20th  Century. 
Bafut  Tribe, 
Cameroons,  Africa 

LEFT:  PORT10.X  OF  CHIEFS  STAFF 
Early  20th  Century. 
Ovimbundu  Tribe, 
Algeria,  Africa 


THE 


HUMAN  IMAGE 
in  Primitive  Art 


By  Phillip  H.  Lewis 
Curator,  Primitive  Art 


RIGHT: 
DETAIL  OF 
HEADDRESS  FIGURE 
Early  20th  Century. 
Ibibio  Tribe, 
Nigeria,  Africa 


ABOVE:    BEGGING  FIGURE 
Early  20th  Century. 
Baluba  Tribe, 
Congo  area,  Africa 


Other  pieces  in  the  exhibit  are  memorial  statues  of  de- 
ceased relatives,  sometimes  shown  in  funeral  attitudes, 
sometimes  in  poses  symbolic  of  ferocity  in  war  or  virility 
in  procreation.  These  figures  evoke  powerful  images  of 
real  persons  attempting  to  establish  immediate  and  per- 
sonal relations  with  the  supernatural  forces  and  beings  that 
governed  their  lives. 

Deities  are  depicted  either  directly  or  through  the  por- 
trayal of  human  beings  costumed  as  gods.  Thus,  although 
the  art  objects  have  been  removed  from  their  religious  and 
social  contexts,  the  new  exhibit  presents  a  fragmentary  view 
of  a  hundred  religions,  as  well  as  a  gallery  of  the  myriad 
art  styles  of  the  primitive  world. 

The  new  Hall  of  Primitive  Art  is  located  on  the  main  floor 
of  the  Museum  adjacent  to  Stanley  Field  Hall.  It  encloses 
9,000  square  feet  of  exhibition  area.  An  earlier  exhibit, 
"Primitive  Man  Looks  at  Civilization"  (see  Bulletin  for 
July,  1961)  opened  last  July  in  the  new  Hall  and,  together 
with  the  present  exhibit,  will  remain  on  display  for  an  in- 
definite period. 


May  Page  3 


120 


124 


AUSTIN  L.  RAND 
CHIEF  CURATOR 
ZOOLOGY 


A 

ZOOLOGICAL 
EXPEDITION 


TO  THE 


PHILIPPINES 


120 


124 


For  twelve  years,  the  study  of  Philip- 
pine birds  has  been  one  of  the  con- 
tinuing projects  of  the  Museum.  This 
work  has  been  made  possible  by  coop- 
eration between  the  Museum  and  Dr. 
D.  S.  Rabor  of  Silliman  University,  Ne- 
gros,  P.  I.,  who  has  interests  similar  to 
ours.  Dr.  Rabor  heads  the  science  de- 
partment of  his  university.  Each  vaca- 
tion period,  he  takes  a  group  of  his  stu- 
dents on  a  field  trip  to  a  different  part 
of  the  archipelago,  where  they  study  and 
collect  natural  history  material,  and  es- 
pecially birds.  This  field  work  we  aid 
with  some  travel  funds  and  some  collect- 
ing material.  In  return,  many  of  the 
specimens  collected  come  to  the  Chicago 
Natural  History  Museum,  where  our 
large  collections  provide  a  basis  for  com- 
pare k  May 


parative  and  critical  studies. 

While  Rabor's  studies  are  mostly  done 
in  the  field,  he  has  spent  parts  of  two 
years  in  Chicago,  working  in  the  Mu- 
seum. While  my  work  has  been  mostly 
done  in  the  Museum,  I  have  spent  a  few 
months  in  the  field  with  Rabor.  As  long 
range  projects,  Rabor  is  writing  an  up- 
to-date  handbook  of  Philippine  birds, 
while  I  have  a  check-list  of  Philippine 
birds  in  manuscript.  Each  year,  there 
is  a  quantity  of  new  data  to  add  to  both. 

It  seems  timely  to  pause  and  review 
what  we  have  accomplished.  The  most 
obvious  is  the  spendid  collection  of  birds 
we  have  built  up  at  the  Museum.  The 
main  islands — Luzon,  Mindanao,  Sa- 
mar  and  Negros — are  well  represented, 
and  from  the  first  two  we  have  collec- 


tions from  different  parts  of  the  isles 
showing  that  each  may  be  as  different 
as  are  different  islands.  We  also  have 
important  collections  from  Bohol,  Pala- 
wan, Calamianes  and  Cebu,  and  through 
earlier  exchanges  with  the  old  Philippine 
Bureau  of  Science  we  have  some  speci- 
mens from  many  other  scattered  islands. 
But  the  possession  of  specimens  is  only 
the  beginning.  They  are  the  raw  mate- 
rial from  which  one  reads  new  knowl- 
edge, the  reference  material  needed  to 
document  old  knowledge  and  to  re-in- 
terpret it  in  the  light  of  subsequent  dis- 
coveries. Though  the  major  reports  are 
still  in  manuscript,  we  have  published 
preliminary  studies  on  some  of  our  find- 
ings. These  include  some  twenty  papers 
totaling  over  300  pages. 


Most  outstanding  are  the  novelties 
discovered.  We  have  described  two  new 
bird  species.  One  is  a  small,  greenish 
babbling  thrush  of  the  trees,  the  other  a 
brown  babbling  thrush  of  the  forest  floor. 
We  have  described  nearly  two  dozen  new 
subspecies,  some  of  them,  like  the  little 
red-headed  owl  of  Negros,  so  different 
from  their  nearest  relatives  that  perhaps 
they,  too,  should  be  considered  species. 

Not  as  exciting,  perhaps,  but  even 
more  intriguing  are  the  half  dozen  cases 
where  we  have  discovered  that  what  has 
been  considered  one  variable  species 
really  represents  two  quite  different  ones. 
For  example,  a  large  brown  fruit  pigeon 
is  widespread,  with  a  different  subspe- 
cies on  each  major  island.  But  we  found 
that  both  the  endemic  Mindanao  form 
and  the  form  thought  to  be  restricted  to 
adjacent  Basilan  actually  occur  together 
on  the  former  island  and  behave  there 
as  two  species,  which  we  now  consider 
them  to  be.  The  Basilan  bird,  in  the 
isolation  of  its  original  island  home,  has 
evolved  into  a  species  that  was  able  to 
recolonize  Mindanao,  despite  the  occu- 
pation of  the  island  by  the  Basilan's 
closest  relative. 

A  special  case  of  this  "circular  over- 
lap" is  shown  by  certain  little  green  leaf 
warblers.  One  type  "A"  lives  on  Negros 
and  other  southern  and  central  islands; 
another  type  "B,"  which  looks  to  be  a 
subspecies,  is  found  only  on  Luzon;  a 
third  type  "C"  lives  on  Negros,  and 
would  be  considered  a  third  subspecies 
if  it  did  not  overlap  the  range  of  "A." 
As  subspecies  cannot  live  together,  "A" 
and  "C"  must  be  considered  species. 
The  status  of  the  perplexing  "B"  is  solved 
by  linking  it  arbitrarily  with  "A,"  with 
the  mental  reservation  that  here  we  have 
a  case  where  two  species  have  evolved 
without  the  connecting  link  between 
them  having  yet  been  lost. 

A  large  green  parrot  has  provided  a 
case  of  what  we  call  a  checkerboard  pat- 
tern of  variation.  The  birds  of  adjacent 
islands  are  sufficiently  different  in  size 
and  color  to  be  recognized  as  subspecies 
if  it  were  not  that  the  same  characters 
are  repeated  in  more  distant  populations. 

For  example,  the  Palawan  and  Min- 
danao populations,  or  the  Talaut  and 
Siquijor,  are  quite  similar,  but  they  are 
separated  by  large  areas  inhabited  by 
different  populations.     The  taxonomic 


treatment  of  this  type  of  variation  by  us- 
ing subspecies  names  for  each  population, 
based  solely  on  geography,  is  unsatisfac- 
tory, so  we  lump  them  together  but  point 
out  that  a  checkerboard  type  of  varia- 
tion exists.  For  such  studies,  large  series 
of  specimens  are  obviously  essential. 

We  have  recorded  birds  new  to  the 
Philippines,  as  well  as  new  range  exten- 
sions within  the  Philippines.  For  in- 
stance, thirteen  species  have  been  added 
to  those  known  from  Siquijor,  25  species 
to  Bohol,  and  nineteen  to  Samar.  These 
are  the  three  islands  for  which  we  have 
published  complete  lists,  as  well  as  dis- 
cussions of  their  zoogeography  and  ecol- 
ogy. There  is  hardly  a  page  in  the  older 
books  on  Philippine  birds  which  does  not 
need  revision  on  the  basis  of  our  studies. 

The  past  geological  history  of  the  Phil- 
ippines has  had  its  effect  on  bird  distri- 
bution, and  for  the  study  of  this  zooge- 
ography knowledge  of  the  precise  ranges 
of  the  birds  is  important.  For  instance, 
the  main  islands  of  Luzon,  the  eastern 
islands  of  Samar  and  Leyte,  and  Minda- 
nao, have  similar  birds  and  are  grouped 
together  as  the  "eastern  province"  of  the 
Philippines.  One  unexplained  range 
was  that  of  the  little  crow  that  was  re- 
corded from  Samar  and  Mindanao  but 
not  found  on  Luzon,  despite  the  great 
amount  of  collecting  that  has  been  done 
there.  There  seemed  to  be  nothing  in 
zoogeography  to  explain  this.  Then 
Rabor  collected  two  specimens  on  north- 
ern Luzon,  showing  that  the  bird  does 
occur  there  (incidentally,  it  was  a  new 
subspecies),  though  it  is  very  rare.  This 
recalled  that  it  was  also  rare  in  Minda- 
nao, though  common  on  Samar.  One 
suspects  here  that  ecological  rather  than 
geological  factors  are  the  important  ones 
in  determining  its  occurrence  as  well  as 
its  abundance. 

In  an  attempt  to  sort  out  the  ecologi- 
cal from  the  zoogeographical  effects  on 
distribution,  we  examined  the  small  is- 
land of  Siquijor,  which  is  about  fifteen 
miles  out  in  the  Sulu  Sea  from  Negros. 
A  comparison  of  the  two  islands  is  as 
follows: 

Negros,  area  12,699  square  kilometers.  .  . 

183  breeding  birds 

Siquijor,  area  235  square  kilometers 

83  breeding  birds 

This  illustrates  that  the  smaller  an  is- 


land, the  smaller  the  avifauna.  We  have 
discussed  this  and  other  small  island  ef- 
fects under  such  headings  as  "distance 
from  other  islands,"  "size  of  island," 
"first  arrivals  excluding  other  colonists," 
"occurrence  of  two  species  in  a  genus," 
"small  island  species"  (some  Philippine 
species,  like  the  big  white  nutmeg 
pigeon,  live  only  on  small  islands — why, 
we  do  not  know),  "change  of  habitat  on 
small  islands,"  and  "patterns  of  varia- 
tion" (for  example,  birds  on  small  is- 
lands tend  to  have  longer  bills). 

Another  interesting  and  puzzling  point 
about  Siquijor  is  that  certain  migrants 
from  Asia  are  much  more  common  as 
winter  visitors  on  this  little  island  than 
they  are  on  other  nearby  larger  islands. 

What  all  these  factors  mean  is  still  im- 
perfectly known,  but  at  least  we  are  find- 
ing out  some  of  the  facts  of  distribution 
and  occurrence  which  will  repay  more 
study,  and  island  distribution  and  speci- 
ation  can  nowhere  be  better  studied  than 
in  the  Philippines,  where  there  are  more 
than  7,000  islands  displaying  a  remark- 
able range  in  size. 

Taxonomy  and  distribution,  the  kinds 
of  birds  there  are  and  where  they  live, 
are  the  mainstay,  the  "bread  and  butter" 
work,  of  a  museum  ornithologist.  But 
many  other  points  emerge  in  the  course 
of  studies,  either  from  looking  at  speci- 
mens or  from  field  reports. 

In  one  shipment  to  the  Museum,  a 
bulbul's  nest  had  withered  brown  leaves 
in  its  lining,  leaves  that  forcefully  re- 
minded me  of  the  snake-skin  used  in  a 
Madagascar  bulbul's  nest.  This  sparked 
a  review  of  the  use  of  shed  snake-skins  in 
birds'  nests,  with  the  conclusion  that  the 
important  question  is  not  why  some  birds 
use  shed  snake-skins,  which  are  very  suit- 
able material,  but  the  more  general  one 
of  why  some  species  of  birds  use  nest  ma- 
terials which  are  characteristic  and  dif- 
ferent from  those  of  other  related  species. 

A  dried  tongue  attached  to  a  specimen 
of  flowerpecker  provided  material  for  re- 
viewing the  relationships  of  the  flower- 
pecker  family.  The  tongue  was  brush- 
tipped  and  quite  unlike  that  of  any  other 
flowerpecker,  but  very  similar  to  that  of 
certain  honeyeaters.  Supported  with 
certain  other  data,  including  the  nest 
structure,  it  appears  that  flowerpeckers 
{Continued  on  page  7) 

May  Page  5 


CHICAGO 
NATURAL 
HISTORY 
MUSEUM 


News 


Shar.it  K.  Roy 


Sharat  K.  Roy 
(1898-1962) 

Dr.  Sharat  Kumar  Roy.  Chief  Cura- 
tor of  the  Department  of  Geology,  whose 
death  occurred  on  April  17th.  was  a  dis- 
tinguished scientist  of  outstanding  abil- 
ity and  achievement. 

Dr.  Roy  was  born 
in  India  in  1898, 
and  attended  the 
University  of  Cal- 
cutta and  the  Uni- 
versity of  London. 
He  came  to  the 
United  States  in 
1920  and  graduated 
from  the  University 
of  Illinois  in  1922. 
He  received  the  degrees  of  Master  of 
Science  in  1924  from  the  University  of 
Illinois  and  Doctor  of  Philosophy  from 
the  University  of  Chicago  in  1941. 

He  began  his  professional  career  in 
the  Department  of  Geology  of  the  New 
York  State  Museum  in  Albany,  and 
joined  the  staff  of  Chicago  Xatural  His- 
tory Museum  in  1925  as  an  Assistant 
Curator  in  the  Department  of  Geology. 
He  has  served  continuously  with  the  Mu- 
seum since  that  time,  becoming  Chief 
Curator  of  his  department  in  1947. 

Dr.  Roy  served  in  the  British-Indian 
Army  during  World  War  I.  In  World 
War  II  he  received  a  commission  as 
Captain  in  the  United  States  Army  Air 
Forces  and  was  discharged  with  the  rank 
of  Major  in  July,  1946. 

In  addition  to  many  collecting  trips 
in  various  parts  of  the  United  States, 
Dr.  Roy  was  a  member  of  the  Second 
Rawson-MacMillan  Subarctic  Expedi- 
tion of  Field  Museum  in  1927-28;  and 
he  collected  ores,  lithological  specimens 
and  Paleozoic  fossils  in  Newfoundland 
the  following  year.  In  1945,  on  leave 
from  the  United  States  Army,  he  col- 
lected Permian  fossils  in  mines  in  eastern 
India  and  in  the  Salt  Range  of  northern 
India. 

From  1953  to  1961  Dr.  Roy  conducted 
six  field  trips  to  Central  America  to 
study  the  volcanos  of  that  region.     In 

Page  6  May 


1957-58  he  spent  one  year  in  Europe 
and  India  under  a  National  Science 
Foundation  grant,  engaged  in  research 
and  consultation  on  stony  meteorites, 
concentrating  on  those  containing 
rounded  bodies  called  chondrules. 

He  has  published  more  than  30  scien- 
tific papers  in  the  fields  of  invertebrate 
paleontology,  meteoritics  and  volcanol- 
ogy,  and  was  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Geo- 
graphical Society  as  well  as  a  member 
of  numerous  professional  societies. 

In  recognition  of  his  exploratory  geo- 
logical work  in  the  Arctic,  the  United 
States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  in 
1944.  honored  him  by  designating  one 
of  the  mountain  peaks  on  Baffin  Island 
as  "Mount  Sharat." 

With  Dr.  Roy's  death  the  Museum 
staff  has  lost  a  colleague  of  unassuming 
and  gentle  temperament.  He  will  be 
missed  by  all  who  had  the  privilege  of 
knowing  him. 

Tutankhamun  Treasures 
Coming  to  Museum 

An  exhibit  of  treasures  from  the  tomb 
of  King  Tutankhamun  will  be  presented 
at  Chicago  Natural  History  Museum 
from  June  15  through  July  15  under 
joint  sponsorship  of  the  Museum  and 
the  Oriental  Institute  of  the  University 
of  Chicago. 

The  pieces  assembled  for  this  exhibit 
are  touring  major  American  museums 
to  arouse  interest  in  the  international 
effort  to  save  a  number  of  ancient  Nu- 
bian monuments  from  being  inundated 
by  the  waters  of  the  Nile  on  completion 
of  the  Aswan  Dam.  Usually  on  display 
in  the  Cairo  Museum,  the  King  Tut 
treasures  have  never  before  been  per- 
mitted to  leave  Egypt. 

Tutankhamun  was  King  of  Egypt 
about  1350  B.C.  His  tomb,  with  its 
incredible  treasures,  was  discovered  by- 
Lord  Carnarvon  and  Howard  Carter  in 
November  of  1 922.  The  opening  of  the 
inner  burial  chamber  of  the  Pharaoh  in 
the  following  February  stirred  the  in- 
terest of  the  entire  world,  both  because 
of  the  intrinsic  value  of  the  tomb  con- 


Chicago   Natural   History  Museum 

Founded  by  Marshall  Field,  1S93 

Roosevelt  Road  and  Lake  Shore  Drive,  Chicago  5 

Telephone:  WAbash  2-9-UO 

THE  BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES 


Lester  Armour 
Wm.  McCormick  Blair 
Bowen  Blair 
Walter  J.  Cummings 
Joseph  N.  Field 
Marshall  Field,  Jr. 
Stanley  Field 
Clifford  C.  Gregg 
Samuel  Insull,  Jr. 
Henry  P.  Isham 


William  V.  Kahler 
Hughston  M.  McBain 
J.  Roscoe  Miller 
William  H.  Mitchell 
John  T.  Pirie,  Jr. 
John  Shedd  Reed 
John  G.  Searle 
John  M.  Simpson 
Solomon  A.  Smith 
Louis  Ware 


J.  Howard  Wood 

OFFICERS 

Stanley  Field,  Chairman  of  the  Boird 

Clifford  C.  Gregg,  President 

Hughston  M.  McBain,  First  Vice-President 

Joseph  N.  Field,  Second  Vice-President 

Bowen  Blair,  Third  Vice-President 

Solomon  A.  Smith,  Treasurer  and  Assistant  Secretary 

E.  Leland  Webber,  Secretary 

THE  BULLETIN 

EDITOR 
E.  Leland  Webber,  Director  of  the  Museum 

CONTRIBUTING  EDITORS 
Paul  S.  Martin,  Chief  Curator  of  Anthropology 

John  R.  Millar,  Chief  Curator  of  Botany 
*  Sharat  K.  Roy,  Chief  Curator  of  Geology 
Austin  L.  Rand,  Chief  Curator  of  Zoology 

MANAGING  EDITOR 
Paula  R.  Nelson,  Public  Relations  Counsel 

ASSOCIATE  EDITOR 
Marilyn  Jindrich,  Associate  in  Public  Relations 


*  deceased 

Members  are    requested    to    inform    the    Museun 
promptly     of    changes    of    address. 


tents  and  because  they  had  been  pre- 
served, through  more  than  thirty  cen- 
turies, in  all  their  pristine  beauty. 

From  the  more  than  2,000  exquisite 
objects  found  in  the  tomb,  the  31  pieces 
selected  for  the  traveling  exhibit  are  of 
particular  interest  because  of  their  close 
association  with  the  mummified  body  of 
the  boy-king.  Among  them  are  his 
favorite  hunting  dagger  and  sheath  of 
embossed  gold,  found  in  the  mummy 
wrappings;  a  richly  decorated  minia- 
ture coffin  of  gold,  inlaid  with  carnelian 
and  lapis  lazuli — one  of  four  that  held 
the  ruler's  internal  organs;  the  cere- 
monial crook  and  flail,  fashioned  of  gold 
and  blue  glass,  which  were  the  symbols 
of  his  power:  jewelry  taken  from  the 
body;  the  young  king's  walking  stick, 
embellished  with  a  portrait  figure  in 
solid  gold;  and  many  vases,  chests,  and 


Figure  of  young  King  Tutankhamun  in  solid 
gold  embellishes  a  gold  walking  stick  found 
in  the  tomb — one  of  34  treasures  from  tomb 
that  will  be  on  display  June  15  through 
July  15. 

statuettes  of  deities  that  would  have  sig- 
nificance in  the  Pharaoh's  life  beyond 
the  grave. 

Also  on  display  will  be  several  objects 
from  the  tomb  of  Sheshonq  I  (the  Bibli- 
cal Shishak) ;  several  pieces  from  the 
permanent  Egyptian  collections  of  the 
Oriental  Institute  and  Chicago  Natural 
History  Museum;  and  a  stone  statue 
from  the  Egyptian  Old  Kingdom  (about 
2,500  B.C.)  which  was  a  gift  from  the 
United  Arab  Republic  to  President  and 
Mrs.  Kennedy  at  the  opening  of  the 
exhibit  in  Washington,  D.C  This  statue 
forms  a  part  of  the  traveling  exhibit  at 
Mrs.  Kennedy's  request. 

The  exhibit  of  Tutankhamun  treas- 
ures was  organized  by  the  American 
Association  of  Museums  with  the  coop- 
eration of  the  Ministry  of  Culture  of  the 
United  Arab  Republic  and  the  Cairo 


Museum.  It  is  being  circulated  in  this 
country  under  auspices  of  the  Traveling 
Exhibition  Service  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution. 

Children's  Art  Exhibit 

An  exhibit  of  50  paintings  and  draw- 
ings by  young  artists  of  the  Junior  School 
of  the  Art  Institute  will  be  displayed  in 
Stanley  Field  Hall  from  May  5  through 
June  3  (see  cover).  As  part  of  their 
regular  course  of  instruction,  students  in 
the  Junior  School  visit  the  Museum  reg- 
ularly to  study  plant,  animal,  and  geo- 
logical structures;  forms  of  primitive  art 
and  design;  and  the  art  techniques  of 
ancient  or  remote  civilizations.  The 
colorful  and  imaginative  works  selected 
for  the  show,  entitled  "A  Child's  World 
of  Nature,"  were  inspired  by  exhibits  at 
the  Museum.  Later  in  the  year,  the 
exhibit  of  children's  art  will  be  circu- 
lated to  other  cities  under  auspices  of 
the  Traveling  Exhibition  Service  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution. 

Science  Fair 

Science  projects  designed  by  students 
of  the  Chicago  area  will  be  exhibited  in 
Stanley  Field  Hall  from  9  a.m.  until 
4  p.m.  on  Saturday,  May  19,  in  the  12th 
Annual  Chicago  Area  Science  Fair.  The 
young  scientists  who  will  explain  their 
displays  and  demonstrations  are  stu- 
dents from  the  sixth  grade  through  the 
final  year  of  high  school.  They  rep- 
resent public,  private,  and  parochial 
schools  (as  well  as  a  number  of  youth 
organizations)  located  within  a  35-mile 
radius  of  Chicago.  The  science  exhibits 
will  relate  to  living  things  (including 
man),  geology,  astronomy,  matter,  and 
energy.  Awards  will  be  presented  at 
the  end  of  the  day  on  the  basis  of  the 
student's  knowledge  of  his  project  and 
on  the  attractiveness  and  originality  of 
his  exhibit.  The  fair  is  sponsored  by 
the  Chicago  Area  Teachers  Science  As- 
sociation. 

Staff  Lecture 

The  Northwestern  University  Geology 
Club  heard  Bertram  G.  Woodland,  Asso- 
ciate Curator  of  Petrology,  speak  re- 
cently on  "Methods  and  Results  of  the 
Analysis  of  Small  Scale  Structures  in 
Metamorphic  Rocks." 


Free  Concert 

The  Chicago  Chamber  Orchestra 
completes  its  concert  season  in  the  Mu- 
seum this  year  with  its  performance  on 
Sunday,  May  13,  at  3:30  p.m.  in  the 
James  Simpson  Theatre.  The  con- 
ductor will  be  Dr.  Dieter  Kober.  Re- 
cently the  Chicago  Chamber  Orchestra 
was  featured  in  a  half-hour  program  on 
CBS  television  entitled  "Music  for  a 
City." 

Longer  Museum  Hours 

Beginning  May  1  the  Museum  will  be 
open  from  9  a.m.  to  6  p.m. 


PHILIPPINES 

EXPEDITION 

{Continued  from  page  5) 


are  probably  more  closely  related  to 
honeyeaters  than  has  been  thought. 

A  young  female  hornbill  from  Minda- 
nao had  the  head  partly  black,  like  the 
adult  female,  and  partly  rufous  like  the 
adult  male.  Examination  of  the  skin 
showed  that  the  bird  was  in  moult,  the 
rufous  feathers  being  replaced  by  black 
ones.  In  birds  generally,  when  the  sexes 
are  different,  it  is  the  female  that  both 
young  resemble,  but  here  we  had  an  ex- 
ample of  a  species  in  which  both  young 
resemble  the  male.  This  phenomenon 
is  not  unknown,  but  it  occurs  rarely,  and 
in  widely  separated  families. 

When  Dr.  Rabor  and  I  were  traveling 
on  Siquijor  Island,  we  discovered  that 
the  ruddy  kingfisher,  which  lives  in  the 
forest,  feeds  to  a  considerable  extent  on 
snails.  The  bird  opens  the  shell  to  get 
the  meat  by  pounding  the  snail  on  a 
rock,  a  habit  which  is  shared  by  no  other 
kingfisher,  so  far  as  we  know,  and  by 
very  few  other  birds. 

Also  from  our  Philippine  field  work, 
and  more  especially  that  of  Rabor,  it 
seemed  to  us  that  the  domestic  fowl  of 
the  villages  and  the  jungle  fowl  of  the 
forest,  though  belonging  to  the  same  spe- 
cies, each  lived  on  the  same  islands  with 
very  little  hybridization.  Apparently 
they  are  kept  separate  by  their  respec- 
tive habitat  differences.  Here  we  seem 
to  have  an  example  of  an  unusual  state  of 
affairs  for  birds:  two  subspecies  living  in 
the  same  area,  but  in  different  habitats. 
{Continued  on  next  page) 

Page  7  May 


{Continued from  page  7) 


Deforestation  and  other  attendant 
changes  have  caused  the  extinction  of 
island  birds,  as  is  especially  well  known 
for  the  West  Indies  and  the  Hawaiian 
Islands.  No  such  cases  were  known  from 
the  Philippines.  But  after  extensive  field 
work  on  the  island  of  Cebu,  from  which 
most  of  the  forest  has  gone  since  Magel- 
lan landed  there  early  in  the  16th  Cen- 
tury, Dr.  Rabor  decided  in  1959  that  all 
but  one  of  the  ten  endemic  Cebu  forest 
birds  had  disappeared  with  the  forest. 
Among  the  birds  not  seen  since  1906 
was  the  golden  washed  hanging  lorikeet. 
However,  we  have  since  found  that  it 
existed  up  until  1930,  for  about  then  a 
considerable  number  were  brought  alive 
to  Europe  and  the  United  States  as  cage 
birds.  This  was  brought  to  our  attention 
by  Mr.  Karl  Plath,  formerly  of  Brook- 
field  Zoo,  who,  reading  Rabor's  account, 
brought  to  us  an  example  of  one  of  these 
1930  birds  which  he  had  had  alive  for 
a  time. 

The  destruction  of  forests,  especially 
in  the  lowlands,  lends  urgency  to  some 
collecting,  notably  on  Panay  and  the 
Romblon-Tablas  group.  The  Sulus, 
with  such  striking  endemics,  are  unfor- 
tunately so  filled  with  unrest  as  to  make 
work  there  impractical,  and  the  same  is 
true  for  parts  of  Palawan  and  southeast- 
ern Mindanao.  But  there  are  still  parts 
of  Palawan  that  would  be  worth  while. 
The  new  species  discovered  in  recent 
years  from  Luzon,  Negros,  and  Minda- 
nao, some  from  areas  "well  collected," 
may  serve  as  a  guide  to  indicate  that  al- 
most any  upland  forest  in  the  Philippines 
may  yield  more  new  forms  or  range  ex- 
tensions. And  the  abundance  of  small 
islands  in  the  Archipelago  makes  an  eco- 
logical study  of  island  effects  an  inviting 
prospect. 

The  above  will  give  some  idea  of  the 
progress  that  Dr.  Rabor  and  I  have  made 
in  the  study  of  Philippine  birds,  the  use 
we  have  made  of  the  collections,  the  in- 
formation we  have  read  from  skins  and 
observations,  and  made  available  to  the 
scientific  world.  The  work  is  continu- 
ing, but  is  never  done. 

In  planning  for  the  future,  we  must 
keep  in  mind  that  our  space,  material, 
money,  and  also  time  (for  our  years  are 
numbered)  are  limited;  and  that  I  have 
interests  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  too ! 

Page  8  May 


B^  Oe.\ocyraV\  /\ 


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Front  "A  Child's  World  of  Nature":  An  exhibit  of  children's  art 
Stanley  Field  Hall,  May  5  through  June  3 


PRINTED  BY 

CHICAGO  NATURAL  HISTORY  MUSEUM  PRESS 


CHICAGO 


HISTORY   To/,  as        j*o.6 

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An  invitation 


N  June  15,  history  will  turn  back 
more  than  3,000  years  for  an  intimate 
look  into  the  life  of  Egypt's  most  publi- 
cized boy  king  when  the  exhibit  of 
treasures  from  the  tomb  of  King  Tut- 
ankhamun  opens  at  Chicago  Natural 
History  Museum. 

Members  of  the  Museum  and  the  Ori- 
ental Institute  of  the  University  of  Chi- 
cago— joint  sponsors  of  the  exhibit — 
have  received  invitations  to  a  Members' 
preview  on  Thursday  evening,  June  14. 

A  special  attraction  of  the  preview 
will  be  a  lecture  in  James  Simpson  The- 
atre on  "Tutankhamun  and  his  Treas- 
ures" by  Dr.  Ahmed  Fakhry,  Professor 
of  History  of  Ancient  Egypt  and  the 
East  at  the  University  of  Cairo.  Dr. 
Fakhry  will  also  lecture  at  the  Museum 
on  the  same  subject  on  Friday,  June  1 5, 
at  7 :00  p.m.  and  on  Sunday,  June  1 7,  at 
3:00  p.m. 

The  carpenters,  electricians,  and  paint- 
ers will  soon  complete  their  work  on 
Hall  9,  which  has  been  completely  re- 
modeled for  the  Tutankhamun  Treasures 
exhibit  under  plans  drawn  up  by  Phillip 
H.  Lewis,  Curator  of  Primitive  Art,  and 
James  Shouba,  Superintendent  of  Main- 
tenance. Four  huge  lighting  panels,  sus- 
pended from  the  ceiling,  will  illuminate 
the  exhibit  and  emphasize  the  exquisite 
craftsmanship  and  delicate  artistic  style 
of  the  jewel-like  objects.  An  example  is 
the  young  king's  favorite  hunting  dag- 
ger, of  gold,  on  which  an  incised  group- 
Page  2  June 


ing  of  wild  animals  attacking  each  other 
forms  an  interlacing  pattern.  Also  of 
interest  to  art  lovers  will  be  the  solid  gold 
figurine  of  King  Tutankhamun  on  the 
head  of  his  walking  stick,  and  the  minia- 
ture mummy  case,  inscribed  with  hiero- 
glyphics and  richly  decorated  with  semi- 
precious stones. 

Most  of  the  34  objects  on  display  are 
made  of  gold,  decorated  with  inlaid  lapis 
lazuli,  carnelian.  and  colored  glass.  Two 
vases,  a  painted  chest,  and  the  lid  of  a 
canopic  jar — beautifully  carved  in  the 
form  of  the  king's  head — are  of  alabaster. 

Several  objects — amulets,  rings,  cere- 


monial necklaces,  and  the  dagger — were 
actually  found  on  the  king's  mummy. 
A  flail  and  a  crook,  of  gold  and  blue 
glass,  symbolize  the  Pharaoh's  power  as 
shepherd  of  his  people  and  overseer  of 
their  efforts.  The  crook  can  be  found 
today  as  the  staff  of  Christian  bishops 
while  the  flail  survives  as  the  ceremonial 
fly-whisk  of  African  chiefs. 

Augmenting  the  exhibit  will  be  sev- 
eral pieces  from  the  permanent  Egyptian 
collections  of  the  Oriental  Institute  and 
Chicago  Natural  History  Museum. 

Large  photographs  of  the  Nubian 
monuments  and  temples  on  the  banks  of 
the  Nile  will  serve  as  a  background  for 
the  tomb  treasures.  Probably  the  most 
dramatic  are  those  showing  the  great 
rock-cut  temple  at  Abu  Simbel  with  its 
colossal  statues  of  Rameses  II  and  his 
queen,  Nefertari  (mother-in-law  of  King 
Tutankhamun).  The  purpose  of  the  ex- 
hibit is  to  arouse  support  for  the  salvage 
program,  sponsored  by  UNESCO,  to 
save  these  ancient  monuments  from  be- 
ing destroyed  by  the  waters  of  the  Nile 
after  scheduled  completion  of  the  Aswan 
Dam  in  the  late  1960's. 

Although  general  admission  to  the 
Tutankhamun  Treasures  will  be  50  cents 
for  adults  and  25  cents  for  children, 
Members  of  the  Oriental  Institute  and 
Chicago  Natural  History  Museum  will 
be  admitted  free.  Beginning  June  15, 
the  Museum  will  be  open  from  9  a.m.  to 
8  p.m.  on  Wednesday,  Friday,  Saturday, 
and  Sunday,  closing  at  6  p.m.  on  the 
other  days  of  the  week. 


THE  MYSTERY 

of  the 

TOLTEC  HEAD! 

DONALD  COLLIER 
Curator,  South  American  Archaeology  and  Ethnology 


Museum  discoveries  are  associated  in 
the  public  mind  with  expeditions 
to  far  places.  Although  expedition  finds 
are  most  newsworthy,  equally  interest- 
ing discoveries  are  frequently  made  in 
the  course  of  study  of  the  Museum's  re- 
search collections. 

An  intriguing  example  of  such  a  dis- 
covery occurred  recently  in  the  Depart- 
ment of  Anthropology.  In  connection 
with  the  rearrangement  of  the  research 
collection  on  Mexican  archaeology,  we 
undertook  the  sorting  and  classification 
of  several  thousand  human  figurines  of 
terra  cotta  from  the  Valley  of  Mexico. 
These  came  from  several  cultures  and 
date  from  1000  B.C.  to  a.d.  1500.  Aside 
from  their  aesthetic  interest  and  their 
value  for  yielding  cultural  information, 
these  figurines  serve  as  "index  fossils"  in 
dating  the  various  archaeological  periods 
in  central  Mexico. 

At  the  end  of  the  classifying  job,  I  was 
examining  the  remaining  miscellaneous 
lot  of  unclassified  figurine  fragments 
when  I  noticed  the  hollow  head  of  a 
man  that  struck  me  as  familiar.  After 
examining  it  I  decided  that  the  color 
and  texture  of  the  clay  reminded  me  of 
an  incomplete  Toltec  cup  that  had  been 
placed  on  display  in  1959  in  the  new 
exhibits  on  Mexican  archaeology  (Hall 
8,  Case  63).  The  handle  of  this  cup 
was  modeled  into  the  effigy  of  a  man, 
whose  head  had  been  missing  since  the 
piece  was  acquired  by  the  Museum.  A 
quick  visit  to  the  Mexican  hall  confirmed 
my  hunch,  and  upon  opening  the  case 
we  found  that  the  head  discovered 
among  the  fragments  fitted  perfectly. 
We  have  now  made  a  permanent  resto- 
ration of  the  head  to  the  body,  from 
which  it  was  separated  for  more  than 
sixty  years,  and  the  complete  specimen 
is  once  more  on  exhibit. 


I  turned  to  the  catalogue  and  acces- 
sion records  for  a  solution  to  the  mystery 
of  the  missing  head.  It  had  been  ac- 
quired by  the  Museum  in  1905  as  part 
of  a  large  collection  of  Mexican  antiqui- 
ties and  ethnological  objects  purchased 
from  Fredrick  Starr,  who  was  professor 
of  anthropology  at  the  University  of  Chi- 


cago from  1893  to  1923.  The  cup  was 
in  a  collection  of  archaeological  speci- 
mens presented  to  the  Museum  in  1923 
by  the  late  Martin  A.  Ryerson,  a  Bene- 
factor of  the  Museum  and  for  many  years 
a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees.  Be- 
cause of  the  freshness  of  the  break  on  the 
effigy  cup  it  appeared  highly  probable 
that  the  fracture  had  occurred  relatively 
recently  and  almost  certainly  since  the 
specimen  had  been  excavated.  I  there- 
fore looked  for  a  connection  between  the 
Starr  and  Ryerson  collections.  I  dis- 
covered that  the  head  had  been  pur- 
chased by  Professor  Starr  in  about  1895 
from  the  collection  of  Antonio  Penafiel, 
a  well  known  Mexican  archaeologist  and 
collector.     The  Ryerson  collection  was 


shipped  from  Mexico  in  1895.  There  is 
no  record  that  the  cup  came  from  the 
Penafiel  collection,  but  identification 
marks  on  its  base  are  similar  to  marks 
on  known  Penafiel  pieces. 

The  evidence  points  to  the  following 
probable  course  of  events.  The  cup  was 
intact  when  excavated  and  acquired  by 
Penafiel.  While  in  his  possession  and 
prior  to  1895,  the  head  was  broken  and 
separated  from  the  cup.  Mr.  Ryerson's 
agent  acquired  the  cup  in  1895  or 
slightly  earlier,  and  probably  Professor 
Starr  bought  the  head  after  the  cup  had 
been  sold.  The  two  parts  came  under 
the  same  roof  again  in  1923  but  were 
not  reunited  until  1961. 

The  cup,  which  is  shown  in  its  com- 
pleted form  in  the  accompanying  illus- 
trations, was  found  in  Tlapanaloya,  Dis- 
trict of  Zumpango, 
about  25  miles 
north  of  Mexico 
City  and  closer  to 
Tula,  the  Toltec 
capital.  The  slight- 
ly humpbacked 
figure  that  serves 
as  a  handle  is  mod- 
eled in  Toltec  style. 
The  man  depicted 
wears  elaborate  earplugs,  a  necklace, 
and  a  tassled  gee  string  tied  with  a  sin- 
gle bowknot  at  the  back.  At  the  front 
of  the  cup  is  a  molded  design  in  relief 
depicting  the  typical  Toltec  prowling 
jaguar.  The  low  ring  base  of  the  cup 
is  also  characteristic  of  the  Toltec  period. 
It  is  estimated  to  date  from  the  tenth 
century  a.d.  It  is  a  most  interesting 
example  of  Toltec  art,  now  to  be  seen 
in  its  original  form  as  the  result  of  a 
quiet  but  profitable  adventure  among 
the  collections  of  the  Museum. 

