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CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

January, 1959

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 Henry P. Isham

Sewell L. Avery Hughston M. McBain

Wm. McCormick Blair William H. Mitchell

Walther Buchen John T. Pirie, Jr.

Walter J. Cummings Clarence B. Randall

Joseph N. Field John G. Searle

Marshall Field, Jr. Solomon A. Smith

Stanley Field Louis Ware

Samuel Insull, Jr. John P. Wilson

OFFICERS

Stanley Field President

Hughston M. McBain First Vice-President

Walther Buchen Second Vice-President

Joseph N. Field Third Vice-President

Solomon A. Smith Treasurer

Clifford C. Gregg Director and Secretary

John R. Millar Assistant Secretary

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR

Clifford C. Gregg Director of the Museum

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anthropology

Theodor Just Chief Curator of Botany

Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geology

Austin L. Rand Chief Curator of Zoology

MANAGING EDITOR
H. B. Harte Public Relations Counsel

ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Patricia McAfee Associate in Public Relations

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

WILLIAM J. GERHARD

1873-1958

On December 13, William J. Gerhard, Cu-
rator Emeritus of Insects, passed away —
quickly and in the midst of an active life,
as he would have wished — just three weeks
before his 86th birthday. His sudden death
from a heart attack deprived the Museum
of its oldest and one of its most dedicated,
honored and beloved staff members.

Mr. Gerhard assumed charge of the then
newly created Division of Entomology on
September 16, 1901. He saw it grow from
a division consisting of an "old rolltop desk,
two pencils, two pads of paper, a small
wooden cabinet" and about 24,000 insects,
to a well-equipped modern division — with
collections totaling more than a million and
a quarter specimens.

Although he retired as Curator in 1950,
following a coronary thrombosis, Mr. Ger-
hard remained active as Curator Emeritus.
In spite of physical limitations, he was
rarely absent from work.

ASPIRATIONS FULFILLED

His last eight years were probably among
the most personally satisfying in his entire
career, for, relieved of administrative duties,
he devoted almost full time to arranging the
fruits of his life work, especially the Strecker
Collection of butterflies and moths, and his
personal collection of Hemiptera (true bugs)
which he gave to the Museum. Few men

have the opportunity, as he did, of seeing
most of their life work so preserved and
organized that they can view it integrated
with the future. He left few "loose ends."
He was meticulous and thorough.

Mr. Gerhard was well-known as an au-
thority on the classification of the true bugs
or Hemiptera, though he never wrote a single
original paper on them. As a matter of fact,
he published few papers, but he assisted
many of his colleagues in their studies. He
was truly a "handmaiden of science." The
author of the only comprehensive manual
on the Hemiptera of Eastern North America
stated in his introduction: "The work in its
present form would not have been possible
had it not been for W. J. Gerhard, of the
Field Museum. . . ."

He at all times submerged his personal
interests for the good of the Museum, and
no task was too menial, trivial or onerous
for him.

He was uncomplicated, highly predictable.
He had sharply defined concepts of right and
wrong, respect for authority, courage to de-
fend his stand, stubborn self-reliance to the

HIS LIFE'S WORK

Characteristically engrossed in his studies of the

insect world, the late William J. Gerhard is seen

here in his laboratory. He worked in the Museum

as an entomologist for 57 years.

end, a strong belief in hard work. He was
scrupulous to a fault, modest, and self-
effacing.

He was kind to and considerate of all the
people around him. The children of many
staff members well remember the candies
which Mr. Gerhard surreptitiously slipped
into daddy's briefcase. His sense of humor
was well-known. He loved to play the role
of the "devil's advocate" and defender of
the traditional.

Although usually mild-mannered, Mr.
Gerhard could erupt with a violence that
shattered the nervous system of a neophyte.
He ordinarily indulged in such emotional
release only when he accidentally damaged
a specimen. The explosions diminished in
frequency in later years after female em-
ployees moved into offices across the hall
from the division.

With tongue in cheek, he was the "con-
science of us all" and self-appointed critic.

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

Our cover shows a mural, re-
cently installed in Hall 29 (Plant
Life), of Gunnera magnifica, a
strange gigantic herb found at
altitudes around 10,000 feet in the
Andes of Colombia. Its local
Spanish name is "hoja de pan-
tano" or "swamp leaf." Its enor-
mous leaves are among the largest
known in the plant kingdom.
The plant was discovered in 1944
by Prof. Harold St. John while he
was a member of the Cinchona
Mission of the Foreign Economic
Administration. Formerly of the
University of Hawaii, he is now
professor of botany at Chatham
College, Pittsburgh. The mural
is the work of E. John Pfiffner,
Museum Staff Artist. See page 3
for an article by Prof. St. John on
this fascinating plant.

One curator well remembers the day he
turned in a monthly work report that item-
ized to the day his activities of the previous
month. Mr. Gerhard, report in hand, came
to him and slyly asked, "But, Mr. — ,
weren't you on vacation for three weeks
last month?"

ALWAYS HELPFUL

He devoted much time to helping ama-
teurs and students, as well as professionals,
and gave a number of beginning students an
opportunity to learn about insects in his
division. "The boys" who owe him an eter-
nal debt of gratitude are many, the writer
among them. The most notable of these
perhaps, is Dr. William Mann, former Di-
rector of the National Zoo.

His advanced formal schooling consisted
of evening courses at Temple College, as
well as private instruction in Latin during
the time he was a Jessup Student. He spent
a year (1898-99) in Bolivia where he col-
lected butterflies and moths for A. G. Weeks,
whose collection is now at Harvard. The
following year he was partner in a second-
hand scientific book business. In 1901 he
was recommended by Dr. Skinner for the
position at Field Columbian Museum as this
institution was then named.

In recognition of his role in North Amer-
ican entomology, Mr. Gerhard was elected
a Fellow of the Entomological Society of
America, of which he was a charter member,
and of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science. He was elected
a Contributor to the Museum in 1954, for
the gift to the Museum of his collection and
library. He was born near Reading, Penn-
sylvania, January 3, 1873. He is survived
by four daughters, two sisters and a brother.

— R.L.W.

January, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 3

GUNNERA, THE MAGNIFICENT - GIANT HERB OF COLOMBIA

By HAROLD ST. JOHN

PROFESSOR OF BOTANY, CHATHAM COLLEGE

(Picture on the cover)

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MU-
SEUM has just paid the tribute to
Gunnera magnifica St. John of making it the
subject of a mural in Martin A. and Carrie
Ryerson Hall (Plant Life— Hall 29). This
species of Gunnera is outstanding as the larg-
est yet known in that genus which contains
numerous species of massive herbs. The new
species was discovered by the writer in 1944
when serving as botanical explorer for the
Cinchona Mission of the Foreign Economic
Administration. This was a United States
governmental agency devoted to the discov-
ery and supply of quinine-rich Cinchona bark
to meet the needs in war time of the armed
forces in malaria-infested areas. During
spare time all of the botanists on this mission
made plant collections which in total have
added much to the known flora of western
South America.

The Andes Mountains enter Colombia from
the south and soon divide into three parallel
ranges that dominate the topography of the
country. The middle and highest one is the
Cordillera Central. Manizales, the capital of
the province of Caldas, lies on the western
slope of this rugged and lofty mountain range.
The writer and his Colombian assistant, Sr.
Gustavo Arcila y Arango, drove in their sta-
tion wagon from Bogota across the Rfo Mag-
dalena valley, over the pass in the Cordillera
Central and north to Manizales, which was
headquarters for the month of November,
1944. By car it was possible to explore the
country along the few main roads only, as
there are almost no secondary roads. The
back country could be reached only on mules.

One trip was made up the road towards
Termales in the valley of the Rio Cinchina.
The manager of the nearby cattle ranch,
Finca Cachiri, was Sr. Eduardo Giraldo. He
hospitably housed us, provided mules, guides,
and on the first trip accompanied us himself.
Common in the clearings and at the edge of
the forest was Cinchona pubescens. This grew
to large size, 50 feet in height and 20 inches
in diameter. Its bark is thicker than that of
the other species of the region, but, unfortu-
nately, always low — that is well below 3 per
cent — in quinine content. Hence, it is not a
good source of the valuable medicine.

FIRST ENCOUNTER

On this first trip, November 25, 1944, we
followed a trail up the little valley and after
a journey of three miles encountered the Gun-
nera. The genus was an old friend, but this
Colombian species was bigger and better than
any seen before. The fleshy trunks were 3 to
10 feet long and 16 inches in diameter. The
terminal bud scales were lance-linear and
deeply laciniate, pale greenish cream-colored,
and so numerous as to make the stem apex a
tangled, shaggy mass. The numerous leaves

were borne on spiny petioles up to 8 feet
10 inches in length. The blades were 6 feet
5 inches in diameter, rounded and shallowly
lobed, and at base deeply heart-shaped. The
inflorescences were erect, and when in flower
20 to 47 inches long, compound spicate. The
flowers were tiny, only Vie to 6/M inch long,
but innumerable and crowded on the spikes
and of a beautiful rose magenta color. The
fruiting clusters were 6}4 to 7}4 feet long,
and 8 to 21 J^ inches in diameter, and bore
numberless tiny, red drupes.

At the very first glimpse it was obvious
that the plant was noteworthy, so it was pho-
tographed in black-and-white and in color,
notes were taken, and abundant specimens
collected. The type specimen is deposited in
the Smithsonian Institution. There are dupli-
cates in other herbaria, including Chicago
Natural History Museum.

The species was first encountered at an
altitude of 10,000 feet in a low, but dense
rain-forest. Individual plants were scattered
in this moist forest, but in openings where a
large tree had fallen, Gunnera was common
and stouter. Then, in more permanent open-
ings, at the forest edge, and along stream
banks, it formed extensive, solid stands. It
was known to the local residents by its Span-
ish name, "hoja de pantano" or "swamp
leaf." The people made no use of it, and
their domestic animals would not eat it,
doubtless due to the brittle, harsh texture of

FOR THE BIRDS, AFTER YULE

the blades and the numerous little spines on
the petioles.

MYSTERY OF MIGRATION

The genus Gunnera has long been known.
It contains more than 30 species and occurs
in southwest Africa, the East Indies, the
Philippines, Tasmania, New Zealand, Ha-
waii, and South America. Most of the spe-
cies are tiny, humble, creeping herbs, with
blades about one inch in diameter. All of
the large, conspicuous ones are in the sub-
genus Panke. These occur in the Hawaiian
Islands, Juan Fernandez, in South America
for the length of the Andes, and in Costa
Rica in Central America, 10° north of the
equator. How they could have migrated be-
tween the Andes and these distant Pacific
islands is a puzzle. Certainly they did not
float on the ocean, or ride on a raft! Their
fruits are not sticky or armed. Apparently
birds are the most probable agents of dis-
persal, as the tiny drupes could be eaten, but
the stones would have had to remain in the
digestive system an incredible time on a very
long flight. For such problems there are no
solutions that can be proved, and they add
interest to the mystery of the origin of these
fantastic herbs.

Another unique feature of the big species
of Gunnera is their symbiosis. In the mas-
sive, fleshy stems are curious blue-green spots.
They occur radially inward and nearly one
inch distant from each node. It has been
proved that the internal symbiont making
these spots is Nostoc, one of the blue-green
algae. Species of Nostoc also occur freely on
the surface of wet soil. Apparently this alga
enters the young plants through unique
glands which disappear after completing their
function leaving the algal cells behind.

Several of the large species of Gunnera are
cultivated, particularly in botanical gardens.
Gunnera manicata is hardy as far north as
Scotland. The new Gunnera magnifica de-
serves to be brought into cultivation, as it is
the largest of all in stature, and its inflores-
cences are much the largest, and of striking
beauty because of the dense mass of rose
magenta flowers. Judging by its cool, moun-
tainous habitat, this plant should also be
hardy in many temperature regions.

Children from Lincoln School in Evanston helped
decorate the birds' Christmas tree at the Museum.
The tree, with strings of popcorn, suet cake, cran'
berries, raisins and peanut butter, was set up as an
example for families seeking a useful means of dis-
posal of their trees after the holidays. Those who
provide such cafeterias for the birds are urged to
replenish them with food regularly at least until the
arrival of spring's better days.

Foreign Visitors Tour Museum

A group of foreign students and visitors
representing many countries was brought to
the Museum on Sunday, December 21, by
the Holiday Center, operated by the Hos-
pitality Center of Greater Chicago. The
visitors were conducted on a special tour by
Miss Miriam Wood, Chief of the Raymond
Foundation.

The areas occupied by exhibits in the
Museum comprise a space equal to more
than 12 acres.

Page 4

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

January, 1959

THE OLD COPPER INDIANS AND THEIR WORLD

By GEORGE I. QUIMBY

CURATOR OF NORTH AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY
AND ETHNOLOGY

THE OLD COPPER INDIANS were the
first fabricators of metal in the Americas
and perhaps in the whole world. Some of
them lived as early as 7,000 years ago and
others survived as late as 3,000 years ago.
A limited sample of their skeletal remains
suggests that they were rather tall, fairly
robust, and well-developed muscularly.

chilling with cold water. Then it was
pounded loose with boulder hammers and
pried away with wooden levers. The copper
thus obtained was transported to camps and
villages where it was finished into tools,
weapons, and ornaments.

Smelting and casting of copper were un-
known. The pure copper was shaped into
the intended form by cold hammering and
annealing — pounding the copper and heating

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CHANGING ENVIRONMENT OF OLD COPPER INDIANS
At left: The region from before 5000 B.C. to about 3000 B.C. At right: Same area about 3000 B.C-1000 B.C.

The known world of the Old Copper In-
dians was the Upper Great Lakes region, the
lands bordering Lake Superior, Lake Mich-
igan, and Lake Huron. This region, for-
merly much different from now, actually
underwent radical changes in climate, flora,
fauna, and land surface during the periods
of Old Copper occupancy. For instance, the
lake levels rose as much as 400 feet, the land
in places was lifted nearly 500 feet, and the
forest cover changed from pines to hard
woods as the climate became hot. There
may even have been a few stray whales in
the Lake Huron basin.

The Old Copper Indians were miners and
fabricators of copper. All of their copper
was mined in the Lake Superior basin, mostly
in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. There
were many mines along the Ontario shore of
Lake Superior and there were thousands of
prehistoric mining pits on the Keweenaw
Peninsula and Isle Royal in upper Michigan.

INDIANS' MINING TECHNIQUES

Remnants of wooden levers, fragmentary
birchbark buckets, hammerstones, and char-
coal from fires have been found in old mining
pits, some of which were at least 20 feet deep.
From such archaeological evidence the tech-
niques of prehistoric copper-mining have
been reconstructed:

The Indian miners followed the veins of
pure copper from surface outcrops by digging
pits and breaking the copper from its rock
matrix with the aid of fire and water and
large beach-boulders.

The rock surrounding the pure copper was
heated by fire and then cracked by sudden

and chilling it to keep it from becoming too
brittle. Most of the copper was fashioned
into tools and weapons such as socketed axes,
various types of spearpoints and knives, har-
poons, pipes, awls, fishhooks, punches, and
wedges. Ornaments of copper were rare.
They also made tools and weapons of chipped
stone and bone.

Socketed Axes and Gouge of Copper

The Old Copper Indians made their living
by hunting and fishing. They hunted with
the spear and possibly the bow and arrow.
Among the/animals they hunted were deer,
elk, barren-ground caribou, lynx, and prob-
ably bison. Ducks, swans, cranes, and owls
were among the birds taken. Fish were
caught with nets, spears, harpoons, hooks,
and gorges.

The Old Copper Indians seem to have
been the first in the Upper Great Lakes re-
gion to keep dogs. There were two kinds:
a small dog about the size of a coyote and a
large one about the size of the largest known
Eskimo dogs. Boats of some kind certainly
were used by the Old Copper Indians. Their

use of island areas that could not have sup-
ported any winter population demanded the
use of boats. But whether these boats were
wooden dugouts or bark or skin-covered ca-
noes is not known. Although no definitely
identified dwellings have been found, at one
site in northern Wisconsin there were post-
holes suggesting an oval structure about 13
feet in diameter.

The dead were buried in cemeteries. The
Old Copper gravepits contained multiple and
single interments in a variety of positions.
There were extended and flexed primary
burials, secondary burials of bones in bun-
dles, and cremations. With the dead were
placed tools, weapons, and ornaments for
use in the spirit world.

EXTREMELY ANCIENT CULTURE

The Old Copper culture is an ancient one
in the Upper Great Lakes region. Some
measure of its antiquity is provided by radio-
carbon dates as early as 5556 B.C. (plus or
minus 600 years) and 3646 B.C. (plus or mi-
nus 600 years). Occasional copper artifacts
representative of the Old Copper culture
have been found in New York state and
Kentucky with Archaic cultural remains ra-
diocarbon-dated at about 3000 B.C. or earlier.

In addition there is good geological evi-
dence in support of an early date for the be-
ginnings of the Old Copper culture. For
instance, a number of finds of Old Copper
artifacts as well as some Old Copper sites
are in areas that would have been under
water during the Lake Algonquin stage and
the Nipissing stage of the Upper Great Lakes.
There are at least three places where evi-
dence indicates that Old Copper materials
were covered by deposits and water planes
of the Nipissing stage. Therefore these par-
ticular sites and finds must have been in
position after the Algonquin stage and be-
fore the Nipissing stage. The Nipissing stage
had a radiocarbon date as early as about
3000 B.C., and so these particular Old Copper
sites and finds must belong to a period older
than 3000 B.C.

Thus the geological evidence shows that
some Old Copper sites and finds are pre-
Nipissing in age and therefore older than
3000 B.C., thus confirming the assessment of
age based upon the radiocarbon dates from
an actual Old Copper site. It thus seems
clear that the Old Copper culture had its be-
ginnings in very ancient times, most likely
by at least 5000 B.C., and that it lasted for
many centuries, possibly until the end of the
Nipissing stage of the Upper Great Lakes,
about 1000 B.C.

The environment of the Upper Great
Lakes, the only world known to the Old Cop-
per Indians, was radically different then, par-
ticularly in the Chippewa-Stanley stage of
the lakes lasting until about 3000 B.C. or
slightly later. First of all, the lake levels
were hundreds of feet lower. In the Lake
Michigan basin Lake Chippewa was 350 feet
below the present lake level. In the Lake

January, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

Huron basin Lake Stanley was 400 feet be-
neath the present lake level. And the waters
in the Lake Superior basin were some hun-
dreds of feet lower than at present.

During this period there were two addi-
tional large lakes in the region. At the
northwest lay glacial Lake Aggasiz, which
at this time drained eastward to the Supe-
rior basin, and on the northeast were the
remnants of glacial Lake Ojibwa-Barlow,
which at its maximum was a tremendous
body of water caught between the ice front
and the height of land. This glacial lake
was drained to near extinction sometime
during the Chippewa-Stanley stage, so it is
likely that only the earliest Old Copper In-
dians had it on the northern periphery of

Socketed Spearpoints of Copper

their environment. Lake Aggasiz, on the
other hand, seems to have persisted much
longer, lasting at least into the time of the
Nipissing stage. Artifacts representative of
the Old Copper culture have been found on
old beaches of glacial Lake Agassiz in Minne-
sota and Canada, suggesting that some Old
Copper Indians actually lived on the shores
of Lake Agassiz.

Lake Chippewa drained into Lake Stanley
by means of a long river through what is now
the Straits of Mackinac. Lake Stanley
drained to the Atlantic Ocean by way of the
Ottawa River through the North Bay, On-
tario, outlet which at that time stood nearly
at sea level.

With such drastically lowered lake levels
there was, of course, an appreciable differ-
ence in the relation of water and land. The
present lake shore would have been 25 miles
or more inland in many places, whereas the
former lake shore now lies under 350 or 400
feet of water.

In the northwestern part of the Lake
Michigan basin near Green Bay there would
have been limestone hills down which ran
rivers with tremendous rapids or perhaps
waterfalls that dropped 200 or 300 feet. A
similar situation would have existed in much
of the Superior basin and along the northern
and eastern shores of Lake Stanley in the
Huron basin.

Along much of the western shore of Lake
Chippewa were sloping clay hills covered
with deciduous forest. Remnants of this

forest can still be found far beneath the wa-
ters of Lake Michigan just off Racine, Wis-
consin. But at the time this forest flourished
one could have walked directly from Racine
to Michigan City, Indiana, or from Chicago
to Benton Harbor, Michigan, through woods
and dune areas on trails that today could
only be followed by fish or submarines.

Along the east shore of Lake Chippewa
there were sand hills, sloping sand plains,
and rivers where now there is the deep water
of Lake Michigan. The area embraced by
the city of Chicago would have been 360 to
370 feet above the level of Lake Chippewa
and 30 miles southwest of its nearest shore.
From these examples one can see that the
topography was much different from that of
modern times. The climate, flora, and fauna
were different, too.

CLIMATE BECOMES WARMER

About 6000 B.C., at the beginning of the
Chippewa-Stanley stage, the ice front was in
northern Ontario at about the latitude of
Cochrane. By the middle of the period the
ice had retreated northward from this posi-
tion. The climate was becoming increasingly
warmer during the Lake Chippewa-Stanley
stage and was actually hot by the end of the
stage circa 3000 B.C.

By the time of the beginnings of the Old
Copper culture the spruce-fir forest had al-
ready retreated northward and pine had
achieved a dominance of the forests over
much of the region. With the dominance of
pine had come an increase in the expansion
of grasses, particularly in the western parts
of the Old Copper world.

During the early stages of the Old Copper
culture in the last half of the Lake Chip-
pewa-Stanley period the pine dominance be-
gan to give way to the expansion of the
hardwood forests with their oaks and chest-
nut, and the grasslands encroached even
more upon the forests.

The Chippewa-Stanley stage was termi-
nated by the upwarping of the land in the
vicinity of the North Bay outlet by more
than 400 feet, presumably caused by post-
glacial expansion of the earth released from
the weight of the glacial ice that had re-
treated from the area some thousands of
years earlier. With the North Bay outlet
thus closed there was a tremendous rise in
water levels climaxed by the Nipissing stage
of the Upper Great Lakes, which lasted from
shortly after 3000 B.C. to about 1000 B.C.
Instead of a single outlet at North Bay there
were two outlets, one at Chicago and another
at Port Huron.

The amount of rise in the Superior basin
is not known, but it must have been consid-
erable. The water in the Lake Michigan
basin rose 375 feet and the level in the Huron
basin rose at least 425 feet to a single body
of water with a plane about 25 feet above the
present level in these basins.

The shoreline sites of the Old Copper In-
dians who lived during the second half of the

Chippewa-Stanley stage were covered by
hundreds of feet of water, and they are still
covered in the southern parts of the Upper
Great Lakes region where there has been no
appreciable upwarping.

During the Nipissing stage the climate was
much hotter than at present or at any other
time during the past 18,000 or more years.
Forests dominated by oak and hickory
reached their maximum northward extension
and the pine and spruce stands were pushed
ever northward, too. This was the time of
the greatest extent of grasslands in eastern
North America.

Among the animals living in the Upper
Great Lakes region in the days when Old
Copper Indians lived in the area were deer,
elk, barren-ground caribou, lynx, beaver,
and bison. There is some evidence of whales
in the Huron basin inasmuch as whale re-
mains have been found in a Nipissing stage
beach deposit. Occasional whales may well
have entered the Huron basin from the At-
lantic by way of the North Bay outlet during
the Chippewa-Stanley low-water stage. Al-
though whales were not economically impor-
tant to the Indians, they may well have been
incorporated into religious beliefs as sea
monsters.

After about 1000 B.C. the Old Copper cul-
ture gradually disappeared. Some of the
Old Copper Indians had moved northward,
following the northerly drift of the pine for-
ests and caribou. Old Copper finds from the
bed of Lake Agassiz northwest of Lake Supe-
rior in Manitoba must be the product of this
late movement northward. And this late
northward movement ultimately may have
influenced some Eskimo cultures.

Those Old Copper Indians who did not
move northward found themselves in a new
environment because of the change in cli-
mate. Their culture probably changed in
response to the new environment, and per-
haps some of them were assimilated by the

Crescent-shaped Knife and Tanged Spearpoint

Late Archaic Indians who had occupied some
parts of the Upper Great Lakes region since
3000 B.C. or earlier.

In any event, the manufacture of typical
Old Copper styles of tools and weapons
ceased, and some forms of Old Copper weap-
ons seem to have been copied in ground and
polished slate. However, the technique of
working copper by cold hammering and an-
nealing was not lost because at about the
time of Christ the Hopewell Indians used it
in the manufacture of copper ornaments.

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

January, 1959

A SURVEY OF FISHES IN AN ILLINOIS STREAM

By LOREN P. WOODS

CURATOR OF FISHES

RUNNING DOWN the west side and
around the foot of Lake Michigan lies
a continental divide, the Valparaiso Mo-
raine, left there by the retreat of the last
(Wisconsin) glacier. This is a true divide,
for water falling on the east face of it flows
through the Great Lakes and out the St.
Lawrence, while that falling on the west and
south eventually reaches the Mississippi
River and Gulf of Mexico. Actually this
divide is scarcely noticeable when driving
across it for it is of low relief and the streams

beneath the surface. This turbidity, char-
acteristic of most of our streams, results from
run-off of fields, eroding banks, and livestock
wading in the channel. These factors intro-
duce a large amount of exceedingly fine silts
and clays, of which the soils of the surround-
ing country have a high percentage, into the
streams.

STREAM WATERS CLEAR

In late winter while the surface water
is still held frozen on the land the only wa-
ter entering the stream proper is ground
water seepage from springs. At this time

MUSEUM FISH COLLECTORS AT WORK IN HICKORY CREEK, ILLINOIS

flowing from its summit are usually sluggish.
In fact, many of the streams have one or
more of their source tributaries rising from
the overflow of a marsh held between the
low glacial-drift hills that make up the di-
vide. Such a stream is Hickory Creek, ris-
ing in southwest Cook County, Illinois,
flowing southwest, and emptying into the
Des Plaines River at Joliet. Hickory Creek
and its principal tributary, Marley Creek,
resemble most of the smaller streams of
northeastern Illinois in characteristics of low
gradient, shallow valley, and banks alter-
nately following along cultivated fields, pas-
tures, woodlands, or through towns. Hick-
ory Creek's fauna and flora are largely
duplicated in the majority of other small
streams making up our local drainage pattern.
Hickory Creek is approximately 21 miles
long from its farthest east tributary to its
mouth, and it drains an area of about 100
square miles. During most of the year the
water is quite turbid so that only by sam-
pling with seine, dredge, or dip net is it
possible to learn anything about what lies

the water is free from silt and it is possible
to see the stream bed along its entire length.
The invertebrates that have survived the
winter, the fishes, and their nesting areas all
are visible. On February 3 one year, al-
though the water was clear, in the shallow
headwater portions of Marley Creek a great
deal of anchor ice was present and no fishes
were seen. Anchor ice is formed where the
current is too swift for the formation of sur-
face ice. The turbulent water is cooled by
the air below the freezing point but it does
not freeze because of its motion. Near the
bottom or wherever the current is sufficiently
retarded the supercooled water freezes and
the ice attaches to stones, frequently to such
an extent that the whole bottom may be
covered by ice.

Supercooling on clear cold nights when the
air temperature is below zero degrees Fah-
renheit will often cause the formation of
innumerable free crystals of slush ice (some-
times called frazil). The ice crystals may
be sufficiently abundant to make the water
milky. Slush ice and anchor ice scouring the

bed and polishing the rocks or covering up
the bed may greatly reduce the numbers of
all kinds of animals in the creek. Some kinds
of fishes survive living in the mouths of
springs and some in riffles too swift for the
attachment of anchor ice, but most kinds
migrate downstream where they find deep
holes.

The thawing of the ice held on land and
along the edges of the stream along with
spring rains often swells the volume to flood
stage. It is well known that during such
periods of rising waters many kinds of fishes
migrate upstream.

The white sucker and creek chub move
upstream and spawn on gravel beds that
may be covered with 12 to 24 inches of wa-
ter only during flood periods, that is, within
the intermittent portion of the stream. The
young creek chubs remain in this part of the
stream and sometimes perish if the water
falls too rapidly. Other species that migrate
upstream as far as they can are the stone
roller, the little green sunfish, and golden
shiner. The last two species even enter tiles
draining fields and may work their way up
to a break so they come out in a flooded field
or perhaps in a suburban garden.

Lampreys and carp also migrate upstream
to spawn, the lamprey very early in spring
(April) and the carp a little later (May and
June). The non-parasitic brook lampreys
spawn on gravel riffles where the water is not
more than two feet deep. With their sucker
mouths they carry stones until they have
constructed a shallow depression about 12
to 24 inches in diameter. The pair then
attach themselves to a large stone at the up-
stream edge of the nest to spawn. The
freshly laid eggs stick so firmly to the stones
of the nest that any attempt at dislodging
destroys them, but after a day or two the
eggs are washed off and lie loose among the
pebbles. Carp seek a shallow weedy area for
their spawning — a marsh or even a flooded
pasture. Usually one female is attended by
several males and with much splashing the
eggs are scattered widely. These eggs are
adhesive and cling to plant surfaces. Many
eggs are lost, but carp are very prolific — one
female will produce 300,000 to 700,000 eggs
in a season but not more than 400 to 500 are
deposited at one time.

Altogether 38 species of fishes have been
collected from Hickory Creek. Since this is
a small stream, nearly all the thousands of
individuals taken have also been small (less
than 10 inches). They are principally of
kinds that are most often found inhabiting
creeks although some kinds also live in
larger streams or lakes where they grow to
larger sizes. In Hickory Creek there are 4
kinds of suckers, 14 species of minnows, 4
species of catfishes, 5 different sunfishes,
8 kinds of the dwarf perches (called darters)
and the mud-minnow, the sculpin, and the
black-striped top minnow. It is unusual to
find such a diversified lot of fishes living in
a stream of this size. The present inhabi-

January, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

tants of the creek are almost completely
isolated from other streams by pollution at
the stream mouth. Studies on Hickory and
Marley Creeks have been carried on inter-
mittently by many people during the past
50 years and a survey made within the last
five years revealed the same kinds as those
in Museum collections gathered 50 years ago.
The fact that until recently the watershed
and stream have remained relatively un-
changed is no doubt responsible for this
stability.

During the recent survey no little pickerel
were collected, although these are still abun-
dant in adjacent streams and were reported
from Hickory Creek by the early collectors.
Very likely this one species has disappeared
from this stream and it is the only one of
which there is a record of extinction. Two
exotic species, carp and goldfish, have ap-
peared in the stream either by invasion or
introduction since the early survey was made
around 1905.

Looking at the stream from the marshes
at the head to the sludge-laden mouth, simi-
lar habitats of pools, gravelly riffles, broad
meandering mud-bottom stretches, and weed
patches occur again and again. Many of the
species have very definite habitat preferences
and no species is found distributed through-
out the stream in a random or uniform man-
ner. The rock bass can always be found in
the deep holes under bridges while the cat-
fishes and suckers live in the deep, mud-
bottom holes of meanders or where a trib-
utary joins the main stream. The sunfishes
and several kinds of minnows prefer deep

GREEN SUNFISH AND REDFIN SHINER ON NET

stretches with gravel or hard bottom and
the darters and sculpin live on the riffles or
parts of the stream where the current is most
rapid. In one stretch there is a forested sec-
tion and the stream here has more than
usual gradient, cutting into dense clay.
Here, in submerged holes in the banks, lives
the translucent madtom catfish. The lower
portion of the stream where broad weed
patches grow in summer is the habitat of
smallmouth bass 8 to 10 inches long.

The two most important conditions that
determine how animals are distributed in
streams are current and kind of bottom.
These two conditions influence the vegeta-
tation, light, and carbon dioxide and oxygen
content. On the other hand the conditions
of current and kind of bottom are deter-
mined by the physiography, the length of
the stream, and elevation of the source above
the mouth.

The habitat preferences change as the fish
grows. The very young fry of most species
seek protection in shallows where the grass
or rushes grow dense and the battle against
the current is least. As they grow and
change their feeding habits they move to
other parts of the stream.

Since fishes are sufficiently motile they are
able to seek out the place along the stream
that suits them best. Once established, the
individuals tend to remain throughout the
season. Although they may be temporarily
dislodged by a summer flood, the majority
return to the same spot and never wander
very far from it.

During the summer the stream population
is fairly sedentary. The principal move-
ments and migrations occur in late fall and
early winter when most kinds of fishes cease
to feed and seek the protection of deep holes
where they crowd together. In the spring,
even before the ice has completely melted
from all parts of the stream, some kinds —
for example, the suckers and sculpins — be-
gin their migrations to suitable spawning
areas. The other kinds — sunfishes, min-
nows, and catfishes — disperse later. Several
kinds of sunfishes re-
main on the spawning
beds all summer, hold-
ing a territory against
others of the same spe-
cies, guarding eggs or
caring for successive
broods.

As the population of
the city and suburbs
grows, few streams in
our area remain un-
changed. Siltation
and domestic and in-
dustrial polution re-
duce the streams to
conditions far from
suitable for most kinds
of fishes. Subdivisions
and country homes
along the valley usu-
ally destroy the very natural beauty that
made the site desirable. The Hickory Creek
fauna survived the establishment of farms
and pastures, but within the past five years
many sections have changed because of
growth of villages in the watershed and build-
ing along the valley. Dredging and straight-
ening have begun. I predict that a survey
50 years hence will be so unproductive
that no biologist is likely to be interested in
making it.

STAFF NOTES

Papers on technical subjects were pre-
sented before various sections of the meet-
ings of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science in Washington on
December 28 by four members of the Mu-
seum staff: Dr. Robert H. Denison, Cu-
rator of Fossil Fishes; Dr. Rainer Zangerl,
Curator of Fossil Reptiles; Philip Hersh-
kovitz, Curator of Mammals, and, in absen-
tia, D. Dwight Davis, Curator of Verte-
brate Anatomy. . . . Emmet R. Blake, Cu-
rator of Birds, has returned to the Museum
after nearly half a year in Peru where he
conducted the Conover Ornithological Ex-
pedition. His account of collecting in little-
known areas will appear in the next Bul-
letin. . . . Rupert L. Wenzel, Curator
of Insects, attended the annual meetings of
the Entomological Society of America last
month in Salt Lake City. He also spent
several days in study of collections at the
California Academy of Sciences, San Fran-
cisco. . . . Loren P. Woods, Curator of
Fishes, recently lectured on "The Sea Lam-
prey in Lake Michigan" before the Izaak
Walton League. . . . Henry S. Dybas, As-
sociate Curator of Insects, recently spoke
before the Conservation Council in Chicago
on "The Periodical Cycada.". . . Allen Liss,
Custodian of Collections-Anthropology, at-
tended the recent annual meeting of the
Illinois Archaeological Survey in Urbana.

Staff Changes Announced

At his own request, Dr. Fritz Haas, Curator
of Lower Invertebrates, has relinquished the
active control of his division, to assume a re-
search and consultative status under the title
of Curator Emeritus of Lower Invertebrates.
Dr. Alan Solem, Assistant Curator of the di-
vision, has been promoted to Curator of
Lower Invertebrates.

Melvin A. Traylor, Jr., has been promoted
from Assistant Curator to Associate Curator
of Birds.

Miss Patricia McAfee has been promoted
from Assistant to Associate in Public Re-
lations.

The changes are effective from January 1,
1959.

Children's Journeys Continue
To Birds' Winter Resort

The Museum Journey for children en-
titled "Chicago — Winter Resort for Birds,"
will continue this month and on to the end
of February. Boys and girls may take this
Journey any day during regular visiting
hours. They may obtain instructions and
questionnaires at either the north or south
entrance of the Museum. Those who suc-
cessfully complete four different Journeys
receive awards as Museum Travelers.

Page 8

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

January, 1959

TWO CURATORS SURVEY
FAUNA OF PANAMA

On January 7, Dr. Alan Solem, Curator of
Lower Invertebrates, and Henry S. Dybas,
Associate Curator of Insects, will depart by
air for a two and one-half months' field trip
in Panama.

Joining the major land masses of North
and South America, Panama is a highway
over which animals and plants are gradually
spreading from one continent to the other.
It is of particular interest to scientists be-
cause here one finds living in the same area
animals and plants that everywhere else in
the world are isolated from each other.

A short time will be spent on the famous
Barro Colorado nature preserve in the mid-
dle of the Panama Canal. Established in
1923, this is perhaps the most famous trop-
ical research station and the scene of many
important studies on tropical life. More time
will be spent in surveying the Chiriqui high-
land area of western Panama. There are sev-
eral mountains over 11,000 feet in elevation
and many unusual animals have been re-
ported from this area. Solem and Dybas
hope to determine at exactly what elevations
many of these organisms are found and to
work out the broad outlines of their ecology.

In contrast to the high mountain areas are
the humid lowland jungles of the Province of
Darien, lying between the Panama Canal and
the Colombian border. If possible, some time

will be spent collecting in the vicinity of a
lumber or mining camp. This region is with-
out any roads and is considered the major
obstacle against ever completing the Pan-
American highway as a continuous road.

Mr. Dybas will concentrate on the minute
beetle fauna of the forest floor and Dr. Solem
will be working with the land and fresh- water
mollusks.

Gifts to the Museum

Following is a list of the principal gifts
received during the past month:

Department of Anthropology

From: Robert Trier, McKenzie Bridge,
Ore. — bronze Shiva, silver ornament and
cotton textile, nephrite pendant, Java, Cey-
lon, New Zealand

Department of Botany

From: H. R. Bennett, Chicago — 1,134
phanerogams, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana;
Dr. James E. Canright, Bloomington, Ind. —
slides of wood sections from samples of
Drimys, Brazil, Ecuador, Chile; Dr. Albert
Herre, Santa Cruz, Calif. — herbarium speci-
men, Usnea ceratina Ach.; Dr. Barbara Pal-
ser, Chicago — 24 specimens of Ericaceae,
South Africa

Department of Geology

Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Rohwer, Chicago —
a fossil fish and insect, Wyoming; Union Oil
Co. of California, Calgary, Alta. — Devonian
fish fragments

A BUSY DAY FOR FOUR-H-CLUB CAMERA FANS

AUDUBON SCREEN-TOUR
OF GREAT OUTDOORS

The Illinois Audubon Society will con-
tinue its series of Sunday afternoon screen-
tours in the James Simpson Theatre of the
Museum with the presentation on January 4
of "Outdoor Almanac," a color motion pic-
ture with narration by Charles Mohr of the
National Audubon Society. The program
will begin at 2:30 p.m.

Mohr's film, consisting of intimate studies
of the lives of small animals, combines enter-
tainment with a real and meaningful signifi-
cance for all who are concerned with or
interested in wildlife conservation. The
picture begins appropriately to the season
with episodes of animal life in the beautiful
but harsh realities of winter, but it carries
on to the fecundity of spring, the lushness
of summer and the brilliance and nostalgia
of autumn.

Last Call for Nature Photos
The final call for entries of prints and color
slides for the Fourteenth Annual Chicago
International Exhibition of Nature Photog-
raphy has been issued. The deadline for
receipt of entries is January 17. The Chicago
Nature Camera Club and the Museum are
co-sponsors. Prints selected by the judges
will be displayed in Stanley Field Hall from
February 7 to 27.

Boys attending the recent National 4-H Club Congress found many things to photograph during their annual
visit to the Museum. This year's delegation, about equally split between boys and girls, numbered approxi-
mately 1,300, representing all states of the Union, and several foreign countries as well. Their trips to Chicago
were awards for achievement in agriculture, stock-raising, and other activities.

NEW MEMBERS

(November 17 to December 15)

Life Members

Charles C. Jarchow, Frank M. Whiston

Non-Resident Life Member

Dr. Rudolf A. Clemen

Associate Members

Lee Winfield Alberts, Frederick Asher,
Mrs. Millington Domville, Fred L. Goldsby,
Arthur Hahn, Edwin W. Hirsch, Dr. Charles
E. Hughes, George R. Ives, George A. Laadt,
George J. Leahy, Joseph F. Lizzardo, Mrs.
Ross Llewellyn, Miss Margaret Mellody,
Dr. Clement J. Michet, Harold A. Moore,
Donald O'Toole, A. E. Patton, Miss Evelyn
Rose, M. A. Rosenthal, Robert P. Nessler,
Richard Norian, Dr. Raymond J. Pellicore,
Miss Bessie Radovich, William S. Robinson,
Kenneth V. Zwiener

Annual Members

Nathan Allen, Richard F. Babcock, Wal-
lace R. Baker, Mrs. George Barnett, Eugene
J. Becker, Nuel D. Belnap, Harold T. Berc,
Russell O. Bennett, Donald J. Berman, Dr.
Arthur Bernstein, Russell T. Berry, Dr.
Chester J. Black, Dr. G. A. Bica, Dr. Henry
E. Bielinski, Dr. John F. Bimmerle, George F.
Brown, George M. Burditt, Isadore Cann,
Miss Alice G. Capes, Dr. Marcus R. Caro,
Verne T. Costa, Robert S. Engelman, Wade
Fetzer, Jr., George L. Irvine, Guy C. Kid-
doo, Martin H. Matheson, Miss Esther A.
Miller, William S. Oliver, Mrs. Charles S.
Salmon, John C. Sturgis, Dr. Eugene S.
Talbot, Jack D. Train, Robert P. Weaver,
R. Arthur Williams

PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

ICAGO,
TURAli
>TORY
ISEUM

ffuuetin

Vi>l.30

Jfo. 2

Page 2

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

February, 1959

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 Henry P. Isham

Sewell L. Avery William V. Kahler

Wm. McCormick Blair Hughston M. McBain

Walther Buchen J. Roscoe Miller

Chesser M. Campbell William H. Mitchell

Walter J. Cummings John T. Pirie, Jr.

Joseph N. Field Clarence B. Randall

Marshall Field, Jr. John G. Searle

Stanley Field Solomon A. Smith

Samuel Insull, Jr. Louis Ware
John P. Wilson

OFFICERS

Stanley Field President

Hughston M. McBain First Vice-President

Walther Buchen Second Vice-President

Joseph N. Field Third Vice-President

Solomon A. Smith Treasurer

Clifford C. Gregg Director and Secretary

John R. Millar Assistant Secretary

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR

Clifford C. Gregg Director of the Museum

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anthropology

Theodor Just Chief Curator of Botany

Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geology

Austin L. Rand Chief Curator of Zoology

MANAGING EDITOR
H. B. Harte Public Relations Counsel

ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Patricia McAfee Associate in Public Relations

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

THREE NEW TRUSTEES
ON MUSEUM BOARD

Three outstanding Chicagoans prominent
in business, educational and civic affairs were
elected to fill vacancies on the Museum's
Board of Trustees at the Annual Meeting
held January 19. They are: Chesser M.
Campbell, President of The Tribune Com-
pany, and publisher of The Chicago Tribune;
William V. Kahler, President of the Illinois
Bell Telephone Company, and Dr. J. Roscoe
Miller, President of Northwestern University.

Stanley Field was re-elected President of
the Museum, and begins his 51st consecutive
year in that office. All other officers were
also re-elected: Hughston M. McBain, First
Vice-President; Walther Buchen, Second Vice-
President; Joseph N. Field, Third Vice-Pres-
ident; Solomon A. Smith, Treasurer; Dr.
Clifford C. Gregg, Director and Secretary,
and John R. Millar, Deputy Director and
Assistant Secretary.

EXPEDITIONS OF 1959

The Museum's plans for expeditions and
field work this year include the following:

Continuation of the Southwest Archaeo-
logical Expedition (25th season). This work,
on sites in Arizona, will be, as in previous
years, under the direction of Dr. Paul S.
Martin, Chief Curator of Anthropology.
Dr. John B. Rinaldo, Assistant Curator of

Archaeology, will be principal associate in
the field.

Dr. Robert F. Inger, Curator of Amphib-
ians and Reptiles, is leaving this month for
a project in the Belgian Congo (see page
7). He will also engage in research in
European institutions.

One expedition began operations early in
January when Dr. Alan Solem, Curator of
Lower Invertebrates, and Henry S. Dybas,
Associate Curator of Insects, flew to
Panama to make a survey of faunal
distribution.

George I. Quimby, Curator of North
American Archaeology and Ethnology, will
continue his investigations of the past few
years in the archaeology of the Upper Great
Lakes region, with trips to the shores of
Lake Huron and Lake Superior scheduled
for May and August.

Dr. John Thieret, Curator of Economic
Botany, will continue studies of the vegeta-
tion, particularly the grasslands, in the Great
Slave Lake and far northern Great Plains
regions of Canada during the summer.

Dr. Robert H. Denison, Curator of Fossil
Fishes, and Orville L. Gilpin, Chief Prepar-
ator of Fossils, will collect Devonian fish
specimens in Wyoming and Idaho in the
latter part of the summer.

William D. Turnbull, Assistant Curator of
Fossil Mammals, and Ronald J. Lambert,
Preparator of Fossils, will excavate fossil
mammals in the Washakie Basin of Wyoming,
beginning in June.

Albert W. Forslev, Associate Curator of
Mineralogy and Petrology, will collect
minerals at Arizona mines in September.

Dr. Fritz Haas, Curator Emeritus of
Lower Invertebrates, is scheduled for work,
in a field not yet chosen, during the summer.

Rupert L. Wenzel, Curator of Insects, will
collect histerid beetles in Arizona in late
spring.

Loren P. Woods, Curator of Fishes, will
make another fish-collecting expedition
aboard the Motor Vessel Oregon of the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service.

Dr. Robert L. Fleming and Dr. Dioscoro
S. Rabor, both Field Associates in Zoology,
will continue collecting birds in their respec-
tive areas, the former in Nepal and the
latter in the Philippines.

Non-Museum-staff assignments to col-
lectors include: Harry A. Beatty to collect
birds in Dutch Guiana: C. A. Ely to collect
birds in Mexico; M. A. Carriker to col-
lect birds in Colombia, and Kjell Von
Sneidern to collect birds and mammals,
also in Colombia.

ASSOCIATE CURATOR

NAMED IN BOTANY

Dr. C. Earle Smith, Jr. has come to the
Department of Botany of the Museum as
Associate Curator of Vascular Plants. He
began his botanical training in Florida by
amassing a large local collection. In spite

■ THIS MONTH'S COVER-

Our cover shows the pottery fig-
ure of a man in deep thought. It
was modeled about 1,500 years ago
by an Indian artist in Jalisco,
Mexico. The same theme is the
subject of a famous sculpture by
Rodin. As we look at this figure we
wonder what thoughts preoccupy
the man depicted. His dejected pos-
ture and somber face convey the
impression of sorrowful remem-
brance of things past or the sadness
of bereavement. This work is rep-
resentative of the expressive
sculptural art of western Mexico.
Another view of this figure and
illustrations of other examples of
pre-Columbian art from Nayarit,
Jalisco, and Colima are shown on
pages 4 and 5.

of an interruption for service in the U. S.
Navy Hospital Corps and the Marine
Corps, he completed his botanical apprentice-
ship at Harvard University (A.B. 1949, A.M.
1951, Ph.D., 1953). During his college years
he worked as an assistant in the paleobotan-
ical collections at Harvard's Botanical
Museum, participated in an archaeological
expedition to Bat Cave, New Mexico, where
he helped excavate a plant series which
included some of the earliest known Indian
corn, and made field trips to collect plants
in Colombia, Cuba and Honduras. He was
also Research Assistant at the Gray
Herbarium and Teaching Fellow at the
Biological Laboratory. In 1953, he became
Assistant Curator of Botany at the Academy
of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, where
his work with the herbarium led to an
interest in the history of North American
botany. In 1957, he collected material of
Spanish Cedar in Mexico, Panama, and
Venezuela which is being used to clarify the
scientific names of this group of trees.

PROGRAMS TO AID
GIRL SCOUTS

During February the Raymond Founda-
tion of the Museum will offer special pro-
grams to assist Girl Scouts working for their
nature proficiency badges.

The four programs, which will be held at
the Museum each Saturday at 10:30 a.m.,
are devoted to specific nature subjects. On
February 7 birds will be featured; Febru-
ary 14, wild plants and trees; February 21,
rocks and minerals; February 28, insects and
amphibians.

Each program consists of a movie illus-
trating the subject of the day, plus individ-
ual observation and study in the exhibition
halls. Instructions are available at the south
door. Group reservations should be made in
advance by calling WAbash 2-9410.

February, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

PageS

EXPLORER FINDS RARE BIRDS IN WILDERNESS OF PERU

By EMMET R. BLAKE

CURATOR OF BIRDS

THE BOX of birdskins delivered to my
office that August day in 1955 bore the
return address of a collector in Cusco, Peru.
Such shipments are received from various
sources around the world every year and
may comprise a single specimen or total as
many as several thousand. Often the proc-
essing of these collections is merely a
routine matter of accessioning, identifying,
and cataloguing the specimens preparatory
to filing them away in laboratory cabinets
for convenient reference as the need arises,
sometimes months or even years later.

But this shipment was exceptional.
Although totaling fewer than one hundred
birdskins, these were the first to be taken
in Departamento Madre de Dios, a heavily

SEVEN-DAY WORK WEEK
And expedition toil often continues far into the
night as well. Curator Blake here is seen preparing
bird specimens in camp near mouth of Rio Inambari.

forested and largely unexplored region that
extends from the Andean foothills eastward
to the Brazilian and Bolivian frontiers.
Several of the birds represented interesting
extensions of range, others were forms new
to our collections, and one obscurely-colored
specimen, a member of the antbird family,
I have since described as a distinct new
species (Formicarius rufifrons).

I was especially pleased to find that many
of the birds, including the new species, had
been collected at the mouth of the Rio
Colorado, a tributary of Rio Madre de Dios
and home of the nomadic Mashco Indians of
unsavory reputation. Obviously, these tribes-
men were not so truculent as had been sup-
posed, and indications were that a collecting
trip through the heart of Madre de Dios
might now be feasible. If a small collection
so rich in novelties could be made almost at
random by several natives traveling on a
balsa raft, what might not be accomplished
in the same region by a properly equipped
Museum expedition? These heady thoughts

led to the intensive study of maps and all
pertinent literature, and to correspondence
with individuals who might have informa-
tion of value, and ultimately to my trip into
the Amazonian forests of southeastern Peru.
Such was the genesis of the Museum's
Conover Peru Expedition* which returned
to Chicago late in 1958 after the successful
conclusion of its field work. For me it had
been a memorable experience that began
shortly after dawn on June 1 when Panagra's
crack airliner, El Pacifico, just twelve hours
out of Miami, coasted through Lima's
perpetually overcast sky and abandoned me
to the courteous but enterprising attentions
of the Peruvian customs officers.

INEVITABLE RED TAPE

The formalities were quickly finished and
I was plunged almost at once into a seem-
ingly endless round of conferences with
governmental officials and others relative
to the freeing of my guns, ammunition and
other equipment from customs in the port
of Callao. Days lengthened into weeks,
frustration followed frustration, and my
folio began literally to bulge with documents,
but finally I was granted the freedom of the
country. Fortunately, life in the "bush"
offers few experiences as arduous as those
which usually confront the leader of a
scientific expedition
entering a tropical
American country.
The field work that
follows, be it light or
ever so strenuous,
seems a haven of re-
pose by comparison.

I planned a leisurely
canoe trip down Rio
Madre de Dios from
its turbulent head-
waters to Puerto Mal-
donado. My speci-
mens would be col-
lected along the way
and hunting camps in
key localities might be
occupied for as long as
three weeks. Thus I
could blanket much of
Madre de Dios and in
a single dry season

ting breath-taking glimpses both of towering
peaks capped with ice and of the great arid
alto piano of the interior. But once in Cusco
there was little time for sightseeing. While
awaiting the arrival of my equipment by
rail, it was necessary to pack field supplies
and arrange for transportation to the eastern
lowlands. Most important of all I needed
to find and develop useful local "contacts."
Among the latter was Dr. Ismael Ceballos,
a young mammalogist and zoology professor
of the University of Cusco, who agreed to
assist me during the early stages of my field
work near the sources of the Alto Madre
de Dios.

Hacienda Villa Carmen, my first collect-
ing station, is bounded by the Tono and
Pina Pifia rivers, tributaries of the stream
I hoped to descend. Nearby, a dozen crude
huts, one by courtesy designated a hotel,
comprise the village of Pilcopata. Traveling
by truck we reached the isolated community
in a single day via a narrow dirt road that
much of the way clings precariously to the
sides of gorges. At several points battered
remains of vehicles far below bore witness
to the frequency of landslides. Happily the
route was interesting and the scenery sur-
passingly beautiful. In a matter of hours we
had the experience of descending from barren
highlands, through luxuriant "cloud forests,"

bring together a col-
lection that would be
representative of the
entire region.

Cusco, storied capital of the old Inca
Empire and now a mecca for tourists, be-
came for a time the base of my operations.
The two-hour flight from Lima crosses the
Andes at an altitude of 20,000 feet, permit-

■ ROAD

= : UNFINISHED ROAD

♦Named for the late Boardman Conover, a Benefac-
tor and former Trustee of the Museum, whose gener-
ous bequest made the Peruvian field work possible.

AREA IN SOUTHEAST PERU WHERE EXPEDITION OPERATED

to the humid lowlands. And with each marked
change in vegetation there was a correspond-
ing change in bird life that I always find
fascinating.

Don Miguel Palomino, the owner of Villa

Carmen, was for three weeks my genial

host. He supervised our passage over the

gorge of Rio Tono on a swaying platform

(Continued on page 6, column 1 )

1. Mother suckling child

2. Woman with wrap-around skirt

3. S

Photographs by John

8. Man with musical rasp
9. Kneeling woman

ANCIENT ART OF

By DONALD COLLIER, Curator of I

TWO recently installed exhibits in Hall 8 (Ancient and Mo
of pre-Columbian clay sculpture from the Mexican states
logical knowledge of western Mexico is meager, there are ex
from tombs in the area by pot-hunters. These sculptures,
grouped roughly into the Nayarit style, found in Nayarit anc
Colima and Jalisco. These two styles had their beginnings
Christ and continued to nourish until about A.D. 700.

Nayarit sculpture (see cover and illustrations numbered 1,
and sometimes the human figures appear to be caricatures.

10. Woman with long hair

11. Seated woman

p ig dog

t and Homer V. Holdren

4. Thinking man

WESTERN MEXICO

! American Archaeology and Ethnology

: Indians of Mexico and Central America) display examples
Wayarit, Jalisco and Colima. Although systematic archaeo-
ive private and museum collections of art objects removed
:h range from a few inches to two feet in height, can be
s adjoining part of Jalisco, and the Colima style, found in
ig the Archaic or Formative stage several centuries before

8, 9, 11) is characterized by simplification and exaggeration,
men and women are depicted, engaged in workaday, cere-
lonial, or warlike activities. Their clothing, ornaments and
ody painting are shown by modeling, incising, and both posi-
ive and negative (resist) painting. A good example of this de-
letion of detail is the warrior shown at the right (No. 5) who
'ears armor of basketry and quilted cotton and carries a stone-
eaded club. The larger figures are hollow and have an opening
t the top of the head.

Colima-style figures (illustrations 2, 3, 6, 7, 10) are natural-
itic, refined and elegant. Instead of the mat, polychrome-
ainted surfaces of Nayarit sculpture, they have highly bur-
ished red, brown, or black surfaces without textural or painted
laboration. The women have strong, tranquil faces and a
easant solidity. The Colima sculptors also depicted mammals,
irds, reptiles, fish and shellfish. Their favorite animal was
he dog, of which they made a great variety of hollow effigies.
>ogs were raised by the ancient Mexicans both for food and
acrificial offerings. It is not clear whether the Colima clay
ogs were placed in tombs as food offerings or to represent dogs
acrificed at the funerals to assist their masters in the difficult
ourney to the land of the dead.

5. Warrior with armor and club

6. Hairless dog

7. Seated man

mJ- ■

V^&

«*

^^

Vj sk

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

February, 1959

IN PERUVIAN WILDERNESS-

(Continued from page 3)

suspended beneath a cable. As we dangled
high above the cataracts, I was relieved to
learn that even a dismantled truck had once
made the same trip in safety. We were soon
installed in our quarters — the entire second

READY FOR VOYAGE ON RIVER THROUGH JUNGLE

Members of the expedition aboard launch. Curator Blake is the one wearing

hat. Juan Ncuenschwander is seen at his left.

story of Casa Palomino. The breezeway be-
came my laboratory through which was
channeled an endless flow of birds that
required my prompt attention. Shooting
birds is only the first and often the easiest
step in preparation of museum specimens.
To become of any use to science they must
also be skinned and stuffed, labeled, cat-
alogued, dried, and finally packed for ship-
ment. There are doubtless easier ways to
pass one's time in the glamorous tropics.

A typical work day — and there are seven
to the week for bird collectors — begins at
dawn and continues until the last specimen
has been cared for. Birds are most active
during the early morning hours and a suc-
cessful hunt usually provides work that may
continue into the nights. At Villa Carmen,
and later in Madre de Dios, I went hunting
as time permitted, but largely depended
upon the prowess of two local Indians, who
were provided with guns and ammunition.
Separately, we scoured the plantation itself
and roamed the wooded hills in a relentless
search for birds of widest variety.

The collection grew rapidly. It soon filled
to overflowing my specimen trunks, and in
the space of several weeks came to include
all of the common species and many of the
rarer ones. Some of the birds were brilliantly
colored and others drab, some large and
some small. When studied in its entirety, so
representative a collection from an area of
transition between mountains and lowlands
will almost certainly throw new light on
problems of distribution.

My carefully weighed plan to descend the

river by canoe had to be abandoned when
Don Miguel announced that rapids of the
headwaters would be impassable until the
October rains. By way of humoring my
disbelief he took me on a short cruise from
which I returned wiser, as well as drenched,
shaken and considerably chastened. The
necessity of "playing it by ear" as circum-
stances dictate often
becomes standard pro-
cedure in the field. Al-
though disappointed,
I hastened back to
Cusco to work out
plans for an attempt
on the Madre de Dios
from the lower, or
Puerto Maldonado
end.

The chance remark
of a casual acquaint-
ance led me to Sefior
Juan Neuenschwan-
der, a man whose per-
sonal qualifications
and boat equipment
based at Puerto Mal-
donado virtually as-
sured the success of
my subsequent field
work. We came to an
agreement as to costs
and procedures, hastily packed two months'
supplies, and set out for the capital of
Madre de Dios. The first half of the jour-
ney was overland by a one-way road that
attains an altitude of 18,000 feet before
plunging into the lowlands. A brief airplane
flight from Quincemil to our destination
offered a birdseye view of the unbroken
tropical forest that would be our home for
many weeks.

A FLOATING LAB

Neuenschwander's boat, the Neutron, was
a 35-foot, steel-hulled launch powered by an
ancient Buick engine of uncertain tempera-
ment. The small cabin for'ard served as a
floating laboratory where I worked when
under way. We also towed a large canoe
fitted with a powerful outboard motor for
use in rapids, and for collecting on smaller
streams.

The Neutron's crew included two veteran
rivermen who doubled as hunters — among
the best I've ever known. The "motorista"
also cooked, served meals, washed clothes
and cared for the expedition mascots. In
time these came to include a brace of baby
peccaries, a large tortoise, several parakeets,
a young white-faced night monkey and a
testy red howler. The latter was a most
ungrateful beast that bit hands, gorged on
our last plantains, and deserted us at the
first opportunity.

A preliminary shakedown cruise seemed
in order before undertaking the long and
difficult trip up the Madre de Dios. For this
I selected a large tributary stream, Rio

Tambopata, where valuable collections might
be made. Our days on the river were much
alike. Breakfast was finished and camp
broken by the time the sun was melting
away the river mist; but not before enough
birds had been shot to keep me busy at the
skinning-table until well into the afternoon.
As I worked, the motor strained against
the current hour after hour, for as much as
ten hours a day. Usually the noon meal was
eaten aboard while under way. Finally, just
before dark, we tied up at a convenient
sandbank where supper was quickly cooked.
Sometimes we went out later to jacklight
owls and nightjars, or to fish. But more
often the fire was dead and the camp
stilled by 8 p.m.

Our highest point on Rio Tambopata,
and main collecting locality, was at the
furthermost civilized habitation, a rubber
hunter's site a little below the mouth of
Rio Malinowski. Here we found several
miles of forest trails that were ideal for
hunting purposes. I commandeered one of
the three thatch huts and set up shop on a
porch overlooking a magnificent sweep of
the river.

Collpa was a place of much activity from
the pre-dawn hours until nightfall. Outlying
rubber hunters and their families drifted in
and out at intervals and the yard seemed
always overflowing with puppies, chickens,
and dusky, beady-eyed children. The heat
was often unbearable, the insects insuf-
ferable, and the curiosity of the natives
insatiable. But the area teemed with game,
and with birdlife of such astonishing abund-
ance and variety that I regretted the
necessity of returning to Puerto Maldonado
after a visit of only three weeks.

INTO REAL WILDERNESS

The distance by river between Puerto
Maldonado and the Piro Indian village of
Manu is roughly twice that as a macaw
flies. The trip can be made in little
more than a week by motorized canoe,
but we stretched it out for a month in order
to collect along the way. On leaving Puerto
Maldonado, plantations soon drop behind
and the region beyond is virtually unin-
habited, even by Indians.

Game was everywhere plentiful. We saw
no jaguars, but their tracks and those of
tapir, peccary, capybara, and deer were
conspicuous on almost every mudbank. As
we plowed somewhat noisily upstream, flocks
of large-billed terns and skimmers rose from
the gleaming playas in fright and often the
boat was paced by heavily-winged herons of
several varieties. From time to time green
and blue kingfishers, some little larger than
sparrows, darted across our bow. Flocks of
screeching parrots and raucous- voiced bright-
plumed macaws streamed high overhead
toward distant fruiting trees. At almost every
turn in the river we flushed cormorants,
anhingas, ducks, crested screamers, wood
ibises, and jabirus. And now and again we

February, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

caught brief glimpses of more retiring birds —
sungrebes, sunbitterns, tanagers and others.
Established camps are essential to serious
bird collecting. While ascending the Madre
de Dios we occupied several for as much as
ten days each. The daily routine at these
bases was much like that at Collpa, on Rio
Tambopata, but I preferred to work and to
sleep ashore under a large tarpaulin erected
on the wooded embankment. There, in the
absence of local natives, interruptions were
at a minimum. As our time ran out, the
pressure of collecting increased and it was a
rare day when the growing collection was

area supported a population numbered in
thousands. Today there remain fewer than
two dozen scattered thatch huts, the homes
of phlegmatic Piro Indians Fortunately,
the single industry, a primitive sawmill,
afforded me both shelter and a base of
operations. The mill shed was small and
littered, but space for my hammock and
skinning table was found on either side of
the shuttling log carriage. As I worked, the
shrieking buzz-saw at my elbow presumably
drowned out any opinions I may have voiced
relating to the rain, the heat, the insects —
and the noise.

ASCENDING RIO MADRE DE DIOS
The course of the expedition boat was flanked by unbroken walls of tropical forest.

not enhanced by the addition of at least
several new species. One, a partridge-like
tinamou, is undoubtedly new to science, and
several others may yet prove to be so.

The dry season, affording optimum col-
lecting conditions, held through September
and into October. But, as the weeks slipped
by, angry black thunderheads began to form
in the hills far to the westward, lightning
scored the skies at night, and showers be-
came increasingly a daily occurrence. Then
came the seasonal rains, the almost contin-
uous drizzle punctuated by cloudbursts of
torrential proportions that would continue
through February, raise the rivers by as
much as twenty feet, and inundate most of
the region.

Our sheltered camp near the mouth of
Rio Colorado was almost swamped out by
the first storm and we were never dry there-
after. Hunting continued, but birds became
difficult to find in the dim, dripping woods
and the finished specimens almost impossible
to dry. We remained for a week longer, but
finally accepted the inevitable and pushed
on to Manu. There I remained to round out
the collection after releasing the Neutron
and its crew for a speedy return home on the
crest of the flood.

Tradition has it that fifty years ago, at
the height of the rubber boom, the Manu

Field work of the Conover Peru Expedi-
tion was concluded at Manu toward the
end of October. By a stroke of good fortune
I found passage up the Alto Madre de Dios
to Hacienda Villa Carmen, head of naviga-
tion, as supercargo in a mammoth dugout
canoe powered by an outboard. For us the
usual three-day trip required a week — a
week that I'll long remember as a period of
minor vexations, physical discomfort, short
rations (for in time even monkey stew
becomes disenchanting as a steady diet),
and occasional near catastrophe in the swol-
len waters. But arrive we did, to be wel-
comed appropriately by Senor Palomino.
That same night I crossed the now raging
Rio Tono, bag and baggage, by cable plat-
form during a driving rainstorm and boarded
a truck for the long climb back to Cusco.