June  Page  $ 


CHICAGO 
NATURAL 
HISTORY 
MUSEUM 


News 


NSF  Awards  Grant 
for  Borneo  Study 

Dr.  Robert  F.  Inger,  Curator  of  Am- 
phibians and  Reptiles  at  Chicago  Nat- 
ural History  Museum,  and  Dr.  Bernard 
S.  Greenberg,  Professor  of  Biology  at 
Roosevelt  University,  have  been  awarded 
a  835,100  grant  by  the  National  Science 
Foundation  for  research  on  the  "Repro- 
ductive Patterns  and  Population  Struc- 
ture of  Borneo  Amphibians." 

Borneo  is  a  part  of  the  oriental  tropics 
where  much  of  the  evolution  of  contem- 
porary groups  of  reptiles  and  amphib- 
ians has  taken  place.  Within  these 
tropics,  the  most  stable  and  favorable 


environment  is  the  evergreen  rain  forest, 
which  has  probably  been  in  continuous 
existence  in  Borneo  for  at  least  50  mil- 
lion years.  The  advantageous  qualities 
of  the  rain  forest  have  fostered  the  evo- 
lution of  more  groups  of  organisms  than 
any  other  terrestrial  habitat. 

The  organization  and  dynamics  of  the 
animal  community  living  within  such  a 
rain  forest  are  virtually  unknown.  Inger 
and  Greenberg,  therefore,  intend  to 
study  the  size  and  composition  of  the 
animal  population,  the  movements  of 
individuals  of  various  species,  and  the 
annual  reproductive  patterns  of  the  am- 
phibians of  these  forests. 

Dr.  Inger  has  long  been  interested  in 
the  animal  life  of  Borneo,  having  made 
collecting  trips  to  the  island  in  1950  and 

Page  1,  June 


1956.  This  year,  he  and  Dr.  Greenberg 
will  spend  three  months  in  Borneo  estab- 
lishing a  field  base,  mapping  the  area, 
and  training  assistants.  When  they  leave 
the  island,  the  field  work  will  continue 
under  the  supervision  of  Mr.  F.  W. 
King,  a  graduate  student  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Zoology  of  the  University  of 
Chicago.  It  is  estimated  that  approxi- 
mately 6,000  frogs,  snakes,  and  lizards 
will  be  collected  during  the  first  two 
years  of  the  NSF  grant.  On  returning 
to  the  Museum,  Inger  and  Greenberg 
will  carry  out  detailed  studies  of  these 
specimens.  A  full  report  of  the  research 
will  be  prepared  during  the  fourth  and 
final  year  of  their  study. 


Mrlvin  A.  Traylor,  As- 
sociate Curator  of  Birds, 
who  returned  recently  from 
a  six-months'  expedition  to 
Africa,  examines  one  of  the 
more  than  1,500  birds  col- 
lected during  his  trip. 

Focus  of  Traylor' s  field 
work  in  Africa  was  Barotse- 
land,  a  British  Protector- 
ate in  Northern  Rhodesia. 
There  Traylor  discovered 
two  subspecies  of  lark  never 
before  described.  The  ex- 
pedition was  supported 
jointly  by  the  Museum  and 
the  National  Science  Foun- 
dation. 


Research  Report  from  Hawaii 

A  recent  report  from  Hawaii,  where 
Museum  field  work  is  also  being  sup- 
ported by  a  grant  from  the  National 
Science  Foundation  (see  Bulletin  for 
August,  1961),  illuminates  another  aspect 
of  the  research  being  done  by  Museum 
zoologists  abroad. 

Dr.  Alan  Solem,  Curator  of  Lower  In- 
vertebrates, has  been  in  Hawaii  on  the 
first  stop  of  a  round-the-world  study 
trip.  The  Hawaiian  Islands  are  re- 
nowned both  for  their  manifold,  beauti- 
ful land  snails  and  for  their  equally  beau- 
tiful sea  shells.  To  study  them,  Dr. 
Solem  has  not,  as  one  might  think,  pre- 
pared to  do  research  in  the  field,  well 
supplied  with  different  kinds  of  nets  and 


bottles  full  of  alcohol.  Rather,  his  equip- 
ment so  far  has  consisted  mainly  of  a 
microscope,  calipers,  drawing  material, 
and  a  camera. 

His  work  has  chiefly  been  done  in  the 
laboratories  of  the  Bernice  P.  Bishop 
Museum  in  Honolulu,  which  has  rich 
collections  of  some  kinds  of  snail  shells  in 
which  Dr.  Solem  is  greatly  interested — 
tiny  shells  that  look  very  inconspicuous 
and  almost  identical  to  the  naked  eye. 
Under  enlargement,  however,  a  great 
number  of  distinguishing  characters  are 
revealed,  and  these  characters  vary 
greatly  according  to  the  individual  kind 
of  shell.  The  describers  of  these  shells, 
working  50  to  100  years  ago,  did  not 
have  the  elaborate  optical  equipment 
we  now  possess;  hence  their  descriptions 
are  partly  deficient,  partly  faulty.  And 
what  is  more,  they  even  confused  shells 
of  similar  size  and  sculpture,  believing 
them  to  be  identical. 

Here  is  where  Dr.  Solem's  work  be- 
gan. He  has  been  studying  the  speci- 
mens of  earlier  scientists  and  improving 
their  descriptions  by  amending  errors  or 
by  adding  newly  discovered  characters. 
To  his  surprise,  and  almost  to  his  dis- 
may, he  has  also  found  that  there  are 
many  tiny  shells  still  undescribed  at  all. 
More  than  300  of  these  await  recogni- 
tion as  probable  new  species,  while 
about  4,000  have  so  far  been  restudied 
and  catalogued. 

Thus  one  of  our  staff  members  uses 
his  absence  from  the  Museum  to  further 
science,  not  in  the  field,  but  in  the  lab- 
oratory. 

Western  States  Field  Trip 

William  B.  Turnbull,  Assistant  Cura- 
tor of  Fossil  Mammals,  is  presently  trav- 
eling through  a  number  of  western  states 
on  a  geology  reconnaissance  trip  for  the 
purpose  of  locating  Mesozoic  mammal 
localities.  Included  in  his  survey  of  North 
Dakota,  Montana,  Wyoming,  and  Colo- 
rado is  a  stop  at  Como  Bluff,  Wyoming, 
one  of  the  most  famous  early  mammal 
localities.  Como  Bluff  is  part  of  the 
Morrison  formation  noted  for  important 
dinosaur  finds.  It  also  has  been  the 
center  of  Mesozoic  mammal  discoveries. 


Honored 

Dr.  Alfred  E.  Emerson,  Research  As- 
sociate, Insects,  in  the  Museum's  Depart- 
ment of  Zoology  and  Professor  of  Zoology 
at  the  University  of  Chicago,  recently 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences.  The  Academy, 
which  has  been  informally  called  the 
"hierarchy  of  American  science,"  func- 
tions as  an  advisory  body  on  scientific 
matters  for  the  government.  Its  mem- 
bers are  chosen  for  their  distinguished 
and  continued  achievements  in  original 
research. 

Emerson  is  the  world's  leading  author- 
ity on  the  classification  and  biology  of 
termites  and  is  internationally  known  for 
his  contributions  in  the  field  of  evolu- 
tion. He  is  one  of  the  few  systematic 
zoologists  to  become  a  member  of  the 
Academy,  another  being  the  late  Karl  P. 
Schmidt,  former  Chief  Curator  of  Zool- 
ogy at  this  Museum. 

During  his  affiliation  with  Chicago 
Natural  History  Museum,  Emerson  has 
made  notable  contributions  to  the  Mu- 
seum's insect  collections.  Outstanding 
among  them  is  a  termite  collection  that 
is  considered  one  of  the  finest  in  the 
world. 

Summer  Children's  Journey 

Young  "rock  hounds"  interested  in 
adding  to  their  collections  this  summer 
won't  want  to  miss  the  Museum's  new 
Journey  for  children,  "Down  to  Earth," 


■••«•» V  •  ••■•■ 


which  began  June  1  and  will  continue 
through  August  31.  A  planned  excur- 
sion through  the  Museum's  geology  halls, 
the  Journey  offers  young  "prospectors" 
helpful  hints  on  finding  and  identifying 
rocks  in  the  local  area. 

Youngsters  wishing  to  take  the  Jour- 
ney may  obtain  further  information  and 
a  Journey  itinerary  at  the  Information 
Desk  and  at  the  north  and  south  doors 
of  the  Museum.  A  questionnaire  is 
to  be  answered  during  the  course  of  the 
Journey  and  turned  in  at  the  door  be- 
fore leaving  the  building.  Completed 
questionnaires  are  then  recorded  so  that 
each  child  will  receive  credit  for  his 
Journey.  Each  spring  and  fall,  at  a 
special  honors  program,  children  who 
have  successfully  completed  specified 
numbers  of  Museum  Journeys  are  pre- 
sented awards  for  their  achievement. 
The  Journeys  are  sponsored  by  the  Mu- 
seum's Raymond  Foundation. 

Annual  Lapidary  Show 

The  12th  Annual  Amateur  Hand- 
crafted Gem  and  Jewelry  Competitive 
Exhibition,  to  be  shown  June  8  through 
July  8  in  Stanley  Field  Hall,  once  again 
will  demonstrate  that  common  earth 
materials  in  the  hands  of  a  craftsman 
can  be  fashioned  into  objects  of  unusual 
beauty. 

The  exhibition  will  feature  prize-win- 
ning jewelry  of  polished  stone,  polished 

On  Members''  Night, 
1962  {held  April  27),  1,638 
Members  enjoyed  a  once-a- 
year  opportunity  to  browse 
through  workshops,  research 
collections,  and  staff  offices 
not  ordinarily  open  to  the 
public.  In  each  of  the  Mu- 
seum's four  departments — 
anthropology,  botany,  geol- 
ogy, and  zoology — staff 
scientists  and  scholars  pre- 
pared  special  demonstra- 
tions relating  to  their  fields 
■%  of  study.  Here  we  see  Dr. 
Kenneth  Starr,  Curator  of 
Chinese  Archaeology  and 
Ethnology,  explain  how  to 
look  up  a  word  in  a  Chinese 
dictionary. 


Chicago   Natural  History   Museum 

Founded  by  Marshall  Field,  1893 

Roosevelt  Road  and  Lake  Shore  Drive,  Chicago  5 

Telephone:  WAbash  2-9410 


THE   BOARD 
Lester  Armour 
Wm.  McCormick  Blair 
Bowen  Blair 
Walter  J.  Cummings 
Joseph  N.  Field 
Marshall  Field,  Jr. 
Stanley  Field 
Clifford  C.  Gregg 
Samuel  Insull,  Jr. 
Henry  P.  Isham 

J.  How 


OF  TRUSTEES 

William  V.  Kahler 
Hughston  M.  McBain 
J.  Roscoe  Miller 
William  H.  Mitchell 
John  T.  Pirie,  Jr. 
John  Shedd  Reed 
John  G.  Searle 
John  M.  Simpson 
Solomon  A.  Smith 
Louis  Ware 
ard  Wood 


OFFICERS 

Stanley  Field,  Chairman  of  the  Board 

Clifford  C.  Gregg,  President 

Hughston  M.  McBain,  First  Vice-President 

Joseph  N.  Field,  Second  Vice-President 

Bowen  Blair,  Third  Vice-President 

Solomon  A.  Smith,  Treasurer  and  Assistant  Secretary 

E.  Leland  Webber,  Secretary 

THE   BULLETIN 

EDITOR 
E.  Leland  Webber,  Director  of  the  Museum 

CONTRIBUTING  EDITORS 

Paul  S.  Martin,  Chief  Curator  of  Anthropology 

John  R.  Millar,  Chief  Curator  of  Botany 

Austin  L.  Rand,  Chief  Curator  of  Zoology 

MANAGING  EDITOR 
Paula  R.  Nelson,  Public  Relations  Counsel 

ASSOCIATE  EDITOR 

Marilyn  Jindrich,  Associate  in  Public  Relations 

Members   are   requested    to    inform    the    Museum 
promptly   of   changes   of   address. 


slab  collections,  enameled  stone  work, 
cabochoned  and  faceted  gems,  and  gem 
collections.  Exhibitors  are  amateur  lap- 
idarists  residing  in  the  Chicago  area. 
Approximately  100  winning  entries  will 
be  included  in  the  display,  which  is 
sponsored  by  the  Chicago  Lapidary  Club. 

Exhibit-of-the-Month 

"The  Human  Image  in  Primitive  Art," 
which  opened  the  Museum's  new  Hall 
of  Primitive  Art  on  May  1  and  was  the 
featured  exhibit  throughout  that  month, 
will  continue  to  be  featured  during  June. 
This  exhibit-of-the-month  program,  be- 
gun a  little  more  than  a  year  ago,  calls 
attention  to  the  Museum's  outstanding 
permanent  exhibitions — some  of  them 
new,  and  some  old.  The  exhibit,  "The 
Human  Image  in  Primitive  Art,"  dis- 
plays more  than  200  specimens  from 
primitive  societies  of  Africa,  Oceania, 
and  North  and  South  America. 

June  Page  5 


In  the  summer  of  1917  a  young  cooper 
made  his  first  trip  to  Alaska  and  began 
working  at  a  whaling  station.  The  ar- 
rival of  a  loaded  ship  at  the  station's  fac- 
tory meant  putting  in  twenty-four  to 
forty-eight  hour  stretches  constructing 
barrels  to  hold  oil  and  other  whale  prod- 
ucts, but  between  ships  there  would  be 
two  or  three  days  of  relative  leisure.  As 
a  young  boy  Walter  J.  Eyerdam  had  col- 
lected natural  history  specimens,  includ- 
ing shells;  this  summer  he  spent  his  spare 
hours  combing  the  beaches  or  operating 
a  crude  hand  dredge  from  the  back  of 
a  borrowed  rowboat.  In  this  way,  he 
hauled  up  living  specimens  from  both 
shallow  shoals  and  rocky  bottoms  cov- 
ered by  1 50  feet  of  water. 

Born  in  Seattle  in  November,   1892, 
Eyerdam  had  been  trained  as  a  cooper. 


tion  to  be  identified  and  stored  the  re- 
mainder in  the  growing  number  of 
wooden  cabinets  that  housed  his  Alaskan 
collection.  In  1919,  he  exchanged  shells 
with  Mrs.  Oldroyd  of  Stanford  Univer- 
sity, and  a  young  Michigan  student, 
William  J.  Clench,  who  is  now  Curator 
of  Mollusks  at  Harvard  College.  They 
were  the  first  in  a  list  of  his  correspond- 
ents that  eventually  numbered  over 
two  hundred. 

Eyerdam's  activities  as  a  collector  be- 
came widely  known,  and  in  1 927  he  per- 
suaded the  United  States  National  Mu- 
seum and  Thomas  Barbour,  the  distin- 
guished Harvard  herpetologist,  to  send 
him  to  Haiti  to  collect  both  reptiles  and 
shells.  There  he  teamed  up  with  Eric 
Ekman,  a  diligent  and  eccentric  Swedish 
botanist,  who  taught  him  the  art  of  plant 


PORTRAIT 
of  a 
COLLECTOR 


By  Alan  Solem 

Curator 

Lower  Invertebrates 


Influenced  by  an  interest  in  natural  his- 
tory, however,  he  studied  mining  at  the 
University  of  Washington,  and  followed 
this  by  three  years  as  a  prospector  in 
California  before  making  his  Alaskan 
venture. 

When  the  whaling  station  closed  for 
the  winter,  Eyerdam  returned  to  Seattle 
with  a  large  assortment  of  shells.  Many 
were  sent  to  Dr.  William  Healy  Dall  and 
Dr.  Paul  Bartsch  of  the  United  States 
National  Museum  for  identification, 
some  named  specimens  being  returned 
to  the  collector.  In  the  following  few 
years,  Eyerdam  continued  to  earn  his 
living  as  a  cooper  for  Alaskan  whaling 
and  herring  stations,  and  to  devote  his 
spare  time  to  shell  collecting.  Each  year 
he  sent  a  few  to  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 

Page  6  June 


collecting.  The  success  of  this  trip  earned 
Eyerdam  a  $200  bonus  that  enabled  him 
to  take  a  needed  rest  to  recover  from  ma- 
laria and  dengue  fever. 

The  mountains  of  Kamchatka  had 
been  glimpsed  from  a  fishing  boat  in 
1925,  and  in  1928  Eyerdam  seized  an  op- 
portunity to  become  nursemaid  to  forty 
muskrats  being  shipped  from  Seattle  to 
Siberia,  where  they  were  to  be  intro- 
duced to  Karaginsk  Island  in  hopes  of 
establishing  a  fur  industry.  Two  pre- 
vious shipments  of  muskrats  had  died  in 
transit,  but  Eyerdam  and  his  partner, 
William  Coultas,  lost  only  one,  presum- 
ably a  patriotic  animal,  since  it  jumped 
overboard  after  escaping  from  its  cage 
and  was  last  seen  swimming  for  the 
United  States.   When  the  thirty-six  day 


voyage  ended,  Eyerdam  and  Coultas 
persuaded  the  Soviet  authorities  to  per- 
mit them  to  collect  plants  in  Kamchatka 
from  May  to  September.  Their  collec- 
tion was  then  sold  to  the  Riksmuseum  in 
Stockholm.  On  their  way  to  Moscow, 
Coultas  and  Eyerdam  visited  the  local 
museum  in  Vladivostok  and  were  greatly 
impressed  by  a  mounted  Siberian  tiger. 
Returning  to  New  York,  they  ap- 
proached the  American  Museum  about 
sponsoring  a  trip  to  collect  Siberian  tigers 
for  the  museum,  only  to  learn  that  such 
an  expedition  had  just  left.  They  did, 
however,  obtain  jobs  with  the  Whitney 
South  Sea  Expedition,  and  spent  a  year 
skinning  birds  in  the  Solomon  Islands. 
As  usual,  Eyerdam  collected  many  shells 
for  himself. 

Leaving  the  Whitney  Expedition,  he 
traveled  from  Singapore  to  Siberia,  vis- 
ited the  famous  Lake  Baikal,  continued 
west  to  Europe,  where  he  married,  and 
finally  returned  to  Seattle  in  the  early 
part  of  1931.  That  summer,  he  again 
visited  Alaska,  collected  plants  for  the 
Stockholm  museum,  fishes  for  the  emi- 
nent Michigan  ichthyologist,  Carl 
Hubbs,  and  spent  a  few  days  each  week 
on  a  herring  boat.  The  next  summer  saw 
Eyerdam  gathering  plants  in  the  Aleu- 
tians with  the  Swedish  botanist,  Eric 
Hulten.  After  the  end  of  prohibition, 
the  reopened  breweries  needed  all  the 
coopers  they  could  get,  and  it  was  not 
until  1939  that  Eyerdam  made  another 
collecting  trip,  this  time  to  Chile,  as  a 
botanist  for  the  University  of  California. 
During  the  decade  of  the  40's  he  win- 
tered in  Seattle  ship  yards  as  a  steel  chip- 
per and  summered  in  Alaskan  herring 
stations  as  a  cooper.  Another  plant  col- 
lecting trip  to  Chile  in  1957  and  1958 
brings  his  travels  up-to-date. 

Twenty-four  summers  in  Alaska  had 
produced  an  unequaled  collection  of 
Alaskan  shells.  Moreover,  during  all  his 
trips  to  Haiti,  Siberia,  the  Solomon  Is- 
lands, Europe,  and  Chile,  Eyerdam  had 
collected  shells  at  every  opportunity. 
Since  1919  he  had  traded  duplicates 
from  his  collection  with  shell  enthusiasts 
in  all  corners  of  the  world.  Japanese, 
Scandinavian,  and  Australian  biologists 
studying  deep  sea  shells  exchanged  spe- 
cies from  their  waters  for  Alaskan  shells 
dredged  by  Eyerdam  from  a  rowboat. 
Gradually   his   shell    cabinets   and   ex- 


change  packages  filled  the  second  floor 
of  his  house  and  spilled  over  to  the  first 
floor  and  basement.  So  many  shells  ar- 
rived that  new  packages  could  not  be 
opened,  since  all  available  cabinet  space 
was  full. 

So  that  he  might  continue  to  expand 
a  collection  that  had  greatly  outgrown 
his  storage  facilities,  Eyerdam  recently 
agreed  to  sell  his  land  and  fresh  water 
shells  to  Chicago  Natural  History  Mu- 
seum. In  April  of  last  year  more  than 
58,000  specimens  arrived  at  the  Muse- 
um. Eyerdam's  house  still  contains  his 
more  than  120,000  marine  shells,  with 
exchanges  continuing  and  new  boxes 
arriving  weekly. 

Today,  a  young  sixty-nine,  Walter 
Eyerdam  is  recognized  not  only  as  an 
expert  collector,  but  as  an  authority  on 
shells,  mosses,  and  minerals.  Numerous 
species  have  been  named  after  him 
and  his  collections  have  formed,  and 
will  continue  to  form,  the  basis  of  many 
scientific  monographs.  Once  or  twice 
a  month  he  still  makes  brief  collecting 
trips  around  Seattle  and  nearly  every 
week  a  lecture  on  some  of  his  specimens 
or  on  his  many  travels  is  given  to  a 
Seattle  group.  He  even  talks  of  arrang- 
ing a  trip  to  a  "stone  age"  area  of  New 
Guinea,  to  Amazonian  Peru,  or  perhaps 
back  to  Siberia  for  more  collecting.  To 
keep  in  condition  for  such  a  trip,  he 
continues  as  steel  chipper  in  a  ship  yard. 

Barrel  cooper,  bird  skinner,  steel  chip- 
per, prospector,  lecturer,  but  above  all, 
a  great  collector  of  natural  history  ob- 
jects— this  is  Walter  J.  Eyerdam.  His 
story  gives  a  brief  insight  into  what  lies 
behind  the  bare  announcement  that 
"Chicago  Natural  History  Museum  has 
just  received  the  very  important  collec- 
tion of  land  and  fresh  water  shells,  con- 
taining about  58,000  specimens,  that 
was  formed  by  Walter  J.  Eyerdam  of 
Seattle,  Washington." 

Perhaps  ninety  per  cent  of  the  mol- 
luscan  specimens  in  Chicago  Natural 
History  Museum  were  collected  by  ama- 
teurs such  as  Eyerdam,  and  their  efforts 
provide  much  of  the  raw  material  for 
our  research  studies.  It  is,  therefore, 
most  fitting  that  this  announcement 
of  the  acquisition  of  a  new  collection 
should  feature  the  man  behind  the  speci- 
mens, rather  than  the  specimens  them- 
selves. 


The  Unusual 
Is  Where  You  Find  It 

By  Ernest  J.  Roscoe 
Assistant,  Lower  Invertebrates 


Do  you  tend  to  think  of  museum  sci- 
entific work  in  terms  of  high  adven- 
ture on  collecting  expeditions  to  "faraway 
places  with  strange  sounding  names"? 
The  lure  of  the  exotic  is  apt  to  cause  us 
to  forget  that  important  scientific  discov- 
eries may  lie  just  beyond  our  doorstep. 

On  her  way  to  work  one  late  October 
morning,  Mrs.  Maidi  Leibhardt,  Muse- 
um artist,  noticed  an  unusual  number  of 
small  land  snails — probably  several  hun- 
dred individuals — on  the  sidewalk  in 
front  of  her  apartment  in  Oak  Park. 
Not  all  aggregations  of  snails  are  un- 
usual, but  this  one  was.  For  the  species 
involved  was  Cionella  lubrica,  a  form  rarely 
known  to  occur  in  large  numbers.  There 
are  only  a  half  dozen  scattered  refer- 
ences in  the  literature,  dating  back  to 
the  early  1840's,  which  record  such  con- 
centrations of  C.  lubrica  as  were  observed 
by  Mrs.  Leibhardt. 

The  detailed  environmental  circum- 
stances (temperature  and  other  weather 
conditions)  at  the  time  of  her  first  obser- 
vation were  obtained  from  Mrs.  Leib- 
hardt, and  she  continued  watching  the 
site  until  cold  weather  drove  the  snails 
into  hibernation.  This  information  has 
now  been  summarized  and  compared 
with  the  meager  data  given  in  previous 
reports.  Are  these  concentrations  a  re- 
sponse to  local  weather  conditions,  a  re- 
flection of  periodic  population  build- 
ups, or  reproductive  aggregations?  We 
do  not  have  enough  data  to  go  beyond 
the  formulation  of  working  hypotheses. 
As  other  isolated  observations  are 
made  known  (and  we  hope  the  publica- 
tion of  this  one  will  stimulate  them)  our 
store  of  knowledge  will  build  up.  Even- 
tually we  will  have  sufficient  information 
on  which  to  base  some  firm  conclusions. 
Had  it  not  been  for  an  alert  layman,  the 
Oak  Park  snail  concentration,  although 
close  at  hand,  would  probably  have  en- 
tirely escaped  scientific  notice. 

A    second    instance   of  a   significant 


discovery  made  close  to  home  also  oc- 
curred last  year.  In  late  June,  Miss 
Joanne  L.  Evenson,  of  the  Raymond 
Foundation,  picked  up  for  her  aquarium 
several  aquatic  snails  from  a  lake  near 
Madison,  Wisconsin.  Within  a  few  days 
the  snails  died.  They  were  identified  as 
Viviparus  contecloides,  a  gill-breathing  snail, 
previously  known  from  Wisconsin  only 
by  a  single  "dead"  shell  found  in  the 
1920's  in  a  stream  near  Milwaukee.  In 
July,  Miss  Evenson  found  this  species  at 
yet  another  Wisconsin  locality,  and  she 
continues  the  search  for  additional  ma- 
terial as  opportunity  affords. 

Miss  Evenson's  specimens  are  being 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  Dr.  William  J. 
Clench,  Curator  of  Mollusks  at  the  Mu- 
seum of  Comparative  Zoology,  Harvard 
College,  for  use  in  connection  with  a 
monograph  he  is  preparing  on  the  group. 
He  and  other  malacologists  are  inter- 
ested in  ascertaining  the  extent  of  the 
range  of  this  snail  in  Wisconsin.  If,  as 
now  appears  possible,  it  is  fairly  wide- 
spread over  that  state,  why  has  it  been 
almost  completely  overlooked  until  now? 
Has  it  recently  spread  northward  from 
Illinois,  where  it  is  fairly  common?  Or 
have  we  merely  failed  to  look  in  the 
right  places?  As  is  common  in  scientific 
work,  a  single  discovery  has  opened  up 
several  questions. 

These  two  cases  serve  to  illustrate  one 
of  the  things  that  makes  museum  work 
interesting.  We  never  know  when  some- 
one will  bring  or  send  in  specimens  that 
will  prove  to  be  of  more  than  average 
scientific  interest.  Of  course,  only  a  small 
percentage  of  such  cases  will  have  ex- 
ceptional merit.  But  the  average  person, 
if  he  is  curious  about  everything  he  ob- 
serves, and  tries  to  find  out  what  is  al- 
ready known  about  his  observations, 
may  well  have  the  satisfaction,  as  have 
Mrs.  Leibhardt  and  Miss  Evenson,  of 
helping  to  lay  another  brick  in  the  edi- 
fice of  science. 

June  Page  7 


HE 


Book  Shop 


The  Bird  Watcher's  Guide 

By  Henry  Hill  Collins,  Jr.     Golden  Press: 

New  York.  123  pages.    $3.95. 

This  is  a  once-over-lightly,  how-to-do- 
it book  that  tells  how  to  build  an  active, 
sporting  hobby  around  birds.  Pleasantly 
written,  easy  to  read,  its  22  chapters  cover 
the  following:  becoming  a  bird  watcher, 
equipment,  first  steps;  identification  (five 
pages);  how,  where  and  when  to  see 
birds;  trips  for  birds;  the  sport,  lists,  cen- 
suses; houses,  baths,  cover  and  planting 
for  birds;  photographing,  banding,  con- 
serving birds;  bird  clubs  (including  lists 
of)  and  a  set  of  selected  references.  The 
chapter  on  the  sport  of  bird  watching 
covers  the  following  topics:  "Big  day," 
"Big  morning,"  "Small  day,"  "Round 
up,"  and  "Rare  bird  alert." 

As  nearly  half  of  the  123  pages  is 
taken  up  with  illustrations,  some  of  them 
excellent  color  photographs,  some  in- 
formative art  work,  and  some  patches 
of  garish  color,  the  text  is  skimpy.  This 
makes  necessary  a  reference  to  one  of  the 
publications  listed  in  the  back,  to  locate 
a  book  where  an  adequate  coverage  can 
be  found. 

A.  L.  RAND 

Chief  Curator  of  Apology 

The  Giant  Snakes 

By  Clifford  H.  Pope.     Alfred  A.  Knopf: 

New   York.   290  pages,  25  photographs. 

$6.95. 

Probably  no  one  else  is  as  qualified  as 
Clifford  Pope  to  write  this  book.  The 
Museum's  former  Curator  of  Reptiles 
kept  an  Indian  python  named  Sylvia 
from  the  time  it  was  an  infant  scarcely 
three  feet  long  until  it  was  ten  feet,  nine 
inches  long  five  years  later.  As  Sylvia 
lived  most  of  this  time  in  Mr.  Pope's 
home,  the  observations  on  growth,  phys- 
iology, and  behavior  made  by  Pope  were 
detailed  and  supplied  the  impetus  for 
this  book. 

Sylvia's  presence  also  supplied  the 
impetus  for  many  stories,  true  and  un- 
true, in  the  suburb  of  Winnetka.  Neigh- 
bors gradually  became  accustomed  to 


the  occasionally  strange  habits  of  mu- 
seum curators.  The  Village  of  Win- 
netka took  all  ten  feet  of  Sylvia  in  stride 
and  merely  noted  on  the  Popes'  card  in 
the  official  files:  "Snake  in  basement," 
for  the  benefit  of  water  meter  readers. 

In  this  book  Pope  has  brought  to- 
gether all  that  is  known  of  the  biology 
and  habits  of  the  six  giant  constricting 
snakes:  the  boa  constrictor,  the  Indian 
python,  the  amethystine  python,  the 
African  rock  python,  the  reticulated  py- 
thon, and  the  anaconda.  The  subjects 
covered  include  senses,  locomotion, 
strength,  food,  growth,  reproduction, 
and  relations  to  man.  Information  on 
these  snakes  is  buried  in  hundreds  of 
scientific  papers,  and  it  took  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Pope  years  of  digging  in  libraries 
to  assemble  it  all. 

Some  of  the  information  on  the  giant 
snakes  can  be  understood  only  in  terms 
of  the  biology  of  snakes  in  general.  For 
this  reason  Pope  has  presented  a  remark- 
ably complete  and  concise  summary  of 
this  larger  subject. 

The  writing  has  Pope's  customary 
clear  style.  While  fascinating  to  adult 
readers,  the  book  can  be  read  and  un- 
derstood by  an  intelligent  twelve-year- 
old.  I  read  this  book  with  eagerness 
and  I  can  imagine  that  I  would  have 
done  the  same  if  it  had  been  available 
when  I  was  in  seventh  grade. 

ROBERT  F.  INGER 

Curator  of  Reptiles  and  Amphibians 

Chicago  Area  Archaeology:  Bul- 
letin No.  3,  Illinois  Archaeology  Sur- 
vey, Inc. 

Edited  by  Elaine  A.  Bluhm.  University 
of  Illinois:  Urbana.  175  pages,  81  illus- 
trations.   $2.00. 

Following  are  the  contents  of  the  Illi- 
nois Archaeological  Survey's  most  recent 
publication : 

"An  Archaeological  Survey  of  the  DuPage 
River  Drainage,"  by  Sanford  H.  Gates 

"Evidence  for  an  Archaic  Tradition  in  the 
Chicago  Area,"  by  Philip  D.  Young 

"Report  on  a  Back  Yard   Digging,"   by 
Jane  MacRae 


"Two  Early  Burial  Sites  in  Lake  County," 
by  Philip  D.  Young,  David  J.  Wenner, 
Jr.,  and  Elaine  A.  Bluhm 

"The  Skeleton  from  the  Doetsch  Site,  Lake 
County,  Illinois,"  by  Georg  K.  Neu- 
mann 

"Old  Copper  Artifacts  from  Chicago,"  by 
George  I.  Quimby 

"The  Bowmanville  Site,"  by  Gloria  J. 
Fenner 

"The  Adler  Mound  Group,  Will  County, 
Illinois,"  by  Howard  D.  Winters 

"The  Anker  Site,"  by  Elaine  A.  Bluhm 
and  Allen  Liss 

"The   Oak   Forest  Site,"   by   Elaine  A. 

Bluhm  and  Gloria  J.  Fenner 
"Indians  of  the  Chicago  Area  ca.  1650  to 

1816,"  by  Emily  J.  Blasingham 

These  eleven  papers,  two  of  which  are 
by  staff  members  of  the  Museum's  De- 
partment of  Anthropology,  summarize 
the  results  of  recent  study,  survey,  and 
excavation  of  Chicago-area  archaeolog- 
ical sites,  and  review  the  ethno-history 
of  the  area.  Included  in  the  papers  are 
reports  of  work  sponsored  and  carried 
out  by  Chicago  Natural  History  Mu- 
seum, the  University  of  Illinois,  and  the 
Illinois  Archaeological  Survey. 

Bulletin  No.  3  can  be  read  with  inter- 
est by  many  throughout  the  Chicago 
region  and  neighboring  areas,  not  only 
for  the  information  it  contains,  but  for 


"Gentian  Trio"  by  Fred  E.  Unverhau, 
Danbury,  Connecticut.  A  top  medal  winner 
in  the  17th  Chicago  International  Exhibition 
of  Nature  Photography  presented  at  the  Mu- 
seum in  February. 

the  way  it  points  up  the  archaeological 
losses  we  have  sustained  in  these  areas 
and  the  critical  nature  of  the  sites  that 
are  left  in  northeastern  Illinois. 

ALLEN  S.  LISS 

Department  of  Anthropology 


CHICAGO/^    /£*- 
N  ATU  RkJjiilletiJJ 

HISTORY   vu.33       j*o.7 
MUSEUM  g«ty  ^962 


Marilyn  K.  Jindrich 


"  The  relation  of  the  Chinese  to  crickets 
and  other  insects  is  one  of  their  most 
striking  characteristics,  and  presents  a 
most  curious  chapter  in  culture-historical 
development.'''' 

So  wrote  Berthold  Laufer,1  distin- 
guished anthropologist  and  former 
Curator  of  Anthropology,  who  con- 
ducted pioneering  expeditions  to  China 
and  Tibet  for  the  Museum  during  the 
early  1900's.  According  to  Dr.  Laufer, 
the  reason  that  the  Chinese  affinity  for 
insects — and  particularly  crickets — is  so 
interesting  to  anthropologists  is  that  it 
represents  a  curious  exception  to  a  uni- 
versal rule  concerning  man's  relation  to 
animals.  In  the  primitive  stages  of  life 
man  took  a  keen  interest  in  the  animal 
world,  observing  and  studying  large 
mammals  first,  and  birds  and  fishes  next. 
But  the  Chinese  were  more  concerned 
with  insects  than  with  any  other  ani- 
ma'Is;  and  mammals  attracted  their 

Page  Z  July 


Cricket 


Warriors  and  Musicians 


of  China 


attention  least  of  all. 

As  a  result,  the  Chinese  have  made 
discoveries  and  observations  about  in- 
sects which  still  inspire  admiration.  The 
life  cycle  of  the  cicada,  for  example,  one 
of  nature's  most  puzzling  phenomena, 
was  known  to  the  Chinese  centuries  ago. 
More  significantly,  only  a  people  with  a 
deep  interest  in  nature's  smallest  crea- 
tures could  have  penetrated  the  mysteri- 
ous habits  of  an  insignificant  caterpillar 
to  present  the  world  with  the  discovery 
of  silk. 

Perhaps  the  most  intriguing  aspect  of 


this  national  predilection  for  insects  is  in 
the  areas  of  sports  and  entertainment. 
While  sports  enthusiasts  in  other  parts 
of  the  world  have  focused  their  attention 
on  baseball  diamonds,  football  fields, 
bull-fight  rings,  and  gigantic  soccer  sta- 
diums, the  Chinese  sports  fan  has  been 
concerned  with  a  tiny  pottery  jar,  the 
arena  for  the  most  unusual  of  spectator 
sports — cricket  fighting. 

For  anyone  who  might  find  it  difficult 
to  imagine  a  bout  between  crickets,  the 
following  description  by  Laufer  sheds 
light  on  this  uncommon  sports  event. 


"  The  tournaments  take  place  in  an  open 
space,  on  a  public  square,  or  in  a  special 
house  termed'  Autumn  Amusements'. 
There  are  heavy-weight,  middle,  and 
light-weight  champions.  The  wran- 
glers are  always  matched  on  equal  terms 
according  to  size,  weight,  and  color,  and 
are  carefully  weighed  on  a  pair  of  wee 
scales  at  the  opening  of  each  contest.  A 
silk  cover  is  spread  over  a  table  on  which 
are  placed  the  pottery  jars  containing  the 
warring  crickets.  The  jar  is  the  arena 
in  which  the  prizefight  is  staged.  As  a 
rule,  the  two  adversaries  facing  each 
other  will  first  endeavor  to  flee,  but  the 
thick  walls  of  the  bowl  or  jar  are  set  up 
as  an  invincible  barrier  to  this  attempt 
at  desertion. 

"Now  the  referee,  who  is  called ' Army 
Commander''  or  'Director  of  Battle'  in- 
tercedes, announcing  the  contestants  and 
reciting  the  history  of  their  past  perform- 
ances, and  spurs  the  two  parties  on  to 
combat.  .  .  .   The  two  opponents,  thus 
excited,  stretch  out  their  antennae,  which 
the  Chinese  not  inaptly  designate  'tweez- 
ers,' and  jump  at  each  other's  heads.   The 
antennae,    or   tentacles,   are  their  chief 
weapons.     One  of  the  belligerents  will 
soon  lose  one  of  its  horns,  while  the  other 
may  retort  by  tearing  off  one  of  the  ene- 
my's legs.     The  two  combatants  become 
more   and  more   exasperated  and  fight 
each   other   mercilessly.      The  struggle 
usually  ends  in  the  death  of  one  of  them, 
and  it  occurs  not  infrequently  that  the 
more  agile  or  stronger  one  pounces  with 
its  whole  weight  upon  the  body  of  its 
opponent,  severing  its  head  completely." 
The  period  before  the  matches  is  one 
of  rigid  adherence  to  a  number  of  train- 
ing procedures.    Trainers  are  aware,  for 
example,  that  extremes  of  temperature 
are  injurious  to  crickets.  Therefore,  when 
they  observe  that  the  tiny  antennae  of 
the  insects  are  drooping,  they  conclude 
that  their  charges  are  too  warm.     The 
temperature  is  then  adjusted,  the  cricket 
being  protected  at  all  times  from  drafts. 
When  a  trainer  judges  that  a  cricket  is 
sick  from  overeating,  a  change  of  diet  to 


a  certain  kind  of  red  insect  is  prescribed. 
If  sickness  arises  from  cold,  a  diet  of 
mosquitoes  is  the  remedy;  if  from  heat, 
young  green  pea  shoots  are  given.  A 
kind  of  butterfly,  known  as  the  "bamboo 
butterfly,"  is  the  prescription  for  diffi- 
culty in  breathing. 

Even  in  death  the  cricket  enjoys  spe- 
cial attention.  In  southern  China,  when 
a  cricket  champion  dies  it  is  placed  in 
a  small  silver  coffin  and  solemnly  buried. 
The  owner  believes  that  showing  such 
respect  will  bring  him  an  excellent  har- 
vest of  fighters  next  year,  when  he 
searches  the  area  of  the  burial.  These 
ideas  spring  from  the  belief  that  able 
cricket  champions  are  incarnations  of 
great  warriors  and  heroes  of  the  past, 
from  whom  they  inherit  a  soul  imbued 
with  special  prowess. 

This  month's  Bulletin  cover  shows  a 
scene  from  an  old  Chinese  scroll  paint- 
ing in  the  Museum's  collection.  The 
painting  depicts  the  games  and  pastimes 
of  boys — including  the  three  youngsters 
peering  intently  at  a  wooden  cricket 
cage  (like  the  one  in  the  photograph  on 
page  2)  which  undoubtedly  houses  the 
local  champion.  Such  cages  are  only 
one  of  many  objects  devised  by  the  Chi- 
nese for  the  comfort  and  housing  of  pet 
crickets. 

For  example,  there  are  cricket  traps — 
often  marvelous  works  of  art — made  of 
bamboo  or  ivory  rods.  Circular  pottery 
jars  of  common  burnt  clay  with  a  per- 
forated lid  house  the  insects  during  the 
summer  (many  potters  are  proud  of  their 
specialization  in  cricket  houses  and  im- 
press on  them  a  seal  with  the  maker's 
name).  Tiny  porcelain  dishes  decorated 
in  blue  and  white  hold  the  insects'  food 
and  water.  Beds  and  sleeping  boxes  are 
fashioned  of  clay.  During  the  winter 
months,  the  crickets  are  transferred  to 
homes  made  from  gourds,  furnished  with 
cotton  padding  beds.  These  cages  are 
shaped  by  the  ingenious  method  of  in- 
troducing the  young  gourd  into  an  earth- 
en mold,  so  that  as  the  gourd  grows  it 
assumes  the  shape  of  the  mold  and  is 


permanently  imprinted  with  its  designs. 
Such  a  cage  is  pictured  on  page  2. 

Of  special  interest  in  the  long  list  of 
cricket  equipment  are  the  ticklers  used 
for  stirring  the  insects  to  fight  or  sing. 
In  Peking  fine  hairs  from  a  hare  or  rat 
whiskers  inserted  in  a  reed  or  bone  han- 
dle are  used  for  tickling;  in  Shanghai,  a 
delicate  blade  of  grass.  Ticklers  are 
kept  in  bamboo  or  wooden  tubes,  with 
elegant  ivory  containers  being  reserved 
for  the  rich. 

An  aspect  of  cricket  enjoyment  that 
we  cannot  omit  in  this  discussion  has  to 
do  with  the  insect's  best-known  charac- 
teristic— its  melodious  chirping.  A  6th 
Century  Chinese  book,  T'ien-pao  i-shih, 
describes  the  origin  of  a  charming  cus- 
tom: 

"  When  the  autumnal  season  arrives, 
the  ladies  of  the  palace  catch  crickets  in 
small  golden   cages.      These  with  the 
cricket  enclosed  in  them  they  place  near 
their  pillows,  and  during  the  night  heark- 
en to  the  voices  of  the  insects.     This  cus- 
tom was  imitated  by  all  people." 
Instead  of  using  golden  cages,  how- 
ever, ordinary  people  placed  their  crick- 
ets in  bamboo  or  wooden  cages — or  even 
in  a  carved  walnut  shell — and  carried 
them  tucked  inside  their  dress  or  sus- 
pended from  their  girdles. 

Of  course,  the  cricket's  chip  has  had 
its  place  in  Western  society  as  well. 
While  some  have  interpreted  the  notes 
of  the  hidden  melodist  as  a  portent  of 
sorrow,  or  even  an  omen  of  death,  in 
England  the  insect's  cheerful  notes  gen- 
erally have  suggested  peace  and  com- 
fort, and  the  coziness  of  the  homely  fire- 
side. 

This  July — and  for  several  months  to 
come — when  the  evening  countryside  is 
alive  with  a  chorus  of  cricket  voices,  it 
is  hoped  that  the  preceding  will  provide 
our  readers  with  a  new  dimension  in 
their  enjoyment  of  the  summer  night. 


1  Laufer,  Berthold,  Insect  Musicians  and 
Cricket  Champions  of  China,  Anthropology  Leaf- 
let 22,  Chicago  Natural  History  Museum. 


July  Page  3 


CHICAGO 
NATURAL 
HISTORY 
MUSEUM 


News 


Rainer  Zangerl 


New 

Chief 

Curator 

Dr.  Rainer  Zangerl  was  appointed 
Chief  Curator  of  the  Department  of  Ge- 
ology of  Chicago  Natural  History  Muse- 
um at  the  last  meeting  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees.  His  predecessor  in  the  post 
was  Dr.  Sharat  K.  Roy.  who  died  on 
April  17. 

Dr.  Zangerl  has 
been  Curator  of  Fos- 
sil Reptiles  at  the 
Museum  since  1945, 
when  he  joined  the 
Museum's  scien- 
tific staff.  Before 
that  he  had  held 
positions  at  the  Uni- 
versity  of  Notre 
Dame,  the  Univer- 
sity of  Detroit,  and 
Middlesex  University  in  Waltham,  Mas- 
sachusetts. He  was  born  in  1912  in 
Switzerland,  and  obtained  his  formal 
education  in  that  country,  receiving  a 
doctorate  in  philosophy  from  the  Uni- 
versity of  Zurich  in  1936. 

While  a  member  of  the  Museum's 
staff,  Dr.  Zangerl  has  been  actively  en- 
gaged in  research  in  the  field  of  fossil 
reptiles.  This  scientific  interest  has  led 
him  on  expeditions  to  many  parts  of  the 
United  States  and  Europe.  Most  re- 
cently, he  and  Dr.  Eugene  S.  Richard- 
son, Curator  of  Fossil  Invertebrates, 
have  focused  their  attention  on  the 
Mecca  area  of  Indiana,  a  region  once 
covered  by  a  large  epicontinental  sea. 
The  faunas  that  they  have  collected 
from  the  Mecca  and  Logan  quarries  are 
estimated  to  have  lived  240  million  years 
ago.  Through  study  of  these  faunas  and 
of  sediments  from  the  quarries,  Drs. 
Zangerl  and  Richardson  have  recon- 
structed the  events  that  occurred  in  the 
Mecca  area  during  two  specific  four- 
year  periods  of  prehistory. 

Dr.  Zangerl  has  published  the  results 
of  his  research  in  numerous  scientific 
journals  and  has  contributed  lead  arti- 

Page  i  July 


cles  to  several  encyclopedias.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Society  of  Vertebrate 
Paleontology;  the  Detroit  Academy  of 
Sciences;  the  American  Association  of 
University  Professors;  and  the  Schweiz- 
erische  Paleontologische  Gesellschaft. 

In 
Memoriam 

The  Museum  has  been  saddened  by 
the  death  of  Mrs.  Sara  Carroll  Field, 
Museum  benefactor  and  wife  of  Stanley 
Field,  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees. Mrs.  Field  died  on  June  1  after  a 
period  of  prolonged  illness.  She  was  84 
years  of  age.  Her  life-long  interest  in 
the  Museum  and  a  number  of  charitable 
organizations,  and  her  active  participa- 
tion in  Chicago's  civic  and  social  life  will 
be  deeply  missed. 

Children's 

Summer 

Programs 

A  puppet  stage  production,  "The 
Three  Bears  Take  to  the  Wilderness," 
opens  Chicago  Natural  History  Muse- 
um's summer  series  of  free  children's 
programs  on  July  5.  The  programs  will 
be  presented  every  Thursday  morning 
through  August  9,  at  10  a.m.  and  11 
a.m.,  in  the  James  Simpson  Theatre. 
On  July  5,  the  delightful  puppets  cre- 
ated by  the  Apple  Tree  Workshop,  of 
Chicago  Heights,  will  enact  a  story  based 
on  what  might  happen  if  the  traditional 
three  bears  lived  in  a  modern  city  and 
suddenly  decided  to  go  back  to  the 
wilderness. 

On  the  other  dates  of  the  summer 
series,  color  movies  about  nature  and 
science  have  been  scheduled.  They  are: 
July  12 — "Australia's  Coral  Wonder- 
land"; July  19— "African  Lion"  (A  Dis- 
ney "True-Life  Adventure");  July  26 — 
"Summer  Adventure  in  the  Out-of- 
Doors";  August  2 — "Seldom-Seen  Ani- 
mals"; August  9 — "Universe." 

The  free  programs  are  selected  by  the 
Museum's  educational  division,  the 
Raymond  Foundation.  Adults  are  wel- 
come to  attend  with  their  children. 


Chicago  Natural  History   Museum 

Founded  by  Marshall  Field,  1S93 

Roosevelt  Road  and  Lake  Shore  Drive,  Chicago  5 

Telephone:  WAbash  2-9410 


THE  BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES 

Lester  Armour  William  V.  Kahlcr 

Wm.  McCormick  Blair  Hughston  M.  McBain 

Bowen  Blair  J.  Roscoe  Miller 

Walter  J.  Cummings  William  H.  Mitchell 

Joseph  N.  Field  John  T.  Pirie,  Jr. 

Marshall  Field,  Jr.  John  Shedd  Reed 

Stanley  Field  John  G.  Searle 

Clifford  C.  Gregg  John  M.  Simpson 

Samuel  Insull,  Jr.  Solomon  A.  Smith 

Henry  P.  Isham  Louis  Ware 

J.  Howard  Wood 

OFFICERS 

Stanley  Field,  Chairman  of  the  Board 

Clifford  C.  Gregg,  President 

Hughston  M.  McBain,  First  Vice-President 

Joseph  N.  Field,  Second  Vice-President 

Bowen  Blair,  Third  Vice-President 

Solomon  A.  Smith,  Treasurer  and  Assistant  Secretary 

E.  Leland  Webber,  Secretary 

THE   BULLETIN 

EDITOR 

E.  Leland  Webber,  Director  of  the  Museum 

CONTRIBUTING  EDITORS 

Paul  S.  Martin,  Chief  Curator  of  Anthropology 

John  R.  Millar,  Chief  Curator  of  Botany 

Rainer  Zangerl,  Chief  Curator  of  Geology 

Austin  L.  Rand,  Chief  Curator  of  Zoology 

MANAGING  EDITOR 

Paula  R.  Nelson,  Public  Relations  Counsel 

ASSOCIATE  EDITOR 
Marilyn  Jindrich,  Associate  in  Public  Relations 

Members   are    requested    to    inform    the    Museum 
promptly   of  changes  of  address. 


Tutankhamun 
Treasures 
Close  July  15 

Since  their  opening  on  June  15  the 
King  Tutankhamun  Treasures  have  at- 
tracted to  the  Museum  thousands  of 
visitors  from  all  over  the  Midwest.  In 
the  first  two  weeks  of  exhibition  more 
than  43,000  persons  saw  the  treasures. 
Because  of  this  unusual  public  response 
— and  so  that  the  treasures  may  be  en- 
joyed to  the  fullest  degree — visitors  who 
have  not  seen  the  exhibit  are  advised  to 
come  during  the  late  afternoon,  or  eve- 
nings on  those  days  when  the  Museum 
is  open  until  8  p.m.  Those  evenings  are 
Wednesday,  Friday,  Saturday,  and  Sun- 
day, nights  of  the  free  Grant  Park  Con- 
cert presented  in  the  bandshell  across 
the  street  from  the  Museum.  The 
treasures  will  remain  on  display  here  in 
Chicago  only  until  July  15. 


C*I\I»H*!VI 


Joseph  Curtis  Moore 
Curator  of  Mammals 


SCIENTIFIC 
RARITIES 
FROM  CEYLON 


A  shipment  of  mammal  specimens, 
which  includes  species  that  are  very 
rare  in  the  great  scientific  collections  of 
the  world,  has  recently  arrived  at  the 
Museum  from  tropical  Ceylon.  In  wood- 
en boxes  tightly  covered  with  white  mus- 
lin, addressed  with  paint,  and  adorned 
with  sealing  wax  and  numerous  attractive 
postage  stamps,  the  collection  certainly 
arrived  in  a  style  suited  to  its  significance. 
From  these  distinguished  parcels  the 
Museum  has  received  its  first  two  speci- 
mens of  a  species  of  bat  called  Kerivoula 
picta,  the  painted  bat.  Like  the  more 
familiar  red  bat  of  North  America,  the 
painted  bat  from  Ceylon  wears  a  bright 
coat  of  orange-red  hair,  which  becomes 
more  brilliantly  orange  to  scarlet  along 
its  wings  and  contrasts  with  large  patches 
of  dark  pigment  on  the  flying  membrane. 
In  painted  bats  from  some  geographic 
areas  these  darkly  pigmented  patches 
may  in  life  be  iridescent. 


One  might  think  that  a  curator  who 
routinely  receives  study  skins  of  mam- 
mals from  far  parts  of  the  world  would 
become  indifferent  to  any  beauty  in 
them.  But  not  so.  When  a  curator  of 
mammals  mentions  his  examples  of  the 
painted  bat,  his  appreciation  of  their 
charm  will  noticeably  warm  both  his 
choice  of  words  and  tone  of  voice.  It 
may  seem  somehow  appropriate  that  so 
especially  attractive  a  species  lives  in 
those  alluring  Oriental  countries,  Indo- 
nesia, Ceylon,  Malaya,  and  Thailand. 

No  one  knows  much  about  the  painted 
bat.  It  is  said  to  be  rather  solitary  and 
to  live  in  tropical  jungle  where  it  sleeps 
by  day,  probably  hanging  from  some 
vine  like  a  dead  and  withered  leaf.  Ma- 
jor S.  S.  Flower,  the  English  naturalist, 
said  that  he  found  one  in  Thailand  asleep 
"in  the  flower  of  a  Calla  lily."  The  two 
obtained  by  Chicago  Natural  History 
Museum  were  captured  in  sugar  cane. 


Another  species  new  to  the  Museum's 
collections  and  received  in  this  distinc- 
tive shipment  from  Ceylon  is  the  rusty- 
spotted  cat,  Felis  rubiginosa.  Smaller 
than  the  domestic  house  cat,  the  rusty- 
spotted  cat  is  said  to  be  active  and  cou- 
rageous, and  has  some  reputation  for 
raiding  chicken  houses  located  near  jun- 
gle. The  Museum's  new  specimen  came 
from  rain  forest  in  the  central  highlands 
of  Ceylon.  Although  there  are  four  spe- 
cies of  cats  occurring  on  Ceylon,  the 
rusty-spotted  variety  is  the  smallest,  and 
the  only  one  restricted  in  range  to  Cey- 
lon and  southern  India.  The  other 
three  species  all  range  widely  in  south- 
ern Asia. 

From  the  white  muslin  packages,  also, 
has  come  the  Museum's  very  first  speci- 
men of  the  ruddy  mongoose,  a  species 
known  only  from  central  and  southern 
India  and  Ceylon.  This  particular  mon- 
goose, Herpestes  smithi,  lives  primarily  in 
jungle  where  it  preys  upon  birds,  small 
mammals,  and  reptiles.  In  Ceylon  it  is 
said  to  feed  extensively  upon  the  giant 
terrestrial  snail  of  Africa,  Achatina  Julica, 
which  was  foolishly  introduced  into  Cey- 
lon in  1900  and  quickly  became  a  de- 
structive garden  pest.  Naturalists  re- 
cord that  the  ruddy  mongoose  breaks 
open  the  thick  shell  of  this  big  mollusk 
by  beating  it  upon  a  stone,  and  that  one 
may  find  a  number  of  such  broken  shells 
scattered  about  a  conveniently  protrud- 
ing rock,  some  split  neatly  in  half  down 
the  middle.  In  addition  to  this  kind  of 
virtuosity,  the  ruddy  mongoose  is  re- 
ported to  have  the  temerity  to  feed  upon 
the  kill  of  a  leopard,  though  it  departs 
in  utter  panic  upon  sensing  the  return 
of  the  cat. 

While  there  are  four  species  of  mon- 
goose in  Ceylon,  one  may  distinguish  the 
ruddy  mongoose  in  the  field  by  its  curi- 
ous habit  of  carrying  its  long  tail  with 
the  tip  curved  up. 

A  second  species  of  mongoose  proves 
also  entirely  new  to  the  Museum's  col- 
lections. This  is  the  mongoose  with  the 
striped  neck,  Herpestes  vitticollis — the 
largest  of  all  the  eleven  species  in  Asia. 
{Continued  on  page  8) 

July  Page  5 


Drawing  of  a  habitat  group  showing  American 
crocodiles  captured  in  Lake  Ticamaya,  Hondu- 
ras, by  former  Chief  Curator  of  Zoology  Karl  P. 
Schmidt.  This  scene  is  part  of  July's  exhibit-of- 
the-month,  featuring  crocodiles,  alligators,  cai- 
mans, and  gavials.  The  exhibit  is  in  Hall  18, 
first  floor,  west.  A  booklet,  "Crocodile  Hunting 
in  Central  America,"  available  at  The  Book  Shop 
for  25  cents,  describes  the  capture  of  the  Lake 
Ticamayan  crocodiles. 


THE  NILE 
CROCODILE 


Paula   R.  Nelson 


The  unforgettably  sly  crocodile  who  -  -  in 
Lewis  Carroll's  famous  lines  --"...  wel- 
comes little  fishes  in  with  gently  smiling 
jaws,"  is  the  heritage  ofall  English-speak- 
ing children.  From  Pliny's  carefully  re- 
corded observations  to  Rubens'  boldly 
imaginative  "Hippopotamus  and  Croco- 
dile Hunt,"  studies  of  this  survivor  of  the 
Age  of  Reptiles  have  exerted  a  unique 
fascination.  A  recent  publication  on  the 
Nile  crocodile  by  Dr.  Hugh  B.  Cott  of 
the  University  Museum  of  Zoology,  Cam- 
bridge,! is  the  most  complete,  modern 
report  of  this  remarkable  animal.  The 
following  article  is  based  on  Dr.  Cott's 
research. 


In  the  warm,  unruffled  waters  that  it 
normally  frequents,  the  Nile  croco- 
dile floats  low.  Little  more  than  its  snout 
tip,  eyes,  and  the  back  of  its  head  are 
above  the  surface.  At  an  alarm,  the  ani- 
mal closes  its  nostrils  and  immediately 
dives  to  the  muddy  bottom.  There  it 
may  remain,  fully  submerged,  for  as 
long  as  an  hour. 

The  pebbles  and  stones  that  the  croc- 
odile has  swallowed  during  its  lifetime, 

Page  6  July 


and  which  may  account  for  as  much  as 
one  per  cent  of  its  total  body  weight, 
help  to  keep  it  submerged  in  places 
where  a  strong  current  might  dislodge 
an  animal  of  lower  specific  gravity. 
These  stomach  stones  also  have  an  effect 
like  the  cargo  in  a  ship's  hold :  they  help 
to  stablilize  the  swimming  animal.  The 
need  for  such  a  mechanism  becomes  ap- 
parent when  young  crocodiles  that  have 
not  yet  begun  to  accumulate  stomach 


stones  are  placed  in  deep  water.  Tail- 
heavy  and  top-heavy,  they  cannot  lie 
level  at  the  surface  like  their  stone- 
carrying  elders,  but  must  move  their 
limbs  to  keep  from  rolling  about.  This 
is  in  marked  contrast  to  the  easy  poise 
of  the  floating  adult. 

Nights  are  usually  spent  in  the  warmth- 
retaining  waters,  which  are  sought  again 
by  the  cold-blooded  reptile  during  the 
intense   heat   of  the   next   day's   noon. 


Mornings  and  afternoons  the  crocodile 
shares  his  basking  and  breeding  grounds 
at  the  edge  of  the  water  with  a  large 
number  of  different  kinds  of  birds.  From 
the  times  of  Herodotus  and  Pliny,  it  has 
been  known  that  certain  birds  feed  from 
the  crocodile's  body.  The  food  taken  is 
tsetse  flies  and  leeches.  In  addition  to 
ridding  the  reptiles  of  these  parasites,  the 
birds  give  timely  warning  of  danger. 
Basking  crocodiles  will  respond  imme- 
diately to  the  alarm  signals  of  birds  that 
become  aware  of  an  approaching  man 
or  boat  before  their  sleeping  companions. 

Under  modern  conditions  of  intensive 
hunting,  few  crocodiles  achieve  their  po- 
tential life-span,  though  individuals  in 
captivity  have  been  known  to  live  for 
from  20  to  50  years.  Studies  of  the 
growth  rates  of  these  animals  suggest 
that  a  crocodile  measuring  15  feet  in 
length  would  be  about  76  years  old,  and 
one  measuring  18  feet  would  be  over 
100  years  old.  If,  as  is  believed,  the 
growth  rate  slows  down  in  later  life, 
then  the  largest  known  specimens  must 
have  survived  well  into  their  second 
century. 

At  different  periods  of  their  life-his- 
tory, crocodiles  utter  a  variety  of  sounds. 
There  is  the  croaking  of  the  young  while 
still  in  the  egg;  the  sharp,  coughing  hiss 
of  the  cornered  reptile  unable  to  make 
its  escape  to  water;  the  warning  growl 
of  the  female  surprised  while  guarding 
her  eggs;  and  the  powerful,  open-jawed 
roaring  of  the  male  during  the  breed- 
ing season. 

As  in  many  tropical  animals,  the  re- 
productive cycle  of  the  Nile  crocodile  is 
correlated  with  the  seasonal  rhythm  of 
rainfall.  The  eggs  are  laid  in  the  dry 
season,  in  holes  dug  in  coarse  sand  or 
gravel  near  the  water's  edge.  The  incu- 
bation period  coincides  with  the  phase 
of  lowest  water;  and  hatching  occurs 
after  the  onset  of  rains,  when  the  lakes 
and  rivers  are  again  rising  into  flood. 
These  are  ideal  conditions  for  the  newly- 
emerged  young,  who  disperse  upon  the 
wide-spreading  shallows,  feeding  upon 
the  rich  harvest  of  insects  that  follows 
the  rains. 

Among  the  weedy  shallows,  in  iso- 
lated pools,  occasionally  at  some  dis- 
tance inland,  and  even  on  nearby  tree 
limbs,  the  young  crocodiles  from  two  to 
five  years  old  lead  a  life  of  seclusion.   So 


successful  are  they  in  keeping  out  of 
sight,  shunning  both  the  common  bask- 
ing grounds  and  the  open  water,  that 
many  observers  report  the  young  ani- 
mals have  "vanished."  Since  these  rep- 
tiles have  few  enemies  other  than  larger 
individuals  of  their  own  kind,  the  segre- 
gation of  the  young  from  their  elders 
is  probably  forced  upon  them  by  the 
prevalence  of  cannibalism. 

Young  crocodiles  feed  on  insects, 
snails,  crabs,  frogs,  and  toads.  As  the 
reptiles  grow,  fish,  mammals,  and  other 
crocodiles  become  the  important  foods. 
Occasionally  birds  and  lizards  are  taken. 
The  hunting  and  capturing  of  prey  is 
characterized  by  stealth,  surprise,  and 
a  final,  sudden  burst  of  speed.  The 
adult  crocodile  often  lurks  off-shore 
near  game  trails  and  watering  places. 
On  sighting  an  animal  that  has  come 
down  to  drink,  the  reptile  quietly  sub- 
merges and  cruises  under  water  to  the 
precise  spot  from  which  it  can  make  its 
fatal  upward  rush.  A  sideways  snap  of 
the  jaws,  and  the  prey  is  seized,  dragged 
down  into  the  water,  and  drowned. 
When  feeding  ashore,  the  crocodile  may 
lie  in  ambush  near  trails  or  beside  dried- 
up  water  courses.  It  is  here  that  the 
deadly  tail-stroke  or  sledge-hammer 
head-blow  effectively  throws  the  victim, 
breaks  its  leg,  or  flings  it  into  the  water. 

The  only  animals  known  to  kill  the 
adult  Nile  crocodile  are  the  hippopota- 
mus, lion,  leopard,  African  elephant — 
and  man.  In  recent  years,  the  trade  in 
crocodile  leather  has  grown  to  the  pro- 
portions of  almost  a  major  industry.  As 
a  result  of  this  commercial  exploitation, 
in  some  areas  of  the  world  the  crocodile 
is  being  rapidly  reduced  and  its  contin- 
ued existence  actually  threatened. 

Yet  from  the  points  of  view  of  ecol- 
ogy, economics,  and  zoology,  this  ani- 
mal is  a  valuable  and  important  mem- 
ber of  its  local  fauna.  For  example, 
the  Nile  crocodile  is  directly  or  indirectly 
beneficial  to  the  fishing  industry  of  East 
and  Central  Africa,  since  the  reptiles 
feed  upon  species  that  prey  upon  fry, 
while  eating  relatively  few  adult  fish 
themselves.  As  a  producer  of  high- 
quality  leather,  the  crocodile  is  a  com- 
mercial asset,  and  under  rational  man- 
agement could  provide  a  sustained  yield 
of  skins.  More  important  still,  to  the 
biologist  these  animals  merit  protection 


in  their  own  right.  Crocodiles  essentially 
like  the  modern  species  existed  in  Juras- 
sic times,  and  were  contemporaries  of 
the  dinosaurs.  As  the  only  members  of 
the  archosaurian  stock  which  survived 
beyond  the  Age  of  Reptiles,  they  are 
of  exceptional  scientific  importance. 
Studies  of  their  anatomy,  physiology, 
ecology,  and  behavior  can  throw  in- 
direct light  upon  the  biology  of  ances- 
tors long  extinct. 

For  these  reasons,  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that  the  crocodile — which  has  survived 
over  a  hundred  million  years — may  con- 
tinue to  live  as  a  unique  and  valuable 
member  of  the  tropical  fauna. 


This  drawing  from  July's  featured 
exhibit  shows  the  relative  sizes 
of  living  species  of  crocodile  and 
man.  The  exhibit  explains  how  to 
tell  a  crocodile  from  an  alligator 
and  shows  how  the  crocodile's 
build  is  especially  adapted  for  life 
in  the  water.  An  American  alliga- 
tor is  shown  with  her  nest  and 
eggs,  along  with  the  skull  of  a  15- 
foot  man-eater  from  the  Philip- 
pines. 


1  Cott,  Hugh  B.,  "Scientific  Results  of  an 
Inquiry  into  the  Ecology  and  Economic  Status 
of  the  Nile  Crocodile  (Crocodilus  niloticus)  in 
Uganda  and  Northern  Rhodesia."  Transactions 
of  the  Zoological  Society  of  London,  Vol.  29,  Part 
4,  April,  1961. 

July  Page  ? 


STAFF  NOTES 


Harry  E.  Changnon,  Curator  of  Geol- 
ogy Exhibits,  conducted  a  lecture  and 
laboratory  exercise  at  the  Chicago 
Academy  of  Science  on  the  identifica- 
tion of  minerals,  for  teachers  and  stu- 
dents of  the  Chicago  area. 


Dr.  Donald  Collier,  Curator  of  South 
American  Archaeology  and  Ethnology, 
has  been  appointed  a  member  of  the 
International  Committee  of  the  Centre 
International  a" Etude  Ethnographique  de  la 
Maison  dans  le  Monde,  in  Brussels.  The 
Committee  will  study  the  domestic  ar- 
chitecture of  the  world  from  a  cultural 
and  anthropological  point  of  view,  to 
determine  the  relation  of  each  country's 
housing  to  its  physical  environment  and 
social  organization. 


"Archaeological  Exploration  in  New 
Mexico"  was  discussed  by  Allen  Liss, 
Custodian  of  Collections,  Department  of 
Anthropology,  at  a  recent  meeting  of  the 
Earth  Science  Club  of  Northern,  Illinois. 


Dr.  Paul  S.  Martin,  Chief  Curator  of 
Anthropology,  and  Mr.  George  Quimby, 
Curator  of  North  American  Archaeol- 
ogy and  Ethnology,  attended  the  annual 
meetings  of  the  Society  for  American 
Archaeology  at  Tucson.  Mr.  Quimby 
was  chairman  of  a  session  on  the  archae- 
ology of  the  eastern  United  States,  while 
Dr.  Martin  chaired  a  session  on  south- 
western archaeology. 


Mr.  George  Quimby,  Curator  of  North 
American  Archaeology  and  Ethnology, 
has  been  appointed  Collaborator  of  the 
National  Park  Service,  Region  One.  In 
this  consultative  capacity,  he  recently 
inspected  salvage  archaeological  opera- 
tions at  Ocmulgee  National  Monument, 
Georgia. 

Mr.  E.  Leland  Webber,  Director,  at- 
tended the  Conference  of  Directors  of 
Systematic  Collections  held  in  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  in  March. 

Page  8  July 


Loren  P.  Woods,  Curator  of  Fishes, 
and  Robert  F.  Inger,  Curator  of  Am- 
phibians and  Reptiles,  traveled  to 
Washington,  D.  C,  last  month  to  attend 
the  42nd  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Amer- 
ican Society  of  Ichthyologists  and  Herpe- 
tologists.  Both  are  members  of  the  soci- 
ety's board  of  governors  and  Dr.  Inger 
is  herpetological  editor  of  its  quarterly 
publication,  Copeia. 


Sea  Shells  of  the  World 

A  Golden  Nature  Guide,  by  R.  Tucker 
Abbott.  Golden  Press:  New  York.  In 
de  luxe  hard  cover  library  edition,  $3.50; 
limp-bound  edition,  $1.00. 

There  are  many  books  dealing  with 
the  better-known  and  more  spectacular 
sea  shells  of  the  world  to  which  the  in- 
terested layman  or  collector  resorts  for 
information.  These  books  have  two  dis- 
advantages: they  are  bulky  and  expen- 
sive. Now  there  is  a  recently  published 
booklet  on  the  same  subject  which  over- 
comes the  two  handicaps  mentioned 
above:  it  is  of  pocket-size,  and  is  very, 
almost  incredibly,  inexpensive,  costing 
just  one  dollar!  As  far  as  the  contents 
of  this  recent  booklet  are  concerned, 
they  hold  to  what  is  promised  in  the 
title.  The  selection  of  shells  is  good  and 
the  accompanying  figures  in  color  are  as 
useful  as  anyone  could  wish.  Hence 
one  really  can  recommend  Abbott's  new 
publication  wholeheartedly,  and  hope 
that  it  will  get  the  vast  distribution  that 
it  deserves. 

FRITZ  HAAS 

Curator  Emeritus,  Lower  Invertebrates 


Drawings  for  this  month's  Bul- 

etin  by  Museum  Artist,  E.  John 

Pfiffner.    Photographs   by   the 

Division  of  Photography. 


CEYLON  RARITIES 

{Continued from  page  5) 


The  geographic  range  of  Herpestes  vit- 
ticollis,  like  that  of  the  brown  mongoose, 
H.fuscus,  extends  only  up  into  the  south- 
ern tip  of  India,  and  is  thus  exceedingly 
small.  It  may  seem  a  curious  thing  that 
two  mongoose  species  out  of  the  four 
known  to  inhabit  Ceylon  should  be  so 
limited  in  distribution.  However,  the 
Western  Ghats  (mountains)  of  southern 
India  and  the  Central  Highlands  of  Cey- 
lon receive  torrential  rains  from  the 
southwest  monsoons  which  support  the 
lush  tropical  rain  forest  that  is  rare  in 
most  of  the  rest  of  India.  Such  tropical 
rain  forests  appear  to  provide  a  prolifera- 
tion of  niches  for  similar  species  in  many 
genera  of  animals.  To  cite  another  ex- 
ample besides  the  mongoose,  there  are 
three  species  of  the  diurnal  tree  squirrel 
genus,  Funambulus,  whose  ranges  are  all 
limited  to  this  same  area. 

How  such  a  proliferation  of  similar 
species  may  have  come  about  is  a  ques- 
tion that  invites  speculation.     I  have 
published  one  hypothesis  seeking  to  ex- 
plain the  origin  of  the  species  of  squirrels 
local  to  Ceylon  and  southern  India,  in 
which  I  suggest  that  the  simple  mech- 
anism involved  is  the  presumed  union  of 
Ceylon  with  the  mainland  during  each 
glacial  period  of  the  Pleistocene,  and  the 
separation  of  Ceylon  from  the  mainland 
during  each  interglacial  period.     (Cey- 
lon  and   peninsular   India   have   been 
physiographically  very  stable,  and  the 
lower  and  higher  sea  levels  of  glacial  and 
interglacial  periods  should  obviously 
have  accomplished  the  unions  and  sepa- 
rations mentioned.)    Each  union  would 
permit  mainland  species  to  invade  Cey- 
lon; each  separation  might  be  long 
enough  to  allow  island  and  mainland 
populations  of  any  one  species  to  evolve 
differences  that  would  prevent  their  in- 
terbreeding when  rejoined  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  next  union.    These  pairs  of 
populations  would   survive  as  distinct 
species  if  they  evolved  habits  that  would 
enable  them  to  avoid  competition  with 
one  another.    Very  likely  the  mongoose 
with  the  striped  neck,  the  brown  mon- 
goose, and   even   the  ruddy  mongoose 
originated  in  this  way. 

PRINTED  BY  CHICAGO  NATURAL  HISTORY  MUSEUM  PRESS 


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1 


CHICAGO 
NATURAU 
HISTORY  yw.  33 
MUSEUM   ^4^ 


Philip  Hershkovitz 
Research  Curator 
Division  of  Mammals 


BATS 


"I  could  distinguish  large  bats 
swooping  about  as  they  out- 
maneuvered  the  fireflies  and  picked 
them  off  inflight." 


^m:€ 


Bats  are  world-wide  in  distribution, 
but  in  the  tropics  they  are  most 
numerous  and  diversified.  The  warm 
nights  are  filled  with  the  soft  beat  of  their 
wings,  the  clicking  and  rasping  sounds 
of  their  voices,  and  the  constant  patter 
of  falling  seeds,  fruits,  and  flowers 
dropped  from  their  feedings.  On  bright 
nights  when  no  other  animal  may  be 
visible,  bats  can  be  seen  as  flitting  shad- 
ows climbing,  diving,  turning,  skimming 
over  moonlit  waters  and  careening  high 
above  the  tree  tops. 

All  bats  of  temperate  latitudes  are  in- 
sect eaters,  and  during  the  winter  they 
must  migrate  or  hibernate.  Not  so  in 
the  tropics,  where  there  is  an  abundance 
of  flowers  and  fruits  the  year  round. 
Insect  eaters  live  there,  too — many  more 

Page  2  August 


kinds  than  in  northern  latitudes — and 
there  are  meat  eaters,  fish  eaters,  blood 
suckers,  and  others  with  more  general 
tastes. 

Insectivorous  bats  may  see  or  hear 
their  prey,  but  their  usual  manner  of 
hunting  and  navigating,  in  general,  is  by 
echolocation.  Bats  send  out  high  pitched 
signals  and  determine  the  direction,  dis- 
tance and  perhaps  the  nature  of  objects 
by  the  echoes  received.  By  this  means 
bats  flying  at  comparatively  high  speed 
in  pitch  darkness  can  avoid  obstacles  and 
capture  insects  with  amazing  rapidity, 
up  to  one  and  even  two  per  second. 
Echolocating  sounds  emitted  by  bats, 
particularly  those  of  the  larger  insect-or 
fish-catching  species,  are  often  audible 
to  the  human  ear.    The  sounds  made  by 


and  their 
Menu: 


smaller  bats,  however,  are  usually  higher 
and  outside  our  range  of  hearing.  Bats 
also  have  a  repertory  of  quite  audible 
squeaks,  chirps,  hisses  and  screams  for 
expressing  feelings  and  communicating 
with  other  bats. 

Insect-eating  bats  usually  catch  prey 
in  mid-air  with  their  wing  or  tail  mem- 
brane before  seizing  it  with  their  mouth. 
An  insect  too  large  to  be  devoured  in 
flight  is  carried  to  a  feeding  place  where 
the  bat  hangs  head  down  and  eats  at 
leisure.  A  bat  feeding  roost  can  be  rec- 
ognized by  the  piled-up  leftovers  of 
wings,  legs  and  other  hard  parts  of  in- 
sects. The  daytime  resting  roost,  in  con- 
trast, is  in  a  dark,  well  sheltered  place 
marked  by  the  accumulation  of  guano. 

One  memorable  evening  in  a  tropical 
forest,  just  as  the  calls  of  the  tinamous 
and  wood  quails  died  out,  I  saw  a  myr- 
iad of  fireflies  scatter  out  of  the  trees  like 
bursts  of  stars.  I  watched  the  light  of 
one  of  the  beetles  flying  straight  toward 
me,  then  suddenly  swerve  into  a  wild, 
careening  flight  and  abruptly  disappear 
from  sight.  Then  another  and  another 
of  the  drifting  lights  broke  into  a  swift, 
zigzagging  flight  and  vanished  in  mid- 
air; meanwhile  I  could  distinguish  the 
silhouettes  of  large  bats  swooping  about 
and  feel  the  beat  of  their  wings  and  hear 
the  crunch  of  their  jaws  as  they  out- 
maneuvered  the  fireflies  and  picked  them 
off  in  flight.  The  evasive  flight  tactics 
of  the  fireflies  prompts  the  thought  that 
they,  too,  and  perhaps  many  other  in- 
sects, possess  a  sound  wave  system  for 
warning  them  of  the  approach  of  pred- 
ators just  as  bats  use  their  system  for 
detecting  prey. 

Fruit  eaters  can  find  their  stationary 
food  by  sight  or  smell  and  they  use  their 
echolocating  system  in  flight  for  avoid- 
ing obstacles.    Only  ripe,  fragrant  fruits 


\\vi--;>,- 


''Most  nectar  and  pollen  eaters  have  long  noses  and 
extensible,  brush-tipped  tongues  which  can  be  protruded 
into  the  floral  envelope." 

attract  these  bats  and  wild  figs  are  a 
favorite  as  well  as  a  common  food  in  the 
the  forest.  Ripe  bananas  in  orchards  or 
stores  are  irresistible. 