All in all it had been a varied and interest-
ing field trip, though largely routine as such
things go. The scientific results will not be
known for some time to come. First, the
thousand-odd birds must be identified and
catalogued, the new forms described and
named, and the entire collection studied
critically as steps in the preparation of the
final technical report. In this manner, little
by little, slowly and sometimes painfully,
we learn more about the world around us,
and of the myriad creatures that inhabit it.

CURATOR TO MAKE STUDY
IN BELGIAN CONGO

On February 8, Dr. Robert F. Inger,
Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles, and
his wife, Mary Lee, will leave for the
Belgian Congo. Dr. and Mrs. Inger are going
at the request of the Institut des Pares
Nationaux du Congo Beige in conjunction
with a study of amphibians from the Pare
National de la Garamba. This park is
located in the northeastern portion of the
Belgian Congo. The principal objectives of
the field work are a survey of amphibian
habitats and the collection and rearing of
tadpoles.

In collaboration with the late Dr. Karl
P. Schmidt who was Curator Emeritus of
Zoology, Dr. Inger prepared a report on
amphibians from another national park in
the Belgian Congo, the Pare National de
l'Upemba. It was as an outgrowth of the
Upemba study that the Institut des Pares
Nationaux asked Dr. Inger to work on the
amphibians of the Garamba.

ANIMALS AT NIGHT
IN AUDUBON FILM

The first film of its kind — "Animals at
Night in Color" — will be shown by the
Illinois Audubon Society in the fourth of
its current series of screen-tours on Sunday
afternoons in the James Simpson Theatre
of the Museum. This unique film will be
accompanied by a lecture by Howard
Cleaves. The movie, made by means of
special techniques which Cleaves developed
for the purpose, will be presented on
February 22 at 2:30 P.M. Cleaves stalked
and captured in color pictures the wildlife
of Horicon Marsh in Wisconsin, the
Okefenokee Swamp of Georgia, and other
localities rich in animal inhabitants. Under
the spell of strong beams of light employed
by Cleaves, many timid birds and other
animals became transfixed. Among those
which apear in the film are grebes, plover,
green-winged teal, chimney swifts, gray
foxes, skunks, deer, alligators, raccoons,
ospreys, coots and great blue herons.

Members of the Museum and their guests
are cordially invited to attend the lecture.

Attendance Exceeds a Million
for 32nd Year in a Row

The number of visitors received at the
Museum during 1958 was 1,049,401, mark-
ing the 32nd successive year in which attend-
ance has exceeded a million. As always, the
great majority of visitors were admitted free
of charge. There were 887,808 or more than
84 per cent in this group, which includes
those coming on the free days (Thursdays,
Saturdays and Sundays), and children, teach-
ers and students who are admitted free on
all days.

Page 8

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

February, 1959

NATURE PHOTO SHOW
FEBRUARY 7-27

RESULTS of the art of nature captured
by the art of photography may be seen
at the 14th Chicago International Exhibi-
tion of Nature Photography which is to be
held at the Museum, February 7 through
February 27.

Several hundred color and black-and-white
prints of scenic and unusual natural phenom-
ena, plant life and animal life, photographed
by amateur and professional photographers,
will be on display in Stanley Field Hall. In

STAFF NOTES

LION FISH

An entry in the Nature Photo Show, submitted by

Richard P. Klein, of Cleveland, Ohio.

addition to the prints selected for exhibition
accepted color-slides will be shown on the
screen of the Museum's James Simpson
Theatre on two Sundays, February 8 and
February 15 at 2:30 p.m. Admission to both
showings is free.

The annual exhibition, sponsored jointly
by the Museum and the Nature Camera
Club of Chicago, is probably the world's
largest competition devoted solely to nature
photography and one of the major photo-
graphic exhibits of any kind. Several hundred
prints and slides will be shown, of which
many will depict nature in far distant areas
of the globe.

Medals have been awarded to first place
winners, and ribbons to those receiving
honorable mention. The Photographic Soci-
ety of America gave special prizes for slides
best representing harmony in color.

The photographs for the show were selected
by a group of judges composed of: Anne
Pilger Dewey, photographer; Dr. Roland W.
Force, Curator of Oceanic Archaeology and
Ethnology, and William D. Turnbull, Assis-
tant Curator of Fossil Mammals at the
Museum; N. J. Schmidt, photographer, and
Edward T. Triner, biology teacher and
naturalist.

The list of contest winners will appear in
the March Bulletin.

Dr. Rainer Zangerl, Curator of Fossil
Reptiles, attended a recent symposium on
morphology organized by the American
Society of Zoologists and held at Washington,
D.C. ... Dr. Robert H. Denison, Curator
of Fossil Fishes, recently made two study
trips to scientific institutions in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C. While
in the latter city he also attended the com-
bined meetings of the American Society of
Zoologists and the American Society for the
Advancement of Science. He presented a
paper on bone patterns in early vertebrates.
. . . Emmet R. Blake, Curator of Birds,
has been appointed to the Committee on
Nomenclature and Classification of the
American Ornithological Union. . . .
Andre Nitecki, Cataloguer in the Library,
will conduct a course in cultural anthropology
under the title "Ways of Mankind" for the
American Foundation for Adult Education.
. . . Frank Jensik has been appointed
Captain of the Guard. Prior to this promo-
tion he was Senior Sergeant.

Last Month of Bird Journey;
Ancient Seas Next

February is the last month of the Museum
Journey for Children entitled "Chicago —
Winter Resort for Birds." Beginning March
1, the spring journey, "Life of Ancient Seas"
will be offered, continuing through May 31.
Boys and girls taking these Journeys obtain
instructions and questionnaires at the
Museum entrances. Those who complete a
series of journeys on four different subjects
receive awards as Museum Travelers. After
eight Journeys they become Museum Adven-
turers, and after twelve, Museum Explorers.

NEW MEMBERS

(December 16 to January 16)

Contributor

DeWitt Van Evera

Life Members

Avery Brundage, Mrs. Walter A. Krafft,
Sanger P. Robinson, Mrs. Louis Ware

Associate Members

John G. American, Carlyle E. Anderson,
Horace Barden, Mrs. Henry G. Barkhausen,
Willmar A. Chulock, J. Beidler Camp, Mrs.
Clarence L. Frederick, Mrs. Anne Rickcords
Gait, F. Sewall Gardner, Robert A. Gardner,
Jr., James R. Getz, Charles Iker, James S.
Kemper, Lydon Wild

Sustaining Member

David Fentress
Annual Members

Bruce Adams, James R. Addington, Miss
Chryl Barclay, William B. Berger, Dr. Stefan
Bielinski, Dr. Arthur A. Billings, Roger M.
Cavanaugh, Mrs. Jerome Cerny, Henry E.
Cutler, Dr. Steven G. Economou, Paul W.

ADULT FILM-LECTURES
BEGIN MARCH 7

"An Adriatic Holiday" will open the
Museum's 111th series of color films and
lectures for adults on Saturday, March 7.
The eight programs in the spring series will
be given on successive Saturdays during
March and April at 2:30 p.m. in James
Simpson Theatre of the Museum. The lec-
tures, made possible by the Edward E. Ayer
Lecture Foundation Fund, are free.

The schedule for March is as follows:

March 7 — Adriatic Holiday

Karl Robinson

March 14 — Wild Life in Deep Freeze

Carl Eklund

March 21 — Colorado Through the Seasons
Alfred M. Bailey

March 28 — Ireland
Willis Butler

A complete schedule of the lectures will
appear in the March Bulletin. A section
of the Theatre is reserved for Members of
the Museum, and each is entitled to two re-
served seats for each program. Requests
should be made in advance by telephone
(WAbash 2-9410) or by mail. Seats will be
held in the Member's name until 2:25 p.m.
on the day of the lecture.

SATURDAY PROGRAMS
FOR CHILDREN

The Museum's spring series of children's
programs will open on March 7 with "Red
Riding Hood's Shopping Trip," a lively
puppet show staged by the Apple Tree
Workshop of Chicago Heights.

The spring series, sponsored by the James
Nelson and Anna Louise Raymond Founda-
tion, offers seven free programs to be
presented on Saturday mornings during
March and April at 10:30 in James Simpson
Theatre of the Museum. Again this year
the museum will honor various young peo-
ple's organizations. However, all boys and
girls, whether they are affiliated with a
group or not, are invited to attend.

Saturday, March 14 will be Cub Scout
Day at the Museum. The program scheduled
for that day, "Canada, Land of the
Mounties," includes three films which carry
out the Cub Scout theme for the month of
March.

A complete schedule of children's pro-
grams will appear in the March Bulletin.

Guenzel, Rembrandt C. Hiller, Jr., William
P. Hodgkins, Jr., Dr. Georges Jean-Baptiste,
Paul Jorgensen, Reverend Hilary S. Jurica,
Richard E. Kleeman, Mrs. Robert Lester,
Frank J. McCabe, Jr., Charles Molnar,
Harry V. Roberts, Samuel B. Shapiro, Mrs.
Minita Trainor, George Woodward

PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

CHICAGOjO // *-

HISTORY
MUSEUM

Vol SO

JVo. 3
4959

Page 2

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

March, 1959

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 Henry P. Isham

Sewell L. Avery William V. Kahler

Wm. McCormick Blair Hughston M. McBain

Walther Buchen J. Roscoe Miller

Chesser M. Campbell William H. Mitchell

Walter J. Cummings John T. Pirie, Jr.

Joseph N. Field Clarence B. Randall

Marshall Field, Jr. John G. Searle

Stanley Field Solomon A. Smith

Samuel Insull, Jr. Louis Ware
John P. Wilson

OFFICERS

Stanley Field President

Hughston M. McBain First Vice-President

Walther Buchen Second Vice-President

Joseph N. Field Third Vice-President

Solomon A. Smith Treasurer

Clifford C. Gregg Director and Secretary

John R. Millar Assistant Secretary

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR

Clifford C. Gregg Director of the Museum

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anthropology

Theodor Just Chief Curator of Botany

Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geology

Austin L. Rand Chief Curator of Zoology

MANAGING EDITOR
H. B. Harte Public Relations Counsel

ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Patricia McAfee Associate in Public Relations

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

JUNIOR 'BEST SELLERS'

PUBLISHED FOR CHILDREN

HAVE YOU EVER READ one of Ray-
mond Foundation's "Museum Stories"
for children?

"Museum Stories" are printed as four-page
leaflets. Each story presents in clear and in-
teresting style a specific subject in anthro-
pology, botany, geology, or zoology. Each
of the seven young women of the Raymond
Foundation staff who write the stories spe-
cializes in one of the four sciences (although
all are qualified to lecture in general on any
of them in the course of their duties). The
stories are illustrated by artists of the Mu-
seum staff.

Most of the "Museum Stories" tie in with
the subjects of the films on the spring and
fall programs for children presented by Ray-
mond Foundation in James Simpson Thea-
tre, and free copies are given to the children
who attend. Afterwards the leaflets are pub-
lished in booklets with attractive covers
(booklets contain eight or nine stories and
are available at 25 cents each).

"Museum Stories" have received wide-
spread recognition and commendation as
valuable supplemental teaching aids from
school authorities, parents, and others in-
terested in education. Because of their
brevity, attractive illustrations, and pocket
format, the stories readily command the

attention of the young readers to whom they
are addressed and do not encounter the re-
sistance that a formidable-appearing text-
book might receive.

Following is a typical example of the text
and illustration of a "Museum Story":

ANIMALS OF THE BIBLE

By MARYL ANDRE

In Genesis, the first book of the Bible, we
find that the people who wrote the Bible
were very much aware of the world around
them. They observed and recorded what
they could see of the natural world. They
saw the differences among animals of the
water, the sky, and the land. They could
see that some swam, some were airborne,
some walked, and some crawled. They
watched closely enough to see that each had
special habits and that each lived in a spe-
cial place.

We read in Genesis: "And out of the
ground the Lord God formed every beast of
the field, and every fowl of the air; and
brought them unto Adam to see what he
would call them: and whatsoever Adam
called every living creature, that was the
name thereof." Each man who translated
the Bible into his own language used the ani-
mal name familiar to him. Many kinds of
animals were known by one name (all ani-
mals that lived in water were called fish),
and one kind of animal may have had many
names (cattle were called oxen, cattle, kine,
bullocks). We try to understand the animal
names in the Bible in terms of what we know
of the animal life of ancient times.

The areas populated by the Israelites, at
the time of which the Bible tells, included
great forests, open grasslands, and trackless
deserts. We try to learn the natural history

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

This Museum is the only place
in Chicago where you can now see
a giant panda. Since the death of
the three giant pandas that have
been residents of the Brookfield
Zoo, neither Brookfield nor Lin-
coln Park Zoo has had an animal
of this kind. Su-lin, the first zoo
resident, came in 1937, died in
1938; Mei-mei died in 1942; Mei-
lan lived thirteen and a half years
in the zoo (the longest life in cap-
tivity of any giant panda on rec-
ord) and died in 1953. The conflict
of political ideologies in today's
world has prevented any zoo re-
placements because of the United
States restrictions on imports,
including even giant pandas, from
behind the Bamboo Curtain of
Communist China where these
fascinating rare animals live. The
habitat group of giant pandas in
the Museum, shown on our cover,
is composed of specimens collected
in 1928 by the late Brig. Gen.
Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., and his
brother Kermit, while leading the
William V. Kelley-Roosevelts Ex-
pedition in Central Asia. They
were the first specimens, either
living or dead, ever to arrive in
America. Also on exhibition in
the Museum, mounted in lifelike
and characteristic playful atti-
tude, is Su-lin.

ving by Staff Artist E. John Phffner

ANIMALS OF THE BIBLE

of that part of the ancient world from the
stories that have been handed down by word
of mouth and eventually written, centuries
later, often in story form. Today we base

our knowledge on fossils found by digging in

the area. We know what animals lived in

the Holy Land in one period after another,

(Continued on page 5, column 2)

March, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

PageS

LECTURES RANGE FROM EUROPE TO WILDERNESS TRAILS

THERE'S SOMETHING for everyone
in the spring lectures and color films
to be offered at the Museum on Satur-
day afternoons during March and April.
This, the 111th series provided by the Ed-
ward E. Ayer Lecture Foundation Fund, in-
cludes not only remote and little traveled
areas far off the beaten track, but also the
shores of European countries now beckoning
to new hordes of travelers as another peak
season looms. There are filmed trips to such
popular tourist magnets as France, Sicily,
and Ireland, as well as the less-known Adri-
atic coast of Yugoslavia. Those who yearn
for hardier adventure where few of their
friends and neighbors are likely to turn up
will find lectures and films on the most re-
mote of all wildernesses — Antarctica — as well
as the faraway Falkland Islands, and the
jungles of Venezuela. Still others will favor
the films of nature's beauty in the moun-
tains of our own Colorado.

The lectures will be given on the eight
Saturday afternoons of the two-month sea-
son in the James Simpson Theatre of the
Museum. All will begin at 2:30 P.M. Ad-
mission is free. For Museum Members and
their guests there are reserved seats avail-
able. Reservations may be made by mail
or telephone (WAbash 2-9410).

Following are dates, subjects and lecturers:

March 7 — Adriatic Holiday

Karl Robinson

The traveler over the usual European cir-
cuits never sees it, yet the Dalmatian coast
of Yugoslavia, where Karl Robinson takes
his audience in color-film, is one of the most
breathtakingly beautiful regions of the con-
tinent. He also covers the fascinating in-
land regions of the Slovenian, Croatian,
Herzegovingian and Macedonian country-
sides with their picturesque peoples and a
history that goes back until it is enveloped
in the mists of legend. The feats of jousting
knights of old are revived by skilled horse-
men, and ancient legends are relived in the
exciting folk dances of the country.

March 14 — Wildlife in Deep Freeze

Carl Eklund

From late 1956 until February, 1958, Carl
Eklund was scientific leader of Wilkes Sta-
tion in Antarctica, one of four major U. S.
bases in the South Pole area for the Inter-
national Geophysical Year. In 1939-41 he
was one of the principal associates of Ad-
miral Byrd on the U. S. Antarctic Expedi-
tion. From these experiences in this eerie
region, Eklund has brought a wealth of re-
vealing information and thousands of feet of
exciting color film. One of his outstanding
exploits was an 84-day trek of 1,260 miles
through the unknown over a region described
as the most dangerous crevassed area that
can ever be encountered.

March 21 — Colorado Through the
Seasons

Alfred M. Bailey

Here is Colorado at its best. Dr. Alfred M.
Bailey, formerly a member of the staff of this
Museum and for years a favorite of our lec-
ture audiences, is Director of the Denver
Museum of Natural History. His films are
packed with beauty and excitement: spring
in Rocky Mountain National Park; a pack

RESERVED SEATS
FOR MEMBERS
No tickets are necessary for ad-
mission to these lectures. A sec-
tion of the Theatre is allocated to
Members of the Museum, each of
whom is entitled to two reserved
seats. Requests for these seats
should be made in advance by
telephone (WAbash 2-9410) or in
writing, and seats will be held in
the Member's name until 2:25
o'clock on the lecture day.

train trip through the Gore Range for big
game; the Black Canyon of the Gunnison;
the Garden of the Red Rocks and the Garden
of the Gods; Mesa Verde; winter skiing at
Steamboat Springs. It's the next thing to
making your own trip to this western para-
dise, and not many people could remain all
through spring, summer, autumn and winter
to witness the changing vistas which the film
brings to its viewers.

March 28 — Ireland

Willis Butler

Erin is the land of Willis Butler's ances-
tors, and in his film he presents comprehen-
sive, beneath-the-surface coverage of all the
country, from Cork to Belfast, and from the
Aran Islands to Dublin — the geography, his-
tory, industry, government, tourist attrac-
tions, and the rich human interest and spirit
of Ireland. The island's long indented coast-
line, flanked by mountains and sandy beaches,
presents dramatic scenic panoramas. Its po-
sition off the western coast of Europe between
the Old World and the New enhances the
interest of its pre-Christian forts, medieval
castles, and ancient abbeys standing side-by-
side with modern industrial plants and public
buildings. And always close by is a back-
ground of peaceful countryside.

April 4 — France

Kenneth Richter

France, they say, is everybody's "second
country." Also, for years, politically and
otherwise, it has been an enigma. To Ken-
neth Richter, it is the people and their lives
that make a country interesting — their his-

tory, their art, their culture, their industries.
In his film he explains the France of today
so well that he was awarded the Detroit
World Adventure Series silver popularity
trophy. He reviews the beautiful evidence
of the periods of France's greatness, and then
presents the nation as it is today — still ex-
celling in many arts and specialized indus-
tries despite the tribulations through which
it has lived.

April 11 — Sicily, Island of the Sun

Robert Davis

In sun-drenched color Robert Davis' film
surveys this Mediterranean island that was
settled by the Phoenicians more than five
centuries before the Christian era. Archae-
ological treasures of the island include the
Greek Theatre at Syracuse which was famil-
iar to Plato and Archimedes, and an ancient
Roman villa. The Middle Ages are repre-
sented by Monreale, an architectural wonder
offering a symphony of dazzling Byzantine
mosaics, and the medieval village of Erice
where Venus ruled over the destinies of gods
and women. Modern crafts, arts, music, and
dancing of quaint inhabitants are shown
along with the strides that modern industry
and commerce have made in Sicily.

April 18— The Faraway Falklands

Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr.

The Falkland Islands are a windswept,
treeless land in the far South Atlantic, iso-
lated from the nearest continent, South
America, by 300 miles of stormy sea. These
islands are the nesting place of some fifty
different kinds of birds which flock there in
enormous numbers; there are no native land
mammals, no reptiles, no amphibians, no ob-
noxious insects. The only predators on birds
are certain other birds. In his color film,
Dr. Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr., brings the ab-
sorbing story of the life of winged creatures
in this place where they are so dominant.
Among the inhabitants are such interesting
species as albatrosses, penguins, shags, skuas,
Antarctic pipits, ground tyrants, flightless
steamer ducks and slender-billed whalebirds.

April 25 — Ranch of the Purple Flowers

Robert C. Hermes

In Venezuela there is a vast cattle ranch
named "El Hato de Flores Morades" (Ranch
of the Purple Flowers). It lies in the great
basin of the Orinoco, and the prairie is dot-
ted with palmetto groves and jungles. Many
interesting birds, mammals and reptiles make
their home there. Robert C. Hermes lived
there a long time, recording in color film this
interesting wildlife community as well as the
life of the ranchers. Among the "stars" of
his film are azure blue tanagers, sun bitterns,
blue-winged parrotlets, soldier storks, orange-
throated chacalacas, scarlet ibises, lizards,
exotic butterflies, a strange mammal called
the pecuri, and various monkeys.

Page U

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

March, 1959

COMMON BIRD NAMES
ARE ALL CONFUSED

By AUSTIN L. RAND

CHIEF CURATOR OF ZOOLOGY

ONE NAME for one bird sounds a lot
easier than it is. A European bird which
an American would think of as a chickadee is
the great til in England; the Kohlmeise in
Germany; the Talgmees in Sweden; the
mesange charbonniere in France and the
cinciallegra in Italy. No wonder the scien-
tists of various countries use an international
system of naming, whereby the bird is known
to all students, irrespective of their nation-
ality, as Parus major.

Even people who speak the same lan-
guage don't use the same name for a bird.
The great northern diver, the moorhen, the
sand martin and the goldcrest of England
become the common loon, Florida gallinule,
bank swallow and kinglet of North America.

Even within the United States the same
bird passes under different names among
country people in different places, despite

oose

Tailorjs Goose ^ "Tailors Gooses

Drawing by Ruth Andris

the standardization that official lists and
bird books are bringing. The ruffed grouse
may pass as a birch partridge in New
England, and as a pheasant in the Carolina
mountains; the coot of New England may
be a scoter, which is a duck; while the
proper coot of the bird books, which is a
rail, may pass as a mud-hen.

"official" book names change

Not only do English names vary with the
locality among country people, but book-
conscious bird people of the United States
who follow the "official" American Ornitho-
logists Union check-list may have to change
some English names with each edition of
the list. The duck hawk of the 1931 edition
disappears in the peregrine falcon of the
1955 edition; the willow thrush of 1931 in
the veery of 1957, and so on, while the
earlier Bartramian sandpiper and the prairie

hen of the 1895 edition have become the
upland plover and a prairie chicken. (In
the latter the heath hen has now merged.)

Many birds had no English names when
the world was being explored and novelties
were being brought in from its four corners.
As people began to write and talk about
them, we adopted "English" names from a
variety of sources: emu and albatross from
the Portuguese, cassowary from the Malay,
mynah from Hindu, kiwi from Maori, and
tinamou from the Indian. For some, book
names were coined: rhea from mythology,
tropic bird from its habitat, road-runner
from its habit, bobwhite from its call, and
junco from its scientific name.

That all is not yet plain sailing in the
"English name" field can easily be demon-
strated by asking an ornithologist the dif-
ference between a pigeon and a dove, or
between a parrot, parakeet, paroquet and
parrotlet.

PLURALS ADD TO CONFUSION

With such confusion as this, no wonder the
question of plurals
causes some trouble.
Whether or not tit-
mice was the plural of
titmouse posed a ques-
tion that recalled the
tailor who, having need
of a tailor's goose, de-
cided to order two of
them. Unable to make
up his mind as to the
plural, and as neither
two tailor's geese nor
two tailor's gooses
scribbled on his blot-
ter looked right, he
finally begged the ques-
tion by ordering one,
and adding a post-
script, "Please send
two instead of one."

When I looked up
"titmouse" I found
that British ornithologists, who are the
people that used to use titmouse for the birds
we call chickadees, have solved the problem
in their current bird books in an unorthodox
fashion by begging the question. The word
titmouse has nothing to do with the word
mouse used for a small rodent. It comes
from the Anglo-Saxon mase, closely related
to the German meise; the Dutch mees. The
prefix tit, meaning small, was then added,
so that in Middle English the word became
titemase or titmase. Then through a false
analogy with mouse it became titmouse.
The plural, said Alfred Newton, that noted
authority of the last century on things
ornithological, is not titmice, but is titmouses.
However, when I turn to my unabridged
Webster dictionary in my office, I find that
the plural is given as titmice. As the word
has been chiefly of English usage, I looked
in the current British bird books to see what

Canada G-eese

they used. And I found that the word has
undergone a further transformation. The
British have dropped the mouse, and the
small birds are now known as tits; singular,
tit. Through a series of transitions over the
centuries mase became titmase, became tit-
mouse, and finally became tit.

Unlike titmouse and mouse, the name
goose and tailor's goose are related: the big
smoothing iron of the tailor gets its name
from the shape of its handle being like that
of a goose's neck. Yet the plural of titmouse
is titmice, while the tailor's goose in the
plural becomes tailor's gooses.

Like titmouse and mouse, mongoose and
goose are unrelated words; mongoose comes
from the mungus of a Sanskritic language
spoken in Deccan. Yet, while titmouse be-
comes titmice, mongoose becomes mon-
gooses in the plural. By analogy one would
expect moose (for a North American Indian
word) in the plural to be mooses, but
singular and plural are the same according
to my dictionary.

Analogy just doesn't get us anywhere in
forming plurals: mouse becomes mice; louse,
lice; but grouse does not become grice. Just
how wrong one can be in deducing what
plurals should be used is well illustrated by
a story I heard in the north concerning a
whaling captain whose ship was frozen in
for the winter in the western Arctic Ocean
near Herschel Island, back in the heyday of
northern whaling. Here he came into con-
tact with the words lynx and muskox for the
first time. The singular and plural he formed
as follows: link, lynx; muskok, muskox.

Sports and occupation often have vocabu-
laries peculiar to them, and special ways of
saying things. Sportsmen, gunners, hunters
and field naturalists, who come into close
touch with birds in the wild, and who use
their names in everyday conversation, do
not form the plural of many bird names as
do other, more bookish people, but use the
same form for both singular and plural. This
has found its way into the dictionaries, as
one can check by looking up such words as
canvasback, crane, curlew, willet, gannet,
grebe, kittiwake and partridge.

From this state of affairs the bird scientist
retires thankfully into his ornithology, where
the vast majority of birds have only one
current name and name changes, when they
are proposed, must meet a rigid set of rules
and be thoroughly documented.

Brazilian Entomologist Here

Father Francisco S. Pereira, CMF, of the
Department of Zoology, Secretariat of Agri-
culture, Sao Paulo, Brazil, spent February
studying the Museum's collections of scarab
beetles. Father Pereira, who is here on a
Guggenheim Fellowship, is one of the prin-
cipal authorities on the classification of the
coprine scarab beetles, a group of about
9,000 species that includes the well-known
sacred scarab.

March, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

NATURE PHOTO CONTEST
AWARDS ANNOUNCED

Shown below is one of the top prize-win-
ning entries in the 14th Chicago Interna-
tional Exhibition of Nature Photography
held at the Museum last month in co-opera-
tion with the Chicago Nature Camera Club.

It is "Fighting Mantid" by Van Davis,
of Oakland, California, winner of the first-
prize medal for prints in the Animal Life
Section.

Other medal winners were: Plant Life Sec-
tion— Prints, "Shadows," by Henry Soron
of Arlington, Massachusetts; General Sec-
tion— Prints, "Nature's Compass," by John
Bajgert, of Chicago; Animal Life — Color
Slides, "Swallow Quintet," by Mrs. John E.
Walsh, of Beverly, Massachusetts; Plant
Life — Color Slides, "Fringed Beauties," by

MEDAL WINNER
"Fighting Mantid" by Van Davis, of Oakland, Cali-
fornia, won first prize for prints in the Animal Life
Section of the Nature Photo Show held at the
Museum last month by Chicago Nature Camera Club.

Raymond E. Schortman, of Easthampton,
Massachusetts; General — Color Slides, "Si-
erra Inferno," by M. G. Smith, of Fresno,
California. Special color slide medals,
awarded by the Photographic Society of
America, went to "Iridescence II," by W. S.
Duggan, of Everett, Washington, and "Dro-
sera Rotundifolia," by B. Petersen, of Niag-
ara Falls, New York. In addition, honor-
able mention ribbons were awarded to 29
others in the Print Division, and to 66 in
the Color Slide Division.

This year's contest and exhibition were
the largest yet conducted by the Chicago
Nature Camera Club. The number of en-
tries was greater than ever before, and the
quality of photography submitted compared
favorably with past years. Of the 3,640 pic-
tures entered, 3,120 were color transparen-
c es and 520 were prints, including about
three dozen large color prints made by the

dye transfer process. Numerous entries
were received from foreign countries to make
the exhibition truly international in scope.
The five judges took two days to reach their
decisions, yet none of them, in the light of a
new day, would deny that among pictures
that failed to receive awards were many
equal in worthiness to those chosen.

BIBLE ANIMALS-

(Continued from page 2)

beginning with Stone Age man right down
to the present time.

From piles of bones that have been exca-
vated near altars we know which animals
were used by the Israelites for sacrificial pur-
poses. Cattle, goats, sheep, turtledoves, or
pigeons without blemish were chosen as
offerings.

The Book of Leviticus tells us which ani-
mals the Israelites were allowed to eat and
which they were not allowed to eat. Some
of the ones that they could eat were animals
described as cloven-footed and chewers of
the cud (cattle, goats, ibexes, antelopes, ga-
zelles), fish with scales and fins, locusts,
crickets, and quail. Animals that were for-
bidden for food were the camel, cony, hare,
swine, eagle, osprey, kite, owl, falcon, raven,
ostrich, sea gull, cormorant, pelican, vulture,
stork, heron, lapwing, and bat. Creeping
things were forbidden: the weasel, mouse,
tortoise, ferret, chameleon, lizard, snail, and
mole. You will notice that the bat is grouped
with birds, while both vertebrates and inver-
tebrates are talked about in the same group
of "creeping things."

The wild animals known to the Israelites
of the Old Testament were those native to
Africa and Asia Minor — the lion and leopard,
the jackal, cobra, and elephant (not named,
but ivory was referred to frequently). The
giraffe or "camelopard" was called by the
Hebrew word meaning "to crop leaves," a
good description of this long-necked leaf-
eater. Apes and monkeys were worshipped
by the ancient Egyptians.

Some animals were referred to with myth-
ical or romantic names. "Unicorn" is
believed to describe the single-horned rhi-
noceros. The "behemoth" was the hippo-
potamus, and the "leviathan" was the
crocodile.

Daily Guide-Lectures

Free guide-lecture tours are offered daily
except Sundays under the title "Highlights
of the Exhibits." These tours are designed
to give a general idea of the entire Museum
and its scope of activities. They begin at
2 P.M. on Monday through Friday and at
2:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Special tours on subjects within the range
of the Museum exhibits are available Mon-
days through Fridays for parties of ten or
more persons by advance request.

GUIDEBOOK TO BIRDS
OF CHICAGOLAND

The Museum has just published Chicago-
land Birds — Where and When to Find Them,
a handy pocket-size guidebook with concise
text, maps and charts. The booklet was
compiled by Mrs. Hermon Dunlap (Ellen
Thome) Smith, Associate in the Division of
Birds. Maps and drawings are by William J.
Beecher, Director of the Chicago Academy
of Sciences.

Each bird listed is keyed to indicate its
habitat and the localities where it can be ex-
pected to occur most often and in greatest
numbers. The key-symbols refer to a sec-
tion devoted to major birding areas in the
vicinity of Chicago. The booklet contains a
birding calendar suggesting in general where
to look for birds month by month. Visi-
tations have been recorded in the Chicago
area of 366 species of birds, the booklet
states in a summary of statistical data.
There are graphs listing the birds, lo-
calities, and seasons of occurrence; oppo-
site each of these are duplicate lists with
provision for the entry of detailed records
by the bird lovers owning the book.

Copies are available in the Book Shop of
the Museum at 50 cents each. Mail orders
are accepted.

SECRETS OF THE SEA
IN AUDUBON FILM

From the dawn of history man has known
the sea, lived by it and on it, but an aura of
mystery still surrounds the creatures that
exist beneath its surface and along its shores.
One of the scientists and naturalists who
have devoted their lives to discovering and
revealing many of the sea's secrets is Dr.
G. Clifford Carl, marine biologist and di-
rector of the Provincial Museum of Natural
History of British Columbia. Under the
auspices of the Illinois Audubon Society,
Dr. Carl will lecture, and show his undersea
color film "Secrets of the Sea" made beneath
the coastal waters of the Pacific Northwest
in the James Simpson Theatre of the Mu-
seum on Sunday afternoon, March 8, at
2:30 p.m.

Dr. Carl's area of operations extended
from the rocky shores of Vancouver Island
to the bleak fogbound beaches of the Pribilof
Islands of Alaska. His camera caught such
intriguing creatures as brilliant orange, yel-
low and pink starfish, prickly sea-urchins
pushing themselves over the rocks by means
of their spines and teeth, hermit crabs spar-
ring among themselves, a fearful-looking
skate gliding by on its wing-like fins, an
octopus slithering through seaweed, fan-
tastic sea-snails, porpoises at play, and
whales spouting and diving.

Admission to the lecture is free, and Mem-
bers of the Museum and their guests are
cordially invited to attend.

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

March, 1959

UPPER LAKES FARMERS
AND ARTISTS, 100 B.C.

BY GEORGE I. QUIMBY

CURATOR OP NORTH AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY
AND ETHNOLOGY

THE HOPEWELL INDIANS were a
prehistoric mound-building people who
occupied parts of the eastern United States
for more than a thousand years beginning
around 500 B.C. Their primary cultural
centers were in the central Mississippi, Ohio,
and Illinois river valleys. These Indians
were farmers, traders, and artists of excep-
tional ability.

About 100 B.C. some groups of Hopewell
Indians entered the Upper Great Lakes re-
gion from their cultural center in the Illinois
River Valley. Being a riverine people, they
traveled up the Illinois River to the Kanka-
kee, then they followed the Kankakee to its

CEREMONIAL JAR
An example of Hopewell pottery in fired clay

headwaters in northwestern Indiana and
crossed the portage to the St. Joseph River
Valley of southwestern Michigan.

After establishing their settlements and
ceremonial centers along the upper Kanka-
kee and lower St. Joseph rivers, the Hope-
well Indians went northward in western
Michigan, probably first to the Kalamazoo
Valley, then to the lower Grand River Val-
ley where they established an important
ceremonial center at the present site of
Grand Rapids.

Somewhat later, groups of Grand River
Hopewellians settled in the valley of the
Muskegon River. This was the northern-
most occupancy of the Upper Great Lakes
region by Hopewell Indians, although in the
upper Mississippi region of western Wiscon-
sin other groups of Hopewell Indians had
settled even farther north.

OCCUPIED FOREST AREAS

In either case the northernmost occupancy
of each region by Hopewell Indians was
within a deciduous forest zone which at that
time probably was dominated by oak and
hickory, but which in historic times was

composed principally of maple, beech, birch,
and hemlock. The northernmost occupancy
of Hopewell Indians in both the Upper Great
Lakes and upper Mississippi regions was also
limited by climate. They favored a rela-
tively warm climate and did not settle north
of the line that in modern times designates
a frost-free season of at least 150 days.

This climatic limitation on the Hopewell
Indians must have been related to their agri-
cultural pursuits. They made their living
by farming and supplemented their food pro-
duction by hunting and fishing. They raised
corn, squash, perhaps beans, and probably
tobacco. But corn growing most likely was
limited by the climate. It seems probable
that in Hopewell times tropical corn had
not yet been adapted to growth in cooler re-
gions. Yet by a.d. 1700 Indian corn was
being raised on the south side of Lake Super-
ior, well north of the zone of Hopewell occu-
pancy and in an era probably of cooler world
climate.

The Hopewell Indians seem to have
hunted all of the available animals, particu-
larly deer. The animals available included
all or nearly all of those still found in the
region when the first Europeans arrived
about a thousand years after the end of
Hopewell culture. The only domesticated
animal of the Hopewell Indians was the dog.

PHYSICAL TRAITS REVEALED

The physical appearance of the Hopewell
Indians can be reconstructed from their
skeletons and some small sculptured figures
found in their burial places. These Indians
were of medium height and long-headed or
medium long-headed. The figurines suggest
that they were stocky or plump, particularly
the women, with oval faces and "slant" eyes.

The men wore breech cloths of animal skin
or woven fabric and the women wore wrap-
around skirts of woven cloth or skin. Both
men and women wore slipper-like moccasins,
probably made of animal skin. The women
seem to have worn their hair long in back
but parted in the middle on top of the head
and drawn back above the ears. Men re-
moved some of their hair leaving a forelock
in front and long hair gathered into a knot
at the back of the head.

Their dwellings probably were types of
wigwams, round or oval in plan with dome-
shaped roofs, made of saplings covered with
bark, mats, or skins.

Their villages and ceremonial centers were
always along rivers. They erected large con-
ical or dome-shaped mounds of earth over
the dead and built earthen walls enclosing
large areas that were circular, oval, or rec-
tangular.

GRAND RAPIDS SITE

The largest Hopewell ceremonial center in
the Upper Great Lakes region was at the
present site of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Near the center of town on the west side of
the Grand River there formerly stood a

group of about 30 to 40 mounds, the largest
of which was at least 30 feet high and 200
feet in circumference. On the opposite side
of the river about two miles south of the city
there is a group of 15 mounds the largest of
which is 15 feet high and about 100 feet in
diameter. There once seems to have been
associated with this mound group a large
rectangular enclosure with low walls of earth.
A Hopewell site in the St. Joseph River
Valley, at which there was a group of nine
mounds, was associated with an enclosure
about 80 feet wide and 110 feet long, shaped
like a horseshoe. The walls of earth have
disappeared but the outline of the enclosure
still shows in aerial photographs. In the
Ohio Hopewell center there are many very
elaborate earth wall enclosures constructed
by the Indians.

During a part of each summer some groups
of Hopewell Indians left their settlements on
the rivers and moved to the shore of Lake
Michigan. These summer campsites were
always located in sheltered hollows among
sand dunes, usually in areas of land between
Lake Michigan and an inland lake or river
estuary. Food refuse collected from one of
these sites included remains of bear, beaver,
deer, wolf, muskrat, rabbit, large-mouth
bass, channel catfish, sheepshead, painted
turtle, and mussel.

ENGAGED IN TRADE

The Hopewell Indians made great use of
exotic raw materials for the manufacture of
tools, weapons, ornaments, and objects used
in religious ceremonies. To obtain these raw
materials they engaged in widespread trade
and commerce.

From the Rocky Mountain region of the
Far West they obtained obsidian for their
ceremonial blades and grizzly bear teeth for
ornaments. Large marine shells they got
from the South Atlantic coast and the Gulf
of Mexico. Copper and silver came from the
mines in the western Lake Superior area, and
mica sheets came from the Middle Atlantic
coastal region. Galena or lead was brought
into the Upper Great Lakes region from
Missouri and northwestern Illinois.

Tools and weapons were made of copper,
stone, and bone. There were ungrooved
axes of copper and polished stone; awls of

Q

HOPEWELL EAR ORNAMENTS
Spool-shaped, they are fashioned of copper

bone, antler, and copper; corner-notched
projectile points of chipped flint; knives of
chipped flint and obsidian; needles of bone
and copper; small flake knives; large cere-
monial blades of chipped flint of unusual
coloring; graving tools of stone, beaver in-

March, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

cisors, and copper; and scrapers and drills
of chipped flint.

The Hopewell Indians had musical instru-
ments. Most characteristic were panpipes
consisting of three or four conjoined tubes
of bone or reed, graduated in length, and
bound together with a broad, flat, encircling
band of silver or copper. They also had
rattles of various kinds including some made
of turtle shell and they probably had drums.

STONE TOBACCO PIPES

Tobacco pipes made of polished stone were
of the platform type with a bowl centered on
a platform and a stem hole from one end of
the platform to the bowl. Most such pipes
were simple, symmetrical, curved base plat-
forms with spool or barrel-shaped bowls.
Some were elaborate effigy forms with bowls

COPPER AXES

Preserved on them by copper salts are the imprints

of textiles made by the Hopewell Indians.

carved realistically in the form of animals
and humans. One such pipe had a bowl
carved in the form of a bear, another had a
bowl in the form of a nude woman seated on
the platform. Still another pipe with two
bowls had a platform carved to represent an
alligator.

The Hopewell Indians had fine pottery
and utensils. There were spoons made of
notched mussel shells and probably of wood.
Large dippers or containers were made of
imported marine shells.

Pottery was of several styles. There was
a utilitarian ware consisting of round or co-
noidal based jars made of fired clay tempered
with particles of granitic stone and covered
on the exterior with the imprints of a cord-
wrapped paddle. A characteristic Hopewel-
lian ware similar in paste and form to the
ware just described differed in that the exte-
rior surface was smoothed and then deco-
rated with bands and zones of rather thick
dentate stamp impressions.

FIRED CLAY POTTERY

The finest pottery ever found in the pre-
historic Upper Great Lakes region was the
Hopewell ceremonial ware made of fired clay
tempered with small particles of limestone.
Characteristic of this type were small quad-
rilobate jars with flat bottoms. The smooth
gray surfaces of such vessels were decorated
with contrasting body zones filled with
closely spaced impresions of a fine toothed

dentate stamp rocked back and forth. The
rims were decorated with a band of fine
cross-hatching. This pottery probably was
made only for burial with the dead.

Some other Hopewell pottery types seem
to have been copies of this fine ceremonial
ware. These types, represented by jars with
round or flat bottoms and bodies that fre-
quently were quadrilobate, were made of fired
clay tempered with particles of granitic stone.
Some of this pottery was relatively plain,
but most of it was decorated with curvilinear
zones filled with curved zigzag lines or punc-
tate impressions.

Ornaments of the Hopewell Indians were
made of metal, shell, bone, and stone. Beads
for necklaces were made of copper, river
pearls, marine shell, and the canine teeth of
bears. Spool-shaped ear ornaments of cop-
per were on some occasions worn at the
wrists. There were armbands of silver and
probably of copper. Pendants and breast
ornaments included those of polished stone,
copper, perforated and cut animal jaws, bone
and copper effigies of animal teeth, perfo-
rated eagle claws, and bear canine teeth in-
laid with river pearls. Pieces of imported
sheet mica may have been used as ornaments
or mirrors.

WOVE CLOTH WITH FINGERS

The Hopewell Indians wove cloth by
means of finger techniques rather than a
loom. Twining was the most common
method of weaving. Thread was twisted by
hand from bast fiber — the soft inner bark of
certain trees.

The Hopewell Indians were the outstand-
ing artists of the Upper Great Lakes region
and their products were never surpassed by
the Indians who lived in the region in later
times.

The elaborate effigy forms made of sheet
copper and mica, the complicated geometric
forms in copper made probably from folded
patterns, and the delicate engraving on bone,
shell, and wood so characteristic of the Ohio
Hopewell center were lacking in the Upper
Great Lakes region. But the other art forms
were present, particularly sculpture in stone
and bone portraying human beings, animals,
birds, fishes, reptiles, and insects. Probably
all of Hopewell art had religious and cere-
monial significance.

Hopewell art and material wealth were
lavished on the dead, probably with elab-
orate ceremonies. Deceased people of high
rank were buried in subfloor pits or tombs,
sometimes lined with bark or logs. Tools,
weapons, utensils, pottery, pipes, and cere-
monial objects, all of excellent quality, were
placed in the grave. Bodies were placed in
an extended or a flexed position. Bundles
of bones, probably from partly decompressed
bodies that had been on burial scaffolds, were
also placed in grave pits.

When the burials were completed large
mounds of earth were erected over the grave

'SEAGOING JOURNEY'
AWAITS CHILDREN

A new Journey for children at the Museum
begins March 1, and will be available to
child visitors every day through May 31.
The subject is "Life of Ancient Seas." Chil-
dren "signing aboard for this cruise" will re-
ceive their "seagoing orders" and "charts"
at either the north or south entrance of the
Museum, and with these "navigation in-
structions" will find their way to exhibits
that will give them the answers to such
questions as:

"What animals lived in the seas before
fish?"

"Were there once coral reefs in the Chi-
cago area?"

"Are 'sea-lilies' plants or animals?"

"When did giant 'sea scorpions' 11 feet
long live?"

"Name the flesh-eating swimming reptiles
that were larger than any of the dinosaurs."

Children who complete this and three
other Journeys are certified as Museum
Travelers; for eight Journeys they are desig-
nated Museum Adventurers, and for 12 they
become Museum Explorers.

Spring Visiting Hours
Begin at Museum

Beginning March 1, spring visiting hours
will go into effect at the Museum. The
building will be open from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M.
every day, an extension of one hour over the
winter hours. On May 1 there will be an-
other extension, when summer hours, 9 to 6,
go into effect.

pits. These mounds were conical or dome-
shaped. It is likely that only individuals of
high social position, such as priests and chiefs
or members of ruling families, were given
mound burial.

SOCIAL ORGANIZATION

The Hopewell Indians must have had a
social organization that included class struc-
tures, heriditary ranks and privileges, divi-
sions of labor, ways of organizaing co-opera-
tive work projects, such as the building of
mounds and enclosures, and means for indi-
viduals to become specialized as artists,
traders, metal workers, and the like. This
social organization, whatever its actual de-
tails, was much more elaborate than that of
any of the earlier prehistoric groups of In-
dians in the Upper Great Lakes region.

The period of Hopewell culture in this re-
gion was from about 100 B.C. to a.d. 700.
This dating is derived from cross-ties between
the ceramic stratigraphy in the Upper Great
Lakes region and that of the Illinois Valley
Hopewell center where there is an adequate
number of radiocarbon-dated sites.

Page 8

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

March, 1959

CHILDREN'S PROGRAMS
ON SATURDAYS

A puppet show and six movie programs
will be presented for children at the Museum
on Saturday mornings at 10 :30 during March
and April. Saturday March 28, will be
skipped because of the Easter weekend.

This spring series of entertainments is the
offering of the James Nelson and Anna
Louise Raymond Foundation. The pro-
grams will be given in the James Simpson
Theatre.

Although five of the shows have been des-
ignated as special days for various children's
organizations, all children, regardless of
whether they are affiliated with these or-
ganizations or not, are welcome at all pro-
grams. They may come alone, in groups,
or with parents or other adults. Admission
is free, and no tickets are needed.

Following is the schedule:

March 7 — Red Riding Hood's Shopping
Trip

Puppet stage production by Apple Tree
Workshop of Chicago Heights

March 14 — Cub Scout Day

Canada — Land of the Mounties

March 21 — Museum Traveler Day
African Big Game

March 28— NO PROGRAM— Easter
weekend

April 4 — Camp Fire Girl Day
Tree Finder

(How to know your trees; narration by
Marie Svoboda)

April 11— Y.M.C.A. Day
Prehistoric Life

April 18 — Girl Scout Day
Westward Ho!

April 25 — Venezuelan Venture

(Wildlife in plains and jungles; narration
by Robert C. Hermes)

STAFF NOTES

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM

Following is a list of the principal gifts
received during the past month:

Department of Anthropology

From: Arizona State Museum, Tucson,
Ariz. — 86 sherds; Mr. and Mrs. Paul
Blackwelder, St. Louis — 10 clothing items,
Polynesia; John J. Cella, Glen Ellyn, 111. —
shrunken head, Ecuador; Allen Liss, Chicago
— carved spoon, Philippines; Miss Hedwig
H. Mueller, Chicago — 24 textiles, 2 Cuna
blouses, 2 belts, Guatemala, Panama,
Ecuador; Mrs. Evelyn Riley Nicholson,
Chicago — man's gown, China; Mrs. I.
Newton Perry, Chicago — snail shell kilt,
Vabau Islands, Tonga Group; George I.
Quimby, Chicago — Eskimo clothing, art
objects, etc., Belcher Islands, Hudson Bay;
Mrs. Irwin Rew, Evanston, 111.— 12 ethno-
logical specimens, Northwest Coast; William

Dr. Theodor Just, Chief Curator of Bot-
any, was host to a meeting in the Museum
of the program committee, Section II, Paleo-
botany, of the 9th International Botanical
Congress which is to be held in Montreal in
August. Present were: Dr. N. W. Radforth,
of McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario;
Dr. Wayne Fry of the University of Califor-
nia, Berkeley; Dr. R. M. Kosanke, of the
Illinois Geological Survey, Urbana; and Dr.
J. M. Schopf, of the U. S. Geological Survey,
Columbus, Ohio. . . . Dr. C. Earle Smith,
Jr., Associate Curator of Vascular Plants,
spoke at a seminar of biological sciences at
Northwestern University. His subject was
"Changing Concepts in Systematic Botany,
1800-1900." . . . Mrs. Meta P. Howell,
Librarian, and Mrs. M. Eileen Rocourt,
Associate Librarian, attended the midwinter
meeting of the American Library Associa-
tion held in Chicago. Mrs. Rocourt, as vice
chairman of the Museum Division of Special
Libraries Association, represented the divi-
sion at the association's Advisory Council
meetings in Highland Park. . . . Loren P.
Woods, Curator of Fishes, lectured before
the Isaac Walton League in Hinsdale.

NOTED SWISS BOTANIST DIES

Prof. Georges Hochreutiner, Correspond-
ing Member of this Museum, Honorary Di-
rector of the Musee, Conservatoire et Jardin
Botaniques, and Honorary Professor of the
University, Geneva, passed away on Janu-
ary 29, in his 86th year.

Prof. Hochreutiner made a number of ex-
tensive botanical journeys through the Near
East and later, around the world. He be-
came well known for his writings on the trop-
ical floras of Madagascar and the East In-
dies, and specialized in the taxonomy of the
Mallow family (Malvaceae).

Chicago Natural History Museum's type
photograph collection contains photos of
thousands of type specimens of tropical
American plants on deposit in the Conserva-
toire in Geneva, and obtained during the
administration of Prof. Hochreutiner.

H. Wehrmacher III, Morton Grove, 111. —
chipped stone scraper

Department of Botany

From: Holly Reed Bennett, Chicago—
662 phanerogams, Wisconsin; Bernice P.
Bishop Museum, Honolulu — 3 herbarium
specimens; Dr. Harold C. Bold, Austin, Tex.
— 3 type specimens of algae, Tennessee;
California Academy of Sciences, San Fran-
cisco— herbarium specimen; Dr. C. M.
Palmer, Cincinnati — 12 specimens of algae;
Dr. E. E. Sherff, Hastings, Mich.— 119
vascular plants, Hawaii

Department of Geology

From: University of Chicago — collection
of fossil reptiles, Texas, lower jaws of fossil

NEW MEMBERS ADDED
TO MUSEUM ROLLS

(January 19 to February 17)

Life Member

William V. Kahler

Associate Members

Frank G. Anger, Miss Anita Carolyn Blair,
George W. Butler, Herman L. Epstein, G. K.
Franklin, Herbert Geist, LeRoy E. Hirsch,
Jarvis Hunt, Arthur Lloyd Kelly, Miss Bar-
bara Wetten Kelly, T. Lloyd Kelly, Steven
Michael Klee, John S. Knight, J. Gus Liebe-
now, Justin MacKiewich, Roger McCormick,
W. Stirling Maxwell, D. Daniel Michel, Miss
Edith P. Parker, R. Curtis Patterson,
Charles D. Peacock III, Ole Selseth, Stan-
ley M. Sorensen, Martin Topaz, Richard
Wagner

Sustaining Member

Dr. Sam W. Banks

Annual Members

James S. Abbott III, Richard H. Alschuler,
W. W. Anderson, Mrs. Russell H. Arm-
strong, Mrs. John W. Ashwell, Lyle Rex
Aten, Mrs. Ralph Louis Atlass, Mrs. Mel-
ville R. Augdahl, Mrs. Charles C. Averhoff,
Dr. Meyer Barrash, Robert E. Berns, John
M. Blair, Ralph J. Boches, Mrs. George M.
Boehm, George T. Bogert, Edwin Booth,
Samuel V. Bossov, John S. Boyle, Thomas C.
Bradley, Stuart Brent, Howard A. Brundage,
Nicholas J. Bua, Robert C. Buckley, Henry
A. Budzinski, Louis Buffardi, John C. Bugler,
Robert J. Burdett, John J. Burns, Jr.,
Charles L. Byron, Edward J. Calihan, Ray-
mond Canaday, Caleb H. Canby III, John
P. Carlin, Mrs. George W. Clausing, Nathan
M. Cohen, Aaron H. Cohn, Louis J. Cohn,
Nathan M. Cohn, Leonard Colbert, Selwyn
Coleman, Philip J. Collias, John L. Colmar,
Mrs. Nicholas B. Commerford, Clarence R.
Conklin, Philip Conley, Richard T. Cragg,
Henry Dobro, Carl H. Ebert, Alvin Edle-
man, Ernest A. Eklund, Saul A. Epton,
Harold S. Guetzkow, Thomas Z. Hayward,
Earl W. Hoage, Robert E. Jordan, Mrs.
Garfield King, Harold W. Lewis, Victor E.
Marx, George R. McCoy, Durmont W.
McGraw, Miss Sarah M. Perlstein, Warren
Peter Piper, Melvyn E. Stein, Robert E.
Straus, Mrs. Royal C. Vilas, Richard E.
Voland, Thomas J. Vratny, Lynn A. Wil-
liams, Hubert J. Wolfe

reptile, Montana; Dr. Richard Konizeski,
Missoula, Mont. — 29 Oligocene mammals, a
lizard scale; Dr. and Mrs. Robert H.
Whitfield, Evanston, 111. — fossil plant
specimens

Department of Zoology

From : University of Calif ornia, Los Angeles
— 53 lots of fishes; Dr. William E. Duellman,
Detroit — a lizard, Mexico; Dr. Robert L.
Fleming, Kathmandu, Nepal — 184 bird
skins, 5 frogs, 13 snakes; Harry Hoogstraal.
Cairo, Egypt — 8 snakes, 25 lizards, 35 bats,
32 bird skins, Egypt, 40 bird lice, Wales,
England; Dr. N. L. H. Krauss, Honolulu—
15 reptiles and amphibians, Malaya, Hong
Kong, Formosa, Japan; Museum and Art
Gallery, Durban, Natal, S.Africa — abirdskin;
Providence High School, Chicago — horse
skull, human skull, articulated skeleton of
human hand

PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

CHICAGO
NATURAL
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MUSEUM ■***
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Page 2

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

April, 1959

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 Henry P. Isham

Sewell L. Avery Wuxiam V. Kahler

Wm. McCormick Blair Hughston M. McBain

Walther Buchen J. Roscoe Miller

Chesser M. Campbell William H. Mitchell

Walter J. Cummings John T. Pirie, Jr.

Joseph N. Field Clarence B. Randall

Marshall Field, Jr. John G. Searle

Stanley Field Solomon A. Smith

Samuel Insull, Jr. Louis Ware
John P. Wu^on

OFFICERS

Stanley Field President

Hughston M. McBain First Vice-President

Walther Buchen Second Vice-President

Joseph N. Field Third Vice-President

Solomon A. Smith Treasurer

Clifford C. Gregg Director and Secretary

John R. Millar Assistant Secretary

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR
Clifford C. Gregg Director of the Museum

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anthropology

Theodor Just Chief Curator of Botany

Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geology

Austin L. Rand Chief Curator of Zoology

MANAGING EDITOR
H. B. Harte Public Relations Counsel

ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Patricia McAfee Associate in Public Relations

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

MEMBERS' NIGHT SET
FOR MAY 8

MEMBERS' NIGHT this year
will be held at the Museum on
Friday, May 8. All Members are
invited, and any guests they care to
bring will be welcome.

Growth and progress in the Museum pro-
gram will be the theme of the evening.
The Department of Anthropology will pre-
sent a special exhibit, "Panorama of the
Pacific," in Stanley Field Hall as a preview
of selected objects from the vast Fuller col-
lection, one of the world's most important
assemblages of artifacts representing the
peoples of the South Seas. The collection
was recently acquired by the Museum from
Captain A. W. F. Fuller of London (Bull-
etin, September, 1958, page 3). On view
also will be various other new anthropologi-
cal exhibits, notable among which are a
display of objects from western Mexico in
Hall 8, and the exhibit in Hall H graphically
detailing answers to the question, "What Is
Primitive Art?"

Another feature of Members' Night will
be the reopening of Charles F. Millspaugh
Hall (Hall 26— North American Trees), in
which both the hall and the exhibits have
been completely remodeled and refurbished.
Visitors will see the nearly completed re-
installation of the meteorite section of

Clarence Buckingham Hall (Hall 35 — Moon,
Meteorites and Minerals). The Museum's
collection of these visitors from outer space
is one of the largest in the world. In the
Department of Zoology, visitors who have
not been in the Museum for some time will
find new exhibits added to various halls.

A special exhibit of drawings and paint-
ings based on Museum exhibits, the work of
students from the School of the Art Institute
of Chicago during the past year, will be
found in Albert W. Harris Hall (Hall 18).

As on Members' Nights in past years, one
of the principal attractions will be the "Open
House" atmosphere in which members and
their guests are invited to visit the labora-
tories, studios, workshops and offices of the
Museum staff on the ground floor and the
third and fourth floors— areas to which visi-
tors normally are not admitted. In these
quarters they will meet the men and women
whose joint efforts and highly specialized
skills make possible the Museum's missions
of the discovery and dissemination of knowl-
edge. Present will be the curatorial staff
who conduct scientific research and man
expeditions to far parts of the world. Also
on hand, many of them demonstrating their
unusual techniques and arts, will be the taxi-
dermists, artists, artist-preparators, techni-
cians, librarians, editors, and others.

Open house hours will be from 7 to 10:30
p.m., but the doors of the building (both
North and South entrances) will open at 6
for the convenience of visitors who wish to
dine in the Museum Cafeteria, where dinner
will be served from 6 to 8 p.m. at the cus-
tomary prices.

At 9:30 p.m. there will be an informal
reception in Stanley Field Hall, and light
refreshments will be served. President
Stanley Field, Director Clifford C. Gregg,
and other Museum officials will be on hand
to greet visitors.

For Members and their guests who arrive
by private car, ample free parking space is
available at the north entrance. Special mo-
tor-bus service has been arranged to accom-
modate those who do not wish to drive their
own cars. A free shuttle-bus, marked to in-
dicate that its destination is the Museum,
will leave Jackson Boulevard and State
Street at 15-minute intervals, beginning at
6:30 p.m. Intermediate stops will be made
at Jackson and Michigan Avenue and at
Seventh Street and Michigan. The last
bus, city-bound, will leave the Museum at
10:45 p.m.

THIS MONTH'S COVER-

"The Mineralogist" on our cover
is a caricature which appeared in
a 19th century print. At the time,
mineralogy was still in its infancy,
and the artist's conception of one
of its practitioners symbolizes his
profession by garbing him in an
armor of minerals — calcite, mala-
chite, hematite and quartz. The
artist's creative throes drove him
even further into fashioning the
man's hands of twin quartz crys-
tals terminated by pyramids form-
ing his fingers. The mineralogist
is depicted as making an analysis
of a mineral by the blowpipe
method. This method, which is
still used, is one of the oldest and
one which requires the least variety
and amount of reagents. In this
analysis, a substance is studied by
noting its characteristic behavior
with respect to flame coloration,
fusibility and formation of volatile
coating when a suitable reagent in
it is exposed to a blowpipe flame.
The picture was selected for our
cover as being appropriate to the
article on page 3 by Albert W.
Forslev, Associate Curator of Min-
eralogy.

Daily Guide-Lectures

Free guide-lecture tours are offered daily
except Sundays under the title "Highlights
of the Exhibits." These tours are designed
to give a general idea of the entire Museum
and its scope of activities. They begin at
2 p.m. on Monday through Friday and at
2:30 p.m. on Saturday.

MOVIES FOR CHILDREN
CONTINUE IN APRIL

The last four of the Raymond Founda-
tion's spring series of Saturday morning
movie programs for children will be given in
April. These entertainments begin at 10:30
a.m., and are presented in the James Simpson
Theatre of the Museum.

Although three of the shows have been des-
ignated as special days for various children's
organizations, all children, regardless of
whether they are affiliated with these or-
ganizations or not, are welcome at all pro-
grams. They may come alone, in groups,
or with parents or other adults. Admission
is free, and no tickets are needed.

Following is the schedule:

April 4— Camp Fire Girl Day
Tree Finder

(How to know your trees; narration by
Marie Svoboda)

April 11— Y.M.C.A. Day
Prehistoric Life

April 18 — Girl Scout Day
Westward Ho!

April 25 — Venezuelan Venture

(Wildlife in plains and jungles; narration
by Robert C. Hermes)

April, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 3

NEW EXHIBITS SHOW RAPID PROGRESS IN MINERALOGY

By ALBERT W. FORSLEV

ASSOCIATE CURATOR OF MINERALOGY

THE NEW Hall of Minerals (Clarence
Buckingham Hall — Hall 35) is designed
to represent the rapid progress that has been
made in the field of mineralogy since the
turn of the century. Before discussing the

'MINERALOGY'-A MEDIEVAL CONCEPT
In this old lithographic print, Justitia, Roman goddess of justice, with a scale
in her lap, pointing her scepter at a young Roman, is apparently presiding
over "Mineralogy," consisting of not only minerals but rocks and fossils.
No distinction was made during the Middle Ages between different classes
of natural objects.

new hall it may be interesting first to ex-
amine the historical development of these
views.

Although extensive physical evidence ex-
ists regarding early man's use of rocks and
minerals in the fashioning of tools and weap-
ons, we know but little about his views on
their origin and composition. One of the
first written records we have is by Aristotle
(384-322 B.C.) in his Meteorologica in which
he briefly commented on the subject. He
proposed that minerals were formed in the
earth under the influence of rays given off by
the sun and other heavenly bodies. The rays
were believed to give rise to certain types of
vapors which reacted with the elements to
form stones of various kinds. According to
him there were four basic "elements": fire,
air, earth and water. The properties of min-
erals were determined by the relative pro-

portion of each of these elements present.
Metals were believed to consist mainly of
the elements earth and water, perhaps be-
cause they became fluid when heated and
were malleable when hammered. "Fossils"
such as sulfur and realgar were believed to
be composed chiefly of the elements fire and
earth. The term
"fossil," derived from
the Latin word fossil-
is, meaning a thing
dug up from the earth,
was used in literature
as late as the 19th
century to apply to
minerals, rocks and
fossils, and no distinc-
tion was made between
the three classes until
the individual sciences
of mineralogy, petrog-
raphy, and paleontol-
ogy came into being.
From Aristotle's
time up until about
the 16th century, little
original work was
done in the field of
mineralogy. The me-
dieval writers who
largely drew their
ideas from Pliny's
Natural History (a.d.
77) and the writings
of Theophrastus
(370-287 B.C.) were
concerned primarily
with the medicinal
and mystic properties
of minerals; and the
scientists of the same
period, it seems, were
interested only in con-
trolling these magical
powers. Aristotle's
explanation of the
origin of minerals was
universally accepted for almost two thou-
sand years, finally to be replaced by two
other theories which successively came in-
to prominence. The first of these likened
the mineral kingdom to the plant and animal
kingdoms and even assumed that the two
sexes were involved in the formation of min-
erals. The assumption was based on the
idea that minerals had a life cycle and that
they originated from a seed, grew to maturity
and frequently decomposed or altered: the
equivalent of disease in the animal and vege-
table kingdoms. This postulation, popular
during the 16th and 17th centuries, gradually
gave way to "The Theory of the Lapidifying
Juice," which in many respects was the fore-
runner of modern theories and represented a
distinct advance toward a true solution.
According to this concept, a universal fluid
circulated throughout the earth depositing

mineral matter in pores, cracks, and other
openings in the rock and soil composing the
earth.

The advent of extensive mining activity
in central Europe during the 15th and 16th
centuries generated widespread interest in
minerals. The development of mining in the
Schneeberg district of Saxony in 1420, at
Annaberg in Saxony in 1495, in Joachimsthal
in Bohemia about 1520, and at Andreasberg
in the Hartz around 1570, brought natural
scientists into greater contact with minerals
than ever before. They began to pay more
attention to the physical properties of min-
erals and in doing so laid the basis for today's
systems of classification. The most impor-
tant contributor to mineralogy during this
period was Georgius Agricola (1494-1555)
who, as the city physician of the great mining
towns of Joachimstahl in Bohemia, and
Chemnitz in Hungary, spent most of his life
in close association with miners, mines and
minerals. He was one of the first naturalists
who relied on personal observation and
research in the study of minerals and is
rightfully called "The Father of Mineral-
ogy." His De Natura Fossilium, published
in 1546, is considered to be the first textbook
on mineralogy. In it he described many new
minerals and presented a classification based
on physical properties such as specific grav-
ity, color, hardness and luster.

From this time on, there was a rapid devel-
opment of mineralogy as a science, and with
the advent of chemistry in the 18th century
new systems of classification utilizing the
chemical composition of minerals were intro-
duced. One of the most important con-
tributors to the field during this period was
Abraham Werner (1750-1817), whose sys-
tem of classification using both physical and
chemical properties of minerals was in use
throughout Europe at that time. Almost
concurrently, the Swedish chemist Jons
Berzelius (1779-1848) determined the mol-
ecular weights of some 2,000 compounds and
developed for the first time a chemical classi-
fication of minerals. Another contributor
of equal importance, and a contemporary of
Werner, was Rene-Just Hauy (1743-1821), a
French botanist- mineralogist, who helped
found the science of crystallography. He
developed the basic ideas relating the crystal
form and cleavage of a mineral to its mo-
lecular structure.