A  large  number  of  bats  feed  on  the 
nectar,  pollen,  petals  and  other  parts  of 
night  flowers.  Most  nectar  and  pollen 
eaters  have  long  noses  and  marvelously 
long,  extensible,  brush-tipped  tongues 
which  can  be  protruded  into  the  floral 
envelope.  Small  bats  which  cannot 
reach  the  pollen  or  nectar  of  pitcher- 
shaped  flowers  from  the  outside  crawl 
inside  as  far  as  need  be  to  get  their  food. 
By  their  various  operations  in  feeding  on 
flowers,  bats  become  pollinating  agents 
and  there  are  night-blooming  flowers 
specially  adapted  for  attracting  and  feed- 
ing bats  to  insure  pollination. 

Of  the  nearly  2,000  kinds  of  bats  known 
to  science  only  two  are  proven  fish- 
catchers.  One,  the  hair-lipped  bat,  or 
Noctilio,  widely  distributed  over  tropical 
America,  is  about  the  size  of  a  robin. 
The  other,  with  the  technical  name,  Pi- 
Zonyx,  is  smaller  and  restricted  to  the 
coasts  and  islands  of  northwestern  Mex- 
ico. Pizonyx  is  rarely  observed  and  has 
never  been  identified  in  the  act  of  fishing, 
but  the  stomachs  of  captured  individuals 
always  contain  fish.  On  the  other  hand, 
Noctilio  is  common  and  easily  recognized 
by  its  comparatively  large  size,  bright 
reddish-orange  color  and  a  pervading 
scent  not  unlike  some  popular  perfumes. 
The  bat  is  often  seen  before  nightfall 
skimming  over  water. 

The  dim,  fading  light  and  the  swift, 
unpredictable  movements  of  the  bat 
make  it  impossible  to  see  how  Noctilio 
catches  fish.  In  an  experiment  recently 
conducted  with  special  cameras  on  cap- 
tive Noctilio,  it  was  ascertained  that  the 


bat  drags  its  large  feet  through  the  water 
and  hooks  whatever  small  fish  may  be 
near  the  surface  with  its  long,  sharp,  re- 
curved claws.  Noctilio  may  actually  see 
the  particular  fish  it  tries  to  gaff  or  it 
may  hook  it  by  chance.  Noctilio  also 
catches  and  eats  insects  over  water  and 
far  from  water  and  it  may  live  indefi- 
nitely on  insects  alone. 

The  omnivorous  bats  are  primarily  in- 
sectivorous, but  also  prey  on  other  bats 
and  small,  nocturnal  vertebrates  such  as 
frogs,  lizards,  mice  and  whatever  roost- 
ing birds  they  can  kill.  Large  insects, 
including  beetles,  moths,  and  larvae, 
are  favorite  articles  of  diet,  and  fruits, 
particularly  bananas,  are  eaten  along 
with  the  insects  and  small  animals  feed- 
ing on  them.  The  largest  New  World 
bat,  the  so-called  false  vampire,  is  an 
omnivore.  Its  body  is  about  the  size  of 
a  large  rat  and  its  wingspread  exceeds 
three  feet.  It  hawks  in  wide,  smooth 
circles  with  an  unhurried  stroke  of  the 
wings.  The  clicking  or  echolocating 
sound  made  by  this  bat  is  loud  and  rasp- 
ing. The  prey  is  trapped  with  the  wings 
and  seized  with  a  crunching  bite  behind 
the  neck. 

True  vampire  or  blood-sucking  bats 
are  confined  to  the  New  World  tropics. 
There  are  three  kinds,  all  the  size  of  a 
mouse.  Desmodus  is  the  common,  wide- 
spread species  found  almost  everywhere 
in  forests  and  cattle  country  from  Mex- 
ico to  Chile  and  Argentina.  Diaemus  is 
like  Desmodus  but  prefers  the  blood  of 
birds  to  that  of  mammals.  Diphylla  is 
very  poorly  known,  but  presumably  its 
habits  are  like  those  of  Diaemus. 

Vampires  subsist  on  fresh  blood  alone. 


All  parts  of  their  mouth  are  designed  for 
bloodletting  and  drinking  and  nothing 
but  a  trickle  of  liquid  could  pass  through 
their  thread-slender  gullets.  They  scoop 
out  a  small  piece  of  skin  with  their  sharp, 
scimitar-shaped  front  teeth,  press  their 
tongue  against  the  wound,  and  by  curl- 
ing the  sides  of  the  tongue  downward 
against  the  cleft  lower  lip  form  a  tube 
through  which  the  blood  flows  into  the 
mouth.  To  assist  the  flow  the  vampire 
pumps  and  licks  the  wound  with  its 
tongue  and  sucks  with  its  mouth.  It 
may  also  enlarge  the  incision  with  its 
teeth.  A  vampire  can  consume  about 
two  ounces  of  blood  in  one  night's  feed- 
ing. This  is  more  than  one  or  two  times 
the  weight  of  the  bat.  Vampires  are 
slow  flyers  but  by  using  their  wings  as 
forelegs  they  scurry  nimbly  along  the 
ground  and  over  their  victims.  Their 
bodies  are  exceedingly  soft  and  smooth 
to  the  touch.  If  echolocation  is  used  by 
vampire  bats  for  finding  objects  they 
may  also  resort  to  other  senses  for  dis- 
criminating between  obstacles,  individ- 
uals of  their  own  kind,  and  their  prey, 
which  includes  other  species  of  bats. 

One  of  my  earliest  acquaintances  with 
vampire  bats  was  made  many  years  ago 
in  the  boundary  area  between  Ecuador 
and  Peru.  I  was  traveling  with  a  family 
of  Indians  in  a  dugout  canoe  on  a  trib- 
utary of  the  Amazon.  It  was  the  dry 
season,  the  river  was  low,  and  we  spent 
the  nights  on  mosquito-free  sand  bars. 
Ordinarily  such  sand  bars  are  free  of 
bats,  too,  and  we  slept  under  the  stars 
to  enjoy  the  rare  night  breeze.  At  dawn, 
after  the  first  night,  we  saw  that  the  little 
{Continued  on  page  5) 


"Noctilio  drags  its  large  feet  through  the  water  and  hooks  whatever  small  fish  may  be  near  the  surface 
with  its  long,  sharp,  recurved  claws." 


August  Page  3 


ROBERT  F.  INGER 

CURATOR,  AMPHIBIANS  AND  REPTILES 


DEPARTURE  OF 


Fig.  1:  Dr.  Robert  F.  Inger  and  Mr. 

F.     Wayne  King     display     anti-leech 

stocking    to  be    worn    for    protection 

against  land  leeches  in  Borneo. 


Fig.  2:  Land  leech  posed  on  a  leaf 
and  reaching  out  for  a  victim  (actual 
size  of  leech  about  one  and  one-half 
inches). 

J.  he  Borneo  Zoological  Expedition, 
1962,  will  leave  Chicago  on  August  18. 
It  would  be  more  correct  to  say  that  the 
personnel — Dr.  Bernard  Greenberg  of 
Roosevelt  University,  Mr.  F.  Wayne 
King  of  University  of  Chicago,  and  my- 
self— will  leave  then.  For  the  equip- 
ment and  the  supplies  left  in  June. 

The  main  purpose  of  the  expedition 
is  to  gather  information  on  the  breeding 
activity  of  frogs  living  in  the  tropical 
rain  forests  that  cover  most  of  Borneo. 
Frogs  and  toads  living  in  the  Temperate 
Zones  generally  have  relatively  short 
breeding  periods  restricted  to  a  part  of 
spring.  We  suspect,  on  the  basis  of 
fragmentary  information,  that  in  trop- 
ical rain  forests,  which  are  warm  and 
wet  at  all  times,  frogs  and  toads  breed 
all  year  round. 

Most  zoologists  now  think  that  the 
major  groups  of  frogs  and  toads  evolved 
in  the  wet  tropics.  As  the  breeding  pat- 
terns are  important  to  the  evolutionary 
success  of  any  kind  of  animal,  we  must 
learn  what  they  are  in  tropical  frogs. 

The  field  work  connected  with  this 

Page  i  August 


research  program  will  consist  of  collect- 
ing monthly  samples  of  about  six  species 
of  frogs,  making  notes  on  their  behavior, 
and  recording  daily  rainfall,  tempera- 
ture, and  relative  humidity. 

We  also  need  to  know  how  far  an  in- 
dividual frog  (of  the  species  we  will 
study)  moves  and  how  fast  it  matures 
in  order  to  understand  the  full  implica- 
tions of  its  breeding  habits.  To  get  this 
information  we  plan  to  mark,  measure, 
and  release  frogs  along  several  forest 
streams.  By  recapturing  (hopefully !)  a 
number  of  these  marked  frogs,  we  will 
learn  not  only  their  rates  of  growth  and 
movement  but  also  how  large  the  popu- 
lations are. 

As  time  permits,  we  will  work  on 
other  field  studies,  all  aimed  at  increas- 
ing our  knowledge  of  the  distribution 
and  interrelationships  of  the  animals  in 
the  rain  forest.  One  of  these  problems, 
an  investigation  of  the  reptiles  and  am- 
phibians living  in  epiphytic  plants,  will 
be  the  special  concern  of  Mr.  King. 
Epiphytes  are  plants,  such  as  bird's  nest 
ferns,  pitcher  plants,  and  orchids,  that 


BORNE 

ZOOLOG 


grow  attached  to  trees  and  whose  roots 
do  not  reach  the  ground.  Mr.  King  will 
try  to  discover  not  only  what  species  of 
reptiles  and  amphibians  live  in  such 
plants  but  also  their  abundance,  their 
vertical  distribution,  and  the  weather 
conditions  under  which  they  live. 

What  collecting  is  done  on  this  expe- 
dition will  be  subordinated  to  solving 
the  particular  biological  questions  raised 
by  study  of  material  previously  collected 
during  the  Museum's  Borneo  Zoological 
Expeditions  of  1950  and  1956. 

Though  we  are  concerned  primarily 
with  the  biological  problems,  we  are 
naturally  forced  to  consider  logistical 
ones.  What  supplies  and  equipment 
will  we  need?  When  and  how  do  we 
ship  them?  The  second  question  is  easy 
to  answer,  merely  requiring  a  telephone 
call  to  one  of  the  export  agents  in  Chi- 
cago. The  answer  to  the  first  question 
depends  on  our  previous  experience  in 
Borneo  and  the  specific  projects  we  will 
tackle  in  the  field. 

Out  of  curiosity,  we  counted  the  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  items  we  are  taking  into 
the  field.  We  found  we  had  173,  not 
including  our  field  clothing.  Many  of 
these  items  are  strictly  for  housekeeping : 
for  example,  we  have  three  packets  of 
sewing  needles,  a  folding  table,  an  alarm 
clock,  two  can  openers,  three  jungle  ham- 
mocks, and  similar  uninspiring  but  vital 
equipment.  Collecting  equipment  in- 
cludes 30  snake  bags,  two  potato  rakes 
(for  tearing  apart  rotting  logs),  500  blow- 
gun  corks,  three  headlights,  dip  nets,  etc. 
For  preserving  and  packing  specimens 
we  have — among  many  other  things — 
5,000  numbered  tags,  2,000  plastic  bags, 
115  pints  of  formalin,  three  plastic  hy- 
drators,  and  dissecting  instruments. 

We  also  have  some  delicate  instru- 
ments such  as  a  hygrometer  with  a  200- 


D 


<^ 


AL  EXPEDITION 


foot  extension  cable,  which  we  will  use 
for  reading  the  temperature  and  relative 
humidity  in  the  bird's  nest  ferns,  and  a 
recording  thermohumidigraph  (Fig.  3) 
for  use  in  more  accessible  places.  In 
addition  to  these  we  have  a  tape  re- 
corder, rain  gauge,  clinometer  (for  meas- 
uring heights  of  trees  and  epiphytes,) 
compass,  surveyor's  tape,  and  assorted 
photographic  equipment. 

As  the  success  of  any  expedition  nowa- 
days depends  upon  the  quality  and  quan- 
tity of  field  notes,  we  have  paper,  note- 
books, waterproof  ink,  and  pens. 

One  piece  of  field  clothing  requires 
special  mention — anti-leech  stockings 
(Fig.  1).  The  humid  forests  of  Borneo 
are  rich  in  land  leeches  and  in  some 
areas  and  times  every  leaf  of  every  bush 
seems  to  have  a  hungry  leech  reaching 
out  for  the  next  passerby  (Fig.  2).  These 
animals  are  interesting,  but  their  fond- 
ness for  human  blood  makes  protection 
against  them  important.  We  learned  on 
previous  trips  that  an  over-stocking  made 
of  muslin  and  tied  over  one's  trousers 
below  the  knee  cut  down  the  leech  bites 
significantly. 

With  the  exception  of  one  item,  we 
are  taking  no  food  from  here.  All  of 
that  will  be  purchased  in  Borneo.  The 
exception  consists  of  two  cans  of  high- 
protein  pablum — not  for  us,  but  for  the 
tadpoles  we  hope  to  raise. 

All  this  material,  believe  it  or  not,  fit 
into  15  medium-sized  boxes.  With  such 
an  assortment  of  things,  the  contents  of 
each  box  had  to  be  listed  and  the  boxes 
numbered.  Museum  men  always  have 
in  their  minds  the  horrible  example  of 
the  large  expedition  (not  from  this  insti- 
tution, we  hasten  to  add)  that  arrived  at 
its  base  camp  with  100  boxes  and  not  a 
single  packing  list. 

Months  ago  a  tentative  field  base  was 


selected  on  the  basis  of  our  previous  ex- 
perience in  Borneo  and  study  of  our  col- 
lections. The  chosen  site  was  in  Sara- 
wak and  we  applied  for  and  received 
permission  to  work  there  from  the  au- 
thorities in  Sarawak. 

In  many  ways  this  expedition  reflects 
the  national  and  international  coopera- 
tion vital  to  scientific  progress.  Mr. 
Tom  Harrisson,  Curator  of  the  Sarawak 
Museum,  has  graciously  offered  to  con- 
tinue the  cooperation  and  help  he  gave 
previous  expeditions  of  Chicago  Natural 
History  Museum.  Similarly,  other  agen- 
cies of  the  Government  of  Sarawak  have 
been  helpful  as  in  the  past.  Our  Mu- 
seum hopes  that  previously  published 
results  of  our  work  on  the  Bornean  fauna 
and  future  publications  growing  out  of 
this  expedition  will  be  of  value  to  the 
government  and  people  of  Sarawak. 

At  the  national  level,  the  expedition 
is  largely  financed  by  the  National  Sci- 
ence Foundation.  Part  of  the  cost,  how- 
ever, will  be  borne  by  Chicago  Natural 
History  Museum  and  Roosevelt  Univer- 
sity. Finally,  the  field  work  and  subse- 
quent research  will  be  carried  out  by 
representatives  of  three  Chicago  institu- 
tions— our  Museum,  Roosevelt  Univer- 
sity, and  the  University  of  Chicago. 


BATS- 


(Continued from  page  3) 


Fig.  3:  Thermohumidigraph  for  re- 
cording temperature  and  relative  hu- 
midity is  placed  in  field  chest  for 
shipment  to  Borneo. 


girl  in  our  company  had  been  bitten  by 
a  vampire  bat  on  the  very  tip  of  her  nose. 
The  child  felt  nothing  and  apparently 
suffered  no  ill  effects.  The  next  three 
nights  of  our  journey  were  spent  in  the 
same  way  and  each  morning  we  discov- 
ered that  another  bit  of  the  tip  of  the 
girl's  nose  had  been  sliced  away  and 
oozed  blood.  During  these  nights  all  of 
us  were  equally  exposed  to  vampires. 
Yet,  a  single  bat  preyed  on  the  same  vic- 
tim night  after  night.  Was  it  the  same 
bat  that  attacked  the  child  each  night  in 
successively  different  camps  or  was  it  a 
different  bat  each  night?  Did  the  vam- 
pire prefer  the  girl  because  of  a  predi- 
lection for  her  type  of  blood  or  because 
she  slept  more  profoundly  than  the 
others? 

Years  later,  in  Suriname,  I  achieved  a 
more  intimate  acquaintance  with  a  vam- 
pire bat.  Sleeping  accommodations  for 
the  first  night  on  the  banks  of  my  Sara- 
macca  River  camp  in  Suriname  were 
provisional.  I  used  a  hammock  as  did 
also  our  native  assistant,  while  my  com- 
panion, Dr.  Jack  Fooden,  rolled  himself 
in  a  blanket  and  slept  on  his  cot.  Mos- 
quitoes were  absent  and  no  netting  was 
used.  Minutes  after  turning  off  the 
kerosene  lantern  and  dropping  off  to 
sleep  I  was  awakened  with  a  violent 
start  by  a  sharp  pain  on  the  big  toe  of 
my  left  foot.  A  vampire  bat  had  bitten 
me.  (It  is  strange  that  some  victims  are 
awakened  by  the  attack  of  a  vampire 
bat,  while  others  sleep  soundly  through 
repeated  attacks.)  With  the  aid  of  a 
flashlight  I  saw  that  a  thin  sliver  of  skin 
about  one-half  inch  long  had  been  sliced 
out  of  my  toe.  A  finely  honed  razor 
could  not  have  cut  more  neatly.  I 
bandaged  the  bleeding  toe  with  a  hand- 
kerchief, covered  my  feet  with  a  sheet 
and  wrapped  the  edges  of  the  hammock 
around  me.  All  the  while  the  hungry 
bat  remained  in  attendance,  now  flying 
back  and  forth,  now  hanging  nearby  in 
watchful  expectancy.  I  spent  the  early 
part  of  the  night  warding  off  attacks 
made  by  the  animal  each  time  it  thought 
I  had  fallen  asleep.  The  vampire  finally 
(Continued  on  page  8) 

August  Page  5 


CHICAGO 
NATURAL 
HISTORY 
MUSEUM 


News 


50  Millionth  Visitor 

On  July  2,  Chicago  Natural  History 
Museum  welcomed  its  50  millionth  vis- 
itor since  the  present  Museum  building 
opened  in  1921.    The  special  guest  was 


'My  gosh,  this  is  really  something!"  was 
John  Witte's  reaction  when  informed  by 
Director  E.  Leland  Webber  that  he  was  the 
Museum's  50  millionth  visitor  to  its  present 
building. 

John  McFaul  Wine.  12  years  old,  of 
nearby  Westchester,  Illinois.  He  had 
come  to  the  Museum  with  his  parents, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  S.  Witte,  and  a 
young  friend,  Steve  Larson,  especially 
to  see  the  Tutankhamun  Treasures. 

The  50th  millionth  visitor  was  greeted 
by  Director  E.  Leland  Webber,  who 
presented  him  with  a  $500  Life  Mem- 
bership certificate  in  the  Museum  and  a 
book  on  ancient  Egyptian  art.  John  and 
his  family  then  enjoyed  a  personally  con- 
ducted tour  of  the  King  "Tut"  exhibit 

Page  6  August 


by  Dr.  Mohammed  H.  Abd-Ur-Rah- 
man,  First  Curator  of  the  Egyptian  Mu- 
seum, who  has  accompanied  the  Tutank- 
hamun Treasures  on  their  American  tour. 
The  first  annual  attendance  figure  of 
one  million  visitors  to  Chicago  Natural 
History  Museum's  present  building  was 
reached  in  1927.  In  1937,  14-year-old 
John  Ladd,  of  New  York  City,  had  the 
distinction  of  being  the  Museum's  20 
millionth  visitor.  (Mr.  Ladd  wrote  us 
recently  from  his  home  in  Belmont, 
Massachusetts,  that  he  is  "finishing  up 
a  period  of  graduate  study  in  anthropol- 
ogy at  Harvard  University  with  Pana- 
manian archaeology  as  my  present  area 
of  specialization.  Although  circum- 
stances have  kept  me  away  from  Chi- 
cago and  the  Museum,  I  have  followed 
its  growth  and  changing  exhibits  through 
the  Bulletin,  and  as  an  archaeologist 
have  been  especially  grateful  for  the 
Museum  publications.")  Since  the  war, 
Museum  attendance  has  continued  to 
rise,  reaching  1,307,567  in  1961,  a  gain 
of  63,193  over  the  preceding  year.  In 
the  first  six  months  of  1962,  there  have 
been  671,866  visitors. 

Treasures  A  Success 

When  the  last  visitor  left  the  Tutankh- 
amun Treasures  late  on  July  1 5,  the  final 
day  of  their  exhibition  here,  attendance 
figures  for  their  one  month's  display  in 
Chicago  had  reached  123,722.  Between 
9  a.m.  and  8  p.m.  on  that  final  Sunday, 
8,839  persons — a  record  for  the  Chicago 
showing — saw  the  priceless,  3000-year- 
old  objects  from  King  Tutankhamun's 
tomb,  which  had  been  permitted  to 
leave  Egypt  for  the  first  time.  The  ex- 
hibit was  brought  to  Chicago  under 
joint  sponsorship  of  the  Museum  and 
the  Oriental  Institute  of  the  LTniversity 
of  Chicago. 

Next  stop  for  the  Tutankhamun  Treas- 
ures will  be  Seattle,  followed  by  San 
Francisco  and  Los  Angeles.  Before  re- 
turning to  their  permanent  home  in  the 
Egyptian  museum  in  Cairo,  the  treas- 
ures will  tour  American  cities  for  an- 
other year. 


Chicago  Natural  History   Museum 

Founded  by  Marshall  Field,  1893 

Roosevelt  Road  and  Lake  Shore  Drive,  Chicago  5 

Telephone:  WAbash  2-9410 


THE  BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES 


Lester  Armour 
Wm.  McCormick  Blair 
Bowen  Blair 
Walter  J.  Cummings 
Joseph  N.  Field 
Marshall  Field,  Jr. 
Stanley  Field 
Clifford  C.  Gregg 
Samuel  Insull,  Jr. 
Henry  P.  Isham 

J.  Howard 


William  V.  Kahler 
Hughston  M.  McBain 
J.  Roscoe  Miller 
William  H.  Mitchell 
John  T.  Pirie,  Jr. 
John  Shedd  Reed 
John  G.  Searle 
John  M.  Simpson 
Solomon  A.  Smith 
Louis  Ware 
Wood 


OFFICERS 

Stanley  Field,  Chairman  of  the  Board 

Clifford  C.  Gregg,  President 

Hughston  M.  McBain,  First  Vice-President 

Joseph  N.  Field,  Second  Vice-President 

Bowen  Blair,  Third  Vice-President 

Solomon  A.  Smith,  Treasurer  and  Assistant  Secretary 

E.  Leland  Webber,  Secretary 

THE   BULLETIN 

EDITOR 

E.  Leland  Webber,  Director  of  the  Museum 

CONTRIBUTING  EDITORS 

Paul  S.  Martin,  Chief  Curator  of  Anthropology 

John  R.  Millar,  Chief  Curator  of  Botany 

Rainer  Zangerl,  Chief  Curator  of  Geology 

Austin  L.  Rand,  Chief  Curator  of  Zoology 

MANAGING  EDITOR 
Paula  R.  Nelson,  Public  Relations  Counsel 

ASSOCIATE  EDITOR 
Marilyn  Jindrich,  Associate  in  Public  Relations 

Members    are    requested    to    inform    the    Museum 
promptly   of   changes   of   address. 

His  Excellency  Mahmoud  Riad,  Ambas- 
sador of  the  United  Arab  Republic  to  the 
United  Nations,  and  Dr.  Ahmed  Fakhry, 
Professor  of  History  of  Ancient  Egypt  and 
the  East  at  the  University  of  Cairo,  discuss 
the  King  Tutankhamun  Treasures  with 
guests  at  the  preview  of  the  exhibit  held  June 
14.  The  Ambassador  made  a  special  trip  from 
\ew  Pork  to  Chicago  to  be  present  at  the 
preview. 


on  page  8) 


Austin  L.   Rand 
Chief  Curator 
Zoology 


The  camouflaged  inchworm  in  the 
black-eyed  susan  is  natural  size;  the 
enlargement  shows  how  the  camouflage 
is  achieved.  The  flower  parts — pieces 
of  yellow  petal  and  black  parts  of  the 
florets — are  bitten  off  and  attached  to 
the  pair  of  spines  on  each  segment. 
Silk  spun  by  the  caterpillar  (and  per- 
haps exuded  by  the  spines)  holds  the 
camouflage  in  place.  When  the  inch- 
worm  is  on  the  "eye"  of  the  black-eyed 
susan,  it  is  very  inconspicuous.  Note 
the  second  caterpillar  on  the  flower. 


We  found  one  of  the  most  intri- 
guing examples  of  camouflage  in 
nature  in  an  ornamented  or  decorated 
inchworm  on  the  black-eyed  susans  in 
our  garden  on  the  last  weekend  in  Au- 
gust. The  weather  was  hot,  95°  F.,  and 
humid,  and  the  black-eyed  susans  were 
thriving,  drinking  in  the  sunshine  and 
radiating  vitality,  like  zinnias. 

This  heat  seems  to  suit  insects,  too, 
which  never  have  been  more  plentiful 
than  in  these  mid-day  hours,  and  the 
black-eyed  susans  were  favorite  places 
for  a  host  of  them: — flies,  some  small 
and  metallic  green,  some  big,  dull  and 
brown,  and  many  intermediate  ones; 
gnats  of  various  sizes;  black-spotted,  red 
ladybird  beetles,  little  round,  green  bee- 
tles with  long  antennae,  and  slender 
orange  and  black  beetles;  leaf  hoppers 
of  several  shapes  and  colors;  little  grey 
moths  folding  their  wings  along  the 
stems;  a  red-bodied  dragonfly;  grass- 
hoppers, some  green,  some  brown;  bees, 


A  DECORATED  INCHWORM  \ 


from  tiny  ones  to  black  and  buff  bumble 
bees  as  big  as  the  end  of  my  finger;  vari- 
ous sizes  of  wasps,  and  winged  aphids. 
Such  profusion  of  insect  life  feeding  on 
the  flowers,  on  nectars,  juices,  and  tis- 
sues, or  on  each  other,  brought  special 
predators,  too,  such  as  ambush  bugs 
with  their  distinctive  black  markings, 
which  lay  in  wait,  as  did  the  pale,  yel- 
lowish white  crab  spiders. 

Indicative  of  the  minute  animals  hid- 
den within  the  microcosm  of  a  single 
flower  head,  we  saw  tiny,  insect-caused 
galls  on  the  florets,  and  a  diminutive  red 
mite  which  came  out  onto  a  petal  and, 
as  we  saw  through  a  lens,  seemed  to 
scratch  its  venter  with  four  of  its  eight 
legs  in  quick  succession  before  it  ran 
back  among  the  florets  and  disappeared. 

Then  Mrs.  Rand  picked  from  a  flower 
what  seemed  to  be  a  tiny  mass  of  debris 
of  flower  parts  caught  in  a  bit  of  spider 
web.  It  proved  to  be  an  inchworm,  a 
half-inch  long,  with  bits  of  yellow  petals 


and  black  floret  parts  stuck  all  over  its 
back.  Imagine  our  delight  at  finding 
one  of  these  decorated  insects — the  cat- 
erpillars of  a  greenish,  geometrical  moth 
— about  which  we  had  read  and  won- 
dered. 

Last  year,  after  having  run  across  a 
photograph  of  one  posed  on  a  golden- 
rod,  we  spent  several  days  in  vain  search 
through  a  nearby  goldenrod  field.  From 
the  photograph,  which  showed  a  cater- 
pillar as  big  as  a  cigarette,  we  had  not 
been  prepared  for  anything  this  small. 
Now  that  we  knew  what  to  look  for — 
such  tiny  things — we  soon  found  two 
more,  and  installed  them  on  flowers  in 
a  dish  where  we  could  watch  them 
(Continued  on  next  page) 

August  Page  7 


through  a  reading  glass. 

Without  their  decorations  these  inch- 
worms,  despite  their  small  size,  would 
still  have  been  unusual.  They  were  dark 
brownish  grey  with  pale  grey  longitudi- 
nal stripes,  and  each  of  the  central  seg- 
ments had  a  pair  of  projections.  It  was 
to  these  that  the  yellow  pieces  cut  from 
the  petals  and  the  black  pieces  from  the 
florets  of  the  black-eyed  susans  had  been 
stuck,  presumably  with  silk  spun  by  the 
inchworm.  The  result  camouflaged  the 
caterpillar  wonderfully  against  the 
brown-black,  yellow  pollen-dotted  "eye" 
of  the  flower. 

Much  of  the  time  the  inchworm  looped 
along,  in  its  half  circle  pose,  and  browsed 
on  the  florets  as  placidly  as  a  cow  in  a 
meadow.  Once,  while  we  watched  it,  it 
actually  broke  off  part  of  a  floret  and, 
bending  back,  stuck  it  onto  its  back. 
Sometimes  the  inch-worm's  head  was 
liberally  covered  with  yellow  pollen 
grains.  The  forelegs  seem  to  come  into 
play  here,  but  whether  they  were  wiping 
the  pollen  away  or  pushing  it  into  the 
caterpillar's  mouth  we  could  not  tell. 
Occasionally  the  inchworm  made  a 
short  journey  out  onto  a  petal,  where  it 
was  conspicuous  against  the  yellow  and 
where  it  ate  scallops  into  the  edge  of  the 
petal.  But  soon  it  would  return  to  the 
dark  "eye"  with  which  it  harmonized 
so  well. 

This  type  of  camouflage  seems  as  won- 
derful as  that  of  the  ocean  crabs  which 
put  sponges  and  algae  on  their  backs  for 
concealment  or  protection.  It  is  quite 
well  known  to  the  entomologists,  but 
seemed  dismissed  in  a  very  perfunctory 
way  in  some  of  our  textbooks  by  ".  .  .  the 
larvae  of  these  geometrid  moths  conceal 
themselves  by  attaching  bits  of  plants  to 
their  backs  .  .  .,"  or  some  such  phrase. 
In  a  more  popular  book  with  the  photo- 
graph I  mentioned  above  the  phenome- 
non was  dramatized  on  a  scale  that  led 
me  to  look  for  a  much  larger  caterpillar, 
one  that  could  be  watched  without  dif- 
ficulty. When  we  did  find  it,  our  first 
response  was  one  of  chagrin, — "is  it  as 
tiny  as  this!"  This  well  illustrates  the 
razor  edge  we  try  to  travel  when  we 
write  of  the  wonderful  happenings  in 
nature. 


BATS- 


{Continued from  page  5) 

gave  up  and  I  slept  undisturbed  for  the 
remainder  of  the  night. 

The  following  night,  Fooden  and  I 
slept  under  mosquito  net  shelters.  Just 
as  the  light  of  the  lantern  faded  out,  I 
felt  the  bat  strike  my  net  with  its  wings. 
Not  finding  an  opening,  it  tried  Fooden's 
net  with  no  more  success  and  then  flew 
off  to  find  a  meal  elsewhere.  This  bat's 
quiet  but  efficient  inspection  tours  be- 
came routine,  and  one  night  its  persist- 
ence was  rewarded.  It  found  the  wall 
side  of  Jack  Fooden's  netting  snagged 
and  raised  just  a  crack  above  the  bed- 
ding of  the  cot.  The  vampire  snuggled 
inside  and  scurried  on  its  four  limbs  to 
the  sleeper's  face.  Sensing  the  intruder, 
Jack  awoke  with  a  cry,  jumped  out  of 
bed,  seized  a  flashlight  and  searched  for 
the  bat.  I  aided,  but  the  alarmed  ani- 
mal escaped  through  the  same  opening 
it  had  used  for  entering.  Undismayed, 
the  bat  hopefully  continued  its  regular 
nocturnal  visits  during  the  rest  of  our  six- 
weeks'  stay  on  the  shores  of  the  Sara- 
macca. 


y>~ 


Bulletin  drawings  by  E.  John 
Pfiffner.  Cover  photograph  by 
Joanne  Evenson. 


MUSEUM  NEWS- 

{Continued from  page  6) 

Children's  Program 

"Universe,"  a  color  motion  picture 
about  a  journey  through  space,  will  be 
presented  Thursday,  August  9,  at  10  a.m. 
and  11  a.m.  in  the  James  Simpson  Thea- 
tre. It  is  the  last  in  the  Museum's  sum- 
mer series  of  free  films  for  children.  The 
program  will  also  include  a  cartoon, 
"Romance  of  Transportation." 

Evening  Hours  Continue 

Summer  evening  hours  of  9  a.m.  to 
8  p.m.  on  Wednesday,  Friday,  Saturday, 
and  Sunday  will  continue  at  the  Muse- 
um through  Sunday,  September  2.  On 
Monday,  Tuesday,  and  Thursday  the 
Museum  doors  are  open  from  9  a.m.  to 
6  p.m. 

The  Museum's  late  evenings  coincide 
with  the  nights  of  the  free  Grant  Park 
concerts  which  begin  at  8  p.m.  Dinner 
is  available  in  the  Museum's  cafeteria 
until  7  p.m.  on  these  four  evenings  each 
week.  Free  parking  is  available  in  the 
north  parking  lot. 


"  The  hungry  [vampire]  bat  hanging  nearby  in  watch- 
Jut  expectancy."  Lower  drawing  shows  skull  with 
"scimitar-shaped front  teeth." 

Vampire  bats,  insect  eaters,  fruit  eat- 
ers, nectar  eaters,  and  the  means  they 
use  for  getting  their  food  are  shown  in 
the  Museum's  Exhibit-of-the-Month — 
"Bats,  The  Only  Mammals  That  Fly" 
—in  Hall  15. 


Page  8  August 


After  September  3  the  Museum  will 
resume  its  fall  schedule  of  hours — 9  a.m. 
to  5  p.m.  seven  days  a  week. 

In  Memoriam 

The  Museum  reports  with  regret  the 
death  of  Cornelius  Crane,  Museum 
Benefactor,  who  died  on  July  9  at  the 
age  of  57  in  his  summer  home  in  Belfast, 
Maine.  Mr.  Crane  was  the  son  of 
Richard  T.  Crane,  Jr.,  former  Museum 
Trustee,  and  a  grandson  of  Harlow  N. 
Higginbotham,  Museum  President  from 
1898  to  1908. 

In  1928  and  1929,  Mr.  Crane  led  an 
eleven  months'  expedition  to  the  south 
seas  for  the  Museum,  for  which  his  brig- 
antine  yacht,  Illyria,  was  fitted  out  with  a 
scientific  laboratory.  The  late  Karl  P. 
Schmidt,  former  Chief  Curator  of  the 
Department  of  Zoology,  accompanied 
the  expedition  as  scientific  leader.  More 
than  6,000  zoological  specimens  were 
collected  by  Mr.  Crane  and  his  party  in 
the  Caribbean  and  in  the  Pacific.  Upon 
his  return,  Mr.  Crane  was  named  a 
Museum  Benefactor  by  vote  of  the  Board 
of  Trustees. 

PRINTED   BY  CHICAGO    NATURAL   HISTORY  MUSEUM   PRESS 


CHICAGO 
NATURAL 
HISTORY 
MUSEUM 


Desmids:  Some  of  the  "jewels 

from   Lake   Michigan  featured 

in  September's  exhibit-of-the- 

month. 


VOL.  33         NO.  9 
SEPTEMBER  1962 


FEATURED  EXHIBIT  FOR  SEPTEMBER 


Cladophora:  A   widely 
distributed  green  alga. 


There  are  many  marvels  in  the  world 
of  plant  life.  It  is  very  difficult  to 
see  and  appreciate  many  of  these,  how- 
ever, because  they  are  located  in  distant 
places,  are  rare,  or  are  too  small  to  be 
seen  without  a  microscope.  Chicagoans 
are  fortunate  to  have  at  hand,  in  Lake 
Michigan,  one  of  the  most  marvelous 
forms  of  life,  the  microscopic  algae,  which 
abound  in  these  waters  in  a  variety  diffi- 
cult to  imagine — and  to  have  in  the 
Museum,  in  the  Hall  of  Plant  Life,  a 
series  of  enlarged  glass  models,  hand- 
blown  with  exquisite  skill  to  illustrate 
the  principal  groups  of  bacteria  and  al- 
gae. These  exhibits  bring  into  view,  as 
though  one  were  peering  at  them  through 
a  microscope,  details  of  form  and  color 
in  a  variety  of  these  tiny  plants  which 
directly  or  indirectly  are  involved  in  our 
daily  lives.  It  is  in  overcoming  such 
difficulties  of  size,  distance,  time,  and 
situation  that  Museum  exhibits  serve 
their  most  useful  educational  purpose. 

Among  members  of  the  plant  world 
which  form  a  large  part  of  the  free  swim- 
ming or  floating  organisms  called  plank- 
ton, are  the  diatoms:  tiny,  one-celled 
algae  from  1/5000  of  an  inch  in  diam- 
eter up  to  the  size  of  a  pin  head.  Despite 
their  small  size,  they  have  an  unusual 
beauty  scarcely  equalled  by  any  other 
form  of  life  in  the  intricate  markings, 
headings,  and  designs  borne  by  their  ex- 
terior cell  wall  of  silica.  For  this  reason, 
diatoms  are  often  called  the  "jewels  of 
the  waters."  The  outer  layer  of  silica 
is  as  indestructible  as  glass  or  quartz. 
Among  the  great  variety  of  forms  we  can 
find  disc  shapes,  with  radial  or  concen- 
tric designs,  canoe  shapes,  triangles, 
quadrangles,  and  other  geometric  forms. 
Sometimes  diatoms  live  free  as  single 
units,  or  they  may  be  united  in  long  fila- 

Page  2     September 


ments  set  end  to  end  at  opposite  corners 
to  resemble  a  complicated  game  of  dom- 
inoes, or  they  may  be  joined  together  lat- 
erally like  shells  in  a  cartridge  belt.  In 
addition  to  beauty  of  design  and  unique 
form  is  the  attraction  of  their  golden 
color.  When  sunlight  strikes  shallow 
water  containing  diatoms  the  water  ap- 
pears to  glow  with  a  golden  light,  be- 
cause in  addition  to  the  green  chloro- 
phyll common  to  all  algae,  diatoms 
have  a  brown  pigment  which  masks  the 
chlorophyll  and  produces  the  golden 
color. 

These  ornamented  little  gems  possess 
a  special  and  intriguing  method  of  move- 
ment which  is  one  of  the  most  unique  in 
the  natural  world.  Without  the  aid  of 
either  flagellae  or  cilia,  which  are  com- 
mon to  other  motile  unicellular  forms, 
the  diatoms  appear  to  use  a  slow-motion 
form  of  jet  propulsion  achieved  by  ex- 
pelling a  mucilaginous  substance  which 
propels  them  forward. 

Diatoms  are  a  major  source  of  food  for 
all  animals  living  in  water,  beginning  a 
nutritional  chain  when,  with  the  aid  of 
sunlight,  they  build  organic  matter  by 
photosynthesis.  Diatoms  are  eaten  by 
very  small  crustaceans;   these  are  de- 


MIC] 
Lai 


voured  by  small  fishes  and  by  larger 
crustaceans;  these  in  turn  are  eaten  by 
larger  fishes,  which  may  be  caught  by 
man.  Therefore,  the  chain  of  life  begun 
by  the  diatoms  is  ended  in  the  frying 
pan  of  a  lucky  fisherman. 

Diatom  "shells"  form  large  deposits 
known  as  diatomaceous  earth,  which  is 
used  in  many  ways — in  insulating  and 
sound-proofing  materials,  paints,  filters, 
toothpaste,  and  polishing  powders,  to 
name  only  a  few.  Although  some  of  us 
may  think  that  we  and  the  diatoms  lead 
separate  lives,  we  are  actually  quite  close, 
as  there  are  many  diatoms  not  only  in 
our  bird  baths  and  fish  tanks  but  we  also 
brush  our  teeth  with  diatoms  and  take 
baths  with  diatoms! 

The  diatoms  are  not  the  only  wonders 
offered  us  by  Lake  Michigan.  There 
are  the  flagellates,  which  present  char- 
acters of  both  the  animal  and  the  plant 
world,  to  such  an  extent  that  it  is  impos- 
sible to  decide  to  which  of  the  two  great 
groups  in  which  man  has  divided  the 
living  world  these  belong.  For  instance, 
in  comparing  a  cat  and  a  daisy,  it  is  easy 
to  apply  our  classification  keys  and  de- 
cide which  is  plant  and  which  is  animal. 
Such  keys,  however,  do  not  easily  apply 


fOSCOPIC  PLANTS: 


Michigi 


) 


ans 


"Jewels 


» 


PATRICIO  PONCE  DE  LEON 
ASSISTANT  CURATOR,  CRYPTOGAMIC  HERBARIUM 


to  this  minute  organism,  for  man's  meth- 
ods of  classifying  living  material  were 
made  before  he  encountered  this  form 
of  life.  Therefore,  in  observing  the  spe- 
cialities oiEuglena  viridis  (a  flagellate  rep- 
resented in  our  exhibit)  we  find  that  it 
contains  chlorophyll  as  do  most  plants, 
that  it  moves  about  as  do  most  animals 
(and  some  plants),  and  that  it  feeds  at 
times  as  an  animal  does  but  at  other 
times  as  a  plant,  manufacturing  its  own 
food  with  the  aid  of  sunlight.  Thus 
flagellates  represent  a  generalized  way 
of  life  that  many  plants  and  all  animals 
still  retain  at  some  stage  of  their  life 
cycles:  the  one-celled  flagellate  form. 

Among  the  numerous  other  forms  of 
microscopic  plant  life  in  the  waters  of 
our  lake  are  green  algae,  many  of  them 
having  unusual  shapes  that  might  have 
inspired  the  futuristic  painters  (see  Scene- 
desmus  and  Staurastrum  in  our  exhibit). 
One  of  the  most  important  of  the  green 
algae,  Chlorella,  has  become  almost  in- 
dispensable in  physiological  research 
laboratories  because  it  is  easy  to  obtain, 
to  handle,  and  control,  and  exhibits  very 
rapid  reproduction  and  growth.  It  was 
chosen  by  Dr.  Melvin  Calvin  and  his 
associates  at  the  Radiation  Laboratory 


of  the  University  of  California  as  the 
green  plant  to  be  used  in  their  efforts  to 
uncover  one  of  nature's  most  closely 
guarded  secrets — the  intermediate  steps 
in  photosynthesis.  In  addition,  this  di- 
minutive alga  has  been  considered  as  a 
possible  solution  to  the  problem  of  feed- 
ing the  world's  starving  millions,  as  it 
can  produce  annually  an  estimated  20 
tons  of  food  per  acre  as  compared  with 
1  to  2]/2  tons  per  acre  produced  by  corn. 
In  one  day's  time  Chlorella  can  double 
its  weight,  using  only  the  most  simple 
materials  and  sunlight,  and  thus  may 
well  be  the  hope  of  future  humanity. 

In  the  shallow  water  of  Lake  Michi- 
gan's quiet  areas  are  found  the  so-called 
"blue-green"  algae,  a  group  that  has 
characteristics  of  very  primitive  organ- 
isms. Like  bacteria,  they  have  no  or- 
ganized nucleus;  in  fact,  in  some  blue- 
greens  there  is  no  evidence  of  any  struc- 
ture resembling  a  nucleus.  Reproduction 
takes  place  by  simple  division.  They  do 
have  chlorophyll,  enabling  them  to  man- 
ufacture food  as  do  other  algae,  but  it  is 
masked  by  a  blue  pigment.  They,  along 
with  some  of  the  bacteria,  are  able  to 
utilize  free  nitrogens  in  their  manufac- 
ture of  food,  which  other  algae  cannot 


do.  They  can  live  alone  or  in  colonies. 
These  colonies  may  appear  as  filaments, 
or  may  form  large  gelatinous  masses, 
such  as  Nostoc.  Some  genera  move  about 
by  means  of  oscillation,  turning  from 
one  side  to  the  other,  but  the  remainder 
of  the  genera  are  not  motile. 

On  the  lake  bottom  in  shallow  water 
can  be  observed  many  filaments  of  green 
color  which  belong  to  the  sedentary 
green  algae.  Among  them  we  find  the 
common  Oedogonium  whose  various  stages 
are  clearly  illustrated  in  our  exhibit; 
Ulothrix,  which  literally  carpets  the  shal- 
lows of  all  of  the  Great  Lakes  and  is  re- 
sponsible for  the  green  appearance  of 
Niagara  Falls;  Cladophora,  which  has  the 
largest  world  distribution  of  any  fila- 
mentous alga  and  forms  great  masses 
known  as  "lake  balls";  and  Spirogyra,  or 
"water  silk,"  with  its  ribbon-like  chloro- 
plasts  interlaced  in  a  spiral  form,  result- 
ing in  such  great  beauty  as  often  to  mo- 
nopolize the  attention  of  the  students 
using  a  microscope.  Another  green  alga 
is  Hydrodichtyon,  or  "water-net,"  which 
forms  colonies  in  the  shape  of  a  mesh 
bag.  The  net  or  mesh  is  made  by  the 
conjunction  of  many  individuals  at  cer- 
tain points  to  form  pentagons  and  hex- 
agons. Although  Hydrodichtyon  is  very 
widely  distributed  throughout  the  world, 
it  is  also  "rare"  in  the  sense  that  it  oc- 
curs only  in  isolated  or  locally  limited 
spots — for  example,  one  population  may 
occur  in  South  Africa,  another  in  Si- 
beria, another  in  Argentina,  and  one  in 
Illinois. 

Of  course  we  have  to  tolerate  a  few 
inconveniences  which  accompany  these 
marvelous  algae — that  fishy  taste  and 
smell  of  the  water  in  the  summer  months 
is  attributed  to  oily  food  reserves  built 
up  by  diatoms  and  by  the  flagellate 
Dinobryum  instead  of  starchy  food  re- 
serves commonly  built  by  other  plants. 
The  large  colonies  formed  in  our  lake 
by  these  organisms  may  clog  filters  of 
pumping  stations  of  the  city  water  sup- 
ply. However,  when  we  consider  our 
pleasure  in  their  beauty,  their  great  use- 
fulness in  numerous  manufactured  prod- 
ucts, and  in  our  research  laboratories, 
the  slight  difficulties  they  may  cause  are 
far  outweighed  by  the  many  benefits 
afforded  us  by  these  micro-organisms 
with  which  we  are  closely  associated  in 
our  daily  lives. 

September     Page  3 


CHICAGO 
NATURAL 
HISTORY 
MUSEUM 


In  Memoriam 

The  Museum  regretfully  reports  the 
death  on  July  18  of  Dr.  Wilfrid  D.  Ham- 
bly, Curator  of  African  Ethnology  from 
1926  to  1952.  The  noted  anthropologist 
died  in  Chicago  at  the  age  of  75. 

Born  in  Clayton,  Yorkshire,  England, 
Dr.  Hambly  was  educated  at  Hartley 
University  College  and  at  Oxford  Uni- 
versity. He  began  his  career  as  a  teacher 
of  biology,  turning  later  to  the  field  of 
ethnology.  In  1913  he  joined  the  Anglo- 
Egyptian  Sudan  Archaeological  Expe- 
dition as  member  for  the  Wellcome  His- 
torical Museum  of  London.  Following 
the  first  world  war,  during  which  he 
served  in  the  British  Royal  Naval  Divi- 
sion, he  became  a  lecturer  in  biology  at 
Eastham  Technical  College  and  a  re- 
search worker  for  the  Industrial  Research 
Board  in  London.  Dr.  Hambly  came  to 
the  United  States  in  1926  to  join  the  staff 
of  the  Museum.  Subsequently  he  be- 
came an  American  citizen. 

Dr.  Hambly's  26  years  of  association 
with  the  Museum  were  distinguished  by 
many  noteworthy  contributions  to  the 
field  of  African  ethnology.  In  1929-30 
he  was  leader  of  the  Frederick  H.  Lawson 
West  African  Expedition  which  explored 
the  vast  area  of  Angola  and  Nigeria. 
The  collections  that  he  brought  back, 
representing  many  tribes  of  both  coun- 
tries, form  a  large  part  of  the  exhibits  in 
the  Museum's  Hall  of  African  Ethnol- 
ogy. In  addition,  Dr.  Hambly's  African 
studies  resulted  in  a  number  of  scientific 
papers  published  by  the  Museum,  as 
well  as  many  popular  books  and  articles 
for  both  children  and  adults.  In  recog- 
nition of  his  scholarly  research  in  the 
field  of  African  ethnology,  Dr.  Hambly 
was  awarded  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Science  by  Oxford  University. 

After  his  retirement,  Dr.  Hambly  con- 
tinued his  intellectual  pursuits,  returning 
often  to  the  Museum.  His  gentle,  warm 
personality  will  be  greatly  missed. 

Resignation 

Allen  S.  Liss  has  resigned  as  Custodian 
of  Collections  for  the  Department  of 
Anthropology  to  accept  an  appointment 

Page  k     September 


as  Curator  of  the  Museum  of  Natural 
History  of  the  State  University  of  Iowa. 
A  graduate  of  the  University  of  Chicago, 
Liss  had  been  a  member  of  the  staff  of 
Chicago  Natural  History  Museum  since 
1955.  While  associated  with  the  Mu- 
seum he  cooperated  with  the  Illinois 
Archaeological  Survey  in  numerous  ex- 
cavations of  prehistoric  Indian  sites 
throughout  the  State  of  Illinois.  His 
new  appointment  at  the  State  Univer- 
sity of  Iowa  will  include  the  teaching  of 
courses  in  museology. 

Replacing  Liss  is  Mr.  Christopher 
Legge,  who  joins  the  Museum's  staff 
after  23  years  with  the  British  Colonial 
Service  in  Fiji. 

Legge  was  born  in  London,  England, 
and  received  his  bachelor's  and  master's 
degrees  from  Cambridge  University. 
After  graduating  with  honors  he  stayed 
on  at  the  university  to  participate  in  a 
special  preparatory  program  for  the  Co- 
lonial Service.  His  first  assignment  was 
in  Nigeria,  where  he  remained  from 
1928  to  1934.  In  1938  he  re-entered 
the  British  Colonial  Service  for  duty  in 
Fiji,  where  he  remained  as  Commis- 
sioner until  1961. 

Legge  has  long  been  interested  in  an- 
thropology and  is  currently  engaged, 
with  Professor  J.  W.  Davidson  of  the 
Australian  National  University,  in  re- 
search on  the  life  of  John  Jackson,  an 
Englishman  who  lived  with  the  natives 
of  Fiji  in  the  1840's. 

Research-in-Progress 

A  200-year-old  research  project  initi- 
ated by  King  Charles  III  of  Spain  in  the 
mid-1 700's  was  brought  near  to  comple- 
tion this  summer  at  Chicago  Natural 
History  Museum. 

The  project  began  when  the  Spanish 
king  charged  a  Royal  Botanical  Expedi- 
tion to  New  Spain  with  the  task  of  sur- 
veying the  natural  resources  of  his  do- 
mains in  North  America,  and  especially 
in  Mexico.  The  principal  botanists  of 
the  expedition,  Dr.  Martin  Sesse  y  La- 
casta,  a  Spaniard,  and  D.  Jose  Mariano 
Mocino,  a  native  of  Mexico,  visited 
many  parts  of  Mexico  and  the  West  In- 


dies between  1788  and  1804.  They 
amassed  a  large  collection  of  approxi- 
mately 7,700  herbarium  specimens,  rep- 
resenting many  species  new  to  science. 

The  two  botanists  never  published  the 
results  of  their  work,  however,  and  most 
of  their  collection  remained  unstudied 
in  Madrid  until  1936,  when  the  speci- 
mens were  loaned  to  this  Museum  to  be 
mounted  and  identified.  This  work  was 
begun  by  Dr.  Paul  C.  Standley,  at  that 
time  Curator  of  the  Herbarium,  and  was 
continued  with  frequent  and  long  inter- 
ruptions until  his  retirement  in  1950. 
In  1959,  Dr.  Rogers  McVaugh,  Mu- 
seum Research  Associate  in  Vascular 
Plants  and  a  member  of  the  faculty  of 
the  University  of  Michigan,  undertook 
to  prepare  a  critical  catalogue  of  the 
collection  as  corollary  to  his  own  work 
on  a  flora  of  western  Mexico. 

This  summer  Dr.  McVaugh  spent  a 


(< 


MIGF 


At  this  time  of  year,  when  we  can  set 
to  take  wing  for  the  south's  warmer  dim 
for  children  called  "Migration." 

The  Journey  focuses  on  insects,  fisl 
movements  east,  west,  north,  south — and 
from  mountain  to  plain;  from  cold  clii 
Journey  will  learn  where  the  monarch  1 
migration  of  sea  lampreys  differs  from  the 
fishes  migrate;  what  bird  "fly ways"  pass 
flight  during  the  year;  where  the  black  w 
the  migrating  buffalo  in  the  years  before 

Children  (and  families,  too!)  wishing 
at  the  north  and  south  doors  of  the  Must 
Journey  has  been  completed,  the  filled 
boxes  provided  at  each  Museum  entranc 
applied  toward  the  Museum's  Journey  i 
fall  Journey  on  "Migration"  will  contin 


month  at  the  Museum  to  further  the 
work  of  identifying,  listing,  and  anno- 
tating specimens  and  preparing  a  final 
report  on  the  botanical  survey  begun 
two  centuries  ago.  As  soon  as  final 
checking  of  literature  and  duplicate 
specimens  in  European  herbaria  can  be 
accomplished,  the  specimens  will  be  re- 
turned to  Spain — as  a  much  more  valu- 
able, usable,  and  botanically  important 
collection  than  King  Charles  knew. 

Staff  Notes 

Mr.  William  D.  Turnbull,  Assistant 
Curator  of  Mammals,  recently  returned 
from  a  reconnaissance  trip  to  Montana, 
Wyoming,  and  Colorado  in  search  of 
new  Mesozoic  and  earliest  Tertiary  fos- 
sil mammal  localities.  He  examined  a 
number  of  Jurassic  formations  in  these 
western  states,  including  the  Morrison 
formation,  which  produced  the  earliest 


NEW  FALL 
JOURNEY 


TION" 

march  butterflies  and  some  birds  beginning 
he  Museum  is  featuring  a  new  fall  Journey 

birds,  and  mammals,  and  their  seasonal 
in  up  and  down;  from  salt  water  to  fresh; 
;s  to  warm.  Children  who  complete  the 
erflies  go  at  the  end  of  summer;  how  the 
sonal  travels  of  birds  and  mammals;  which 
:r  Chicago;  which  bird  makes  the  longest 

moth  is  often  found;  what  people  followed 
western  plains  were  settled. 

take  the  Journey  may  obtain  questionnaires 
and  at  the  Information  Booth.  When  the 
questionnaires  should  be  dropped  in  the 
Each  child's  questionnaire  is  recorded  and 
rd  Program  held  twice  a  year.  The  new 
hrough  November. 


known  mammal  materials  from  the  New 
World.  Similar  prospecting  in  several 
Cretaceous  formations  yielded  fossil 
mammal  materials  from  the  Dakota, 
Mesa  Verde,  and  Lance  formations  and 
from  a  new  locality  in  the  Hell  Creek 
formation  (a  Lance  formation  equiva- 
lent). Greatest  success  was  achieved  at 
the  Tongue  River  formation,  a  new  Late 
Paleocene  locality  in  Central  North  Da- 
kota. There  an  extensive  number  of 
small  fossil  mammal  materials  were  col- 
lected, thanks  to  the  lead  and  friendly 
assistance  of  the  site's  discoverers,  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Edmund  Vinje,  of  Hazen, 
North  Dakota.  At  the  site,  pantodonts, 
carnivores,  condylarths,  multitubercu- 
lates,  marsupials,  and  insectivores  were 
recognized,  and  it  is  quite  likely  that  at 
least  eight  or  ten  orders  will  be  distin- 
guished in  the  collection  when  it  is 
studied. 

D.  Dwight  Davis,  Curator  of  Verte- 
brate Anatomy  at  Chicago  Natural  His- 
tory Museum,  is  one  of  twelve  nationally 
recognized  scholars  who  lectured  at 
Harvard  University  during  August  at  a 
summer  institute  on  the  teaching  of  com- 
parative anatomy.  Attending  the  six- 
weeks'  institute  sponsored  by  the  Na- 
tional Science  Foundation  were  40  col- 
lege teachers  selected  from  academic 
institutions  in  various  parts  of  the  United 
States.  Purpose  of  the  institute  was  to 
review  and  to  re-evaluate  the  teaching 
of  comparative  anatomy.  Davis  pre- 
sented five  lectures  on  the  history  of  the 
concepts  used  in  this  scientific  field. 


Chicago  Natural  History   Museum 

Founded  by  Marshall  Field,  1893 

Roosevelt  Road  and  Lake  Shore  Drive,  Chicago  5 

Telephone:  WAbash  2-9410 


THE  BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES 


Five  members  of  the  Museum's  scien- 
tific staff  were  among  a  group  of  scholars 
selected  to  conduct  the  "Science  for  the 
Citizen"  lecture  series  presented  this 
summer  by  the  Chicago  Academy  of 
Science.  The  lecturers  were:  Mr.  D. 
Dwight  Davis,  Curator  of  Vertebrate 
Anatomy,  Dr.  Joseph  C.  Moore,  Cura- 
tor of  Mammals,  Dr.  Louis  O.  Williams, 
Curator  of  Central  American  Botany, 
William  D.  Turnbull,  Curator  of  Verte- 
brate Paleontology,  and  Dr.  Rupert  R. 
Wenzel,  Curator  of  Entomology. 


Lester  Armour 
Wm.  McCormick  Blair 
Bowen  Blair 
Walter  J.  Cutnmings 
Joseph  N.  Field 
Marshall  Field,  Jr. 
Stanley  Field 
Clifford  C.  Gregg 
Samuel  Insull,  Jr. 
Henry  P.  Isham 

J.  Howard 


William  V.  Kahlcr 
Hughston  M.  McBain 
J.  Roscoe  Miller 
William  H.  Mitchell 
John  T.  Pirie,  Jr. 
John  Shedd  Reed 
John  G.  Searle 
John  M.  Simpson 
Solomon  A.  Smith 
Louis  Ware 
Wood 


OFFICERS 

Stanley  Field,  Chairman  of  the  Board 

Clifford  C.  Gregg,  President 

Hughston  M.  McBain,  First  Vice-President 

Joseph  N.  Field,  Second  Vice-President 

Bowen  Blair,  Third  Vice-President 

Solomon  A.  Smith,  Treasurer  and  Assistant  Secretary 

E.  Leland  Webber,  Secretary 

THE   BULLETIN 

EDITOR 

E.  Leland  Webber,  Director  of  the  Museum 

CONTRIBUTING  EDITORS 

Paul  S.  Martin,  Chief  Curator  of  Anthropology 

John  R.  Millar,  Chief  Curatot  of  Botany 

Rainer  Zangerl,  Chief  Curator  of  Geology 

Austin  L.  Rand,  Chief  Curator  of  Zoology 

MANAGING  EDITOR 
Paula  R.  Nelson,  Public  Relations  Counsel 

ASSOCIATE  EDITOR 

Marilyn  Jindrich,  Associate  in  Public  Relations 

Members    are    requested    to    inform    the    Museum 
promptly   of   changes    of   address. 


This  summer  zoologists  from  all  over 
the  world  have  been  convening  in  vari- 
ous cities  in  the  United  States  to  exchange 
ideas,  compare  notes,  and  to  discuss  cur- 
rent and  future  research  in  their  particu- 
lar zoological  specialties.  Representing 
the  Museum  at  the  meetings  of  the  Amer- 
ican Society  of  Mammalogists  held  late 
in  June  at  Middlebury,  Vermont,  were 
Dr.  Joseph  C.  Moore,  Curator  of  Mam- 
mals, and  Mr.  Philip  Hershkovitz,  Re- 
search Curator.  In  Ithaca,  New  York, 
Dr.  Austin  L.  Rand,  Chief  Curator  of 
Zoology,  Mr.  Emmet  R.  Blake,  Curator 
of  Birds,  and  Mr.  Melvin  A.  Traylor, 
Associate  Curator  of  Birds,  participated 
in  the  XHIth  International  Ornitho- 
logical Congress. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  Ithaca  meet- 
{Continued  on  page  8) 

September     Page  5 


EDWARD  J.  OLSEN 
CURATOR,  MINERALOGY 


FIG.  1 


For  most  of  us  the  lure  of  piecing  to- 
gether a  jigsaw  puzzle  is  irresistible. 
It  taxes  our  ingenuity,  completely  ab- 
sorbs our  attention,  measures  our  ability 
to  visualize  forms,  and,  above  all,  it 
pleases  our  inherent  belief  that  there  is 

Page  6     September 


a  pattern  to  all  things  and  that  the 
simplest,  most  straightforward  way  of 
putting  things  together  is  probably  the 
right  way. 

Unknown  to  most  people  is  the  fact 
that  even  today  work  is  being  done  on  a 
jigsaw  puzzle  of  the  grandest  proportions 
imaginable.  The  puzzle  itself  was  "man- 
ufactured" about  150  million  years  ago. 
Even  the  ancient  Greeks,  however,  who 
were  admirably  aware  of  most  of  the  rid- 
dles and  puzzles  of  our  physical  world, 
didn't  see  this  one.  The  reason?  They 
were  standing  on  it ! 


pie  geographical  similarity  there  would 
have  to  be  grave  geological,  paleonto- 
logical,  and  biological  implications. 
However,  as  Wegener's  opponents  and 
critics  have  pointed  out,  he  was  often 
overzealous  to  the  point  that  he  was 
guilty  of  playing  heavily  upon  evidence 
in  favor  of  the  idea  and  disregarding 
evidence  contrary  to  it.  So  that  the 
reader  will  not  be  misled,  the  writer 
will  outline,  briefly,  evidence  on  both 
sides  of  the  question. 

In  Fig.  1A  we  see  a  reconstruction  of 
the  "original"   continent,   Pangaea,   as 


AT  SEA  ON  A  CC 


Perhaps  the  first  person  to  notice  it 
was  Francis  Bacon  in  1620.  By  that  time 
the  first,  approximately  accurate  maps 
of  the  Atlantic  Ocean  had  been  made. 
Bacon  commented  on  the  remarkable 
similarity  in  shape  of  the  western  coast- 
line of  Europe  and  Africa  and  the  east- 
ern coastline  of  North  and  South  Amer- 
ica. They  appear  to  lock  together  like 
the  pieces  of  a  gigantic  jigsaw  puzzle 
(Fig.  1  A).  Since  that  time,  as  maps  have 
improved  in  their  accuracy,  this  same 
feature  has  been  noted  by  other  reput- 
able men,  including  the  famous  French 
zoologist,  Georges  Buffon  (1780),  the 
U.S.  astronomer,  Edward  C.  Pickering 
(1880),  and  the  German  geophysist,  Al- 
fred Wegener  (1900). 

By  and  large,  the  observation  was  re- 
garded only  as  an  interesting  coinci- 
dence. To  Wegener,  however,  it  was 
something  more  than  a  simple  curiosity. 
He  made  the  obvious  proposition  that 
the  continents  of  the  world  were  once  a 
large,  single  mass,  and  that  at  some  time 
in  the  past  they  split  apart  and  the 
granitic  continents  "drifted"  away  from 
each  other  on  top  of  the  underlying 
mantle  rocks  to  the  positions  in  which 
we  find  them  today.  This  he  called  the 
hypothesis  of  continental  drift. 

Wegener  spent  the  remaining  thirty 
years  of  his  life  gathering  evidence  for 
this  hypothesis.  Over  and  above  the  sim- 


Wegener  visualized  it.  (Because  this  is  a 
flat  map  projection  some  of  the  shapes 
are  necessarily  distorted.  In  order  to 
view  it  correctly  one  would  have  to  use 
a  globe.)  Note  that  the  correspondence 
between  the  actual  (above  water)  coast- 
lines is  not  exact.  This  is  to  be  expected. 
Each  continent  has,  projecting  from  its 
coast,  a  gradually  sloping  shelf,  which  is 
under  water  but  still  a  part  of  the  con- 
tinent. The  shelf  finally  drops  offsharply 
to  the  oceanic  deeps.  Thus  it  is  the  out- 
lines of  the  continents  out  to  their  shelf 
edges  that  should  fit  together  reasonably 
well.  And  in  fact,  as  our  knowledge  of 
the  shapes  of  continental  shelves  in- 
creases the  correspondence  becomes  bet- 
ter and  better.  From  Fig.  1 A  we  see  that 
Australia,  India,  Africa,  and  South 
America  all  come  together,  with  Ant- 
arctica in  the  center  at  the  southern 
end  of  the  continent.  In  the  north,  Eu- 
rope and  North  America  fit  together, 
with  Greenland  in  between. 

In  geology  the  notion  of  relative  time 
is  used  to  place  past  events  and  the  ages 
of  rocks.  For  example,  Carboniferous  is 
the  name  given  to  rocks  and  events  older 
than  the  Permian.  The  Permian  is  older 
than  the  Triassic;  the  Triassic  is  older 
than  the  Jurassic,  and  so  on.  Thus  if  a 
large  fault  (fracture)  disjoints  a  series  of 
Permian  and  Triassic  layers  but  does  not 
affect  Jurassic  layers  overlying  them,  we 


know  that  the  fault  occurred  some  time 
in  the  Triassic  and  before  the  Jurassic. 
The  same  kind  of  reasoning  is  true  of 
flexures  (folds)  in  rocks. 

Looking  at  a  series  of  folds  in  Africa 
it  is  possible  to  date  them  as  lower  Trias- 
sic. In  Fig.  2,  the  lines  A,  B,  and  C  mark 
the  axes  of  three  of  these  large  folds.  At 
present  they  go  right  up  to  the  coast  and 
stop.  However,  if  one  were  to  move 
South  America  adjacent  to  Africa  these 
three  folds  would  be  found  to  continue 
right  on  into  South  America.  What  is 
more,  the  latter  folds  are  lower  Triassic 


NTINENT! 


in  age  also! 

In  North  America  the  Appalachian 
Mountains  first  show  themselves  in  west- 
ern Georgia  and  wend  northeastward  as 
a  chain  of  high  ridges  up  through  Ver- 
mont, eastern  Quebec,  and  Newfound- 
land. At  the  northern  coast  of  that  is- 
land they  show  no  signs  of  waning  in 
size  or  gradually  flattening  out.  They 
simply  stop  dead  at  the  coast.  By  mov- 
ing our  jigsaw  puzzle  piece  called  North 
America  into  its  interlocking  position 
with  the  piece  called  Europe,  we  find 
that  the  Appalachians  connect  neatly 
onto  the  Caledonian  Mountains  of  Eng- 
land and  Scotland,  continuing  on  to 
Norway  and  up  to  Spitzbergen.  Further- 
more, the  ages  of  the  folding  that  warped 
up  these  mountains  on  both  sides  of  the 
Atlantic  are  the  same. 

Similarly,  the  swampy  fern  forests  of 
the  Carboniferous  are  evident  today 
from  the  vast  deposits  of  coal  that  run 
from  Illinois  through  Pennsylvania,  as 
well  as  through  England,  northern 
France,  Germany,  Poland,  and  the  east- 
ern U.S.S.R.  Furthermore,  ores  of  some 
precious  metals  common  to  South  Africa 
are  found  in  similar  formations  in  Argen- 
tina, Antarctica,  India,  and  Australia. 

Over  the  past  one  hundred  years,  pa- 
leontologists and  biologists  have  often 
struggled  with  the  problems  presented 
by  the   known  distribution   of  various 


animals  and  plants,  both  extinct  and 
presently  alive.  The  extinct  plants  of 
the  Glossoptera  group  occur  as  fossils  in 
rocks  of  the  same  age  in  Africa,  South 
America,  and  India.  Several  families  of 
worms  and  scorpions  currently  show  dis- 
tributions over  southern  South  America, 
South  Africa,  India,  and  eastern  Aus- 
tralia. Some  primitive  plants  and  fresh- 
water fishes  are  found  as  fossils  in  the 
(Devonian)  Old  Red  Sandstone  of  Eng- 
land. In  New  York  State  the  (Devonian) 
Catskill  Formation  is  strikingly  similar 
to  the  Old  Red  and  carries  the  same 
fossil  groups.  Perhaps  the  most  out- 
standing example  is  the  primitive  rep- 
tile, Mesosaurus,  which  exhibits  distinct 
physical  characteristics  and  shows  no 
clear  relationship  to  later  reptile  groups. 
Its  fossil  remains  are  confined  solely 
to  Permian  rocks  in  Brazil  and  South 
Africa. 

If  the  continents  were  not  once  an 
interlocking  mass,  in  order  to  account 
for  these  fossil  distributions  it  would  be 
necessary  to  postulate,  at  various  times 
in  the  past,  a  series  of  land  bridges,  or 
strings  of  closely  spaced  islands,  criss- 
crossing the  Atlantic  in  order  to  permit 
the  intercontinental  migration  of  animals 
and  plants  which,  though  closely  related, 
are  now  found  an  ocean  apart.  Indeed, 
many  biologists,  geologists,  and  paleon- 
tologists who  are  severe  critics  of  con- 
tinental drift  have  suggested  such 
bridges.  However,  when  they  are  pin- 
ned down  concerning  where  these 
bridges  connected  and  when  they  rose 
and  sank,  they  become  vague  and  non- 
committal. From  a  geophysical  point 
of  view  such  bridges  are  virtually  im- 
possible. 

From  the  mass  of  data  which  has  been 
accumulated  by  Wegener  and  his  follow- 
ers one  could  go  on  presenting  evidence 
to  support  the  hypothesis  of  continental 
drift.  For  our  purposes,  we  must  be  con- 
tent with  the  brief  resume  presented 
above  and  go  on  to  look  at  the  other 
side  of  the  question. 

The  opponents  of  continental  drift 
point  out  that  the  forces  required  to 
move  masses  are  so  large  that  they  would 
have  caused  a  major  catastrophe  in  the 
earth's  orbital  motion.  There  is  no  evi- 
dence of  such  a  world-wide  catastrophe 
in  the  geologic  record.  For  example,  a 
force  sufficient  to  move  America  west- 


ward by  50  degrees  of  longitude  in  30 
million  years  would  be  sufficient  to  halt 
the  earth's  rotation  in  one  year. 

Moreover,  if  one  looks  at  the  occur- 
rences of  modern  plants  of  the  dogwood 
family  (the  genus,  Cornus),  their  distribu- 
tion is  found  to  be  eastern  North  Ameri- 
ica,  southern  China,  and  New  Zealand ! 
If  this  kind  of  scattered  distribution  is 
possible  today,  it  should  not  be  difficult 
to  conceive  of  ancient  plants  and  ani- 
mals being  distributed  in  South  America 
and  Africa,  or  North  America  and  Eu- 
rope, without  these  continents  necessar- 
ily having  been  joined  together. 

On  the  basis  of  fossil  evidence  Wegener 


£C/ 

/  /-^—— A 

M 

1  SOUTH  AFRICA 

SOUTH     1 
AMERICA  I 

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:#\                          _  JOHANNESBURG  / 

VO-  A 

BLEN05\ 
AIRES  J 

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^-^-^v     si 

concluded  that  the  actual  split  took  place 
sometime  late  in  the  Triassic  or  early  in 
the  Jurassic,  or  about  1 50  million  years 
ago  (Figs.  IB,  1C).  Some  of  his  oppon- 
ents, however,  claim  that  sediments  col- 
lected from  the  Atlantic  Ocean  bottom 
are  older  than  Triassic.  If  so,  the  Atlan- 
tic must  have  been  open  ocean  prior 
to  the  time  when  Wegener  concluded 
that  it  was  supposed  to  have  formed. 

So  the  contest  goes  on  even  today. 
Perhaps  the  most  significant  part  of  the 
dispute  is  that  concerning  the  rate  of 
continental  movement.  In  principle, 
the  Americas  need  not  have  drifted  50 
degrees  to  the  west  of  Eurasia-Africa, 
but,  rather,  each  block  could  have 
drifted  about  25  degrees  of  longitude 
each  way  from  what  is  now  the  central 
Atlantic.  Thus  any  tendency  for  the 
Americas  to  stop  the  earth's  rotation 
presumably  would  have  been  more  than 
compensated  by  the  Eurasian-African 
block  going  in  the  other  direction.  In 
fact,  because  of  the  larger  mass  of  the 
latter,  the  earth  would  have  sped  up  to 
a  fantastic  rate  if  both  blocks  had  moved 
at  the  same  rate  away  from  the  center! 

September    Page  7 


Furthermore,  if  the  theory  of  conti- 
nental drift  is  correct,  there  is  no  reason 
to  assume  that  the  drifting  motion  would 
have  ceased.  It  is  presumably  going  on 
today.  To  test  this  supposition,  Weg- 
ener's modern  proponents  have  searched 
and  sifted  vast  amounts  of  data  covering 
surveys  made  over  the  past  100  years  of 
points  all  over  the  world.  Some  of  their 
conclusions  are  quite  interesting.  From 
1823  to  1933  a  small  island  near  Green- 
land called  Sabine  Island  has  been  sur- 
veyed four  times  by  different  men.  Its 
longitude  shows  a  westward  shift  of 
about  1300  feet,  or  about  13  feet  per 
year.  Similarly,  observations  of  longi- 
tude were  made  at  Godthaab  in  west 
Greenland  by  three  surveyors  on  three 
occasions  from  1863  to  1922.  Their  re- 
sults show  an  apparent  average  shift 
westward  of  about  1 2  feet  per  year.  The 
gap  between  Washington,  D.C.,  and 
Paris.  France,  appears  to  be  increasing  by 
about  one  inch  per  year.  Madagascar, 
on  the  other  hand,  shows  an  apparent 
motion  of  a  few  inches  per  year  in  an 
easterly  direction. 

The  modern  opponents  of  continental 
drift  point  out,  quite  rightly,  that  one 
cannot  compare  100-year-old  surveys 
with  modern  surveys.  The  older  deter- 
minations of  longitude  were  subject  to 
large  errors,  and  all  of  the  supposed 
shifts  are  within  standard  allowances  for 
observational  error.  The  defenders  of 
continental  drift,  on  the  other  hand, 
point  out  that  such  errors  are  so-called 
"plus  or  minus"  errors.  That  is,  they 
could  be  in  either  direction,  east  or  west. 
If  one  were  to  look  at  enough  data  one 
would  expect  to  find  as  many  apparent 
shifts,  due  to  errors,  in  an  easterly  as  well 
as  a  westerly  direction.  However,  all 
"errors"  in  studies  of  movement  of  the 
Americas  (including  Greenland,  as  well 
as  other  localities)are  to  the  west.  Stud- 
ies of  Madagascar  and  Africa  show  "er- 
rors" to  the  east,  just  as  they  should  if 
these  land  masses  are  presumed  to  be 
drifting  eastward. 

At  the  present  time,  several  groups 
are  working  on  accurate  determinations 
of  longitude  to  find  out  if  such  shifts  are 
really  taking  place.  The  present  tech- 
niques use  very  accurately  timed  radio 
signals,  which  are  subject  only  to  very 
small  error.  Navigational  satellites  will 
also  help  immeasurably  in  this  kind  of 

Page  8     September 


work.  Oceanographers  are  currently  at- 
tempting to  obtain  good  samples  from 
the  deep  Atlantic  to  determine  the  age 
of  the  oldest  sediment   on   its  bottom. 

The  idea  of  continental  drift  admits  of 
no  middle  ground  of  opinion.  Either  con- 
tinents drift,  or  they  don't.  Thus  the  hy- 
pothesis has  strong  defenders  and  strong 
opponents.  Some  of  the  best  minds  in 
modern  geology  and  geophysics  are  on 
each  side  of  the  dispute.  In  reality,  data 
on  the  physical  properties  of  the  earth's 
mantle  and  its  granitic  crustal  conti- 
nents are  not  good  enough,  even  today, 
to  say  whether  continental  drift  is  phys- 
ically possible  or  impossible. 

We  do  know,  however,  that  it  is  pos- 
sible for  large  pieces  of  continental  rock 
to  move  limited  distances.  For  example, 
in  California  there  is  the  famous  San 
Andreas  fault,  which  runs  through  cen- 
tral California  and  under  the  city  of  San 
Francisco.  The  fault  is  gradually  cutting 
off  the  southwest  side  of  California  and 
sliding  it  northwestward.  By  matching 
up  rocks  on  either  side  of  the  fault  it  is 
known  that  the  southwestern  block  has 
moved  some  100  miles  northwestward. 
As  opponents  of  continental  drift  point 
out,  however,  100  miles  is  a  fairly  small 
distance  in  contrast  to  the  distances 
whole  continents  are  supposed  to  have 
moved  under  the  Wegener  hypothesis. 

At  the  present  time  the  solution  to  the 
problem  can  only  be  viewed  as  a 
matter  of  opinion  until  there  is  quanti- 
tative data  one  way  or  the  other.  Strong 
opinions,  unfortunately,  often  take  the 
form  of  jibing  jokes  designed  to  ridicule 
the  opposition.  Opponents  of  conti- 
nental drift  enjoy  telling  a  small  fiction 
about  an  eminent  geologist  who  was  an 
ardent  proponent  of  the  hypothesis. 
This  gentleman,  one  day,  was  rowing  a 
boat  along  the  African  coast.  As  he  ap- 
proached a  protruding  ledge  of  rock  he 
observed  that  it  contained  a  fossil  fish. 
Unfortunately,  only  the  tail  end  of  the 
fish  remained.  Quickly  he  took  out  his 
Wegenerian  map  of  old  Pangaea  and 
found  the  corresponding  point  on  the 
South  American  coast.  He  turned  his 
rowboat  around  and  rowed  across  the 
Atlantic  to  that  place.  Sure  enough, 
there  was  a  ledge  of  the  same  kind  of 
rock,  and  in  it  he  found  the  head  of  the 
fossil  fish.  Only  one  trouble — it  was  up- 
side down ! 