RECLASSIFICATION ESTABLISHED

One of the most famous mineralogists of
the 19th century was James D wight Dana,
who removed much of the confusion that
existed, and clarified the classification of
minerals. His System of Mineralogy, first
published in 1837, is a classic and contains a
wealth of information of acknowledged ex-
cellence. Although the first two editions
(1837 and 1844) used a Latin nomenclature
along the lines of botany and zoology and a

Page i

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

April, 1959

classification based on the external features
of minerals, he completely rejected this ap-
proach in his later editions (1850, 1854, and
1868) and followed a chemical classifica-
tion. The work was continued by his son
Edward S. Dana, with a sixth edition in 1892.
With the discovery of X-rays by Roentgen
in 1895 and work by E. von Laue and Sir
William Bragg in 1912 on the diffraction of
X-rays by crystals, a new era in mineralogy
began. For the first time it became possible
to determine the arrangement of atoms
within a substance. The relationship be-
tween chemical composition, atomic struc-
ture and external crystal form has been
determined for many minerals and continues
to be a major field of research in mineralogy.
The information obtained so far has been
used to set up a modern system of classifica-
tion based on these properties and has
resulted in the publication of the seventh
edition of Dana's System of Mineralogy.
This new work in three volumes contains
detailed information and data for almost
2,000 minerals. The first two volumes have
been published, and the third, dealing with
the silicates, is in preparation.

SCOPE OF EXHIBITS

In the new Hall of Minerals, hundreds of
specimens, models and illustrations are used
to depict the present day ideas on the phys-
ical-chemical composition, formation and
classification of minerals. The mineral spec-
imens displayed include common and rare
species collected from many parts of the
world.

The arrangement of the hall follows, in
general, a chemical classification based on
the seventh edition of Dana's System of
Mineralogy. Minerals of simple chemical
composition such as native elements and
sulfides are exhibited near the east end of
the hall, and the complex silicate minerals
at the west end. Within the individual ex-
hibits, the minerals are arranged according
to their chemical formula and crystal struc-
ture. Models and diagrams are used in
conjunction with crystals of various minerals
to illustrate the manner in which the external
crystal form reflects the atomic structure.

The Chalmers Crystal Collection, housed
in four special exhibition cases, is used to
illustrate the classification of minerals and
crystal forms, the difference between min-
erals and rocks, and the physical properties
of minerals, such as hardness, color, streak,
cleavage and luster.

NOTEWORTHY SPECIMENS

Throughout the hall many impressive
specimens are to be seen. Some are exhibited
in specially built niches because of their large
size. Among them are a 312-pound block
of lapis lazuli recovered from an Inca grave
in Peru, two exceptionally large selenite
crystals, and a spectacular wulfenite cluster
showing a delicate network of golden crystals.

Several exhibits are devoted to uncommon
features of minerals such as twin crystals,
where two or more individuals have sym-
metrically intergrown; and phantom crystals,
where because of interruptions during the
growth of a crystal, outlines of its crystal
form are preserved in its interior. Another
exhibit is devoted entirely to pseudomorphs:
minerals that have taken the crystal form of
another through substitution or alteration.

The Hall of Minerals will present to the
visitor an interesting introduction to the
members of the Mineral Kingdom and the
concepts of the mineralogist living almost
2,300 years after Aristotle.

Books

A FIELD GUIDE TO REPTILES AND
AMPHIBIANS of the United States
and Canada East of the 100th Merid-
ian. By Roger Conant, illustrated by
Isabelle Hunt Conant. 366 pages, 40 color
plates, 62 figures, 248 maps. Houghton
Mifflin Co., Boston. $3.95.

This twelfth volume of the Peterson field
guides is an outstanding contribution to the
study of the natural history of the eastern
United States and Canada. It is a little ap-
preciated fact that the amphibian and reptil-
ian fauna of this region is one of the richest in
the world, even rivaling many teeming areas
of the tropics. Thus the Conants took on a
man-sized job in preparing this guide and
have been remarkably successful.

Every species (and many important races)
of crocodilian, turtle, snake, lizard, salaman-
der, frog, and toad occurring east of a line
drawn from central Texas to central North
Dakota and Manitoba is illustrated — 266
in color and 117 in black-and-white. The
distinctive characteristics of each animal are
indicated on the portraits by short black
lines, a helpful technique associated with the
Peterson series. In addition, a short text
passage devoted to each species describes the
animal in greater detail, comparing it with
other, superficially similar, species. These
aids to identification are supplemented by
ingenious drawings of certain features that
are difficult to illustrate in a portrait. With
the help provided by this guide, every inter-
ested person should be able to identify most
of the amphibians and reptiles found in the
area covered.

The word "most" is used in the preceding
sentence for two reasons. In the first place,
no key or other aid to identification can pos-
sibly anticipate all of the possible freaks of
nature that may be spewed up from time to
time. In the second place, the interrelation-
ships of some species are so complex that
even the professional biologist is not sure ex-
actly where one species ends and another be-
gins. The pond and river turtles known
locally as "cooters" and "sliders" form the

outstanding example in our fauna of such a
complicated group, and they have done more
to teach American herpetologists humility in
the face of the complexities of nature than
any other element of our reptilian fauna.

Within the space limitations of a "guide,"
the text of the Conant book contains a sur-
prising amount of information not directly
concerned with identification. Besides giv-
ing the distinguishing features, the text for
each species mentions the characteristic hab-
its and habitats, and includes notes on the
food and breeding habits, plus, in the case
of frogs and toads, a description of the voice.
The book also includes sections on the collec-
tion and care of captive animals and on the
treatment of snake bite. Consequently, quite
apart from the attraction of the colored plates,
this book has much to recommend it and will
be equally useful to the eager Boy Scout, the
interested traveler, and the professional herpe-
tologist. At $3.95 it represents one of the
best bargains for the natural history library
I have seen in a long time.

Robert F. Inger

Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles

BRITISH MAMMALS. By Maurice Bur-
ton. Oxford University Press (1958),
64 pages, illustrated. Price $2.75.

The restrictive title of this book should
not deter anyone who wants to learn about
mammals. The author explains in simple
layman's language what mammals are, how
they get about, eat, sleep, keep house, court,
rear young, defend themselves, play, and
express emotions. Animals that perform
the biological functions described here can
be found in any woodland, but the author
lets the universally familiar animals of the
British landscape play the roles.

Little space is devoted to purely technical
descriptions. When the author mentions an
anatomical character, it is for the purpose of
explaining how and why it helps the animal
live. The style of the book is simple and
direct. The text is factual and devoid of the
whimsy and studied cuteness that often
creep into books for beginners. The numer-
ous line-drawings are skillfully executed and
so cleverly conceived that they convey their
message without the aid of text. The author
not only answers the first scientific questions
the novice asks, but he goes on and answers
those that would logically follow.

The student and amateur naturalist in the
American Middle West will find this little
book just as enlightening, satisfying and
stimulating as will his British counterpart.
Philip Hershkovitz
Curator of Mammals

A reproduction of a flowering branch of
the mountain camellia (Stewartia penlagyna),
a showy member of the tea family, has been
added to Martin A. and Carrie Ryerson
Hall (Plant Life— Hall 29).

April, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

HOW MUSEUM AIDS POLICE IN CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION

By PATRICIA McAFEE

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

SINCE LT. JOHN ASCHER, Director of
the Chicago Police Department's Scien-
tific Crime Detection Laboratory, discov-
ered the Museum several years ago, sci-
entists here have been working in what
might be considered a strange or at least
unusual capacity — assisting in criminal in-
vestigations.

Finding a natural scientist in the field of
criminal investigation is not really so strange
when methods of scientific research are con-

FIGHTS CRIME WITH SCIENCE
Lt. John Ascher at his desk as Director of Chicago
Police Department's Scientific Crime Detection
Laboratory. In a number of cases members of the
Museum staff have assisted Ascher and his associ-
ates in identifying physical evidence.

sidered. Scientists are continually searching
for new knowledge to add to the old. They
make observations and accumulate facts,
piece the facts together, interpret them and
sometimes fill in voids from knowledge of
the past, in order to determine what hap-
pened years ago, what is evolving today, and
what might evolve in the future.

Methods of procedure in criminal investi-
gation are somewhat similar. Evidence
must be collected, examined and inter-
preted to reconstruct crimes which took
place in the past.

Of course, neither scientific research nor
criminal investigation is as simple as these
brief statements might suggest. Both take
hours of painstaking work, but in criminal
investigation, time is at a premium. It is
not always possible to take hours to try end-
less experiments in an attempt to identify a
piece of evidence.

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

The men at the Crime Laboratory are
experts in their field, but it would be prac-
tically impossible for them to have a sci-
entist's knowledge of all the things that
appear in criminal cases as physical evidence.

Because of the critical importance of the
work, experts are consulted whenever pos-
sible. It is in the identification of physical
evidence that experts at the Museum assist
the Crime Lab.

Shortly after a crime has been discovered
and the police have reached the scene, the
physical evidence is collected. In more
fortunate instances the evidence may be a
personal belonging of the criminal himself or
something as conclusive as a fingerprint.
But, unfortunately, this is not always the
case; the evidence may be a footprint in the
mud, a hair or hairs from an attacker, or
trace materials from a piece of clothing. At
a "sterile scene" — a scene cleared of in-
criminating evidence— there may be nothing
suggesting the offender, but only micro-
scopic matter that might aid in determining
where the crime was committed.

The evidence is often natural, such as
plant matter, mineral particles from soils,
animal products, the living animal or effects
of the living animal. Therefore, natural
scientists are called upon for help when
necessary. Physical evidence is vitally im-
portant, as it sometimes can decide the
innocence or guilt of a man and it is essential
that it be examined carefully and thor-
oughly. Often there is little enough evi-
dence, making it doubly important that
what there is be fully explored.

Steel filings, particles of powder from an
explosion, paint, glass fragments, stomach
contents, traces of soil, pollen, etc., are all
possible clues that may link the perpetrator
with the crime or determine the scene where
the crime was committed. Soil is frequently
valuable because it can disclose whether a
person was or was not at a specific place.

X-ray spectrograph has also been used in
analyzing materials for the Crime Labora-
tory. This instrument differs from the
diffraction unit in that it determines which
chemical elements are present in a substance.
The X-ray techniques mentioned are gen-
erally superior to ordinary chemical analyses
because they identify without destroying the
evidence, which may be needed for court
testimony.

One case in which the diffraction unit was
especially valuable in solving the crime was
reported by Lt. Ascher. A man had mur-
dered his wife, carried her body away in his
car and dumped it in an alley. The soil later
taken from his shoes and from the brake
pedal of his car was identical with the soil
in the alley where the body was found.

Careful analyses of soil, grease, dirt, paint
and other substances may lead to the dis-
covery of the perpetrator of the crime, as in
the case mentioned, or they may be useful in
determining whether the substance was in-
troduced at the site where the body was
found, or if it was on the body before death.
Analyses can indicate also that the substance
came from another place, suggesting that the
crime was not committed at the location
where the body was discovered.

Imagine that a body is found in a ware-
house outside the city. Boxes and tools are
strewn about the room giving the impression
that some sort of struggle had taken place.
A preliminary investigation fails to reveal
any apparent clues — the victim's shoes are
clean; there is nothing actually signifying
that the murder was committed in the ware-
house. An intense investigation reveals
traces of pollen on the victim's clothing.
The killer had murdered elsewhere, cleaned

I D I

DETECTION BY DIFFRACTION

X-ray diffraction photographs of quartz (top) and plaster of paris (bottom) illustrate how different sub-
stances can be identified, for use as clues, by their characteristic X-ray patterns.

The Museum's X-ray diffraction unit,
which in scientific research is used primarily
for the identification of minerals, has been
used to identify soil specimens and other
chemical compounds for the Crime Lab.
X-ray diffraction methods give reliable quan-
titative and qualitative analyses of nearly
all chemical compounds. The Museum's

the victim's shoes and hands of dirt and
carried the body to the warehouse. The
only existing evidence is the pollen. The
Crime Laboratory can identify pollen as
pollen, but it is important to know what
kind of plant it came from. This would be a
likely case to bring to the Museum. If the
pollen had previously been scientifically

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

April, 1959

described, a botanist could possibly identify
the plant and, perhaps, from a knowledge of
the area, suggest sites where the plant grows,
enabling the police to begin a search for the
scene of the crime.

CLUES FROM ANIMALS

Zoologists have helped the Crime Lab by
identifying unexplainable marks that have
appeared on bodies subjected to exposure.
The marks, they discovered, were those
made by certain animals that inhabit the
Chicago area. Identifying hair and bones
as human or other animal, and if not human,
what kind, also falls to the zoologist.

Not all of the cases on which the Museum
has given assistance have been homicides.
Burglaries are prevalent. Fragments of safe
insulation or steel filings are sometimes the
only clues to follow. These are materials
that can be identified with the X-ray diffrac-
tion unit. In one case, a factory had been
robbed and a suspect was later picked up.
In the suspect's station wagon there was
discovered an unusual chemical compound
which after analysis proved to be identical
with the stolen material. The identification
linked the auto with the crime.

Scientists can sometimes calculate the
length of time that inorganic matter has
been in a particular place. For instance, a
suspected kidnap-vehicle brought up from a
lagoon was examined by Museum scientists.
From the vegetation and small animal life
which had accumulated on the car while it
was submerged, they could tell how long it
had been under water. The results indicated
that it was there before the crime, thereby
ruling out the previous owner as a possible
suspect.

The Museum can supply only information
which may make evidence meaningful. The
Crime Laboratory must piece it together to
form a complete account of the crime. A
few instances have been mentioned where
the Museum served the Police Department
in the past. In the future there will, no
doubt, be discovered additional ways in
which the Museum can co-operate in crim-
inal investigation.

ANCIENT FORERUNNER OF WHISTLING KETTLE

Bacteria-Free Birds

Freedom from bacteria had been reported
as one of the unusual features of Antarctic
birds. This was investigated by scientists
with the 1957-58 Argentine Antarctic Ex-
pedition. Penguins examined did have cer-
tain types of bacteria (anaerobic), but were
free of other common types (aerobic). The
absence of these bacteria was found to be
correlated with anti-bacterial substances in
the shrimps on which the penguins fed,
which in turn were found in the tiny floating
green plants (phytoplankton) on which the
shrimps fed.

Bulletin of American Institute of Biological
Sciences, June, 1958.

By DONALD COLLIER

CURATOR OF SOUTH AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY
AND ETHNOLOGY

LIKE many modern devices that are
based on old principles, the whistling
kettle has an old analogue in the pottery
whistling jar of ancient America. Pre-

MONKEY-EFFIGY WHISTLING JAR

Columbian whistling pots, which operate by
means of a current of air, come from both
Peru and Mesoamerica. They are usually
composed of two vessels joined near the
bottom by a hollow tube. One is open-
mouthed or has a vertical spout, and the
other is a human or animal effigy closed at
the top save for the whistle opening. The
whistle is sounded when air is forced through
it by pouring water into the open or spouted
vessel, or by rocking the half-filled pot so
that the water pours into the effigy chamber.

A beautiful and rare whistling vessel from
Mexico, shown in the accompanying illus-
trations, has recently been put on exhibition
in Hall 8 (Ancient and Modern Indians of
Mexico and Central America). It came from
a tomb near Mitla in Oaxaca. It consists of
a vase attached to a monkey effigy. The
whistle opening is in the back of the monkey's
head. It is made of a very fine ware called
Thin Orange. The ware, the form of the
vase, and the style of the incised and punc-
tuated decoration on the vase make it cer-
tain that this vessel was made during the
Early Classic period, between a.d. 200 and
600.

Although there are about twenty known
whistling pots from Mesoamerica, only four,
including the one described here, are of Thin
Orange ware. Thin Orange ware is impor-
tant to archaeologists because it was widely
traded. It serves as a horizon marker or
"index fossil" of the Early Classic, and gives
evidence of the wide extent of commerce
during that period. The ware is very com-
mon at Teotihuacan, near Mexico City, and
at one time this great Classic site was
thought to be the place of its manufacture.
We now know it was made in southern
Puebla, probably at Ixcaquistla. From

there it was traded northwestward to Tlax-
cala, Teotihuacan and Tula, westward as far
as Jalisco and Colima, southward to Monte
Alban and Mitla, and southeastward to
Uaxactun and Kaminaljuyu in Guatemala
and Copan in Honduras.

It is easy to understand why Thin Orange
was so popular. Its exceptional thinness,
delicacy, lustrous finish, and appearance of
fine workmanship are as appealing today as
they were fifteen hundred years ago. It is a
pleasure to handle a Thin Orange piece. To
make a pottery with such delicate walls
(1-4 mm. thick) required an exceptionally
strong and plastic clay, and it could not be
successfully imitated with ordinary clay.
But the makers of Thin Orange also had

WHISTLE

CROSS-SECTION OF WHISTLING JAR

great technical skill in modeling, slipping and
controlled firing. Many of the effigy forms,
particularly those of dogs and humans, are
graceful and beguiling. These potters met
the great demand for their elegant product
by decorating the vases with mold-made
ornaments and duplicating some of the effigy
vessels in molds.

Museum Journey for Children

"Life of Ancient Seas" continues as the
topic of the Museum Journey for children
during April and May. Directions for in-
coming children are passed out at the north
and south entrances. Children who visit
the exhibits indicated and fill in answers to
questionnaires become Museum Travelers
after completing this and three Journeys on
other subjects. Eight Journeys qualify them
as Museum Adventurers, and twelve as
Museum Explorers. The Journeys are an
activity of the Raymond Foundation.

The Asiatic sloth-bear mother often
carries her baby on her back while searching
for insects and worms under stones and logs,
as shown in a habitat group in William V.
Kelly Hall (Hall 17).

April, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

1
it/-

*j* **

Earliest migration to America as depicted by exhibit
in Hall 4. It suggests the crowded condition of men
and animals in northeastern Asia after the glaciers
began to recede, and emphasizes the ease with which
the journey could be made across Bering Strait to
the New World.

THE DISCOVERY
OF AMERICA*

(Circa 23,000 B.C.)
By PAUL S. MARTIN

CHIEF CURATOR OF ANTHROPOLOGY

COLUMBUS usually receives the credit
for discovering the New World, but this
honor should be given to migrants from
northeastern Asia, whom we call the Amer-
ican Indians.

Detailed studies of the physical (racial i
aspects of the American Indians show that
they are all essentially Mongoloids, although
there is some diversity among the various
tribes of North, Middle and South America.
This may be due to the fact that the Amer-
ican continent was interpenetrated (via
Bering Strait) by successive groups of Asiatic
migrants. These may have represented a
composite of several racial strains, but pri-
marily they were Mongoloid. In other
words, some of the divergences of physical
types, now observable in the Indians, first
appeared in Asia and were then preserved in
the New World.

Since no possible ancestral forms of mod-
ern man have ever been found in the New
World, we may be sure that man did not
originate here. Furthermore, since the
American Indian may certainly be classed as
belonging to the Mongoloid branch that

* The article above is from the Prologue to Digging
Into History, a 158-page book by Dr. Martin, just pub-
lished by the Museum (Popular Series — Anthropology,
No. 38). The rest of the book deals with the findings
of fifteen years of work in the Southwest, led by Dr.
Martin, to excavate sites of the ancient Mogollon
civilization of New Mexico and Arizona. The book,
illustrated with many photographs, a map, and drawings
by Gustaf Dalstrom, Artist of the Department of
Anthropology, is available at the Museum for $1.50 —
mail orders accepted. It is written especially for lay-
men and students.

originated in the Old World, we may be
confident that he came from Asia. How he
came and when and why are fascinating
questions about which we have some infor-
mation and some guesses. We guess that he
entered by the easiest and shortest route and
that would have been by Bering Strait, for
here the distance between the Old and New
Worlds is a mere sixty miles at the present
time. If man started drifting into the New
World about 25,000 years ago, it is safe to
assume that he walked from Asia to America
on dry land, for the two continents were con-
nected by a land bridge. Even in much later
times, when the land connection between the
two continents was broken, man could have
crossed by boat or on ice, for the strait was
narrower and shallower then.

The date of the earliest migrations from
Asia to America cannot be exactly stated at
present. It is safe to say, however, that man
was present in the New World at least 25,000
years ago.

A few migrants to the New World may
have reached our shores by boat from the
Pacific Islands, but it is usually conceded
that such voyages were few in number and
probably came about as a matter of chance
rather than by intention. Furthermore, if
such accidental voyagers lived to tell the
tale, they and most of their specialized
knowledge, traits, and techniques probably
were largely, if not entirely, submerged by
the civilization of their hosts.

There are speculations concerning the
origin of the American Indians— such fables
as Atlantis; the Lost Continent of Mu; the
"lost" tribes of Israelites who were merely
deported about 725 B.C. to Assyria and who
may be described as displaced, enslaved and
shuffled about, but not lost; and the like; but
all of these "hypotheses" may be labeled as

fiction based on fancies, opinions, and chance
analogies.

The consensus of most anthropologists
today is that the Indian is an Asiatic who
wandered into the New World and here in-
dependently developed an impressive series
of cultures that range from a modest set of
attainments to higher civilization.

ANIMALS ARE THE 'STARS'
IN AUDUBON FILM

The final offering in the current series of
screen-tours by the Illinois Audubon Society
is "Animals at Home and Afield" to be pre-
sented in the James Simpson Theatre of the
Museum on Sunday afternoon, April 19, at
2:30. Robert C. Hermes, well-known nat-
uralist-photographer, will be the lecturer.
There are many amazing episodes in his color
film. One sequence shows the amusing
antics of some acrobatic tree frogs. In
another, Hermes has caught the moment
when a score of baby octopuses in an ocean
lagoon first see the light of day. Some
ravens put on a clown-like sideshow of their
own, while raccoons display their prowess at
tightrope walking. Hermes enters into
many aspects of the private lives and private
worlds of the creatures that share our earth,
its air, and its seas.

Admission to the lecture is free, and
Members of the Museum and their guests
are cordially invited to attend.

Argentinian Scientist Here

Dr. Argentino Bonetto, head of the game
and fish department of Argentina, recently
visited this Museum to study dry and
alcoholically preserved material of South
American fresh-water clams.

Page 8

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

April, 1959

TWO GRANTS RECEIVED
FOR MUSEUM WORK

The National Science Foundation recently
awarded substantial grants to Chicago Nat-
ural History Museum for the continuation
of two research projects. They are the
Mecca project under the direction of Dr.
Rainer Zangerl, Curator of Fossil Reptiles,
and Dr. Eugene S. Richardson, Jr., Curator
of Fossil Invertebrates; and the study of
animals of Borneo under the direction of
Dr. Robert F. Inger, Curator of Amphibians
and Reptiles.

The Mecca project, which has been in op-
eration since 1954, involves the detailed study
of a thin band of black shale deposited in
west-central Indiana some 250,000,000 years
ago in the Pennsylvanian period. Dur-
ing the last four years the primary concerns
have been the collection of specimens from
the site and the charting of the fossil remains
for future study. The field work is now com-
plete, but the greater task of studying, collat-
ing, and evaluating the evidence is yet to come.

The grant from the National Science Foun-
dation will enable Richardson and Zangerl,
the principal investigators, to continue the
paleoecological study of the area at an accel-
erated pace. Within three years they hope
to be able to reconstruct the environmental
conditions that existed during the time of
deposition of the shale almost exactly as
if it were happening today and we were able
to witness the process.

Inger, since 1950, has been studying the
reptiles and amphibians of Borneo, how they
got there, their distribution, and their effect
upon one another within the complex envi-
ronment of the rain forest. Part of the
grant will make it possible for Inger to
study type specimens of animals housed in
museums in Europe and other parts of
the world.

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM

Following is a list of the principal gifts
received during the past month:

Department of Anthropology

From: Mrs. John Foster Gilchrist, Chi-
cago— Aztec pottery figurine, Mexico; E. T.
Wiltsee, Centerburg, Ohio— Jicarilla Apache
Indian water basket, Chama, New Mexico.

Department of Botany

From: Academy of Natural Sciences,
Philadelphia — 21 phanerogams, South Amer-
ica; Prof. P. Maheshwari, Delhi, India-
flowering specimens of Lemna and Wolffia.

Department of Geology

From: Mrs. Ethel Doerrer, Tinley Park,
111. — 4 trilobites and a fossil shrimp; Willard
P. Leutze, Richmond, Ind.— a fossil Euryp-
terid, Syracuse, N. Y.

Department of Zoology

From: Dr. N. L. H. Krauss, Honolulu— 47
amphibians and reptiles, an eel, Panama,
Washington State, India, Ceylon, Indo-
China and Philippines; Colin C. Sanborn,

Marcella, Ark.— a fox; Dr. Jeanne S.
Schwengel, Scarsdale, N. Y.— marine shells
and cowry shells, worldwide; Frank E. Sim-
mons, Oglesby, Tex. — 16 inland mollusks;
Dr. Victor G. Springer, St. Petersburg, Fla.
— 99 fishes; Dr. Fritz Zumpt, Johannesburg,
South Africa — a frog, 4 snakes, parasites,
sucking and biting lice, South Africa.

NEW MEMBERS ADDED
TO MUSEUM ROLLS

(February 18 to March 16)

Life Member

Dr. J. Roscoe Miller

Associate Members

Harold W. Alenduff, Rosecrans Baldwin,
Jay Berwanger, James P. Dillie, Mitchell
Edelson, Jr., W. H. Garvey, Jr., S. Ashley
Guthrie, Joseph Halouska, J. H. Herz,
Howell H. Howard, Frank D. Huth, Arthur
K. Kribben, Delafield Kribben, Herbert F.
Lello, David N. McCarl, Frank B. Papier-
niak, Henry Perlman, Holman D. Pettibone,
John J. Poister, George A. Reilly, Budd Sills,
Lendol D. Snow, George Tonn, Eugene C.
Travis, William M. Trumbull, Dr. Edward
F. Webb, Arthur Wlochall.

Sustaining Members

Richard McClung, Mrs. Lenora C. West-
erhold

Annual Members

Mrs. Wolcott S. Allison, Norman Andrea-
sen, Mrs. Luther B. Andrews, Mrs. Otis G.
Andrews, Henry X Arenberg, Mrs. Alex J.
Arieff, John A. Arnold, Mrs. W. Russell
Arlington, Mrs. Frederick T. Aschman,
Mrs. Milton S. Axelrad, Joseph Wm. Bag-
nuolo, William F. Benoist, Jr., Irving Birn-
baum, Thomas J. Boodell, Joseph Boren-
stein, Arlie O. Boswell, Jr., Floyd E. Britton,
Bernard B. Brody, Ben C. Brostoff, Edward
I. Brown, Aloys L. Bruckner, Joseph E.
Brunswick, Paul W. Brust, Russell Bun-
desen, Jewell V. Burk, Arnold L. Burke, Lee
M. Burkey, Jr., Thomas D. Burlage, Merwin
R. Burman, Robert S. Burrows, David T.
Busch, R. Cadmore, John R. Caffrey,
Joseph B. Caracci, Robert P. Carey, Sher-
man Carmell, Robert Cavanaugh, George R.
Cermak, George J. Cervenka, William F.
Coale, Jr., John T. Coburn, David L. Cogh-
lan, Jack A. Cohon, Jack Z. Cole, Miss
Natalie Crohn, Lawrence J. Dahlgren, Jules
Dashow, David Davidson, John W. Dawson,
Theodore C. Diller, Harry A. Dow, Jr.,
George Echt, Samuel Edes, Nathan N.
Eglit, Richard L. Ekstrand, Maurice R. Ely,
Paul W. Goodrich, George E. Hachtman,
Mrs. Melvin J. Hagen, Mrs. Burton W.
Hales, Edward W. Hallauer, Miss Alice
Howe, Mrs. Florence H. Hunter, Miss
Margaret L. Moran, Walter M. Norton,
Miss Mary E. Sage, Eugene B. Schultz, Jr.,
Robert Tremper.

FOUR TRAVEL LECTURES
OFFERED IN APRIL

Four more lectures in the spring series
for adults remain to be given on Saturday
afternoons in April. Illustrated with color
motion pictures, the lectures will be given
at 2:30 p.m. each Saturday in the James
Simpson Theatre of the Museum. They are
provided by the Edward E. Ayer Lecture
Foundation. Admission is free. Museum
Members and their guests are admitted to
a reserved section of the theatre upon pres-
entation of membership cards. Following
are dates, subjects and lectures:

April 4 — France

Kenneth Richier

April 11 — Sicily, Island of the Sun

Robert Davis

April 18— The Faraway Falklands

Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr.

April 25 — Ranch of the Purple Flowers

Robert C. Hermes

STAFF NOTES

Dr. Sharat K. Roy, Chief Curator of
Geology, gave a film-lecture on volcanoes
of Mexico and Central America for a recent
meeting of the Chicago Lapidary society . . .
Dr. Eugene S. Richardson, Jr., Curator
of Fossil Invertebrates, spoke before the
Northern Biology Teachers' Association at
Oregon, Illinois, on the Museum's Mecca
(Indiana) paleontological project. . . .
Rupert L. Wenzel, Curator of Insects,
recently made studies of collections in
museums of Washington, New York and
Cambridge, Massachusetts. . . . Dr. Roland
W. Force, Curator of Oceanic Archaeology
and Ethnology, has been appointed Asso-
ciate Editor of a new worldwide anthro-
pological journal, Current Anthropology.
Recently he attended a Philadelphia meeting
of a National Science Planning Board group
working out plans for the "Man and Culture"
portion of the Century 21 Exposition to be
held in Seattle in 1961. He also gave a
lecture on the Palau Islands before a Chester-
ton (Indiana) audience. . . . Bertram G.
Woodland, Associate Curator of Petrology,
recently lectured before the Kennicott Club
on trends of thought in geology.

The systematic collection of fishes in
Hall O includes primitive fishes, sharks,
rays, and a series of bony fishes that range
from herrings and salmon-like fishes to
spiny-rayed fishes and such odd forms as
trigger fishes and angler fishes.

PLEASE NOTIFY MUSEUM
IF YOU'RE MOVING

Members of the Museum who change
residence are urged to notify the Museum
so that the Bulletin and other communi-
cations may reach them promptly. A card
for this purpose is enclosed with this issue.

PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

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MUSEUM MEMBERS' NIGHT

Friday, May 8, 7 to 10:30 p.m.

'PANORAMA OF THE PACIFIC

Page 2

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

May, 1959

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 Henry P. Isham

Sewell L. Avery William V. Kahler

Wm. McCormick Blair Hughston M. McBain

Walther Buchen J. Roscoe Miller

Chbsser M. Campbell William H. Mitchell

Walter J. Cummings John T. Pirie, Jr.

Joseph N. Field Clarence B. Randall

Marshall Field, Jr. John G. Searle

Stanley Field Solomon A. Smith

Samuel Insull, Jr. Louis Ware

John P. Wilson

OFFICERS

Stanley Field President

Hughston M. McBain First Vice-President

Walther Buchen Second Vice-President

Joseph N. Field Third Vice-President

Solomon A. Smith Treasurer

Clifford C. Gregg Director and Secretary

John R. Millar Assistant Secretary

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR
Clifford C. Gregg Director of the Museum

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anthropology

Theodor Just Chief Curator of Botany

Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geology

Austin L. Rand Chief Curator of Zoology

MANAGING EDITOR
H. B. Harte Public Relations Counsel

ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Patricia McAfee Associate in Public Relations

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

SOUTHWEST EXPLORERS
RETURN TO 'DIG'

IN MAY the 1959 Southwest Archaeolog-
ical Expedition of the Museum will begin
its fourth season of operations in an area
south of the Petrified Forest in Arizona.

Among the objectives of the expedition
will be the finding of more clues indicating
the ancestral background of the American
Indian and of the Western Pueblo Indians
in particular. Even more specifically the
archaeologists hope to uncover additional
evidence which will link up the history of
the present-day Zuni Indians with that of
prehistoric tribes who lived around the head-
waters of the Little Colorado River.

Dr. Paul S. Martin, Chief Curator of An-
thropology, is the leader of the expedition,
and Dr. John B. Rinaldo, Assistant Curator
of Archaeology, is his principal associate.
Other members of the Museum staff who
will take part in the work are Allen Liss and
Howard Anderson of the departmental staff.
Several college students and local residents
have also been engaged to help with the re-
search and digging operations. This will be
the Museum's sixteenth season of exploring
the Mogollon culture and the twenty-fifth
of the expeditions to the Southwest.

The destination of these archaeologists,
out to search for traces of the early Indians,
is Vernon, a small town located in rugged
mountainous country about 120 miles north-
east of Phoenix. In this area among the

yucca, cedars, cacti and tumbled-down ruins
they hope to uncover tools, weapons, pot-
tery vessels, ceremonial objects, dwellings or
other artifacts which have a generic resem-
blance to those of the modern Zuni or Hopi
Indians.

By a classification of these artifacts and a
comparison of the different styles produced
with those from other prehistoric and his-
toric villages previously explored, they will
gradually piece together a picture of a way
of life directly ancestral to one of the West-
ern Pueblo Indian tribes.

PREVIOUS FINDINGS SUMMARIZED

What have they been able to fit together
from the shattered fragments recovered
so far?

Because they have been reconstructing a
series of life-ways extending through several
time-intervals back 3,000 years or more, this
picture might be likened more readily to a
motion picture, consisting of a sequence of
frames starting with the earliest remains of
this culture. This early period — the first
frame in the picture — is called the Concho
Complex. At this time the Indians were
nomadic hunters and gatherers, dwelling
along the shores of extinct lakes. The evi-
dence for this mode of existence consists of
small piles of burned rock and charcoal which
mark their ancient fires, grinding slabs, hand-
sized stones for use in milling, bone fragments
of the animals they hunted, spear points,
knives and scrapers. These and other re-
mains show they probably built light brush or
skin shelters near their hearths and that they
gathered seeds, nuts, berries and roots, and
hunted deer, rabbits and other small game
for food. It is assumed that they wove san-
dals and baskets and that they cooked in
these baskets by stone-boiling with the rocks
found in their former hearths. This culture
has been dated by radioactive carbon at
about 1500 B.C. and it probably lasted until
the time of Christ or later.

The next frame in our movie shows a
later group of the same Indians who made
pottery, practiced agriculture, and lived in
pit-houses — deep excavations with hard clay
or gravel walls plastered with adobe, and
roofed over with a heavy post, timber and
earth structure. Whether this "pit-house"
period immediately succeeded one much like
the Concho period, or if there was a transi-
tional phase similar to that found in the pre-
viously explored Pine Lawn Valley of New
Mexico, will be determined by further sys-
tematic search this summer and possibly by
future excavation.

Succeeding the pit-house period was one in
which the people split up into smaller groups
consisting of fewer families, and began to
build houses with stone masonry walls, either
partly or entirely above ground. Several
additional styles of painted pottery and tex-
tured decorated pottery were made.

As time went on, population increased and
the later villages were much larger and fre-

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

A temple image from Hawaii —
one of only two similar idols known
to remain in existence — is shown
on our cover. Prior to its acquisi-
tion by Captain and Mrs. A.W.F.
Fuller, of London, this specimen
was included in an 18th century
private collection. It was believed
by the family who owned it that
an ancestor who had sailed with
Captain Cook on his third voyage
had brought it to England. Im-
ages such as this are known to
have stood in open-air platform
temples ("heiaus") and to have
been carved by tribal artists at the
order of powerful chiefs. The pic-
tured specimen is among the
objects selected from the Fuller
collection, now the property of
the Museum, for the special ex-
hibit to be staged on Members'
Night, Friday, May 8.

quently had large ceremonial structures
nearby. The majority of the pottery is
more elaborately decorated and there is evi-
dence of considerable specialization in tool
types.

LINKS WITH THE ZUNI

Now, what has been found to link this cul-
ture specifically with that of the Zuni Indians?
Probably the most definitive clue is continu-
ing and overlapping styles of pottery decora-
tion which have their latest representation
in historic Zuni pottery designs, as distin-
guished from those of other Pueblo Indian
groups. Further close resemblances have
been noted in architecture — in the character
of the late prehistoric ceremonial rooms, and
in the manner of growth of villages as a
cluster of rooms rather than as rows of rooms
along a street or plaza.

At the present stage of these investiga-
tions we find it possible to reconstruct many
of the crafts practiced by these Indians, to
learn how they made their tools, weapons
and pottery, and to visualize much of what
their subsistence economy was and some-
thing about their community organization.
However, we still find it difficult to visualize
their religious institutions or spiritual life
except in the most general terms. We hope
that a tie-up with one of the historic groups
— probably the Zuni — will give us added in-
sight into these aspects.

Several sites will be excavated in 1959.
Probably additional ceremonial structures as
well as one large later site will be dug into.
We also hope to discover a dry cave which
contains well preserved wooden and textile
objects to fill out gaps in our knowledge of
these crafts and to increase our knowledge of
the social habits of these people.

'.».»«,▼«.. . -. «,«.•»-• » »*.

May, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 3

PANORAMA OF THE PACIFIC FOR MEMBERS' NIGHT, MAY 8

THE romantic South Sea islands, so often described in song and story, are the origin of the main attraction of this
year's Members' Night at the Museum. Visitors entering Stanley Field Hall Friday evening, May 8, will be
greeted by "Panorama of the Pacific," a display of artifacts from the collection of Captain and Mrs. A. W. Fuller.

In the past year, the Museum has pro-
gressed in its exhibition program, and also
in the research which adds to the sum total
of man's knowledge. Museum Members
have contributed to this growth and prog-
ress, and they are invited with their friends
to view the new exhibits in all departments,
and visit with the staff in the offices and
workshops "behind the scenes."

Open House

For those who wish to come early and dine
at the Museum, the Cafeteria will be open
from 6 to 8 p.m.

Traditional "open house" will be held from
7 to 10:30, during which time the scientists,
artists, preparators and technicians will meet
with Members in their working quarters on
the third, fourth and ground floors. In these
offices, laboratories, studios, and shops, usu-
ally inaccessible to the public, the staff will
discuss their unique work and explain the
intricate processes involved in creating Mu-
seum exhibits, some of which will be seen for
the first time on Members' Night.

Tours of the third and fourth floors will be
conducted by the Raymond Foundation staff.
However, those wishing to wander independ-
ently through the offices and laboratories are
welcome to do so. The vast study collec-
tions, which far outnumber the specimens
in exhibition halls, will also be available for
inspection.

During open house hours, visitors are urged
to see the exhibits which have been added
since the last Members' Night.

New Exhibits

"Panorama of the Pacific" (Stanley Field
Hall) does not represent the "islands" as
they are extolled in song and story today,
but it does represent a past culture which
existed in Australia, Polynesia and Melane-
sia. "Panorama" includes objects, both utili-
tarian and ceremonial, of wood, shell, stone,
bone, fiber, and coral. The techniques used
in making these remarkable carved and dec-
orated artifacts without the aid of metal tools
have been lost with the passage of time, and
it is only in museums and private collections
that these vestiges of past cultures may be
seen. The Fuller collection, assembled dur-
ing some 60 years, was acquired by the
Museum from its London owners last year.

Another important feature on this year's
roster of exhibits is the newly reopened
Charles F. Millspaugh Hall of North Amer-
ican Trees (Hall 26). The major part of
the hall has been completely reinstalled, re-
modeled and relabeled to explain the natural
history of North American trees, particularly
those of the United States. New cases have

been added representing principal forest areas
and indicating distribution, past and pres-
ent; "Forests of the Past," now petrified;
stratification in a forest, and "How a Tree
Works."

Clarence Buckingham Hall of Meteorites,
Moon, and Minerals (Hall 35) has been re-
modeled to present today's ideas on the phys-
ical-chemical composition, formation, and
classification of minerals. This hall has one
of the largest collections of meteorites — the
only tangible visitors from outer space which
have yet descended to this planet.

New additions have been added to the
Hall of Ancient and Modern Indians of Mex-
ico and Central America (Hall 8) represent-
ing cultures of the Gulf Coast, Western
Mexico, Oaxaca, Zapotec, Mixtec, Guerro,
and Teotichuacan.

"What Is Primitive Art?," a recent an-
thropological exhibit providing the answer
to that question, is located in Hall H on the
ground floor.

Drawings and paintings by adult and
junior students of the School of the Art In-

stitute will be found in Albert W. Harris
Hall (Hall 18) and the north corridor of the
ground floor. The art work was inspired by
exhibits seen by the students at the Museum
during classes.

Printed guides will direct Members to addi-
tional new exhibits in the halls of anthropol-
ogy, botany, geology and zoology.

The evening will close with light refresh-
ments served in Stanley Field Hall and the
Library. President Stanley Field, Director
Clifford C. Gregg and other Museum officials
will greet Members in Stanley Field Hall.

Transportation and Parking

Free parking is available at the north en-
trance of the Museum for those who drive.
For those who do not drive, a special shuttle
bus with signs indicating that it is destined
for the Museum will leave Jackson Boule-
vard and State Street at 15-minute intervals
beginning at 6:30 p.m. City-bound service
will continue until 10:45 p.m. Stops will be
made both ways at Seventh Street and
Michigan, and at Jackson and Michigan.

SCHOOLS' SCIENCE FAIR
AT MUSEUM MAY 16

The world of the future as visualized by
America's youngest generation of scientifi-
cally-inclined minds will be on exhibition for
one day all over the vast area of Stanley
Field Hall of the Museum on Saturday,
May 16. That is when this year's Chicago
Area Science Fair will be staged by young-
sters ranging from elementary sixth-graders
to high school seniors. At these fairs here
in past years there have been astonishing
creations in the way of elaborate demonstra-
tions and fantastic models of everything from
nuclear engines and robots to the life-cycle
of a cicada or the human circulatory system.
In addition, the children who have designed
these exhibits are prepared to give very so-
phisticated and accurate expository lectures
on their subjects for groups of visitors to
each individual display.

The show will be on from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The participants include pupils of public,
private and parochial schools of Chicago and
within a 35-mile radius of the city. In this
respect it differs from the Chicago Public
Schools Student Science Fair, held in April,
which was limited to public schools within
the city limits. Prizes and other awards will
be made at the close of the day to each grade-
level from 6 through 9. Awards on a subject-
area basis will be made in the grades from
10 through 12. The event is sponsored by
the Chicago Teachers Science Association.
A number of working scientists and engineers

STAFF NOTES

Dr. Alan Solem, Curator of Lower In-
vertebrates, and Henry S. Dybas, Associate
Curator of Insects, have returned from a
three-month zoological expedition in Pan-
ama. . . . George I. Quimby, Curator of
North American Archaeology and Ethnol-
ogy, recently made studies at museums in
East Lansing and Grand Rapids, Michigan,
in connection with his research project into
the archaeology of the Great Lakes region.
He also studied private collections. . . . Dr.
Theodor Just, Chief Curator of Botany,
and Dr. Roland W. Force, Curator of
Oceanic Archaeology and Ethnology, were
interviewed about their fields of science on
Radio Station WAAF in April. Emmet R.
Blake, Curator of Birds, and Eugene S.
Richardson, Jr., Curator of Fossil Inverte-
brates, will be heard in the same series at
5:30 p.m. on May 3 and May 10 respec-
tively. Mr. Blake lectured on the work of
his recent expedition to Peru before the
Kennicott Club, Chicago, and the Evanston
Bird Club. . . . Rupert L. Wenzel, Curator
of Insects, attended the recent Conference
of the North Central States Branch of the
Entomological Society of America at Colum-
bus, Ohio.

ex-

from the professions and industry are <=a-
pected to attend for the purpose of consult-
ing with promising students to aid them in
their further development toward careers.

Captain Fuller and
Curator Force
during documen-
tation and pack-
ing in London.

S.S. Rutenfjell with the Fuller Collection on board.

Four tons of Pacific Islanc
at Chicago's

THE PA

Museum Member
of archaeological and
the first public exhibi
ago (BULLETIN, Sept
part of the Museum'
collection itself, but 1
Curator of Oceanic Ar>
of the collectors and a
journey from London

Museum personnel dismantling a large shipping case.

Specially built boxes containing long

specimens required a number of men

because of their weight.

Page i

Individual boxes were checked Bf
for their last

) terials being hoisted ashore
I: umet Harbor.

Safe arrival at the Museum.

TFIC'S BEST COMES TO CHICAGO

N -S

'ill have the opportunity of viewing selected specimens from the famed Fuller Collection

nological materials from the South Seas on Members' Night, May 8, 1959. This will be

of this collection since it was begun by Captain A. W. F. Fuller of London over 60 years

ber, 1958). This remarkable assemblage of objects from the Pacific world now forms a

icific Research Laboratory. The Museum is fortunate to have acquired not only the

i wealth of documentation supplied by Captain and Mrs. Fuller. Dr. Roland W. Force,

i eology and Ethnology, spent six months of 1958 in London where he recorded the remarks

: iged for packing and shipment. On these pages an abbreviated version of the collection's

the Museum is depicted.

iy were loaded onto the freight elevator
n their long journey.

Dance Mask from the
Torres Straits.

Safely ensconced in the Museum's Pacific Research Laboratory,

several rare items are examined by President Field as members of

the press note details.

Page 5

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

May, 1959

THE VARIED PEOPLES OF THOUSANDS OF PACIFIC ISLES

By ROLAND W. FORCE

CURATOR OF OCEANIC ARCHAEOLOGY AND ETHNOLOGY

THE YEAR 1959 will be remembered for
the admittance of seven small islands,
situated 2,000 miles west of the coast of Cali-
fornia, as our 50th state. The Hawaiian Is-
lands of today are vastly changed from what
they were when Captain James Cook, the
great English explorer, landed there about
180 years ago. Honolulu is a modern 20th
century city with thriving industries, beauti-
ful homes, wide boulevards, schools, muse-
ums, and all the trappings of a contemporary
metropolis. In the years following their dis-
covery by Captain Cook, the Hawaiian Is-
lands became the crossroads of the Pacific
even though they were among the last islands
to be discovered by Europeans.

The so-called age of discovery in the Pa-
cific began with Magellan's ill-fated initial
crossing of the ocean in 1520 and culminated
with Cook's three voyages (1768-79). The
most restricted view of the Pacific was prob-
ably that of Balboa. Seven years before
Magellan's voyage, Balboa stood on a peak
in Panama and looked out over what he
termed the South Seas. The most pano-
ramic view of the Pacific was probably
Cook's. On his voyages he and his men
touched the Society Islands, New Zealand,
the Hervey Islands, eastern Australia, the
Tuamotus, the Marquesas, Niue, New Cale-
donia, Norfolk Island, Tubuai, many other
smaller islands, and, of course, Hawaii. He
used the newly developed chronometer and
sextant to chart the Pacific so expertly that
little revision in the maps he made has been
necessary. Plants were collected, natives
sketched and described, notes were taken on
natural resources, harbors were listed, cur-
rents were noted, and, in general, exhaustive
information of all descriptions was collected.

Of especial importance to anthropology is
the fact that Cook also collected ethno-
graphic specimens on many of the islands
he visited. All in all, this man and his sail-
ing companions solved most of the major
mysteries of the Pacific and, as one author
has put it, left little for voyagers who fol-
lowed him to do but admire. Some who
followed in his footsteps found much to do,
however. The traders, missionaries, whalers
and others who ventured into the newly dis-
covered island world, either inadvertently or
deliberately, caused the Pacific cultures to
change. Disease and warfare as well as
blackbirding took their toll of islanders'
lives. Those who survived these plagues
were influenced by the teachings offered and
the examples set by the newcomers. The
wheels of cultural change were set in motion
and the process of sweeping cultural altera-
tion, which is still in progress, was initiated
— the Pacific of old was destined to be lost.

Of all the points worth stressing about the
Pacific, there are two which stand out. One
is size. The Pacific is a vast region compos-

ing approximately one-third of the earth's
surface. The second point worthy of stress
is that of contrast and variation, brought
about in part by vastness and isolation. This
great area of the world stretches from South-
east Asia to the west coasts of North and
South America. Ten thousand islands lie

Principal feature for Members'
Night (Friday, May 8) will be a
special exhibit of objects from the
recently acquired Fuller Collec-
tion of Pacific Islands Material
Culture. In the accompanying
article. Dr. Force summarizes the
historical and ethnological back-
ground of the South Sea islands
that the Fuller collection docu-
ments.

scattered over the face of what we also call
Oceania. They vary from tiny atoll islets
barely visible above the pounding surf to
continental Australia, three million miles
large. Contrast and variation in the Pacific
are greater than most suspect. There are
deserts in Australia, muggy, insect-ridden
equatorial mangrove swamps in coastal Mel-
anesia, and snow-capped "alps" towering
12,000 feet in New Guinea. There is con-
trast and variation in climate, island size,
elevation, soil, resources, fauna, flora, and
in people.

MAGMA AND MIGRATIONS

The Pacific and the people who live and
have lived there can be understood only
when viewed against a backdrop of geog-
raphy and geology. Great tectonic shifts in
the corpus of the earth occurred about a
hundred million years ago in the western
Pacific. Intense folding and faulting thrust
up great ridges which rose from the floor of
the Pacific mostly in an east-west direction.
Mountains were raised above the surface of
the water, basaltic magma erupted, and vol-
canoes formed even higher peaks. Later the
great ridges submerged thousands of feet and
left only the peaks of the great sub-aquatic
Cordilleras exposed.

Another kind of eruption took place in this
part of the world about the end of the Ice
Age, or roughly some 25,000 years ago. It
was a gradual eruption and was composed of
people. Perhaps trickle is a better adjective
than eruption if we view the events of his-
tory in Pacific settlement in proper perspec-
tive. Small bands of relatively primitive

MUSEUM MEMBERS' NIGHT
Friday, May 8

people with few possessions and even fewer
ideas of where they were going began to
trickle out of Southeast Asia. They moved
relatively short distances — they had only
flimsy water craft and many were lost. Per-
haps in a score of generations only a few
islands might be traversed, but constant
population pressures, inter-tribal wars and
accidents of weather and navigation resulted
in a steady, if slow, eastward migration into
the Pacific. Later some peoples became
skilled boat builders and intrepid sailors.
Techniques of food and water storage and
star navigation were improved and learning
from experience — some of it disastrous — en-
abled these dauntless mariners to penetrate
into virtually all parts of Oceania. The Pa-
cific at last had people.

With their bare feet they scuffed through
beach rubble, trod on red volcanic soil or
bleached coral sand to gain a toehold. They
built simple thatched houses, fished the la-
goons, and farmed marshy plots, some-
times fertile, sometimes awesomely sterile.

With them, these voyagers brought their
customs, their ways of life, their values, their
beliefs in God and nature, their languages
and, of course, they also brought their skin
colors, their hair and nose forms, their stature
and all of the other physical characteristics
with which their ancestors had provided them.

They traded their ways of life and cus-
toms as well as their racial characteristics
with other people they met and then became
isolated and developed in ways peculiar to
themselves. For example : many Pacific peo-
ples ornamented their persons by tattooing,
but patterns, techniques, and special fea-
tures became highly stylized and representa-
tive of only one area. The Maori of New
Zealand concentrated on facial tattooing and
curvilinear designs. The Marquesans, on
the other hand, tattooed the entire body —
even to the eyelids and soles of the feet — in
designs strikingly different from their Poly-
nesian neighbors in faraway New Zealand.

WHO AND WHERE

In each little island enclave, people built
a distinctive culture which shared a com-
mon core with many others but was still
remarkably different from that of any other
group. Isolation for long periods of time
tended to promote cultural, linguistic and
racial differences. However, the Pacific may
be broken up into several larger enclaves in
which there are basic similarities.

Polynesia (which means many islands) is
a great triangle in the east. It has at its
apexes Easter Island on the east, Hawaii on
the north, and New Zealand on the south.
Micronesia (small islands) forms a belt across
the northern Pacific from the Marshalls to
Palau in the west. It is bordered on the
south by the equator.

South of this median line on our globe in-
(Continued on page 8, column 1)

May, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

NATURE-ART STUDENTS
DISPLAY CREATIONS

The lively imagination of the young child,
and the more advanced artistic skill of
the adult combine to produce a colorful and
refreshing show of art work by students of
the School of the Art Institute in a special
exhibit at Chicago Natural History Museum.

The special exhibit, which will continue
from May 1 through May 31, includes nearly
100 paintings and drawings in many mediums
by junior school students (first through
twelfth grades) and adult day students based
on exhibits in this Museum. The exhibits
provide the students with new forms and
subject matter to observe and paint. The
wide range of the students' ages affords an
interesting representation of the progressive
stages in the development of an artist.

Forty paintings by students in the junior
school, under the direction of Edithe Jane
Cassady, will be displayed in the north cor-
ridor of the ground floor. Delightful inter-
pretations of Museum exhibits, particularly
of the animal habitat groups, are exhibited
in the children's works. Not yet restricted
by the confines of reality, they have injected
life and action into their subject matter —
even to the extent in one painting of animat-
ing a skeleton and placing it amidst a field
of flowers.

Art work hy first-year adult students in
basic drawinjclasses, instructed by Richard

IT'S ALL ONE TRANSPARENT EAGLE
A multiple-image drawing showing the bird from
different points of view, stressing linear relation-
ships. Included in this month's special exhibit at
this Museum from the School of the Art Institute,
it is the work of Richard Chen, a first-year student
in the adult basic painting and drawing class.

Keane and Ethel Spears, and the second-
year adult classes, conducted by Tom Kap-
salis, will be located in Albert W. Harris
Hall (Hall 18). These drawings and paint-
ings are representative of the adults' ap-
proach to subject matter which they cannot
come into contact with inside the classroom.
Naturalistic studies of animals and birds,
and abstract works based on realistic forms
predominate in the exhibit. Multiple image
drawings of the same figure from different

angles, emphasizing linear relationships, com-
prise a smaller portion of the works.

Selecting the paintings and drawings to be
exhibited this year were Marion Pahl, Staff
Illustrator, and Phillip Lewis, Assistant
Curator of Primitive Art, at the Museum.

The instructors in the junior school whose
students are represented are Mrs. Berta
Caul, Joseph S. Young, Mrs. Donald No-
votny, Mrs. Martha Larson, Barbara Aubin,
Herb Forman, Eugene Szuba, Diane Von
Eitzen, Alvin Nickel, Adelheid Hirsch and
Constance Racht.

MUSEUM MEMBERS' NIGHT

Friday, May 8

NEW MEMBERS

(March 17 to April 15)

Non-Resident Life Member

Mrs. Vera Lash Smith

Associate Members

Dr. Irving Blumenthal, Dr. Milton Braun,
A. C. Buehler, Jr., Mrs. Robert F. Carr,
Robert Diller, W. J. Foell, Lester E. Frank-
enstein, George D. Hardin, William P.
Hypes, Floyd E. Jessen, William J. Keene,
Dr. M. J. Kostrzewski, Frank B. Kozlik,
L. S. Larson, John A. Leith, Robert J. Ley,
Mrs. Mason A. Loundy, Mrs. John A. Mac-
Lean, Jr., Arnold D. K. Mason, Raven I.
McDavid, Jr., Oscar L. Moore, Wilbur C.
Munnecke, Carroll Dean Murphy, Jr., Mrs.
Fentress Ott, Robert E. Pflaumer, Robert C.
Preble, Mrs. John A. Prosser, Douglas K.
Ridley, Mrs. George P. Rogers, Miss Marion
H. Schenk, Mrs. Vaughn C. Spalding, Jr.,
Allen P. Stults, Roy E. Sturtevant, Car-
roll H. Sudler, Jr., Leon F. Urbain, M. P.
Venema, Mrs. Maurice Weigle, Dr. Eman-
uel C. Wilhelm, Howard L. Willett, Jr.

Sustaining Members

Arthur Joel Bell, R. J. Hepburn, Fran-
cis M. Rich

Annual Members

Dr. Arthur C. Albright, John E. Alden,
Mrs. John W. Allyn, Max Alper, Donald W.
Alshire, Dr. Erwin Angres, Dr. Charles H.
Armstrong, Mrs. John E. Armstrong, Mrs.
Paul L. Armstrong, Mrs. Homer Askounis,
William F. Austin III, Mrs. L. C. Ayshford,
Dr. Bernard Baker, Gerald A. Barry, Dr.
Edward W. Beasley, Irving L. Berkson,
Arthur J. Bernstein, Irwin S. Bickson, Rich-
ard J. Billik, T. S. Bird, Vincent J. Bolger,
Gerald G. Bolotin, Palmer C. Boothby,
John J. Bransfield, Jr., Merton B. Brody,
Ralph E. Brown, William E. Cahill, Charles
D. Callahan, L. Yager Cantwell, Howard W.
Clement, James W. Clement, Franklin A.
Cole, Dr. Lome Costello, Miss Bernice Dahl,
Mrs. Dino D'Angelo, Mrs. Jack Davidson,
Mrs. Landon DeLove, James P. Economos,
Thomas S. Edmonds, Irving W. Eiserman,
Walter Erman, George J. Fox, Maurice A.
Frank, Sidney S. Gorham, Jr., Gerald J.
Graham, Robert C. Gunness, Mrs. Bessie
Neuberg Heinze, John Howard, Robert Ire-

HALL OF TREES REOPENS
WITH NEW EXHIBITS

AS THEY STROLL through the newly
remodeled Charles F. Millspaugh Hall
of North American Trees (Hall 26), visitors
can choose their summer vacation spot in a
woodland region, pick out the proper wood
for furniture, and learn the natural history
of North American trees. The Hall of North
American Trees is to be reopened on Mem-
bers' Night, Friday, May 8.

Designed to present the natural history of
North American trees, particularly those
of the United States, the hall contains cases
exhibiting 84 species of hardwood and soft-
wood trees. A large fossil tree stump 250,-
000,000 years old, found in a Pennsylvania
coal mine, rests in the center of the hall. On
the walls surrounding it are four entirely new
exhibits.

The standing cases, each devoted to a sin-
gle tree species, contain a section of the trunk
with bark, a branch, large pieces of lumber
showing the wood structure, a distribution
map, and summer and winter photographs.
In addition, explanatory labels stress inter-
esting aspects of the natural history of the
tree, and list important fungus diseases, in-
sect pests, and characteristics and uses of
the wood.

One of the new exhibits illustrates the
principal forest areas of the United States;
smaller maps show the change in original
forest coverage from the time of the arrival
of the white man to the present, and the fact
that one-third of the land area of the United
States is still covered with woodland. Of
unusual interest are the colorful and highly
polished large sections of petrified wood
which document eloquently "Forests of the
Past" in another new exhibit.

Details of the major structural elements
and principal functions of a tree, and the
mystery of plant reproduction are illustrated
and explained by "How a Tree Works." The
fourth new exhibit shows the complex
aggregation of tree and other plant species in
an Illinois forest and also how the composi-
tion of forests varies at increasing elevations
on a mountain side.

A new arrangement of cases and the
beautifully painted transparencies give a
feeling of outdoor spaciousness in the Mu-
seum's indoor "forest."

land, Miss Barbara Jacobs, Albert J. Jan-
torni, Samuel Jastromb, Howard F. Jeffers,
Ray T. Johnson, Loring M. Jones, Mrs.
Ramonda Jo Karmatz, Samuel N. Katzin,
Mrs. Arthur J. Leighton, Julius Loeffler,
Maurice D. Mangan, Fred B. Mattingly,
Edward H. McDermott, Wyllys K. Morris,
William S. North, A. E. Paxton, Mrs. Phyl-
lis Rossow, Mrs. Thomas J. Salsman, Rob-
ert L. Sanders, Harry Schaden, Dr. I. Joshua
Speigel, Henry Stefany, Arthur Sturm, Rich-
ard B. Trentlage, Paul W. Weber, David
Maxwell Weil, R. L. Wenger, Mrs. Ednyfed
H. Williams, Martin Zitz.

Page 8

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

May, 1959

PEOPLES OF THE PACIFIC-

(Continued from page 6)

eluding most of New Guinea and myriad is-
lands to the east and northeast, lies Melane-
sia (the black islands). Still farther south is
Australia.

Farther west is Malaysia or, as it is some-
times called, Indonesia. Here are the islands
which cluster about the feet of Asia — islands
which have felt the impact of countless waves
of Asiatic peoples who have surged out of the
great continent in search of new homes. In-
fluences have been received from the high
cultures of Asia — from India and even from
the Near East.

Melanesians are darker-skinned people
with bushy or frizzly hair, somewhat larger
than Malaysians and with distinctive nose
and head forms. Variation is extremely
great between island groups however, and
the heterogeneity is present even between
lowland or coastal peoples and their highland
neighbors in diverse New Guinea.

Polynesians are relatively tall, well-
muscled, straight- or wavy-haired and light-
skinned. The racial affinities with the major
Caucasoid or white stock are apparent.
Malaysians generally show racial affinities
with the peoples of Asia.

As we might expect because of their geo-
graphic position between the Polynesians
and the Malaysians, Micronesians range be-
tween the two in their physical characteris-
tics. The Australian aborigines are an addi-
tional variant in physical type and represent
the earliest migrants into the Pacific.

Variation within each of the major areas
is extremely great and it is not at all uncom-
mon to discover an individual in one area
who, if he were in another, would pass as any
"native on the street." Variation in culture
and language is also exceedingly great. Ways
of thinking with respect to family organiza-
tion in one island may relate to the mother's
line — in another, the father's. Some people
eat dogs; others eschew this tasty dietary
supplement. For one island there is a supreme
deity — on another a pantheon of nature dei-
ties— on still another there are both.

Linguistically, the peoples of the Pacific
appear to substantiate the Biblical story of
the Tower of Babel. Many languages of the
world may be traced to a common antece-
dent stock. So it is with numerous Pacific
languages which may be traced to Malayo-
Polynesian or Austronesian — a root or main-
stem language family such as Indo-European.
We have much yet to learn about the lan-
guages of the Pacific and this fact holds as
well for other features of Pacific culture.

REMNANTS AND RESEARCH

The fact remains that while we understand
a good bit about Pacific peoples, there is still
much to know and as time goes by and con-
tact between the Pacific and the rest of the
world increases in frequency and intensity,
there is less and less opportunity for under-

standing this remarkably variable and vast
region. Just as the Hawaii of today is vastly
changed from what it was in Captain Cook's
day, so are other island cultures changing.

It is with this realization in mind that the
true worth of the Fuller Collection of archae-
ological and ethnological materials from the
South Seas can be appreciated. More than
60 years of discriminating collecting of ob-
jects brought back from the Pacific by early
explorers, missionaries, and government offi-
cials has resulted in one of the most impor-
tant collections of Oceanic materials ever
made. Captain and Mrs. A. W. F. Fuller of
London have devoted their lives to the task
of preserving the physical remnants of island
cultures now either extinct or very different
from their aboriginal state. The collection,
brought here from England last fall, consists
of materials from Australia and Tasmania,
Melanesia, and Polynesia and provides nu-
merous opportunities for scholarly research
and exhibition. In and of itself, the Fuller
Collection stands as a testimonial to the
great breadth, the variation, and the con-
trast of an island world which is fast becom-
ing submerged by Western World culture.
In short, it provides a panorama of the Pa-
cific of yesteryear.

MUSEUM MEMBERS' NIGHT

Friday, May 8

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM

Following is a list of the principal gifts
received during the past month:

Department of Zoology

From: Dr. Reznear M. Darnell, Milwau-
kee— 41 lots of invertebrates, Lake Pont-
chartrain, La.; Richard Graybeal, Great
Lakes, 111. — 25 lots of non-marine shells,
Idaho and California; Philip Hershkovitz,
Riverdale, 111. — 180 reprints of scientific arti-
cles; Harry Hoogstraal, Cairo, Egypt — 35
bird skins; Leslie Hubricht, Catonsville, Md.
— collection of land shells, Sharon, N. Y.:
Dr. Paul D. Hurd, Jr., Berkeley, Calif.—
11 Xylocopid bees, U. S., Central America
and South America; Dr. Karel F. Liem, Ur-
bana, 111. — 46 frogs, Java; Dr. Reinaldo
Pfaff, Colombia — collection of shells; Ray
Summers, Petaluna, Calif. — two species of
cowrie shells, Easter Island and Philippines;
John A. Wagner, Riverside, 111. — 454 butter-
flies and moths, U. S. and Mexico; Dr. H. B.
Sherman, Gainesville, Fla. — bat parasites;
Dr. Alan Solem, Oak Park, 111.-12,000
shells; Tarpon Zoo, Tarpon Springs, Fla. —
2 snakes, Colombia; Lt. Col. Robert Traub,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaya — 310 batflies, Ma-
laya, Madagascar, India; Tom Whisnant,
New Orleans — a turtle, Libya; William Abler,
Chicago — a butterfly; Animal Welfare
League, Chicago — a snake; Bernard Benesh,
Burrville, Tenn. — 321 insects; University of
California, Los Angeles — 48 lots of fishes;
Robert J. Drake, Tucson, Ariz. — land snails,
Mexico; Dr. Robert E. Kuntz, APO 63, San
Francisco — a bat, 462 reptiles and amphib-
ians, Formosa.

BIOLOGICAL EDITORS MEET

The Conference of Biological Editors held
its second annual meeting in Chicago on
April 11 and 12, with Chicago Natural His-
tory Museum functioning as host. More
than 60 editors of the country's leading bio-
logical journals participated in the program.
The local arrangements were made by a com-
mittee consisting of Dr. Theodor Just, Chief
Curator of Botany, and Miss Lillian Ross,
Editor of Scientific Publications at the Mu-
seum. Dr. Just was elected Vice-Chairman
for the ensuing year.

Journeys for Children Continue

May is the final month for children desir-
ing to participate in the spring Museum
Journey on "Life of Ancient Seas."

The summer journey, which will be offered
through the period from June 1 to August 31
will be entitled "Goin' Fishin'." Details will
be announced in the next Bulletin.

Children wishing to participate in any of
the Journeys will be given instructions and
questionnaires at either the north or south
entrances. Those wTho successfully answer
the questions in four Journeys become Mu-
seum Travelers. After eight Journeys there
are awards as Museum Adventurers, and
twelve as Museum Explorers.

Collecting Birds in Egypt
Melvin A. Traylor, Jr., Associate Curator
of Birds, left early in April for a field trip
to Egypt. Flying to Cairo, Traylor joined
Harry Hoogstraal, Museum Field Asso-
ciate, who has been stationed there for
several years as a member of a U. S. Navy
medical research unit. Together with Hoog-
straal, Traylor will collect bird specimens
and make studies of ornithological problems.
For the past three years, Traylor has been
engaged in research on birds sent to the
Museum by Hoogstraal. After completing
his field work, he will probably stop in Lon-
don, en route homeward, for studies of col-
lections at the British Museum (Natural
History).

Visiting Hours Extended
for Summer Season
Effective May 1 and continuing through
September 7 (Labor Day) visiting hours at
the Museum are extended by one hour.
The Museum will be open daily, including
Sundays and holidays, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Botanist from Indonesia Here
Dr. A. J. G. H. Kostermans, professor of
botany at the University of Indonesia at
Bogor, and head of the botanical depart-
ment of the Indonesian Forest Research In-
stitute, spent a week last month in research
on collections in this Museum.

PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

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Page 2

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

June, 1959

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 Henry P. Ism am

Sewell L. Avery William V. Kahlek

Wm. McCormick Blair Hughston M. McBain

Walther Buchbn J. Roscoe Miller

Chbsser M. Campbell William H. Mitchell

Walter J. Cummings John T. Pirie, Jr.

Joseph N. Field Clarence B. Randall

Marshall Field, Jr. John G. Sbarle

Stanley Field Solomon A. Smith

Samuel Insull, Jr. Louis Ware

John P. WuajN

OFFICERS

Stanley Field President

Hughston M. McBain First Vice-President

Walther Buchen Second Vice-President

Joseph N. Field Third Vice-President

Solomon A. Smith Treasurer

Clifford C. Gregg Director and Secretary

John R. Millar Assistant Secretary

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR
Clifford C. Gregg Director of the Museum

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anthropology

Theodor Just Chief Curator of Botany

Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geology

Austin L. Rand Chief Curator of Zoology

MANAGING EDITOR
H. B. Harte Public Relations Counsel

ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Patricia McAfee Associate in Public Relations

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

THINGS THAT MAKE
A BOTANIST 'TICK'

In the introduction to Flora of Guatemala,
a recently published scientific volume in the
Museum's botanical series, Fieldiana, there
occurs a statement that indicates how such
scientific research is brought to successful
fruition, through the co-operation of many
people besides scientists. The statement,
with special modifications here and there,
would be equally applicable to projects in
the other sciences within the Museum's
scope — anthropology, geology and zoology.
It reveals something of how Museum men
become "simpatico" with the countries they
explore, and the people they encounter in
the course of their work. The authors are
Dr. Paul C. Standley, Curator Emeritus of
the Herbarium, and Dr. Julian A. Steyer-
mark, former Curator of the Herbarium.
They say:

"Almost every botanical publication is the
result not of the labor performed individu-
ally by its author but of the co-operation
over a long period of years of a large num-
ber of persons, ranging from learned scien-
tists, some of whom date back to the time
of Linne or even earlier, down to the most
humble and illiterate peasants. It would be
preposterous for any one person at the pres-
ent time to claim full personal credit for such
a piece of work. It is, indeed, questionable
whether some of the humblest of the co-op-
eratives, whose names never appear in print,

do not often deserve prime credit for their aid.

"At any rate, a very large number of
people have co-operated, over a hundred
years or more, to make possible the present
account of the flora of Guatemala. So far
as the botanists are concerned, they all must
have enjoyed their work, else they need not
have been doing it. Very few botanists ever
are forced to travel to foreign lands; rather,
they fight for the privilege.

"It is hard to believe that there is any
normal person in North America or Europe
who would not find something to interest
him in Guatemala. Every one would find
some phase of nature or man in Guatemala
that would be new to him and should there-
fore hold his interest for at least a fleeting
instant. Beauty, perhaps fortunately, can
not be measured by any scientific standard,
but if it could, Guatemala would have few
superiors in natural beauty. Nowhere are
there more beautiful and majestic moun-
tains, lovelier lakes and forests, more beauti-
ful wild and cultivated flowers. Nowhere
is there a climate that is more agreeable and
more invigorating. Nowhere will one find
more interesting, more highly varied, and
more picturesque people than in Guatemala.

"The people of Guatemala have contrib-
uted much more to the accumulation of
data on which our Flora is based. From the
highest to the most humble they have been
exceedingly helpful when informed of the
purpose in our work of collecting and study-
ing the flora of their country. This is no
surprise to one familiar with the people of
all Central America. It would be a surprise
and at once arouse painful speculation, if
the people were otherwise than helpful or
agreeable. From the people of pure and
mixed Spanish blood the greatest courtesy
and consideration are to be expected as a
matter of course; it is a racial trait. In
Guatemala the Indians and the poor among
the ladinos yield nothing in breeding to their
social superiors. We have found them in-
variably dignified, courteous, kindly, and
hospitable. Some of their standards of kind-
liness as exhibited among themselves may
seem different from ours, but it must be
understood that the poor of Central Amer-
ica often fight to exist under the most stern
and harsh conditions. What at first glance
may seem harsh to us need not be so for
people actually concerned in the matter.
A northerner may wince and shudder when
he sees the heavy work performed by small
children, yet let him observe the care with
which a father watches over them, and he
will realize that there is no intentional cruel-
ty. Certainly no people are more tender and
just to their children than the Indians of
Guatemala.

"We prefer the Central Americans to help
us when we go collecting, and so far as their
ability and understanding of the work went,
they were beyond criticism.

"It is quite out of the question to mention
(Continued on page 7, column 1)

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

Our cover picture, entitled
"Bearded Lion," is a product of
the art-and-design-in-nature
classes conducted in this Museum
by the School of the Art Institute
of Chicago. It is the creation of
Bernita Friedman, 11, of 714 Junior
Terrace, Chicago, who is in the
Junior School of the Institute. It
was one of 40 included in a special
exhibit at the Museum last month
(there was also a selection of work
by adult students whose advanced
classes likewise rely on this Mu-
seum for material used in art
studies). The picture is featured
here for the sake of readers who
missed the exhibit or who haven't
really seen a lion recently.

MEMBERS' NIGHT CROWD
TOPS ALL RECORDS

Museum Members' Night for 1959, held
May 8, drew the largest assemblage of guests
ever to attend one of these events — 1,620,
compared to 1,268 who came for Members'
Night in 1958.

The occasion was made more festive by
the illumination for the first time of part of
the exterior of the building, as a test of the
new floodlighting which is in process of in-
stallation in conjunction with the city pro-
gram for public buildings.

The show inside the Museum was domi-
nated by the special anthropological exhibit,
"Panorama of the Pacific," which visually
told the story of a part of the world that
seems to have special allure for nearly every-
body^the isles of the South Seas with all
their magic and romantic spell — and which
presented to the public for the first time any-
where, selected items from the famed Fuller
Collection. (Incidentally, for those who
missed it, this exhibit will remain on public
view through July 15.)

New exhibits in the Departments of Bot-
any, Geology and Zoology also attracted
throngs. Throughout the evening, capacity
loads of visitors boarded the elevators to the
third and ground floors to participate in the
open house features in laboratories, studios
and offices of the scientific, technical and art
staffs where demonstrations were given of
techniques employed in the Museum's work.
As the evening approached its close, the vis-
itors gathered at the refreshment tables in
Stanley Field Hall and the Library, and the
crowd seemed to radiate the impression
that a gala evening had been enjoyed by all.

Treetop groups of orangs and gibbons are
among the interesting habitat groups of
Asiatic mammals in William V. Kelley Hall .

June, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

PageS

A NEW DISPLAY OF ANCIENT MEXICAN ART (900-500 B.C.)

FIGURINE HEAD

OF TLATILCO

In Olmec style.

By DONALD COLLIER

CURATOR OF SOUTH AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY
AND ETHNOLOGY

A RECENTLY INSTALLED EXHIBIT
in Hall 8 (Ancient and Modern Indians
of Mexico and Central America) shows the
art of Tlatilco in the Valley of Mexico. The
Indians of Tlatilco lived during the middle
Pre-Classic period, about 900-500 B.C. The
exhibited specimens, which are part of the
largest and most representative Tlatilco col-
lection in the United
States, were acquired
by the Museum as a
part of an extensive
exchange with the
National Museum of
Mexico in 1950. The
Tlatilcans raised corn,
squash, beans, and
chili ; gathered wild
plants, fruits and
fibers; and caught fish
in rivers and in nearby
Lake Texcoco. Their
villages of wattle-and-
daub houses with thatched roofs sheltered
100 to 300 persons. They did not build
mound structures or temples. Little is known
of Tlatilcan religion except that there was a
cult of the dead.

The finest products of the craftsmen-
artists of Tlatilco were pottery vessels and
hand-modeled figurines, which were placed
in graves along with offerings of red ocher.
These potters made polished brown, red, or
black vessels in a variety of forms: dishes,
bowls, jars, long-necked bottles, stirrup-
spout jars, vases, and effigy forms. These
were decorated by incising, rasping, groov-
ing, carving, punching, rocker stamping,
painting in red or white, and occasionally by
negative painting.
The effigy vessels de-
picted men, dogs,
pecarries, racoons,
birds, and fish. The
Tlatilco sculptors
made several varieties
of figurines, commonly
of women and rarely
of men, ranging from
2 to 12 inches in
height. Most common
and characteristic are
the charming, deli-
cately modeled female
figurines called by
archaeologists Type D
and nicknamed the
"Pretty Girl" type.
These have large,

slanting eyes, upturned noses, small mouths,
and ample hips. Their red-painted hair is
worn in several styles, including shaving
part of the head. They wear turbans, bands
or other head ornaments, and have painted

'GLAMOR GIRL-

OF TLATILCO

Face of figurine is

painted red and yellow.

designs on the face and body. Most of them
are nude, but a few wear "ballet" skirts. A
few have two heads or a double face with
two mouths, two noses and three eyes, a
concept used by Picasso in several paintings.

A third aspect of plastic art was the mak-
ing of pottery masks and seals. The masks,
with cut-out eyes and mouth, depicted hu-
man and jaguar faces. The flat stamps and
cylindrical stamps were used to press or roll
designs on cloth and the body.

There is evidence in Tlatilco art of a strong
influence from the Olmec style, which was
flourishing at the same period on the Gulf
Coast and seems to have spread also to Mo-
relos, not far to the south of the Valley of
Mexico. This influence can be seen in the
thick-lipped, "baby-face," and other figu-
rines in pure Olmec style found at Tlatilco,
and in bottles and vases incised with feline
motifs in unmistakable Olmec style. These
highly stylized designs, representing the
mouth, gums, claws, and spots of the jaguar,
are manifestations of a powerful jaguar-deity

TLATILCO HUMAN EFFIGY BOTTLE

cult. Rocker-stamping is also characteristic
of Olmec ceramics. Looking farther afield,
we find many Tlatilco and Olmec traits, in-
cluding rocker-stamping, stirrup-spout vessels,
negative painting, and cylindrical stamps, in
the Playa de los Muertos culture on the
Ulua River of Honduras.

A FELINE DEITY

Far to the south many of these traits are
found in the widespread Chavin style of
Peru. Evidence of this complex in interven-
ing areas — Ecuador, Colombia, and Central
America — has been accumulating in recent
years. It looks now as if there was a wide
diffusion during the middle Pre-Classic pe-
riod of a complex of ceramic traits, design
motifs and the concept of a feline deity with-
in Mesoamerica and from Mesoamerica to

South America. Apparently maize, which
was domesticated in Mexico or Guatemala,
reached Peru at about the same time and
probably as part of the same culture spread.
The Classic civilizations in both areas devel-
oped from this formative complex. It is be-
cause of these wide relationships as well as
its intrinsic qualities that Tlatilco art is of
such interest and importance.

JUNIOR SCIENTISTS PROVE
THEIR TALENTS

Scientists of tomorrow gave proof of their
ability to meet demands of the future at this
year's Chicago Area Science Fair held at the
Museum on May 16.

Nearly 125 exhibits filled Stanley Field
Hall and brought over 9,000 visitors to the
Museum that day. The event, sponsored by
the Chicago Teachers Science Association,
included the work of children enrolled in the
6th through the 12th grades in Chicago
Public Schools and public schools within a
35-mile radius of the city.

Adult visitors to the Museum were greatly
impressed by the comprehensive grasp the
young students had of their subject matter.

Many branches of science were represent-
ed by individual exhibits, and the children

INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTRY DRAMATIZED
Young science researchers at Chicago Area Science
Fair held at the Museum May 16 demonstrate the
facts about an industrial process. They are Bob
Stickgold of Wilmette Junior High School, and
Nancy Bohac of the eighth grade at the Jonas E. Salk
School in Rolling Meadows.

provided lucid explanations of them. A
panel of judges, who systematically toured
Stanley Field Hall visiting the exhibits and
listening to the lectures, chose outstanding
exhibits as prize-winners.

One of the most unusual of woody plants,
the two-leaved Tumboa, shown as it grows
in its native South African desert, may be
seen in Martin A. and Carrie Ryerson Hall
(Hall 29, Plant Life).

Page i

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

June, 1959

AMATEUR LAPIDARIES
DISPLAY CREATIONS

DINOSAUR BONES no longer belong
only in museum exhibits and study
collections or little boys' pockets. They have
taken their place among precious and semi-
precious stones as objects for the lapidar-
ies' art.

Seventy-three polished dinosaur bones are
one of the unusual prize-winning entries in
the Ninth Annual Amateur Handcrafted
Gem and Jewelry Competitive Exhibition
to be on view in Albert W. Harris Hall (Hall
18) of the Museum, June 5 through June 30.

The special exhibit, sponsored by the Chi-
cago Lapidary Club, includes a large and
varied collection of cut and polished stones,
and finished jewelry. The wide range of
originality displayed in creating jewelry in
unusual designs is of especial interest in this
year's show. Gems mounted in gold and
silver, and gold and copper combinations are
featured in the exhibit. The display includes
the work both of members of the Chicago
Lapidary Club and qualified non-members
who were awarded prizes or ribbons in a
contest that took place last month. All of
the contestants live in Chicago and suburbs
within a 50-mile radius of the city. Many
of them attended lapidary classes held in
Chicago Park District field-houses.

The long and intricate processes involved
in designing the gems and jewelry, from the
first steps of cutting the rough unfinished
stones to fashioning them into handsome

pendants, bracelets, rings and other pieces
of jewelry, were completed entirely by the
individual contestants. As they attain more
and more experience these amateur lapidar-
ies develop into advanced craftsmen, often
equal to professionals.

Two classifications, each divided into ten
craft divisions, comprise the special exhibit.
The classifications are novice and advanced;
novices have had up to two years of experi-
ence and the advanced lapidaries more than
two. The craft divisions are (1) individual
gems, cabochon-cut, (2) faceted individual
gems, (3) collections of specific gems, (4) gen-
eral gem collections, (5) collections of pol-
ished pieces or slabs, (6) individual pieces of
jewelry, (7) sets of jewelry, (8) enameled
jewelry, (9) special pieces, (10) enameled
special pieces.

The winners of the five top awards are as
follows: Dalzell Trophy (Robert A. Dalzell
Memorial) for the exhibit adjudged the "best
of the show" — J. Lester Cunningham for his
King Size Cabochon Collection; Presidents'
Trophy for outstanding lapidary work —
Alvin Ericson, for a brilliant-cut blue titinia;
Councilmen's Trophy for outstanding jewelry
— J. Lester Cunningham, for a ring, pendant
and earrings of white tube agate; Juergens
Award for best lapidary work by a novice —
Virginia Mitchell, for a carved jet medallion;
Milhening Award for outstanding jewelry
by a novice — Florence Horning, for a set of
earrings, pendant, and bracelet of rutilated
quartz.

DINOSAUR-GEM FANTASY

SPECIAL MAGIC SHOW
FOR CHILDREN

A special magic show in which several lead-
ing professional magicians, and some clowns
as well, will appear on the stage of the James
Simpson Theatre of the Museum, will be
given for children on Thursday morning,
July 2. This is the opening program in the
summer series presented by the James Nel-
son and Anna Louise Raymond Foundation.
Motion pictures will be presented on each
of the following six Thursdays through
August 13.

There will be two performances of the
magic show, one at 10 a.m., and the second
at 11. The movies, titles of which will be
announced in the July Bulletin, will also
each be given two showings, with the first
at 10 a.m. but with the hour of the second
varying considerably.

The performers for the July 2 Magic Show
are being booked through the courtesy of the
International Congress of Magic which is
meeting at the Hotel Sherman from June 30
to July 4. The arrangements were made by
the two local host groups, the Society of
American Magicians, Chicago Chapter, and
the International Brotherhood of Magicians,
Chicago Chapter. First magician definitely
signed for the program is Frances Ireland, a
well-known local member of the profession.

STAFF NOTES

Dr. Clifford C. Gregg, Director, will sail
in mid-June for Europe. He will be a speaker
at the meetings of the International Council
of Museums to be held at Stockholm, July
1-8. The paper he will present is "A Study of
Improvement of the Methods of Conservation
of Zoological Material." He has also been
invited to be a member of an international
committee of fifteen which will meet at Oslo,
June 28-30 for preliminary discussions in
preparation for the Stockholm assemblage.
. . . Rupert L. Wenzel, Curator of Insects,
has been appointed to the advisory board of
the Encyclopaedia Britannica. He will serve
as consultant in the field of entomology. . . .
Gustaf Dalstrom, Artist of the Department
of Anthropology, was awarded the Jules F.
Brower Prize at a recent Art Institute show.
His successful painting is titled "Cloudy
Day." ... Dr. Paul S. Martin, Chief Cur-
ator of Anthropology, Dr. Donald Collier,
Curator of South American Archaeology and
Ethnology, and George Quimby, Curator of
North American Archaeology and Ethnology,
attended the annual meeting of the Society of
American Archaeology in Salt Lake City.
. . . Dr. Rainer Zangerl, Curator of Fossil
Reptiles, recently gave a seminar lecture at
the University of Indiana.

Seventy-three selected pieces of petrified
dinosaur bone, cabochon-cut and polished
to form gems, provide this unique exhibit
which won first prize in the specific gem
collections section (advanced division) in the
Chicago Lapidary Club's Gem and Jewelry
Show, on view in the Museum this month.
This exhibit is the production of J. Lester
Cunningham. It is accompanied in the
exhibition hall by the well-known jingle
"The Dinosaur," written in the '20's by the
late Bert Leston Taylor, famed as the
original columnist of the Chicago Tribune's
"A Line-o-Type or Two." Following are
Taylor's verses:

Behold the mighty dinosaur,
Famous in prehistoric lore,
Not only for his power and strength
But for his intellectual length.

You will observe by these remains
The creature had two sets of brains —
One in his head (the usual place)
The other in his spinal base.

Thus he could reason 'A priori'
As well as 'A posteriori.'
No problem bothered him a bit
He made both head and tail of it.

So wise was he, so wise and solemn,
Each thought filled just a spinal column.
If one brain found the pressure strong
It passed a few ideas along.

If something slipped his forward mind
'Twas rescued by the one behind.
And if in error he was caught
He had a saving afterthought.

And as he thought twice before he spoke
He had no judgment to revoke.
Thus he could think without congestion
Upon both sides of every question.
Oh, gaze upon this model beast,
Defunct ten million years at least.

Annual Report on Press

The Annual Report of the Director for
1958, a book of 175 pages with 25 illustra-
tions, covering the activities of all depart-
ments and divisions of the Museum, is on
the press. Distribution of copies to all
Members of the Museum will begin soon.

June, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

MUSEUM COLLECTORS' ADVENTURES IN PANAMA

By ALAN SOLEM

CURATOR OF LOWER INVERTEBRATES

THE PANAMA Zoological Field Trip was
terminated in early April with the return
of Henry S. Dybas, Associate Curator of
Insects, and the writer. Equipment and
specimens are en route to Chicago from
Panama City, and the nearly 20,000 mollusks,
even more insects, and assorted spiders,
snakes, frogs, lizards, and millipeds will be
many months in processing for the collection,
and study by the collectors and many other
scientists.

As important to our studies as the speci-
mens are the ideas and impressions obtained
from the tropical environment. Dybas had
not been in the continental tropics since 1941
and this was my first trip to any tropical
region. We were both entering a new world
of experiences and rapidly shed many pre-
conceived notions.

One of our main interests was to compare
the snail and insect faunas of original forest

PANAMA'S LARGEST GROUND SNAIL
The adult, 2 to 3 inches in size, is hidden behind
the teeth of the aperture, which may serve as pro-
tection against predacious insects. The young snail
(fully extended) has no apertural teeth. Commonly
encountered in the wet season, these snails burrow
deep into the soil during dry periods. On Barro
Colorado, a Museum collector took by force the
only living specimen seen from a coati-mundi who
had intended to lunch on it.

areas and the cultivated fields and recently
abandoned areas of human habitation. By
seeing the changes in animal life which occur
in going from "natural areas" to human
habitation, eventually some information
helpful to man's settling tropical areas might
accumulate. To orient ourselves, we spent
three weeks on Barro Colorado Island in the
middle of the Panama Canal.

ABUNDANT ANIMAL LIFE

When Gatun Lake, which furnishes water
to operate the canal and forms the central
channel, was made by damming the Chagres
River, the big hill called Barro Colorado be-
came an island. In 1923 it was set aside as a
wild-life reserve and since then has been
undisturbed except for the poking and prying
of scientists and poachers. Perhaps nowhere
in tropical America can so many mammals be

easily seen by visitors. Monkeys, sloths,
peccaries, coati-mundi, armadillos, ant-eaters,
and agoutis can all be seen in the wild within
a day or two of one's arrival. The rest of
Panama is a startling contrast. In two
months after leaving Barro Colorado we saw
one armadillo, two squirrels, and three rabbits.
But our main interest was in the snails, and
tiny insects of the forest floor. We had plan-
ned our trip to arrive at the end of the rainy
season and try and follow some of the species
into the places where they aestivate during the
dry season. Forest floor animals need moist-
ure in large quantities and during the dry
season must hide deep in the soil or in tiny
pockets of moisture. Unfortunately, the dry
season came a month earlier than usual, and
living snails proved almost impossible to find.
An additional problem was caused by the fact
that Barro Colorado had in the past 100 years
probably been completely cut over several
times. Botanists consider that it is rather
scrubby second-growth forest and it probably
does not have as rich a soil fauna as a more
mature forest.

PROTECTIVE FORMATION

Perhaps the most striking part of our stay
on Barro Colorado was the nightly display of
insects attracted to the lights of the station.
Over 500 species of moths were seen and large
numbers of protectively colored grasshoppers
and mantids. Many of the more spectacular
insects were captured alive and the next day
posed against a natural background for
photographing. On unnatural backgrounds
the insect would wander restlessly or fly away,
but if the proper setting could be found they
would pose for minutes without moving.
Most of the mantids would assume a hunting
posture, but we were most impressed by the
grasshoppers. Many are obviously shaped
like leaves, some even with rust spots on their
wings, but to see one species with a pointed

LEAF MIMIC

Grasshopper-like insect, related to the katydids, on

branch of a tree on Barro Colorado Island, in the

Panama Canal. It provides a perfect example of the

principle of protective resemblance in nature.

brown nose put the nose against a twig and
hold its body like a leaf growing from the
twig is a sight no biologist would forget.

TWO NEW CONTRIBUTORS
ELECTED BY TRUSTEES

Captain A.W.F. Fuller, of London, was
elected a Museum Contributor at a meeting
of the Board of Trustees on May 18. The
honor was in recognition of his gift to the
Museum of a unique and valuable "hei-tiki"
of green jade from New Zealand. A hei-tiki
is a large and heavy idol formerly worn as a
neck-pendant by Maori chiefs under the old
religion of the islands. The specimen from
Captain Fuller is one of the finest pieces of
its kind in the world, and was brought to the
Museum on behalf of the donor by Houston
M. McBain, First Vice-President of the
Museum, upon his return from a recent
visit to Britain.

Also elected a Contributor (posthumously)
was Dr. Jesse R. Gerstley, of Chicago, in
recognition of a gift in stocks and cash.

Three weeks passed all too quickly and we
then moved to Panama itself to seek out
moist, mature forest. Areas which can be
reached easily have long since been cut over
and planted to crops, and the dry season
means just that — no rain whatsoever.
Mountain slopes brushed by the Atlantic
winds were still moist and at Cerro Campana
and El Valle we did find moist forest pockets,
but even here it was not the mature forest
we sought.

BOUNTIFUL YIELD OF SPECIMENS

Finally, in the mountains of Chiriqui in
western Panama we found the right condi-
tions. A stand of virgin timber, protected for
40 years by a naturalist, but now being cut,
yielded more specimens than any area of
equal size I've ever encountered. Four days
were spent collecting minute snails in an area
not more than 50 feet in diameter. Probably
25 species of land snails, only four of them
previously recorded from Panama, were
found in this one patch of forest. A striking
contrast was seen in a coffee grove 400 feet
away which had three species of snails. It
would be hard to find a more dramatic
example of how man's activities alter the
native fauna.

The collecting trip is over, and months of
sorting, labeling, dissecting, measuring, and
careful study of the specimens await. The
sometimes tedious compilation of factual
data will be lightened by remembering the
live land snail saved from a coati's lunch
for the collecting bottle, or the freshwater
snails that interrupted one village's washday.
Most important, the interpretation of the
compiled facts will be immeasurably aided
by having seen the animals where they live
and not just as specimens in a glass tube. A
much more critical, deeper knowledge of the
snail can be acquired after seeing it where it
lives than ever could be done from a dead
specimen.

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

June, 1959

THROUGH RAIN-FORESTS
IN CENTRAL MALAYA

By D. DWIGHT DAVIS

CURATOR OF VERTEBRATE ANATOMY

THE INTERNATIONAL Biological Con-
gress held last December at the Univer-
sity of Malaya in Singapore, the first such
congress ever held in Malaya, was an outstand-
ing success. Guests from twelve countries,
representing four of the five continents, par-
ticipated in the program, which ran from 8:30
in the morning to 5 in the afternoon every
day for a week, with lectures and discussion
groups each evening. Sunday was taken up
with conducted field trips to places of spe-
cial biological interest on Singapore Island.
The general theme of the congress was di-
vided between evolution, especially as it is
seen in the tropics, and tropical ecology. The
writer was official representative of Chicago
Natural History Museum.

I had planned, following the congress, to
spend about two months in the field in vari-
ous parts of Malaya, exploring the country
and collecting specimens for the Museum's
reference collections and exhibition halls.
Thanks largely to the extraordinary gener-
osity of John R. Hendrickson, of the Zoology
Department of the University of Malaya, it
was possible to carry out this program in the
short time I had available. Together we
visited representative lowland areas in vari-
ous parts of central and southern Malaya,
including several localities of historical in-
terest because they were worked a century
ago by Alfred Russel Wallace and described
in his classical work The Malay Archipelago.
The spirit of Wallace, who with Charles
Darwin propounded the currently-accepted
theory of evolution, was much in evidence
during the congress and throughout my stay.

CIVILIZATION LEFT BEHIND

Our first trip was to the King George V
National Park, an area of about 1,700 square
miles in central Malaya. The park is reached
by an overnight train trip on the "Golden
Blowpipe" from Singapore to Kuala Tem-
beling, where civilization ends and the train
turns northwest on its way to the Siamese
border. The last 50 miles to the park is an
all-day trip by small river boat up the Tem-
beling River to park headquarters at the
mouth of the Tahan River. The park is a
virgin rain-forest, much of it still unsur-
veyed, and is without roads and has only a
few jungle trails. It is typical of the im-
mense Indo-Malayan rain-forest that once
covered much of southeastern Asia, but has
been destroyed or seriously damaged by man
over most of its former range. Destruction
of the remnants of the forest is still going on;
in western Malaya we walked through a new
clearing where the stumps of giant forest
trees were still smoldering among newly-
planted seedling rubber trees.

Rain-forest is an endlessly fascinating fea-
ture of the tropics to biologists. It is more

favorable to life than any other land habitat,
and here life has evolved with an exuberance
unmatched anywhere except in certain parts
of the sea. The biological problems are al-
most overwhelming, and challenging new
questions come up daily during field work.
One of the results of this favorable environ-
ment is that it provides a haven for archaic
forms that elsewhere have lost out in the
struggle for existence. This extends even to

visitor often sees for the first time things he
previously knew only from books. I will
never forget my first sight, in such a patch
of forest, of the giant pitcher plants for which
the Indo-Malayan forest is famous among
botanists. Slogging cross-country through a
particularly bad patch of forest in western
Johore, I almost stepped on them, a cluster
of globular pitchers, each the size of my fist,
on the forest floor. Later 1 saw bigger and

NEW YEAR'S EVE IN THE MALAYAN JUNGLE

Celebrating a successful collecting trip as well as the beginning of 1959, Curator D. Dwight Davis, expedition

leader (at extreme right) attends party with his associates in camp on the flank of Mount Ophir.

primitive human cultures, and one of the
memorable events during our travels in the
park was to stumble upon a group of pigmy
Negritos, whose culture is as primitive as any
that survives today. Naked except for a
skimpy loincloth and armed with blowguns
and poisoned darts, these people have no
fixed abode but wander in the forest as no-
mads, hunting and gathering food. Later
we came upon a spot beside the trail where
these same people had the day before been
digging edible roots from the jungle floor.

Subsequent trips took us to Bukit Seram-
pang, on the flanks of Mount Ophir on the
Malacca border, and to Gunong Pulai and
other mountain areas in southern Malaya.
All the lowland parts of southern Malaya
have been cleared and are under intensive
cultivation, mostly rubber, and the only re-
maining vestiges of the original forest are on
hills and mountains unsuited to cultivation.
Fortunately a good deal of the plant and ani-
mal life of the Malayan rain-forest is able
to make a go of it in these patches of forest,
and may be expected to survive there as long
as the trees are left standing. Much of the
biology of the rain-forest can be studied effec-
tively even in these situations. Here too the

more spectacular species of pitcher plants in
other parts of Malaya, but none had the im-
pact of the first encounter.

COSMOPOLITAN PARTY

The composition of our field parties varied
from time to time, but always had an inter-
national flavor. We happened to be in the
Mount Ophir area at the end of the year,
and our New Year party was a truly poly-
glot affair. Seven of us — two Americans,
two Chinese, two Malays, and an Iban from
western Borneo — welcomed the new year
crowded together in a little thatch lean-to
in the jungle, with conversations going on
in four languages and the heavy air of the
jungle night perfumed with the odor of joss
sticks burning to repel mosquitos. Our or-
chestra for this occasion was the distant hal-
looing of a Tamil rubber planter, shouting
throughout the night to drive sambar deer
away from his young rubber trees. It was
a proper climax for a day in which we had
succeeded in getting tape recordings of the
astonishing progression of jungle sounds that
accompanies the change from late afternoon
to evening, and then later had had the good
fortune to collect two species of giant flying

June, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

squirrels, each the size of a small cat, within
a few yards of each other in the forest.

The ecology of the tropical rain-forest is
being studied by a small but enthusiastic
group of botanists and zoologists in Malaya.
To a considerable extent these men are de-
pendent upon background studies that can
be made only in the great museums of Amer-
ica and Europe. The interchange of ideas
that results from occasional working together
in the field is of immense benefit to both
sides, and a formal congress such as the one
recently held in Singapore is an equally im-
portant step in the direction of scientific
teamwork.

This trip was financed in part by a grant
from the National Science Foundation.

HOW BOTANTIST "TICKS"-

{Continued from page 2)

here all the persons to whom we are indebted
for assistance in our field work in Guate-
mala, their help often of a most practical
and frequently very substantial nature. We
are sure they do not expect thanks beyond
those offered at the time their services were
performed."

Of interest also is a section of Standley's
and Steyermark's plan of the Flora, viz. :

"We have collected most of the vernacular
names [of the plants covered by the book].
Others have been taken from the labels of
other collectors, and some from publications
whose accuracy we trust. . . . The vernacu-
lar names entered here doubtless include
some mistakes, even after the best of care,
and this is particularly probable in case of
non- Spanish terms.

"There is much more to be done in the
field of Guatemalan vernacular names. In
published lists we have seen many plant
names whose identity it is impossible to
guess. The value of a particular vernacular
name varies usually in proportion to the
importance of the plant. If the plant is one
of which some definite use is made, or a
showy and conspicuous one, the vernacular
name is likely to be fixed and in common
usage. If the plant is inconspicuous, or if
no use is made of it, the vernacular name
often is open to suspicion and seldom is in
common use. However, the local standards
of importance and individual ideas of beauty
or conspicuousness may differ from those of
the questioning botanical collector. It al-
ways is unwise to press for a vernacular
name, and it is much better to ask for one
indirectly. Many people have a talent for
manufacturing them on the spot and find
great satisfaction in fooling a foreigner and
boasting about it afterwards. The senior
author greatly admired the ability in this
respect of a small boy at Jutiapa. He hap-
pened to have a remarkable knowledge of
the plants of the region, but he was not
content with what he really knew. He
would invent a name almost as quickly as
a new plant was found, and his names often

were extraordinarily suitable and subtle —
too much so for belief. Adults in country
districts think they will lose face if they can
not supply a name for any plant found, and
will often make a clumsy effort to manufac-
ture one. And a great many Central Amer-
icans, like natives of the United States,
make mistakes in recognition of plants, thus
giving them incorrect names belonging to
other plants. People who recognize wild
plants easily when in the ground, often are
unable to place them when they see a de-
tached branch in a work room. Woodsmen
usually pay more attention to the bark and
trunk of a tree than to any other portion of
it, and if reliable names for trees are desired ,
it is better to obtain them from a qualified
person standing by the tree in question."

Books

DIGGING INTO HISTORY. By Paul S.
Martin; drawings by Gustaf Dalstrom.
157 pages, 48 halftones, 15 text-figures,
1 map. Chicago Natural History Museum
— Popular Series, Anthropology, No. 38.
$1.50.

Digging into History is the story of fif-
teen years' investigation of the prehistoric
Indians of west-central New Mexico, under
the leadership of Dr. Paul S. Martin, Chief
Curator of Anthropology at Chicago Natural
History Museum. This handsome book is
written for the non-specialist and the begin-
ning student, and not only sketches the life
of the people, as it can be inferred from their
rubbish and their ruined houses, but also
undertakes to explain the purposes and pro-
cedures of archaeology. This dual aim re-
sults in a book with a great deal of food for
thought, and the many definitions and ex-
planations sometimes crowd so closely that
careful reading is needed. The story of the
past is interrupted with interesting discus-
sions of the means by which archaeologists
find and interpret the evidence for that story.

The narrative of Digging into History be-
gins very near the beginning of human his-
tory in the New World, for the Southwestern
United States is one of the regions through
which the first migrants from Asia wandered.
Besides hunting big game — bison and ele-
phants, particularly — the wandering bands
also gathered the seeds of many wild plants.
Through their increasing familiarity with the
possibilities of plant foods, they slowly came
to place greater and greater dependence on
maize, and by 500 B.C. it was their mainstay.
Both hunting and the gathering of wild plant
foods continued but declined in importance;
the increasingly large and numerous per-
manent agricultural communities depended
chiefly on maize, beans and squash. Settled
life and a more certain food supply were ac-
companied by changes in almost every other

SPECIAL EXHIBITS

The following special exhibits are sche-
duled for the summer months:

Panorama of the Pacific, through July 15,
Stanley Field Hall. This exhibit, which
was the feature of Members' Night, May
8, displays selected material from the
Fuller Collection of South Seas artifacts.

Amateur Gem and Jewelry Show, spon-
sored by the Chicago Lapidary Club.
June 5-30, Albert W. Harris Hall (Hall
18). See story on page b.

The Music Makers — Exotic Musical
Instruments of the World. June 24-
August 31, Edward E. and Emma B. Ayer
Hall (Hall 2).

Indian Art of the Americas, August 1-
September 30, Stanley Field Hall. Select-
ed objets d'art from the North, Central,
and South American collections of this and
other leading museums. The exhibit co-
ordinates with Chicago's Festival of the
Americas in connection with the Pan
American Games.

Museum Books Recommended
on List for Schools

Three books published by the Museum
are listed in "An Inexpensive Science Li-
brary," a catalog of paperbound books rec-
ommended for high school libraries, pub-
lished by the American Association for the
Advancement of Science and the National
Science Foundation. The Museum selec-
tions occur in the list of 30 titles in the
section on archaeology and anthropology.
They are: Prehistoric Men, by Robert J.
Braidwood; The Civilization of the Mayas, by
J. Eric Thompson, and People of the South
Pacific, by Albert B. Lewis.

aspect of life, and Martin describes the
changes through the centuries in house archi-
tecture, village plans, dress, religious prac-
tices, and all the other aspects of the Indians'
lives for which evidence has been unearthed.
Although there are a few comments on the
relationships of this corner of the Southwest
to other regions, the emphasis in this book
is on the long record of slow but persistent
change in this one small area. It is an im-
pressive record, spanning some 10,000 years,
and it is instructive of the ways in which man
both depends on his natural environment,
with all its constraints, and also continually
discovers new means of transcending its mo-
mentary limitations. Martin tells the story
with both imagination and proper scientific
restraint. Everyone who has an interest in
Indians, in the past, or in learning how his-
tory is unearthed will find this book enjoy-
able reading.

Richard B. Woodbury
University of Arizona

Page 8

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

June, 1959

A 'FISHING' EXCURSION
OPEN TO CHILDREN

Some of the most interesting and unusual
living animals are found in the earth's
numerous bodies of water. For an intro-
duction to these animals, both rare and
common, the Museum offers its summer
journey for children— "Goin' Fishin'."

The Journey, presented by the Raymond
Foundation, will direct youngsters to the
Hall of Fishes where they will see fresh and
salt-water fishes that make their homes in
lakes, tropical oceans, warm coral seas, and
tide pools. Sharks and rays feared by man,
exotic inhabitants of a Bahama coral reef,
bizarre living fossils, and more common
North American fishes that might be hooked
on a vacation fishing trip are some of the
animals that boys and girls will see and learn
about.

Questionnaires, obtainable at the north or
south entrance to the Museum, take the
place of rods and reels on this fishing trip,
which is open to all children visiting the
Museum any day in June, July or August.

This Journey and three others successfully
completed entitle a child to an award as a
Museum Traveler. After eight different
Journeys he may become a Museum Adven-
turer. After twelve Journeys he may be a
Museum Explorer. Sixteen Journeys entitle
him to take a very special Journey, which
admits him to a Museum Club.

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM

Following is a list of the principal gifts
received during the past month:

Department of Anthropology

From: Mrs. Joel Baker, Nashville, Ohio —
woman's gown, Manchuria; Mrs. Robert C.
McNamara, Winnetka, 111.— 3 pottery ves-
sels, Arizona and New Mexico

Department of Botany

From: Holly Reed Bennett, Chicago— 640
phanerogams, Michigan; Chicago Academy
of Sciences — specimen of Asimina triloba,
Missouri; Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da
Amazonia, Belem-Para, Brazil — 63 speci-
mens of Lentibulariaceae; Mrs. Dorothy
Gibson, Chicago — 30 vascular plants, Ken-
tucky; Dr. Louis O. Williams, Beltsville,
Md. — 3 specimens of Telrorchidium, Hon-
duras

Department of Geology

From: Arthur Hahn, Chicago — a fossil
cephalopod, Illinois; Robert E. Houston,
Greenville, Miss. — slab of marcasite; Mar-
tin Seifert, Carrollton, Tex. — 4 Cretaceous
invertebrates; Mrs. C. E. Thatcher, Brook-
field, 111. — 2 slabs nephrite jade; Mr. Tri-
comi, Chicago — amethyst quartz with pyrite,
Ontario

Department of Zoology

From: Dr. R. M. Darnell, Milwaukee —
5 fish specimens; J. W. Donovan, Palm
Beach, Fla. — a fresh-water snail, Lake Tan-
ganyika, Africa; Dr. John R. Hendrickson,
Singapore — a caecilian, 98 frogs, 12 turtles,

a fish; Celestino Kalinowski, Peru — 397 in-
sects; Dr. J. N. Knull, Columbus, Ohio —
27 beetles, Southwest United States; N. L. H.
Krauss, Honolulu, Hawaii — 4 lizards, New
Caledonia and New Hebrides; Dr. Marshall
Laird, Quebec, Canada — 36 lizards, Tokelau
Islands; Dr. Jean Rageau, Noumea, New
Caledonia — 13 lots of non-marine shells; Sea
Fisheries Research Station, Haifa, Israel —
16 fish specimens, Mediterranean and Red
seas

NEW MEMBERS

(April 16 to May 15)

Life Member

John McKinlay, Jr.

Associate Members

Alfred C. Ames, John T. Barlow, Dr. Hugo
C. Baum, L. B. Buchanan, Mrs. John Whea-
ton Cameron, George V. Campbell, William
S. Deree, James F. Duffy, Carl Gustafson,
M. J. Holland, Mrs. William O. Hunt, Byrne
A. Jackson, Robert B. Jarchow, Lawrence
Kasakoff, Mrs. Jerry J. Kearns, J. E. Lever-
ing, Colonel M. M. Philipsborn, Jr., Byron
M. Sykes, Paul H. Tolpin, Mrs. Murray
Vale, Norman Vaughan

Sustaining Member

Nathan E. Jacobs

Annual Members

Ralph J. Abramson, Harry Adler, Ken-
neth H. Anderson, William Apatoff, Mrs.
Albert I. Appleton, Mrs. Leo Arnstein, Mrs.
Floyd G. Arpan, Mrs. Walter G. Ashton,
Mrs. Wallace G. Atkinson, Mrs. George M.
Avalon, Mrs. C. Avgerinos, Dr. John J.
Ballenger, Isadore Baskin, Dr. B. B. Batko,
Jack W. Baum, Dr. Ralph Baylin, Dr.
Barry O. Beguesse, Paul Bere, W. H. Bin-
ford, Charles W. Boyd, Hartman L. Butler,
Jr., Mrs. Louis Crawford, Roger Eklund,
Kenneth G. Enright, Reuben S. Flacks,
A. C. Friedsam, Ralph A. Gabric, Chester
N. Goltra, Morton Haberman, Raymond
Harkrider, Miss Nettie Hart, Dr. Eugene
Hoffmann, Vincent P. Ignowski, Michael L.
Igoe, Jr., Spencer E. Irons, Aaron M. Jacobs,
Aaron Jaffe, James J. Kane, Constantine N.
Kangles, Wallace I. Kargman, Eugene Kart,
Bernard B. Kash, Daniel D. Kaufman, John
C. Kayner, Marshall V. Kearney, Delmar L.
Kroehler, R. C. Leimbacher, Mrs. J. H.
Luken, Paul W. Majerus, John Neukuckatz,
Robert C. Ransom, Sr., M. Hudson Rath-
burn, Mozart G. Ratner, Richard S. Raysa,
James E. Rhines, Mrs. Paul Russell, George
Q. M. St. George, Gerald B. Saltzberg, Ber-
nard S. Sang, Leonard B. Sax, Morris Sax-
ner, C. Stuart Siebert, Jr., Henry J. Spanjer,
Jr., Eugene Strojny, O. H. Warwick, Mrs.
M. R. Wendt, Dean Wessel, Lawrence H.
Whiting, Dr. George E. Ziegler

Daily Guide-Lectures

Free guide-lecture tours are offered daily
except Sundays under the title "Highlights
of the Exhibits." These tours are designed
to give a general idea of the entire Museum
and its scope of activities. They begin at
2 p.m. on Monday through Friday and at
2:30 p.m. on Saturday.

MUSEUM TO BE OPEN

SOME EVENINGS

In co-operation with the Chicago Park
District, Chicago Natural History Museum
will extend its visiting hours to 8 p.m. on
Wednesday and Friday evenings during the
Grant Park concert season, June 24 to
August 12. On these evenings the exhibits
will be open to visitors, and dinner will be
served from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Museum
Cafeteria for the convenience of concert-
goers and others.

Musical Instrument Exhibit

"The Music Makers," a special exhibit of
primitive musical instruments of the world,
will be on display from June 24 to August 31
in Edward E. and Emma B. Ayer Hall
(Hall 2). Various forms of wind, percussion
and stringed instruments used by native
people in Africa, Asia, Pacific islands, etc.
will be shown. Many of these are quite
fabulous in design as well as tone.

More Parking Available

Additional parking space is now available
to Museum visitors. When the free parking
space to the north of the Museum is filled on
Saturdays and Sundays, the Chicago Park
District will permit visitors to leave their
cars in the lot at the southeast corner of the
Museum for a 25-cent fee, from 10:30 a.m. to
Museum closing time. These facilities will
be opened also on weekdays during the
summer whenever the number of Museum
visitors' automobiles requires the additional
space.

Field Work in Insects

In June, Rupert L. Wenzel, Curator of
Insects, will leave on a collecting trip through
the Great Plains of the northern United
States, and of Saskatchewan and Manitoba
in Canada. In addition to collecting, he will
devote much of his time to studying the
ecology of specific localities in order to explain
the puzzling distributions of certain beetles of
the family Histeridae. He will return in late
July.

Technical Publications

Fieldiana: Anthropology, Vol. 49, No. 1.
Late Mogollon Communities. Four Sites of
the Tularosa Phase, Western New Mexico.
By Paul S. Martin, John B. Rinaldo, and
Eloise R. Barter. 144 pages, 57 illustra-
tions, 5 tables. $4.

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 39, No. 8. The
Venomous Coral Snakes of Trinidad. By
Karl P. Schmidt. 9 pages, 3 illustrations.
25c.

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 39, No. 10. Geo-
graphic Variation in the Central American
Colubrine Snake, Ninia Sebae. By Karl P.
Schmidt and A. Stanley Rand. 25c.

PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

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Page 2

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

July, 1959

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 Henry P. Isham

Sewell L. Avery William V. Kahler

Wm. McCormick Blair Hughston M. McBain

Walther Buchen J. Roscoe Miller

Chesser M. Campbell William H. Mitchell

Walter J. Cummings John T. Pirie, Jr.

Joseph N. Field Clarence B. Randall

Marshall Field, Jr. John G. Searle

Stanley Field Solomon A. Smith

Samuel Insull, Jr. Louis Ware

John P. Wilson

OFFICERS

Stanley Field President

Hughston M. McBain First Vice-President

Walther Buchen Second Vice-President

Joseph N. Field Third Vice-President

Solomon A. Smith Treasurer

Clifford C. Gregg Director and Secretary

John R. Millar Assistant Secretary

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR

Clifford C. Gregg Director of the Museum

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anthropology

Theodor Just Chief Curator of Botany

Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geology

Austin L. Rand Chief Curator of Zoology

MANAGING EDITOR
H. B. Harte Public Relations Counsel

ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Patricia McAfee Associate in Public Relations

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

NORTHWESTERN U HONORS
PRESIDENT STANLEY FIELD

At its commencement exercises held June
15, Northwestern University conferred on
Stanley Field, President of the Museum, an
honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. The
honor was in recognition of Mr. Field's many
years of service to civic
institutions of Chi-
cago, particularly this
Museum, but also to
the Chicago Zoological
Society (Brookfield
Zoo), and the John G.
Shedd Aquarium. He
has not only been Pres-
ident of the Museum
for more than 50 years,
but has been President
of the Aquarium since
its founding. He is
one of the guiding spir-
its of the Zoo, having served many years as
chairman of its Building and Grounds Com-
mittee and its Executive Committee.

This is the second time an LL.D. degree
has been conferred on Mr. Field. In De-
cember, 1930, this honor was bestowed by
the University of Chicago. In the nearly
30 additional years that have intervened he
has been tireless in his activities, and it is
most appropriate that the Chicago area's
two leading universities should have con-
ferred upon him their highest commendation.

STANLEY FIELD

Books

A CENTURY OF BIOLOGICAL RE-
SEARCH—Bulletin, Illinois Natural
History Survey. Vol. 27, Article 2, pages
85-234, 25 figures.

The Illinois Natural History Survey from
its beginning has been a unique organization
covering fields of research and investigation
that in most other states are the concern of
several separate commissions. Its founders,
Benjamin Walsh, William LeBaron, Cyrus
Thomas, and its chief for 60 years, Stephen
Forbes, were the men who built the institu-
tion, set its high standards and indicated the
fields of investigation in which the survey
has made its principal contributions.

This stock-taking publication begins with
a history of the founding and development
of the Survey by Dr. Harlow B. Mills, the
present chief. The remaining eight chapters
by other staff members cover various aspects
of the work of the present organization as
follows: Economic Entomology — Decker;
Faunistic Surveys (since 1923 principally in-
sects)— Ross; Applied Botany and Plant
Pathology — Carter; Aquatic Biology — Ben-
nett; Wildlife Research— Scott; Publications
and Public Relations — Ayars; Library —
Warrick; and Former Technical Employees
—East. Each of the chapters follows a
similar outline with a chronological account
of the section organization, development of
its major research programs and a discussion
of future needs in this field. "Throughout
its century of existence this organization has
attempted to meet the needs of the economy
of Illinois with an eye to the state's future
requirements" (Ross).

Loren P. Woods
Curator of Fishes

Assistant Curator Named
in Mammal Division

Dr. Karl Koopman has been appointed
Assistant Curator of Mammals, and has be-
gun his duties. Born in Honolulu, Dr. Koop-
man has lived on the mainland since he was
two years old. He received his undergradu-
ate and postgraduate training as a zoologist
at Columbia University, and in 1949 was
awarded the University's Newberry Prize
for excellence in vertebrate zoology.

Dr. Koopman taught biology in Queens
College, Flushing, New York, from 1952 to
1958, and was assistant curator of mammals
at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Phila-
delphia before coming here.

A new sparkle has been added to the
exhibits pertaining to the peoples of the
Malay Peninsula and Indonesia by re-
arrangements and reinstallations recently
made in Hall G.

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

With its new exterior silhouette-
lighting, the Museum building has
become a jewel-like spectacle each
evening for thousands of motor-
ists on the Lake Shore Drive, and
for thousands of other persons in
Grant Park for the summer con-
certs and other attractions.

NEW MEMBERS
OF MUSEUM

(May 18 to June 15)

Associate Members

George Chazanow, James J. Daly, Louis G.
Davidson, Dr. Harry Gomberg, Edward J.
Haedike, W. C. Havelaar, James C. Hemp-
hill, William Katz, Mrs. John M. Lowrie,
R. L. Nafziger, Dr. Marguerite Oliver,
Raymond L. Perlman, Herbert F. Philips-
born, Sr., Paul M. Plunkett, Myron H.
Post, Mrs. William H. Rentschler, Mrs.
Frank E. Rubovits, Frank Sedlacek,
N. M. Silberman, Mrs. Robert E. Spiel,
H. B. Tellschow, Mrs. Clarence F. Wiley

Annual Members

Raymond H. Achtner, C. Jere Albright,
Mrs. Herbert C. Altholz, Theodore W. An-
derson, Jr., Mrs. C. William Applegate, Mrs.
Howard Arvey, Mrs. C. Henry Austin, Alex
H. Bacci, Louis N. Balluff, Dr. S. R. Bazell,
Dr. Irvin S. Belgrade, Richard M. Bennett,
Eugene P. Berg, Harvey Berman, Stanley R.
Billick, Raymond H. Borkenhagen, A. R.
Brandzel, George E. Brogan, Robert Em-
mett Burke, Miss Catherine E. Carpenter,
Gale A. Christopher, Nicholas P. Conglis,
James F. Cooke, Joseph E. Dempsey, Rich-
ard Duffey, Daniel J. Edelman, Harold L.
Eisenstein, Richard J. Faletti, George M.
Flint, Dwight Follett, Arthur J. Gallagher,
Jr., Billy B. Gillespie, Miss Martha P. Gober,
Miss Ruth Goshert, Mrs. A. T. Graham,
Dr. R. P. Gwinn, Louis J. Haddad,
Charles R. Hall, Louis P. Haller,
Miss Helen Heggie, Mrs. David A. Hill,
Melvan M. Jacobs, Charles J. Kaleta, Dr.
Lawrence Kaplan, Ralph B. Kraft, Mrs.
Brunson MacChesney, Dr. A. Maciunas,
Dr. Ronald B. Mack, Mrs. M. F. Mac-
naughton, Dr. Roe J. Maier, Dr. John J.
Manning, E. E. Mark, H. C. Mathey, Jr.,
Mrs. Arthur T. Moulding, Dr. Andrew Nagy,
Dr. Lester A. Nathan, Dr. George F. O'Brien,
Dr. James J. O'Hearn, Dr. Y. T. Oester,
E. B. Padrick, Roy I. Peregrine, Lawrence B.
Perkins, Mrs. Arnold Perry, Arden J. Rearick,
William A. Redmond, Mrs. Charles A. Reed,
Mrs. R. C. Rolfing, Arthur B. Sachs, James
V. Sallemi, Joseph H. Sanders, Charles N.
Salzman, Douglas S. Seator, Claude T. Seitz,
R. C. Shropshire, Edwin W. Sims, Jr., Philip
Spertus, William Spooner, John W. Stanton,
Milton Stein, W. R. Stephens, Jr., Reuben
Stiglitz, Burton I. Stolar, Philip Tallman,
Morris S. Telechansky, Jack B. Temple,
Hugo J. Thai, John H. van der Meulen,
James R. Ware, Donald O. Waterbury,
Dr. H. Lawrence Wilsey, Mrs. Roger V.
Wilson, Walter Wyne

July, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page S

SPECIAL EXHIBIT SHOWS EXOTIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

By PATRICIA McAFEE

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

MUSIC is often called the universal lan-
guage. This is appropriate in the
sense that all people participate or at least
listen to some form of music. But in an-
other respect music is no more communica-
tively universal than is speech. Man has the
ability to speak and this has led to the de-

vices of North and South American Indians,
and of peoples of Asia, Africa, and Oceania
make up the exhibit, which is in Edward E.

MUSEUM 'COMBO' IS BORN
E. John Pfiffner (left), known in jazz-music circles
as well as for his work as Museum Staff Artist, and
Allen S. Liss, Custodian of Collections — Anthro-
pology, try a few "hot notes" on exotic instruments.
Pfiflner is playing a nagasarum, a type of clarinet
from India. Liss essays a wild beat on a saron,
Javanese form of xylophone.

velopment of distinct languages which enable
him to communicate with other human be-
ings. But there still is no universal language
with which all people can communicate —
and just so, there is no music that is under-
standable, or melodious, to all ears.

We with our Western background would
recognize music of many other cultures only
as sounds or noises. But in the context of
the society which engendered it, these other
forms of music possess a definite communi-
cative function — a function largely limited
to one particular culture alone. For that
matter, there are definite musical cleavages
among groups within our own society. To
the "long-hair music" group most jazz, and
all rock-'n'-roll are as separate and uncom-
municative as the music of the most primi-
tive culture, while to some of the adherents
of these varieties of American-European mu-
sic, both the old masters and the modern
classics are equally incomprehensible.

WIDE VARIETY IN EXHIBIT

"The Music Makers," as a current special
exhibit of exotic musical instruments is called,
exemplifies the great diversity in the "uni-
versal language" of music by presenting a
wide variety of musical instruments from
many parts of the world. Music-making de-

THE MUSIC MAKERS, special ex-
hibit described in the accompany-
ing article, will continue on display
through August 31, in Edward E.
and Emma B. Ayer Hall (Hall 2).
For music lovers attending the
Grant Park Summer Concerts of-
fered by the Chicago Park District,
the Museum will extend its visit-
ing hours to 8 p.m. on Wednesday
and Friday evenings through Au-
gust 12. Dinner will be served in
the Cafeteria to 7:30 p.m.

and Emma B. Ayer Hall (Hall 2) and will
remain on display until August 31. In one
respect most of the exotic instruments are
similar to those of our own civilization —
most of them fall into the same three main
divisions of strings, winds (including reeds),
and percussion.

Museum visitors will find some of the mu-
sic makers in the exhibit totally unfamiliar,
while others will register as familiar because
of their resemblance in form to Western in-
struments. This similarity in many cases
may exist only in appearance, however; the
sound produced is very apt to be foreign to
our ears because we are accustomed to the
fixed tonal values of Euro-American music.
The function is likely to be equally alien to
our conception of the use of musical instru-
ments.

In Western societies music has taken on an
importance in its own right — music for the
sake of music. It is listened to chiefly for
the purpose of deriving pleasure. Many of
the music makers displayed in this exhibit
were used to perform definitely less secular
functions. Some were played in the theatre
and as an accompaniment to the dance, but
thespian and terpsichorean arts may have
had religious or ceremonial overtones now
rarely present on the stage or in Western
music. Other instruments are known to have
been used strictly in religious ceremonies.
There is still considerable mystery about the
use and method of playing many non- Western
instruments, particularly those which are
ancient.

SPECIFIC INSTRUMENTS

The use of a small double whistle, one of
the archaeological pieces displayed, is un-
known. It is the product of 15th century
Aztec civilization in the Valley of Toluca.
The whistle produces three tones and has a
small hole in the back which probably en-
abled the owner to insert a string to carry

it around his neck. Little else is known
about it.

Several Tibetan instruments are displayed.
Tibetan civilization traditionally has been
oriented to religion, and the musical instru-
ments of this culture play a large part in
rituals. A flute made from a human thigh
bone, a conch-shell trumpet mounted with
silver and turquoise, and a lapa — a 9-foot

CO-ED COMPLETES TRIO

Susanne Fried, Antioch College student-worker

temporarily employed at the Museum, plays a sitar —

a guitar from India.

long copper trumpet, were used in religious
ceremonies and, as in the case of the conch-
shell trumpet, were also part of the religious
paraphernalia which resided on the altar.

Primitive societies are chiefly concerned
with music as an important factor in religious
ceremonies, suggesting that music may have
originated from religious practices and later,
in some cases, assumed a more secular func-
tion. In the exhibit is a friction drum from
New Ireland that was used in rituals to honor
the ancestral dead. It is reported that pre-
ceding the ceremony a number of men, form-
ing a sort of orchestra, hid themselves in the
second story of the house where representa-
tions of ancestors were displayed. At the
proper time the men stroked the drum with
their hands, heating it by friction, and pro-
ducing a sound which gave the illusion of the
presence of supernatural beings.

The use of the friction drum to produce
noises suggesting the supernatural is similar
in this respect to the use of the bull-roarer
by Melanesian people of the Gulf of Papua
in New Guinea. A bull-roarer is a long, nar-
row piece of wood attached to a string which
makes a whirring or humming sound when it
is whirled in the air. Bull-roarers are found
in many areas of the world and are mainly
ceremonial in use. The wide geographic
range, and the diversity of peoples among
whom bull-roarers are found, is illustrated
(Continued on page 6, column 3)

Page k

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

July, 1959

FEAST OF DEAD' RELEASED HURONS' SOULS

By GEORGE I. QUIMBY

CURATOR OF NORTH AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY
AND ETHNOLOGY

THE HURON and their close relatives,
the Tionontati or Tobacco Huron, lived
in Ontario between Lake Simcoe and Georg-
ian Bay and westward of Lake Simcoe to
Lake Huron. The combined Huron and
Tobacco Huron are estimated to have had a
population of 45,000 to 60,000 persons at the
beginning of the 17th century. However,

HURON BURIAL CEREMONY

An old print shows an artist's conception of a mass reinterment ritual that was
believed by the Indians to release the souls of the dead.

by the middle of the 17th century their num-
bers had been reduced drastically by intro-
duced diseases, war, and famine, and the
tribal remnants had been driven from their
homeland.

The Hurons lived in towns and villages
some of which were protected by circular
palisades. Within the towns and villages,
houses were arranged in regular rows along
streets and separated from one another for
protection against fire. One of the largest
of the Huron towns, Cahiagne, contained 200
large dwellings in which lived 4,000 to 6,000
persons.

The Hurons obtained their food by farm-
ing. In the cleared fields near their towns
and villages they raised corn, beans, squashes,
and sunflowers for sustenance and tobacco
for smoking. The men cleared the land of
trees and brush by cutting and burning, but
the women planted the food crops, tended
the fields and did the harvesting.

It has been estimated that the Huron har-

vested 390,000 bushels of corn annually and
that they had 23,300 acres of corn under cul-
tivation. There must have been miles of
fields surrounding the Huron villages. So
extensive were these fields that one French
missionary got lost in them while walking
from one village to another.

The Hurons had the most elaborate social
and religious life of all the Indians living in
the Upper Great Lakes region. They be-
lieved that the world was perched on the
back of a giant turtle.
The sun at night dis-
appeared into a tunnel
in the earth and came
out at the opposite end
each morning.

The supernatural
creator of the world
and of the Huron peo-
ple was named Yos-
caha. He was a benev-
olent spirit who lived
in the sky. His grand-
mother, Ataensiq,
seems to have been an
evil spirit. There was
also a class of numer-
ous spirits called Oki
who had power for
both good and evil.
The Oki were present
in rivers, rocks, and
other places, in ani-
mals, and in situations
such as voyages, fish-
ing trips, trade, war,
and ceremonial feasts.
The Oki seem to have
been expressions of a
power similar to the
manitou of the Algon-
kian speaking peoples.
The power of the Oki
was also present in amulets and charms of
various kinds kept by the Hurons. The Oki
manifested themselves to individual humans
in dreams. The Hurons believed that dreams
were the language of the soul.

The soul, according to the Huron, had five
aspects or conditions of being. It animated
the body and gave it life. It was possessed
of reason. It enabled thinking and delibera-
tion. It made possible affection for others.
And it separated itself from the body after
death.

VILLAGES OF SOULS

The Hurons believed that souls, after
death, went to various villages of souls in
the sky. These soul villages of the Huron
af terworld were devoid of reward or punish-
ment and supernatural life in them was
essentially the same as natural life on earth.

Some souls after death followed the Milky
Way, the road of souls, to a great soul village
toward the setting sun. They journeyed to-

gether, dressed in fine robes and carrying
their equipage, all taken with them in soul
form from their common grave.

Other souls such as those of very old peo-
ple and young children not capable of a long
journey traveled to a different soul village
less distant. Souls of Hurons killed in war
also had a separate village.

Souls did not go to their respective soul
villages until after an elaborate mass burial
ceremony known as the Feast of the Dead.

Ordinarily when a Huron died his corpse
was placed in a bark coffin raised on painted
wooden posts nine or ten feet high, but those
killed in war or drowned were buried in a
flexed position in shallow graves. Souls of
these Indians remained in the vicinity of the
Huron villages. Infants were buried in the
roads between villages so that their souls
might enter passing women and be born
again.

The Feast of the Dead was held at eight-,
ten-, or twelve-year intervals. It was a
national ceremony at which all of the dead
from each Huron town were removed from
their temporary graves and brought to a
designated place for mass burial.

A SOLEMN SPECTACLE

In preparation for the Feast of the Dead
the living Indians of each town and village
removed the bodies from their temporary
graves. The bones were lovingly stripped of
remaining flesh and/or cleaned by relatives
and mourners of the deceased. An eyewit-
ness account from the missionary Jean de
Brebeuf in 1636 follows:

"I was present at the spectacle, and will-
ingly invited to it all our servants; for I do
not think one could see in the world a more
vivid picture or more perfect representation
of what Man is. For, after having opened
the graves, they display — all these corpses —
long enough for the spectators to learn —
what they will be some day. The flesh of
some is quite gone, and there is only parch-
ment on their bones; in other cases, the
bodies look as if they had been dried and
smoked, and show scarcely any signs of
putrefaction; and in still other cases they
are still swarming with worms. — finally,
after some time they strip them of their
flesh, taking off the skin and flesh (by hand-
fuls) which they throw into the fire along
with robes and mats in which the bodies
were wrapped."