MUSEUM  NEWS 


(Continued from  page  5) 

ings  several  ornithologists  from  other 
countries  traveled  to  Chicago  to  study 
this  Museum's  bird  collections.  Mr. 
C.  W.  Benson,  of  the  Game  and  Fish- 
eries Department,  Chilanga,  Northern 
Rhodesia,  returned  with  Traylor,  who 
recently  spent  seven  months  in  Northern 
Rhodesia  collecting  birds  and  mam- 
mals. Other  foreign  ornithologists  who 
visited  the  Museum  are:  Mr.  Rudyerd 
Boulton,  Atlantica  Foundation,  Salis- 
bury, Southern  Rhodesia;  Mr.  Jean 
Dorst,  Museum  National  d'Histoire  Nat- 
urelle,  Paris;  Dr.  Ernst  Shiiz,  Lud wigs- 
burg,  Germany. 


Dr.  Donald  Collier,  Curator  of  South 
American  Archaeology  and  Ethnology, 
attended  the  annual  meetings  of  the 
Central  States  Anthropological  Society 
in  St.  Louis. 


Mrs.  Paula  R.  Nelson,  Public  Rela- 
tions Counsel,  has  been  appointed  co- 
chairman  of  the  Science  Assembly  of  the 
Adult  Education  Council.  The  Science 
Assembly  will  plan  programs  on  science 
topics  for  members  of  the  Council  and 
the  general  public  during  the  coming 
months. 

Mrs.  Nelson  has  also  been  appointed 
to  the  Awards  Committee  of  the  Pub- 
licity Club  of  Chicago. 


Dr.  Louis  O.  Williams,  Curator  of 
Central  American  Botany,  attended  the 
recent  Neotropical  Botanical  Conference 
sponsored  by  the  National  Science  Foun- 
dation at  the  Imperial  College  of  Trop- 
ical Agriculture  of  the  University  of  the 
West  Indies  in  Trinidad.  The  confer- 
ence was  attended  by  botanists  repre- 
senting several  countries  in  the  neotropics 
as  well  as  by  specialists  from  American 
institutions  where  botanical  research  has 
a  strong  neotropical  orientation.  Dr. 
Williams  reports  that  a  beginning  was 
made  looking  toward  an  integrated  re- 
search program  which  it  may  be  hoped 
will  bring  greater  knowledge  to  bear  on 
problems  of  that  vast  region  where  nearly 
half  of  the  peoples  of  the  Americas  live. 

PRINTED   BY  CHICAGO   NATURAL   HISTORY   MUSEUM   PRESS 


CHICAGO' 
NATURAL! 
HISTORY  vu.33 
MUSEUM  0ci<j<* 


J\To.  JO 
4962 


OCTOBER  19  -  DECEMBER  9 

THE  ART  OF  BENIN 


THE    ART     OF 


BENIN 


Left:  Bronze  head.  Con- 
sidered to  be  an  early 
example  of  Benin  bronze 
casting  (perhaps  15th  Cen- 
tury). The  pupils  of  the 
eyes  and  the  two  strips  at 
the  center  of  the  forehead 
are  iron. 
Height,  734  inches. 


Phillip  H.  Lewis 
Curator,  Primitive  Art 


Cover:     Bronze  ornamental  mask. 

The  pupils  of  the  eye  are  iron  and 

a  chased  copper  strip  runs  down 

the  nose.    The  mask  was  worn  as  a 

personal  ornament,  hanging  at  the 

hip. 

Height,  734  inches. 

Photographs  by  the  Division 
of  Photography. 

All  illustrations  are  from  the 
Fuller  Collection. 

Paae  2     OCTOBER 


Art  often  establishes  a  bridge  between  peoples  of  diverse  ways  of  life. 
i  Not  dependent  upon  spoken  or  written  language,  art  appeals  directly 
to  all  men.  Visual  images  that  are  created  and  displayed  are  perceived 
and,  to  some  degree,  understood.  Although  we  do  not  always  know  all 
the  meanings  and  implications  that  these  images  hold  for  the  people  for 
whom  they  are  made,  often  the  images  are  clear  enough  so  that  they  seem 
familiar  to  us. 

The  art  of  Benin,  to  be  featured  in  a  special  exhibition  starting  Octo- 
ber 19th  and  scheduled  to  run  until  December  9th,  often  projects  such 
familiarity  to  those  seeing  it  for  the  first  time.  It  is  a  fairly  naturalistic 
art  style,  and  there  is  little  doubt  as  to  what  is  being  depicted.  People, 
clearly  recognizable  as  Africans  or  as  Europeans,  various  animals  and 
implements,  all  are  represented  in  the  art  objects. 


This  recognition  of  subject  matter  helps  us  to  feel  comfortable  in  the 
presence  of  Benin  art,  but  there  is  another,  less  apparent  point  of  famili- 
arity, also.  Benin  art  is  not  primitive  art;  rather,  it  is  art  arising  in  a 
society  in  many  ways  comparable  to  European  societies,  with  a  king,  a 
court,  and  guilds  of  artists  and  artisans.  Thus  it  was  made  under  cir- 
cumstances similar  to  much  of  the  art  with  which  we  are  more  familiar. 

Of  course,  there  are  unknown  meanings  and  contexts  of  Benin  art, 
for  experts  as  well  as  for  laymen.  In  spite  of  this,  the  viewer  of  Benin 
art  feels  more  recognition  than  mystery.  In  primitive  art,  on  the  other 
hand,  one  feels  that  the  subject  matter  is  less  understandable,  that  the 
styles  are  more  bizarre,  that  there  is  more  of  terror,  mystery,  and  the 
supernatural  involved  in  the  art. 

It  was  not  until  after  1897  that  Benin  art  was  seriously  considered  by 
Europeans,  although  the  Kingdom  of  Benin  had  been  known  in  Europe 
since  1485,  when  the  Portuguese  first  visited  it.  It  is  possible  that  a  few 
objects  of  Benin  art  found  their  way  to  Europe  before  1897,  but  only  after 
the  tragic  events  leading  up  to  and  including  the  Punitive  Expedition  of 
1897,  mounted  by  the  British  against  the  Kingdom  of  Benin,  did  the  art 
burst  into  the  consciousness  of  Europeans. 

Three  factors  were  important  in  the  quick  acceptance  of  and  great 
interest  in  Benin  art.  First,  there  was  the  excitement  generated  by  the 
military  action  and  the  acquisition  of  art  objects  as  spoils  of  war.  Second, 
in  the  late  1 890's  and  the  first  decades  of  the  20th  Century  several  large 
museums  had  either  just  started  (as  in  the  case  of  this  Museum)  or  were 
actively  building  collections,  and  consequently  were  eager  to  acquire  new 
finds  on  the  market.  A  third  and  important  factor  is  a  complex  one  that 
can  only  be  mentioned  here:  namely,  that  the  atmosphere  of  rapidly 
changing  tastes,  standards,  and  styles  in  the  world  of  European  art  was 
very  receptive  to  the  acceptance  of  many  new  art  forms,  and  Benin  art 
was  included  among  these. 

The  exhibition  combines  the  Museum's  Benin  collection  with  the  large 
and  important  Benin  collection  of  the  late  Captain  A.  W.  F.  Fuller,  which 
has  been  generously  loaned  to  Chicago  Natural  History  Museum  by  Mrs. 
Fuller.  The  329  pieces  on  display  comprise  the  largest  exhibition  of 
Benin  art  ever  shown  in  this  country,  and  perhaps  in  the  world.  A  fine 
early  bronze  head  has  also  been  loaned  to  the  exhibition  by  the  City  Art 
Museum  of  St.  Louis. 

In  planning  this  special  exhibition,  the  Museum  has  been  especially 
fortunate  in  having  the  assistance  of  Dr.  Philip  J.  C.  Dark,  Professor  of 
Anthropology  at  Southern  Illinois  University.  Dr.  Dark's  knowledge  of 
Benin  and  its  art,  and  his  work  in  the  Benin  History  Scheme,  have 
helped  to  make  the  exhibition  an  authoritative  one.  Dr.  Dark  is  the 
author  of  the  catalogue  of  the  exhibition. 


Above  fight:  Bronze  plaque.  A  unique  feature 
of  this  plaque  is  the  representation  of  two  Euro- 
peans with  such  disparity  between  their  sizes. 
Bronze  plaques  were  used  to  decorate  the  inte- 
rior walls  of  important  buildings. 
Height,  1634  inches. 

Center:  Terracotta  head.  Heads  of  terracotta  are 
rare  in  Benin  art. 
Height,  10$$  inches. 

Right:    Bronze  pendant  plaque.     A  European  is 
depicted  riding  a  horse.     Pendant  plaques  were 
worn  as  personal  ornaments. 
Height,  644  inches. 

October     Page  3 


The  Museum's  fall  series  of  illustrated 
lectures  for  adults  invites  attention 
to  both  the  American  continent  and 
Europe.  Programs  will  be  presented  in 
the  James  Simpson  Theatre  on  Saturday 
afternoons  during  October  and  Novem- 
ber. All  of  the  motion  pictures  are  in 
color  and  are  narrated  in  person  by  their 
nationally  known  producers.  Lectures 
begin  at  2 : 30  p.m.;  reserved  seats  will  be 
held  for  members  until  2 :25  p.m. 

October  6 

AUSTRIA 

Alfred  Wolff 

Noted  for  friendliness,  beauty,  and 
charm,  Austria  has  long  been  a  favorite 
of  travelers  abroad.  The  background 
for  Alfred  Wolffs  film  is  the  memorable 
scenery  of  the  country — its  peaceful  val- 

Page  i    October 


leys,  picturesque  villages  set  against 
jagged  mountain  ridges,  romantic  cas- 
tles and  sumptuous  gardens,  and,  of 
course,  the  beautiful  blue  Danube.  High- 
lights of  the  program  are  film  clips  of  the 
1961  meeting  in  Vienna  between  Presi- 
dent Kennedy  and  Premier  Nikita  Krush- 
chev, and  the  glittering  Concordia  Ball, 
Viennese  social  event  of  the  year.  The 
film  includes  a  stop  at  a  theater-on-the- 
sea  in  Bregenz,  and  attendance  at  a 
noble  wedding  in  an  ancient  castle. 

October  13 
CENTRAL  AMERICA 

Dwight  Nichols 

Linking  North  and  South  America  is 
the  Central  American  group  of  republics, 
a  vital  and  historic  portion  of  the  west- 
ern hemisphere.  Guatemala,  Honduras, 


PRESE 

of 

F 

Adult 


El  Salvador,  Nicaragua,  Costa  Rica,  and 
the  crossroads  nation  of  Panama  can 
claim  the  unusual  distinction  of  being 
located  between  two  great  continents 
and  two  great  oceans.  In  these  coun- 
tries corn  was  first  produced,  and  from 
them  also  come  mahogany,  most  of  the 
world's  bananas,  and  a  wealth  of  gold, 
silver,  and  copper.  The  heritage  of 
Aztecs,  Mayas,  and  Spanish  conquista- 
dores  is  seen  today  in  Central  America's 
architecture  and  customs.  And  like  the 
varied  population  it  supports,  the  Cen- 
tral American  landscape  presents  many 
"faces" — ancient  ruins,  jungles,  smoking 
volcanoes,  the  Panama  Canal  and  the 
scenic  glories  of  the  Pan-American  High- 
way. 

October  20 

CHILDREN  IN  CACTUS  LAND 

Paul  D.  R.  Ruthling 

The  education  of  a  naturalist's  chil- 
dren living  in  our  southwestern  Indian 
country  presents  quite  a  contrast  to  the 
education  usually  acquired  in  the  large 
eastern  and  midwestern  cities  of  the 
United  States.  Paul  D.  R.  Ruthling 
gives  a  sensitive  description  of  "growing 
up"  in  the  Southwest  in  a  first-hand  film 
account  of  the  daily  life  of  his  two  little 
daughters  on  a  560-acre  ranch  border- 
ing the  Indian  pueblo  of  Tesuque,  seven 
miles  north  of  Santa  Fe.  At  his  ranch 
and  in  Scottsdale,  Arizona  (his  winter 
base),  Ruthling  studies  reptiles  and  works 
with  the  Indians  of  the  Southwest,  en- 
couraging their  crafts  and  arts  and  pub- 
licizing their  work  through  exhibits  and 
lectures.  His  children's  adventures  with 
the  Indians  and  with  the  animals  of  the 
area  provide  the  theme  for  this  warm 
and  personal  film-lecture. 


TING    THE    118TH    SERIES 


EE 

.ectures 


October  27 

THE  PEOPLE  OF  DENMARK 

AND  GREENLAND 

Hjordis  Kittel   Parker 

Five  university  students  enjoying  a 
day  in  the  Tivoli  gardens  in  Copen- 
hagen provide  Mrs.  Parker  the  means 
for  introducing  five  distinctly  different 
parts  of  the  Kingdom  of  Denmark.  For 
those  who  think  of  Denmark  only  in 
terms  of  Copenhagen,  the  film  holds 
some  startling  surprises,  for  in  this  small 
country  can  be  found  a  wide  cross-sec- 
tion of  cultures.  Through  flashbacks  to 
the  earlier  lives  of  the  students,  each  of 
whom  comes  from  a  different  part  of  the 
country,  the  story  of  Denmark's  diverse 
cultures  is  told — the  dairy  and  farming 
people  of  Jutland  who  work  all  day 
against  a  landscape  of  idyllic  beauty; 
the  fishermen  of  the  island  of  Bornholm, 
in  the  Baltic  sea,  whose  existence  depends 
on  filling  their  nets  with  silvery  herring; 
the  fairytale  atmosphere  of  Odense, 
home  of  Hans  Christian  Andersen;  and 
Arctic  Greenland — the  world's  largest 
island — whose  inhabitants  live  in  mud 
huts  and  modern  homes  and  pursue  a 
frugal  but  vigorous  life  along  its  coasts. 


November  3 

BYWAYS  IN  BRITAIN 

Thayer  Soule 

Thousands  of  miles  of  back  roads  in 
rolling  green  countryside;  villages  of 
thatched  cottages  and  mellow  stone 
houses — this  is  the  England  that  many 
visitors  never  see,  the  England  that  de- 
fies stereotyping.  Thayer  Soule  follows 
the  island's  winding  roads,  taking  his 
camera  over  the  moors,  where  wild  po- 


nies roam;  far  away  to  rocky  headlands; 
past  the  sea,  with  its  white  beaches  and 
quiet  coves,  to  fishing  towns  and  ruined 
castles;  along  rivers  lazing  through  green 
fields;  and  down  to  the  shores  of  moun- 
tain rimmed  lakes.  Although  Soule's 
intent  is  to  present  the  less  familiar  by- 
ways of  Britain,  he  does  not  fail  to  in- 
clude a  touch  of  the  pageantry  that  is 
part  of  every  Englishman's  heritage — 
in  particular,  the  majestic  State  Open- 
ing of  Parliament  by  the  Queen. 

November  IO 
ONCE  AROUND  THE  SUN 

William   Ferguson 

A  motion  picture  journey  of  600  mil- 
lion miles  at  first  sounds  incredible,  yet 
every  one  of  us  travels  that  distance  an- 


nually as  the  earth  orbits  the  sun.  Wil- 
liam Ferguson's  film  records  such  a 
journey  in  the  form  of  a  trip  through 
the  seasons.  The  stage  is  the  entire 
United  States — its  fertile  Midwest,  its 
contrasts  of  mountains  and  prairies,  for- 
ests and  deserts,  and  shorelines — east, 
west,  and  south.  Beginning  with  New 
Year's  Day,  each  month  passes  in  turn, 
its  cast  appearing  in  a  brief  but  brilliant 
drama  that  shows  us  the  natural  events 
and  phenomena  distinctive  to  each  sea- 
son. 

November  17 

3,000  YEARS  UNDER  THE  SEA 

Stanton  Waterman 

Approximately  1,500  years  before 
Christ  an  ancient  cargo  ship  met  disas- 
ter off  the  Asia  Minor  coast  and  sank 
100  feet  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  More 
than  3,000  years  later,  during  the  sum- 
mer of  1959,  an  American  diving  expe- 
dition discovered  the  wreck.  As  the 
ship's  cargo  of  copper  ingots,  bronze 
weapons,  and  tools  was  raised  to  the  sur- 
face, Stanton  Waterman,  expert  diver- 
photographer,  recorded  the  historic  treas- 
ure hunt  in  dramatic  underwater  motion 
picture  sequences.  Occasionally  Water- 
man left  the  underwater  world  to  visit 
the  classic  Cyclades  and  Dodecanese  is- 
lands in  the  Aegean,  and  to  explore  a 
strange  "City  of  the  Dead"  on  the  re- 
mote southeastern  coast  of  Turkey. 

November  24 
THE  REAL  YELLOWSTONE 

Fran  William   Hall 

One  of  America's  most  imposing  na- 
tional treasures,  Yellowstone  National 
Park  annually  draws  millions  to  its 
scenes  of  grandeur.  The  elk,  moose, 
coyote,  antelope,  buffalo,  and  black  bear 
have  somehow  learned  to  live  with  these 
human  visitors  and  seem  almost  tolerant 
of  their  sight-seeing.  But  Hall  is  par- 
ticularly interested  in  Yellowstone  "out 
of  season"  when  the  people  are  gone  and 
the  wildlife  is  undisturbed.  It  is  this 
Yellowstone  that  he  captures  in  film, 
presenting  the  great  park's  aspects  and 
moods  that  few  people  have  ever  seen. 

October    Page  5 


CHICAGO 
NATURAL 
HISTORY 
MUSEUM 


NEWS 


IN  MEMORIAM 

Colin  Campbell  Sanborn,  who  served 
the  Chicago  Natural  History  Museum  as 
Curator  of  Mammals  from  1936  to  1955, 
died  on  August  28,  1962,  at  the  age  of  65 
at  his  home  in  Marcella,  Arkansas.  He 
had  retired  from  active  work  at  the  Mu- 
seum in  1955.  News  of  his  death  was  re- 
ceived with  deep  regret  by  the  many 
members  of  the  staff  who  had  been  his 
friends  and  colleagues  during  his  33 
years  of  association  with  the  Museum. 

Born  June  12,  1897,  and  educated  in 
public  schools  in  Evanston,  Illinois,  Mr. 
Sanborn  came  to  the  Museum  in  1922  as 
a  preparator  in  the  Division  of  Birds.  In 
1924  he  transferred  his  interests  from 
birds  to  mammals  but  retained  a  certain 
consistency  by  specializing  in  mammals 
that  fly.  Appointed  Assistant  Curator  of 
Mammals  in  1931,  he  became  Curator 
of  Mammals  in  1937. 

To  permit  him  to  visit  the  British  Mu- 
seum in  1 948,  for  a  six  months'  study  of 
bats,  Sanborn  was  awarded  a  fellowship 
by  the  John  Simon  Guggenheim  Memo- 
rial Foundation.  His  achievement  of  au- 
thority on  bats  of  the  world  led  to  his  be- 
coming a  Special  Consultant  to  the 
Unite*!  States  Public  Health  Service  in 
1953,  when  the  country  became  aroused 
over  transmittal  of  rabies  to  people  by 
bats.  In  this  capacity  he  made  an  ex- 
tensive field  trip  to  Trinidad.  He  re- 
ceived a  five-year  National  Science 
Foundation  grant  in  1954  for  a  world- 
wide study  of  the  Microchiroptera. 

Curator  Sanborn  made  seven  expedi- 
tions for  the  Museum,  to  Peru,  Chile, 
Brazil,  Uruguay,  Argentina,  the  Aleu- 
tian Islands,  and  Thailand.  He  was  an 
active  member  of  the  American  Society 
of  Mammalogists  for  many  years  and 
served  both  on  its  board  of  directors  and 
as  a  trustee.  He  was  a  charter  member 
of  the  Kennicott  Club,  a  limited  mem- 
bership club  of  naturalists  in  the  Chi- 
cago area,  and  served  it  in  various  ca- 
pacities,  including   president. 

Colin  Campbell  Sanborn  published 
23  scientific  papers  in  Fieldiana:    £ool- 

Page  6     OCTOBER 


ogy,  19  scientific  papers  and  notes  in  the 
Journal  of  Mammalogy,  15  papers  in  7 
other  scientific  journals  in  the  United 
States  and  12  papers  in  8  scientific  jour- 
nals of  other  countries. 

Sanborn  served  two  years  in  World 
War  I  in  the  field  artillery.  He  entered 
World  War  II  commissioned  direct  in 
the  navy  as  a  senior  grade  Lieutenant, 
and  during  his  3J^  years  of  service  ad- 
vanced to  the  rank  of  Lieutenant  Com- 
mander, serving  principally  at  Lima, 
Peru.  He  is  survived  by  his  wife,  Cath- 
erine Sanborn,  who  lives  in  Marcella, 
Arkansas,  and  two  adult  daughters, 
Louise  Ann  and  Judith.  An  especially 
able  field  man,  "Sandy"  was  liked  and 
respected  not  only  by  his  colleagues  in 
the  Museum  but  by  his  contemporaries 
in  other  institutions,  as  well. 

HALL  OF  GEMS  ADDITIONS 

During  the  past  year  several  new  gems 
have  Ijeen  added  to  the  exhibits  in  Higin- 
botham  Hall.  Mrs.  Cyril  L.  Ward  of 
Evanston  generously  donated  five  excel- 
lent opal  pieces.  These  are  mounted  as 
pins  and  pendants,  each  one  framed  in 
gold  with  diamond  and  ruby  settings. 

Through  purchase  from  the  Mrs.  Joan 
A.  Chalmers  Fund,  the  Museum  ac- 
quired a  large  crystal  (in  the  rough)  of 
the  gem,  kunzite.  The  crystal  weighs 
three  and  one-half  pounds.  Kunzite 
crystals  of  this  size  are  exceedingly  rare. 

Most  recently,  a  beautiful  cornucopia 
clip  of  diamonds  set  in  platinum  was 
placed  on  exhibit  in  the  Hall  of  Gems. 
The  clip  contains  several  hundred  dia- 
monds, the  largest  of  which  are  close  to 
one  carat.  This  fine  piece  was  given 
jointly  by  Mr.  Seymour  Oppenheimer, 
Mrs.  Edward  H.  Oppenheimer,  and 
Mrs.  Edward  Weiss. 

MEMORIAL  FUND  STARTED 

In  recent  years,  many  gifts  have  been 
received  from  Members  and  friends  of 
the  Museum,  in  memory  of  departed 
friends  and  relatives. 

In  view  of  the  increasing  number  of 


Chicago  Natural  History   Museum 

Founded  by  Marshall  Field,  1893 

Roosevelt  Road  and  Lake  Shore  Drive,  Chicago  5 

Telephone:  WAbaah  2-9410 

THE  BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES 


Lester  Armour 
Wm.  McCormick  Blair 
Bowen  Blair 
Walter  J.  Cummings 
Joseph  N.  Field 
Marshall  Field,  Jr. 
Stanley  Field 
Cliflord  C.  Gregg 
Samuel  Insull,  Jr. 
Henry  P.  Isham 


William  V.  Kahhr 
Hughston  M.  McBain 
J.  Roscoe  Miller 
William  H.  Mitchell 
John  T.  Pirie,  Jr. 
John  Shedd  Reed 
John  G.  Searle 
John  M.  Simpson 
Solomon  A.  Smith 
Louis  Ware 


J.  Howard  Wood 

OFFICERS 

Stanley  Field,  Chairman  ol  the  Board 

Clifford  C.  Gregg,  President 

Hughaton  M.  McBain,  First  Vice-President 

Joseph  N.  Field,  Second  Vice-President 

Bowen  Blair,  Third  Vice-President 

Solomon  A.  Smith,  Treasurer  and  Assistant  Secretary 

E.  Leland  Webber,  Secretary 

THE  BULLETIN 

EDITOR 

E.  Leland  Webber,  Director  of  the  Museum 

CONTRIBUTING  EDITORS 

Paul  S.  Martin,  Chiel  Curator  ol  Anthropology 

John  R.  Millar,  Chiel  Curator  of  Botany 

Rainer  Zangerl,  Chiel  Curator  of  Geology 

Austin  L.  Rand,  Chiel  Curator  of  Zoology 

MANAGING  EDITOR 

Paula  R.  Nelson,  Public  Relations  Counsel 

ASSOCIATE  EDITOR 

Marilyn  Jindrich,  Associate  in  Public  Relations 

Members   are   requested    to    inform    the    Museum 

promptly  of  changes  of  address. 


these  memorial  gifts,  the  Museum  has 
now  inaugurated  a  Museum  Memorial 
Fund  into  which  all  such  gifts  may  be 
placed.  This  will  assure  that  a  perma- 
nent record  will  be  kept  of  all  persons 
thus  honored,  together  with  the  names 
of  those  who  send  gifts  in  their  honor. 

This  fund  will  not  replace  any  of  the 
memorial  funds  now  on  the  records  of 
the  Museum,  nor  will  it  prevent  the 
founding  of  specific  memorial  funds  in 
the  future.  It  will,  however,  provide  a 
lasting  record  of  the  thoughtfulness  of 
friends  of  the  Museum  in  honoring  those 
whom  they  held  in  esteem. 

Those  wishing  to  honor  departed 
friends  or  relatives  need  only  write  to 
the  Museum.  Appropriate  notice  of  gifts 
received  will  be  sent  to  the  next  of  kin, 
or  other  person  designated  by  the  donor. 
(Continued  on  page  8) 


OCTOBER    FEATURED    EXHIBIT 


♦rsi»H*ts/i 


The  law  of  the  conservation  of  en- 
ergy is  a  fundamental  principle  in 
the  operation  of  our  physical  universe. 
Stated  in  everyday  words  it  says  that 
you  can  obtain  only  as  much  energy  out 
of  a  system  as  you  put  into  it. 

As  an  example  we  might  consider  a 
boy  standing  in  a  cornfield  throwing  a 
large  stone  straight  up  into  the  air.  In 
order  to  throw  the  stone  upward  he  has 
to  put  a  certain  amount  of  energy  be- 
hind it.  When  the  stone  has  reached  the 
top  of  its  climb  this  energy  is  nullified  by 
the  gravitational  pull  of  the  earth,  which 
pulls  it  back  down.  As  the  stone  falls  it 
goes  faster  and  faster  and  finally  hits  the 
ground.  When  it  hits,  it  stops  dead.  All 
of  its  energy  of  motion  is  transformed 
into  frictional  heat  energy.  Literally, 
the  stone  warms  the  ground  under  itself 
very  slightly  for  a  brief  time  until  the 
heat  diffuses  away. 

In  an  ideal  situation  the  energy  lost 


we  haven't  drifted  away  from  it.  The 
answer  is  "no."  Why?  Because  light 
and  fluorescence  of  light  are  forms  of 
energy  also. 

Sunlight,  for  example,  is  known  to 
consist  of  a  mixture  of  colors  from  infra- 
red through  red,  orange,  yellow,  green, 
blue,  and  violet  to  ultraviolet.  The  mix- 
ing together  of  these  colors  produces 
what  we  call  white  light.  However,  as 
we  know,  we  can  use  a  prism  to  break 
up  white  light  into  its  various  colors. 
Each  pure  color  has  its  own  particular 
wavelength.  As  the  word  "wavelength" 
implies,  light  has  certain  characteristics 
of  waves,  behaving  much  like  waves  in 
a  lake.  However,  the  wavelengths  for 
light  are  exceedingly  small.  For  exam- 
ple, red  light's  wavelength  is  about  26 
millionths  of  an  inch,  while  ultraviolet 
light's  wavelength  is  only  15  millionths 
of  an  inch.  To  us  these  are  very  small 
numbers.    But  to  an  atom  inside  a  crys- 


FLUORESCENT  MINERALS 

EDWARD  J.  OLSEN,    CURATOR    OF    MINERALOGY 


in  heating  up  the  ground  is  equal  to  the 
energy  the  boy  put  into  throwing  the 
stone.  Thus,  energy  was  transferred 
from  the  boy  to  the  ground  by  way  of 
the  stone's  motion,  but  the  total  energy 
of  the  situation  has  not  changed  one  bit. 
What  the  boy  lost,  the  ground  gained. 

To  carry  this  idealized  situation  a  step 
further,  suppose  the  heat  released  where 
the  stone  fell  were  totally  absorbed  by  a 
corn  plant  growing  beside  the  boy.  If 
the  boy  were  to  eat  the  corn  (containing 
a  certain  number  of  calories — that  is, 
energy),  he  would  gain  back  the  energy 
he  used  to  throw  the  stone,  and  we 
would  be  back  where  we  started. 

This  concept  of  the  conservation  of 
energy  governs  every  process,  from  the 
burning  of  a  match  to  an  atomic  explo- 
sion, from  the  throwing  of  a  stone  to  the 
propelling  of  a  rocket  ship  into  space. 
But  the  subject  of  this  article  is  fluores- 
cence in  minerals,  and  you  might  ask  if 


tal  they  are  relatively  large,  because 
most  atoms  have  dimensions  of  only 
about  5  billionths  of  an  inch ! 

Most  minerals  are  transparent  to  most 
wavelengths  of  light.  That  is,  light 
passes  through  and  out  of  the  minerals 
just  as  the  boy's  stone  passed  through 
the  air.  The  air  in  that  case  was  dis- 
turbed slightly,  but  not  seriously.  How- 
ever, the  atoms  in  some  crystals  become 
radically  disturbed  when  light  of  very 
short  wavelength  (ultraviolet)  impinges 
upon  them.  Instead  of  all  the  light 
passing  through,  some  of  the  energy  of 
the  light  is  absorbed,  causing  a  brief  dis- 
ruption in  the  arrangement  of  atoms  in 
the  mineral,  in  the  same  way  that  the 
stone  briefly  warmed  the  ground  that 
it  hit. 

To  understand  this  better,  we  might 
imagine  ourselves  sitting  in  a  small  row- 
boat  in  Lake  Michigan  when  a  strong 
wind  is  blowing.    Suppose  we  were  rid- 


ing over  waves  that  were  100  feet  high. 
If  these  wave  crests  were  a  mile  apart 
(that  is,  had  a  wavelength  of  one  mile) 
we  would  rise  slowly  1 00  feet  and  gently 
slide  down  the  trough  between  the  waves. 
We  would  be  in  no  serious  danger.  How- 
ever, suppose  the  crest-to-crest  distance 
became  shorter  and  shorter.  When  the 
crests  were  half  a  mile  apart,  we  would 
still  ride  them  out  smoothly.  But  when 
they  came  to  be  a  thousand  feet  apart 
we  would  be  experiencing  something 
like  a  roller  coaster  ride.  When  they 
reduced  to  100  feet,  we  would  be  vio- 
lently shoved  upward  100  feet  and 
slammed  down  again.  We  are  now  in 
danger  of  being  turned  over  because  we 
are  being  hit  with  large  amounts  of  en- 
ergy in  short  intervals  of  time. 

When  very  short  wave  ultraviolet  light 
disrupts  the  atoms  in  a  mineral  in  this 
same  way,  it  imparts  to  them  a  large 
part  of  its  "up  and  down"  energy.  The 
atoms  attempt  to  go  back  to  their  stable 
positions,  and  in  doing  so  they  give  off 
the  energy  they  receive  in  accordance 
with  the  law  of  the  conservation  of  en- 
ergy. This  energy  is  emitted  from  the 
mineral  in  the  form  of  light  waves  again. 
The  wavelength  might  be  blue,  green, 
yellow,  red,  etc.  The  color  will  depend 
on  the  kinds  of  atoms  in  the  mineral. 
Thus,  the  mineral  is  said  to  fluoresce. 
The  length  of  time  it  fluoresces  de- 
pends, again,  on  the  kinds  of  atoms  pres- 
ent and  the  time  it  takes  them  to  settle 
down  once  the  light  has  been  shut  off. 
For  some  minerals  this  time  may  be 
several  minutes.  These  exhibit  a  slow 
fading  away  of  their  fluorescence,  and 
are  said  to  be  luminescent. 

Probably  the  best  fluorescent  sub- 
stances in  the  mineral  kingdom  are  those 
minerals  which  have  the  atom  calcium 
in  them.  Good  examples  are  calcite, 
fluorite,  scheelite,  and  autunite.  The 
colors  which  these  minerals  fluoresce 
under  ultraviolet  light  depend  to  some 
extent  upon  the  other  kinds  of  atoms 
present.  Calcite  will  fluoresce  pink, 
yellow,  and  carmine  red.  Scheelite  usu- 
ally fluoresces  yellow  to  light  blue.  Fluo- 
(Continued  on  page  8) 

October    Page  7 


rite  usually  fluoresces  blue,  while  autu- 
nite  fluoresces  light  green.  The  color 
which  a  fluorescent  mineral  gives  off  is 
in  no  way  related  to  its  color  as  you  see 
it  in  normal  light. 

It  is  not  even  possible,  at  present,  to 
predict  whether  visible  fluorescence  will 
occur.  We  know  that  some  calcium  min- 
erals usually  fluoresce  well,  yet  the  com- 
mon mineral  gypsum  (also  a  calcium- 
bearing  mineral)  does  not  fluoresce  in 
ultraviolet  light.  The  property  of  fluo- 
rescence seems  to  depend  in  part  on  the 
way  the  atoms  are  arranged  in  a  partic- 
ular mineral.  A  certain  symmetry  of 
arrangement  controls  the  freedom  with 
which  the  fluorescing  atom  may  react 
to  the  incident  ultraviolet  light.  Going 
back  to  our  analogy  of  the  boat  in  Lake 
Michigan,  suppose,  instead  of  a  row- 
boat,  we  were  in  a  large  freight  boat 
loaded  with  fifty  thousand  tons  of  iron 
ore  from  Minnesota.  Such  a  massive 
boat  would  still  heave  up  and  down  but 
would  react  more  sluggishly  to  the  waves 
pounding  it.  Further,  let  us  imagine 
that  the  boat  is  firmly  anchored  to  the 
bottom.  The  waves  would  wash  over  it 
but  it  would  move  only  a  little,  being 
fixed  in  place  by  the  lengths  of  anchor 
chain.    So  the  atoms  in  some  minerals 


may  be  thought  to  be  more  firmly  "an- 
chored" than  in  other  minerals. 

However,  it  is  possible  to  obtain  fluo- 
rescence from  all  minerals  if  we  use  wave- 
lengths of  light  even  shorter  than  the 
ultraviolet.  These  very  short  wave- 
lengths of  around  40  billionths  of  an 
inch  are  called  X-rays.  Under  X-rays 
all  minerals  fluoresce.  Unfortunately, 
they  fluoresce  "colors"  which  have  X-ray 
wavelengths  and  are  completely  invisi- 
ble to  our  eyes.  We  might  think  of 
X-ray  waves  as  having  so  much  energy 
that  they  are  capable  of  breaking  even 
the  strongest  anchor  chains  our  ship 
could  put  down. 

Returning  to  visible  fluorescence,  we 
might  point  out  that  it  is  not  solely  con- 
fined to  minerals.  Some  natural  wood 
materials  as  well  as  some  petroleum  oils 
fluoresce  in  ultraviolet  light.  Fluores- 
cence may  also  be  stimulated  by  other 
kinds  of  energy.  Travelers  at  sea  are 
often  astounded  to  see  large  patches  of 
ocean  water  glowing  with  an  eerie  bluish 
light.  This  is  caused  by  millions  of  mi- 
nute organisms,  called  plankton,  which 
float  on  the  ocean's  surface.  Probably 
most  remarkable  of  all  is  the  lumines- 
cence of  some  jellyfish  and  insects  ("fire- 
flies").  In  these  cases  the  glow  is  turned 


off  and  on  by  the  animal  itself.  From 
what  we  have  said  already,  we  now 
know  that  the  animal  is  providing  en- 
ergy, in  some  form,  to  cause  it  to  glow 
in  this  way.  How  it  does  this  is  now 
fairly  well  understood.  The  animal  sup- 
plies chemical  energy  to  a  certain  mole- 
cule which  absorbs  the  energy  and  gives 
off  light  of  equal  energy. 

Fluorescence  in  minerals  is  viewed 
with  awe  by  many  people.  However, 
as  we  have  attempted  to  show  in  this 
article,  it  is  only  an  example  of  the  law 
of  conservation  of  energy.  In  our  world 
and  in  the  spaces  beyond,  this  law  is 
operating  at  all  times,  in  all  processes. 
It  is  also  evident  in  every  machine  we 
build  and  use.  We  put  energy  into  an 
auto  in  the  form  of  gasoline,  and  from  it 
we  obtain  energy  in  another  form — the 
forward  motion  of  the  car. 

Recently  the  Museum  has  installed 
new  ultraviolet  lights  in  its  exhibit  case 
of  fluorescent  minerals.  These  lights 
operate  on  a  timer  so  that  one  may  see 
specimens  of  minerals,  woods,  and  oils 
change  their  colors  as  the  lights  switch 
from  white  to  ultraviolet.  The  case, 
located  in  the  corridor  between  Halls  36 
and  37  (second  floor,  west),  is  the  Mu- 
seum's exhibit-of-the-month  for  October. 


MUSEUM     NEWS 


(Continued  from  page  6) 


DOCTORATES  RECEIVED 

Two  Museum  staff  members  received 
the  Doctor  of  Philosophy  degree  from 
the  University  of  Chicago  at  the  convo- 
cation held  August  31.  The  Ph.D.  in 
Zoology  was  conferred  upon  Dr.  Rupert 
L.  Wenzel,  Curator  of  Insects,  while  Dr. 
Bertram  G.  Woodland,  Associate  Cura- 
tor of  Petrology,  received  his  doctorate 
in  Geology.  Recently  Dr.  Wenzel  was 
appointed  Lecturer  in  the  Department 
of  Zoology  of  the  University  of  Chicago. 

FREE  CONCERTS 

The  Orpheon  Chorus  of  Coimbra,  a 
male  choral  group  from  Portugal  now  on 
its  first  American  tour,  will  open  the 
fourth  season  of  musical  events  to  be  pre- 
sented in  Chicago  by  the  Free  Concerts 
Foundation.  Considered  one  of  the  finest 
choral  groups  of  Europe,  the  80  mem- 
bers of  the  Orpheon  Chorus  will  per- 

Page  8    October 


form,  with  instruments,  in  the  Museum's 
James  Simpson  Theatre  on  Sunday, 
November  4,  at  8:15  p.m.  For  free  tick- 
ets, send  a  stamped,  self-addressed  en- 
velope to  Free  Concerts  Foundation, 
Chicago  Natural  History  Museum, 
Roosevelt  Road  and  Lake  Shore  Drive, 
Chicago  5. 