After being stripped of flesh the bones
were placed in beaver skin bags or rearticu-
lated and dressed in fine robes and adorned
with bracelets and strings of beads. Some
bags of bones were arranged to form human
effigies that were ornamented with strings of
beads and bands of long fur dyed red.

The bodies from each town and village
having been prepared, they were then trans-
ported on the backs of the villagers to the
spot designated for the mass burial. This
(Continued on page 6, column 2)

July, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

NAMING A ROCK

By BERTRAM G. WOODLAND

ASSOCIATE CURATOR OF PETROLOGY

EACH WEEK we receive rock specimens
to be identified. Some come by mail
and others are brought to us by visitors.
Not infrequently we are asked what is the
actual difference between various rocks and
how do we know what names to give them.
First, what is a rock? A rock is an aggre-
gate of one or more minerals, which are the
naturally occurring chemical substances
which make up the earth's crust. This geo-
logical definition of a rock includes not only

GRANITE SPECIMEN
It is composed of feldspar, quartz and biotite.

the solid and hard materials but also loose
sands, clays, and volcanic ash. To the civil
engineer concerned with constructional ma-
terials and foundations, however, a rock is
something hard; the soft loose materials are
referred to as earth or soil. The choice of
name or names given to rocks has been much
influenced by their use for certain purposes.
For example in the building and monumental
stone trade, "granite" is a name used for a
wide variety of rock types many of which the
geologist would not call granite.

The naming and classifying of rocks are
rendered inherently difficult by the very
great diversity of types and by the fact that
few completely sharp distinctions can be
made becuase of the many gradational vari-
eties. However, a classification and an ac-
cepted system of naming of rocks are essen-
tial for purposes of comparison and descrip-
tions of occurrences throughout the world.
Such a system should, apart from just pro-
viding a name, ideally provide as much in-
formation as possible about the composition,
nature, origin and relationships of a rock.

IMPROVEMENT IN CRITERIA

A major difficulty arises when the criteria
for separating and naming the rock types are
considered. Originally rocks were named

and described solely from their appearance
to the naked eye or with a simple hand lens,
and many of the names are still applied to-
day, although often not in just the same way,
as more detailed criteria are now used. About
the middle of the last century a great impe-
tus to the systematic detailed description,
naming and classification of rocks was pro-
vided by the use of the polarizing microscope
to examine very thin slices of rock (i.e., thin
enough to transmit light). This enabled
more accurate determination of the actual
mineral species and their relative quantities
in a rock to be determined. During the last
one hundred years many rocks have been so
examined and named and a number of com-
plex scientific classification systems proposed.

At the present time rocks are named and
classified on the basis of a number of criteria.
Although in part these have a genetic sig-
nificance, it still has not proved possible to
erect an entirely genetic classification, and
many of the criteria, for practical reasons,
are thus of an arbitrary nature.

As an example of the difficulties involved
mention might be made of the three main
classes of rocks which are generally accepted
and are based on origin. These are: (1) ig-
neous— rocks formed from the cooling of hot
molten material (magma) an example of
which is volcanic lava; (2) sedimentary —
rocks formed from material accumulated by
the action of water, wind, glaciers, and grav-
ity, the majority deposited in the sea forming
such rocks as limestone and sandstone; (3)
metamorphic — rocks which have been pro-
duced from pre-existing rocks by the action
of heat and/or pressure, usually deep in the
earth's crust, an example of which is marble.
Now, while it is generally possible to classify

THIN SECTION OF GRANITE

The components are indicated as follows: F — feld-
spar; Q — quartz; B — biotite; M — magnetite; and
A — apatite.

a rock as belonging to one of these classes, by
applying certain simple criteria — e.g., sedi-
mentary rocks usually possess well developed
and characteristic stratification — it is by no
means always so easy, particularly for small
specimens brought into the laboratory by a

SPECIAL EXHIBITS

The following special exhibits are sched-
uled for the summer months:

Panorama of the Pacific, through July 15,
Stanley Field Hall. This exhibit, which
was the feature of Members' Night, May
8, displays selected material from the
Fuller Collection of South Seas artifacts.

The Music Makers — Exotic Musical
Instruments of the World. Through
August 31, Edward E. and Emma B. Ayer
Hall (Hall 2).

Indian Art of the Americas, August 1-
September 28, Stanley Field Hall. Select-
ed objets d'art from the North, Central,
and South American collections of this and
other leading museums. The exhibit co-
ordinates with Chicago's Festival of the
Americas in connection with the Pan
American Games.

visitor and for which there is no field data,
or which may be pebbles found in gravel or
the soil. Some metamorphic rocks may have
many of the criteria of igneous rocks, partic-
ularly if they were derived from the latter or
if under ultra-metamorphism the rock mass
was so changed as to appear like an igneous
rock. Volcanic ash, the product of explosive
volcanic eruptions, may be deposited in the
sea and be mixed with varying quantities of
other sediments so that there may be a com-
plete gradation from a pure volcanic ash to
a sedimentary rock.

Geological classifications do not, of course,
satisfy the civil engineer, who would wish to
see a rock classification using criteria of engi-
neering importance. So far this also has not
been possible, but perhaps in time a way may
be evolved to relate the purely geological sys-
tem to one of value to engineers, miners and
others concerned with working in or exploit-
ing rocks.

CLASSIFICATION BY GEOLOGISTS

The criteria utilized by geologists are: (1)
field occurrence, that is, the way in which
the rock occurs in nature; (2) mineralogical
composition; (3) the structure and texture of
the rock — the way in which the mineral grains
are aggregated together, and (4) chemical
composition. Of these the most important
criteria are texture, structure, and mineral-
ogical composition. Sometimes these can be
sufficiently ascertained with a hand lens to
give a name to a specimen in the field. How-
ever, this is not always possible and the geol-
ogist has to be satisfied to use accepted and
well understood field names of a broad na-
ture, leaving until later the necessary detailed
laboratory work. In the laboratory a binoc-
ular microscope, with magnifications up to
40 times, is of great value for determining
the grain size, shape and the mineralogic
composition of hand specimens. For further

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

July, 1959

details recourse must be made to microscopic
examination of thin sections.

Thin sections of rocks are prepared by cut-
ting a thin wafer of the sample, usually
about one inch square, with a diamond saw.
One side of this slice is then ground smooth
with abrasive on a rotating lap wheel and
the smooth surface is cemented to a glass
slide (usually 1%" x 1") with a medium such
as Canada balsam, which is liquid when hot,
and hard and strongly adhesive when cold.
The wafer is then ground thin on lap wheels
using successively finer abrasive, and is fin-
ished off by rubbing on a glass plate with
very fine abrasive until the standard thick-
ness of 3/100 of a millimeter is attained.
This thickness is determined by observing
the optical properties of some known min-
eral under the microscope, e.g., quartz. The
thin section is then covered with a thin glass
cover slip which is also cemented to the slice
with Canada balsam. The section is then
ready for examination with the petrographic
microscope, which is equipped with special
apparatus for the observation of the optical
properties of minerals. In particular, it has
attachments for polarizing the light which
passes through the thin section. In this way
the optical properties of the mineral compos-
ing the rock are determined, and from them
the kinds of minerals present, their quanti-
ties and arrangement and other data can be
obtained. These are then used in the classi-
fication of the rock and in determining its
origin and history. The polarizing micro-
scope can also be used to examine crushed
grains extracted from a rock to determine
the identity of a mineral if the preparation
of a thin section is not required, or to deter-
mine some of the optical data best obtained
in this way even if a thin section is available.
Most minerals are transparent in thin sec-
tion but there are many which remain quite
opaque, particularly the ore minerals, such
as the ores of copper, lead and iron. These
are microscopically examined by preparing
highly polished surfaces and observing them
in reflected light.

CHEMICAL TESTS USED

Chemical methods are often important
aids in determining rock composition. Qual-
itative tests for minerals or elements help in
determining mineral species while bulk quan-
titative analyses are important in comparing
the chemical composition of rocks and un-
derstanding their modes of origin. It should
be emphasized that rocks which have had
widely different histories and have different
mineralogic composition and different tex-
tures may have very similar chemical com-
positions, so that a chemical analysis alone
is insufficient to determine a rock. For some
rocks a chemical analysis is necessary to ac-
curately identify and classify it, e.g., volcanic
glasses which are devoid of minerals. In
addition, other techniques may be brought
into service to aid in determining the com-

position of rocks, e.g., X-ray methods to
identify minerals, particularly very fine-
grained aggregates such as clays.

However, the polarizing microscope re-
mains the most useful, and essential instru-
ment for the description, naming and classi-
fying and elucidation of the origins of rock
types.

There are a number of exhibits in the
Museum illustrating the criteria used in the
classification of rocks together with exam-
ples of some of the types. At the west end
of Hall 34 (Physical Geology and Rocks)
there are a number of cases concerned with
the study of rocks, the common minerals
which compose at least 99 per cent of the
rocks of the earth's crust, and the classifica-
tion and naming of the igneous, sedimen-
tary and metamorphic rocks. In Clarence
Buckingham Hall (Mineralogy and Meteor-
ites— Hall 35) there is one exhibit showing
how physical properties may be used to
identify the minerals of a hand specimen.

FEAST OF DEAD—

(Continued from page 4.)

was a ceremonial journey purposely drawn
out over two or three days.

At the place selected for burial there was a
large pit 30 to 60 feet square and up to 10
feet deep. At the edge of the pit was a high
scaffold or platform. Bodies were hung from
poles on this scaffold and bundles of bones
were placed on the platform. After lengthy
ceremonies and rituals in which the whole
Huron nation participated, the bodies were
placed in the pit along with beautiful fur
robes, pottery, weapons, tools, ornaments,
food, and utensils.

Hundreds of people were thus buried and
thousands of useful articles were lavished
upon the dead. At the end of the Feast of
the Dead the souls of the Hurons buried in
this way departed from Huronia and went to
the various soul villages in the sky.

An appraisal of the Huron feast of the
dead is available in the journal of the mis-
sionary, Theodat Gabriel Sagard, who wit-
nessed it in 1623 or 1624. He wrote,
"Christians, let us reflect a little and see if
our fervors for the souls of our relatives — are
as great as those of the poor Indians toward
the souls of their fellow deceased, and we
shall find that their fervors surpass ours, and
that they have more love for one another in
this life and after death than we, who say we
are wiser and are less so in fact — ."

Parking Space Expanded

Additional parking space has been made
available to Museum visitors. When the
free parking facilities at the north end of the
building are filled to capacity, cars may be
left in the lot at the southeast corner of the
building where the Chicago Park District
charges a flat fee of 25 cents between
10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.

MUSIC MAKERS-

(Continued from page S)

by the presence in the exhibit of one, similar
in form and use, from the Hopi Indians of
Arizona. On the Gulf of Papua a ceremony
is performed in which the men of the village
mass together and run, shouting, blowing
shell trumpets, and whirling bull-roarers.
The loud and weird noises they make are
intended to indicate to the remainder of the
village population, especially the women,
that a great and monstrous creature has
risen from the sea and has entered the men's
clubhouse. Later masked figures emerge
from the lodge, giving the impression that a
supernatural event has occurred.

The Javanese have developed quite an
elaborate type of orchestra to accompany
their dances and theatricals. Our exhibit in-
cludes a number of the instruments used.
One is a type of xylophone played on the
same principles as our own similar instru-
ment. It is fancifully carved and has painted
animal heads as end decorations. It consists
of a set of gongs increasing in size, and in
depth of tone, hung in a frame.

In most primitive societies, important
events of human life over which the individ-
ual has no control — especially birth, puberty,
death (all of which are awesome even in a
complex civilized society) — are celebrated by
religious ceremonies aimed at providing an
explanation of the mysteries of life. The
most important function of music in these
cultures is the observance of these cere-
monials. In our society, too, birth and death
are still basic themes in music, but our music
generally has changed to strictly listening
functions rather than the expression of the
human experiences to which it relates.

"Fishing" Trips for Children

"Goin' Fishin' " continues as the theme
of the Museum Journey for children through
July and August. The Journey may be made
any day. Children receive instructions at
either entrance to the Museum. Those suc-
cessfully completing this plus three journeys
on other topics receive awards as Museum
Travelers. After eight Journeys they be-
come qualified for designation as Museum
Adventurers, and after twelve as Museum
Explorers. After sixteen Journeys a child
becomes eligible for a final project and ad-
mission to a Museum Club.

Come and See Us Now

A Museum Member recently sent the fol-
lowing note along with a check for member-
ship renewal:

"When I was 10 years old, I took my first
visit with our school class. I have never for-
gotten that memorable trip. All children
should make that trip. That first visit is
still a wonderful memory of the Museum.
I am 70 years old now. Best wishes. . . ."

July, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

RESEARCH ON BIRDS,
TICKS AND VIRUSES

By MELVIN A. TRAYLOR

ASSISTANT CURATOR OF BIRDS

DURING April and early May I was for-
tunate in being able to work with Naval
Medical Research Unit No. 3 in Cairo, Egypt,
as a guest of the Bureau of Medicine and
Surgery, U. S. Navy. Among the many en-
demic diseases being studied at NAMRU 3
are the arthropod-borne viruses. These are
the viruses in which the agency that trans-
fers the disease from one vertebrate host to
another is an arthropod, usually a mosquito
or a tick. Since the vertebrate host is in
many cases a bird, this study is naturally of
interest to ornithologists. It was in order to
help with the collection and identification
of possible bird hosts that I was invited to
Cairo.

Our knowledge of birds as major hosts of
various viruses has mostly been gained since
the war. Previously it was believed that
most arthropod-borne viruses of medical or
veterinary importance were maintained by a
direct cycle between man or the domestic
animal and the arthropod vector. However,
it is now known that in a great many viruses
the primary cycle of infection is from bird
to arthropod to bird, and it is only during
periods of explosive outbreaks that the dis-
ease becomes of medical importance. Indeed,
from the point of view of the virus, the in-
fection of man is an unfortunate accident
since he dies before he can circulate the virus
and reinfect other arthropods. Birds, how-
ever, are ideal hosts. They are exposed to
and attractive to the vector, whether tick or
mosquito; they are susceptible to the virus
and circulate it in sufficient concentration
to infect the arthropod; and as rapid breed-
ers they produce a large number of non-
immune individuals each year to perpetuate
the disease.

VARIED HOSTS FOR VIRUSES

In this country the viruses which have
been demonstrated to have birds as hosts are
Eastern and Western Equine and St. Louis
encephalitis. The cycle of each of these is
similar although varying in the specific hosts
involved. The disease shows a rapid growth
in late spring and summer when the mos-
quito population reaches its height. It is at
this time that there is a peak population of
young, non-immune birds in the nest, and
they are readily susceptible to infection from
the bites of infected mosquitoes and, in turn,
transmit the virus to new mosquitoes. It is
at this period of maximum incidence of in-
fection that the disease may spread to man
or horses. This active stage lasts but a short
time, but the virus is able to pass the winter
in hibernating mosquitoes which start the
cycle over again the following spring. Sim-
ilar life histories have been demonstrated for
Japanese B encephalitis in Japan and West
Nile virus in Egypt. Russian Spring-Sum-

mer virus also has a similar cycle, but in this
case ticks rather than mosquitoes are the
arthropod vector.

Besides the importance of birds as hosts,
there is strong indirect evidence that they
serve as long-range disseminators of viruses.
Eastern Equine encephalitis is found along
the east coast of the United States, the gulf
coast of Mexico, and the north coast of South
America and eastern Brazil. This distribu-
tion fits the migration pattern of many birds
that breed in the eastern United States, mi-
grate across the Caribbean or along the coast
of Mexico and winter in northeastern South
America. This agreement in range between
the disease and migrant birds certainly sug-
gests that birds have been the main instru-
ment in spreading the virus. The irregular
appearance of Murray Valley encephalitis in
south Australia is also most easily explained
through the agency of migrating birds. This
virus is endemic in New Guinea and tropical
north Australia, and appears at long inter-
vals in epidemic form in south Australia. It
appears to be introduced by migrant water
birds who carry it south with them, partic-
ularly in years of heavy rainfall.

CARRIED MANY MILES BY BIRDS

Among the tick-borne diseases, a recent
explosive outbreak of Russian Spring-Sum-
mer virus in the Kyasanur Forest of southern
India is strongly suggestive of introduction
by migrant birds. This is the first recognized
occurrence in a tropical region of this virus,
although there is evidence that there was a
previous localized infection in Saurashtra a
few hundred miles north, and introduction
by birds is the only logical explanation of
such a long jump from previous areas of in-
fection. The virus was probably carried in
infected ticks transported by the birds, rather
than in the birds themselves since the latter
are infectious for only a short period. There
is ample evidence that birds carry ticks for
many hundreds of miles during migration.
Dr. Harry Hoogstraal, Field Associate of the
Museum and medical zoologist at NAMRU 3,
has trapped migrant birds from Equatorial
Africa carrying larval ticks of species un-
known in Egypt, and has succeeded in rais-
ing the ticks to maturity. This transportation
of ticks explains the occasional presence of
small colonies of African ticks in southern
Europe and, since an infected tick remains so
for life, is an ideal agency for the transmis-
sion of viruses.

Although so much has been learned about
the life histories and probable dissemination
by birds of many viruses, the task still re-
mains of demonstrating the actual transport
of the diseases by infected birds or ticks.
This must be a co-operative venture involv-
ing virologists, entomologists and ornitholo-
gists; birds must be trapped in large numbers
on migration and identified, blood samples
must be taken to determine the presence of
antibodies from previous infection or of acute

INDIAN ART EXHIBIT
COMING IN AUGUST

An exhibit entitled "Indian Art of the
Americas" will be on display in Stanley Field
Hall from August 1 to September 28. In-
cluded will be art objects made during the
last 2,500 years, and ranging in origin from
Alaska to southern South America. This
will be the first major exhibit in the United
States to show Indian art of the entire hemi-
sphere.

The exhibit will be one of the features of
the Festival of the Americas, which is to be
a series of cultural events held in conjunction
with the Third Pan American Games. The
exhibit will include art objects of first qual-
ity from the great Indian collections of Chi-
cago Natural History Museum, and also
outstanding material borrowed from eight
of the other leading anthropology museums
of the United States. An illustrated cata-
logue is in preparation and will be available
to visitors.

Here's Haven for Children
During Summer Vacation

Safety — when your children are at the
Museum you don't have to worry.

Comfort — when the midsummer heat is
sizzling, the Museum is one of the coolest
places in Chicago.

The thrills of discovery are experienced in
roaming among one of the world's finest as-
semblages of natural history material.

These are the advantages for children
whose parents utilize the facilities of the
Museum as a haven for children to visit for
hours, or a whole day at a time at intervals
during the long school vacation. They were
cited by Dr. Clifford C. Gregg, Director, in
issuing his annual invitation when Chicago's
public schools closed on June 26. With 49
large exhibition halls to cover, children may
make frequent visits without exhausting the
Museum's potentialities for a lively day.

viremia, and the ticks must be collected,
identified and tested for infection. Such a
program is being initiated this autumn by
NAMRU 3 at a station along the north coast
of Egypt where migrant birds from Europe ar-
rive in tremendous numbers. Having worked
with Harry Hoogstraal for several years,
identifying the birds that are his tick hosts,
I am naturally looking forward with a great
deal of interest to the results of the program
this fall. It is certainly to be hoped that
enough positive evidence will be obtained of
the transportation of viruses by birds to
make possible an intensive study of the spe-
cies involved.

I cannot close without expressing my appre-
ciation for the generous hospitality I received
at NAMRU 3. Captain John Seal, MC,
USN, commander of the unit, gave me every
facility for carrying on my work.

Page 8

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

July, 1959

LIGHTS GIVE MUSEUM
NIGHT LUSTER

THE BEAUTY of the architecture of Chi-
cago Natural History Museum's monu-
mental building may now be enjoyed at night.
Exterior silhouette-lighting has been installed
on all four sides, limning its classic outlines
for all who pass by in automobiles or afoot.

The new lights were installed in response
to a program for public buildings instituted
by Mayor Daley to make Chicago a brighter
and more beautiful city. The lights were
turned on in full display for the first time on
June 16, as the culmination of a dedication
ceremony held on the north steps of the
Museum. Representatives of the institu-
tions involved threw switches that succes-
sively lighted up this building along with the
Art Institute of Chicago, the John G. Shedd
Aquarium, and the Chicago Park District
Administration Building.

The audience at the ceremony was wel-
comed by Stanley Field, President of the
Museum, and Dr. Clifford C. Gregg, Director.
William L. McFetridge, Vice President of
the Chicago Park District, presided. Other
park commissioners, city officials, trustees
and executives of all the museums, and rep-
resentatives of the Chicago Association of
Commerce and Industry participated. Music
was furnished by the Chicago Civic Chorus
under the direction of Dr. William Francis
Bergmann.

Work is currently under way to floodlight
the Adler Planetarium, and eventually other
Chicago structures will be lighted as the pro-
gram for the beautification of Chicago is
expanded. The illumination is expected to
rival that which long has gained for Paris
the name "City of Light."

The lighting at this time signalizes the
opening of Chicago's 1959 gala summer —
the summer of the Seaway opening, the visit
of Queen Elizabeth, the arrival of a U. S.
Navy fleet, the International Trade Fair,
the Festival of the Americas, and the Pan
American Games. But the program goes
far beyond this summer of festivities — it is
planned that the lights will be on every night
henceforth, in all seasons, and in all the years
to come.

SUMMER LECTURE-TOURS
GIVEN TWICE DAILY

During July and August, daily lecture-
tour service will be expanded to a two-a-day
program, mornings as well as afternoons.
Although during this period there will be no
tours on Saturdays or Sundays, visitors to
the Museum will be welcomed during the
regular hours, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Except on Thursdays, the morning tours,
which begin at 11 o'clock, will be devoted to
the exhibits of a single department. All the
afternoon tours, given at 2 o'clock, and also
the 11 a.m. tour on Thursdays, will be gen-

eral tours of the outstanding exhibits in all
four departments.

Lecturers of the Raymond Foundation
staff conduct the tours. Following is the
schedule for each week during July and
August:

Mondays: 11 a.m. — The Animal Kingdom
2 p.m. — Highlights of the Exhibits

Tuesdays: 11 A.M. — People and Places
2 p.m. — Highlights of the Exhibits

Wednesdays: 11 a.m. — The World of Plants
2 p.m. — Highlights of the Exhibits

Thursdays: 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. — Highlights
of the Exhibits

Fridays: 11 A.M. — The Earth's Story
2 p.m. — Highlights of the Exhibits

STAFF NOTES

Philip Hershkovitz, Curator of Mam-
mals, Dr. Karl F. Koopman, recently ap-
pointed Assistant Curator of Mammals, and
Miss Sophie Andris, Osteologist, attended
the meetings of the American Society of
Mammalogists in Washington, D.C. . . .
Loren P. Woods, Curator of Fishes, was a
delegate to the meetings of the American
Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
in San Diego, California. . . . Dr. Fritz
Haas, Curator Emeritus of Lower Inverte-
brates, attended the American Malacalog-
ical Union meetings at Haverford, Pennsyl-
vania. In late July he will begin collecting
non-marine mollusks in the Great Smokies
Mountains. . . . Dr. Alan Solem, Curator
of Lower Invertebrates, is on a study tour
of museums in San Francisco, Los Angeles,
San Diego, Tucson, Denver and Boulder.
He is also filling lecture engagements in the
west. . . . George I. Ouimby, Curator of
North American Archaeology and Ethnol-
ogy, recently studied Upper Great Lakes
archaeological material in the Museum of
Anthropology at Ann Arbor, Michigan. . . .
Allen Liss, Custodian of Collections — An-
thropology, attended the Illinois Archaeolog-
ical Survey meeting at Springfield. . . . Mrs.
M. Eileen Rocourt, Associate Librarian,
has been elected chairman of the Museum
Division, Special Libraries Association.

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM

Following is a list of the principal gifts
received during the past month:

Department of Botany

From: H. R. Bennett, Chicago — 337 phan-
erogams, Michigan; Dr. Barbara Palser,
Chicago — 21 specimens of Ericaceae, South
Africa

Department of Geology

From: Dr. Raymond Alf, Claremont,
Calif . — 16 fossil mammals, 2 fossil reptiles,

SUMMER ENTERTAINMENTS
FOR CHILDREN

The Raymond Foundation will present
seven entertainments for children on Thurs-
day mornings during July and August — a
stage show, and six programs of motion pic-
tures. The programs will be given in the
James Simpson Theatre of the Museum,
with two performances of each, the first at
10 a.m., and the second, due to differences
in the length of films, with some variations
in hour as indicated in schedule below.

No tickets are needed. Children are wel-
come to come alone, accompanied by parents
or other adults, or in organized groups. Fol-
lowing are the dates and titles:

July 2 — Special Magic Show
(10 and 11 a.m.)
A stage production, featuring International
Magicians, and clowns

July 9 — Davy Crockett
(10 and 11:1^5 a.m.)
The original Disney interpretation of "the
King of the Wild Frontier"

July 16 — Summer Exploration
(10 and 11 a.m.)
Exploring the out-of-doors; also a cartoon

July 23 — Camping in Canada
(10 and 11 a.m.)
Also: Spirit of Algonquin, and a cartoon

July 30 — Mysteries of the Sea
(10 and 11 a.m.)
Coral Wonderlands; also the cartoon folk-
tale, The Fish and Fisherman

August 6 — Saludos Amigos (Special for the
Festival of the Americas)

(10 and 11 a.m.)
A Disney story of a visit to our Latin

American neighbors south of the border;

also a cartoon

August 13 — Dumbo (repeated in response
to many requests)

(10 and 11 :S0 a.m.)
Disney's story of a baby circus elephant

Nebraska; Robert E. Houston, Greenville,
Miss. — 3 fossil mammals

Department of Zoology

From: Miss Ivete Barbosa, Recife, Brazil
— 50 inland shells; Rezneat M. Darnell,
Milwaukee — collection of non-marine mol-
lusks, Louisiana; W. E. Eigsti, Hastings,
Neb. — a bird skin, 19 fleas, 4 ticks, Borneo
and Nebraska; Dr. Henry Field, Coconut
Grove, Fla. — a species of land shell, South
Arabia; Harry Hoogstraal, Cairo, Egypt —
55 bird skins; Frank Kovacik, Indian River
City, Fla. — a scarab beetle; Prof. Lean-Luc
Perret, Cameroons, West Africa — 2 frogs;
Melvin Traylor, Winnetka, 111.— 37 land
shells, Tripoli, Libya

PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

CHICAGO/^ /£,,-
HISTORY To/, so jvo.8

MUSEUM ^yw/ 4959

/

Page 2

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

August, 1959

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 Henry P. Isham

Sewell L. Avery William V. Kahler

Wm. McCormick Blair Hughston M. McBain

Walther Buchen J. Roscoe Miller

Chesser M. Campbell William H. Mitchell

Walter J. Cummings John T. Pirie, Jr.

Joseph N. Field Clarence B. Randall

Marshall Field, Jr. John G. Searle

Stanley Field Solomon A. Smith

Samuel Insull, Jr. Louis Ware
John P. Wilson

OFFICERS

Stanley Field President

Hughston M. McBain First Vice-President

Walther Buchen Second Vice-President

Joseph N. Field Third Vice-President

Solomon A. Smith Treasurer

Clifford C. Gregg Director and Secretary

John R. Millar Assistant Secretary

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR

Clifford C. Gregg Director of the Museum

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anthropology

Theodor Just Chief Curator of Botany

Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geology

Austin L. Rand Chief Curator of Zoology

MANAGING EDITOR
H. B. Harte Public Relations Counsel

ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Patricia McAfee Associate in Public Relations

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

MUSEUM ACQUIRES MUSEUM

By ALAN SOLEM and
EUGENE S. RICHARDSON, Jr.*

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUMS had
their start as cabinets of miscellaneous
specimens accumulated by individuals. Some
of these private collections formed the nuclei
of many of the world's foremost scientific in-
stitutions, including the British Museum
(Natural History).

The instinct to collect still is present in
mankind and, late last year, Chicago Nat-
ural History Museum acquired a collection
of natural history objects of such vast size
that it must be counted a museum in itself.
Formed by the late C. D. Nelson, for many
years head of a biology department in a
Grand Rapids, Michigan, high school, Mr.
Nelson devoted most of his later years to the
collecting and exchange of natural history
objects.

Items such as dried plants, Indian skele-
tons, turtle shells, pickled crabs, Mexican
pottery, stuffed rabbits, metal ingots, and
arrowheads were hidden in the mass of fos-
sils, minerals, and shells that comprised the
bulk of the material. Over nine tons of spec-
imens in more than 4,000 separate containers
were removed from the house, sorted, boxed,
and prepared for shipment to the Museum.

* Dr. Solem is Curator of Lower Invertebrates; Dr.
Richardson is Curator of Fossil Invertebrates.

Seven tons of these specimens occupying
about 700 cubic feet of space were retained
by the Museum.

The Division of Lower Invertebrates ac-
quired a mass of boxes measuring 8 x 12 x 4H
feet, which probably contains between 250,-
000 and 300,000 shells. The Division of Fos-
sil Invertebrates has close to 83,000 specimens
to sort, label, identify, and catalogue. Fossil
plants from this collection comprise perhaps
1,400 specimens, and there is an assortment of
more than 4,000 rock and mineral samples.

Mr. Nelson purchased some of this mate-
rial, and received some in exchanges with
fellow hobbyists, but he personally collected
a very large portion. A large bureau on his
sun-porch, crammed with road maps, notes
on collecting localities, and the names of hob-
byists in every state of the union attested to
his keen interest and future plans for col-
lecting.

Summer vacations were spent traveling
and collecting. After his retirement from
teaching twelve years ago, his summer avo-
cation was extended throughout the year and
included many trips to Florida and the West
Coast of the United States. Mention almost
any collecting locality in North America
famed for its shells, rocks, or fossils, and
somewhere in the Nelson collection is a box
or two of specimens from that locality.

Large collections of bird and mammal skins
had previously been donated by Mr. Nel-
son to Western Michigan University, and
shortly before his death, he presented 66,000
pairs of fresh-water clam shells to Michigan
State University. Thus, the seven-ton por-
tion now at Chicago Natural History Mu-
seum is only part of the efforts of this amaz-
ing hobbyist.

The basis of the shell collection was formed
by a Detroit resident, Frederick Stearns, who
became interested in shells during a business
trip to Japan in 1889. In the next seven
years, Stearns managed to accumulate 14,-
386 species of shells (perhaps 150,000 speci-
mens). Early in Nelson's career, he acquired
the Stearns collection. Most of these speci-
mens are still in the Nelson collection, in addi-
tion to the at least 100,000 shells which
Nelson collected personally.

So far, only a few boxes from this collec-
tion have been opened, and it will be several
years before we can hope to have finished
sorting and cataloguing this huge assortment.
Every box contains something new to our
collection and increases our respect for Nel-
son's diligence. Unlike most collectors, he
was not content with one example, but wanted
many specimens to show variation in size,
color, age, and sculpture. From a scientist's
viewpoint, such series are far more valuable
than any single specimen, no matter how
beautiful or perfect in size and shape.

Only a few of the 983 boxes of fossils have
been unpacked, but particularly impressive
are the thousands of Devonian corals, Juras-
sic plants from Oregon, Devonian inverte-
brates from New Mexico, and many other

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

Our cover shows a detail from a
carved wooden feast bowl of the
Kwakiutl Indians of Vancouver
Island, British Columbia. The
bowl, which is 40 inches long, is in
the form of a human figure. The
part shown here is 12} 2 inches high.
This bowl belonged to a chief, who
used it to serve food in a potlatch
feast. Its capacity is about five
gallons. It is included in the special
exhibit of Indian art (see pages 3,
4 and 5).

specimens from famous localities. Some of
these duplicate material already in our col-
lection, but the duplicates can be used to ex-
change with museums in other parts of the
world for material which we lack.

The finest individual specimen, a partial
cycad trunk nearly two feet tall, has been
gratefully accepted by the Botany Depart-
ment and earmarked for display in the syste-
matic botany sequence.

Franklin Furnace in New Jersey, Crest-
more in California, Bedford in New York,
and the Michigan copper district are all
names which kindle lights in the eyes of min-
eral collectors. Nelson visited all of these
sites, and more, in the days before amateurs
had cleaned out the readily available deposits
of beautiful and unusual minerals with which
these names are associated. The many, many
fluorescent minerals from Franklin Furnace
are particularly welcome additions to our
Museum.

Besides the nearly 4,000 mineral specimens,
there are almost 1,000 rocks, ores, geodes,
concretions, and other geological items added
to the collections of the Department of Ge-
ology.

We live in an age of compartmentalized
knowledge, in which most people are masters
of one tiny field of knowledge. The amazing
Nelson collection is now split up among the
four departments of the Museum where it
will be studied by members of at least a
dozen divisions, and will involve eventually
work by at least 20 scientists and their as-
sistants.

In each area of knowledge we can perhaps
make more detailed studies than were pos-
ble for Mr. Nelson. But there is not one of
us who will not be continually amazed that
one man could have accomplished so much
in so many different fields in one lifetime.

Such breadth of knowledge was character-
istic of the early naturalists, but with the
vast increase in scientific knowledge it is
rarely encountered today. It is indeed a
privilege for Chicago Natural History Mu-
seum to have acquired the life's work of such
an amazing person.

August, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

PageS

INDIAN ART OF ENTIRE WESTERN HEMISPHERE IN EXHIBIT

By DONALD COLLIER

CURATOR OF SOUTH AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY
AND ETHNOLOGY

INDIAN ART OF THE AMERICAS, a
special exhibit celebrating the Festival of
the Americas and the Third Pan American
Games, will be on display in Stanley Field
Hall from August 1 to September 28. This
will be the first major exhibit in this or any
other museum in the United States to cover
the ancient and recent Indian art of the
entire western hemisphere. The objects dis-
played were selected by the writer; the
exhibit was designed by Daniel Brenner,
well-known Chicago architect.

The purpose of the exhibit is to present
outstanding examples of the major art styles
of the last 2,500 years and to demonstrate
the richness and variety of Indian art. More
than half of the 106 objects in the exhibit
were chosen from this Museum's great col-
lection of Indian art. The remainder were
generously loaned by the following museums
and individuals: The American Museum of
Natural History, New York; A. G. Atwater,
Chicago; The Brooklyn Museum; Milwaukee
Public Museum; Museum of the American
Indian, Heye Foundation, New York; The
Museum of Primitive Art, New York; the
estate of Dr. Matthew Taubenhaus, Chicago;
Textile Museum, Washington, D. C; The
University Museum, Philadelphia; United
States National Museum (Smithsonian
Institution), Washington, D. C.

Examples of pieces in the exhibit are
shown on the cover and on pages 4 and 5.
A wide variety of mediums is included —
stone and ceramic sculpture; carvings in
stone, wood, bone, ivory, and shell; orna-
ments of gold, silver, and bronze; textiles;
and featherwork. The ceramic vessels, many
of which are in effigy form, are decorated by
modeling, carving, incising, and painting.
Some of the gold ornaments are cut, ham-
mered and soldered; others are cast by the
lost-wax technique.

COLOR AND TEXTURE CONTRASTS

Indian artists often combined several ma-
terials in a single sculpture to achieve con-
trasts of color, texture, and light-reflecting
properties. Several examples of this process
are included in the exhibit. A Tlingit head-
dress ornament is carved from wood, inlaid
with abalone shell, and overlaid with brass.
Both the abalone and the brass give brilliant
color contrast and reflect light from various
angles. A Peruvian mummy mask of wood
is painted, has inlaid eyes of blue and white
shell, and is furnished with a woven turban
studded with gold bangles and topped by a
gold plume. A statue of an Aztec god is
carved from lava rock and painted red. The
god's heart is represented by a piece of
glossy obsidian the size of a hen's egg set
into the chest. An Inca llama figurine of
silver wears a silver-studded "saddle" blanket

Fifteen pictures of Indian art
masterpieces will be found on
pages 4 and 5.

inlaid with red pigment and bordered with a
crimped ribbon of gold.

Included in the exhibit are art objects of
such primitive groups as the Eskimos, the
Indians of British Columbia, the Crow
Indians of Montana, the prehistoric Pueblo
Indians, the ancient Hopewell Indians and

Courtesy U. S. National Museum

Engraving on conch shell, Spiro culture.

the Middle Mississippi Indians of the Middle
West, and the Indians of the Amazon Basin.
The two Hopewell specimens, which are
figures of women exquisitely modeled in
clay, come from the Knight Mounds in
Illinois. The art of such civilized groups as
the Mayas and Aztecs of Mexico and the
Mochicas and Incas of Peru is well repre-
sented, and several rare examples of the
indigenous art of the West Indies are shown.
Many of the art objects depict religious
ideas or were designed to be used in religious
rituals or magical practices. For example,
the Eskimo mask in the exhibit was worn
by a shaman, and the Tlingit salmon-fishing
charm, which depicts a bear holding a salmon
in its mouth, was placed on stilts in the
middle of a river to increase the salmon run.
The Crow painted shield, which possessed
magical properties, shows a grizzly bear
facing a shower of bullets. The design was
revealed to the owner in a vision, and as
long as he carried the shield in battle he
was safe from bullets.

CAT AND SERPENT DEITIES

Much of the art of the civilized societies
of Mexico and Peru depicts deities or motifs
derived from religious concepts. The two
most important beings in the religion and
art of these two areas are a feline deity,

usually a puma or a jaguar, and a serpent
deity, shown as a rattlesnake or the mythical
feathered serpent in Mexico, and as other
kinds of snakes in the Andes. Both these
beings were associated in varying ways with
fertility and rain, and sometimes feline and
ophidian characteristics were combined in
the same deity. The great variety of ways
of depicting these two motifs is well illus-
trated in the exhibit.

In size the objects range from a 14}^-foot
male figure of wood, which served as a house
post of a Salish chief in British Columbia,
to a Maya jade head 2)^ inches high.

The Pan American countries represented
in the exhibit are the United States, Canada,
Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica,
Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia,
Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Jamaica,
Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico.

A catalogue, Indian Art of the Americas,
has been prepared to accompany the exhibit
and is on sale at the Museum. It includes
an introduction to Indian art, descriptions
of the pieces in the exhibit, and 68 illus-
trations.

The exhibit owes much of its interest to
the splendid objects loaned by the museums
mentioned above. It could not have been
brought to completion without the whole-
hearted co-operation and skillful help of
many individuals in various departments
and divisions of this Museum.

PACIFIC PICTURE BOOK
OFFERED FREE

The June issue of the WFMT Fine Arts
Guide, a monthly magazine devoted to
Chicago cultural activities, art features, and
the programming of Radio Station WFMT,
included a series of photographs of selected
specimens from the newly acquired Fuller
Collection of Archaeological and Ethnological
Materials from the South Seas. Many of the
specimens illustrated are included in the
Panorama of the Pacific temporary exhibit
of the Fuller Collection which has been
extended for an additional period of 60
days. It may be viewed in Albert W. Harris
Hall (Hall 18) of the Museum, and copies
of the Fine Arts Guide are available free of
charge upon request at the Museum Book
Shop.

Whooping Cranes Thriving

The whooping cranes' status improves,
according to data from Ottawa, Canada.
Thirteen years ago there were only 20 alive;
last year there were 31, as follows: 26 wild
birds, including four young, and five zoo
birds including two young. This year there
are at least 34, as follows: 28 wild birds,
including two young; and six zoo birds,
including one young.

1. Stone rattlesnake, Aztec

2. Chibcha gold figurines, Colombia

3. Hopewell figure

MASTER}

SOME of the objects in the
Immediately to the left (N i
chihuilicue, goddess of runnin i
The Hopewell clay figurine (No i
jaguar form (No. 13) from Peri

The objects illustrated are fr

of Nos. 3, 6 and 13, which ar> i

Natural History, New York, arls

6 and 13, courtesy American Museum and Universal

illustrated catalogue of the exhibition is available i

15. Gold pendant

7. Coffin front, Haida, British Columbia

9. Painted shield, Crow, Montana

10. Aztec figure

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4. Aztec goddess, stone

5. Kwakiutl mask, British Columbia

6. Negative-painted jar, Recuay, Peru

\T

ECES OF INDIAN ART

irent exhibit "Indian Art of the Americas" are shown on these pages.
5) is a Tolima style pendant of gold from Colombia. No. 4 shows Chal-
iter. The gold figures shown in No. 2 were cast by the lost-wax process,
was found in Illinois and dates from about 200 B.C. The stone bowl in
tes from about 800 B.C.

i the collection of Chicago Natural History Museum, with the exception
spectively from Milwaukee Public Museum, the American Museum of
ie|University Museum, Philadelphia. The photographs (except photos
luseum) were made in the Museum's Division of Photography. A fully
$1.00 postpaid.

8. Chibcha figure, Colombia

13. Stone jaguar bowl, Chavin, Peru

14. Chimu vase, Peru

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Page 5

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

August, 1959

PITY POOR PIGEON: HOST TO A COMMUNITY

By AUSTIN L. RAND

CHIEF CURATOR OF ZOOLOGY

A PIGEON flying by may seem to be all
alone, but the chances are it is really
a whole community. The bird is like an is-
land with its own flora and fauna, carrying
at least some of the 70 or so plants and ani-
mals that have been recorded as living on or
in the domestic pigeon. These include two
species of ticks, eight of mites, a fly, a bug,
six lice, nine roundworms, eighteen tape
worms, three flukes, eight protozoans, two
fungi, nine bacteria, four viruses, and doubt-
lessly many others.

Ignoring the smallest microscopic animals
and plants, the number of individuals of some
of the larger animals (the flies and ticks may
be as large as a housefly, and the tapeworms

several feet long) are impressive. A thou-
sand tapeworms have been found in the in-
testines of a single pigeon, 30 pigeon flies
among the feathers of a single bird, and 20
bird lice on a single feather.

Just as the animals on an island divide the
living space among themselves (birds in the
trees, rabbits on the ground, moles burrow-
ing, and fish in the streams), so do the ani-
mals and plants on the pigeon divide the
living space. Among the feathers are flies
and lice; on the skin, ticks and mites; bur-
rowing into and under the skin, mites; under
the eyelids, roundworms (eye worms) ; in air
passages, mites, roundworms, and fungi; in
the intestines, tapeworms, roundworms, pro-
tozoans and bacteria; in the blood stream,
roundworms (filaria), protozoans and viruses;
in the tissues, roundworms; and in the brain,
viruses.

Even with animals living among the feath-
ers on birds, some occupy special habitats.
Some broad, round lice live on body feathers;
some longer, more slender ones prefer the
head or wings; some mites prefer to live on
the quills, and some very small lice and mites
seem to prefer to drill a hole in the shaft and

live inside it. Some roundworm members of
a bird community do not live out their life
span in the same part of the bird. Their
peregrinations are probably something like
this: the egg, swallowed by the bird, hatches
in the intestine where the adult life of the
worm is spent. However, it first spends ten
days traveling. First penetrating the wall
of the intestine, the young worm is caught
up in the bloodstream and swept into the
liver, thence to the lungs and heart. Finally
it burrows from the lungs to the windpipe
and finally to the gullet, whence the route is
prosaic, via the alimentary tract to its adult
habitat, the intestines.

The food of the different members of this
community is as various as their form. Flies
and ticks, some mites, and some lice may
suck blood; some lice
may eat downy parts
of feathers; some mites,
living inside quills,
may feed on the pith
found there, others
may eat scurf and skin
debris; worms in the
intestines lie in a bath
of partly digested bird
food and absorb it
through their body
wall; some round-
worms (filaria) and
protozoans may feed
on the blood.

Probably all birds
support sizable com-
munities of other ani-
mals, and of course
there is the question of
how they arrive on the
"bird island." Some, like lice, undoubtedly
are handed down by parent to offspring when
the adults are brooding, through contact.
The antiquity of some of these heirlooms
may be judged by the fact that a species of
louse may be found on only one species of
bird. The passenger pigeon, for example,
had an endemic louse, and when the last
passenger pigeon died, the last of this spe-
cies of louse died with it.

There are also strange and complicated
life histories tied up with colonizing. Some
roundworms simply lay great numbers of
eggs, as many as 12,000 a day, and depend
on a few of them being swallowed by the
right kind of bird. But with some flukes, the
life cycle is very complicated. Male and fe-
male organs may be present in the same indi-
vidual and self-fertilization is the rule, thus
avoiding the necessity of two animals finding
each other in the dark labyrinth of the bird's
insides where they live. The eggs, passed
out by the bird, in some species may be
eaten by a snail where the young passes part
of its life. Then the snail may be eaten by
a fish, where the fluke passes more of its life,
and finally the fish is eaten by a bird, in

whose body the worms pass their adult life.

Yet other animals, like the one-celled ani-
mals that cause malaria, some roundworms
(filaria), and some viruses, are carried by
such vehicles as mosquitoes, which receive
them when they bite one bird, and pass them
on accidentally to the next bird they bite.

This of course brings our pigeon back into
perspective. As the filaria in the blood
stream is a tiny unit in the bird-island-com-
munity, so the pigeon is a small unit in a
larger community. In this community it
eats seeds, gives pleasure to some people who
like to feed peanuts to pigeons on elevated
railway stations; adds to the supply of poul-
try on the market; is the main actor in pigeon
racing; is the main food of duck hawks win-
tering in cities; and in the Egyptian Delta is
one of the reservoirs of the virus which causes
"West Nile Fever."

Such communities as that outlined for a
pigeon of a city street are not restricted to
birds, of course. Mammals, fish, snails and
worms all may have other, smaller animals
living on or in them. Each animal is a com-
munity in itself. Even the pigeon fly may
have a mite on it, and the mite in its turn
may carry bacteria.

An ideal, balanced community would exist
happily, each species not interfering unduly
with other species, though individuals must
continually go to the wall. A pendulum,
however, is a better comparison than a bal-
ance when thinking of populations; and even
then, if you take the long view, there are al-
ways species that lose out, no matter if they
are as big as dinosaurs or have teeth as long
as a sabre-toothed tiger. There is always
something getting out of balance. Often it
has to do with a new invasion of an animal
or plant, as the chestnut blight from Asia
that wiped out the American chestnut; the
rabbits introduced on Laysan Island that
disrupted the whole community of nesting
birds by eating up all the vegetation; the
African giant snail in the Pacific islands; and
the blood-destroying protozoan in Brazil
which caused a malaria outbreak that killed
thousands of people when certain mosqui-
toes were introduced from Africa.

Such widespread devastation by one ani-
mal or plant "kills the goose that lays the
golden egg" for the invader finally suffers
from food shortage. That natural checks
and controls may develop is nowhere better
illustrated than by the Australian cottony
cushion scale insect which, introduced into
California about 1868, threatened the citrus
industry, but was brought under control by
introducing its counter-pest, an Australian
ladybird beetle.

Such intricacies are fascinating studies,
showing the interdependence of living things.
But no one biologist can be expected to know
how to classify and name all these diverse
organisms — which is preliminary to talking
about them — let alone have the time to work
out all their life histories. Thus the studies
are co-operative and piecemeal. The bird

August, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

specialist sends the lice from a bird to a louse
specialist; the specialist in ticks sends the
birds from which his ticks came to an orni-
thologist for identification. With the recog-
nition of the role that some of the units of
these communities play in spreading and
causing human disease, public health and
tropical medicine units have devoted much
time of many people to studying these prob-
lems, but these people, too, depend on the
work of museum specialists, or develop their
own specialists to work with series of reference
specimens, in effect museum-type collections.

The personnel of Chicago Natural History
Museum have not only studied the classifica-
tion of many animals, great and small, in
which they are specialists, but have also
helped specialists in other groups and have
been helped by them. They have also stud-
ied the relations of some animals to their en-
vironment, whether it be the trees and the
weather, neighbors of similar size and habits,
or host-parasite relationships.

Museum scientists have participated in
many unusual activities. They have de-
scribed a new lizard from the stomach of an
African goshawk; described how cows help
a Central American cuckoo catch grasshop-
pers; and evaluated the relationship of fla-
mingoes in view of their lice being more like
those of geese and ducks, rather than those
of storks and herons. They have also ad-
vised on bats' share in the recent cases of
rabies in the United States; commented on
why birds wipe ants on their feathers; and
helped with the demonstration that coloniza-
tion of African ticks in Europe may be
brought about by the agency of migrating
birds. With a student of viruses they have
discussed how a recently discovered Indian
virus, which affects men and monkeys, oc-
curs in birds, and is transferred by ticks, may
have been introduced into India from Rus-
sian points to the north by migrating birds,
either in their bloodstream or in ticks they
carried.

Books

SEA TREASURE. A Guide to Shell
Collecting. By Kathleen Yerger John-
stone. Houghton Mifflin Co., 1957.
247 pages. 8 color plates, numerous line
drawings. $4.

Nearly every person who visits the sea-
shore picks up a few shells on the beach and
brings them home as vacation mementos.
Usually the interest is fleeting and the beach-
worn shells or curio-shop souvenirs gather
dust on the mantle or are buried in a small
box 'way back in an overcrowded attic.
Yet the beautiful forms, colors, and in-
tricate ornamentation of seashells some-
times kindle a curiosity that rapidly grows
into a desire to have more and more kinds,

bigger and better specimens, and rare
species that "Mr. Jones" doesn't have.
Many people are bitten by the "shell bug."
Some pass beyond the "stamp-collecting"
stage and through their interest in the shell
as part of a living organism become very
competent amateur naturalists. If infected
early enough, professional biologists may
even result from "shell fever" (the author
of this review is an example).

The gaps between the levels of interest
are large and bridged but slowly. Recent
years have produced a revival of interest
in shell-collecting as a hobby, and many
excellent books have been published that
aid the collector in identifying his specimens.
For the person with some background in-
formation and a definite interest, these
books offer excellent summaries of the
common species and are often instrumental
in converting an admirer of beautiful shells
into a serious amateur student of mollusks.

The biggest gap, and the hardest one to
cross, is that between the first flicker of
interest and the first attempt to make
a collection of shells. The identification
manuals, with their imposing scientific
names and pictures of a bewildering variety
of shells, are confusing to the novice and
may even discourage a potential hobbyist.
There has long been a great need for an
introduction to shell-collecting that at-
tempts to explain general principles and
provides guidance for the person with an
interest but no knowledge. Sea Treasure
does this more than adequately. Written in
a very simple style, it can be understood by
an intelligent nine- or ten-year-old; yet it
offers enough information to be of value to
the new conchologist of sixty-five. Few
books are at all comparable. R. Tucker
Abbott's Introducing Sea Shells is aimed at
a higher level of interest and might serve as
the next step for a budding conchologist.
The only other general introduction, A.
Hyatt Verrill's Handbook for Shell Collectors,
contains many inaccuracies and is not
recommended.

Besides the expected summaries on how
and where to collect shells and the mechanics
of housing, cleaning, and identifying a shell
collection, Sea Treasure adds several very
useful features.

From the viewpoint of a scientist, three
items are extremely welcome. The emphasis
on the shell as part of a living animal
(Chapters 5 and 6) is a long overdue subject
for consideration in popular books on shells.
Few people realize that conservation of good
localities is as important to other shell
collectors as the fish-and-game laws are to
sportsmen (Chapter 10, "Don't be a Pig").
And the advice on the care and handling of
museums by the amateur (pp. 109-111)
may help alleviate one of our biggest head-
aches as professional malacologists.

Sea Treasure is not an identification
manual, and the illustrations were chosen

SPECIAL EXHIBITS

The following special exhibits are sched-
uled for the summer months:

Panorama of the Pacific, through August
31, Albert W. Harris Hall (Hall 18). Se-
lected material from the Fuller Collection
of South Seas artifacts.

The Music Makers — Exotic Musical
Instruments of the World. Through
August 31, Edward E. and Emma B. Ayer
Hall (Hall 2).

Indian Art of the Americas, August 1-
September 28, Stanley Field Hall. Select-
ed art objects from the North, Central,
and South American collections of this and
other leading museums. The exhibit co-
ordinates with Chicago's Festival of the
Americas in connection with the Pan
American Games.

to show unusual or particularly beautiful
shells, thus serving to lure the reader
further. The black-and-white drawings are
excellent, but the many color-figures suffer
from an "artistic" treatment. While
generally accurate, the intensified coloration
and surface "sheen" of the pictures may
make the actual specimens seem dull and
unattractive by comparison.

For the person who knows nothing about
shells and wishes to learn, Sea Treasure is
unhesitatingly recommended. As a museum
scientist who receives many requests for
general information on how to collect shells,
I welcome Sea Treasure as a useful and
accurate aid to help answer these questions.

Alan Solem
Curator, Lower Invertebrates

Technical Publications

The following technical publications were
issued recently by the Museum:

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 36, No. 4. Catalogue
of Type Specimens of Reptiles and
Amphibians in Chicago Natural History
Museum. By Hymen Marx. 90 pages.
$1.25.

Fieldiana: Anthropology, Vol. 36, No. 8.
The Old Copper Culture and the Keweenaw
Waterway. By George I. Quimby and
Albert C. Spaulding. 13 pages, 7 illus-
trations. 40c.

Fieldiana: Anthropology, Vol. 36, No. 9.
Lizard Hunts on the North Coast of Peru.
By Allan R. Holmberg. 18 pages, 15 illus-
trations. 75c.

Fieldiana: Botany, Vol. 29, No. 4. Mono-
graph of the Genus Russella (Scrophularia-
ceae). By Margery C. Carlson. 70 pages,
7 illustrations, 3 maps. $1.50.

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 39, No. 11. The
Races of the Shrike Lanius validirostris.
By Austin L. Rand and D. S. Rabor.
2 pages. 10c.

Page 8

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

August, 1959

TWO MORE MOVIES
FOR CHILDREN

The two final programs in the Raymond
Foundation's summer series of free movie
programs will be given on the mornings of
the first two Thursdays in August. The
shows are presented in the James Simpson
Theatre of the Museum, and two perform-
ances of each are offered. No tickets are
needed. Children are welcome to come alone,
accompanied by parents or other adults, or
in organized groups.

The remaining dates and titles are:

August 6— Saludos Amigos (Special for the
Festival of the Americas)

(10 and 11 a.m.)
A Disney story of a visit to our Latin

American neighbors south of the border;

also a cartoon

August 13 — Dumbo (repeated in response
to many requests)

(.10 and 11:30 a.m.)
Disney's story of a baby circus elephant

Children's "Fishing" to End

August is the last month of "Goin'
Fishin'," the summer Museum Journey for
children. The Journey may be made any
day. Instructions are given to participating
children at either Museum entrance.

Beginning September 1, and continuing
through November 30, a new Journey,
"Giant Plants," will be offered. Details will
appear in the next Bulletin.

Children successfully completing four
Journeys on different subjects are designated
Museum Travelers. After eight Journeys
they receive awards as Museum Adventurers;
after twelve they become Museum Explorers.
After sixteen Journeys they become eligible
for a final project and admission to a
Museum Club.

Staff Notes

William D. Turnbull, Assistant Curator
of Fossil Mammals, and Ronald J. Lambert,
Preparator of Fossils, have completed their
season's paleontological field work in
Washakie Basin, Wyoming, and returned
with their fossil collections. . . . Mrs. Meta
P. Howell, Librarian, attended the recent
meetings of the American Library Associa-
tion in Washington, D. C. . . . Dr. Roland
W. Force, Curator of Oceanic Archaeology
and Ethnology, attended a meeting in New
York last month of the Subcommittee on
Man preparing for the Century 21 Exposi-
tion to be held in Seattle in 1961. Dr. Force
also made study visits to the American
Museum of Natural History, New York, the
Brooklyn Museum, and the Peabody Museum
in Salem, Massachusetts.

Save Elms, Lose Birds

The summer robin population on the
Michigan State University's North Campus,
East Lansing, decreased from 185 pairs in
1954, to three adults in 1958, due to inten-
sive spraying to control elm bark beetles
and to control mosquitos. The poison is
accumulative, according to Prof. G. J.
Wallace.

Audubon Magazine, Jan.-Feb., 1959

NEW MEMBERS

(June 16 to July 16)

Associate Members

Edward C. Becker, George L. Briggs, L.
B. Buchanan, George A. Duclos, James H.
Dunbar, Jr., Winston Elting, Rogers
Follansbee, Raphael N. Friedman, Fred W.
German, Frank G. Gillett, Howard E. Green,
David J. Harris, A. J. Jacobson, Mrs. John
Andrews King, R. H. Lamberton, Robert
J. Ley, Donald MacArthur, John T. Moss,
Gilbert H. Scribner, Jr., Henry Shapiro,
William M. Spencer, Robert D. Stuart, Jr.,
Maxfield Weisbrod, Mrs. W. R. Zitzewitz

Sustaining Members

Milton Searle Carstens, John V. Dodge,
Donald K. Keith, C. Virgil Martin

Annual Members

Mrs. Fred Almond, Gilbert Altschul, Mrs.
Frank R. Anderson, Mrs. Stanley D.
Anderson, John W. Baird, Dr. Knowlton E.
Barber, Frank Benestante, James Brown,
IV, Edwin Butterfield, Thomas M. Clarke,
Mrs. Robert E. Cleveland, Maurice W.
Coburn, Louis L. Cohen, Mrs. B. J. Cohn,
George D. Crowley, J. Edgar Daniels, James
N. Davis, Merle S. Deardorff, Darrell D.
Decker, Dr. Willis G. Diffenbaugh, John J.
Donovan, Earl S. Ebers, Jr., J. E. Eddy,
E. A. Ederer, Mrs. John K. Edmunds,
Walton F. Ehren, Mrs. Clarence E. Ellison,
Reverend Michael Fourcade, S. I., Mrs.
Anthony Giacobe, Lee R. Gignilliat, Jr.,
A. J. Goldsmith, Miss Myrene Gray, Arthur
G. Hailand, Mrs. Joseph Halla, Jr., F. W.
Hawley, Jr., Russell N. Head, Jack Heeren,
Irvin E. Houck, Mrs. J. Roy Hubbart, Mrs.
Fred E. Hummel, Melvin Kanter, Alvin L.
Kaplan, John F. Kelley, John E. Kelly, Jr.,
Paul C. Kjelstrom, D. M. LeHockey, Brian
Charles LeMauk, Bennett S. Levy, Fred G.
Litsinger, Dr. Audley M. Mackel, Dr. Adolph
M. Mailer, Dr. Frank P. Mangan, Dr.
Philip Mann, Miss Ruth S. Moore, John
Mullin Naghten, Dr. Thomas J. Naughton,
Knute Nelson, Lincoln K. Nelson, Leo
Newcombe, Dr. Joshua Oden, Dr. Ignacio
Odiaga, Richard J. Penner, Mrs. Charles H.
Percy, Mrs. James A. Rahl, Eugene Riegler,
N. H. Rudd, Bernard Sachar, Benjamin I.
Simpson, Mrs. Ernest Skaff, Taylor G.
Soper, T. R. Stahl, William P. Sutter,
Charles Taub, Joseph A. Tecson, Joseph D.
Teitelbaum, Parker W. Thomas, Miss
Dorothy Turck, Mrs. James T. Venerable,
Donald K. Weiser, Robert A. Wilbrandt,
Eugene A. Wilhelm, John H. Willmarth,
Robert H. Wilson, Marvin J. Wolfson, Glenn
Wray, Miss Karyl Yost

SUMMER LECTURE-TOURS
GIVEN TWICE DAILY

During August, daily lecture-tour service
will be continued on a two-a-day schedule,
mornings as well as afternoons, as in July.
Although during this period there will be no
tours on Saturdays or Sundays, visitors to
the Museum will be welcomed during the
regular hours, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Except on Thursdays, the morning tours,
which begin at 11 o'clock, will be devoted to
the exhibits of a single department. All the
afternoon tours, given at 2 o'clock, and also
the 11 a.m. tour on Thursdays, will be gen-
eral tours of the outstanding exhibits in all
four departments.

Lecturers of the Raymond Foundation
staff conduct the tours. Following is the
schedule for each week during August:

Mondays: 11 a.m. — The Animal Kingdom
2 p.m. — Highlights of the Exhibits

Tuesdays: 11 A.M. — People and Places
2 p.m. — Highlights of the Exhibits

Wednesdays: 11 A.M. — The World of Plants
2 P.M. — Highlights of the Exhibits

Thursdays: 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. — Highlights
of the Exhibits

Fridays: 11 A.M. — The Earth's Story
2 p.m.— Highlights of the Exhibits

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM

Following is a list of the principal gifts
received during the past month:

Department of Botany

From: Dr. E. E. Sherff, Hastings, Mich.—
35 phanerogams, Hawaii; C. A. Sylvester,
Evanston, 111. — 81 phanerogams

Department of Geology

From: Dr. Eigel Nielsen, Copenhagen,
Denmark — cast of Eocene turtle skull

Department of Zoology

From: Miss Peggy Blake, Evanston, 111.—
a bird skin; British Museum (Natural His-
tory), London— 219 reprints of publications
on mammals; Norman R. French, Idaho
Falls, Ida.— 7 bird skins, a marmoset,
Ecudaor; C. E. Hoger, St. Louis— 6 land
shells, Illinois; Harry Hoogstraal, Cairo,
Egypt — 107 mammals, a frog, 33 lizards, 52
snakes; Karl Plath, Oak Park, 111.— a bird
skin, Philippines; Scripps Institution, La
Jolla, Calif. — 71 fish specimens, Mexico;
Dr. Fritz Zumpt, Johannesburg, South Africa
— 4 mammal skins, a mammal skull,
Mozambique and Southwest Africa

Visitors deeply interested in subjects
covered by Museum exhibits are welcome to
seek further information by consulting books
in the Museum's reference library where
135,000 volumes, one of the largest collec-
tions in the specialized fields of natural
history, are available.

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Page 2

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

September, 1959

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 Henry P. Ishaii

Sekei.l L. Avery William V. Kahler

Wm. McCormick Blair Hughston M. McBain

Walther Buchen J. Rosooe Miller

Chesser M. Campbell William H. Mitchell

Walter J. Cummings John T. Pirie, Jr.

Joseph N. Field Clarence B. Randall

Marshall Field, Jr. John G. Searle

Stanley Field Solomon A. Smith

Samuel Insull, Jr. Louis Ware

John P. Wilson*

OFFICERS

Stanley Field President

Hughston M. McBain First Vice-President

Walther Buchen Second Vice-President

Joseph N. Field Third Vice-President

Solomon A. Smith Treasurer

Clifford C. Gregg Director and Secretary

John R. Millar Assistant Secretary

* Deceased July 26, 1959

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR
Clifford C. Gregg Director of the Museum

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anthropology

Theodor Just Chief Curator of Botany

Sh ah at K. Roy Chief Curator of Geology

Austin L. Rand Chief Curator of Zoology

MANAGING EDITOR
H. B. Harte Public Relations Counsel

ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Patricia McAfee Associate in Public Relations

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

RECEPTION AT MUSEUM

OPENS AMERICAS FESTIVAL

The opening on July 30 of the special ex-
hibit, Indian Art of the Americas, in Stanley
Field Hall, at a preview for Members of the
Museum and other invited guests, proved to
be one of the liveliest and most successful
evening events ever staged in the Museum.

It was not only a Museum event, but the
official inaugural of Chicago's Festival of the
Americas for cultural exchanges between all
the nations of the western hemisphere in the
fields of painting, sculpture, music, ballet
and drama — a prelude to the Pan American
Games.

Preceding the preview of the Museum ex-
hibit, the Women's Committee for the Pan
American Games entertained some 400 guests
at a gala international dinner party in the
dining rooms of the Museum. Present were
Chicago civic, artistic, and business leaders,
and the consular corps not only of Pan Amer-
ican countries but also the representatives of
nations of Europe, Asia, Africa and elsewhere.
A message from President Eisenhower to the
assemblage was read by Mayor Daley. The
dinner was followed by a reception in Stanley
Field Hall. The Mayor and Mrs. Daley
headed the reception line of distinguished
persons.

At the same time the Museum was host
to its membership, who participated in the
preview of the exhibit and were served re-
freshments. In all, 1,387 persons attended
the evening's festivities.

Through the courtesy of Mrs. J. Dennis
Freund, a concert of chamber music was per-
formed in the James Simpson Theatre by
members of the Grant Park Symphony
Orchestra, with Thor Johnson conducting.
Highlight of the program was the world pre-
miere of a new composition with an American
Indian motif, the Concerto for Oboe and
Strings, Opus 87, by Dr. Jack Frederick
Kilpatrick, authority on American Indian
Music.

The 50 or more members of the Women's
Committee whose planning, hard work, and
sharing of expenses contributed tremendously
to the success of the event co-ordinated their
efforts through Mrs. Frederick W. Specht,
chairman, Mrs. O. A. Jackson and Mrs. A. D.
Plamondon, Jr., co-chairmen. The respon-
sibilities for the myriad chores connected
with the occasion were divided between sev-
eral subcommittees.

Indian Art of the Americas will remain on
exhibition in Stanley Field Hall through
October 28. The first major exhibit in the
United States to cover ancient and recent
Indian art of the entire western hemisphere,
its time scope is the last 2,500 years, and its
geographic scope from Alaska to southern
South America. A detailed description by
Dr. Donald Collier, Curator of South Amer-
ican Archaeology and Ethnology, together
with a two-page layout of pictures appeared
in the August Bulletin. Copies of an illus-
trated catalogue compiled by Dr. Collier are
still available from the Museum at $1 post-
paid.

STAFF NOTES

Albert W. Forslev, Associate Curator of
Mineralogy, will leave early in September on
a mineral collecting expedition to the copper
mining districts of New Mexico and Arizona,
and the borax deposit of the Death Valley
region of California. . . . Dr. Robert H.
Denison, Curator of Fossil Fishes, and
Orville L. Gilpin, Chief Preparator of Fos-
sils, are collecting Devonian fish specimens
in Wyoming, Idaho, and the Canadian prov-
ince of Alberta. . . . Dr. John Thieret,
Curator of Economic Botany, is engaged in
field work in the Great Slave Lake and far
northern Great Plains regions of Canada.
. . . Dr. Theodore Just, Chief Curator of
Botany, attended the 9th International Bo-
tanical Congress in Montreal last month.
He presented a paper on Cycadaceae at a
meeting of the Paleobotanical Section. . . .
George I. Quimby, Curator of North Amer-
ican Archaeology and Ethnology, has been
elected a Fellow of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science. . . . Dr.
Donald Collier, Curator of South American

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

Shown on our cover is a view of
part of a new diorama recently in-
stalled in Hall 8. The scene is the
Great Market in the Aztec capital,
now Mexico City, shortly before
the arrival of Cortez. In the fore-
ground are seen fresh fish being
unloaded from a dugout canoe,
and the fruit and vegetable sec-
tion. Farther back are jars of
honey, sacks of ground chocolate,
and live turkeys and dogs. Behind
the market is the great pyramid
of Tlatelolco, and a snow-covered
volcano is seen in the distance.
Further details are given on page 3.

Archaeology and Ethnology, participated as
a member of a panel discussion of the Fes-
tival of the Americas on "The American
Scene" television program over Station
WNBQ (Channel 5) on August 16. He gave
a commentary on the current special exhibit,
"Indian Art of the Americas," and showed
illustrative material. . . . D. Dwight Davis,
Curator of Vertebrate Anatomy, recently
lectured on his Malayan exploration for
members of the Kennicott Club.

JOHN P. WILSON

1877-1959

With deep regret, the Museum learned of
the death at Charlevoix, Michigan, on July 26
of John P. Wilson, a Trustee of the Museum.
Mr. Wilson was elected to the Board of Trus-
tees in 1932, and since 1933 had served as a
member both of the
Finance Committee
and the Executive
Committee.

Mr. Wilson was an
outstanding Chicago-
an. He was senior
partner of Wilson and
Mcllvaine, attorneys,
and had served as a
director of Marshall
Field and Company,
International Harves-
ter Company, The John P. Wilson
First National Bank

of Chicago, The United States Trust Com-
pany of New York, and the General Electric
Company. He gave generously of his time
and money for the benefit of others, and
served as a member of the Board of Trustees
of the University of Chicago, the Children's
Memorial Hospital, and the Newberry
Library.

His wise counsel and outstanding service
to the Museum over a period of more than a
quarter of a century are deeply appreciated.
He will be greatly missed.

September, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

PageS

NEW AZTEC DIORAMA COMPLETES MESOAMERICAN HALL

By DONALD COLLIER

CURATOR OF SOUTH AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY
AND ETHNOLOGY

THE REINSTALLATION of Hall 8 (An-
cient and Modern Indians of Mexico and
Central America) was completed recently
with the opening of a diorama showing Aztec
life. The scene is the Great Market at Tla-

WATERWAYS IMPORTANT THEN, TOO

Dugout canoes landing at this canal terminal have brought Iresh fish and dry

goods direct to market.

telolco in a.d. 1515, nearly five years before
the arrival of Cortez. Tlatelolco and Tenoch-
titlan were twin cities forming the Aztec
capital, which today is Mexico City, the cap-
ital of Mexico.

The Aztec market exhibit was created by
Dioramist Alfred Lee Rowell. It is one of
the most elaborate, beautiful, and informa-
tive of the remarkable series of dioramas
depicting Indian life that Mr. Rowell has
constructed for the Museum during the past
eighteen years. The series includes ten dio-
ramas dealing with Indian groups in the
United States, two with the Mayas, one with
the Aztecs, and one with the Incas of Peru.

As we approach the Aztec diorama we see
a great square thronged with people and
crowded with merchandise. The market is
bordered on three sides by covered galleries
supported by columns ("arcades") in which
vendors and artisans have their stalls. In
the background is the great pyramid of Tla-
telolco with its twin temples, and far away
rises the eastern range of mountains domi-
nated by the snow-capped volcanoes, Ixtac-
cihuatl and Popocatepetl.

WOMEN FIGHT FOR BARGAINS

To our right in the market is the cotton
cloth and clothing section. On display are
women's skirts and blouses (huipils), men's
mantles, cloth, raw cotton, hanks of dyed
thread, and a feather blanket. Two women

are struggling for possession of an embroi-
dered blouse (see illustration) as at a bargain
sale in a modern department store.

Nearer the center of the plaza is the head
of a canal at the edge of which two dugout
canoes are unloading dry goods and fresh fish
(illustration). Tenochtitlan-Tlatelolco is an
island city in Lake Texcoco, connected with
the mainland by three
stone causeways. An
aqueduct brings fresh
water from the distant
shore, for the lake wa-
ter is brackish. The
city is cut by many ca-
nals which are spanned
by wooden draw-
bridges. The lake
serves not only as a
means of defense of the
city but also as a wa-
terway for thousands
of canoes carrying food
and produce and raw
materials to the city,
to return with cargoes
of merchandise.

To the left of the
canal is the fruit and
vegetable section (illus-
tration). We see corn,
squash, beans, toma-
toes, peppers, sweet
potatoes, avocados,
and pineapples. Some of these have been
brought from the warmer, lower country to
the south and east of the Valley of Mexico.
Farther to the left are the pottery section
(illustration) and the flower stalls. We see
great stacks of water jars, cooking pots,
bowls and plates, grater bowls with tripod
legs for grinding chile, braziers, and finely
painted and burnished bowls and vases.

FLOWERS IN'pROFUSION

The Aztecs were very fond of flowers,
which they used in everyday life and for
ceremonial purposes. They cultivated tube-
roses, dahlias, marigolds, cosmos, and zin-
nias. We see many of these in the market,

Exhibit of Indian Art
Extended to Oct. 28

The special exhibit, Indian Art of
the Americas, originally scheduled to
end September 28, has been extended
to October 28. Included in the show,
located in Stanley Field Hall, are se-
lected art objects from the North,
Central and South American collec-
tions of this and other leading mu-
seums. The material represents some
2,500 years of creative effort.

and customers are carrying flowers along
with their other purchases.

Farther back in the market we see for sale
ground chocolate, turkeys, fattened dogs
raised especially for eating, grinding stones
for mealing corn, cordage and rope of maguey
fiber, wood and wood products, stone images
of the corn goddess to be used in household
shrines, flake knives of obsidian being made
on the spot, dyes and pigments, feathers —
and even slaves. A barber is cutting a cus-
tomer's hair with a razor-sharp obsidian knife.
Freshly baked tortillas are available for the
hungry shoppers.

These are some of the things we see in the
Great Market. Our limited space prevents
enumerating all of the merchandise available
or describing all the kinds of distinctively
dressed people who make up the throng —
the porters, boatmen and artisans, the ven-
dors and merchants, the housewives and
children, the military men, the market offi-
cials and juvenile officers. To paraphrase
Bernal Diaz, who visited the Tlatelolco mar-
ket with Cortez and Montezuma on a No-
vember day in 1519, we wish we could tell
of all the things that are sold in the market,
but they are so numerous and of such dif-
ferent quality, and the market place with its
surrounding arcades is so crowded with peo-
ple that one would not be able to tell about
it all in two days.

TURMOIL IN CLOTHING DEPARTMENT

Determined women fight it out over an embroidered

blouse while the distressed merchant looks on.

The sources of information on which the
Aztec diorama is based are of considerable
interest. Of primary importance were three
documents: The True History of the Conquest
of New Spain by Bernal Diaz del Castillo;
The Five Letters of Hernando Cortez; and the
Codex Mendoza. Diaz's eyewitness account
of the conquest of Mexico contains a vivid
description of the Great Market at Tlate-
lolco. A fine copy of the first edition of this
book (Madrid, 1632), opened to the pages
describing the market, is on display at New-
berry Library as part of the exhibit on early
books relating to Pan American history.
Cortez's letters, which were written to

Page k

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

September, 1959

Charles V, King of Spain and Holy Roman
Emperor, between 1519 and 1526, are an
account of the conquest and a record of
his observations of the life and customs of
the Mexicans. They constitute one of the
most remarkable documents of the Period of
Discovery.

POTTERY FOR SALE
Although decorated for eye appeal, this pottery was
made for utilitarian purposes primarily. Much of
it has been preserved to the present day, providing
archaeological data and treasures for museums and
art collectors.

The Codex Mendoza, a document assem-
bled shortly after the Spanish Conquest, con-
tains a pictographic account of Aztec history;
Montezuma's Tribute Roll; and a general
account of Aztec customs illustrated by na-
tive artists. This codex was Mr. Rowell's
most useful source of information on cos-
tumes and accessories and hairdress, on the
appearance of many of the items of merchan-
dise in the market, and on the character and
appearance of the military and civilian offi-
cials. He mastered the difficult 16th cen-
tury handwriting in which the explanations
in the codex are recorded — with the flour-
ishes, inconsistencies of spelling, omissions
and abbreviations — and became a true au-
thority on the kinds and quality of tribute
accorded Montezuma by all the hundreds of
towns under Aztec domination.

Other useful sources were Bernardino de
Sahagun's Historia General de las Cosas de
Nueva Espana, and the illustrations for this
work, done by Aztec artists, called the Codex
Florenlino. Archaeological studies and in-
terpretations of Aztec culture were indis-
pensable.

The Museum's excellent Aztec collection,
which is displayed in cases flanking the dio-
rama, furnished models for many of the arti-
facts shown in the market scene. Data on
fish and cultivated plants came from books
and the collections of the Departments of
Zoology and Botany. Helpful advice was
received from Dr. Alfonso Caso, distinguished
Mexican archaeologist, and J. Eric S. Thomp-
son, Museum Research Associate in Central
American Archaeology.

These are the sources from which Mr.
Rowell drew his understanding of Aztec life
and commerce. The details of the market
are as authentic as painstaking study and

imaginative insight can make them. To this
accuracy of detail he has added that inde-
finable artistic ingredient which renders the
diorama both alive and believable. We see
not a clever collection of archaeological de-
tails but a scene of lively human activity,
the very epitome of Aztec daily life. The
reader will have to see for himself the humor-
ous scenes, the squabbling, the crises, the
bartering, and the gossiping, all being en-
acted within the teeming market throng at
Tlatelolco.

It is fitting that the new Mesoamerican
hall should be completed in time for the
Festival of the Americas and the Third Pan
American Games now being held in Chicago.
There are exhibits of archaeological and eth-
nological material from Panama, Costa Rica,

BUSY FOOD SECTION

Fruit and vegetables are heaped in front of a woman
making tortillas on a charcoal brazier.

Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, British
Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico. The
completeness of the Mexican archaeological
exhibits and the high quality of the objects
shown are due in part to the extensive ex-
change carried out with the National Mu-
seum of Mexico in 1950. The exhibits in
Hall 8 form a rich and varied complement to
the works of art in the special exhibit "In-
dian Art of the Americas," which will be on
display in Stanley Field Hall until Octo-
ber 28.

Russian Arts Group on Visit

A group of sixteen distinguished Russian
artists, actors, writers, musicians, and educa-
tors visited the Museum briefly on August 17.
Included were Pavel Markov, Director of the
Moscow Art Theatre; Vladimir Kandelski,
Director of the Stanislavsky Music Theatre,
and Evan Martynov, musicologist and critic
for Pravda. The group was sponsored by the
International Cultural Exchange Service of
the American National Theatre and Acad-
emy. Mrs. Lydia Kislova, representing
Supreme Soviet Praesidium-American Cul-
tural Relationship, was group leader and
principal interpreter. Dr. Donald Collier,
Curator of South American Archaeology and
Ethnology, and John R. Millar, Deputy
Director, were hosts and guides.

GEM WITH QUALITIES
OF A CHAMELEON

By HARRY CHANGNON

CURATOR OF EXHIBITS — GEOLOGY

AMONG the vagaries of nature none
pleases milady more than the chame-
leon-like behavior of the gem called alex-
andrite. By day, for her afternoon teas,
alexandrite gives her a cool emerald-green
color to match her sparkling chatter and
chic attire. For an evening dance at the
club under the subdued lights of the ball-
room, her alexandrite (without consulting a
genie) changes to a soft columbine-red to
match her luxurious surroundings and re-
laxed mood.

This dual-purpose gem is one of several
varieties of the mineral known as chryso-
beryl. In composition, chrysoberyl proper
is a beryllium aluminate, and when pure it
is transparent. However, as is commonly
the case with minerals, it may contain minute
amounts of impurities, such as oxides of iron
and chromium, which tint the mineral, im-
parting pleasing bright colors of yellow,
green, and brown.

Chrysoberyl possesses the necessary attri-
butes to be classed as a precious stone —
rarity, hardness (only surpassed by corun-
dum and diamond), and beauty. It has long
enjoyed a steady but limited demand as a
gem. Through the years different varieties
have been more popular than others. Dur-
ing the reign of Louis XIV of France, bright
yellow chrysoberyls were popular and com-
manded almost the same price as diamonds.
Today, two varieties, alexandrite and cat's-
eye (a cloudy chatoyant variety), are most
in demand and command high prices.

Alexandrite is a bright blue-green to emer-
ald-green variety of chrysoberyl that possesses
a remarkable dichroism. Dichroism is the
property of presenting different colors in two
different directions. It is possessed by many
gemstones, but the chameleon-like behavior
of alexandrite is unique. By daylight it is

Illustrations by Maidi Wiebe

GEM WITH 'BUILT-IN GENIE*
To possess an alexandrite gem would be like owning
one with a magical character, because it changes color.

September, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

bright grass-green or emerald green, and in
artificial light it is red to violet. Alexandrite
has, therefore, been described as "an emerald
by day and amethyst by night." To accen-
tuate this peculiar character the gem must
be cut to a certain thickness, the contrast in
color being less pronounced in a gem cut with
little depth. Suitable thickness of the trans-
mitting layer is an important factor.

Although chrysoberyl proper has been
known for several centuries, the alexandrite
variety was not discovered until 1833. The
discovery was made in the once famous Rus-
sian emerald mines situated on the right bank

'ALL-SEEING EYE'
Moslem potentates commonly wore cat's-eye gems
as emblems of good fortune, and to remind their
subjects of the omniscience of their ruler — a cen-
turies-old version of the "Big Brother*' concept.

of the Takovaya River, near the town of
Ekaterinburg, in the Ural Mountains. It so
happened that the discovery was made on
the day set apart for celebrating the birthday
of Alexander II, Czar of Russia, in whose
honor the stone was named. That circum-
stance, coupled with the gem's fascinating
display of red and green, which were then
the national colors, made it very popular in
Russia and it was worn with great pride.

Russian alexandrites were found, together
with emeralds and many other minerals, in
schist and granites. The alexandrites oc-
curred as star-shaped triplets consisting of
three crystals twined together, single un-
twined crystals being extremely rare. Most
of the rough alexandrite crystals found were
cloudy or full of fissures, and unfit for cutting
as gemstones, but occasionally they con-
tained small transparent portions that were
free of flaws and markedly dichroic. It was
from these portions that gems were cut.
Alexandrite gems from the Russian mines
were rarely large, but displayed excellent
color. When alexandrites were first placed

on the market the color change was little
understood by dealers or buyers, and a consid-
erable mysticism was attached to it. Because
of the rarity of the stone and its popularity
in Russia, good alexandrites of any size sold
at high prices, both in Russia and in the gem
markets of the world.

For some time the Takovaya locality was
the only source of alexandrite. Later it was
found with pebbles of ordinary chrysoberyl
and other precious stones in the gold sands
of the Sanarka River in the southern Urals.
Both areas were worked out before the close
of the 19th century and have only been
worked intermittently since that time.

SUPERIOR GEMS IN CEYLON

About the middle of the 19th century alex-
andrites were found in comparative abun-
dance in the gem-gravels of Ceylon. This
area, which soon became the most important
source of alexandrite, still continues to fur-
nish a very limited number of gem-quality
alexandrites to the gem market each year.
The Ceylonese alexandrites show the charac-
teristic dichroism of the Uralian specimens
and, on the whole, are of finer quality. The
columbine-red color seen by artificial light
is especially beautiful and, in general, the
stones are larger. One of the largest reported
from this area weighed 63 J^ carats. The
average alexandrite from this area weighs
about 4 carats.

Ceylon is also noted for the cloudy cha-
toyant green to honey-yellow variety of
chrysoberyl called cat's-eye. This variety
when properly cabochon-cut in an elongated
oval shows a bright chatoyant line of light
across the top of the curved surface of the
stone. This phenomenon suggests the pupil
of the eye of a cat; hence the name cat's-eye.
The phenomenon is caused by a multitude
of parallel microscopic channels within the
stone. When such a stone is cabochon-cut
with the channels in the same plane as the
base of the gem, the cat's-eye effect is at-
tained. Because the channels in chrysoberl
are hollow, a soft opalescent effect is also
produced that is not present in other min-
erals cut and sold as true cat's-eye, such as
varieties of quartz and tourmaline that have
a fibrous structure.

True cat's-eye chrysoberyl has long been
a popular stone in the Far East. It was, at
one time, a favorite gem of the Moslem
potentates who wore large cat's-eyes, often
carved in the form of some animal, on the
front of their turbans as an emblem of good
fortune and to remind their subjects of the
"all-seeing eye" of their ruler. In the West-
ern world cat's-eye is esteemed as a novelty
gem and is to be had only at high prices.

CAVEAT EMPTOR A GOOD RULE

The uninformed buyer when offered either
an alexandrite or cat's-eye at a bargain
should be wary. Although alexandrite has
never been successfully synthesized, syn-

Museum Awarded Research Grant

for Borneo Project

Chicago Natural History Museum has been
awarded a grant of $6,800 by the National
Science Foundation for the support of basic
research in systematics and zoogeography of
the fresh-water fishes of North Borneo. The
project is to be carried out by Dr. Robert F.
Inger, Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles.

thetic corundum and synthetic spinel that
display a color change are incorrectly offered
for sale by dealers as "synthetic alexandrite."
The tourist who succumbs to the wiles of the
sidewalk hawker in a foreign port offering
to part with a large alexandrite at a sacrifice
may gain a pleasing stone, but at a price far
in excess of that for which he could have
purchased a similar synthetic from his own
jewelers.

Synthetic corundum appears lavender, re-
sembling amethyst, under artificial light, but
a bluish-gray by daylight, bearing little or no
resemblance to alexandrite. Synthetic spinel
displays green to red tints somewhat similar
to the alexandrite and, although not truly
dichroic, it is easily passed off as genuine to
the inexperienced. Good quality synthetic
corundum or spinel showing a change of color
can be purchased for a few dollars per carat,
but true Ceylon alexandrites of good color,
when available, command prices near those
of diamonds. Perfect alexandrites with good
color change, weighing more than 5 carats,
are so rare that they have become collectors'
items, and almost any price will be paid for
their possession. Chrysoberyl cat's-eyes are
to be had at prices much below those asked
for alexandrites, but they command prices
far above the more plentiful and less exotic
quartz and tourmaline cat's-eyes.

Ordinary chrysoberyl, in a variety of col-
ors, has been found in alluvial gravels of the
rich mineral district of Minas Gerais, Brazil.
It is, as a general rule, of poorer quality than
the chrysoberyl of Ceylon. Gem quality
alexandrites and cat's-eyes are practically
unknown in the district. Other places where
chrysoberyl has been found are Haddam,
Connecticut, and Greenfield, New York, in
the United States, and the gem-gravels of
Southern Rhodesia, Madagascar, and Upper
Burma.

Cut and faceted specimens of several vari-
eties of gem-quality chrysoberyl of excep-
tional size and beauty from Ceylon, Brazil
and Russia are exhibited in the Museum's
H. N. Higinbotham Hall of Gems (Hall 31).
Outstanding among them is an alexandrite
of superior quality, weighing 11 M carats and
having an estimated value of $11,000. Two
excellent Ceylon cat's-eyes are also exhib-
ited. When their fascinating chatoyancy is
compared with that displayed by the quartz
cat's-eyes exhibited in an adjoining case, it is
readily understood why true chrysoberyl
cat's-eye is much preferred.

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

September, 1959

ANT COLONY ASSISTS FOSSIL COLLECTORS IN WYOMING

By WILLIAM D. TURNBULL

ASSISTANT CURATOR OF FOSSIL MAMMALS

FOR the fourth consecutive year, the
Museum sent an expedition this sum-
mer into the Washakie Basin of southern
Wyoming to collect fossil mammals. This
season's work was limited to a six-week
period in June and July during which time
Preparator Ronald Lambert and I collected
mainly from the Lower Washakie beds. In-
asmuch as these trips have yielded an ade-
quate collection upon which to base a faunal
study, this trip also marks the end of our

and bones of the rare, 50,000,000-year-old
rodents and insectivores. The technique of
collecting fossils from ant-hills is long estab-
lished, having been in use by paleontologists
before the turn of the century. As a result
of my reference to this technique in the Octo-
ber, 1958 issue of the Bulletin, many inqui-
ries have been made concerning it. Therefore,
Mr. Lambert and I assembled a photographic
record of our technique which is described
below.

The ant colonies construct cone-shaped
mounds for their nests. These mounds usu-

work more energetically at its collecting
task. The rest is up to us.

There are three stages to the technique:
first the surface of any ant-hill in the vicinity
of an eroding outcrop is examined for fossils.
(Caution: the ants have a fiery bite which
stings for 15 minutes!) Generally none are
found, but once a hill is located containing
specimens, its surface is scraped, shoveled
clean of the pebble shingle, and the removed
material is dry-sieved, or preferably it is
sacked up, and hauled to water to be wet-
sieved. This treatment eliminates much of

program of intensive sys-
tematic prospecting in the
Washakie formation. Per-
haps larger collections could
have been made had we
prospected solely for
specimens, instead of
searching the less promising looking rock
fades too, but the collections would then
have been representative of fewer paleoeco-
logical situations. It is doubtful, for example,
that we would have found our microfauna
localities with their treasures of rodent, in-
sectivore, carnivore and other small mam-
malian materials had we followed any other
method of prospecting.

This year we put further effort into re-
working these microfauna localities. At the
1957 locality in the Upper Washakie beds
we obtained a small block of fine-grained
sandstone with two clumps of rodent bones
showing on the surface. Only careful prep-
aration of the slab will reveal whether or not
we have collected nearly complete skeletons.
The prospects are encouraging.

At the 1958 ant-hill locality (Lower Wash-
akie) we again employed the same crew of
thousands of industrious red ants that last
year helped us to collect the tiny fossil teeth

OPERATION ANT-HILL'- A PHASE OF THE SEARCH FOR FOSSILS*

ally measure five or six feet
across and stand a foot or
more in height. The mound
serves as a physical protection
for the nest which is within
and beneath it, and in addition helps to
regulate the internal environment of the
chambers and passageways. Worker ants
build, repair, and enlarge the mound by haul-
ing in sand grains, pebbles, small stones, and
any other object of a size and weight they
can transport. Winds further modify the
surface of the mound by blowing away the
finer sand until a shingle of the coarser ma-
terials is concentrated over the entire surface.
If one of these ant-hills happens to be lo-
cated on, or near (within an ant's walking
distance, that is), a rock outcrop that con-
tains even a small number of the rare little
fossil bones or teeth, it is certain that the
pebble-sized fossils will eventually be incor-
porated into the mound by the undiscrimi-
nating ants. This nearly tells the story of
the ants' efforts on our behalf — as described
below, a kind of incentive compensation
scheme can usually induce the colony to

the bulk of dirt, silt and sand, and leaves a
residue of the larger-sized particles consisting
of stony pebbles and, we hope, a few mam-
mal teeth. These concentrates are examined
under low magnification at the Museum and
each rare tooth or bone is picked out. The
vast majority of the isolated teeth obtained
by this technique are those of small fish, rep-
tiles, rodents and insectivores. Occasionally
a small carnivore, primate or marsupial tooth
will turn up too. The incentive compensa-
tion plan I mentioned above depends upon
the instinctive survival reaction of the dis-
rupted ant colony. Provided that little dam-
age is done to the ant-hill or its colony,
beyond the removal of the surface of the
mound, the colony will survive. Then the
ants appear to work with frenzied vigor at
the task of repairing their roof and the hill
may profitably be re-collected the follow-
ing year.

Actually, ant-hill collecting occupied us
for but a few days' time. Most of the time
was spent in prospecting and collecting in
the more conventional manner which yielded
several fine specimens each of titanothere
and uintathere post-cranial materials. These

* Photos indicate how tiny insects aid Museum paleontologists in Washakie Basin area in Wyoming. Left: Typical ant-hill being inspected for the presence of

tiny fossil mammal teeth concentrated there by the ants. Center: Sieving the surface shingle of a hill to concentrate further the tooth-sized particles. Right:

Closeup of the surface of a hill. Four mammal teeth found in it lie on the man's finger. Left inset: Closeup of a hill after the pebble-shingle has been removed,

showing ants actively at work. Right inset: Enlargement of a rodent's molar tooth from the hill. (Photos by Preparator Ronald J. Lambert.)

September, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

will enhance the study collections notably.
We discovered two interesting crocodile
skulls; and a weathered-out, but nearly com-
plete, little uintathere skull was found for
us by young Mr. Potter, the son of Gardner
Potter, operator of the Eversole Ranch. The
Roy Eversoles, John Corsons, Elza Eversoles
and the Potters have all been good, helpful
neighbors and friends to us during these col-
lecting trips and we are much in their debt
for the help they have given us.

Now that the collecting phase of the work
is finished, facing us is the task of getting the
collections prepared before the materials can
be studied in earnest. Several years of work
with the Washakie collections lie ahead.

The expedition to Wyoming this year
was financed by the Maurice L. Richardson
Paleontological Fund.

KATCHINA CULT TRACED BACK TO A.D. 1250

CHILDREN'S JOURNEY
ON GIANT PLANTS

"How big is it?" youngsters often inquire.
The query is a general one, asked indiscrimi-
nately about plants, animals, rocks, the earth,
the universe. Children seem to derive a kind
of satisfaction from knowing the size and
weight of an object — "the bigger the better!"

Many giants are members of the Plant
Kingdom. One of the oldest and largest of
living things is a plant. Another giant plant
is not only the largest of its kind, but it also
grows at the almost incredible rate of 16
inches a day. Still another giant plant, sur-
prisingly enough, consists mainly of water,
being able to store up to 30 tons of it in its
tissues during heavy but infrequent rainfalls.

Generally, giant plants grow in the warmer
regions of the earth, but even the Chicago
area can boast of one plant unique for its
huge size.

Children can find out what these giant
plants are on the Museum's Fall Journey
(No. 19), "Giant Plants," offered during
September, October, and November. It will
direct children to some of the most unusual
plants in the world.

The journey sheet is available to all boys
and girls who can read. It may be picked
up at either the North or South Door of the
Museum. When completed, the journey
sheet with the youngster's name and address
on it is dropped in the barrel at either door.

A boy or girl who successfully completes
four different journeys becomes a Museum
Traveler. Eight different Journeys qualify
aspirants as Museum Adventurers, and
twelve as Museum Explorers. Upon the
successful completion of 16 different Jour-
neys, a youngster qualifies for a Special
Journey, which may admit him to a Mu-
seum Club. MARffi gv0BODA

By PAUL S. MARTIN

CHIEF CURATOR OF ANTHROPOLOGY

THE 1959 Archaeological Expedition to
the Southwest under the leadership of
the writer has found a remarkable ruin on
the banks of the Little Colorado River, a few
miles away from Springerville, Arizona. It

excellent and much better than that of the
later walls.

Two large depressions probably indicate
the location of kivas — ceremonial chambers
or sanctuaries wherein were performed the
esoteric parts of religious ceremonies. One
of these may be excavated later this season.

MOUND IN SOUTHWEST YIELDS TRACES OF PAST
Site of Museum expedition's excavations, near Springerville, Arizona.

Common wild flowers of the United States
are well represented among the exhibits in
Martin A. and Carrie Ryerson Hall (Plant
Life, Hall 29).

is located on the ranch of Robert Hooper who
has been most co-operative and friendly.

The ruin was first discovered and an-
nounced to scientists in 1917 by Dr. Leslie
Spier, at that time a member of the staff of
the American Museum of Natural History.
Then, for approximately 40 years it was
"lost" in the sense that archaeologists either
did not know of the report in which the ruin
was briefly described or were not interested
in following it up. The local ranchers and
collectors, of course, knew about it but did
not realize its significance.

Work has not progressed very far as yet;
but already we know that this ancient village
was at least two stories high and that there
are walls on top of walls, rooms upon rooms,
walls under walls, sealed-up doorways deep
down in the earlier parts of the town — all of
which indicate earlier structures and changes
in building plans. Thus the nickname "The
Troy of Arizona." Other towns like this
have been found; but the maze of earlier
walls running under later ones is more com-
plex than any we have ever before encoun-
tered and the nickname, although given in
jest, seemed suitable.

OLDER MASONRY BEST

The masonry of the earlier parts of the
town, found many feet below the surface, is

Some of the earlier rooms had been de-
spoiled by the later inhabitants who used
the rooms as convenient garbage dumps. In
this ashy refuse we have found many excel-
lent tools of bone and stone plus discarded
and broken pots and pieces of pots.

The dating of all parts of this hamlet is not
yet fixed, but we feel fairly sure that the lat-
est portions of it immediately precede Table
Rock Site, dug last year. We also guess that
perhaps the deeper rooms may be 50 to 100
years earlier than the latest ones — which are
tentatively dated at about A.D. 1300.

KATCHINAS DEPICTED

Two tantalizing fragments of a pottery
bowl of remarkable significance have been
recovered. When glued together, one can
see two representations of masked figures
called "katchinas." Katchinas were benefi-
cent supernatural beings that, under certain
circumstances, could be impersonated by a
man wearing a mask. We cannot determine
from these fragments whether or not several
of these katchinas were depicted on the bowl
interior, perhaps holding hands and dancing
in a slow ceremonial rhythm, but we con-
jecture that such is probably the case.

Some years ago it was assumed that the
katchina cult, masks, and other ceremonial
(Continued on page 8, column 1)

Page 8

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

September, 1959

TRAVEL LECTURES, FILMS
START OCTOBER 3

The Museum's 112th series of travel lec-
tures, illustrated with color motion pictures
will be given on Saturday afternoons begin-
ning October 3, and continuing through
November 28. There will be nine programs,
all starting at 2:30 P.M. in the James Simpson
Theatre of the Museum. Admission is free.
The lectures are provided by the Edward E.
Ayer Lecture Foundation Fund.

The schedule for October is as follows:

October 3 — The Philippines
Erie Pavel

October 10 — People and Places in India
John Moyer

October 17 — A Missouri Story
Alfred G. EUer

October 24 — Mexico
Phil Walker

October 31 — Splendors of Persia
Clifford Kamen

KATCHINA CULT-

(Continued from page 7)

paraphernalia were due to Spanish-Roman
Catholic influences. More recently, the ar-
chaeologists from Harvard University uncov-
ered murals on the walls of kivas that were
certainly painted at about a.d. 1400 — about

KATCHINAS ON POTTERY
Fragment of bowl unearthed by Museum expe-
dition, showing heads of two impersonators of
supernatural beings. Such a bowl is believed to
have been imbued with extreme sanctity. Dating
from about A.D. 1250. this and other specimens
just excavated are the earliest extant evidence of
the presence of the "Katchina Cult."

1 50 years before the advent of the Spaniards.
In these murals, one can clearly see masked
figures, undoubtedly katchina figures. The
murals themselves may be altars, and painted
thereon in colors are scenes that probably
represent actual ceremonial performances.
Since then a few other such murals have
been found. These discoveries, then, ex-
ploded the idea that katchina masks and
other details concerning the ceremonialism
of the"katchina cult" were Spanish in origin.
The two fragmentary parts of a katchina

bowl that we excavated assume great signifi-
cance, for now we know that masked men
were impersonating katchinas or supernat-
ural beings and that, in brief, the katchina
cult was present by a.d. 1250 to 1300 at
least, and possibly much earlier. It is my
feeling that the religious beliefs concerning
katchinas and the whole cult were probably
Mogollon in context and may go back to the
beginning of the Christian era. Present re-
search suggests that the katchina cult and
some aspect of the katchina ceremonies may
be the result of stimulus from Mexico.

NEW MEMBERS

(July 17 to August 14)

Non-Resident Associate Member

F. W. Pain

Associate Members

Samuel W. Block, Paul Caspers, John W.
Cole, Earle M. Combs, Jr., Lee Cooper,
Charles W. Desgrey, Joseph R. Ernest,
Harry C. Faust, Mrs. James H. Ferry, Jr.,
Jones B. Frankel, Dr. Stanton A. Friedberg,
Arthur Gettleman, Joseph J. Greeley, Thomas
A. Harwood, Arent J. Jacobson, Horace W.
Jordan, Joseph J. Kass, Samson Krupnick,
Gordon Leadbetter, A. K. Maxwell, Jr.,
Joseph E. Nathan, Elmer G. Norell, Harry D.
Perkins, Frederick Roe, Joseph H. Schwartz,
William W. Sims, Francis B. Stine, J. McWil-
liams Stone, Sr., Paul Stratton, George
Tiberius, William A. P. Watkins, Frederick

F. Webster, Horace O. Wetmore, Harry J.
Williams

Annual Members

Dr. Robert Adler, Dr. Carl Apple, Mrs.
Julius Auerbach, Mrs. Helen A. Augustus,
Mrs. Warren G. Bailey, Mrs. Peter M.
Baird, Jr., Andrew W. Bunta, Mrs. Coula P.
Butler, Hyman Bryer, Jack L. Camp, John
C. Castanes, John T. Chadwell, Gordon
Close, Di. Donald F. Fanner, W. N. Fritts,
Dr. Vladimir C. Flowers, Dr. Melvin C.
Godwin, C. A. Grentzner, R. P. Gwinn,
Mrs. C. E. Hansen, Sol W. Herman, Warren
Jackman, Maurice H. Jacobs, Mrs. Mabel S.
Johnson, George Keck, Victor E. LaRue,
L. J. Laurion, Seymour N. Logan, Dr. Aud-
ley R. Mamby, Francis Mangan, Dr. Charles
R. Matera, Robert V. Mehaffey, John F.
Meissner, Dr. Robert S. Mendelsohn, Miss
Sarah E. Mildren, Albert Mohr, Jr., Mrs.
Albert E. Munn, Mrs. Thomas S. McEwan,
Herman A. Neiburger, Mrs. Mae Sexton
O'Brien, Jr., Mrs. Charles H. Percy, Clif-
ford J. Peterson, E. J. Pool, Dr. William T.
Raleigh, Franklin J. Rich, Miss Virginia M.
Roos, Irving J. Sachs, Sidney Salins, Joseph
M. Scanlan, Leonard Schanfield, John W.
Schelthoff, Max Segal, Mrs. Arthur B. Sei-
bold, Jr., William R. Seibert, Al B. Sheen,
Morris T. Singer, Alex Stikkers, Mrs. John
Otto Stoll, Mrs, Paul Sywulka, Mrs. Adrian
Tabin, Mrs. Albert Tabin, Seymour Tabin,
Mrs. John Ailes Taft, Warren G. Tyk, Mrs.
H. H. Urbach, Mrs. J. W. Van Gorkom,
Robert A. Van Meer, J. A. Volkober, E. Al-
gerd Waitkus, Dr. O. B. Williams, Dr. Ralph

G. Willy, Dr. Earle E. Wilson, Dr. Drake
R. A. Witty, Dr. Theodore Worth, Dr. Vic-
tor J. Zielinski

MOVIES FOR CHILDREN
BEGIN OCTOBER 3

The strange and fascinating wonders of
the desert will come alive on the screen in
Walt Disney's True Life Adventure story,
"The Living Desert," on October 3 in t he
Museum's James Simpson Theatre to open
the Museum's fall program of movies for
children. The motion picture, which cap-
tures all the beauty of the desert in color, is
the first in the series of films.

Children will be able to see these movies
free every Saturday morning during October
and November at 10:30, and are invited to
come alone, accompanied by adults, or in
groups. The series of free programs is spon-
sored by the James Nelson and Anna Louise
Raymond Foundation.

Other movies scheduled include:

October 16 — Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn

Mark Twain's classic story of the Missis-
sippi River, and a sequel to Tom Sawyer

October 17 — Gulliver's Travels
The animated technicolor picture of Jona-
than Swift's literary classic of Gulliver's
travels to the Kingdom of Lilliput

October 24 — A World Is Born

The story of life on this earth in prehistoric

times

Also a cartoon

October 31 — Between the Tides

Nature's mysteries of the sea — "the edge
of the unknown" . . . Also a cartoon

A complete schedule of the nine children's
programs for October and November will
appear in the next Bulletin.

Malacologist Returns

Dr. Fritz Haas, Curator Emeritus of Lower
Invertebrates, has returned from a field trip
of three weeks in the northwest corner of
North Carolina. Near the little town of
Highlands, the highest incorporated town
east of the Rocky Mountains, situated at an
elevation of 4,000 feet, there is one of the few
inland biological stations of the United States.
There Dr. Haas had his headquarters, and
from there he searched the surrounding
mountains and woods for representatives of
mollusk life.

West Indies Fish Collecting

Fishes of West Indian waters from the vicin-
ity of Puerto Rico to the Virgin Islands, and
from the Saba Bank in the Lesser Antilles
will be collected by Loren P. Woods, Curator
of Fishes, this fall. He has been invited by
the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
to join a research and exploratory cruise
aboard the motor vessel Oregon, on which in
past years he has made several other expedi-
tions.

PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

CHICAGOjO it ..-

HISTORY vux,
MUSEUM Mb
/

SEE THE WORLD—
Autumn Film-Lectures
Saturdays at 2:30 p.m.
October 3-November 28

Page 2

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

October, 1959

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 Henry P. Ish am

Sbwbll L. Avery William V. Kahler

Wm. McCormick Blair Hughston M. McBain

Walther Buchen J. Roscoe Miller

Chesser M. Campbell William H. Mitchell

Walter J. Cummings John T. Pirie, Jr.

Joseph N. Field Clarence B. Randall

Marshall Field, Jr. John G. Searle

Stanley Field Solomon A. Smith

Samuel Insull, Jr. Louis Ware

OFFICERS

Stanley Field President

Hughston M. McBain First Vice-President

Walther Buchen Second Vice-President

Joseph N. Field Third Vice-President

Solomon A. Smith Treasurer

Clifford C. Gregg Director and Secretary

John R. Millar Auiitairf Secretary

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR
Clifford C. Gregg Director of the Museum

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anthropology

Theodor Just Chief Curator of Botany

Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geology

Austin L. Rand Chief Curator of Zoology

MANAGING EDITOR
H. B. Harte Public Relations Counsel

ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Marilyn Jindrich Assistant in Public Relations

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

SCULPTURES AND PHOTOS
OF INDIA IN EXHIBIT

"People and Places in India," another in
the Museum's special exhibits that have
been drawing more and more public atten-
tion, will be on display October 2 in the
west end of Albert W. Harris Hall (Hall 18)
and will continue on exhibition through
November 30.

Planned to coincide with the opening, on
October 3, of the Museum's fall travel lecture
series, the exhibit of sculptures and photo-
graphs will be supplemented by a color mo-
tion picture, also called "People and Places
in India," personally narrated by John Moyer
of the Museum staff, to be presented on
October 10. Moyer's film will be the second
in the series of travel programs and includes
sequences corresponding to many of the still
photographs in the exhibit. One sequence
shows in detail how the small clay models
of Indian people that are a part of the
exhibit were made by native craftsmen.

The special exhibit comprises 36 of these
figures, as well as 40 photographs taken
all over India. The human figures were
modeled by artist-members of a small caste
of people living in the village of Krishnagar
in West Bengal state, about 70 miles north
from Calcutta. This village is today the
chief center of this particular art. The figures
are modeled directly in clay, sun dried, then

colored to bring out the flesh tones, and
finally dressed in actual textiles representa-
tive of the different types of clothing worn
in India.

The photographs, selected from more than
400 negatives, were taken over a period of
three years while Mr. Moyer, who is in
charge of the Division of Motion Pictures,

PRIMITIVE WATER SERVICE

Sculpture of native tribal girl with jug represents

one of many diverse peoples living in India. Her

type is found in the state of Bihar.

was on leave of absence from the Museum
to perform a special assignment as a
consul of the United States. The photo-
graphs chosen demonstrate the different
types of country one crosses in traveling
from the northern boundary of India along
the Himalayan range down to the rain
forests of Cape Comorin in the extreme
southern tip. The different peoples and

SNAKE CHARMER
Clay model represents one of the sights so familiar
to travelers in India that it has become symbolical.

castes who comprise the population of India
are shown engaged in their various typical
daily activities.

The small figures in the exhibit are note-
worthy in that the process of modeling them
is one of the many cottage industries that
India is trying so hard to preserve for future

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

Our cover is intended to typify
the easy way of world travel — by
means of the color films and lec-
tures offered at the Museum on
Saturday afternoons during Octo-
ber and November (see page 3).
Specifically, this picture of the sa-
cred elephant of the Maharajah
of Mysore is a scene from the
October 10 lecture, "People and
places in India," to be given by
John Moyer as the second pro-
gram in the series. The occasion
pictured is an annual celebration
in southern India known as the
Dessurah. This pampered ele-
phant, which does no labor and
which no one is allowed to ride,
is "dressed" in costly and luxuri-
ous trappings — purple velvet cov-
erings, a hand-tooled leather sad-
dle that is a work of art, and gar-
lands of flowers. Floral designs,
repainted every day, adorn the
creature's trunk, forehead, eye
areas, ears, legs and tail. The
elaborately costumed men are offi-
cials, and mahouts, or elephant
attendants. In the background
at right appears part of the south
wing of the maharajah's palace,
the largest and most ornate struc-
ture of its kind in India.

generations. Many years ago there were
toy-makers in nearly every village in India
turning out dolls and toys of wood and clay
for local fairs and for the amusement of
children. With the importation of toys into
India in recent times, mainly from China,
this native art is slowly dying out. Today
there are only a few families with the skill
and knowledge to capture and faithfully
reproduce the facial characteristics and mode
of dress of the many different types of people
who live in India.

The government of India is anxious to
preserve and to promote the cottage and
small-scale industries to help the economy
of the country. The handicrafts of any
country have always revealed the innate
artistic tastes of the people, and Indian
craftsmen have for centuries been known
the world over for the beauty of form and
color they attain. Indian potters and sculp-
tors from prehistoric times have been master
craftsmen, and the figurines of the people
of India in the exhibit are exquisite examples
of their work.

An interesting exposition of the principles
of fish coloration and how certain fishes
change colors under varying conditions is
offered in the Hall of Fishes (Hall O).

■» • "*• ~ . ~ . •

October, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

PageS

SEE THE WORLD: FILM-LECTURES TO BEGIN OCTOBER 3

AN OPPORTUNITY to see the world
through the eyes of experienced ex-
plorers is offered those who attend the Muse-
um's 112th illustrated travel lecture series.
The lectures will be given each Saturday
at 2:30 p.m. during October and November
in the James Simpson Theatre.

The color motion pictures, accompanied
by narratives delivered by the "wandering"
photographers, reach to the far corners of
the world for subject matter — from the
sparsely populated plains of wind-swept
Patagonia to mysterious India, a land teem-
ing with people.

The travel series is sponsored by the
Edward E. Ayer Lecture Foundation and
is free to all Museum visitors. Members
of the Museum may claim reserved seats
by presenting their membership cards before
2:25 p.m. on the lecture day.

Following is the schedule:

October 3 — The Philippines

Eric Pavel

Corregidor, the United States' last fortress
against the Japanese invaders at the end
of World War II, focused the attention of
the world on the group of 7,100 islands off
the southeast coast of Asia — the Philippines.
Geographically lying in the Pacific Ocean,
culturally the Philippines float on the cross-
stream of East and West, old and new.
Eric Pavel takes you to the fascinating is-
lands for an enlightening glimpse of their
beauty and unique customs. In the rich
valleys of Luzon you'll see active Mayon
volcano, the world's most perfect cone; cock
fights and town fiestas; the life of the family
around its Nipa hut. And in striking con-
trast you'll see modern Manila — Pearl of the
Orient — completely rebuilt after the war.

October 10 — People and Places in India

John Moyer

India . . . timely and timeless ... a land
of mystery and intrigue, its fascination spur-
ring men like Columbus to strike out on a
strange ocean in hopes of reaching its alluring
shores. A land of superlatives, India to this
day stimulates men's imagination and in-
terest. John Moyer takes you to mysterious
India in an unusual film of that country,
including a first-hand account of the Dus-
serah, famous religious celebration at My-
sore. From Calcutta, largest city in the
Far East, to Mt. Kanchanjungha, third
highest in the world, to Cherrapunji, wettest
spot on earth, India beckons for an enjoyable
and memorable experience.

October 17 — A Missouri Story

Alfred G. Etter

Rural Missouri, which has made import-
ant contributions to the American tradition,
has become a part of many famous books
and stories. However, with the construction
of more and more tollways and super-

highways to create a giant transportation
network across the nation, the existence of
the undisturbed pastoral scene, the family
farm, and the woodlot is being threatened.
Before it was too late, Dr. Alfred Etter,
native Missourian, recorded life as it used
to be on an old Missouri farm — the daily
chores, the caprices of the seasons. "A
Missouri Story" is an acknowledgment of
the permanent value of scenic, wild, and
natural places.

October 24 — Mexico

Phil Walker

Mexico is often characterized as a land
of "variety and spice" — spice because the
native cuisine is probably some of the hot-
test you'll find anywhere in the world; and
variety, because the topography of Mexico
is as varied as all of the world combined,
and with almost as many variations of
weather. In Phil Walker's colorful motion
picture you visit many cities of this interest-
ing land, including Mexico City, Guada-
lajara, and Acapulco, as well as the vast
and open Mexican countryside. The fiestas
portrayed in the film characterize Mexico
as a country apart, continuing customs that
elsewhere would be revived only for tour-
ists and special holidays.

October 31 — The Splendors of Persia

Clifford J. Kamen

Long noted for its riches that made it once
the greatest and most powerful empire on
earth, Persia is experiencing today a rebirth
in world influence by virtue of possessing an
important and valuable commodity — one of
the world's richest reserves of petroleum.
Thus Persia (Iran) is again on the threshold
of becoming a strategically important mod-
ern nation. Clifford J. Kamen's "The
Splendors of Persia" is a comprehensive and
accurate film narrative in which you will
see Persia's vast deserts that conceal its
great oil reserves; Abadan, the world's larg-
est oil refinery; quiet gardens, like those
which inspired Omar Khayam; Isfahan, the
jewel city of the Moslem world; primitive
mountain tribes; lovely oases; and magni-
ficent jewels that have graced the crowns
of Persian monarchs for thousands of years.

November 7 — Scotland

Nicol Smith

The "high road" to an enjoyable after-
noon is found in Nicol Smith's motion pic-
ture on Scotland, land of heather, bagpipes,
and kilts, when you tour its rolling hills
and marshy glens. From ancient castles to
bustling fishing ports Scotland is a country
steeped in tradition. Harwick is an import-
ant stop in which Nicol Smith's film fea-
tures the story of sheep and the superb
woolens which are among the world's best.
There is the Mull of Galloway, the southern-
most point in Scotland, rich in legend and

history. And not to be left out of any film
of Scotland is Edinburgh, the beautiful city
of parks and palaces, an old and romantic
shrine for the traveler.

November 14 — Probing Antarctica

Finn Ronne, USNR

Captain Finn Ronne, Commander and
scientific leader of the Ellsworth Station
in Antarctica during 15 months of the Inter-
national Geophysical Year, returns to the
Museum stage with an exciting account de-
signed to dispel the misguided ideas of those
individuals accustomed to thinking of Ant-
arctica as a barren, uninteresting wasteland
of bleak ice and snow. His color film shows
how he and 38 fellow scientists lived, worked,
and found recreation on the Antarctic ice cap
as it is seen when illuminated by the rainbow
colors of the summer sun when it breaks
over the vast frozen expanses of snow and
ice. Portrayed in both its drama and humor
is the unusual Antarctic wild life — baby
seals from birth to their first swimming
stroke, killer whales lurking silently in the
chill waters, and the comedian of the South
Pole, the Emperor Penguin. Via motion
picture you will travel 1,100 miles with
Captain Ronne, sharing with him all his
thrills and discoveries.

November 21 — Patagonia

Malcolm Miller

Sparsely inhabited, a land of constant
high winds, a territory unfamiliar even to
many people who have traveled extens-
ively, Patagonia, at the far southern tip of
South America, is a land of unusual scenes,
cities, and people. Dr. Malcolm Miller takes
you on a 5,000-mile jeep trip across the
vast lands of Argentinian Patagonia. In
the film are included the story of the Pata-
gonian sheep rancher, a visit to a Patagonian
Shangri-la, and a flight to Aconcagua, the
western hemisphere's highest mountain. Of
especial scientific interest is the material on
the magnificent glaciers, the huge unex-
plored ice cap, and the strange forms of
wild life in its sub-Antarctic mountains.

November 28 — Japan

Gordon Palmquist

A mixture of the ancient and the modern
is Japan, a country of colorful Oriental
tradition that has survived through the
centuries. Gordon Palmquist presents the
beauty of Japan in an up-to-date film story
of the Japanese people. From growing rice
at the foot of Mt. Fuji, to a Japanese Shinto
wedding, and from geisha dancing, to a
championship Sumo wrestling match you
are given a glimpse of Japanese life as it
existed in the past; while, on the other hand,
Japan shows its modern face at Hokkaido
University, Tokyo and Hiroshima, and in-
side one of Japan's up-to-date camera fac-
tories.

Page I,

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

October, 1959

ANCIENT AZTECS HAD 'COMMERCIAL ARTISTS'

By ALFRED LEE ROWELL

DIORAMIST — ANTHROPOLOGY

SOMETHING more than 400 years ago
Don Antonio de Mendoza, the first vice-
roy of New Spain, signed a report on the
history and mores of the Aztec people and
dispatched it by the first Europe-bound ship
for delivery to Charles V of Spain, Emperor
of Everywhere except England, France and

AZTEC HISTORY
Glyphs recording capture of town named Huipilan.

a few other places. The ship was captured
by French pirates, and the report intended
for the Spanish king went instead to the
Royal Cosmographer of France. Later it
was sold to a British diplomat, and even-
tually it reached the Bodleian Library at
Oxford. In 1925 the National Museum of
Mexico published a photographic facsimile
edition, with explanatory text in Spanish,
under the title Codex Mendocino. A copy
of this edition is now in the Library of Chi-
cago Natural History Museum.

The work is in three parts: (1) The History
of the Aztecs up to the Conquest; (2) the
famous Tribute Lists of Montezuma; and
(3) Aspects of Aztec Life and Social Organi-
zation.

All three parts were produced by the Aztec
equivalent of what we call commercial artists.
This statement may sound strange since we
are accustomed to think of Indian art as
decorations on pottery, crude designs painted
on shields, rough pieces carved from stone,
or some other non-objective work extremely
unlike our present-day commercial art. But
the function of these Aztec artists was to
produce a record rather than works of art;
to represent tangibles rather than to express
emotions; to deal with facts more than with
feeling. They were reporters, not editors or
commentators, and their work was strictly
objective — and thus is closely akin to the
motivation of commercial art. Like all good
commercial artists, they were well skilled in
their trade.

Bernal Diaz del Castillo, in his True His-
tory of the Conquest, gives an example of their
draftsmanship. When Montezuma heard
that the Spaniards had landed in the region

of Veracruz, the delegation he sent to meet
them included artists who were to bring back
portraits of the Spaniards and pictures of
their equipment — "the whole army, in fact,
including even the two greyhounds." When
the Aztecs returned after reporting to Monte-
zuma, they brought "a Mexican chieftain
named Quintalbor who looked like Cortez
both in face and stature. He had been sent
on purpose because when Montezuma saw
the portraits of Cortez he recognized imme-
diately the resemblance to Quintalbor. In
our camp we called Don Hernando 'our
Cortez,' and Quintalbor ' the other Cortez.' "

Only a skilled artist could have drawn a
likeness good enough to produce these results.

The historical account in the first part of
the Codex appears to be nothing more than
repetitions of burning temples, but these are
pictographs or picture-writing, and the artist
who drew them was serving as a scribe. Each
picture of a burning temple is really a glyph
meaning surrender or conquest, and each one
has with it the name glyph of a town. The
two together, of course, mean the conquest
or surrender of that town, with or without
burning or destruction, and each series means
that those towns were added to the empire
during the years indicated by the calendar
symbols on the margin of the page. Thus it
was literally true in this case that anyone
who could learn to write could learn to draw,
because anyone who could write in picto-
graphs had already learned to draw.

The drawings in the second part of the
Codex are different. Here the artist acted as
a bookkeeper. The Tribute Lists, as the
name implies, showed the amount and kind
of tribute required to be brought in by the
pueblos named by the glyphs on each list.
The amounts were fantastic: one list shows

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DISCIPLINE IN OLD MEXICO

Picture from Codex Mendocino showing an Aztec

father punishing his son by holding the boy's head

in the acrid smoke of burning chili peppers.

that thirteen pueblos were compelled to send
in once a year 3,200 mantles, 400 breech
clouts, and 400 women's dresses along with
some other material. The method of making
an entry was to make a drawing of an object
with a number symbol to show the quantity.
Whatever else might be said about these
drawings, they had to be accurate — they
were "legal language."

In the third part of the Codex, the artist
recorded clearly and understandably some of
the details and practices of daily living, such
as the training of children, which must have
been rigorous. The punishment illustrated
for an 11-year-old was to hold the child in
the smoke of burning chili-peppers. Two
men, apparently the prototype of officers of
a juvenile court, are shown dissuading a youth
who wanted to go vagabonding — one is giv-
ing him a haircut with an obsidian blade,
while the other is burning his head with fire-
brands.

A wonderful page makes a comparison be-
tween respectable youths and delinquents.
An upper-class young man, perhaps the son
of an official, is shown in the attitude of not
working, on his way to the teacher to be edu-
cated. Two boys destined to be unskilled
laborers are tearfully receiving instruction

MONTEZUMA'S BOOKKEEPING

This glyph is an example of Aztec accounting entry.

It signifies 400 pieces of cloth 22H feet long with

design as shown. The pine tree represents 400, and

each pair of thumbs means a fathom of 5H feet.

from the Superintendent of Works; several
middle-class artisans are teaching their re-
spective skills to their sons. In contrast to
all this respectability are the vagabond, the
thief, the gambler, "the vicious one of evil
tongue and gossip" (shown in the attitude of
idleness), the drunkard — and drunkardess —
with a threatening noose at the end of the
list. It speaks well for all who follow his
calling that the artist had enough respect for
it to include himself and his son among the
solid citizens.

The punishment for drunkenness is ex-
tremely severe, but it all ends on what some
people might consider a high note — perhaps
a fitting conclusion for any remarks about
commercial artists. That is, it is indicated
that when people reached a ripe old age, they
were free to drink all they wanted, or could

' ^ ^ ■ £m'

October, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

contain, and nobody was permitted to in-
terfere with their enjoyment.

More than thirty years after the Conquest,
and after the introduction of the Roman
alphabet, the Spanish authorities still found
the work of the Aztec artists so valuable
that a Chair of Pictography was established
at the University of Mexico in 1553. Now,
four centuries later, we still are able, like
the 16th century Spaniards, to make good
use of this ancient art. The Codex was prac-
tically our only source for the details of
clothing and headdress as well as much of
the other material shown in the Aztec dio-
rama recently installed in Hall 8 (Ancient
and Modern Indians of Mexico and Central
America). It would have been possible, with-
out the Codex, to conjure up a model of a
market, but it could not have been the live-
appearing, authentic Market of Tlatelolco
we were able to produce from the work of
these capable Indian artists.

NATURE'S SECRET: SOURCE OF U.S. DIAMONDS

AZTEC TRADE

By DONALD COLLIER

CURATOR OP SOUTH AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY
AND ETHNOLOGY

Display of the Aztec Market diorama re-
cently installed in Hall 8 (Ancient and Mod-
ern Indians of Mexico and Central America)
has given rise to questions by visitors to
the Museum concerning the method of ex-
change of goods in the Great Market.

The Aztecs did not have money, that is,
an exchange medium of fixed value. Trans-
actions were carried on by means of barter.
However, there were several products with
intrinsic value that served as mediums of
exchange and helped to balance inequalities
in barter. The most important of these
was cocoa beans, which were in universal
demand for making the chocolate drink of
which the Aztecs were so fond and which
is still drunk in Mexico today. The chocolate
beans were grown in tropical zones and
transported to the cool plateau of the Az-
tecs. There was even "counterfeiting" of
the beans in a manner which anticipated
the wooden nutmegs of Yankee traders. The
beans were hollowed out and filled with clay
so as to have the same weight and appearance
as before the tampering. We can imagine
wary vendors biting chocolate beans instead
of coins.

Other products used in exchanges were
quills of gold dust, thin crescent-shaped
knives of copper (not useful as knives) and
jade and turquoise. But none of these was
as important as the cocoa beans. The Az-
tecs did not prize gold highly for itself but
valued it for its suitability for casting orna-
ments by the lost-wax process.

By ALBERT W. FORSLEV

ASSOCIATE CURATOR OF MINERALOGY

ONE DAY in March, 1867, a man by the
name of John O'Reilly, returning from
a hunting trip near the Vaal River in South
Africa, stopped to rest at the farm of Shalk
van Niekerk in the Hopetown district. While
examining an assortment of pebbles that Mr.
van Niekerk had collected, he noticed one
which seemed to stand out from all the rest.
Because of O'Reilly's interest Mr. van Nie-
kerk presented him with this stone. Upon
arriving at Colesburg, Mr. O'Reilly showed
it to a government official, who, finding that
it cut glass, asked O'Reilly if he might send
it to Grahamstown for identification. This
was agreed upon and shortly thereafter they
received the following letter: " I congratulate
you on the stone you have sent me. It is a

span, Bulfontein, DeBeers, Kimberley, and
Jagersfontein had been discovered.

Needless to say these discoveries turned
one of the most worthless possessions of
Great Britain into one of the most valuable.
The subsequent development of the diamond
industry in South Africa has made the word
"diamond" almost synonymous with "Africa."

FOUND EARLIER IN U.S.

It is perhaps a little-known fact that dia-
mond finds in our own country predate the
South African discovery. A 23^-carat
rough diamond was found in 1855 in Man-
chester, Virginia, by a man grading one of
the streets. It is believed that this stone,
called the "Dewey diamond," may have been
brought down from the mountains by the
James River during spring floods. Since that

PROFESSIONAL TREASURE SEEKERS
Old photograph shows workers sorting gravel for diamonds in South Africa.

The story of three billion years of life is
told in two halls of fossils — Frederick J. V.
Skiff Hall (Hall 37) and Ernest R. Graham
Hall (Hall 38).

veritable diamond, weighs 21 J 4 carats, . . .
It has spoiled all the jewelers' files in Grahams-
town; and where that came from there must
be more."

This event was destined to open a new
chapter in South African history, for Mr.
O'Reilly's stone was the first diamond found
in South Africa.

The discovery naturally touched off a
"rush" on the van Niekerk farm but no fur-
ther important finds were made until two
years later when the famous "Star of South
Africa" was found, a pure white diamond of
83 % carats. (A model of this diamond is
displayed in H. N. Higinbotham Hall of
Gems— Hall 31).

The first true diamond deposits in South
Africa were discovered in alluvial sediments
(sand and gravel) at Barkly West on the
banks of the Vaal River in 1869. Within
two years the famous "pipe" mines of Dutoit-

time two other diamonds have been found in
Virginia under equally unexpected circum-
stances.

Altogether, several thousand diamonds
have been found in the United States. Al-
though the major deposit and only signifi-
cant one occurs in Arkansas, well authenti-
cated finds have been reported from at least
thirteen states.

The Arkansas diamond field is near Mur-
f reesboro in Pike County. Here the diamonds
occur in volcanic pipes composed of perido-
tite, an occurrence similar to that of the
South African "pipe" mines. Almost 50,000
stones have been found since John M. Hud-
dleston discovered the first one in 1906 about
two and one-half miles south of Murfrees-
boro. Although less than 10 per cent have
been of gem quality and most of these small
in size, occasional large stones have been
found. The largest diamond ever found in

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

October, 1959

the United States comes from this deposit.
It is a rose-tinted stone called the "Uncle
Sam," which weighed 40.23 carats when
found in 1924. Some recent diamonds found

Js Mm irliafyov on lookirty for ?

Cartoon by Maidi Wicbe

in Arkansas include a perfect 15.33-carat
blue-white stone found on March 4, 1956 and
a 3-carat blue-white diamond found in May
of the same year.

Although several efforts have been made
over the years to recover diamonds on a com-
mercial basis from this deposit, none have
been successful. It is now known as " Crater
of Diamonds" and for a fee visitors are per-
mitted to prospect in the mine area. For
those who may be interested in trying their
luck, I might point out that most of the dia-
monds are found in the spring when they are
uncovered by heavy rains.

The only other place in the United States
where a diamond has been reported found in
the rock in which it was formed is in a perido-
tite dike near Syracuse, New York. A grad-
uate student at Syracuse University is re-
ported to have found a small transparent
stone in 1920.

OTHER OCCURRENCES

The next most important occurrence of
diamonds in this country is in alluvial de-
posits where the diamonds have been weath-
ered out of the original rock matrix, carried
to distant points by streams, and deposited
with sand and gravel. Some 400 or 500
stones have been recovered from Californian
deposits in the western foothills of the Sierra
Nevada. Most were chance discoveries made
largely during placer gold mining operations
prior to 1920. The majority of these stones
are small and show a yellowish tinge.

Other occurrences of diamonds in alluvial
deposits have been reported from Idaho,
Oregon, and Washington, but these have
produced only a few small stones.

The largest "alluvial" diamonds have been
found in the Southeast, in West Virginia,
Virginia, and North Carolina. Alabama and
Georgia claim a few small stones. The larg-
est of the southeastern stones is the "Punch
Jones" diamond found at Peterstown, West
Virginia in 1928. It weighed 24.46 carats
and was supposedly found by a Grover 0.
Jones and his son while pitching horseshoes.
It was named after Mr. Jones' son whose
nickname was "Punch."

It is interesting to note that although "allu-
vial" diamonds have been found in many
places in this country, the original source of
the stones has never been discovered. Not
too far away from these finds are areas of
peridotite and other basic rocks from which
these stones may have been derived. A
search for diamonds in these rocks has, how-
ever, so far proved unsuccessful.

GREAT LAKES FIELD

A relatively large number of diamonds
has been found in the Great Lakes region
in association with the glacial drift deposited
by the ice sheet that at one time covered the
north-central United States. These are
called "immigrant" diamonds since the
original source of the stones was probably
in the rocks of southern Canada, in the re-
gion south of Hudson Bay. These diamond-
bearing rocks were eroded, transported by
the glaciers during Pleistocene times, and
deposited with other glacial sediments in the
states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, and
Ohio. The diamonds were separated from
their rock matrix and occasional stones have
been discovered purely by chance.

Wisconsin lays claim to about 20 stones,
the largest being a wine-yellow diamond
weighing 21 \i carats, discovered by a farmer
while plowing a field at Kohlsville in 1886.
As would be expected, many of these stones
have interesting histories after their discov-
ery. For example, a diamond over 15 carats
in weight, found while digging a well near
Waukesha, was purchased by a Milwaukee
jeweler for $1. After the true value was dis-
covered, the original owner tried to buy back
the stone for $1.10 and upon refusal of the
jeweler to accept this offer, brought suit
against him. The case was carried to the
state Supreme Court which handed down a
decision in favor of the defendant on the
grounds that he had been ignorant of the
value of the stone at the time of purchase.

Other Wisconsin diamonds of note weigh-
ing between two and seven carats have been
found at Oregon, Saukville, and Burlington.

Only one diamond has been found in
Michigan, an 11-carat diamond found at
Dowagiac, about twelve miles northwest of
Niles. The area was subsequently searched
for more but with negative results.