Future  concerts  planned  by  the  Foun- 
dation include:  Julius  Katchen,  pianist, 
on  Tuesday,  November  27;  Gerard  Sou- 
zay  and  Maureen  Forrester  in  joint  re- 
cital on  Wednesday,  January  16;  the 
Komitas  Quartet,  a  chamber  music 
group  from  the  U.S.S.R.,  on  Wednes- 
day, February  6;  and  the  Lucerne  Fes- 
tival Strings  on  Tuesday,  February  26. 
All  concerts  will  be  given  in  the  James 
Simpson  Theatre. 

Mrs.  J.  Dennis  Freund,  Founder  and 
Sponsor  of  Free  Concerts  Foundation, 
has  also  announced  that  the  Foundation 


w'.ll  present  concerts  this  season  in  Wash- 
ington, D.C.,  New  York  City,  Paris,  and 
London. 

CHILDREN'S  MOVIES 

The  Museum's  fall  series  of  free  movies 
for  children  will  begin  on  October  6. 
Programs  will  be  presented  each  Satur- 
day morning  at  10:30  a.m.  in  the  James 
Simpson  Theatre.  Following  is  the  com- 
plete schedule: 

October  6 — The  Young  of  Animals 

October  13 — Central  America 

October  20 — Children  in  Cactus  Land 

October  27— Scotland 

November  3 — Animals  in  Winter 

November  10— This  Curious  World 

November  17 — Challenge  of  the  Ocean 

November  24 — -The  Real  Yellowstone 

PRINTED  BY  CHICAGO  NATURAL  HISTORY  MUSEUM   PRESS 


HISTORY      vol.33        no.  11 

MUSEUM  November  1962 

i 


A  report  from  the 

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A  Field  Report  From  Iran 


The  Museum  is  pleased  to 
publish  in  this  issue  of  the 
Bulletin  a  first  field  report 
from  the  W.  S.  and  J.  K.  Street 
Expedition  of  Chicago  Natural 
History  Museum  to  Iran. 

Headed  by  Mr.  William  S. 
Street  of  Seattle,  the  expedition, 
which  has  been  in  the  field  since 
August  1st,  is  making  a  study  of 
Iranian  mammals.  Not  only 
will  these  animals  be  studied  in 
their  natural  habitats,  but  a 
large  variety  of  mammal  skins 
and  skeletons  will  also  be 
brought  back  to  the  Museum 
for  further  research. 

A  few  months  ago,  Mr.  Street 
resigned  the  chairmanship  of 
of  the  Seattle  World's  Fair  cor- 
poration in  order  to  lead  the 
Iranian  expedition.  A  former 
executive  vice  president  of  Mar- 
shall Field  &Co.,  Mr.  Street  had 
retired  earlier  this  year  as  presi- 


Page  2    November 


dent  of  Seattle's  Frederick  and 
Nelson  department  store.  He  is 
an  experienced  and  enthusias- 
tic collector  of  large  mammals 
from  distant  places  and  con- 
tributed the  Museum's  Alaska 
brown  bear  habitat  group. 

Mrs.  Janice  K.  Street,  who 
shares  her  husband's  interests 
in  photography,  fishing,  and 
big-game  hunting,  is  with  him 
on  this  expedition  in  Iran.  A 
third  member  of  the  expedition 
is  Mr.  Douglas  Lay,  a  mammal- 
ogist  who  is  especially  interested 
in  bats.  Mr.  Lay  brings  to  the 
party  in  Iran  not  only  his  pro- 
fessional knowledge,  but  the  ex- 
perience he  has  gained  from  two 
extensive  mammal  collecting  ex- 
peditions into  Tabasco,  Mexico. 

Further  reports  from  the 
Streets  on  the  expedition's  ac- 
tivities will  appear  in  future 
issues  of  the  Bulletin. 


William  S.  Street 


The  Tehran 
Palace   Hotel 

July  23:  While  we  were  still  in  London, 
Dr.  F.  C.  Fraser  of  the  British  Museum 
turned  us  over  to  Mr.  J.  E.  Hill,  who 
obligingly  spent  all  day  with  us.  What- 
ever we  wanted  to  see,  if  it  was  in  the 
Museum's  mammal  collection,  Mr.  Hill 
dug  it  out;  so  our  stop  was  well  worth- 
while. The  museum's  collection  of  scien- 
tific material  was  impressive — in  excess 
of  250,000  mammal  specimens. 

At  Tehran  we  were  met  by  several  del- 
egations of  persons,  all  there  to  help  our 
expedition.  The  two  American  Embassy 
people  got  to  us  first.  With  their  help  our 
luggage  was  cleared  through  customs. 
Then  we  scooped  up  the  others,  and  had 
a  coke  at  the  hotel  with  everybody. 


over:  Mr.  Street  and  Mr.  Lay  don  ap- 
opriate  gear  for  hunting  at  night.  They 
e  atop  the  specially  equipped  travel-all 
nated  by  International  Harvester  Comp- 
y  for  the  expedition's  use  in  Iran. 

eft:    The  expedition  members  in  camp. 


The  hours  of  work  for  most  offices 
here  are  from  seven  or  seven-thirty  in 
the  morning  to  one  o'clock,  at  which 
time  they  close  for  the  day.  Banks  are 
open  from  seven-thirty  to  twelve  noon. 
The  customs  office  closes  at  one,  so  if 
there  is  any  delay — another  day  is  gone. 
Despite  that,  the  Embassy  cleared  our 
guns  and  ammo  and  the  air  freight  ship- 
ment promptly.  We  expect  the  ocean 
shipment  tomorrow,  and  shall  start  un- 
packing and  sorting  immediately.  We 
have  obtained  permission  to  use  storage 
space  in  the  Red  Lion  and  Sun  ware- 
house. After  loading  our  trucks,  we'll 
look  at  the  equipment  that  is  left  and  de- 
cide whether  we  can  bear  to  leave  any 
of  it. 

Eskander  Firouz,  Secretary  of  the 
Game  Council  of  Iran,  had  a  frank  talk 
with  us.  The  Game  Council  would  help 
us,  and  he  hoped  that  we,  in  turn,  could 
help  the  Council,  sometime,  to  develop  a 
management  and  conservation  program 
for  their  fauna.  I  made  it  clear  that  in 
putting  together  the  comprehensive 
study  and  collection  we  intended — with 
subsequent  publication — we  would  au- 
tomatically provide  them  with  the  be- 
ginnings of  a  program,  since  they  would 
know  more  about  their  mammals  than 
they  now  do.  Firouz  is  interested  pri- 
marily in  programs  for  the  large  game 
mammals,  partly  in  order  to  preserve 
them  for  hunting,  but  I  think  the  Coun- 
cil will  become  more  interested  in  small 
mammals  as  their  representative  goes 
with  us  and  sees  what  we  do. 

Kosrow  Sariri  of  the  Game  Council 
will  be  with  us  for  six  weeks.  Apparently 
he  knows  the  country  and  has  done  a  lot 
of  hunting.  Tall,  athletically  built — I 
suspect  he'll  be  terrific  as  our  chief  of 
staff.  In  addition,  two  or  three  wardens 
will  be  with  us,  also,  to  help  us  hunt. 

We  will  begin  our  hunting  in  a  pre- 
serve on  the  right  of  the  Chalus  Road. 
Our  first  camp  will  be  high,  about 
10,000  feet.  We'll  get  there  by  mules  ar- 
ranged by  the  Game  Council.  Sariri  will 


help  us  with  our  food  list.  I  expect  that 
with  only  mules  for  transport  we'll  oper- 
ate a  stripped-down  camp  at  first,  and 
our  food  list  will  be  shorter  than  we 
might  otherwise  have.  Yet  we  expect  to 
eat  well  on  wild  meat  and  plenty  of  rice ! 

Camp  Doab 

The  Alborz  Mountains 

(10,900  feet  elevation),  August  4:  Our 
first  camp  is  about  20  kilometers  east  of 
Gachsar,  on  the  crest  of  the  Alborz 
Mountain  ridge.  We  arrived  on  August 
1st.  It  was  a  long  trek  up.  We  had  19 
animals — horses  and  mules — to  pack  us 
in.  Doug  walked  all  the  way.  I'm  glad  I 
rode  about  two-thirds  of  the  distance,  be- 
cause we  arrived  at  four  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  and  at  five  I  was  off  to  look 
for  sheep.  I  arrived  back  at  camp  that 
night  after  nine,  dead  tired,  with  a  split- 


ting headache,  but  with  three  rams  of 
Ovis  orientalis.  We  shot  them  at  12,400 
feet  elevation ! — hence  the  headache  and 
tiredness. 

All  told,  there  are  twelve  of  us  in  camp 
— Kosrow  Sariri,  the  Adjutant  Inspector 


in  charge  of  field  wardens,  two  wardens, 
a  cook,  a  driver,  three  Iranian  workers, 
Douglas  Lay,  Mrs.  Street  and  myself. 

Today  we  were  to  leave  at  5:00  a.m. 
for  goats,  but  a  windstorm  and  clouds 
came  up  and  obstructed  our  plans.  It 
was  just  as  well,  for  after  yesterday  I  was 
glad  to  sleep  ten  hours  instead  of  six. 
We  were  up  to  13,100  feet  yesterday. 
After  side-hilling  up  the  whole  moun- 
tain to  about  2,200  feet  above  camp,  and 
then  coming  back  straight  down  the  rock 
slides,  I  was  stiff  as  a  board  today. 
But  the  weight's  coming  off,  and  I  feel 
stronger  each  day.  By  the  time  we  pull 
out  for  our  next  camp  I  expect  to  be  in 
pretty  good  physical  shape. 

The  mountains  surrounding  us  are 
magnificent,  and  the  coloring  in  the  rock 
slides  seems  unbelievable :  there  is  an 
immense  amount  of  turquoise  and  blu- 
ish rock.  Alpine  flowers  are  abundant 
and  we  have  found  them  as  high  as  we 
have  gone.  Some  of  these  we  have 
picked  and  are  preserving  in  an  impro- 
vised press. 

Doug  is  working  hard  with  his  trap 
lines,  not  catching  as  many  specimens  as 
he'd  like,  but  getting  some  variety.  Get- 
ting ibex  is  apparently  going  to  be  tough. 
They  stay  high  in  the  rocky  areas,  some 
of  which  are  impossible  for  us  to  reach. 
There  is  a  great  deal  of  green  on  the 
mountains  almost  all  the  way  up,  pro- 
viding lots  of  feed  for  the  game  as  well 
as  for  herds  of  sheep  and  goats. 

Shepherds  travel  up  and  down  these 
mountains  as  though  they  were  walking 
on  the  level.  One  herd  we  saw  had 
1 ,300  animals,  of  every  color  imaginable : 
black,  brown,  grey,  white,  tan,  and  all 
combinations.  Mrs.  Street  thought  the 
most  fetching  sight  was  the  occasional 
ram,  billy,  or  ewe  with  a  string  of  bright 
blue  beads  around  its  neck.  We  visited 
one  shepherd's  cottage,  well  above  our 
camp,  where  eleven  men  and  boys  were 
staying.  The  place  was  built  into  the 
hill  on  three  levels.  The  lowest  was 
where  they  baked  bread  and  stored  their 
milk  and  cheese;  it  was  as  cool  as  a  root 
cellar.  Every  so  often  one  of  the  men 
would  go  down  to  their  village,  taking 
the  butter  they  made.  Their  churn 
looked  like  a  hollowed  out  log  with  a 
plunger  filling  the  top. 

{Continued  on  page  8) 

November     Page  3 


CHICAGO 
NATURAL 
HISTORY 
MUSEUM 


NEWS 


Art  of  Benin 
Continues 

On  the  evening  of  October  18  an  in- 
terested audience  of  several  hundred 
Members  and  guests  enjoyed  a  preview 
glimpse  of  the  Museum's  new  exhibi- 
tion, "The  Art  of  Benin,"  which  opened 
to  the  public  the  following  day. 

More  than  330  objects  from  Benin — 
the  largest  number  ever  assembled  in 
this  country — trace  the  artistic  and  cul- 
tural life  of  this  historic  African  kingdom 
from  the  time  of  its  discovery  by  Portu- 
guese travelers  in  1485  down  to  the  pres- 
ent century.  Members  who  missed  the 
preview  are  urged  to  schedule  an  early 
visit  to  this  unique  exhibition,  since  it 
will  remain  on  display  through  Decem- 
ber 9  only. 

New  Research 

on  Tropical  Insects 

Biting  insects  which  are  suspected  car- 
riers of  tropical  diseases  will  be  studied 
under  a  three-year  grant  to  Chicago 

Top:  Mr.  Phillip  H.  Lewis,  Curator 
of  Primitive  Art,  discusses  a  magnifi- 
cently carved  elephant  tusk  with  Mr. 
Charles  Okpala,  Nigerian  student  at 
the  University  of  Chicago. 

Center:  Dr.  Donald  Collier,  Curator 
of  South  American  Archaeology  and 
Ethnology,  answers  questions  from  a 
group  of  Members. 

Left:  Members  of  the  Museum's 
Board  of  Trustees,  and  distinguished 
anthropologists  from  the  Chicago  area 
and  abroad,  congratulate  Dr.  Philip 
J.  C.  Dark  (center),  Professor  of  An- 
thropology at  Southern  Illinois  Univer- 
sity, who  was  consultant  for  the  exhibi- 
tion. Reading  from  left  to  right:  Dr. 
Clifford  C.  Gregg,  President;  Mr. 
Joseph  N  Field,  Second  Vice  Presi- 
dent; Dr.  Dark;  Dr.  Fred  Eggan, 
Chairman,  Department  of  Anthropol- 
ogy, University  of  Chicago;  Dr.  Mel- 
ville J.  Herskovits,  Director,  The  Af- 
rican Institute,  Northwestern  Univer- 
sity; Dr.  Adrian  A.  Gerbrands,  Asso- 
ciate Director,  The  Royal  Museum  of 
Ethnography,  Leiden,  Netherlands. 


Natural  History  Museum  from  the  United 
States  Army  Medical  Research  and  De- 
velopment Command. 

Director  of  the  study  is  Dr.  Rupert  L. 
Wenzel,  Curator  of  Insects.  As  Malari- 
ologist  for  the  U.  S.  Army  in  Brazil  dur- 
ing World  War  II,  Wenzel  organized 
the  Army's  program  to  control  malaria — 
a  mosquito-borne  disease — in  the  areas 
surrounding  bases  on  the  air  transport 
route  supplying  the  Africa  and  China- 
India  theaters. 

The  study  will  be  based  on  the  Mu- 
seum's extensive  collections  of  fleas,  ticks, 
mites,  chiggers,  and  batflies  acquired 
over  a  period  of  many  years  from  north- 
ern South  America  and  Panama.  Med- 
ical researchers  realize  that  many  of  these 
insects,  which  live  as  parasites  on  other 
animals,  transmit  diseases  from  their 
hosts  to  man.  But  until  these  potential 
disease  carriers  are  identified  and  classi- 
fied, and  their  life  histories  known,  no 
program  aimed  at  controlling  them  can 
be  organized. 

The  Army's  grant  of  $32,080  over  a 
three-year  period  will  now  enable  the 
Museum  staff,  and  collaborators  from 
other  institutions,  to  carry  out  a  program 
of  basic  research  on  the  identification, 
classification,  and  biology  of  these  in- 
sects, some  of  which  affect  the  health  of 
millions  of  people  living  in  underdevel- 
oped areas  of  the  world. 

The  grant  also  provides  for  publica- 
tion of  a  unique  and  comprehensive  vol- 
ume containing  the  first  extensive  infor- 
mation ever  compiled  on  the  host-parasite 
relationships  of  the  biting  insects  of  Pan- 
ama; illustrations  of  these  insects  and 
keys  to  their  classification;  complete  lists 
of  their  host  mammals;  and  analyses  of 
the  biological  and  geographical  environ- 
ment in  which  these  insects  live. 

The  16  papers  to  be  included  in  this 
publication  are  now  being  prepared  by 
Dr.  Wenzel  and  other  biological  re- 
searchers in  the  United  States,  Mexico, 
and  Panama  who  are  collaborating  with 
the  Museum  on  this  project.  The  Ecto- 
parasites of  Panama  will  be  published  by 
Chicago  Natural  History  Museum. 

Page  4    November 


Chicago  Natural  History  Museum 

Founded  by  Marshall  Field,  1893 


Roosevelt  Road  and  Lake  Shore  Drive,  Chicago  5 
Telephone:  WAbash  2-9410 


East  African 
Photographs  Shown 

The  intricate  mosaic  of  tribal  life  in 
East  Africa  and  the  island  of  Zanzibar 
is  evoked  in  a  new  photographic  exhi- 
bition being  shown  in  the  Museum's 
Stanley  Field  Hall  through  November  30. 

The  photographs  were  made  by  Dr. 
Robert  F.  Gray,  Associate  Professor  of 
Anthropology  at  Tulane  University,  dur- 
ing two  field  trips  to  East  Africa  in  1950- 
51  and  1954-56.  Of  special  interest  to 
Gray  were  the  customs  of  four  East  Afri- 
can tribes — the  Segeju,  the  Wambugwe, 
the  Gorowa,  and  the  Sonjo.  Most  of  the 
photographs  in  the  exhibit  reflect  daily 
life  in  these  tribes. 

The  Segeju  are  one  of  approximately 
a  dozen  Swahili-  and  Bantu-speaking 
peoples  inhabiting  Tanganyika  and 
southern  Kenya.  Because  most  of  the 
Segeju  villages  are  located  on  the  coast, 
they  have  been  influenced  by  coastal 
Arabs  for  many  centuries.  As  a  result, 
every  Segeju  village  has  at  least  one 
mosque  and  a  school  where  the  children 
memorize  long  passages  from  the  Koran 
and  are  taught  a  smattering  of  Arabic. 
A  blend  of  Islamic  and  pagan  elements, 
the  popular  religion  of  the  Segeju  in- 
cludes elaborate  rituals  in  which  the 
whole  village  takes  an  active  part. 

The  Wambugwe,  another  Bantu- 
speaking  tribe  numbering  about  8,000, 
live  on  the  floor  of  the  Rift  Valley  in 
northern  Tanganyika.  Their  unusual 
rain-making  ceremonies  have  provided 
abundant  material  for  Gray's  camera 
studies. 

In  recent  years  the  cattle  auction  has 
become  the  major  social  event  of  the 
Gorowa,  still  another  tribe  of  Tan- 
ganyika. The  auctions  were  started  by 
the  government  of  Tanganyika  to  de- 
velop one  of  the  major  resources  of  the 
country  by  providing  a  market  outlet 
for  cattle.  The  photographs  show  crowds 
of  people  turning  out  for  the  auctions, 
which  have  added  a  new,  commercial 
aspect  to  tribal  life. 

Inhabiting  an  isolated  stretch  of  land 
extending  into  both  Kenya  and  Tan- 
(Continued  on  page  8) 

November    Page  5 


THE  BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES 


William  V.  Kahl;.- 
Hughston  M.  McBain 
J.  Roscoe  Miller 
William  H.  Mitchell 
John  T.  Pirie,  Jr. 
John  Shedd  Reed 
John  G.  Searlc 
John  M.  Simpson 
Solomon  A.  Smith 
Louis  Ware 
Howard  Wood 
OFFICERS 
Stanley  Field,  Chairman  of  the  Board 
Clifford  C.  Gregg,  President 
Hughston  M.  McBain,  First  Vice-President 
Joseph  N.  Field,  Second  Vice-President 
Bowen  Blair,  Third  Vice-President 
Solomon  A.  Smith,  Treasurer  and  Assistant  Secretary 
E.  Leland  Webber,  Secretary 


Lester  Armour 
Wm.  McCormick  Blair 
Bowen  Blair 
Walter  J.  Cummings 
Joseph  N.  Field 
Marshall  Field,  Jr. 
Stanley  Field 
Clifford  C.  Gregg 
Samuel  Insull,  Jr. 
Henry  P.  Isham 

J' 


THE   BULLETIN 

EDITOR 
B.  Leland  Webber,  Director  of  the  Museum 

CONTRIBUTING  EDITORS 

Paul  S.  Martin,  Chief  Curator  of  Anthropology 

John  R.  Millar,  Chief  Curator  of  Botany 

Rainer  Zangerl,  Chief  Curator  of  Geology 

Austin  L.  Rand,  Chief  Curator  of  Zoology 

MANAGING  EDITOR 
Paula  R.  Nelson,  Public  Relations  Counsel 

ASSOCIATE  EDITOR 

Marilyn  Jindrich,  Associate  in  Public  Relations 

Members   are    requested    to    inform    the    Museum 
promptly   of  changes  of  address. 


Children  from  a  Segeju  village 


The  Human  Skull — 

An  Evolutionary  Puzzle 


The  living  treeshrews  of  tropical  Asia  closely  resemble  the 
earliest  fossil  primates.  The  head  still  has  the  long  foxlike 
form  of  other  primitive  mammals. 


Once  upon  a  time  biologists  took  it  for 
granted  that  the  human  body  was  a 
sort  of  final  perfection  toward  which  na- 
ture aspired.  All  other  animals  repre- 
sented various  levels  of  this  aspiring  for 
perfection,  and  a  favorite  game  was  try- 
ing to  arrange  all  creatures  in  a  "scale  of 
beings,"  with  the  simplest  and  least  per- 
fect at  one  end,  and  man,  the  highest 
and  most  perfect,  at  the  other. 

We  know  now  that  this  was  nonsense; 
there  is  no  transcendental  perfection  in 
nature.  Far  from  being  perfect,  the 
human  body  has  an  astonishing  num- 
ber of  imperfections,  most  of  which  could 
have  been  corrected  by  any  moderately 
competent  design  engineer.  Most  of  the 
human  body  is  primitive,  too,  compared 
with  that  of  other  mammals.  A  few 
parts  are  drastically  modified  from  the 
old  ancestral  condition.  This  is  espe- 
cially true  of  the  head,  and  trying  to 
understand  just  what  happened  to  the 
brain  and  skull  during  the  evolution  of 
man  has  challenged  the  ingenuity  of  sci- 
entists for  generations. 

We  are  accustomed  to  thinking  of  the 
human  head  as  a  thing  of  beauty.   Poets 

Page  6     NOVEMBER 


have  lauded  the  "noble  brow,"  the  "chis- 
elled nose,"  the  "molded  chin."  Artists 
have  labored  to  capture  and  preserve 
the  perfection  of  a  human  countenance. 
Things  are  not  so  simple  for  the  anato- 
mist; as  a  human  being  he  joins  his  fel- 
lows in  admiring  a  beautiful  face  or  a 
noble  head,  but  as  an  anatomist  he  knows 
that  even  the  head  of  a  Venus  is  really 
one  of  the  most  deformed  objects  in  na- 
ture. Humanizing  the  vertebrate  head 
was  a  rather  astonishing  process  of  plas- 
tic deformation,  but  the  result  is  no  more 
"perfect"  than  the  head  of  a  horse  or  a 
lion. 

No  real  progress  in  understanding  the 
human  skull  was  possible  until  this  idea 
had  developed.  Men  were  reluctant  to 
give  up  the  lovely  egocentric  notion  that 
they  represented  the  one  perfect  goal 
toward  which  all  nature  had  been  striv- 
ing. The  idea  of  evolution,  of  descent 
with  modification,  was  accepted  only  a 
hundred  years  ago.  The  idea  of  the 
evolution  of  man  was  accepted  reluc- 
tantly, even  by  most  biologists.  "De- 
scent with  modification"  meant  that  the 
human  skull,  like  the  rest  of  the  human 


D.  DWIGHT   DAVIS 
Curator,  Vertebrate   Anatomy 


body,  was  only  the  last  in  a  long  series 
of  rather  makeshift  adaptations. 

The  devious  history  of  the  human  skull 
could  not  be  written  truly  until  the  facts 
were  available.  Only  the  fossil  record 
could  supply  the  historical  facts,  and  fos- 
sils accumulate  slowly.  It  was  not  until 
1927  that  Professor  W.  K.  Gregory  pub- 
lished the  first  of  his  famous  "fish  to  man" 
reviews,  tracing  the  evolution  of  the 
human  skull  through  the  actual  fossil 
record  instead  of  trying  to  reconstruct  it 
from  the  skulls  of  living  species  of  ani- 
mals as  others  before  him  had  done.1 
The  Museum's  Exhibit-of-the-Month, 
"The  History  of  the  Human  Skull," 
shows  eight  stages  in  the  evolution  of 
man's  skull,  based  on  Professor  Greg- 
ory's work.  Though  the  number  of  fos- 
sils in  the  museums  of  the  world  has 
probably  more  than  doubled  since  1 927, 
the  new  discoveries  have  not  changed 
the  plot  of  Professor  Gregory's  story; 
they  have  only  refined  the  details. 

The  fossil  record  showed  that  the  an- 
cestry of  the  human  skull  goes  back 
through  primitive  primates,  then  prim- 
itive insect-eating  mammals  with  skulls 
like  hedgehogs,  then  mammal-like  rep- 
tiles, pelycosaurian  reptiles,  and  so  on 
back  to  the  fishes.  The  lineage  was  not 
particularly  hard  to  work  out  once  the 
fossils  had  been  collected,  but  it  merely 
showed  what  had  happened.  Then  biol- 
ogists began  to  wonder  how  and  why  the 
changes  leading  to  the  human  skull  had 
come  about.  This  was  a  very  different 
kind  of  problem.  It  was  also  far  more 
difficult  to  solve. 

The  skull  of  the  earliest  fossil  primates 
was  like  the  skull  of  other  unspecialized 
mammals — long  and  foxlike,  with  the 
brain  lying  on  a  flat  bony  bed  directly 
behind  the  face.     The  axis  of  the  skull 


1  Gregory,  W.  K.,  "The  palacomorphology 
of  the  human  head;  ten  structural  stages  from 
fish  to  man."  Quarterly  Review  of  Biology,  Vol.  2. 
1927. 


was  in  a  straight  line,  a  neat  and  un- 
crowded  design  that  had  worked  out  so 
well  it  had  not  changed  much  since  the 
Age  of  Fishes.  This  arrangement  is  still 
preserved  in  the  modern  treeshrews  of 
tropical  Asia,  the  lowliest  of  the  living 
primates. 

In  the  human  skull  this  old  design  is 
deformed  almost  beyond  recognition. 
The  once-straight  axis  is  bent  around 
into  horseshoe  shape,  the  floor  of  the 
skull  is  ballooned  out  in  all  directions, 
the  face  is  shrivelled  to  a  fraction  of  its 
former  size  and  tucked  in  beneath  the 
brain.  What  could  have  been  respon- 
sible for  this  astonishing  transformation? 
There  are  really  two  questions  involved 
here — the  question  of  the  advantages  of 
the  change,  and  the  question  of  the  bio- 
logical machinery  whereby  the  change 
was  brought  about. 

For  a  time  most  biologists  thought 
nearly  everything  that  had  happened  to 
the  human  body  was  a  result  of  man's 
getting  up  on  his  hind  legs  and  standing 
erect.  The  erect  posture  freed  the  hands 
for  manipulating  things,  and  this  in  turn 
put  a  premium  on  curiosity  and  intelli- 
gence and  consequently  made  a  highly 
developed  brain  advantageous.  Obvi- 
ously the  hands  had  taken  over  some  of 
the  functions  of  the  jaws,  and  this  was 
thought  to  explain  the  degeneration  of 
the  human  jaws  and  teeth.  The  axis  of 
the  skull  was  bent  because  the  skull  was 
now  balanced  on  top  of  the  neck  instead 
of  in  front  of  the  neck  as  it  once  was;  it 
would  scarcely  do  to  have  the  face  point- 
ing up  into  the  sky. 

This  rather  naive  view  runs  into  trou- 
ble if  we  try  to  use  it  to  explain  every- 
thing. Actually  the  brain  is  relatively 
large  in  all  primates,  whether  they  stand 
erect  or  not.  This  remarkable  fact  has 
not  been  satisfactorily  explained.  Many 
biologists  believe  this  mysterious  tend- 
ency in  the  primate  stock  toward  enlarge- 
ment of  the  brain  is  the  key  to  the  evolu- 
tion of  the  human  skull,  and  indirectly 
to  the  evolution  of  other  features  of  the 
human  body.  If  this  view  is  correct, 
then  the  deciding  event  that  foreshad- 
owed the  eventual  evolution  of  man  took 
place  in  the  brains  of  the  very  first  pri- 
mates. An  extraordinary  thing  about  the 
primates  is  that  representatives  of  all 
levels  of  their  evolution,  from  the  prim- 
itive treeshrews  and  lemurs  through  vari- 


In  the  earliest  primates  the  head 
was  long  and  foxlike,  very  similar 
to  the  head  of  other  primitive  mam- 
mals. The  same  pattern  is  found 
in  the  human  head,  but  it  is  de- 
formed almost  beyond  recognition. 
Trying  to  explain  this  remarkable 
transformation  has  challenged  the 
ingenuity  of  scientists  for  genera- 
tions. 


The  globular  skull  of  the  dwarf 
King  Charles  spaniel  resembles 
the  human  skull  in  many  ways. 
It,  too,  was  derived  from  an  elon- 
gate skull — the  wolf  like  skull  of  a  dog — and  some  anatomists  think  the  causes  for  this  transformation 
were  similar  to  those  involved  in  the  origin  of  the  human  skull. 


ous  kinds  of  monkeys  and  apes  right  up 
to  man,  are  still  living  today.  Such  prim- 
itive and  intermediate  evolutionary  types 
usually  become  extinct;  their  wholesale 
survival  is  most  unusual.  The  most  likely 
explanation  is  that  the  large  size  of  the 
primate  brain  (or  rather  the  intelligence 
that  large  size  implies)  enabled  even  the 
lowest  primates  to  get  by  in  competition 
with  other  animals  where  other  primi- 
tive mammals  could  not. 

The  leading  advocate  of  the  theory 
that  the  brain,  rather  than  upright  pos- 
ture, was  primarily  responsible  for  shap- 
ing the  human  skull  was  the  late  Franz 
Weidenreich.2  In  the  developing  em- 
bryo the  differentiation  and  growth  of 
various  parts  of  the  head  are  controlled 
by  different  factors,  making  the  head  a 
mosaic  of  independent  subassemblies 
that  are  fitted  together  during  develop- 
ment to  form  a  whole.  The  face  is  inde- 
pendent of  the  cranium,  the  central  nerv- 
ous system  is  controlled  by  its  own  set  of 
factors,  and  so  on.  Consequently,  any- 
thing that  speeds  up  the  growth  rate  of 
the  brain  would  not  affect  the  growth 


2  Weidenreich,  Franz,  "The  brain  and  its 
role  in  the  phylogenetic  transformation  of  the 
human  skull."  Transactions  of  the  American 
Philosophical  Society,  Vol.  31,  1941. 


rate  of  the  skull,  although  the  develop- 
ing skull  would  accommodate  itself  as 
best  it  could  to  the  expanding  mass  of 
the  brain. 

By  assembling  evidence  from  a  great 
variety  of  sources,  Weidenreich  tried  to 
show  that  an  abnormally  large  brain — 
in  dwarf  dogs,  for  example — deforms  the 
skull  in  ways  that  are  remarkably  sim- 
ilar to  the  human  condition.  The  avail- 
able bone  material  simply  adapts  itself 
to  the  size  and  contours  of  the  huge 
brain.  At  the  opposite  extreme,  the 
growth  of  the  brain  is  sometimes  ar- 
rested in  man  to  produce  a  condition 
known  as  microcephaly.  Weidenreich 
showed  that  in  microcephalics  the  skull 
is  similar  to  that  of  the  anthropoid  apes 
— in  such  persons  the  growth  rate  of  the 
skull  remains  normal,  but  the  bone  ma- 
terial is  not  stretched  and  deformed  by 
a  huge  brain  to  the  extent  that  it  is  in 
normal  persons. 

Evidently  the  biological  machinery  in- 
volved in  remodeling  the  foxlike  skull  of 
a  treeshrew  into  the  globular  skull  of 
man  was  complex.  It  was  not  as  com- 
plex as  we  once  thought,  however,  and 
there  seems  no  reason  to  think  it  cannot 
be  deciphered.  Both  the  Weidenreich 
theory  and  the  erect-posture  theory  are 
{Continued  on  page  8) 

November     Page  7 


{Continued from  preceding  page) 
over-simplifications,  as  first  approxima- 
tions almost  inevitably  are.  Neither  is 
wholly  correct,  but  there  is  undoubtedly 
a  good  deal  of  truth  in  both.  The  mys- 
tery of  how  gross  changes  in  the  struc- 
ture of  vertebrates  are  produced  is  slowly 
giving  way  to  the  combined  efforts  of 
geneticists,  experimental  morphologists, 
and  comparative  anatomists.  Before 
long  we  may  know  not  only  the  what, 
but  also  the  how  and  why,  of  that  de- 
formed structure,  the  human  skull. 


A  FIELD  REPORT  FROM  IRAN 

{Continued  from  page  3) 


MUSEUM  NEWS 

{Continued  from  page  5) 


ganyika,  the  Sonjo  possess  a  culture 
that  in  most  respects  has  advanced  very 
little  beyond  the  neolithic  level.  Until 
recently  the  region  was  inaccessible  to 
motor  vehicles;  thus  the  Sonjo,  who  as 
yet  have  had  relatively  little  contact  with 
the  outside  world,  still  wear  their  tradi- 
tional skin  garments.  The  fervour  with 
which  the  various  religious  rituals  of  the 
tribe  are  enacted  is  captured  in  a  num- 
ber of  Gray's  photographs. 

Finally,  the  exhibit  portrays  the  con- 
glomerate population  of  Zanzibar,  for 
many  centuries  the  main  trade  emporium 
of  East  Africa.  Gray's  pictures  record 
the  population  of  varied  tribal  and  eth- 
nic origins  encountered  on  the  narrow 
streets  of  Zanzibar  City — Hindu  mer- 
chants, turbaned  Sikhs,  Swahili  fisher- 
men, European  businessmen  and  sea- 
men, Muslim  holy  men,  Arab  sailors 
with  long  curved  daggers  thrust  into 
their  belts,  Persians,  and  Chinese. 

In  his  photographic  studies,  Dr.  Gray's 
aim  has  been  "to  portray  tribesmen  as 
human  beings  rather  than  as  scientific 
specimens."  At  the  same  time  he  has 
recorded  visual  aspects  of  tribal  life 
which  are  difficult  to  communicate  in 
other  ways.  Dr.  Gray  himself  has  se- 
lected the  68  pictures  in  this  exhibition 
from  a  file  of  some  4,000  negatives  taken 
during  his  East  African  field  work. 

Winter  Hours 

Beginning  November  1  the  Museum 
will  observe  winter  hours  of  9  a.m.  to 
4  p.m.  Monday  through  Friday  and 
9  a.m.  to  5  p.m.  on  Saturday  and  Sun- 
day. These  shorter  hours  will  continue 
through  February. 

Page  8    November 


August  6:  Kosrow  Sariri  is  leaving  camp 
today  for  Tehran  with  about  1 1  skele- 
tons and  skins  of  Mouflon  and  our  five 
goat  specimens:  two  billys,  one  nanny, 
and  two  kids.  In  Tehran,  Sariri  will 
crate  this  shipment  and  send  it  on  its  way 
to  Chicago. 

The  Game  Council  collected  all  of 
these  specimens  for  us  except  for  the  two 
rams  I  took  myself.  I  would  like  to  have 
taken  a  billy,  but  when  I  had  a  chance, 


Mouflon  got  in  the  way. 

According  to  our  altimeter,  I  have 
hunted  as  high  as  14,300  feet.  I  took  one 
ram  at  about  12,700 — the  other  at 
13,700 — less  allowance  for  any  altimeter 
error.  Breath  comes  a  little  hard  when 
you  first  get  to  these  altitudes,  but  I  feel 
wonderful  now — just  when  we're  leaving ! 

Camp  number  two  will  be  in  the  forest 
due  north  of  us,  and  down  to  about 
6,000  feet. 


Honored 

Dr.  Austin  L.  Rand,  Chief  Curator  of 
Zoology,  was  elected  President  of  the 
American  Ornithologists  Union  at  the 
Annual  Meeting  held  recently  at  Salt 
Lake  City,  Utah. 

Staff  Changes 

William  E.  Lake,  Museum  Chief  Engi- 
neer, retired  last  month  after  42  years  of 
service.  "Bill"  Lake 
came  to   Chicago 
Natural  History  Mu- 
seum in   1920,  just 
before  construction 
on  the  present  build- 
ing was  completed, 
and  has  served   as 
Chief  Engineer  since 
1939.    His  record  of 
service  is  one  of  the 
longest  in  the  Muse- 
um's history.    Mr.  Lake  has  moved  to 
Ludington,  Michigan,  and  he  will   be 
missed  greatly  by  all  his  Chicago  friends. 


William   E.    Lake 


On  October  1,  Mr.  James  R.  Shouba, 
formerly  Superintendent  of  Maintenance, 
was  appointed  to  the  new  position  of 
Building  Superintendent.  In  this  capac- 
ity, Mr.  Shouba  will  coordinate  opera- 
tions relating  to  the  Museum  building 
and  assume  over-all  responsibility  for  the 
Divisions  of  Engineering  and  Mainten- 
ance. 

Mr.  Leonard  Carrion,  formerly  Assist- 
ant Chief  Engineer,  replaces  Mr.  Lake 
as  Chief  Engineer,  and  Mr.  Jacques  Pul- 
izzi  has  been  appointed  Assistant  Chief 
Engineer. 

Mr.  Gustav  A.  Noren,  formerly  Assist- 
ant Superintendent  of  Maintenance  has 


been  appointed  Superintendent  of  Main- 
tenance to  replace  Mr.  Shouba. 

Museums  Conference 

Miss  Miriam  Wood,  Chief  of  Ray- 
mond Foundation,  and  Mr.  E.  Leland 
Webber,  Director,  attended  the  Mid- 
west Museums  Conference  held  in  Min- 
neapolis during  October.  Mr.  Webber 
participated  in  a  panel  discussion  titled 
"Museums — Their  Programs  and  Prob- 
lems." 

Free  Concerts 

Julius  Katchen,  European  pianist  tour- 
ing America  for  the  first  time,  will  be 
the  featured  artist  of  the  Free  Concerts 
Foundation's  second  program  for  the 
season  on  Tuesday,  November  27,  at 
8:15  p.m. 

Third  program  in  the  Foundation's 
1962-63  concert  series  will  be  a  joint  re- 
cital by  Gerard  Souzay,  baritone,  and 
Maureen  Forrester,  soprano,  on  Wednes- 
day, January  16,  at  8:15  p.m. 