Ohio, likewise, has furnished one diamond
— a perfect white one weighing 6 carats found
near Milford in 1897.

TEN IN INDIANA

At least ten authenticated finds have been
made in Indiana. Nine of them were in
Morgan and Brown counties in the south-
central part of the state. One of 3.33 carats
has been found near Peru, Indiana.

Before you set out to look for diamonds, I
would like to point out that with the excep-
tion of the Arkansas diamonds all of the
finds have been completely accidental. Many
people have gone out expressly for the pur-
pose of finding the source rocks of the "allu-

vial" and "immigrant" diamonds, but no one
has succeeded. That is not to say that no
one ever will, but the diamond-bearing rocks
may have long been eroded away. Because
a stone will cut glass is no proof that it is
diamond for there are many minerals harder
than glass. One of these is quartz, the most
common individual mineral species.

Because of the appeal that diamonds have
to most people and the high value associated
with the gem varieties, it is needless to say
that many frauds have been perpetrated on
unsuspecting and unknowing individuals over
the years.

New Assistant Appointed
in Public Relations

Marilyn Jindrich, a native Chicagoan, has
been appointed Assistant in the Museum's
Division of Public Relations. She fills the
vacancy made by the
resignation of Patricia
McAfee who has moved
to another city because
of her recent marriage.

Miss Jindrich is a
graduate of the Medill
School of Journalism
of Northwestern Uni-
versity with the degree
of Bachelor of Science.
At the Museum she
will work in press, tele-
vision and radio activi-
ties, in association

with H. B. Harte, who has been Public
Relations Counsel since 1927. The position
also includes associate editorship of the
Bulletin. At Northwestern Miss Jindrich
was a leader in numerous campus activities.
She has been employed in several capacities,
but the Museum position is the first in the
profession for which her journalistic training
has qualified her.

Marilyn Jindrich

Archaeological Reconnaissance
During July and August, George I. Quim-
by, Curator of North American Archaeology
and Ethnology, made field trips to arch-
aeological sites in northern Michigan. He
was seeking information about the environ-
ment of Archaic Indians in the period from
6000 B.C. to 1500 B.C., and trying to locate
Late Woodland sites of the period from
a.d. 1500 to 1650. Test excavations were
undertaken in three important sites, and
surface collections were obtained from five
sites.

Changes in Visiting Hours
This year, autumn visiting hours at the
Museum, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., will continue
in effect through October 31, instead of
changing in mid-month as in past years.
Beginning November 1, and continuing
through February 28, the winter schedule
will go into effect: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (5 p.m.
on Saturdays and Sundays).

October, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

STAFF NOTES

Dr. Donald Collier, Curator of South
American Archaeology and Ethnology, par-
ticipated in sequences of a film surveying
the special exhibit, Indian Art of the Amer-
icas. The motion picture, made for the U.S.
Information Service, records all activities
embraced in Chicago's Festival of the
Americas and Pan American Games, and
will be shown to audiences around the
world. Dr. Collier was interviewed also on
a radio program of World Wide Broad-
casting System, Inc. (WRUL) directed par-
ticularly to Spanish-speaking countries of
Latin America. . . . Dr. Austin L. Rand,
Chief Curator of Zoology, and Emmet R.
Blake, Curator of Birds, attended the recent
meetings of the American Ornithologists'
Union in Regina, Saskatchewan. . . . Dr.
Robert F. Inger, Curator of Amphibians
and Reptiles, has returned from four months
of field work in the Belgian Congo, and
three months of studies in major European
museums. . . . Dr. Alan Solem, Curator of
Lower Invertebrates, was elected Counselor-
at-Large at a recent meeting of the Malaco-
logical Union in Philadelphia. . . . D. Dwight
Davis, Curator of Anatomy, attended the
meetings of the American Institute of Bio-
logical Sciences at Pennsylvania State Uni-
versity, after which he proceeded to Wash-
ington, D.C., for certain studies at the U.S.
National Museum. . . . Robert J. Reich, a
native Chicagoan, has been appointed Cus-
todian of the Herbarium. . . . Dr. Kenneth
Starr, Curator of Asiatic Archaeology and
Ethnology, lectured on Chinese rubbings
before a student-and-faculty group at the
University of Michigan, and gave a demon-
stration of this art on a television program
from the Ann Arbor station.

Adm ission Is Free . ■ .

CHILDREN'S MOVIES
ON SATURDAYS

Nine programs of motion pictures for
children will be presented in the autumn
series of the Raymond Foundation. Admis-
sion is free, and the shows will be given
in James Simpson Theatre of the Museum
on Saturday mornings at 10:30. Children
may come alone, in organized groups, or
accompanied by adults.

Dates and titles of films are as follows:

October 3 — The Living Desert

Walt Disney's True Life Adventure story
of the life of creatures that inhabit the
desert

October 10 — Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn

Mark Twain's classic of youth on the
Mississippi River

October 17 — Gulliver's Travels

Jonathan Swift's story of Gulliver's Travels
to the Kingdom of Lilliput ... In ani-
mated color

October 24— A World Is Born

The story of life in prehistoric times . . .
Also a cartoon

October 31 — Between the Tides

Mysteries of nature in the sea . . . ."the
edge of the unknown." Narration for the
Strange Sea Animals section by Maryl
Andre of Museum staff . . . Also a cartoon

November 7 — The Magic Horse

An animated cartoon based on the old
Russian folk tale about a boy and his
tiny horse that has magical powers

November 14 — The Adventures of Chico

A children's favorite: the story of a little
boy and his pet bird in Mexico

November 21 — Kon Tiki (Museum Trav-
eler Day — presentation of awards to child-
ren who have completed series of Museum
Journeys)
The voyage of a group of young Scandi-
navians from South America to Pacific
islands on a balsa raft

November 28 — An All-Cartoon Pro-
gram

Willy, the Operatic Whale; Susie, the
Blue Koop; and A Cowboy Meets a Horse

An innovation will be made with this
season's programs: each boy and girl attend-
ing will be given an exploration sheet direct-
ing them to Museum exhibits in which they
can see material related to the stories of
the films.

Technical Publications

The following technical publications were
issued recently by the Museum.

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 36, No. 3. Report
on a Collection of Marine Fishes from
North Borneo. By Robert F. Inger.
67 pages, 1 illustration, 1 map. $1.

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 42, No. 2. Philip-
pine Zoological Expedition 19i6-19i7.
New Birds from the Philippines. By
Austin L. Rand and D. S. Rabor.
6 pages. 15c.

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 39, No. 12. The
Races of the Bush Shrike Dryoscopus cubla.
By Austin L. Rand. 3 pages. 10c.

Fieldiana: Geology, Vol. 10, No. 32. Fauna
of the Vale and Choza: H. Summary,
Review, and Integration of the Geology and
the Faunas. By Everett Claire Olson.
52 pages, 20 illustrations, 1 map. $1.25.

Fieldiana: Zoology, Vol. 39, No. 13. Tarsal
Ligaments of the Spectacled Bear Tre-
marctos ornatus. By D. Dwight Davis.
15 pages, 7 illustrations. 40c.

GIANT PLANTS ARE LURE
ON CHILDREN'S JOURNEY

"Giant Plants" continues as the subject
of the Museum Journey for children through
October and November. It may be taken
by any boy or girl, any day, at any time
within Museum visiting hours. At either
entrance of the building, children will re-
ceive, on request, their "travel directions"
which will guide them to various exhibits
showing some of the world's largest kinds
of plants. From these, the youngsters may
obtain the information enabling them to
fill in the answers to questionnaires which
accompany the Journey directions.

With the completion of this and three
Journeys on other subjects, children receive
awards as Museum Travelers. Those who

ON THE TRAIL IN MUSEUM
Campfire Girls follow Museum Journey "travel"
directions in quest of knowledge about giant plants.

complete eight Journeys qualify as Museum
Adventurers; twelve Journeys win them the
title of Museum Explorers. Those who go
on to the successful completion of 16 Jour-
neys are eligible for a Special Journey which
may admit them to a Museum Club.

Millions for Publications

Presently about 1,300 serial publications
containing biological contributions are pub-
lished in the United States (including Alaska
and Hawaii), and Canada. It has been esti-
mated that in 1954, 144,000 articles on bio-
logical topics were published throughout the
world. It is quite likely that this number
will be much larger for 1959. Considering
present printing and production costs it can
easily be computed that this involves a mul-
timillion dollar business, not counting costs
of the original research which led to the writ-
ing of these papers.

Page 8

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

October, 1959

AUDUBON SCREEN-TOURS
OFFERED AT MUSEUM

A series of six Sunday afternoon screen-
tours will again be presented during the
fall and winter in the James Simpson
Theatre of the Museum under the auspices
of the Illinois Audubon Society. The sched-
ule of these lectures, accompanied by pic-
tures in color, is as follows:

October 18 — River of the Crying Bird

Allan D. Cruickshank

November 15 — Designs for Survival

William Anderson

December 13 — Adventures in Color With
American Birds and Big Game

Cleveland P. Grant

January 17 — Wild Europe

Roger Tory Peterson

February 21 — Roanoke Northwest

G. Harrison Orians

March 20 — Wildlife Down Under

Alfred M. Bailey

The opening program on October 18 tells
the story of Florida's Wakulla River that
flows south from a point just outside Talla-
hassee all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.
The river's name comes from the Indians
and means "mysterious water." Its course
lies through a wilderness of cypress knees
and moss-draped trees filmed in marvel-
ous color by the lecturer, Allan Cruickshank.
The region abounds in wondrous wildlife
including the American egret, alligators,
and the anhinga or snake-bird.

Seats in the reserved section of the
Theatre are available to Members of the
Museum, as well as members of the Illinois
Audubon Society, on presentation of mem-
bership card in either organization. All the
lectures begin at 2:30 p.m., and admission
is free.

NATURE PHOTO ENTRIES
WELCOMED NOW

Preparations are now under way for the
Fifteenth Annual Chicago International Ex-
hibition of Nature Photography, jointly
sponsored by the Nature Camera Club of
Chicago and the Museum. The exhibit will
be held in the Museum from February 6 to
26. Photographers, both amateur and pro-
fessional, are urged to send their entries
early; the deadline will be January 18. It
is expected that many vacation travelers
will find pictures of animal life, plant life,
and scenery on their travels that are worthy
of submitting for this contest, which year
after year has been the largest anywhere in
the world devoted exclusively to nature
subjects.

The Nature Camera Club will award

medals and ribbons for prints and color
slides selected by the judges either as best
in their classifications or deserving of hon-
orable mention. Additional special prizes
will be awarded by the Photographic Society
of America.

Contestants may submit up to four en-
tries in each of two divisions: (1) prints,
and (2) color slides. Prints may be either
in black-and-white or in color. Each of the
two divisions include three classifications:
Animal Life, Plant Life, and General (scen-
ery, clouds, geological formations and other
natural phenomena). Upon request, the
Museum will furnish entry forms and full
information; entries should be mailed di-
rectly to the Museum.

Exhibit of Indian Art
Extended to Oct. 28

The special exhibit, Indian Art of
the Americas, originally scheduled to
end September 28, has been extended
to October 28. Included in the show,
located in Stanley Field Hall, are se-
lected art objects from the North,
Central and South American collec-
tions of this and other leading mu-
seums. The material represents some
2,500 years of creative effort.

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM

Following is a list of the principal gifts
received during the past month:

Department of Anthropology

From: Jay Barrymore, Chicago — 2 amu-
lets, Egypt; Miss Alice MacKinlay, Chicago
— Southwestern U. S. effigy pottery recep-
tacle, Durango, Colo.; Charles E. MacNab,
Chicago — 34 projectile points and 4 scrapers,
Saudi Arabia; Miss Katherine Pope (be-
quest of), Chicago — 4 wooden bowls, Hawai-
ian Islands; Miss Sarah Smartz, Chicago —
burial mat, Solomon Islands; Raymond Wiel-
gus, Chicago — Budji buruburu drum, Papuan
Gulf, New Guinea

Department of Botany

From: Dr. Leandro Aristeguieta, Caracas,
Venezuela — herbarium specimen; H. R. Ben-
nett, Chicago — 730 phanerogams, Michigan
and Wisconsin; Mrs. Dorothy Gibson, Chi-
cago— 52 vascular plants, Kentucky; Dr.
Edward Nelson, Chicago — 20 phanerogams,
Sweden; Dr. Edward F. Webb, Skokie, 111.—
17 cryptogams, 77 phanerogams, Alaska

Department of Geology

From: Mrs. Faith E. Baldwin, Chicago —
a locket with opals; Albert Nicholas, Chi-
cago— amber, Danzig, Poland; Dr. E. S.
Richardson, Libertyville, 111. — 5 fossil fish,
3 fossil plants; R. E. Wilmer, Aiken, S. C. —
mineral, garnet chip

Department of Zoology

From: University of California, Los Angeles
— 2 fish paratypes, Mexico; Harry Hoog-
straal, Cairo, Egypt — 117 bird skins

MONTH'S ENROLLMENT
OF NEW MEMBERS

(August 17 to September 15)

Non-Resident Life Member

Mrs. Philip Sidney Post

Associate Members

Dr. A. Allan Bates, Lee F. Biedermann,
John R. Bradley, John A. Brandenburg,
Cameron Brown, Mrs. Dorothy M. Burwell,
Clifford B. Cox, Trevor L. Davies, Robert
Dick, Henry X. Dietch, E. Ross Gamble,
Dr. Stanford R. Gamm, James W. Gee, G.
F. Gerk, Robert Hixon Glore, Andrew C.
Graham, James J. Gregory, Herman Harris,
Dr. Schuyler Dean Hoslett, E. Richard
Kuehne, John G. Lambertsen, Arthur
Lorentz, J. de Navarre Macomb, Jr., Dr.
David Bremner Maher, Miss Margaret
Mellody, Raymond Mostek, Charles F.
Murphy, Arnold Newberger, Walter Nietsch-
mann, Robert E. Potter, Jr., John H. Riley,
Paul B. Shoemaker, Dr. Bruce A. Spooner,
Dr. Hans von Leden, Allen B. Wilson, L.
Ylvisaker

Annual Members

Bruce Adams, Norbert F. Armour, Robert
S. Arnold, Miss Florence Harriett Bade, Dr.
Thomas G. Baffes, Michol Bairn, Edward
Benningsen, Mrs. Lucille T. Blakesley,
Robert Blumenfeld, Frank H. Bopp, Roy
D. Bradley, J. L. Brazee, Gerald W. Brooks,
Norman E. Bueter, Philip F. Casello, Mrs.
Mitchell S. Corbett, Robert A. Crawford,
Dr. Dominick A. Daniele, Leon M. Despres,
William Dess, Fred W. Eckert, Mrs. Jerome
Factor, Mrs. Edward W. Fahey, C. R. Free-
man, Charles K. Goldberg, Benjamin E.
Goodman, Mrs. Alice Goodrich, Leonard W.
Gopp, William Haddow, William R. Hage-
dorn, Dr. J. M. Hajduk, John L. Hall, Daniel
J. Hallahan, John Hehnke, H. L. Hendrick-
son, Matthew J. Hickey, Jr., B. J. Hoddi-
nott, Fred K. Hoehler, Randall T. Holden,
Eugene X. Humphrey, Miss Ruth Hunt,
Arthur M. Jens, Jr., W. J. Jensen, Frank S.
Kanelos, Mrs. Walter H. Knoebel, Saul
Korshak, C. W. Kreuger, Richard W. Krit-
zer, Sr., Overton F. Kuhn, F. H. Kullman,
Jr., Mrs. Ray W. Leonard, A. A. Lipsey,
James E. Lowden, Miss Georgia A. Lynch,
James Mclntyre, Mrs. Daniel P. McMahon,
Mrs. Ernest Noyes, Dr. Oscar B. Nugent,
Dr. M. F. Ocasek, Klaus Ollendorff, John
F. Parmer, W. H. Robinson, Ralph Rose,
William D. Sampson, George J. Schaller,
J. Herzl Segal, Thomas J. Sheehan, Earle A.
Shilton, E. Courtney Sorrelle, F. L. Spreyer,
Dr. Joseph Stagman, Robert B. Stitt, Frank
C. Stover, William D. Sunter, C. R. Taaffe,
Saul O. Tannenbaum, John Temple, Mrs.
Ivan L. Tyler, Norman Ulrich, Mrs. Dan
Unger, Dr. Charles S. Vil, Anthony P. Vin-
centi, Dr. Harold C. Voris, Dr. Maggie L.
Walker, Dr. S. Y. Wang, Dr. Milan M.
Wasick, Dr. J. Lewis Webb, Dr. Michael S.
White, Dr. Jack Williams, Dr. Seymour D.
Wishnick, Dr. Ernest S. Wolf, Dr. N. S.
Zeitlin, Dr. Theodore N. Zekman

The spell of the Orient may be felt in
a visit to the exhibits of ancient China
(George T. and Frances Gaylord Smith
Hall— Hall 24), Chinese jades (Hall 30),
and modern China and Tibet (Hall 32).

PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

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CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

November, 1959

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 Henry P. Isham

Sewell L. Avery William V. Kahler

Wm. McCormick Blair Hughston M. McBain

Walther Buchen J. Roscoe Miller

Chesser M. Campbell William H. Mitchell

Walter J. Cummings John T. Pirie, Jr.

Joseph N. Field Clarence B. Randall

Marshall Field, Jr. John G. Searle

Stanley Fibld Solomon A. Smith

Samuel Insull, Jr. Louis Ware

OFFICERS

Stanley Field President

Hughston M. McBain First Vice-President

Walther Buchen Second Vice-President

Joseph N. Field Third Vice-President

Solomon A. Smith Treasurer

Clifford C. Gregg Director and Secretary

John R. Millar Assistant Secretary

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR
Clifford C. Gregg Director of the Museum

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anthropology

Theodor Just Chief Curator of Botany

Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geology

Austin L. Rand Chief Curator of Zoology

MANAGING EDITOR
H. B. Harte Public Relations Counsel

ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Maruvyn Jindrich Assistant in Public Relations

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

GIFT SUGGESTION

Chicago Natural History Museum offers
an opportunity to thoughtful persons to share
in the progress of scientific discovery through
Membership in the Museum. Membership
dues and contributions assist greatly in financ-
ing the Museum's research and educational
work.

The recipient of a Museum Membership
will receive the following:

(1) Free admission to the Museum for the
Member, the Member's family and
house guests.

(2) Reserved seats at all lectures and film
presentations.

(3) Use of the Museum's excellent library
for information and study.

(4) The Museum's monthly Bulletin
and the Annual Report of the Director.
Certain other Museum publications is-
sued during the term of Membership
will be sent upon written request.

(5) Special discount privileges at the Mu-
seum's Book Shop, which carries care-
fully selected books on the natural
sciences and an outstanding collection
of items suitable for gifts. Children's
books are a feature.

Life and Associate Members are exempt
from payment of dues (the fees are deduct-

ible for federal income tax purposes). Fees
from these Memberships are permanently
invested and only the income is used for
budget purposes. Increasing the endow-
ments provides one of the best means of
assuring the growth of this institution.

MEMBERSHIPS

Annual $ 10.

Sustaining (annually for six years) $ 25.

Associate $100.

Non-Resident Associate .... $ 50.

Life $500.

Non-Resident Life $100.

For information, write to the Director of
the Museum, or telephone WAbash 2-9076.

PIGEONS' FLIGHT

VIEWED WITH FRIGHT

We have received from Carl S. Miner, a
Chicago consulting chemist and Associate
Member of the Museum, the following amus-
ing jingle inspired by the article "Pity Poor
Pigeon: Host to a Community," by Dr.
Austin L. Rand, Chief Curator of Zoology
(Bulletin, August, 1959, page 6):

Till now when I saw pigeons fly
Away up yonder in the sky
I much enjoyed their graceful motion.
Then I had not the slightest notion
That they were hosts to noxious things
That crawl or creep or fly on wings.
Now when I see them overhead
I'm filled with fear, also with dread,
Of what might happen. So in fright
I pull my hat down very light.
Knowledge is power, but sometimes it
Limits enjoyment quite a bit.

Winter Visiting Hours Begin
Effective November 1, visiting hours at
the Museum will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (5 p.m.
on Saturdays and Sundays). This schedule
will prevail through February 28.

Off-Calendar Birds

The egg-laying calendar of the sooty terns
of Ascension Island, near the equator in mid-
South Atlantic, is unique in the bird world.
The records now extend from 1941 to 1958,
and the birds are known to breed every 9.7
months, instead of every 12 months as is the
rule for other birds.

The seas surrounding Ascension are evi-
dently rich in food for the birds the year
'round, so they could breed any time. Why
they should do so every 9.7 months (prac-
tically every 10 lunar months) is a mystery.

Auk, 1959

-THIS MONTH'S COVER-

Charles Darwin was a prolific
author. In addition to the "Origin
of Species" he wrote more than a
dozen books in the fields of bot-
any, geology, and zoology. Our
cover, designed by Assistant Pho-
tographer Homer V. Holdren and
Staff Artist E. John Pfiffner, shows
Darwin against a background sym-
bolizing the themes of the most
important of his books.

LECTURES FOR ADULTS
DURING NOVEMBER

The final four lectures on science and
travel in the autumn series will be given on
Saturday afternoons at 2:30 in the James
Simpson Theatre of the Museum. All of
the lectures are illustrated with color mo-
tion pictures. Provided by the Edward E.
Ayer Lecture Foundation, the programs are
free to all Museum visitors. Members of
the Museum may obtain reserved seats by
presenting their membership cards before
2:25 p.m. on the chosen lecture day.

Following is the November schedule:

November 7 — Scotland

Nicol Smith

November 14 — Probing Antarctica

Finn Ronne, USNR

November 21 — Patagonia

Malcolm Miller

November 28 — Japan

Gordon Palmquist

Some of the earliest tools made by man are
available to researchers in the study collec-
tion of the Department of Anthropology.

EXPLORING ANTARCTICA AREA

Members of International Geophysical Year expe-
dition make helicopter flight around mass of ice
in Weddell Sea. From Captain Finn Ronne's film,
to be shown on November 14.

November, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

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CENTENNIAL OF DARWIN'S 'ORIGIN OF SPECIES' HAILED

By D. DWIGHT DAVIS

CURATOR OF VERTEBRATE ANATOMY

CHARLES DARWIN'S celebrated book,
The Origin of Species by Means of Nat-
ural Selection, was published just a hundred
years ago, on November 24, 1859. Few
ideas affected the whole fabric of human
thought so profoundly as the idea Darwin
was trying to prove, that species of animals
and plants were not created fixed and im-
mutable. In a very real sense the publication
of the Origin marked the end of an era
that goes back to the beginning of recorded
human thought, and the dawn of a new era
whose consequences we cannot even dimly
discern. For the first time man saw himself
standing alone in a universe he had scarcely
begun to understand. The prospect was
terrifying. It is impossible for us today to
appreciate the intensity of feeling, the out-
raged indignation, the emotional panic, with
which Darwin's ideas were greeted by many,
including many of his fellow scientists. Yet
this reaction might have been foreseen (and
was indeed foreseen by Darwin himself), for
nothing before or since has so humbled man
as did the implication that he is kin to the
rest of nature. The last serious attempt to
demolish this concept by an appeal to irra-
tional emotion was the Scopes trial held in
Dayton, Tennessee, in 1925.

A hundred years is enough time to provide
some historical perspective, and biologists
and humanists the world over are seizing
the centennial anniversary of the publication
of the Origin to assess its status today, and
to appraise our present understanding of
evolution in general.

Historical research has clarified Darwin's
place in the history of man's attempt to
understand nature and himself. It has long
been clear that Darwin did not originate the
idea of evolution, and that he did not prove
that evolution took place. Nowhere does
he claim to have done so. The idea that
species are related through common ancestry
is an old one that cannot be attributed to
any one man. That evolution did in fact
take place can be proved in only one way —
by seeing the actual record of evolutionary
change in the rocks laid down while these
events were happening. If there were no
fossil record biologists would still be debat-
ing the fact of evolution.

DARWIN'S FORERUNNERS

Darwin did not even originate the idea of
natural selection, the concept most inti-
mately associated with his name. His grand-
father, Erasmus Darwin, himself a most re-
markable man, came close to hitting upon
the idea of natural selection in 1794. Recent
historical research has unearthed an aston-
ishing number of books and articles written
in England during the first half of the 19th
century that explicitly attribute the creative
role in evolution to natural selection. Most

of these are nearly forgotten now, but some
were immensely popular in their time, and
all were certainly well known to Darwin.

Conspicuous among these pioneers were
William Lawrence, a physician, Edward
Blyth, a naturalist, and the philosopher
Herbert Spencer. Spencer even coined the
historic phrases "struggle for existence" and
"survival of the fittest," which are often
attributed to Darwin. Finally, the young
Alfred Russel Wallace, who for years had
been collecting and observing animals in the
tropical jungles of the East Indies, in 1858
sent Darwin a draft of a theory of evolution
by natural selection so similar to Darwin's
that Darwin wrote in astonishment and dis-
may, "I never saw a more striking coinci-
dence." Only now are we beginning to ap-
preciate the extent to which evolutionary
thought was working, like yeast, in the
minds of Englishmen during the early 19th
century. In England the idea of evolution
was no philosophical plaything, but a bold
attempt to understand the workings of na-
ture in terms of known forces.

Seemingly "scooped" by others on every
point, we may well ask why Darwin is cele-
brated, and why the Origin is considered
one of the handful of great books that have
profoundly influenced humanity. In part
the explanation is simple. Except for
Wallace, the notions of Darwin's prede-
cessors were not scientific theories but specu-
lations unsupported by facts. The history
of philosophy is full of such flights of fancy,
which may be stimulating and inspirational
but do not represent any real advance in
understanding. Wallace's claims are not so
easily disposed of, for his explanation of
evolution was arrived at exactly as Darwin's
was — through deduction from an enormous
mass of observations. It was Wallace's mis-
fortune to be far away in the jungles of the
East Indies when the storm broke in Eng-
land. If he had returned to England earlier
he might not have been eclipsed so com-
pletely by Darwin. Yet we cannot imagine
the brilliant but erratic Wallace compiling
the Origin. It was the overwhelming mass
of data painstakingly marshaled by Darwin
in the Origin that forced a reluctant hu-
manity to abandon its belief in special crea-
tion, the most powerful superstitition that
ever enslaved the mind of man. Perhaps
the most important ingredient in Darwin's
genius was the tenacity that kept him pa-
tiently gathering and sorting data for twenty-
five years.

It was probably inevitable that some
would try to deify Darwin as a unique genius
whose insight enabled him to peer into the
void and see what no man before him had
dreamed of. There have been such men in
the history of science, but Darwin certainly
was not one of them. Nothing in history
is more certain than that sometime during
the third quarter of the 19th century some

British biologist would have written an
"origin of species by means of natural selec-
tion." Scientific knowledge in general, par-
ticularly in geology and paleontology, had
reached a level that was making it im-
possible for any fair-minded person who
knew the facts to doubt that evolution did
take place. In England the medieval stran-
glehold of the church on the minds of men
had relaxed enough to make it safe to ex-
press such opinions publicly. And for more
than fifty years influential British scholars
had been suggesting — but without any proof
— that natural selection is the agent of evo-
lution.

MILESTONE IN HUMAN THOUGHT

The fact that Darwin and Wallace inde-
pendently developed identical theories at
the same time was no accident. In all fair-
ness we must recognize that Darwin was
something of a child of fortune, who hap-
pened to be at the right place at the right
time. It is not quite correct to say that
Darwin and the Origin altered the course
of human thought; rather they are symbols
of an important milestone in the evolution
of human thought. Yet such an appraisal
of Darwin's place in history would be
grossly unfair, for it was Darwin who
wrote the Origin of Species, and it was the
Origin that breached the last bulwark of
romantic idealism in science. To argue that
another might have done it is fatuous. Dar-
win was far more than a mere plaything
of fate, but there is no need to make more
of him, or of the book, than they were.

What, then, is the status of natural selec-
tion as a scientific theory today? No one
can question its historical importance, but in
science no concept has standing merely be-
cause it once caused a stir, however great.
The only test of a scientific theory is whether
it continues to account for all new facts as
they are discovered. If it does not, the
theory is dead and only historians continue
to study its corpse.

Natural selection has had its times of
trouble when new observations, particularly
in paleontology and genetics, seemed to
doom it, but it has survived all such tem-
porary misinterpretations. By far the most
serious defect in Darwin's argument was the
supposition, then general among animal
breeders, that the characters of the parents
blend in their offspring, like inks of different
colors poured together. Discerning critics
quickly pointed out that a favorable varia-
tion would therefore quickly be diluted and
lost, so natural selection could not possibly
work. Knowing that artificial selection does
work, Darwin wrestled with this problem
for years, and lost because the laws of
heredity were then unknown. When Men-
del's experim ents revealing the laws of hered
ity were rediscovered in 1900 the difficulty
disappeared, but by then Darwin had been

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CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

November, 1959

dead for eighteen years. Today natural se-
lection is more firmly entrenched than ever
— one of the foundation stones of our inter-
pretation of living nature. Yet, like any
theory in science, it will always be a pro-
visional explanation. It will ever be tested
against new observations and experiments,
and the moment a discrepancy appears the
theory will either be modified or abandoned.
There is no place for sentiment in science.
Charles Darwin was a naturalist. Nature
is so vast and complex that we are forced to
study it by isolating tiny fragments in the
laboratory, where each is worked on by a
specialist. Such dismemberment may lead
to grievously wrong interpretations of na-
ture, and so someone must try to put these
fragments back together and view nature as
an organized whole. This is the job of the
naturalist. Like nearly all naturalists of his
time, Darwin was an amateur. Things have
become vastly more complex since Darwin's
time, and no longer can the amateur com-
mand the materials and equipment for carry-
ing on biological research.

CAUTION ALWAYS ESSENTIAL

The naturalists of today are mostly in the
world's few great natural history museums,
where the tradition of working in the final
great laboratory of nature itself is still car-
ried on. This is a proper and necessary func-
tion, for biologists, like Antaeus, are strong
only as long as their feet touch the ground.
Specialists we must have, but it is all too
easy to mistake a tiny fragment of nature,
isolated in a man-made laboratory, for all of
nature and reach catastrophically wrong con-
clusions. Naturalists may never again dis-
cover anything half so important as natural
selection, but they will always be science's
link with the firm ground of nature from
which all science is drawn. Providing this
vital link with reality is one of the most
important functions of a natural history
museum.

As one of the heirs of the Darwinian tradi-
tion, it is fitting for Chicago Natural History
Museum to join in commemorating the cen-
tenary of the publication of the Origin of
Species. A special exhibit, titled "Dar-
win's Origin of the Species," will be on dis-
play in Stanley Field Hall during the months
of November and December. The exhibit
consists of six panels that trace the history
of the Origin and explain the meaning of,
and the evidence for, natural selection. In-
cluded in the exhibit is a copy of the rare
first edition of the Origin of Species, loaned
for the occasion by the John Crerar Library
of Chicago. Holograph letters written by
Darwin and specimens from the Museum's
collections that were collected by him on the
voyage of the Beagle will also be on display.

One of the world's outstanding gem col-
lections may be seen in H.N. Higinbotham
Hall (Hall 31).

A SPECIAL EXHIBIT
OF DARWINIANA

AT A TIME when scholars from all over
XI the world are gathering on the Univer-
sity of Chicago campus to discuss the mean-
ing and modern-day implications of Charles
Darwin's The Origin of Species, a book that
shook the world when it was first printed,
and when numerous learned societies are
publishing essays discussing that same book,
Chicago Natural History Museum is bring-
ing to the public a special graphic exhibit on
this subject.

The special exhibit, titled "Darwin's Ori-
gin of Species," commemorates the first pub-
lication of the theory on November 24, 1859,
and will go on display in Stanley Field Hall
November 1, continuing through Decem-
ber 31.

Six panels tell the story of Origin by ex-
plaining the meaning of, and the evidence
for, natural selection — the book's theory that
in the "struggle for existence" those charac-
teristics will be retained that best enable an
organism to cope with life and to survive.
The first panel traces the historic voyage of
the Beagle on a colored map of the world,
focusing on specimens that Darwin collected
and studied at different points of the voyage.
It was on that voyage that Darwin formu-
lated many of his first ideas regarding evo-
lution. Panel 2 presents the logical develop-
ment of Darwin's ideas that came out of the
voyage, in the areas of paleontology, embry-
ology, and comparative anatomy. The third
panel is devoted to the numerous books that
Darwin wrote before and after publication
of Origin, each concentrating on a different
area of life, but all influenced by his theory
of evolution.

EXAMPLES OF PROCESSES

More explicit examples of the basic think-
ing involved in natural selection, as Darwin
saw it, are embodied in Panels 4, 5, and 6.
Three examples of the operation of natural
selection are shown in Panel 4: oak leaves,
beetles, and variations in domestic pigeons.
Panel 5 pictorially demonstrates six forces
that play a part in natural selection: disease,
competition, food, co-operation, climate, en-
emies. Finally, Panel 6 shows how a species
produces progeny in excess of those that
will ultimately survive to assure continuity
of the species — a point in which Darwin
became interested after reading Mallhus On
Population. To demonstrate this point, the
panel shows Darwin's classic example of the
possible geometric increase of two elephants
over a period of 750 years to 19 million
elephants — the number that would roam the
earth in the event that none of the elephant
offspring died or were killed after birth.

Responsible for planning the exhibit are
Dr. Austin L. Rand, Chief Curator of Zool-
ogy, D. Dwight Davis, Curator of Verte-
brate Anatomy, and E. John Pfiffner, Mu-
seum Staff Artist.

Daily Guide-Lectures

Free guide-lecture tours are offered daily
except Sundays under the title "Highlights
of the Exhibits." These tours are designed
to give a general idea of the entire Museum
and its scope of activities. They begin at
2 p.m. on Monday through Friday and at
2:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Special tours on subjects within the range
of the Museum exhibits are available
Mondays through Fridays for parties of ten
or more persons by advance request.

FILMS FOR CHILDREN
ON SATURDAYS

The autumn series of free motion pictures
for children continues in November with
programs to be presented on each of the
four Saturday mornings at 10:30 a.m. in
the James Simpson Theatre. Children may
come all alone, in organized groups, or ac-
companied by adults. No tickets are needed.

Dates and titles of films are as follows:

November 7 — The Magic Horse

An animated cartoon based on the old
Russian folk tale about a boy and his
tiny horse that has magical powers

November 14— The Adventures of Chico

A children's favorite: the story of a little
boy and his pet bird in Mexico

November 21— Kon Tiki (Museum Trav-
eler Day — presentation of awards to child-
ren who have completed series of Museum
Journeys)

The voyage of a group of young Scandi-
navians from South America to Pacific
islands on a balsa raft

November 28 — An All-Cartoon Pro-
gram

Willy, the Operatic Whale; Susie, the
Blue Koop; and A Cowboy Meets a Horse

Each boy and girl attending will be given
an exploration sheet directing them to Mu-
seum exhibits in which they can see material
related to the stories of the films.

Educational Toy

"Pancho," the Grasshopper, currently on
sale in the Museum's Book Shop is a recent
addition to the line of scientific toys. The
accurate reproduction of the grasshopper
was made possible by the assistance of
Henry S. Dybas, Associate Curator of In-
sects, and by specimens supplied the manu-
facturer by this Museum's Division of Insects.

Molded in plastic in natural colors,
"Pancho" is an excellent introduction to the
study of insects. Because of its enlarged size,
12 inches in length, children can easily ob-
serve details of the grasshopper and come to
better understand how this insect lives.

November, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

DARWIN, AN ORCHID,
AND A MOTH

By THEODOR JUST

CHIEF CURATOR OF BOTANY

IN THE PREFACE to the second edition
of his book, entitled The Various Con-
trivances by Which Orchids are Fertilized by
Insects (1877), Charles Darwin pointed out
that "during the two or three years after its
appearance" (1862) he received " through the
kindness of various correspondents in differ-
ent parts of the world, a large number of
letters, especially from Fritz Miiller in South
Brazil, communicating to me many new and
curious facts." One of these communications
concerned the Madagascar epiphytic orchid,
Angraecum sesquipedale, whose flowers have

Courtesy or Nature Magazine

PROBOSCIS OF SPHINX MOTH

Used in pollination. (Drawing by Fritz Muller)

spurs one foot long or more, which contain
nectar. Pollination of these flowers "must
depend on some gigantic moth," as Darwin
predicted.

The June 12, 1873 issue of Nature (A
Weekly Illustrated Journal of Science) con-
tains a request for information concerning
this orchid by W. A. Forbes. Promptly,
Hermann Muller sent a reply published in
the July 17, 1873 issue of the same journal,
under the title of "Probosces Capable of
Sucking the Nectar of Angraecum sesquipe-
dale." In this reply, Hermann Muller re-
ported the findings of his brother, Fritz
Muller, in Brazil concerning a sphinx moth
with a proboscis of " about 0.25 metres." The
above illustration shows this proboscis "in
its contorted condition" with "at least 20
elegant windings."

In the January 31, 1907 issue of Nature,
E. W. Swanton asked once more for the
name of the moth that could pollinate this
orchid. In reply, Alfred Russel Wallace,
co-discoverer of natural selection, stated that
he had "not heard of any moth from Mada-
gascar with an exceptionally long proboscis,"
but that he had heard "of one from East
Africa with a proboscis the length required."

He did not realize how close to the truth he
had come. In March of 1903 Walter Roth-
schild and Karl Jordan published their "Re-
vision of the Lepidopterous Family Sphingi-
dae" which contains the description of a new
genus, Xanthopan, whose single species, mor-
gani, occurs in Africa as expected by Wallace.
Included in the revision is also the description
of a new subspecies, praedicta. This name
indicates that the long expected discovery
was made, for it was found that this sub-
species occurs only in Madagascar and that
its tongue "is long enough — about 225 mm.
(8 inches) — to reach the honey in short and
medium-sized nectaries of Angraecum." As
even the longest spurs fill up to "one-fourth
of the nectary," this subspecies apparently
can reach nectar in these flowers.

Inasmuch as Wallace missed the informa-
tion published in his country, it should not
surprise us that the bulk of the pertinent
botanical and entomological literature failed
to pick up this name and description and
transmit them to their readers. It seems
particularly appropriate to call attention to
Xanthopan morgani praedicta at this time in
the hope of filling this vacuum forever.

Angraecum sesquipedale is " so far the finest
of the species" of this genus of more than 100
kinds of epiphytic orchids, many of which
are grown in greenhouses. A model of this
species, made in the Museum's Plant Repro-
duction Laboratories, is a permanent exhi-
bit in the Hall of Plant Life (Hall 29—
Martin A. and Carrie Ryerson Hall), but
presently is on display in the temporary
Darwin exhibit.

I am greatly obliged to Rupert Wenzel,
Curator of Insects, for his assistance with
the entomological literature.

2 'KNOW-YOUR-CHICAGO'
GROUPS VISIT MUSEUM

Two groups of about 100 persons each vis-
ited selected exhibits in the American Indian
halls at the Museum on September 29 and 30
on field trips conducted by University Col-
lege of the University of Chicago in correla-
tion with its series of "Know Your Chicago"
lectures now in its eleventh year. As part
of a study of the subject " Great Cities of the
Past," the visitors were conducted to such
exhibits as the dioramas of an Inca village in
Peru, a Maya village, a market in ancient
Mexico City, and the special exhibit " Indian
Art of the Americas." Dr. Donald Collier,
Curator of South American Archaeology and
Ethnology, addressed them in the Lecture
Hall before the Museum tour. Staff lectur-
ers of the Raymond Foundation assisted in
conducting the tours. Mrs. Laurence Car-
ton, Mrs. Snelling S. Robinson, and Mrs.
William Bowe were tour leaders for the
Know Your Chicago organization.

PRIMITIVE ART LECTURE
OFFERED AT MUSEUM

The exotic art of Western (Dutch) New
Guinea will be explored in a lecture in
James Simpson Theatre of the Museum on
Friday evening, November 6, at 8:15. Dr.
Simon Kooijman, anthropologist, Curator of
the National Museum of Ethnology in Lei-
den, The Netherlands, and an authority on
New Guinea art, will present an illustrated
lecture entitled, "The Art of Western New
Guinea and its Cultural Background." Dr.
Kooijman is the author of The Art of Lake
Sentani, the first monograph on primitive
art published by the new Museum of Primi-
time Art in New York. During Dr. Kooij-
man's visit to the United States he will
lecture at the Museum of Primitive Art in
connection with its current exhibition, The
Art of Lake Sentani. He also will travel
within the United States to inspect impor-
tant collections of New Guinea art. As
part of his visit to Chicago Natural History
Museum, Dr. Kooijman has kindly con-
sented to lecture to the members and friends
of the Museum.

Dr. Kooijman's lecture will deal with an
aspect of primitive art not stressed enough,
the relationship of the art to its cultural
background. He is extremely well qualified
to deal with art in such terms — having
studied both the art objects in museums
and also the people who made them in
New Guinea.

Chicago Natural History Museum and
the Department of Anthropology of the
University of Chicago are jointly sponsoring
the lecture at the Museum. Admission will
be free. Museum Members and friends are
urged to use this opportunity to hear a
distinguished authority on primitive art.

'DESIGNS FOR SURVIVAL'
NEXT AUDUBON TOPIC

This month's Sunday afternoon screen-
tour of the Illinois Audubon Society is "De-
signs for Survival," to be presented on
November 15 at 2:30 p.m. in the James
Simpson Theatre by William Anderson. In
his color film and talk, Anderson will show
phases of the life of many animals from
insects and fishes to birds and mammals
illustrating how nature adapts them to meet
environmental conditions and to compete
against inimical forces for the survival of
their species.

Admission is free. Museum Members and
their guests are cordially invited to attend.

Another Audubon screen-tour, "Adven-
tures in Color With American Birds and
Big Game," by Cleveland P. Grant will be
presented on December 13.

Mineral resources of the state of Illinois
are featured in an exhibit in Hall 36.

Now approaching a total of 7,000, the
Museum's membership has reached the high-
est figure in the institution's history.

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

November, 1959

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MYSTERY OF HANDWRITING ON THE WALL IN SOUTHWEST

By PAUL S. MARTIN

CHIEF CURATOR OF ANTHROPOLOGY

FOR the past four months my colleagues
and I have been digging in the ruin of a
prehistoric apartment house that we found in
Arizona, on the east bank of the Little Colo-
rado River on the ranch of Robert Hooper of
Springerville. At first sight the ruin resem-
bled a small hill. Scattered on its surface
were fragments of pottery and stone tools,
and pieces of dressed stone that were rem-
nants of the ancient walls.

We started to dig in the top at the middle
of the hill to keep ourselves from being
"painted into a corner," so to speak. By
working from the middle rooms outward, we
could carry the dirt and rocks in wheelbar-
rows over the filled-up rooms. We probably
removed about two million pounds of dirt
and rock or about 1,000 tons. Since we could
not afford to excavate the entire site, we dug
two tiers of rooms at right angles to one an-
other. One tier was an east-west section, the
other a north-south one. The two rows of
rooms, excavated at right angles through the
site, probably gave a fair sample of the con-
tents of the ancient building and its architec-
tural complexities. We discovered numerous
tools of stone and bone, and 10,000 potsherds
which we washed, counted, and classified.

The building was occupied about 650 years
ago (a.d. 1300-1325). This date is only an
estimate, based on the types of pottery we
found, and their resemblance to other kinds
that have been discovered and dated. A few
families probably settled in this fertile valley
because of the abundance of water and the
profusion of wild life. Here they could have
hunted and farmed easily; and the ability to
farm was important, for fanning was their
basic industry.

ROOMS FREQUENTLY ADDED

At first the pueblo was probably a one-
story building with ten or fifteen rooms, all
exceedingly well-built. Rooms were added

The drawings heading this page represent a se-
lection of petroglyphs from the walls of the pueblo
excavated by the Southwest Archaeological Expe-
dition during its 1959 season. A few of the figures
are readily identified as men, a snake, and other
animals. (Drawings by Gustaf Dalstrom, Artist
in the Department of Anthropology.)

from time to time, as the families grew in
size. Families increased rapidly among these
people because it was customary for the
daughters to bring their husbands home to
live in the mother's dwelling-place.

At least ten sealed doorways were found —
all in the rooms on the ground floor. Some
of the sealed doors opened into other apart-
ments and some of them led to the outside.
Why were these doors sealed? Did maraud-
ers so often molest the family that an un-
scalable wall and an entrance through the
roof seemed safer? Or did the river overflow
and flood their rooms? We know that the
river overflowed at times, for we found river
gravels and silt just below the refuse. Seal-
ing the doorways would have kept out the
floods.

Shortly after the doorways were plugged,
another architectural change occurred. The
ground-floor rooms were all filled with dirt
and rocks, the walls were cut off at the top,
and the roofs were ripped off. Then new
rooms were built on this fill, which was four
or five feet above the ground-floor levels.
The walls of the upper rooms do not coincide
with the earlier, lower walls. The lower
rooms were filled up, but the new walls criss-
cross the old ones. One wall carried straight
up from bottom to top would have been
stronger, but the new, late walls were built
on soft, shifting earth and must have been
very unstable. Apparently, the people who
built the upper rooms had resolved to pay no
attention to the earlier floor plan — they
wanted a pueblo that was completely differ-
ent from the earlier building in both organi-
zation and arrangement. We know of few,
if any, similar ruins in the Southwest. Why?

POTTERY CHANGED SLOWLY

Did the original inhabitants flee from their
homes after fighting floods? And did another
group of Indians find the deserted pueblo,
decide to revamp it to suit their needs and
their style, and to rebuild it with their make-
shift masonry? I would gladly accept this
apparently logical explanation, if the pottery
and tools reflected any abrupt change in
workmanship. Instead, we have traced a
slow continuous trend from the earlier types
to the later. The amount of black-on-white
pottery decreased and gradually more poly-
chrome and glaze appeared. Also, there is no

great difference in time between the earlier
and the later types. The earliest would date
at about a.d. 1300 and the latest at about
1350-1375. The stone and bone tools show
the same slow change. I am unwilling to
relinquish the "Replacement Hypothesis,"
but I must say I have little evidence to sup-
port it.

In many of the rooms designs were in-
scribed on the walls. Some of these picto-
graphs — the geometric designs — had been
incised, probably with a bone tool. Others,
resembling men, mythical birds and other
animals, had been pecked into the soft sand-
stone walls, probably with a hammerstone.
The significance of these figures is a mystery,
but I think it is fair to say that they were
not the work of some prehistoric "beatnik."
They probably were associated with hunting
rites or other religious rituals. However,
they are among the few pictographs in the
Southwest that can be associated with a cer-
tain people and that can be dated. Most of
those found in the area have been drawn on
the rock walls of canyons or on boulders, and
so are difficult to ascribe to any certain peo-
ple or date.

As told in the September Bulletin, we
also found traces of the Katchina Cult in the
pueblo. The Katchinas were supernatural
beings who could bring rain and could aid
the people in many other ways. Katchinas
were often impersonated by men wearing
masks and elaborate costumes.

THREE KIVAS FOUND

In the pueblo we found three kivas. Kivas
were sacred underground chambers used by
men, where rituals were conducted. We ex-
cavated two kivas, one of which was rectan-
gular, with a platform at one end. A tunnel
permitted fresh air to flow by gravity into
the room — an early example of ventilating
apparatus. The other kiva was smaller (per-
haps 8 by 10 feet), and its floor was paved
with large flagstones. A small ventilator tun-
nel and a round chimney-like shaft furnished
fresh air to the occupants of this kiva. The
largest kiva was not excavated this season.

Three other projects were completed dur-
ing our field season. On one site, where we
worked last year, we excavated a Great Kiva
— a round one — which contained several bur-

November, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

ials. This site should probably be dated
about a.d. 1000 to 1100.

We also searched for other archaeological
sites within an area of about 300 square
miles. This work was done both by car and
on foot. The sites thus found and recorded
this season date from about 1500 B.C. to
A.D. 1400 — a span of almost 3,000 years.
Two caves were found during this survey,
one of which was excavated. The cave had
been occupied sporadically for short periods

of time, perhaps by hunters and traders,
from the 8th century to the 15th.

Our primary interest this summer was to
bridge certain gaps in the chronology of
Mogollon-Zuni history. Last summer we
excavated a pre-Zuni (Late Mogollon) site,
the date of which, about a.d. 1350, was
fixed by radiocarbon and tree-ring dating.
These three sites excavated this summer
have been dated from a.d. 700 to about
1350, and these sequences join neatly with

our researches in western New Mexico. But
there are still many gaps in the chronology —
mainly the centuries before a.d. 1000.

Our work is cumulative, for we find that
the research of each season gives us more in-
sight into the problems produced by the
work of previous years. We continue to ac-
cumulate information on how men solved
their problems in the past; how they con-
quered some obstacles and were overcome by
{Continued on page 11, column S)

ON THE 'DIG' IN ARIZONA — Southwest Archaeological Expedition, 1959. (1) View of progress in excavation of kiva or ceremonial chamber. (2) Martin Hoff-
man, a student-worker, points to pictographs on wall and tries to decide whether these works of art were the creation of a prehistoric abstractionist or a pri-
mordial "beatnik." In foreground is a firepit of the ancient Indians. (3) Margaret Alder, another student-worker, cleans or! burial objects with whiskbroom,
trowel and camel's-hair brush. Shown is one of the finds, a seed jar nested in a bowl. The burial, that of a woman, is in an abandoned kiva and dates to
about A.D. 1000. (4) General view of the pueblo, principal site of this year's excavation. Members of digging crew standing in rooms provide a key to scale
size of site. (5) Miscellaneous small tools recovered by diggers. At top is leg-bone of a large animal from which rings (center, right) are cut. At sides of photo-
graph are bone awls; In center is portion of a bracelet made from shell received in trade from Indians on Gulf of California, and arrowheads.

Page 8

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

November, 1959

'DARKEST AFRICA' TRULY
IS GLARINGLY BRIGHT

By ROBERT F. INGER

CURATOR OF AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES

AFTER three and one-half months in
l Africa, it is difficult to say what is
the most impressive aspect of that great
continent. Perhaps the first thing to say-
is that Africa is the bright continent rather
than the dark one, for in its vast tropical
belt the sun has a glaring brilliancy that
seems to press a man's eyeballs into his
skull. Even wearing a broad-brimmed hat
and sun-glasses does not protect against the
intense light of the mid-day sun.

The great density of the human popula-
tion is, if anything, more astounding than
the force of the sun. We thought that
Africa would be full of wide open spaces,
but our impression is that it is full of people.
Our plane from Europe to Leopoldville in
the Belgian Congo touched down in Kano,
northern Nigeria, to refuel. From 5,000
feet above that semi-arid region, we could
see at least as many evidences of human
habitation as one might see from a similar
altitude above northern Illinois.

In the Belgian Congo people were swarm-
ing everywhere. Riding in a jeep along
one of the many dirt roads, we would often
say to ourselves, "Ah, now we are really
out in the wild bush." And then we would
round a turn to see a cluster of grass huts
and half a dozen shouting, laughing children
jumping up and down in front of a few
banana trees and waving at us with great
delight. Or if no huts were visible, we would
see a man on a bicycle, or a woman wrapped
in brilliantly colored calico walking grace-
fully along the road.

FIELD WORK BEGINS

However, we went to Africa on a zoological
mission — "we" being my wife and myself.
The Institut des Pares Nationaux du Congo
Beige had asked me to study a large collec-
tion of frogs and toads from the Pare Na-
tional de la Garamba, which is in the extreme
northeastern part of the Belgian Congo. It
was in connection with that study that we
undertook the field work.

The Pare National de la Garamba is one
of four national parks in the Belgian Congo.
Its 1,250,000 acres (roughly twice the size
of Rhode Island) lie in savanna, a tropical
grassland in which the spacing of trees varies
from widely scattered to almost contiguous.
The landscape is not as spectacular as, say,
the Colorado Rockies or the Swiss Alps. But
the gently undulating hills that seem to go on
forever create a powerful impression. With
the change of season from dry to wet, the
grasses and, therefore, the entire country-
side change from straw color to rich, deep
green. To sit on a rise and look across the
rolling landscape, to see the contrast between
patches of young and dead grass, and to
watch a group of dark cape buffalo or a

herd of red hartebeest grazing gives a quiet
satisfaction that is not easily forgotten.

The park was given its particular location
in order to protect the last Congo popula-
tions of giraffe and white rhino. Although
the increase in the number of white rhinos
progresses slowly, the giraffes have been a
great success. We did not make a census,
but we estimate that we saw giraffes three
to five hundred times in our three months.
For some reason it is difficult to watch
giraffes moving without laughing. At least
it was impossible for our native assistants
to watch them without laughter, in which I
admit we participated. Despite the fact
that we saw giraffes every day, we could
not get over the feeling that this must surely
be the most improbable animal in the world.

ABUNDANCE OF ELEPHANTS

We saw elephants every day too. Ele-
phants are extremely abundant in the Gar-
amba, perhaps too numerous, for there are
signs that they are destroying the range
in places. On one occasion while riding
in a jeep, we spotted a herd numbering
150 to 300. I cannot distinguish between
150 and 200 or 300 elephants. But from
the size of the mass, the clouds of dust,
and the length of time they took to pass,
there must have been many more than 100.
Futoyo, my principal native assistant, who
has worked in the Garamba for more than
ten years and who knows the mammals
and their habits very well, estimated the
herd at 500. That was an over-estimate,
but herds that size have been seen before
in the Garamba.

There is something satisfyingly solid about
an elephant. It is not just its size — its
shape and the quiet, dignified manner in
which it moves across the savanna also
have a lot to do with that impression. Some-
times, however, its dignity evaporates. One
morning the men and I were caught by a
sudden, heavy rainstorm and took shelter
under a clump of trees growing along a
creek. We had seen three elephants about
250 yards away on the other side of the
stream before the rain began, but had paid
as little attention to them as they had to us.
Then we discovered that they, too, wanted
to take shelter under "our" trees. Slowly
flapping their ears and swinging their trunks,
they came closer and closer as though oblivi-
ous of us. When they were about fifty
feet away, Futoyo shouted, "Hey! Where
you going?" (In Lingala, not English.) The
elephants wheeled and shot off in the oppo-
site direction, trunks up and tails streaming,
followed by gales of laughter.

The black rhinoceros, the second African
species, also lives in the Garamba, making
the park one of the few places where both
it and the white rhino occur. Rhinos are
not as numerous in the Garamba as are
the other large mammals, but we saw them
often. To round a sharp curve in the track
and suddenly to see a rhino scarcely thirty

feet away is a marvelous experience. Shaped
like huge bricks and set close to the ground,
the rhinos left us with an impression of mas-
siveness that we never got from elephants.

LIONS AVOID PEOPLE

Unlike some other famous African parks,
the Garamba has never been open to tourists.
As a result, in the Garamba the lions are
not accustomed to people and definitely do
not lie around in the open unconcernedly
as cars drive by. Quite the contrary. They
are not often seen — we saw them only twice
— but they can be heard every night. When
they are surprised in the open, they snarl and
head for other places in a hurry. Cape
buffalo, water buck, hartebeest, roan ante-
lope, and several small kinds of antelope
are common in the Garamba and each
species adds to the interest of the park.

In fact there were so many interesting
creatures — birds, ants, termites, grasshop-
pers, and dung beetles, to name just a few —
that we often had to remind ourselves that
our three months in the Garamba were to
be devoted to amphibians. The frogs of
any tropical region are varied and numerous;
we collected roughly thirty species and prob-
ably overlooked five to ten others. These
species occupy a variety of habitats. Many
live only in the large permanent marshes.
Others live only in narrow, densely-wooded
ravines that mark the courses of certain
small streams. Still others are found
throughout the savanna. Some spend all
of their lives in water, whereas others climb
up the papyrus and reeds of the marshes,
and some hop across the ground. There
are tiny species, literally no larger than
your small fingernail, and large species, the
size of our bullfrog. The coloration of cer-
tain species was quite handsome. One tree-
frog had a dark brown back that was spotted
with red, a white abdomen, a lemon-yellow
throat, and red legs. Several species were
bright grassy-green and one had a gold stripe
on each side.

Unfortunately these beautiful colors fade
when the frogs are preserved. And many
had to be preserved. One hundred years
ago man's ignorance was so colossal that
the main purpose of most zoological field
work was simply to collect so that we might
learn what animals lived in the various
regions. Now we have a rough answer to
that problem, and field zoology is directed
increasingly to the study of the ways in
which the animals live and how their lives
are interwoven. One of the primary goals
of our field work was to obtain detailed
habitat information on each species of frog
in order to determine ultimately the spatial
relationships of the entire fauna. In effect
we asked ourselves a series of questions
about each species. Does it live in papyrus
marsh or open ponds? If in the marsh
does it perch on vegetation or does it remain
in the water? If it climbs on the papyrus
stems, how high above the surface of the

November, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 9

water does it sit? One foot? Two feet?
Six feet?

METHODICAL RECORDS

To answer questions of this sort it is
necessary to collect specimens, number them,
and record the numbers opposite notes on
the exact situations in which they are found.
Back in the Museum laboratory, the notes
on several thousand frogs can be analyzed
and perhaps answers to the questions will
emerge. This process of analysis is not
easily done in the field because many species
cannot be named with certainty away from
a laboratory and a library. And it is no
good having a collection of notes attached
to species called who's-it or what's-it. We
must have the notes associated with, say,
Rana grandisonae so that information col-
lected in the Pare National de la Garamba
can be compared with similar information
gathered in other parts of Africa. Science
is not a mere collection of facts; it is a
series of relationships based on facts. And
in our branch of natural science, as well as
in all others, these relationships cannot be
derived without proper identification of the
animals (or plants or molecules) involved.

At this stage of the game, when the study
of our specimens and notes has just begun,
it is impossible to say how many questions
we succeeded in answering. But this much
is certain: if our field work was successful,
we have probably raised more questions than
we have answered. For it is in the nature
of science that solutions to one set of prob-
lems reveal other problems that we could
not even conceive before.

MINERALOGY IN VERSE

AT DARWIN HOME

The unusual poem, reprinted here with
a paraphrase of its original introductory
material and footnotes, was published in
The American Journal of Science, and Arts,
Volume 5, in 1822, as part of a series occupy-
ing ten pages, put forth with a sufficient
supply of footnotes, abstracts, subtitles, and
morals to equip a definitive edition of
Paradise Lost. The name of the author
does not appear. The material was un-
covered for reprinting in the Bulletin by
Eugene S. Richardson, Jr., Curator of Fossil
Invertebrates. The 1822 spellings are re-
tained.

The Granitogony, a bit of 19th century
natural history in metrical form, was written
in 1811, when the author was on a visit at
Derby, the former residence of Dr. Erasmus
Darwin, grandfather of Charles Darwin.
In the company of a few scientific friends
it was suggested, that, if Erasmus Darwin,
who wrote an outline of evolution in verse,
had lived to see the progress of geology,
he would have favored the world with
another poem, The Loves of the Mountains.

Impressed with this idea, the author, on
the following day, to amuse himself on a
long and solitary walk in December, com-
posed the following verses. They were
written and shown on his return, and the
Moral quatrain was afterwards added.

At the period when this poem was com-
posed, the author was more disposed to
adopt the theory of those philosophers who
assert that the world has been baked, than
that of the German Geognosists, who
assert that it has only been boiled. He
later inclined to a midway faith, and was
disposed to believe that the crust of our
planet has been stewed, fire and water
being equally operative in its formation.

GRANITOGONY

OR

THE BIRTH OF GRANITE

In ancient time, ere Granite1 first had birth,
And formed the solid pavement of the earth,
Stern Silex2 reign'd, and felt the strong

desire
To have a son, the semblance of the sire.
To soft Alumina3 his court he paid,
But tried in vain to win the gentle maid;
Till to caloric and the spirits of flame
He sued for aid — nor sued for aid in vain :
They warm'd her heart, the bridal couch

they spread,
And Felspar4 was the offspring of their bed:
He on his sparkling front and polished face
Mix'd with his father's strength his mother's

grace.
Young Felspar flourish'd, and in early life
With pale Magnesia lived like man and wife.
From this soft union sprang a sprightly

dame,
Sparkling with life — and Mica* was her

name.
Then Silex, Felspar, Mica, dwelt alone,
The triple deities on Terra's throne.
For he, stern Silex, all access denied
To other gods, or other powers beside.6
Oft when gay Flora and Pomona strove
To land their stores, their bark he rudely

drove
Far from his coast; and in his wrath he

swore
They ne'er should land them on his flinty

shore.
Fired at this harsh refusal, angry Jove,
In terrors clad, descended from above;
His glory and his vengeance he enshrouds,
Involved in tempests and a night of clouds:
O'er Mica's head the livid lightning play'd,
And peals of thunder scared the astonished

maid.
To seek her much-loved parents quick she

flew;
Her arms elastic round their necks she threw,
"Thus may I perish, never more to part,
Press'd to my much lov'd sire's and grand-
sire's heart!"
So spoke the maid. The thunder-bolt had

fled,
And all were numbered with the silent dead.

But, interfused and changed to stone, they

rise
A mass of Granite7 towering to the skies.
O'er the whole globe this ponderous mass

extends,
Round either pole its mighty arms it bends;
And thus was doom'd to bear in after time
All other rocks of every class and clime.
So sings the bard that Granite first had birth,
And formed the solid pavement of the earth:
And minor bards may sing, whene'er they

list,
Of Argillaceous or Micaceous Schist.

MORAL

(The friend to whom this poem was shown
in 1811, suggested the propriety of annexing
a Moral. In compliance with general
custom, the author followed the advice. It
would, however have been more consonant
to his own modesty, to have left the moral
application to the reader's sagacity than to
have thus obtruded it on his notice.)

Learn hence, ye flinty hearted rocks,

Your burthens all to bear,
Lest Jove should fix you in the stocks,

Or toss you in the air.

THE AUTHOR'S COPIOUS FOOTNOTES

Appended to his poem, the author offered
the following extensive explanations of var-
ious points:

'Granite. — This rock is essentially com-
posed of three minerals, Quartz, Felspar, and
Mica united, without any cement, or with-
out interstices between them; frequently
the three minerals appear to penetrate each
other. Hence it has been supposed that
these minerals were crystallized and united
when the mass was in a state of fusion.

2 Silex. — This earth is one of the principal
constituent elements of the three minerals
that form Granite. Quartz is nearly pure
Silex; it is more imperishable than Felspar
or Mica.

3 Alumina. — This earth is soft and unctu-
ous when moist. It is a constituent part of
Felspar, in which it is combined with a large
portion of Silex, and with other ingredients.
As Silex and Alumina cannot be made to
combine chemically by water, the Muse has
properly sought aid from caloric to promote
their union.

4 Felspar, when crystalline, is distin-
guished by its laminar structure and smooth
shining face.

6 Mica. — The descent of Mica may be
rather dubious: the quantity of Magnesia
which enters into the composition of this
mineral, as given in some analyses, is very
small.

6 Siliceous earth alone is extremely un-
favorable to vegetation, and granitic rocks,
in which this earth abounds, remain for
ages denuded and barren.

7 Granite forms the summits and peaks of

(Continued on page 12, column S)

Page 10

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

November, 1959

'Do-lt-Yourself' Project

A PERSONAL HERBARIUM
FOR THE HOME

By C. EARL SMITH, Jr.

ASSOCIATE CURATOR, VASCULAR PLANTS

HAVE YOU EVER had the urge to press
a flower? If so, then you have come a
long way toward assembling your personal
collection (or herbarium) of dried plant
specimens. Almost everyone decides to make
a record of plants which he knows or partic-
ularly likes. Many people make a collection
photographically. It is equally easy to make
a permanent record of the plants themselves,
and it is far less expensive.

For hundreds of years, horticulturists and
botanists have kept a record of the plants of
interest to them. Pressed specimens 200 and
300 years old still preserve the form and

SPECIMEN COLLECTED BY LINNAEUS
Founder of modern system of nomenclature pre-
served this plant prior to 1800. It is still good.

characteristics of the species although they
may lose their original fresh color. If one
needs to soften a plant part to dissect it, the
piece may be dropped into a small amount
of water and boiled gently for a few minutes.
It is then ready to be manipulated; it is as
soft as it was when fresh.

The major supplies needed for plant press-
ing are not difficult to obtain. A stock of old
newspapers to absorb moisture and hold the
specimens is the first requirement. The sec-
ond is a method of holding the plant flat
while it is drying. Otherwise it will tend to
curl badly as the different plant tissues
contract unevenly. An old board and some
bricks for weights will suffice. Once the
specimen is dry, it may be kept in its fold
of paper indefinitely.

Those of us who are involved in handling
large'numbers of plant specimens have sev-

eral refinements in technique and equipment
which make the drying process faster and
easier. Between each fold with a specimen
we insert a sandwich made of two sheets of
blotting paper (called driers) the size of the
half newspaper fold between which is a piece
of corrugated cardboard (a ventilator) of the
same size. Obviously, the driers absorb the
moisture readily, and the corrugated card-
board facilitates its dispersal into the sur-
rounding air. A stack of specimens between
their sandwiches is ordinarily held tight
between two lattice frames of wood by a
pair of web straps or ropes. To supply the
ultimate in speedy drying, the loaded plant
press is placed over a heat source so that
most plant specimens will dry within 36
hours. Of course fleshy plants like orchids
will require a longer time to dry, and a
few, such as the cactus plants which are
particularly adapted for retaining their
moisture, will take many days. I have even
had cacti in the press for as long as two
weeks and still they promptly sprouted again !

SHRUBS AND TREES

If you wish to make specimens of shrubs
and trees, a branch tip with leaves and
flowers or fruits cut to fit the size of the half
news sheet is sufficient. Small soft plants are
usually collected with their roots (many
times you must be careful to collect the
basal rosette of leaves which will remain
firmly anchored to the ground when the
flower spike is carelessly pulled). If you
become sufficiently interested in this fasci-
nating hobby, you may also wish to collect
the non-flowering plants such as the mosses
which form the bright green woodland car-
pets, and the lichens which vary in color
from green to gray to white and are usually
firmly attached to the tree trunk or rock on
which they grow. When a lichen is too
firmly anchored to remove, a piece of the
substrate must be taken with it. Mosses and
lichens may be put directly into small brown
paper sacks (candy sacks in which you
used to get your penny jaw-breakers). These
are allowed to dry without pressing.

Aquatic plants are another group requir-
ing special care for the submerged kinds.
These include both a non-flowering group
known as algae — the seaweeds of the ocean
shore— and flowering plants like Cabomba
which are frequently sold for aquariums.
Because these plants are soft and depend
upon the buoying effect of the water to hold
them up, they can't be picked up and placed
on the news sheet for pressing. To make nice
looking specimens, float them in water in a
shallow tray, slide a piece of stiff bond paper
under them, and lift gently so that the water
flows evenly off the sheet. For algae which
are frequently gelatinous, a sheet of waxed
paper must be placed over them to prevent
them from sticking to the covering sheet of
newspaper.

Dried plant specimens can be useful as
well as being solely a record of a trip or an

occasion. While the color will change in
many plants when they are exposed to light,
most plants are easily recolored with trans-
parent photographers' tinting paints.
Mounted in frames, they make attractive
"flower prints" — frequently much more
accurately detailed than those available at
a print shop. Or try mounting them between
two thin sheets of rice paper and making
them into decorative lamp shades. They can
even be placed between sheet plastic (the
translucent kind makes a more effective
background) and incorporated into a decora-
tive screen or mounted in a French door in
place of glass.

When you get started on your plant
collection, the children will want to get into
the act. For the youngsters, whose interest
lags more quickly, specimens of common
trees or flowers can be quickly sealed (with
an iron) between two sheets of heavily
waxed paper. A little experience will soon
determine the correct heat and pressure.
Here, the thinness of the specimen is impor-
tant, as the waxed paper will tend to bulk
irregularly around thick parts. My children
like to take such specimens to school to
demonstrate common plants when the teacher
is teaching a general science section on
plants. This works equally well for colorful
autumn leaves, as plants encased in waxed
paper retain their freshness for some time.

Once you have accumulated a few speci-
mens, the problem of mounting them for
use or display arises. Because you have been
preparing your specimens to fit a half news
sheet, they are now correctly proportioned
to fit a standard sized sheet of herbarium
mounting paper (11 J^ x 16!^ inches). Any
heavy white paper cut to this size will do,
although a good quality paper is needed for
permanence. Formerly, specimens were
dropped into a thin sheet of glue on a glass
plate, transferred to the paper, and then
reinforced with gummed linen tape (Holland
tape of the bookbinders). Most large herbaria
now use a plastic adhesive. The specimen is
laid on the paper and plastic strips are
placed across to hold the plant in place.
Where a plant tends to be unruly and
stands up from the paper, a small weight
will hold it down until the plastic hardens.
The herbarium of the Museum just instituted
this method of mounting in the spring. In
the first month, mounting output rose 211
per cent as there is only one handling of the
specimen; the label is glued into place with
the same plastic. The adhesive is dispensed
from ordinary plastic squeeze bottles (ours
are bright red and labeled ketchup).

LABELING IS IMPORTANT

The label hasn't been mentioned before,
but it is one of the most important parts of
a scientific collection. The legend should
include the place and date collected, any
data which will not be apparent from the
specimen — flower color, height of tree, etc. —
and the collector's name. Be sure and leave

November, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 11

space for the name of the plant when you
have made the identification. Many valuable
supplementary data on the type of soil, the
locations of the plant in relation to other
plants and other facts are easily and perma-
nently recorded on the label. If you plan to
collect many specimens, a field notebook
carrying notes behind consecutive numbers
can easily be matched with numbers on the
margin of the newspaper when you come to
the labeling later on.

Identifying the collections is sometimes a
problem. For a start, one of the books deal-
ing with common wild flowers or trees of
your region is recommended. Once the
vagaries of botanists and their whims for
placing plants in certain families regardless
of flower color are conquered, you will find
a pattern emerging which will enable you to
recognize plant families as you gather the
specimens. Now is the time to graduate to
more technical books and articles dealing
with the plants of specific areas or specific
groups of plants. While the language of
botany may seem hard, don't despair. You
will soon be thankful for the more specific
meaning of a botanical term when you
realize how difficult it would be to describe
the characters of a plant in common English
words with their many connotations.

COLLECTING FUNGI

Fungi have purposely been ignored in the
previous discussion. This great group of
plants includes many parasitic diseases of
other plants like the rusts and mildews.
These are easy to collect (you just press the
infected part of the host plant), but they are
rather difficult to identify without a good
microscope. The mushrooms of the woods
and fields are more easily identified, but they
are more difficult to collect readily. While

MODERN METHOD
Most present-day herbaria in the United States use
a plastic cement to strap plant to a herbarium sheet.

they are fresh, either an accurately colored
drawing (or photograph) must be made, or
detailed color notes taken. Then spore prints
are desirable to ascertain the color of the
spores. These are made by breaking off the
cap and leaving it bottom-side down on a
piece of paper over night. The resulting
spore pattern may be fixed in place by
gently spraying with artists' fixative. Fre-
quently, fleshy fungi must be plunged into

boiling water or a preservative like formal-
dehyde to kill insects which continue to feed
on them after you have gathered them. Only
now are the specimens ready to be dried.
Don't press them though— they squash into
an unrecognizable mess. The results are
usually quite shriveled except for the woody
bracket fungi frequently seen growing on
tree trunks.

You will find many pleasant returns from
a plant collection. Whether it is to be used
primarily for decorative effects, or as a
means to a knowledge of the plants around
you, you will find that you have acquired
a new manual skill and a much greater
awareness of the out-of-doors.

To help you start, here is some recom-
mended reading for techniques in pressing
and mounting:

Lawrence, G. H. M. Taxonomy of Vas-
cular Plants. New York. 1951. (See
Chapter II, Field and Herbarium
Techniques).

How to find a name:

Bemson, Lyman. Plant Classification.
Boston. 1957. (See Chapter I, Identifica-
tion of Vascular Plants).

You'll want to look carefully through both
of these. Once you have a few specimens,
try identifying them here:

Mathews, F. S. Field Book of American

Wild Flowers. New York. 1929.
Wherry, Edgar T. Guide to Eastern

Ferns. Lancaster, Pa. 1937.
MacDougall, W. B. Field Book of
Illinois Wild Flowers. Illinois Natural
History Survey Manual I. 1936.

For a more technical treatment on the
vascular plants of Illinois:

Jones, George Neville. Flora of Illinois.
Amer. Midi. Natural. Mono. Ser.,
Notre Dame, Ind. ed. 2. 1950.

Now you're on your own. You'll find
many books both general and specific, on
the shelves of your local library. Others are
listed in the first two books above. Happy
plant hunting!

Botanist Completes Survey

Dr. John W. Thieret, Curator of Economic
Botany, has returned to the Museum from a
two-month field trip in the Great Slave Lake-
upper Mackenzie River region, Northwest
Territories, Canada. Much of his time was
devoted to a survey of the flora and vegeta-
tion along the newly-opened Enterprise-
Mackenzie River Highway, including the
spur to Kakisa Lake. Four days were spent
at Lake-on-the-Mountain atop the Horn
Plateau, reached by airplane. Both the
highway and the plateau are areas that pre-
viously had not been explored botanically.
Dr. Thieret was assisted in the field by Rob-
ert Reich of Chicago, who recently was ap-
pointed Custodian of the Herbarium.

STRING QUARTET TO PLAY
IN MUSEUM THEATRE

A series of five chamber music programs
will be presented by the Festival String
Quartet in the James Simpson Theatre of
the Museum. The first will be given on
the evening of Wednesday, December 9;
the others will be given on the second
Wednesday evening of each of the next
four months. Admission to the concerts
will be free, and all of them will begin at
8:15 P.M.

The Festival Quartet is composed of
Sidney Harth, Chicago Symphony Orchestra
concert-master, and his wife Teresa — vio-
linists; Rolf Persinger, assistant first violist
with the Chicago Symphony; and Harry
Sturm, also with the Chicago Symphony,
who shares the symphony orchestra's first
cellist position. At the December 9 con-
cert Leon Fleisher, pianist, will appear as
guest artist with the quartet.

The programs are provided by the Free
Concerts Foundation, Inc., and were made
possible by Mrs. J. Dennis Freund, well-
known civic leader and president of the
foundation.

Tickets may be obtained by calling in
person at the Museum, or by writing Free
Concerts, Chicago Natural History Museum
(Roosevelt Road and Lake Shore Drive,
Chicago 5) and enclosing a stamped, self-
addressed envelope.

SOUTHWEST EXPEDITION -

(Continued from page 7)

others; how they were frustrated by defeat-
ism and inertia; how, in short, man uncon-
sciously reached for civilization.

In a sense we are tying together the threads
of past cultures and in so doing we are gain-
ing an understanding of the human spirit.
Such knowledge levels all barriers, whether
linguistic, spatial, or temporal. Henry Brooks
Adams said that a teacher affects eternity;
he can never tell where his influence stops.
And so it is with knowledge of a culture. We
date it, but it is timeless and affects eternity.

The accomplishment of the physical as-
pects of our work is not easy or glamorous.
Throughout the summer with its attendant
heat, insects, dust, and sweat, we have been
aided, amused, comforted and vastly bene-
fited by the help of our colleagues: Miss
Margaret Alder, Howard Anderson, Michael
Fox, Martin Hoffman, Allen Liss, William
Longacre, Mrs. Martha Perry, Mrs. Ruth
Rinaldo, Roland Strassburger, and Mark
Winter. A true flame of comradeship has
been kindled between all of us as a result of
a satisfactory but hard season's work. Such
a summer welds us all close together. Thanks
of a boundless nature must be extended to
the owners of the ranches in the Vernon area
who munificently co-operated with us: Rob-
ert B. Hooper of Springerville; Earl Thode
of Vernon, and E. I. Whiting of St. Johns.

Page 12

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

November, 1959

JOURNEYS FOR CHILDREN

November is the last month in which chil-
dren can complete the Museum Journey on
the subject of "Giant Plants." It may be
taken by any boy or girl, any day, at any
time within Museum visiting hours. At
either entrance of the building, children will
receive, on request, their "travel directions"
which will guide them to various exhibits
showing some of the world's largest kinds
of plants. From these, the youngsters may
obtain the information enabling them to fill
in the answers to questionnaires which ac-
company the Journey directions.

Beginning December 1 a new Journey will
be offered under the title "Animals of the
Ice Age." This will continue as the subject
through January and February.

With the completion of four Journeys on
different subjects, children receive awards as
Museum Travelers. Those who complete
eight Journeys qualify as Museum Adven-
turers; twelve Journeys win them the title
of Museum Explorers. Those who go on to
the successful completion of 16 Journeys are
eligible for a Special Journey which may ad-
mit them to the Museum Discoverers Club.

STAFF NOTES

NEW MEMBERS

(September 16 to October 16)

Associate Members

Herbert R. Arnold, George Hugh Barnard,
Jason Ernest Bellows, Aldis J. Browne, Jr.,
John C. Butler, Edgar J. Call, Anthony R.
Chiara, Morton A. Davis, Vernon K. Evans,
Mrs. Frank Fink, Mrs. J. Dennis Freund,
Miss Lenore Helmich, Dr. G. Duncan Hink-
son, Russell D. Hobbs, Glen W. Holderby,
Paul F. Ilg, Walter L. Jacobs, Dr. George D.
Kaiser, A. T. Kearney, J. L. Keeshin, Alfred
S. Markus, Mrs. James W. Merricks, Mrs.
Michael F. Mulcahy, Roy B. Munroe, Mrs.
Paul Rowan, Dr. Edward C. Smith, Miss
Kate Staley, E. Norman Staub, Mrs. Clem-
ent D. Stevens, Frederick W. Straus, Mrs.
Isabel B. Wasson, William T. Young

Sustaining Members

Rex J. Bates, Dr. Harry K. Waddington

Annual Members

Richard F. Adler, Miss Esther Aldige,
Dr. Carl A. Asher, Mrs. Harriet K. Babbitt,
Mrs. Oscar Babbitt, Mrs. Houghton Baer,
Mrs. Robert A. Baer, Mrs. David R. Bair,
Thomas A. Banning, Jr., George S. Barnes,
Charles R. Barrett, Dr. Robert G. Barrick,
Raymond M. Barron, J. V. Barton, Max
Becker, Jesse Bedford, Dr. Emily Bianco,
Z. S. Birks, Joseph W. Bonner, Clarence G.
Brack, Harry Buchardt, Benjamin B. Chod-
ash, Abbott Coburn, Mrs. Thomas H. Coch-
rane, Sander W. Cole, Mrs. Henry R. Cone-
dera, Miss Florence W. Cuthbert, Charles A.
Davis, Walter L. Darfier, William Tucker
Dean, Reginald Dellow, William J. De-
Stories, Dave Ellison, Harold R. Fagerson,
Dr. Stanley Fahlstrom, William Harrison
Fetridge, Mrs. Thomas Fisher, Louis Fish-
man, Dr. J. Fitz Simmons, Mrs. Ray H.
Freeark, Gaylord A. Freeman, Dr. Samuel

Bertram G. Woodland, Associate Cura-
tor of Petrology, recently was guest speaker
for the Chicago Lapidary Club. His topic
was "Discoveries Through Geology." . . .
Dr. Eugene S. Richardson, Jr., Curator
of Fossil Invertebrates, recently lectured on
"Fossils of Illinois" at Maine Township High
School. . . . William D. Turnbull, Assistant
Curator of Fossil Mammals, spoke before
the Kennicott Club on "Geology and Fauna
of the Washakie Basin." . . . E. Leland
Webber, Executive Assistant, and Miss
Miriam Wood, Chief, Raymond Founda-
tion, represented the Museum at the annual
meeting of the Midwest Museums Confer-
ence in Toledo, October 21-23. Miss Wood
was chairman of the program committee,
and moderator of the session on Education
in Museums. Mr. Webber was a speaker
in the session on Museum Sales Desks.

Recorded Bird Calls Banned

The use of recorded calls of ducks and
geese by hunters has been prohibited by both
the Canadian and United States Wildlife
Services. This was done because the re-
corded calls, of geese especially, are too effec-
tive in luring the birds within shooting range,
resulting in an excessive wildfowl kill.

(Auk, 1958, p. 87)

Garrick, Dr. Hugo Gerlofson, Howard Good-
man, Dr. H. C. Gornstein, Kenneth A.
Halvorson, William G. Hart, Byron Harvey,
Miss Alice Hayde, John J. Hayes, John G.
Heiland, Dr. Helen Heinen, Robert L. Hey-
mann, Mrs. Clarence W. Hines, Milton W.
Hirsch, Paul A. Iaccino, Forest A. King,
Leroy Kramer, Jr., Dr. Charles Lafferty,
A. J. Lindquist, Mrs. Luther M. Lorance,
A. W. Lukas, Bjarne Lund, Jr., Mrs. M. R.
Mackaye, Richard W. Massey, Dr. Irene T.
Mead, Eugene Mittleman, Edward Murray,
Mrs. Herman Neal, Charles W. Nicol, Rob-
ert A. Nooden, Dr. Donald E. O'Brien,
Dr. Daniel J. Pachman, James Thomas
Patton, Henry R. Portis, Kenneth C. Prince,
John P. Purdy, Edward E. Reda, Samuel S.
Reid, Lester G. Rees, Malcolm S. Riegel,
Frank J. Riha, George A. Rink, Harry A.
Rioff, Manuel Rosner, Robert J. Roulston,
Charles Rozmarek, Dr. A. H. Rudolph, Kurt
J. Salomon, David A. Schallman, Robert
Sargent Shriver, Jr., Franklin Bliss Snyder
Jr., Walter Stearns, Mrs. F. H. Steinmann,
James R. Sterling, John N. Stern, Lynn
Stewart, Mrs. Raymond F. Smith, E. R.
Clifford Strand, J. E. Sullivan, Mrs. J.
Thomas Taussig, John R. Taylor, Charles
Teitel, Sidney A. Teller, David Tesher, E. B.
Urann, A. L. Van Ness, Leroy N. Vernon,
Earl A. Vondrasek, William F. Wagoner, Dr.
Anders J. Weigen, Morton Weinress, Dr.
Irving Weissman, Sidney Wells, Dr. Samuel
D. Willens, Thomas L. Williams, Jr., Miss
S. Edna Wilson, J. W. Wirth, Dr. Lester
Wishingrad, Dr. Joseph Zoltan

MINERALOGY IN VERSE

(Continued from page 9)

lofty mountains. It is also supposed by
geologists to be the lowest rock with which
we are acquainted, forming a foundation for
other rocks in every part of the globe.

At the time when this poem was written,
"philosophers" were still discussing the two
points of view of the origin of igneous rocks.
One group, the Neptunists, were convinced
that granite and its allies were deposited,
like sandstone or shale, from sea water; the
other group, the Plutonists, held to a theory
of igneous origin. Modern knowledge of
physical chemistry has upheld the latter
view. Silex is the archaic name for silica,
the oxide of silicon. Felspar, of course, is
now called feldspar. Caloric, a noun, was
the current name for heat in chemical
writing.

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM

Following is a list of the principal gifts
received during the past month:

Department of Anthropology

From: Mrs. Lyman J. Carlock, Oak Park,
111. — Oriental ethnological materials; Louis
H. Fuchs, Downers Grove, 111. — Oriental
ethnological objects; Dr. David C. Graham,
Englewood, Colo. — porcelain jarlet, string of
beads, China; Mrs. Walter S. Haldeman,
Cape May, N.J. — Mandarin coat, China;
Mrs. Harold E. Rucavado, Tucson, Ariz. —
22 pottery and stone objects, Costa Rica

Department of Botany

From: H. R. Bennett, Chicago— 736 phan-
erogams; Dr. Henry Field, Turkingham,
Mass. — 3 bracket fungi; Fisheries Research
Board, London, Ont., Canada — 15 phanero-
gams; J. Soukup, Lima, Peru — 14 plants;
Dr. L. H. Tiffany, Evanston, 111.— 10 phan-
erogams

Department of Geology

From: Earl Christensen, Hammond, Ind.
— 3.62-carat brilliant cut white beryl; W. P.
Leutze, Richmond, Ind. — Silurian fishes;
Dr. Rainer Zangerl, Hazelcrest, 111. — copper
casts of five specimens of Glarichelys knorri
(turtle), Switzerland

Department of Zoology

From: Sophie Andris, Chicago — fox squir-
rel; Paul F. Basch, Ann Arbor, Mich. — non-
marine shells, Guatemala; Dr. S. Stillman
Berry, Redlands, Calif. — snails and clams;
Mrs. W. G. Bott, Arlington Heights, 111. —
sea shells; Dr. John C. Briggs, Vancouver,
B. C, Canada — a fish specimen; Mrs. Har-
riet Burkhart, Union City, Pa. — shells,
Jamaica; Emery P. Chace, San Diego, Calif.
— land snails, Eastern Pacific; Steve Col-
lings, Rockville, Ind. — several hundred mil-
lipedes; University of Colorado, Boulder —
non-marine snails; Walter J. Eyerdam, Seat-
tle— pearly freshwater mussels; Florida State
Board of Conservation Marine Laboratory,
St. Petersburg, Fla— 3 fishes; L. H. Fuchs,
Downers Grove, 111. — 2 pair of deer antlers,
Philippines; Harry Hoogstraal, Cairo, Egypt
— 54 mammals, 99 bird skins, 100 insects and
allies, 25 lizards, 33 snakes, 46 ticks, bird lice

PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

Bulletin

CHICAGO
NATURAL

HISTORY vuso jto.*
MUSEUM at—mi* *»&

Page 2

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

December, 1959

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 Henry P. Isham

Sewell L. Avery William V. Kahler

Wm. McCormick Blair Hughston M. McBain

Walther Buchen J. Roscoe Miller

Chbsser M. Campbell William H. Mitchell

Walter J. Cummings John T. Pirie, Jr.

Joseph N. Field Clarence B. Randall

Marshall Field, Jr. John G. Searle

Stanley Field Solomon A. Smith

Samuel Insull, Jr. Louis Ware

OFFICERS

Stanley Field President

Hughston M. McBain First Vice-President

Walther Buchen Second Vice-President

Joseph N. Field Third Vice-President

Solomon A. Smith Treasurer

Clifford C. Gregg Director and Secretary

John R. Millar Assistant Secretary

THE BULLETIN

EDITOR
Clifford C. Gregg Director of the Museum

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anthropology

Theodor Just Chief Curator of Botany

Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geology

Austin L. Rand Chief Curator of Zoology

MANAGING EDITOR
H. B. Harte Public Relations Counsel

ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Marilyn Jindrich Assistant in Public Relations

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

WILDLIFE OF AMERICA
IN AUDUBON FILM

An exciting journey, in color motion pic-
tures, from the marshes of the Dakotas to the
Rocky Mountains of Canada will be presented
in the Illinois Audubon Society's Sunday
screen-tour on the afternoon of Decem-
ber 13 in the James Simpson Theatre.

Cleveland P. Grant, well-known natural-
ist formerly of the Museum staff, and a long-
time favorite of Chicago audiences, will be
the lecturer. He will show his recently com-
pleted film, "Adventures in Color With
American Birds and Big Game," preparation
of which required four years of intensive
effort under difficult conditions in remote
lairs of four-footed and winged creatures.

The lecture begins at 2 :30 p.m. Admission
is free. Members of the Museum are cor-
dially invited to attend, and to bring guests.

STAFF NOTES

New York Museum Honors McBain

The trustees of the American Museum of
Natural History in New York honored
Hughston M. McBain last month by elect-
ing him as a member of their board. Mr.
McBain, First Vice-President of Chicago
Natural History Museum, has been a Trus-
tee of this Museum since 1946.

George I. Quimby, Curator of North
American Archaeology and Ethnology, re-
cently made a field trip to Whitehall, Mich-
igan, where as part of his Upper Great
Lakes Paleo-Indian studies he examined sedi-
ments dredged from a bay in White Lake.
At the Museum of Anthropology in Ann
Arbor he studied archaeological collections,
and in Grand Rapids he conducted a Paleo-
Indian seminar for the Michigan Archaeo-
logical Society. . . . Dr. Roland W. Force,
Curator of Oceanic Archaeology and Ethnol-
ogy, lectured on "Cultural Changes in the
Palaus" at the Borg- Warner Research Cen-
ter of the Scientific Research Society of
America. . . . Dr. Kenneth Starr, Curator
of Asiatic Archaeology and Ethnology, pre-
pared text and a pictorial feature on Chinese
rubbings for the December Fine Arts Guide
published by FM Radio Station WFMT.
Earlier issues have featured Museum ma-
terial on the South Pacific, primitive art,
and American Indian art, through the co-
operation of Curator Force, Phillip H.
Lewis, Assistant Curator of Primitive Art,
and Dr. Donald Collier, Curator of South
American Archaeology and Ethnology. . . .
Dr. John B. Rinaldo, Assistant Curator
of Archaeology, has been appointed to the
panel of editors of Archives of Archaeology
of the Society of Archaeology Publications.
. . . Dr. Theodor Just, Chief Curator of
Botany, recently spoke on "Biogeography
and Continental Drift" before the Confer-
ence of Midwest College Biology Teachers
at Notre Dame University. . . . Dr. John W.
Thieret, Curator of Economic Botany,
attended the Symposium on Systematics at
Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis. He
also was guest speaker before the Kiwanis
Club of Lake Forest, Illinois. . . . Dr. Rainer
Zangerl, Curator of Fossil Reptiles, and
Dr. Robert H. Denison, Curator of Fossil
Fishes, attended the meetings of the Society
of Vertebrate Paleontology in Pittsburgh.
Dr. Denison was elected secretary-treasurer.
Dr. Zangerl and Albert W. Forslev, Asso-
ciate Curator of Mineralogy, attended meet-
ings of the American Geological Institute.
. . . Dr. Karl Koopman, Assistant Curator
of Mammals, spoke on "West Indian Zoogeo-
graphy" before the Zoology Club of the
University of Chicago. . . . Rupert L. Wen-
zel, Curator of Insects, lectured on "The
Field of Entomology" before the Biology
Club at the Chicago Academy of Sciences.
D. Dwight Davis, Curator of Anatomy,
was guest speaker on "Mammalogy" at an-
other meeting of the same organization.

■THIS MONTH'S COVER-

The design reproduced on the
cover is an ink rubbing of the
inscribed "head" of an ancient
Chinese roof tile, the whole of
which tile is illustrated on page 3.
The felicitous inscription, most
appropriate in the month of
Christmas, reads "Chlang-le wei-
vang" (^^^3^:)— "lasting hap-
piness, without end." There is
some wistfulness in such a
thought, for as the Chinese say,
"The years do not wait for us,"
and yet few, indeed, are they
who have even moments of deep
happiness. Rubbings of such
inscriptions long have been col-
lected by Chinese scholars, whose
interest, however, is not so much
in the sentiment expressed, as
in the archaic forms of the
characters.

4-H BOYS AND GIRLS
TO VISIT MUSEUM

The first day of December will be 4-H Day
at the Museum. Junior farmers and cattle
breeders from most of the rural areas of the
United States, and several foreign countries
as well, will continue a tradition of many
years by visiting the Museum in large groups.
Approximately 1,300, both boys and girls,
selected in their local areas in recognition of
their achievements, and dispatched as dele-
gates to the 38th National 4-H Club Con-
gress, held in Chicago in conjunction with
the annual International Livestock Exposi-
tion, will compose the groups brought to the
Museum.

The lecturers of the Raymond Founda-
tion, and other members of the Museum
staff, will conduct tours of exhibits for some
of the young visitors, and will arrange assist-
ance in other forms for those who seek out
for themselves the material in the Museum
especially coinciding with their personal in-
terests. The 4-H groups represent some of
the finest elements among America's youth-
ful citizens, and the Museum staff is always
especially happy to welcome these visitors.

The entire geological sequence of life, cov-
ering some billions of years, is indicated by
exhibits in Frederick J. V. Skiff Hall (Hall 37)
and Ernest R. Graham Hall (Hall 38).

Daily Guide-Lectures

Free guide-lecture tours are offered daily
except Sundays under the title "Highlights
of the Exhibits." These tours are designed
to give a general idea of the entire Museum
and its scope of activities. They begin at
2 p.m. on Monday through Friday and at
2:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Special tours on subjects within the range
of the Museum exhibits are available Mon-
days through Fridays for parties of ten or
more persons by advance request.

December, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 3

'RUBBING' AGAINST HISTORY AND CULTURE OF CHINA

By MARILYN J1NDRICH

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

A CHILD is seated in the middle of the
floor. Around him are strewn nickels,
dimes, pennies, quarters. With the coins the
youngster is industriously engaged in an ab-
sorbing task of coin reproduction, putting
out copies with almost production-line skill.
No, this is no precocious " child counter-
feiter" laying the groundwork for a future
career. His reproductions are not the lead-
slug variety, or something of that sort. His
are crayon reproductions on paper . . . rows
and rows of currency patterns made by placing
paper over the coins and applying a crayon
to the paper surface. Doubtless, everyone
at one time or other during his childhood has
found enjoyment in some similar activity,
whether the object copied be coins, tiles on
the bathroom floor, or text book covers doo-
dled over during a particularly deadly por-
tion of a lagging lesson. What junior doesn't
know is that his entertaining pastime had its
beginning 1,400 years ago in China. His
efforts are actually a variation of the ancient
Chinese art of "rubbing," an example of
which appears on this Bulletin issue's
cover.

SOURCE OF OUR COVER DESIGN

The inscription on the head of this ancient roof

tile in the Museum's Chinese collections was used

in making the ruhbing for this Bulletin. Specimen

dates from Han period (207 B.C. -A.D. 220).

What exactly are "rubbings?" How does
one make an actual rubbing, as it is done in
China? What is the value of rubbings?

LARGE COLLECTION HERE

These are questions that Dr. Kenneth
Starr, Curator of Asiatic Archaeology and
Ethnology, has been answering since his ar-
rival at Chicago Natural History Museum
in 1953. This situation has arisen because,
with the Museum's collection of rubbings at
his disposal— it is one of the largest and most
representative in the world — Dr. Starr has
had opportunity actively to pursue study of
the ancient art, and to delve deeply into the
history and technique of Chinese "rubbings."
As a result the curious often seek him out for
a rundown on the subject.

That these explanatory excursions into
the art and history of "rubbings" sometimes
make unusual demands of Dr. Starr's knowl-
edge is demonstrated by a recent television
appearance he made at Ann Arbor, Michi-
gan, for the University
of Michigan. "The
Gentle Art of Rub-
bing" was the theme
of the television show,
and in connection with
it Dr. Starr was asked
to make a rubbing of
an inscription on a
tombstone from China.
The stone was a trib-
ute to a deceased Uni-
versity of Michigan
professor who had
spent a number of
years in that country
in service to the Chi-
nese government. The
tombstone had been
sent to his family. Dr.
Starr made a rubbing
of the inscriptions on
the stone, with the
step-by-step process
recorded on film.
Later the film was
shown as part of the
TV program.

This again leads us
to the earlier questions
of what are rubbings
and how are they
made? Specifically,
"rubbings are ink-on-
paper copies of low-
relief or intaglio (in-
cised) inscriptions and
designs on stone, met-
al, fired clay, and other
hard materials."

According to Dr. Starr, their origin dates
back to the 5th or early 6th century in China
when the technique was used to copy stone-
cut classical texts. The texts, by reason of
their content and history, often were revered
by the people as great guideposts in the
"journey through life." As a result, the peo-
ple would travel long distances to copy par-
ticular texts. For many years the copying
was done by hand — a lengthy and tedious
job. The necessity for streamlining the ardu-
ous copying process was eventually recog-
nized by some enterprising individuals who
hit upon the idea of direct transferral of the
texts from the stones themselves. And so
. . . "rubbings" were born.

But now let's turn to the actual mechanics
of making a "wet rubbing," as distinguished
from a "dry rubbing" mentioned earlier,
made with a crayon or pencil. First of all,
the ingredients used in the process are paper,
sizing liquid, brushes and pads, and an ink-

ing wad. Just as the quality of the materials
that go into the construction of a building
often determine its durability and beauty,
so, too, certain refinements in the type and
quality of the materials used in making "rub-

INCISED STONE SLAB, AND RUBBING
The traditional love of antiquity manifested by the Chinese, and their penchant
for memorializing poetic or philosophic passages, are exemplified in the inscrip-
tion on the small polished piece of calcareous limestone above at left. It is a
poem, which is copied in the ink rubbing at the right. The back of the stone is
an irregular layer composed of a tangled mass of fossil trilobites from the
Paleozoic Era, hundreds of millions of years ago, and its age probably attracted
a scholar's reverence.

bings" greatly influence the end product.

Depending on the purposes for which the
"rubbings" were made, extraordinarily unique
variations in the materials and technique of
"rubbing" were developed by the Chinese.
Unfortunately, many of the refinements in
materials and methods employed in the mak-
ing of ancient rubbings fell into disuse and in
the progress of time have gravitated to the
category of "lost arts." Dr. Starr, after sev-
eral years of painstaking translation of old
Chinese writings, has unearthed a number of
the unusual methods that were used.

In brief, the technique used in making a
"rubbing" involves a multi-stepped process.
It can be explained as starting first with the
actual cleaning of the object to be copied,
after which step comes the application of the
paper. The paper, that already has been
sized with a special sizing liquid, is laid on
the object and tamped to bring it into inti-
(Continued on page 8, column 1)

Page i

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

December, 1959

'HE INFLUENCED THE COURSE OF DARWIN'S LIFE'

By THEODOR JUST

CHIEF CURATOR OF BOTANY

THROUGHOUT his life, Charles Darwin
regarded Alexander von Humboldt as
"the greatest scientific traveller who ever
lived." It was Humboldt's "Personal Nar-
rative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions
of America During the Years 1799-1804"
that affected the whole subsequent course of
Darwin's life.
Today it is well known that Humboldt's

ALEXANDER von HUMBOLDT, 1769-1859
From an old engraving

travels in tropical America were possible only
after securing permission from the king of
Spain to explore the Spanish possessions
which, like those of Portugal and Holland,
had so far been closed to travelers. The
observations and collections made on this
expedition gave Humboldt the data to estab-
lish plant geography on a scientific basis.

In addition to the botanical and zoological
collections, Humboldt acquired the first geo-
logical specimens and numerous data of a
geodetic character, as well as information on
the various Indian tribes, their languages,
artistic accomplishments, and mode of life.
On June 9, 1802, he climbed Chimborazo
near Quito, Ecuador, to a height of 19,286
feet (actual height 20,577 feet) and thus ac-
complished what no one before had dared.
This climb has been compared with the con-
quest of Mount Everest in recent years.
Humboldt and his companion, Aim6 Bon-
pland, after traveling and collecting in Vene-
zuela, Cuba, Peru, and Ecuador, continued
their work in Mexico. Before returning to
Europe, Humboldt spent eight weeks in the
United States, three of which he spent with
Jefferson at Monticello discussing, among
other things, a Panama canal project. Hum-
boldt also visited Peale's Philadelphia Mu-
seum, then the largest of its kind in the New
World, and the "American Linnaeus," Henry

Muhlenberg, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Upon returning to Europe in August of 1804
he was welcomed as the second Columbus.

FINANCED OWN TRAVELS

The entire trip was financed by Humboldt
himself, using for this purpose 33,500 thalers,
or one-thiid of his inheritance. The botan-
ical collections amounted to 6,200 species,
over half of which were new, and are mostly
deposited in the Museum National d'His-
toire Naturelle in Paris. Fortunately, Chi-
cago Natural History Museum now has many
photographs of these type specimens and
small portions taken from the original sheets
(see illustration).

The study of the collections made in the
Americas required 20 years, involving Hum-
boldt, Bonpland, at first Willdenow of Ber-
lin, and later, K. S. Kunth. Many novelties
described by them bear the unmistakable
combination of their initials, H.B.K. The

Specimen collected by Humboldt and now c\lii-
bited in Paris Museum.

results were published in a famous set of 30
volumes accompanied by more than 1,200
plates by Turpin. Humboldt again financed
this enterprise and thus reached the end of
his resources. He then returned home to
Berlin and was appointed to the King's
Council. In this position, he was sent on
many important diplomatic missions, but
was never obliged to stop his scientific in-
vestigations and writing.

In fact, by 1829 he decided to make an
extensive trip to Central Asia and the Cas-
pian Sea. Accompanied by a geologist, C. G.
Ehrenberg, and a mineralogist, G. Rose, they
brought back valuable collections and data.
While in Russia, Humboldt predicted on geo-

logical grounds that diamonds would be found
in the Ural Mountains. This prediction was
quickly substantiated by a prominent land-
owner.

The later part of his life was devoted to his
effort to present nature as a whole in his
classic work Cosmo3. In this respect he at-
tempted what Aristotle and Albert the Great
had tried before. In doing so, Humboldt
proved to be a polyhistor, a man of univer-
sal knowledge.

Apart from his extensive collections of
plants, it is interesting to note that he started
his botanical studies by writing about low
plants found underground near the School
of Mining at Freiberg, where he studied geol-
ogy. After that he applied the available
knowledge of chemistry to agriculture and
the physiology of plants. In South America
he gathered all he could about cinchona and
rubber plants. He also proposed the first
system of growth forms of plants based on
their appearance rather than the structure
of the flower, as used by Linnaeus for classi-
fication. Then followed his famous books
on the foundations of plant geography.

Humboldt's last biographer, Prof. Helmut
de Terra of Yale University, has attempted
to appraise in general terms Humboldt's con-
tributions to the following sciences and
humanities: anthropology, astronomy, bot-
any, geography, geology, geophysics, mete-
orology, oceanography, physiology, and
zoology. He also has given us a list of towns,
counties, mountains, currents, and other geo-
graphic sites that bear Humboldt's name.
In short, Humboldt was famous while he
lived and, personally or by correspondence,
in contact with the intellectual and political
leaders of his time, ranging from Goethe and
Schiller to Simon Bolivar and Thomas Jef-
ferson. He held honorary membership in
ten learned societies in the United States,
the oldest in the American Philosophical So-
ciety of Philadelphia dating from 1804. Like
Charles Darwin, he is being honored this
year by various scientific societies and insti-
tutions.

Museums Professional Group
Elects Miriam Wood

At its recent annual meeting, held in
Toledo, Ohio, the Midwest Museums Con-
ference accorded a signal honor to Miss
Miriam Wood, Chief of this Museum's
Raymond Foundation staff, by electing her
as president for the ensuing year. The
choice of Miss Wood for this post stems
from her active participation and construc-
tive work in the Conference over a period
of several years. She has attained a high
standing among colleagues in educational
activities of museums for school children
also because of the notably effective develop-
ments in this field made under her direction
of the Raymond Foundation.

December, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 5

'BIRDS OF THE WORLD' NEARING COMPLETION

By EMMET R. BLAKE

CURATOR OF BIRDS

THE MUSEUM'S Synoptic Series of Birds
of the World (Boardman Conover Hall
— Hall 21) is nearing completion with the
recent installation of a new exhibit showing
representative birds of 20 additional families.
As with previous sections of this series, the
birds of each family or closely related group
of families are mounted in lifelike attitudes
on raised panels, the better to enable one to
recognize the distinctive characters of each.
The 43 species shown
in the new exhibit were
selected to illustrate
the range of variation
to be found in each of
20 bird families having
a combined total of
more than 700 species.

The four orders, or
major taxonomic
groups encompassed
by the new exhibit, in-
clude birds of striking
diversity. Some, as
the hummingbirds, are
notably small and
others conspicuously
large. Trogons, king-
fishers, motmots and
bee-eaters have bril-
liant plumage that is
in strong contrast with
the drab appearance
of swifts, nightjars and
various others that ap-
pear nearby. Oilbirds,
potoos, nightjars and
other nocturnal birds

vie for attention with those of more "nor-
mal" daytime habits. Some of the birds
shown are solitary in habits while others pre-
fer to live in flocks. And geographically,
virtually all parts of the world except the
polar regions are represented by some of the
bird families brought together in this exhibit.

To the ornithologist all birds are of some,
if not equal interest. When sufficiently well
known, even birds of undistinguished appear-
ance often are found to have characteristics
that excite the imagination. Consider the
coly or"mousebird" of Africa, a rather small,
crested bird with a long tail and dun-colored
plumage. Although "just another bird" to
the uninformed, colies are amazingly acro-
batic and often hang head downward; in-
deed, some authorities state that they even
sleep in this position.

Or consider the hornbills of Africa, tropical
Asia and certain Pacific islands. The 45 spe-
cies include some of the most grotesque of
birds, but the family is perhaps best known
by reason of its peculiar nesting habits. In
some species the female enters the hollow-
tree nest before the eggs are laid and plasters
herself in with mud brought by the male.

There she remains until the young are fledged,
the duty of feeding the family being assumed
by the male.

Nightjars and their relatives occupy a sep-
arate panel and at a glance are seen to share
certain physical attributes. Most note-
worthy are the soft dull plumage, weak feet,
decidedly long wings, large eyes, expansive
gapes and (usually) very weak bills. All are
essentially nocturnal in habits, and most of
them prey on insects skillfully captured in
flight. Several of these birds have remark-

SECTION OF NEW BIRD EXHIBIT
The Kingfishers. They vary greatly in size and color, but all have conspicuous
anatomical similarities. Belying the family name, many species live in dry
regions and prey on insects instead of fish. Counter-clockwise from upper left,
the birds above are representatives of the: White-breasted, Common, Least
Green, Kookaburra and Ringed species.

able abilities only recently suspected and
verified. For example, the poor-will, a west-
ern relative of the night hawk, is now known
to be capable of true hibernation, and in this
it may be unique among birds. Oilbirds,
strange nocturnal denizens of northern South
America, nest on ledges in deep caves from
which they emerge at night to feed on the
fruits of palms. Only in recent years has it
been known that these birds avoid obstacles
in the darkness, as do bats, by emitting
sounds that rebound from hard surfaces.

The marvels of bird flight are perhaps best
exemplified by swifts and hummingbirds,
both represented in the new exhibit by sev-
eral species. Swifts are aerialists of the
highest order and appear to spend most of
the daylight hours feeding on the wing. Re-
ported flight speeds approaching 300 miles
per hour undoubtedly are erroneous, but
certain tropical swifts are considered the
speediest of all birds and have been clocked
at better than 100 miles an hour. Hum-
mingbirds are slow by comparison, yet they
too have astonishing aerial abilities, includ-
ing that of reverse flight. Most remarkable,
however, is the rapidity of a hummingbird's

FREE CONCERTS BEGIN
ON DECEMBER 9

For the first time since 1930, James Simp-
son Theatre will resound with the strains of
chamber music at the opening performance
of the Festival String Quartet on Wednes-
day, December 9, with noted pianist Leon
Fleisher featured as guest artist for the eve-
ning.

The musical program will consist of Beet-
hoven's "String Quartet Opus 59, No. 2,"
"Piano Quartet in E Flat Major," by Mo-
zart, and Dvorak's "Piano Quintet." The
string quartet is composed of members of
the Chicago Symphony orchestra, including
Sidney Harth, concertmaster.

The first chamber music concerts ever pre-
sented in the Museum were launched in 1926
under the sponsorship of Mrs. Elizabeth
Sprague Coolidge. The concerts were free
and were received with such enthusiasm that
they were continued in the years 1927, 1928,
and 1930 with the Chicago Chamber Music
Society joining Mrs. Coolidge in sponsoring
the concert series. All the series featured
the music of the Gordon String Quartet.

This year's free chamber music concerts
are provided by the Free Concerts Founda-
tion, Inc., and were made possible by Mrs.
J. Dennis Freund, president of the founda-
tion. Following the December 9 perform-
ance, concerts will be given on January 12,
February 10, March 9, and April 13, 1960.
The performances begin at 8:15 p.m., and
those attending may enter the Museum
through the north, south, or west doors.

Tickets may be obtained by calling in per-
son at the Museum or writing Free Concerts
Foundation, Chicago Natural History Mu-
seum (Roosevelt Road and Lake Shore Drive,
Chicago 5) and enclosing a stamped, self-
addressed envelope. Guest artists for the
January 12 concert are Phyllis Curtin, so-
prano, and Ray Stille, oboist, both well-
known to Chicago music lovers.

Museum Not Open to Visitors
Christmas or New Year's
In accordance with its custom, the Mu-
seum will be closed on Christmas and New
Year's day, to permit all of its employees to
enjoy the holidays with their families. These
are the only days in the entire year on which
the Museum is not open to the public.

wingbeats, which may exceed 60 per second
and can be seen only as a blur. Obviously,
with birds as with people, greater familiarity
often reveals unsuspected abilities that merit
admiration.

The new exhibit was designed by the
Division of Birds, and prepared by Staff Taxi-
dermist Carl W. Cotton and Assistant Taxider-
mist Peter Anderson; art work is by E. John
Pfiffner, Staff Artist.

Page 6

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

December, 1959

THE CHRISTMAS ISLANDS
DEFY YULE TRADITION

WITH THE SEASON fast approaching
when countless columns in countless
publications will be devoted to stories of the
Nativity, Santa Claus, red-nosed reindeers,
and Christmas customs and traditions, it
seems only fitting that among all the reams
of Christmas copy at least a few paragraphs
should be devoted to the island that is the
namesake of that popular holiday — namely,
"Christmas Island."

First of all, it is necessary that one rather
confusing fact be cleared up right from the
start. And that is, there is not "a Christ-
mas Island" — there are two such islands.
What's more, neither is located near the
North Pole, as popular Christmas lore would
favor placing them. On the contrary, one
Christmas Island is located in the Pacific
ocean south-southeast of Hawaii in a chain
of islands called the Line Islands, and the
other is found in the Indian Ocean just south-
west of Java. (We'll call them "Pacific
Christmas" and "Indian Christmas" to sim-
plify identification.)

Now, when the word " Christmas" is men-
tioned, automatically a number of popular
symbols flash to mind — churches, Santa
Claus, Christmas trees, carols, shopping, etc.
An appropriate thought, considering the is-
lands' name, is how well do the Christmas
islands live up to the concepts associated
with their name?

NO SNOW, NO HOLLY . . .

Going down the list, the first to be crossed
off is snow. The tropical locations of the
islands take care of that score. "Indian
Christmas" is completely covered by luxu-
rious tropical vegetation, while on the other
hand, "Pacific Christmas" is a low semi-
barren, uninhabitable island famous for its
beautiful colors — but without much in the
way of fauna, and without soil that will grow
fruits and vegetables usually found in the
tropics.

Naturally, it follows that under such cli-
matic conditions, Christmas trees as we know
them are also definitely out. And those pro-
verbial halls would have to go undecorated
if they depended on the Christmas islands
for their supply of holly and mistletoe.

Reindeer? There are none on the Christ-
mas islands, of course. As a matter of fact,
there are no animals whatever of comparable
stature or size. "Pacific Christmas" is in-
habited mostly by birds (and lots of them),
turtles, land crabs, rats, and recently cats.
The animal life on "Indian Christmas" is
similar, mostly birds, rats, bats, and certain
kinds of insects.

WHENCE THE NAME?

At this time a perfectly reasonable and
legitimate question to ask is, "How ever did
the islands become labeled with such a mis-
nomer?" A little history supplies the answer.

EXHIBIT OF DARWINIANA
IN SECOND MONTH

The special exhibit, "Darwin's Origin of
Species," opened last month to mark the
centennial of the publication of the great
naturalist's theories, will remain on view in
Stanley Field Hall through December 31.
There are six panels, each dealing with a
phase of the Darwin story. Included are
holograph letters written by Darwin, speci-
mens he collected on the historic voyage
of the Beagle, and a copy of the rare first
edition of Origin of Species. In the photo-
graph above, part of the exhibit is viewed
by two high school girls — Karen Selchow,
of Woodstock, Illinois, and Kathy Nelson
of Chicago.

Let's go back to the year 1777. It is win-
ter, and at a place called Valley Forge an
army of American revolutionaries led by
General George Washington is courageously
holding its own against the elements in one of
the fiercest winters the men had ever experi-
enced— a winter later to be recorded in all
U. S. history books. At the same time that
struggle was going on at Valley Forge, on
the other side of the earth another battle
was being waged by a crew of able seamen
led by a distinguished English navigator and
explorer, Captain James Cook. But theirs
was a struggle with the sea. Captain Cook
was navigating the Pacific Ocean on a voyage
that was destined also to get into history
books.

On December 24, 1777, Captain Cook
sighted land, a small island atoll in mid-
Pacific. His ship was running low on food,
so Captain Cook sent a party ashore to for-
age for additions to the ship's supplies.
When the group returned the only thing they
brought with them was a number of large
turtles and the disheartening news that there
was very little else besides turtles and birds
to be found — and no fresh water. That eve-
ning when Captain Cook went to his journal
he suddenly realized it was Christmas Eve.
And that is how Christmas Island in the
Pacific got its name.

As for "Indian Christmas," we have to go
back a little bit further in history for its
christening. The year was 1643. A home-
ward bound merchant ship of the East India
Company, commanded by Captain Williams
Mynors, was passing through the Indian
Ocean when it unexpectedly came upon an
atoll not shown on its charts. The day was
December 25, Christmas Day. And so, an-
other island was named. It was not always
called Christmas Island, however, for a num-
ber of years after Captain Mynors landed on
the atoll, some other voyagers landed there
and gave it the name "Moni." On a few
maps that name still appears, but Christmas
Island is presently its official name.

BOTH ARE ATOLLS

It is a rather curious fact that the two is-
lands, owned by the British, were discovered
on the same day of the year, and conse-
quently both named "Christmas Island,"
for the pattern of the subsequent develop-
ment of the two is strikingly similar. As
already mentioned, both are atolls ("Pacific
Christmas" with 222 square miles is the larg-
est atoll in the world), and although one is
covered with luxurious tropical vegetation
and the other is barren in comparison, they
have in common the fact that they lack any
appreciable surface water. This factor dis-
couraged human habitation on either for a
number of years.

The first considerable settlement on the
islands occurred around the end of the 19th
century, prompted by the hope of economic
exploitation. Both the atolls appeared to be
rich in phosphates, " Indian Christmas" hav-
ing a number of large limestone outcrops,
and "Pacific Christmas" having deposits of
guano. (These deposits consist of the accu-
mulated excrement of birds, usually sea fowl,
and occur in rainless areas along the ocean.
Guano has commercial use as fertilizer.)

The first few attempts at profitable exploi-
tation of the atolls were rather unsuccessful,
and as a result the islands changed hands a
number of times. In 1940, however, " Indian
Christmas" exported 238,006 tons of phos-
phates under the management of the Christ-
mas Island Phosphate Company. Produc-
tion stopped for a period during World
War II when the island was occupied by the
Japanese. The productivity of "Pacific
Christmas" has been less notable. Although
it was leased in 1913 to the Central Pacific
Coconut Plantations, Ltd., by the British
government for a period of 87 years for the
production of coconuts, oil, pearl shell, and
guano, since 1930 it has been used mainly as
a British air stopover.

These are the stories of the Christmas is-
lands, rather insignificant in their impact on
history and the world's economy, and equally
insignificant in their effect on the Christmas
season . . . sure is a shame they don't have
any reindeer ... or snow . . . or . . . Santa
Claus!

Marilyn Jindrich

December, 1959

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

Page 7

FOUR 'JOURNEYERS' NAMED
FIRST 'DISCOVERERS'

A most unusual graduating class received
diplomas November 21 on the stage of
James Simpson Theatre. In the class were
only four students, ages 11 to 15 years,
and the "degrees" they received were not
based on academic courses completed but
on the successful accomplishment of 17 Mu-
seum "Journeys."

The graduates are participants in a special
educational research program for children

started by the Museum's Raymond Foun-
dation in March, 1955, and they are the
first to complete 17 Journeys. (Nearly 5,000
Journey sheets have been turned in since
1955). The Journeys direct children to Mu-
seum exhibits that deal with various pre-
scribed topics. "Passports," travel charts,
and questionnaires for the Journeys are
issued to interested children at the Museum
entrances.

The 17th Journey, which qualified the four
for graduation and membership in the Mu-
seum's newly formed " Discoverers' Club," is
entitled "Voyage of the Beagle." It leads
"journeyers" into fields in which Charles
Darwin pioneered in his voyage on the ship
of that name in 1831-36 — a voyage on which
he formulated most of his ideas concerning

evolution. The journey is particularly timely
in this centennial year of the "Origin of
Species," commemorated in the Museum
with a special pictorial Darwin exhibit which
will be on display in Stanley Field Hall
until December 31.

The four graduates now being admitted to
the Museum's "Discoverers' Club" are:
Boyce Brunson, 11, and his sister Carol, 12,
of Chicago; Konrad Banasak, 15, of Whiting,
Indiana; and Janet Mangold, 11, of Livonia,
Michigan.

At the " commencement" program, awards
were given to 43 other children in various

FOUR 'YOUNG DARWINS'-the first youngsters
to complete a lull course of Museum Journeys and
win membership in the Discoverers' Club — are
shown in the three pictures on this page. They are:
Konrad Banasak, 15, Whiting, Indiana; Janet Man-
gold, 11, Livonia, Michigan; and Carol Brunson, 12,
with her brother Boyce, 11, of Chicago.

stages of study at the Museum by Deputy
Director John R. Millar: 20 received "Mu-
seum Traveler" recognition for completing
four Journeys; nine were named "Adven-
turers" for eight Journeys; five were cited
as new "Explorers" for 12 Journeys; and
nine who completed 16 Journeys were ad-
mitted to the next group to do "The Voyage
of the Beagle."

New Journey Topic

"Animals of the Ice Age" is scheduled
as the new Journey for December, January,
and February. It is based on the unusual
animals that lived in the Chicago Region
from 10,000 to one million years ago, such
as the prehistoric elephants (mastodons and
mammoths) and the giant beavers that
reached lengths of nearly five feet. The
Museum's skeleton of a giant beaver is
one of very few known complete specimens.
The Journey may be taken at any time
during regular visiting hours.

NATURE PHOTO CONTEST
JUDGES SELECTED

Five judges, including two members of the
scientific staff of the Museum, have been se-
lected to rule on the acceptance of photo-
graphs for exhibition, and the award of medals
and ribbons in the 15th Chicago Interna-
tional Exhibition of Nature Photography.

The deadline for entries in this contest,
sponsored jointly by the Chicago Nature
Camera Club and the Museum, is Janu-
ary 18. The exhibition of successful entries
will be held in Stanley Field Hall of the
Museum from February 6 to 26.

Those named to the panel of judges are:
Mrs. George W. Blaha, APSA, photographer
and naturalist; Arthur Hunter, teacher and
naturalist; Ray Sauers, photographer; and
the two Museum staff members, Dr. Alan
Solem, Curator of Lower Invertebrates, and
Dr. John W. Thieret, Curator of Economic
Botany.

In addition to the exhibit of prints, there
will be two screenings of color slides on Sun-
day afternoons, February 7 and 14, at
2:30 p.m. in the James Simpson Theatre of
the Museum.

For years this contest and exhibition have
been the world's largest in the field of nature
subjects, as well as one of the largest photog-
raphy contests of any kind. In each of the
two divisions of the contest (prints and color
slides) there are three subject classifications:
(1) Animal Life; (2) Plant Life; and (3) Gen-
eral, which comprises scenic views, clouds,
geological formations, and other inanimate
natural phenomena. Contestants may sub-
mit up to four entries in each division. The
Museum will furnish entry forms and other
information upon request. Entries should be
mailed directly to the Museum.

In addition to medals and ribbons awarded
by the Nature Camera Club in each classifi-
cation of the two divisions, special medals
for slides best illustrating color harmony in
nature will be awarded by the Nature Divi-
sion of the Photographic Society of America.

GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM

Following is a list of the principal gifts
received during the past month:

Department of Anthropology

From: Walter Bujak, Cleveland — Ozalid
copy of rubbing of Maya stone disc

Department of Botany

From: H. R. Bennett, Chicago — 1,007
phanerogams, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois;
Dr. J. G. Hawkes, Birmingham, England—
292 phanerogams, Mexico and Central Amer-
ica; Magill College Herbarium, Montreal —
3 phanerogams; Dr. Barbara Palser, Chicago
— 5 phanerogams, California; Milton W. San-
derson, Urbana, 111. — 58 phanerogams, Do-
minican Republic

Department of Geology

Harold Hinds, Portland, Ore. — partial
{Continued on page 8, column 3)

Page 8

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BULLETIN

December, 1959

CHINESE RUBBINGS-

(Continued from page 3)

mate contact with every detail of the surface
to be reproduced. When the paper is dry it
is ready for inking with the "inking wad."
As the result of this final inking step, there
eventually emerge the outlines and designs
of the decorative features under the paper
. . . and there you have a rubbing! This is,
of course, but a skeleton description of the
art as actually practiced.

Although it is ordinarily thought of as be-
longing to antiquity, the art of making rub-
bings can be applied just as well to modern
or contemporary subjects; so that instead of
using an ancient stone text or "oracle bone"
for reproduction, the design work on a piece
of pottery, any artfully tooled metal, de-
signed glass, or the like, may be used. The
resultant "rubbing" may be utilized in many
ways for desired decorative ends.

This brings us to the last question remain-
ing to be answered — namely, of what value
are "rubbings?" Aside from pure aesthetic
considerations, or from the opportunity the
art provides for the development of a most
interesting hobby, or from the commercial

use of rubbings on book jackets, magazine
covers, etc. (the Museum's collections have
often been used for such purposes), rubbings
have become rich sources of information, es-
pecially for students of the humanities.

The life and customs of civilizations of cen-
turies long past were recorded in stone reliefs
on tomb exteriors and interiors, stone pillars,
"oracle bones," and other structures of artis-
tic and archaeological significance. Many of
these monuments no longer exist, having fall-
en prey to the destructive forces of nature
and man. In many cases our only record of
their existence and of the cultures in which
they were made lies in "rubbings" made of
them while they were still standing.

And so the technique that started as a
shortcut for the mass dissemination of Chi-
nese doctrine has survived through the ages
to emerge as a little-known art but one that
has made, and will continue to make, impor-
tant contributions in the unfolding of the
history of the world.

Primitive jewelry, both ancient and
modern, from many parts of the world is
included in H.N. Higinbotham Hall of Gems
and Jewels (Hall 31).

NEW MEMBERS

(October 19 to November 16)

Life Members

Mrs. G. C. Hodgson, Judd Sackheim

Non-Resident Life Member

Egington Franklin

Sustaining Member

Sam Fink

Associate Members

Joseph Barbera, A. R. Basile, Nuel D.
Belnap, Alfred S. Berens, Charles C. Blish,
Ralph L. Braucher, William B. Browder,
Allen E. Bulley, James E. Burd, Mrs. H. L.
Calvin, Hugh Campbell, Junius F. Cook,
Jr., Dr. Richard S. Cook, John S. Coulson,
D. E. Davidson, Frank P. De Lay, Robert J.
Doucette, A. F. Escudier, Preston Farley,
Miss Johanna C. Glaman, Burton W. Hales,
Jr., Dr. M. B. Hopkins, Reinhardt H. Jahn,
Dr. Joseph H. Kiefer, Arthur Lehr, Ross O.
Major, Dr. Gilbert H. Marquardt, Allen W.
Mathis, Edward Michalko, Harold B. Myers,
John Nash Ott, Jr., Richard J. Radebaugh,
Howard C. Reeder, Max K. Ruppert, Mrs.
Mary H. Russell, Charles F. Schwartz, Bur-
ton E. Simonson, Richard E. Snyder, Dr.
H. Frederick Staack, Jr., Mrs. Norman J.
Stiner, Orlin I. Wahl, Dr. Lydia Walkowiak,
Mrs. John E. Wells, John Warren Wells,
Mrs. Russell Wiles

Annual Members

William H. Allaway, Mrs. C. Paul Amer-
man, Howard W. Andersen, Dr. Freida Gri-
gorovitch Barsky, Samuel Bernstein, Donald
R. Booz, William M. Brandt, Benjamin M.
Brodsky, George V. Burns, Dr. H. W.
Christy, W. K. Coolidge, Dr. C. D. Cory,
Dr. August F. Daro, Leonard S. Davidow,
Mrs. S. E. Dean, Jr., F. J. Dittrich, Richard
Dohner, Miss Louise Drapier, Einar J. Ed-

fors, O. J. Eigsti, Mrs. Benjamin F. Ellis,
Miss Virginia Esten, Edwin Feulner, Jes-
eph B. Fitzer, Irvin J. Fox, Jack Freeman,
Hugh H. Gallarneau, Edward R. Glick, An-
drew C. Hamilton, Gideon Haynes, Jr.,
Herman H. Henkle, Joseph M. Jacobs, W.
Beaumont Jordan, Michael M. Kachigian,
Louis C. Karbiner, Dr. W. L. Keck, Sivert
Klefstad, A. C. Knutson, Dr. Robert H.
Koff, Louis A. Kolssak, R. E. Long, Francis
E. Luthmers, Dr. Eugene F. Lutterbeck,
Michael H. Lyons, Merwin Q. Lytle, Dr.
Herman Mackoff, George G. Mah, Samuel
C. Maragos, Frank O. Marks, Frank G.
Marshall, Edward C. McLean, Dr. E. L.
McMillan, Frank McNair, Dr. H. P. Nedoss,
William L. O'Brien, Mrs. Keith L. Paden,
Dr. John M. Palmer, Joseph J. Pellettiere,
Richard S. Pepper, Dr. Willis J. Potts, Ed-
mund D. Putnam, Mrs. Bernard J. Rix,
Mrs. Richard L. Rogers, R. W. Robinson,
Philip Rootberg, William L. Runzel, Jr.,
Anthony M. Ryerson, Robert James Sadlek,
Thomas P. Scanlan, Mrs. Herbert S. Schelly,
Fred H. Schildt, Joseph Schonthal, Edward
H. Schwartz, R. V. Searson, Dr. S. J. Shafer,
Harry G. Shaffer, Dr. Leon S. Shalla, Marc
A. Shantz, Leo C. Sheldon, Leo Singer, Floyd
Slasor, O. O. Smaha, Dr. Charles J. Smalley,
Howard J. Snitoff, Mrs. F. W. Specht, Ralph
W. Stark, Mrs. Harry Stollery, Elmer H.
Stonehouse, William G. Stophlet, E. H. Stu-
benrauch, Dr. Fred J. Stucker, G. Truman
Thomas, Warren H. Thon, Winfield Tice,
George C. Tracy, M. G. Van Buskirk, Mrs.
Edwin P. Vanderwicken, A. H. Van Kampen,
Dr. Frank J. Veverka, Dr. Anton J. Vlcek,
Frederick C. Von Brauchitsch, John C. Voo-
sen, Dr. Hans Wachtel, Mrs. William Ernest
Walker, Dr. Richard W. Watkins, George T.
Weick, Robert B. Whittaker, Ralph E. Wil-
liams, Wallace E. Wing, Dr. Sidney S. Wise,
Mrs. Lloyd Wynne, Orrin E. Wolf

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING
EASY VIA MUSEUM

The Museum offers two unique
special services that make Christmas
shopping easy. If you use them you
don't have to leave your home, you
stay away from crowds, and you don't
have to wrap packages. Everything
you need to do can be done at your
own desk. But, if you prefer to come
in to shop, there's free parking, and
bus transportation.

First, there is the plan for giving
Museum Memberships as Christmas
gifts. This is completely described in
a separate circular enclosed with this
Bulletin.

Second, there is the Museum BOOK
SHOP, which handles orders by mail
or telephone (W Abash 2-9410). It
has a fine selection of books for both
adults and children, all endorsed by
members of the Museum scientific
staff. It offers unusual art objects,
notably authentic native wood-carv-
ings recently received from Africa.
There are also novelties, toys, and
items for juvenile collectors. The
BOOK SHOP will handle all details
of wrapping and mailing gift purchases
to recipients, together with such per-
sonal greetings as the purchaser may
specify, charging only postal costs.

GIFTS TO MUSEUM-

(Continued from page 7)

skeleton of fossil salamander; W. P. Leutze,
Richmond, Va. — 21 specimens fossil euryp-
terids, West Virginia

Department of Zoology

From: Chin Phui Kong, North Borneo —
17 frog larvae, 104 fishes; Harry Hoogstraal,
Cairo, Egypt — 338 bird skins, 3 birds in alco-
hol, 4 mammals; Malaria Survey and Control
Branch, Fort Clayton, Canal Zone — 427 bat-
flies; Dr. Orlando Parks, Evanston, 111. —
658 bird skins, 690 mammals, Middle West;
Dr. Karl F. Koopman, Chicago — 45 reprints
of publications on mammals; Comdr. Rob-
ert E. Kuntz, San Francisco — mollusks, For-
mosa; H. de Sousa Lopes, Rio de Janeiro —
inland shells; Charles Many, New Orleans —
12 land snails; Mrs. J. T. Mauer, Chicago
— 16 North American moths; Mrs. R. E.
McNamara, Kirkwood, Mo. — freshwater
mollusks; Dr. Rodger D. Mitchell, Gaines-
ville, Fla. — 3 water mites; Museum and Art
Gallery, Durban, South Africa — 3 bird skins;
Mrs. Winston Parker, Kirkwood, Mo. —
freshwater mollusks; Mrs. Henry Pope, Glen-
coe, 111. — 2,000 minute marine shells, Baha-
mas; Dr. Gerbert Rebell, New Brunswick,
N.J. — 3 albino rats; Werner Reifsteck, New
Haven, Ind. — a freshwater snail; Dr. J. D.
Sauer, Madison, Wis. — 40 snails, Mauritius;
Dr. Jeanne S. Schwengel, Scarsdale, N.Y. —
— mollusks and marine snails; R. R. Tal-
madge, Willow Creek, Calif. — 120 snails

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