For  free  tickets  to  the  concerts  send  a 
stamped,  self-addressed  envelope  to  Free 
Concerts  Foundation,  Chicago  Natural 
History  Museum,  Roosevelt  Road  and 
Lake  Shore  Drive,  Chicago  5. 

Audubon  Lecture 

The  mountains,  prairies,  and  vast  wil- 
dernesses of  the  Province  of  Alberta  are 
the  subject  of  the  full  color  motion  pic- 
ture, "Alberta  Outdoors,"  to  be  pre- 
sented in  the  James  Simpson  Theater  on 
Sunday,  December  9,  at  2:30  p.m.  Nar- 
rated by  the  well-known  naturalist, 
Edgar  T.  Jones,  the  free  program  is 
sponsored  by  the  Illinois  Audubon  So- 
ciety. 

PRINTED   BY  CHICAGO   NATURAL  HISTORY   MUSEUM   PRESS 


CHICAGO 
NATURAU 


bulletin 


Fig.  1 — Bronze  bust  of  god,Serapis 
(actual  size  3XA  inches) 


SER  APIS 

The   Great  God  of  Hellenistic   Egypt 
and  the   Grea>Roman  World 


by  AL.  N.  OIKONOMIDES 


Mr.  Oikonomides  is  studying  for  a  graduate  degree  in  clas- 
sical archaeology  at  the  University  of  Chicago.  Born  in 
Greece,  he  is  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Athens.  While 
Assistant  Curator  at  the  Acropolis  Museum  in  Athens,  and 
later  at  the  Epidauros  Museum,  he  participated  in  several 
excavations  in  his  native  country. 


The  collection  of  Greek,  Etruscan, 
and  Roman  antiquities  at  Chicago 
Natural  History  Museum  is  one  of  the 
most  interesting  in  the  Midwest.  One  of 
the  most  important  specimens  in  the  col- 
lection is  a  bronze  bust,  3%  inches  high, 
of  the  god  Serapis  (Fig.  1). 

The  worship  of  Serapis  was  introduced 
into  Egypt  by  Ptolemy  I  (305-283  B.C.), 
and  in  the  times  of  his  successors  the  cult 
spread  all  over  the  Greco-Roman  world. 
For  the  Egyptians  the  new  god  was  yet 
another  form  of  their  old  deity,  Osiris; 
thus  Serapis  was  worshiped  in  the  tradi- 
tional way  together  with  Isis  and  Horus 
(or  Harpocrates).  For  the  Greeks  and 
the  Romans,  however,  Serapis  repre- 
sented a  combination  of  the  divine  fea- 
tures of  the  three  great  sons  of  Saturn : 
Zeus,  Pluto  (or  Hades),  and  Poseidon. 
An  ancient  Greek  scholar  has  described 
this  conception  of  the  nature  of  Serapis : 

"  The  powers  and  honors  of  the  other  gods 
are  separate;  men  call  upon  one  god  for 
this  purpose,  upon  another  for  that  pur- 
pose. He,  the  leader  of  the  choir,  holds 
the  beginning  and  end  of  everything  in  his 
hand. . .  .  Hence  there  are  those  who  wor- 
ship this  god  alone,  in  the  place  of  all  the 
gods;  and  there  are  others  who,  though  for 
each  special  purpose  they  resort  to  some 
particular  divinity,  yet  couple  Serapis 
with  that  divinity,  as  being  Him  to  whom 
the  whole  world  alike  gives  peculiar  exal- 
tation. .  .  .  He  has,  as  the  poets  would 
say,  the  keys  of  earth  and  sea;  seeing 
that,  even  after  life  has  come  to  its  neces- 
sary end,  Serapis  remains  still  the  Lord 
of  men  .  .  .  who  assigns  its  place  to  each 
soul "» 

The  most  famous  sanctuary  of  the  new 
divinity  was  a  monumental  temple  in 
Alexandria  containing  a  cult  statue  of 
the  god.  Serapis  sat  on  a  richly  deco- 
rated throne,  clad  in  a  chiton  and  hima- 
tion  of  dark  blue.  The  head  of  the  god 
was  of  gold,  and  crowned  with  the  tradi- 
tional modius;2  the  face  was  sober,  strong, 
yet  mild  and  mysterious.  The  god's 
jeweled  eyes  gleamed  through  the  dark- 
ened temple  from  the  richly  decorated 
and  lighted  cella.  According  to  ancient 
sources,  the  sculptor  who  made  the  statue 


1  Aristeides,  Aelius,  Praise  of  Serapis,  written  in 
the  third  century  a.d. 
•An  ancient  grain  measure. 


Page  2    December 


was  Bryaxis  the  younger,  a  pupil  of  the 
famous  Skopas. 

On  a  gold  bracelet  in  the  Museum's 
collection  (Fig.  4)  the  temple  of  Serapis 
at  Alexandria,  with  the  statue  of  the  god 
wearing  the  modius,  appears  in  relief. 
As  far  as  I  know,  this  is  a  unique  repre- 
sentation of  the  temple  and  has  only  one 
parallel :  the  relief  on  a  clay  lamp  from 
the  Athenian  Agora,  which  represents 
the  local  temple  of  Serapis,  together  with 
the  cult  statue  of  the  god. 

From  the  many  statues  and  statuettes 
of  Serapis  known  to  be  in  various  mu- 
seums and  collections,  only  a  few  are 
accepted  as  echoes  or  copies  of  the  cult 
statue  made  by  Bryaxis.  The  most  fa- 
mous of  these  copies  are  two  busts  in  the 
Vatican  Museum  in  Rome.  The  bronze 
bust  in  the  Museum's  collection  (Fig.  1 ) 
belongs  stylistically  to  the  same  group  as 
the  Vatican  busts  and  is  possibly  the  best 
bronze  copy  of  this  type  in  a  museum  in 
the  United  States.  The  "Chicago  Sera- 
pis" can  be  dated  between  the  second 
and  first  centuries  B.C.  Although  a  minor 
work  of  art  of  its  period,  it  preserves 
clearly  the  fine  features  of  its  original. 
The  eyes  were  jeweled,  and  on  the  mo- 
dius olive  tree  branches  were  carved 
with  very  fine  lines  (now  obscured  by 
corrosion) . 

Three  other  representations  of  Serapis 
are  also  in  the  Museum's  collection.  A 
clay  bust  from  Egypt  dates  from  the  Ro- 
man period  (Fig.  5).  The  face  is  not  pre- 
served, but  the  copy  is  interesting  be- 
cause it  tries  to  imitate  the  bronze  busts. 
A  clay  lamp  from  Egypt  also  preserves  a 
bust  of  Serapis  in  relief  (Fig.  3).  We  rec- 
ognize immediately  the  Bryaxis  type, 
but  the  features  are  not  clear  because  the 
mold  was  ruined  by  the  time  this  lamp 
was  produced. 

A  signet  stone,  with  a  bust  of  Serapis 
(Fig.  2),  completes  the  set  of  "Serapis 
monuments" at  Chicago  Natural  History 
Museum.   It  can  be  dated  from  the  late 
Hellenistic  period,  but  does  not  add  new 
knowledge  to  the  history  of  the  statuary 
types. 
"  The  market-places  are  full,  and  the  har- 
bors, and  the  broad  places  of  the  cities, 
with  those  who  tell  the  manifold  things 
Serapis  has  done.   Should  I  seek  to  nar- 
rate them,  though  an  unending  series  of 


Fig.  2 — A  signet  stone  with  a 
bust  of  Serapis  (enlarged  approx- 
imately three  times) 


Fig.  3 — A  clay  I  amp  from  Egypt 
with  a  barely  discernible  bust  of 
Serapis  appearing  in  low  relief 
(actual  size  shown) 


ABOVE:  Fig.  4 
Gold  bracelet  in  the  de- 
sign of  the  temple  of 
Serapis  in  Alexandria, 
with  the  statue  of  the 
god  in  relief  (enlarged 
approximately  three 
times) 


RIGHT:  Fig.  5 
A  clay  bust  of  Serapis, 
dating  from  the  Ro- 
man period,  found  in 
Eg  ypt  (actual  size 
shown) 


DECEMBER     Page  3 


CHICAGO 
NATURAL 
HISTORY 
MUSEUM 


NEWS 


The  Holiday  Science  Lectures 
— A  New  Program 
for  Outstanding 
High  School  Students 

Dr.  Rene  Jules  Dubos,  eminent  micro- 
biologist and  pioneer  discoverer  of  anti- 
biotics, will  be  the  speaker  in  a  new  series 
of  Holiday  Science  Lectures  to  lie  given 
at  the  Museum  for  high  school  students  of 
exceptional  ability  in  science  or  mathe- 
matics. The  program  is  sponsored  jointly 
by  the  American  Association  for  the  Ad- 
vancement of  Science  and  the  Museum. 

Four  illustrated  lectures  will  be  pre- 
sented to  outstanding  students  from  the 
tenth,  eleventh,  and  twelfth  grades  who 
have  been  nominated  by  public,  paro- 
chial, and  private  high  school  principals 
from  Chicago  and  the  surrounding  coun- 
ties. The  lectures  will  be  given  in  the 
James  Simpson  Theatre  from  10  a.m.  to 
noon,  beginning  on  Wednesday,  Decem- 
ber 26,  and  ending  on  Saturday,  Decem- 
ber 29. 

Dr.  Dubos,  who  is  Professor  at  the 
Rockefeller  Institute  in  New  York,  will 
speak  on  the  subject,  "Microbes  in  Health 
and  Disease." 

The  Holiday  Science  Lectures  were  be- 
gun in  New  York  City  in  1 959  as  part  of  a 
continuing  program  of  the  AAAS  to  in- 
crease public  understanding  of  science. 
Under  a  grant  from  the  National  Science 
Foundation  the  program  was  expanded 
to  include,  in  1961,  the  cities  of  San 
Francisco  and  Cincinnati.  In  1962-63 
Holiday  Science  Lectures  will  be  pre- 
sented, in  cooperation  with  local  univer- 
sities or  museums,  in  Chicago,  Boston, 
New  York,  Seattle,  and  Los  Angeles.  Na- 
tionally known  scientists  scheduled  to 
speak,  in  addition  to  Dr.  Dubos,  are: 
Dr.  Lyman  Craig,  Dr.  Theodosius  Dob- 
zhansky,  Dr.  Mark  Kac,  Dr.  Stanford 
Moore,  Dr.  William  Stein,  and  Dr.  Paul 
Weiss. 

The  Museum  is  especially  pleased  that 
Dr.  Dubos  will  deliver  the  Holiday  Sci- 
ence Lectures  in  Chicago,  since  he  is 
noted  for  his  ability  to  write  and  speak  as 
well  as  for  his  research.   His  most  recent 

Page  k     DECEMBER 


book,  The  Unseen  World,  published  this 
year,  is  an  outgrowth  of  a  similar  series  of 
talks  he  gave  to  selected  high  school  stu- 
dents in  New  York  when  this  program 
began. 

Dr.  Dubos  is  a  member  of  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences,  past  president  of 
the  Society  of  American  Bacteriologists, 
and  an  editor  of  the  Journal  of  Experi- 
mental Medicine,  His  books  include: 
Pasteur  and  Modern  Science,  published  in 
1960;  The  Mirage  of  Health,  in  1959;  The 
White  Plague — Tuberculosis,  Man,  and  So- 
ciety (1952),  and  in  1961,  The  Dreams  of 
Reason.  Among  the  many  awards  he  has 
received  for  his  contributions  to  science, 
the  most  recent  are  the  Robert  Koch 
Centennial  Award  of  the  Koch  Institute 
in  Berlin  in  1960,  and  the  Modern  Medi- 
cine Award  for  Distinguished  Achieve- 
ment in  1961. 

Souzay  Returns 
in  Free  Concert 

Gerard  Souzay,  French  baritone,  whose 
performance  in  the  Free  Concerts  Foun- 
dation's program  series  last  year  received 
praise  from  critics  and  public  alike,  will 
return  to  the  stage  of  the  James  Simpson 
Theatre  on  Wednesday,  January  16,  for  a 
joint  recital  with  Maureen  Forrester,  so- 
prano. The  concert  will  be  the  two  vocal- 
ists' only  Chicago  appearance  in  their 
first  joint  concert  tour  of  America.  The 
program  begins  at  8 :15  p.m. 

For  free  tickets  to  the  concert  send  a 
stamped,  self-addressed  enveolope  to  Free 
Concerts  Foundation,  Chicago  Natural 
History  Museum,  Roosevelt  Road  and 
Lake  Shore  Drive,  Chicago  5. 

Winter  Hours 

On  Christmas  Day,  December  25,  and 
New  Year's  Day,  January  1,  the  Museum 
will  be  closed  to  enable  the  Museum's 
staff  to  spend  the  holidays  with  their  fam- 
ilies. During  December,  January,  and 
February,  the  Museum  is  open  from  9  a.m. 
to  4  p.m.  Monday  through  Friday,  and 
from  9  a.m.  to  5  p.m.  on  Saturday  and 
Sunday. 


Chicago   Natural  History   Museum 

Founded  by  Marshall  Field,  1S93 

Roosevelt  Road  and  Lake  Shore  Drive,  Chicago  5 

Telephone:  WAbash  2-9-UO 


TRUSTEES 
William  V.  Kahler 
Hughston  M.  McBain 
J.  Roscoe  Miller 
William  H.  Mitchell 
John  T.  Pirie,  Jr. 
John  Shedd  Reed 
John  G.  Searle 
John  M.  Simpson 
Solomon  A.  Smith 
Louis  Ware 
Wood 


THE  BOARD  OF 
Lester  Armour 
Wm.  McCormick  Blair 
Bowcn  Blair 
Walter  J.  Cummings 
Joseph  N.  Field 
Marshall  Field,  Jr. 
Stanley  Field 
Clifford  C  Gregg 
Samuel  Insull,  Jr. 
Henry  P.  Isham 

J.  Howard 

OFFICERS 

Stanley  Field,  Chairman  of  the  Board 

Clifford  C.  Gregg,  President 

Hughston  M.  McBain,  First  Vice-President 

Joseph  N.  Field,  Second  Vice-President 

Bowcn  Blair,  Third  Vice-President 

Solomon  A.  Smith,  Treasurer  and  Assistant  Secretary 

E.  Leland  Webber,  Secretary 

THE   BULLETIN 

EDITOR 

E.  Leland  Webber,  Director  of  the  Museum 

CONTRIBUTING  EDITORS 

Paul  S.  Martin,  Chief  Curator  of  Anthropology 
John  R.  Millar,  Chief  Curator  of  Botany 
Rainer  Zangerl,  Chief  Curator  of  Geology 
Austin  L.  Rand,  Chief  Curator  of  Zoology 

MANAGING  EDITOR 

Paula  R.  Nelson,  Public  Relations  Counsel 

ASSOCIATE   EDITOR 

Marilyn  Jmdrich,  Associate  in  Public  Relations 

Members    are    requested    to    inform    the    Museum 
promptly   of   changes    of   address. 


Audubon  Lecture 

"Alberta  Outdoors,"  a  color  motion 
picture  about  the  mountains,  prairies,  and 
vast  wildernesses  of  the  Province  of  Al- 
berta, will  be  presented  in  the  James 
Simpson  Theatre  at  2 :30  p.m.  on  Sunday, 
December  9,  by  the  Illinois  Audubon  So- 
ciety. The  film  is  narrated  in  person  by 
Edgar  T.  Jones. 

Cultural  Groups  Visit 
"Art  of  Benin" 

A  number  of  Chicago's  cultural  organi- 
zations have  scheduled  programs  at  the 
Museum  centered  around  the  current  ex- 
hibition, "The  Art  of  Benin." 

Among  groups  that  have  already  viewed 
the  centuries-old  bronzes  from  Africa  is 
the  Society  for  Contemporary  American 
Art.  Sixty  of  their  members  attended  a 
dinner  meeting  on  November  13  in  the 
Museum. 

Another  group  that  toured  the  exhibi- 
tion in  November  were  participants  in  the 
University  of  Chicago's  Fine  Arts  Pro- 
gram, students  of  Mr.  Theodore  Halkin, 
artist  in  the  Department  of  Anthropology. 

On  December  6,  the  Committee  for 
Roosevelt  University's  African  Studies 
Program  will  hold  a  dinner  meeting  at  the 
Museum  especially  to  see  the  exhibition 


Director  E.  Leland 
Webber  (center)  and  Phil- 
lip H.  Lewis,  Curator  of 
Primitive  Art  (left),  dis- 
cuss the  Museum's  cur- 
rent special  exhibition, 
"The  Art  of  Benin;' 
with  three  members  of  the 
Society  for  Contemporary 
American  Art:  (from  left 
to  right)  Mrs.  Albert  H. 
Newman,  Mrs.  Charles 
F.  Cutter,  and  Mr.  Wil- 
liam E.  Hartmann,  Pres- 
ident of  the  Society. 


of  African  court  art.  The  evening's  pro- 
gram will  include  a  performance  of  Af- 
rican dancing,  singing,  and  drums  by  the 
Chicago  chapter  of  the  Pan-African  Stu- 
dent Organization  in  the  Americas. 

Also  in  December,  members  of  the 
South  Side  Community  Art  Center  have 
arranged  a  tea  in  the  Museum  and  a 
viewing  of  the  exhibition  at  that  time. 

The  exhibition  remains  on  display 
through  December  9  only. 

Geology  Staff  Artist 
Appointed 

Dr.  Tibor  Perenyi,  Hungarian-born 
sculptor,  was  appointed  Geology  Staff 
Artist  on  October  1.  He  fills  a  position 
that  has  been  vacant  since  the  resignation 
of  Mrs.  Maidi  Wiebe  Leibhardt  earlier 
this  year. 

Dr.  Perenyi  brings  to  the  Museum  a 
wide  background  of  experience  in  the 
field  of  art.  Before  leaving  Hungary  in 
1956,  Dr.  Perenyi  had  achieved  national 
recognition  as  a  portrait  sculptor.  His 
busts  of  prominent  people  and  of  children 
had  been  displayed  in  numerous  art  ex- 
hibitions in  Budapest  and  he  was  a  per- 
manent exhibitor  in  the  annual  Winter 
Exhibition  of  the  Hungarian  Museum  of 
Fine  Arts. 

When  he  arrived  in  the  United  States, 
Dr.  Perenyi  was  immediately  commis- 
sioned by  a  number  of  Americans  to  do 
several  busts.  For  the  past  three  years 
he  has  been  designing  and  painting  ana- 
tomical models  for  a  leading  firm  in  this 
field,  while  continuing  his  work  as  a  free- 
lance sculptor. 

New  Museum  Journey 
for  Children 

Why  does  the  earth  look  the  way  it 
does?  What  forces  of  nature  are  con- 
stantly at  work  changing  the  face  of  the 
earth? 

The  Museum's  new  winter  Journey  for 
children,  "Understanding  Scenery,"  pro- 
vides answers  to  these  questions  in  a  care- 
fully plotted  trip  to  exhibits  that  show 
the  variable  surface  of  our  planet  and 
explain  how  it  got  that  way.  A  question- 


Gift  Suggestions  from  the 
Book  Shop 

Here  are  just  a  few  of  the  many  items 
now  available  at  the  Museum  Book  Store 
which  should  please  a  number  of  persons 
on  your  holiday  shopping  list.  Prices  men- 
tioned include  tax  and  postage. 

Museum  Stories.  These  booklets 
have  been  written  by  the  Museum 
staff  to  stimulate  the  curiosity  of 
young  readers  about  man  and  the 
world  around  him.  They  form  a 
junior  encyclopedia  of  natural  his- 
tory. Each  story  book  contains  ap- 
proximately 12  pages  with  black  and 
white  illustrations.  A  complete  set 
of  30  booklets  is  $6.75. 

Songbirds  of  America.  A  high  fi- 
delity recording,  accompanied  by 
text  and  commentary,  with  full  color 
photographs  of  26  familiar  song 
birds.  This  10"  x  10*  volume  is 
available  at  33M  rpm  for  $5.20. 

Precious  Stone — Gemstone  Set.     A 

collection  of  30  genuine  rough  stones 
from  around  the  world.  This  set 
contains  a  synoptic  tables  of  names, 
hardness,  specific  gravities,  refractive 
index,  crystal  forms,  chemical  formu- 
las, and  places  of  origin  at  $4.35. 

As  usual,  the  Book  Shop  carries  a  wide 
selection  of  books  on  art,  anthropology, 
botany,  geology,  and  zoology,  which 
make  fine  gifts  for  both  adults  and  child- 
ren. Jewelry  and  craft  objects  from  many 
countries  are  also  available  to  help  make 
your  Christmas  shopping  easy  and  pleas- 
sant. 


naire  to  be  filled  out  on  the  Journey  is 
available  at  the  Information  Desk  and 
at  the  north  and  south  entrances  to  the 
Museum.  Children  who  deposit  a  com- 
pleted questionnaire  in  the  boxes  pro- 
vided at  each  door  will  receive  credit 
leading  to  a  certificate  of  award.  All 
Journeyers  are  honored  at  a  special 
awards  program  held  twice  each  year 
at  the  Museum. 

dccember    Page  5 


Field   Work   in   Iran   Continues 


Camp  Two,  Near  Sama 

North  Slope,  Elburz  Mountains 

(4,200  feet  elevation) 

August  24:  That  good  man,  Kosrovv  Sa- 
rin,1 turned  up  in  camp  on  the  night  of 
the  22nd,  not  only  laden  with  such  desid- 
erata as  butter,  fruit,  cookies,  bread,  and 
loafcake,  but  with  a  stack  of  letters.  We 
were  delighted  to  hear  from  the  Muse- 
um. By  now  you  will  have  heard  about 
the  wild  sheep  and  goat  specimens  which 
are  en  route.  We  thought  hunting  that 
group  of  animals  quite  exciting. 

At  this  moment  there  is  much  activity 
in  camp.  Douglas  is  skinning  the  first 
hare  over  in  front  of  his  tent  under  the 
interested  eye  of  a  villager  who  resem- 
bles, more  than  a  little,  a  brigand.  Kos- 
row  Sariri  and  Nicola,  our  driver,  have 
started  a  fire  under  a  huge  copper  kettle 
borrowed  from  the  village  and  are  boil- 
ing bear  bones.     Bill  is  well  away  from 


the  tents  skinning  a  jackal,  while  I  sit 
under  a  huge  walnut  tree  happily  writ- 
ing to  you. 

So  far  we  have  taken  27  mammal  spe- 
cies in  all.  At  this  camp  we  have  added 
to  the  collections  a  doe  and  a  fawn 
maral,2  one  roebuck,  one  bear  beauti- 
fully silver  tipped,  three  jackals,  one 
hare,  one  pig,  plus  some  bats,  rats,  and 
mice.  The  dormice  are  large  and  fluffy 
tailed — very  pretty.  They  live  in  the 
walnut  trees.  The  ones  caught  here  are 
rolling  fat,  but  the  ones  Doug  took  at 
6,000  feet  are  much  thinner  by  com- 
parison. 

The  hunting  here  is  rather  hard;  the 
hills  are  dry,  the  padding  of  leaves  and 
twigs  extremely  crackly.  The  night 
hunting  has  not  yet  produced  very  much. 
Bill  and  Doug  sit  in  the  spare  tires  on 
top  of  the  truck  and  come  leaping  down 
when  they  see  any  shining  eyes.  It's  slim 
picking,  but  we  are  rather  pleased  with 
what  we  have  obtained. 


1  Representative  of  the  Game  Council  of  Iran 
who  has  acted  as  "chief-of-staff"  for  the  expe- 
dition. 

Page  6    December 


2  Maral  is  a  name  for  the  large  Persian  form 
of  the  red  deer,  Cervus  elephus. 


Janice   K.   Street 

Mrs.  Street  continues  the  nar- 
rative, begun  in  the  November 
BULLETIN,  of  the  W.  S.  and  J. 
K.  Street  Expedition  of  Chicago 
Natural  History  Museum  to 
Iran.  Members  of  the  expedi- 
tion include  her  husband  and 
the  expedition's  leader,  Mr. 
William  S.  Street,  and  mam- 
malogist  Douglas  Lay. 

The  trip  over  the  Chalus  Road  down 
here  to  our  second  camp  was  spectacu- 
lar. We  drove  to  10,000  feet,  then 
through  a  one-lane  tunnel  over  a  mile 
long.  On  the  other  side  of  it  we  started 
down  one  horseshoe  curve  after  another. 
In  places  we  went  through  narrow  can- 
yons cut  through  the  rocks,  sometimes 
with  great  overhangs  of  rock. 

We  passed  through  a  couple  of  villages 
where  houses  were  of  stone  and  mud, 
usually  with  no  windows.  The  village 
shop,  if  there  was  one,  was  merely  a  dark 
hole  in  a  wall.  Always,  though,  a  table 
or  two  with  chairs,  where  you  could  stop 


LEFT:  William  S.  Street  kneels  to  photo- 
graph one  of  his  field  "prizes"  held  by 
Douglas  Lay. 

for  tea,  were  set  out  by  the  road.  Or 
in  an  out-of-the-way  place  you  might 
see  a  man  with  a  samovar,  and  one  or 
two  little  glasses  on  china  saucers,  sell- 
ing tea.  The  tea  is  served  in  the  glass, 
you  then  pour  the  tea  in  the  saucer,  put 
a  sugar  lump  in  your  mouth,  and  drink 
from  the  saucer. 

At  Pal-e-Dowab  (under  2,000  feet  ele- 
vation), we  turned  off  the  main  road 
and  traveled  about  1 5  miles  over  a  rough, 
rocky,  winding  side  road  to  camp.  It 
took  us  two  hours,  and  we  felt  shaken  up 
for  the  first  time.  The  camp  is  at  4,200 
feet,  with  hills  on  both  sides  and  higher 
mountains  beyond.  It  is  delightful.  I 
have  the  same  feeling  here  that  I  did  at 
Doab,  of  hills  overlapping  as  far  as  one 
can  see. 

The  hills  are  dry  with  scrub  growth 
(much  thorn  bush),  which  grows  heavier 
as  you  go  up  higher  toward  the  forest. 
Yet  in  spite  of  the  dry  hills  and  rocky 
terrain  there  is  a  feeling  of  lushness  in  the 
green  fields  of  rice  and  arzan,  the  great 
walnut  trees,  and  the  small  vegetable 
gardens.  Every  so  often  there  is  an  oa- 
sis. In  the  center  of  a  velvet  green  field 
one  may  see  several  piles  of  stones  placed 
there  when  the  field  was  cleared.  All 
the  fields  are  tilled  and  worked  by  hand 
or  with  the  aid  of  crude  implements. 

Looking  from  our  tent  down-valley  we 
see  green  fields,  trees,  berry  bushes,  and 
other  crops.  They  give  the  appearance 
of  lavishness  but  do  not  show  how  hard 
the  people  work  to  wrest  a  living  from 
the  hill.  They  have  done  a  remarkable 
job  putting  in  the  irrigation  ditches 
which  make  the  green  possible.  Back 
of  us  to  either  side  a  narrow  valley 
runs  between  high  rock  cliffs  and  winds, 
slowly  climbing,  among  the  bases  of  the 
hills.  These  hills  are  rugged  looking  and 
splendid,  with  green  trees  growing  out 
of  the  rock.  There  are  many  thistles  all 
around  us — some  yellow,  some  just  plain 
thistle  color,  but  the  ones  I  love  are  a 
periwinkle  blue.  There  are  also  blue 
daisies,  and,  believe  it  or  not,  blue  but- 
terflies to  match.     Charming! 

The  village  of  Sama  is  quite  close. 
The  people  have  very,  very  little.  Many 
of  the  children  have  immense  tummies 
from  dietary  deficiency.  But  they  are  a 
friendly,  happy  people.  In  the  early 
morning  we  hear  the  boys  taking  the 


cattle,  and  the  men  starting  out  with 
mules  or  horses  for  the  fields,  going  along 
the  trails  on  either  side  of  camp,  singing 
and  laughing. 

The  houses  are  stone,  chinked  with 
mud  and  straw.  One  affluent  citizen, 
whose  house  is  walled  away  from  the 
rest,  allowed  us  to  look  inside.  There 
were  three  rooms :  one,  the  kitchen  area 
— very  cool  inside,  with  plastered  walls. 
Across  one  corner  hung  a  baby  bed.  A 
sack  of  wheat  and  a  sack  of  another  grain 
stood  side  by  side.  In  one  corner  a  col- 
lection of  elegant  copper  utensils  and  a 
kerosene  single  burner.  On  the  lone 
shelf,  two  lamps.  The  next  two  rooms 
were  locked  and  identical — large,  high- 
ceilinged,  and  deliriously  cool.  On  the 
floor  were  lovely  Persian  rugs.  Neat  bed 
rolls  with  round  pillows  on  top  were 
stacked  at  the  back.  In  the  yard  were 
rugs  and  mats  with  arzan  and  wheat 
spread  on  them  to  dry. 

We  went  to  the  village  armed  with 
two  cameras,  one  a  Polaroid,  and  a 
pocket  full  of  balloons.  At  first  the 
women  all  covered  their  faces  and  ran 
to  hide.  I  took  a  picture  of  two  young- 
sters and  had  them  show  it.  That  did  it. 
We  were  swamped.  Everyone  wanted 
"aks"  (pictures).  It  was  an  interesting 
experience,  photographing  the  women 
with  babies  on  their  backs  and  tiny  chil- 


dren carrying  babies.  The  women  and 
children  all  dress  alike :  a  long,  full  print- 
ed cotton  shirt;  then  a  shift,  perhaps  red 
or  a  print,  goes  over  that,  split  on  the 
sides  for  freedom  in  walking.  Some 
women  also  wear  a  sleeveless  jacket  that 
may  have  silver-looking  coins  on  the 
edges.  Always  a  scarf  is  tied  over  and 
around  the  head,  back  far  enough  to 
show  a  piece  of  hat  attached  to  the  scarf. 
It's  shaped  like  the  front  of  an  overseas 
cap — black  with  silver  braid  and  a  touch 
of  red.  With  their  first  reticence  over, 
the  women  now  come  to  camp  in  ones 
or  twos  each  day  for  a  picture,  and  have 
lost  all  shyness. 

Douglas  is  going  to  be  away  for  a 
couple  of  days  working  the  traps  for  a 
few  mice  in  another  area.  He  had  hoped 
to  go  up  the  mountain  today  for  more 
dormice,  but  for  the  first  time  there  are 
low  clouds  and  fog,  and  he  will  have  to 
wait. 

A  few  days  ago,  Bill  took  off  with  Isa, 
the  local  Game  Council  man.  They  left 
camp  and  started  straight  up  the  moun- 
tains where  they  hunted  and  camped  at 
6,500  feet,  then  went  on  up  to  8,400 
where  the  two  maral  were  taken.  A 
beautiful,  but  precipitous  piece  of  coun- 
try, with  extremely  large  trees,  six  to  eight 
feet  through:  alders  and  beeches,  with 
{Continued  on  next  page) 


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December    Page  7 


(Continued  from  preceding  page) 
thousands  of  trilliums  below.  Holly,  too. 
One  thing  I  can  say,  this  country  is 
good  for  the  waistline.  We've  all  tight- 
ened up  the  belts  a  bit,  which  calls  for 
some  boasting.  Bill  is  doing  his  best  to 
have  the  same  waistline  measurement  as 
Doug.  I  measure  each  of  them  every 
few  days.  (Just  between  the  two  of  us, 
I  pull  the  tape  tighter  when  measuring 
Bill !)  Before  too  long  we  will  move  on 
to  the  Caspian. 

Camp  Six,  near  Rezaiah 
On  the  banks  of  the 
Bardasar  Chay  (River) 

September  18:  Our  tents  are  set  up  among 
the  willow  trees  overlooking  a  small  river 
— really  a  stream — some  distance  from 
the  road.  A  hill  rises  directly  behind  us 
and  an  old  flour  mill  is  built  into  it. 
Made  of  rock  and  mud,  it's  been  there 
for  over  a  hundred  years.  The  miller 
grinds  the  wheat  on  a  stone  wheel.  The 
mill  is  built  over  water  ditches,  so  he 
controls  the  water.  We  are  almost  sur- 
rounded with  ditches. 

The  mill  is  built  on  three  levels:  one 
where  the  wheat  is  poured,  one  where 
the  miller  (a  nice  gentle  soul  who  looks 
as  though  a  breath  of  wind  would  blow 
him  away)  keeps  his  meager  belongings, 
and  the  lowest  where  the  wheel  is,  and  a 
trough  into  which  the  flour  falls.  Out- 
side, in  a  large  flat  area,  the  wheat  is 
sifted  before  being  ground. 

Driving  from  Chalus  westward  along 
the  Caspian  coast,  we  experienced  some 
delightful  moments.  We  enjoyed  seeing 
the  tea  plantations.  Through  binoculars 
we  could  see  the  neat  rows  of  tea  plants 
way  up  the  mountain  sides.  Girls  in 
gaily  colored  dresses  were  picking  tea 
leaves  in  the  fields.  The  tea  factories  are 
the  best  looking  buildings  we  have  seen, 
painted  and  surrounded  with  gardens. 

Beyond  Bandar  Pahlovi  we  drove 
through  miles  of  wild  pomegranate, 
some  in  bloom,  some  with  fruit. 

At  Astara  we  stopped  at  a  small  cav- 
iar packing  plant.  It  comprised  two 
square  rooms,  not  large,  connected  by 
a  roofed  passageway.  One  room  held 
the  vats  for  sturgeon.  The  caviar  is  put 
in  salt  water,  then  drained  in  large  sieves. 
In  the  other  room,  the  caviar  was  packed. 
The  place  was  painted  white  and  blue 
and  was  very  clean. 

Page  8    December 


SERAPIS 


days  ran  on  and  on,  the  list  would  still  be 
incomplete.  For  his  mighty  works  have 
not  come  to  a  standstill:  there  are  more 
today  than  yesterday.  Each  day,  each 
night,  adds  new  ones  to  the  tale." 

The  conception  of  one  almighty  god 
in  Hellenistic  religion,  as  incorporated  in 
the  image  of  Serapis,  spread  throughout 


(Continued from  page  3) 

the  Mediterranean.  The  most  efficient 
propagators  of  his  worship  were  the  sail- 
ors and  mariners  who  carried  the  cult  to 
the  Black  Sea  and  the  coast  of  the  At- 
lantic Ocean.  The  temple  of  Serapis  at 
Eboracum,  near  York,  in  Britain,  and 
the  cults  at  Silchester  and  London,  give 
an  idea  of  the  northern  boundaries  of 
the  god's  worship  in  the  ancient  world. 


Beyond  Astara  we  drove  over  plateau 
country,  5,200  feet  high.  It  reminded 
us  of  eastern  Washington.  Dry  farming 
was  done  and  we  saw  quantities  of  wheat 
being  threshed  with  water  buffalo  or  by 
hand.  Plowing  was  done  with  a  buffalo 
and  crude  implements.  Tremendous 
amounts  of  land  were  under  cultivation. 
Every  bit  of  green  was  being  gathered 
and  stored. 

Here  we  began  seeing  the  Turkish 
style  villages.  They  are  completely  dif- 
ferent from  the  others,  with  square  mud 
houses,  flat-roofed,  and  a  series  of  courts 
seemingly  connecting  everything.  There 
were  a  few  small  windows,  or  more  often 
just  a  door.     Many  of  the  houses  were 


THE  COVER 

Chinese  belt  toggles,  photographed 
to  almost  exact  size,  create  an  unusual 
checkerboard  effect  on  this  month's  cover. 
What  are  belt  toggles?  As  their  photo- 
graphs show,  they  are  beautifully  fash- 
ioned objects,  two  to  three  inches  in  size, 
made  from  ivory,  wood,  lacquer,  metal, 
jade,  or  other  hard  materials,  including 
seeds.  Traditionally,  belt  toggles  were 
used  by  Chinese  gentlemen  as  counter- 
weights for  various  personal  accessories 
— cases  for  pipes,  fans,  and  spectacles, 
portable  writing  sets,  portable  eating 
kits — which  were  carried  suspended 
from  a  cord  looped  over  the  belt.  Most 
of  these  toggles  date  from  the  19th  Cen- 
tury, but  some  are  older,  including  one 
inscribed  with  the  date,  1403.  The  20 
pieces  pictured  on  the  cover  are  part  of  a 
collection  of  237  recently  presented  as  a 
gift  to  the  Museum  by  Miss  C.  F. 
Bieber  of  Santa  Fe,  Mew  Mexico.  All 
will  be  displayed  in  the  Museum's 
hall  of  Chinese  and  Tibetan  ethnology 
(Hall  32)  whose  reinstallation  is  in 
progress. 


built  wall  to  wall.  Elsewhere,  winding 
walkways  ran  between  quite  high  walls. 

The  flat  roofs  of  the  houses  were  used 
for  storage,  as  was  evidenced  by  the 
stacks  of  straw  and  the  high,  cone- 
shaped  stocks  of  winter  fuel — patties  of 
cow  dung  and  straw.  After  being  made, 
these  are  dried  on  the  walls.  The  vil- 
lagers' cattle  and  sheep  looked  very  good, 
and  where  land  has  been  irrigated,  vege- 
tables were  growing. 

Ardabil  was  a  busy  town.  We  were 
intrigued  by  the  many  horse-drawn  car- 
riages. There  wasn't  one  in  good  repair. 
The  fenders  were  frayed  and  merely  tied 
on,  the  upholstery  was  torn  and  patched 
— but  the  driver  sat  high  and  proud  in 
his  ragged  coat.  Many  of  the  carriages 
were  painted  blue  or  red  and  decorated 
with  a  row  of  colored  flowers.  The 
horses  not  only  sported  beads  and  bells, 
but  red  yarn  tassels  or  pompoms  were 
attached  in  several  places. 

Two-wheeled  carts  carried  tanks  of 
water  to  sell.  Children  would  run  out 
and  try  to  turn  the  spigot  on  and  take 
some  water.  The  driver  carried  a  stick 
and  when  he  saw  them  he  would  leap 
off  and  give  chase.  Meanwhile,  the 
horse  just  plodded  on. 

This  is  a  fertile  valley,  with  much  to- 
bacco and  large  vineyards.  Both  crops 
are  being  picked  now  and  dried.  There 
is  also  a  large  sugar  factory.  While  some 
sugar  beets  are  grown  in  this  vicinity, 
most  are  sent  in  from  Khoi  and  other 
places.  Melons  grow  everywhere,  and 
these  are  the  sweetest  yet. 

A  few  days  ago,  Bill,  Nicola,  and  I  left 
camp  at  8:30  a.m.  and  took  off  to  find 
new  jerboa  fields.  We  had  been  told 
that  the  jerboas  sometimes  came  out  in 
daytime.  Found  a  most  promising  look- 
ing field,  loaded  with  burrows,  but 
saw  no  animals.  Decided  to  return  at 
dusk.  (To  be  continued) 

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