Topical Finding Aids to Records in the Smithsonian Institution Archives
Guide to Records of Expeditions, 1878-1917

List of Smithsonian Expeditions, 1878-1917 (Chronologic)

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Expeditions are ordered chronologically by the start date of the expedition.
Notes on Finding Expedition Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives.
Alphabetic List of Smithsonian Expeditions, 1878-1917.

Official Name of Expedition: International Polar Expedition to Point Barrow, Alaska

Date of Expedition: October 1881 - October 1883

Where to: From San Francisco, California, to Point Barrow, Alaska

Sponsor: Signal Service, United States Army

Commander: Patrick Henry Ray, First Lieutenant

Prominent Scientists:

• James Cassidy, Signal Service, United States Army, Observer
• A. C. Dark, Astronomer
• E. P. Herendeen, Interpreter
• Sergeant John Murdoch, Signal Service, United States Army, Observer
• Dr. George Oldmixon, United States Army
• Sergeant Middleton Smith, Signal Service, United States Army, Observer

Brief Description:

The International Polar Expedition was sponsored by the Signal Service to establish a permanent station for meteorological, magnetic, tidal, and pendulum observation. The Expedition also collected various animal, mineral, and vegetable specimens. The natural history and ethnological specimens were sent to the United States National Museum.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 7203: John Murdoch Journals, 1881-1883

• Journal 1
  The first journal includes a list of the almost 1,800 articles collected during the Expedition, including where and who collected them; an intermittent weather log dated December 1881 through February 1883; and names of the different households at the Cape Smythe village, as remembered after Murdoch's return to Washington.
• Journal 2
  The second journal, titled "Fishes and Mammals, Orglaami, 1882-1883," catalogs names, measurements over a span of six months, and dates the specimens were collected.

Primary Bibliography:

• International Polar Expedition, 1882-1883. Report of the International Polar Expedition to Point Barrow, Alaska, in Response to the Resolution of the U. S. House of Representatives of December 11, 1884. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1885.
• Murdoch, John. Ethnological Results of the Point Barrow Expedition. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1988. Reprint. Originally published: 1892.
• United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Military Affairs. Compilation of Narratives of Explorations in Alaska. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1900.

Search Strategy:

• The Guide to the Smithsonian Archives/SIRIS index this expedition.
• SIRIS was used to compile the bibliography.
• Smithsonian Institution Annual Reports, 1882, p. 15; 1883, pp. 14-16.
• Compilation of Narratives of Explorations in Alaska, pp. 365-379 was used to complete the brief description.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: International Polar Expedition

Alias of Expedition: Lady Franklin Bay Expedition

Date of Expedition: June 1881- June 1884

Where to: From New York City to St. Johns, Newfoundland

Sponsor: Signal Service, War Department

Commander: Adolphus Washington Greely, Acting Signal Officer

Prominent Scientists:

• Frederick F. Kislingbury, Acting Signal Officer
• James B. Lockwood, Acting Signal Officer
• Edward Israel, Signal Corps
• Winfred S. Jewell, Signal Corps
• George W. Rice, Signal Corps
• David C. Ralston, Signal Corps
• Hampden S. Gardener, Signal Corps

Brief Description:

In 1881, the War Department appointed First Lieutenant Adolphus Washington Greely to head an expedition to the Polar Seas. The Expedition was to return in 1882, but was trapped by ice flows in Lady Franklin Bay until rescued by the Greely Relief Expedition in 1884.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

No records found.

Primary Bibliography:

• Greely, Adolphus Washington. Three Years of Arctic Service; An Account of the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition of 1881-1884, and the Attainment of the Farthest North. New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1886.
• Garlington, Ernest Albert. Report on Lady Franklin Bay Expedition of 1883. Washington City: Signal Office, 1883, 1853-1934.
• Lamar, William Harmong, 1859-1928. Physical Observations During the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition of 1883. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1884.
• Mackey, Thomas Jefferson, 1830-1909. The Hazen Court-martial: The Responsibility for the Disaster to the Lady Franklin Bay Polar Expedition Definitely Established, with Proposed Reforms in the Law and Practice of Courts-martial. New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1885.
• United States. Army. Signal Corps. Work of the Signal Service in the Arctic Regions. Washington, D.C.: Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 1883.

Search Strategy:

• This expedition is mentioned in the Smithsonian Institution Annual Report for 1881.
• Neither the Guide to the Smithsonian Archives nor SIRIS index this expedition.
• SIRIS was used to compile the bibliography.
• Smithsonian Institution Annual Reports, 1881, p. 23 (Greely departs); 1882, p. 13 (first relief expedition sent).
• The Report on the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition was used to compile information for the brief description.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: Greely Relief Expedition

Date of Expedition: 1884

Where to: Cape Sabine, Newfoundland

Sponsor: Secretary of the Navy/Secretary of War

Commander: Captain Winfield Scott Schley

Prominent Scientists:

• C. H. Harlow, Naturalist
• A. A. Ackerman, Naturalist
• C. S. McClain, Naturalist

Brief Description:

After two futile efforts in 1882 and 1883 to communicate with members of the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition in the Polar Seas, and to relieve Lieutenant Adolphus Washington Greely and his command, a new expedition was organized by special act of Congress early in 1884. The Greely Relief Expedition reached Greely and his command on June 22 at Cape Sabine and transported them back to the United States. The scientists of the relief expedition returned with photographs, rocks, minerals, fossils, numerous birds, and a small collection of fish and marine invertebrates. Greely returned with several specimens from his stay, but left most of the equipment and collection in Newfoundland.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 189: Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, Correspondence and Memoranda, 1860-1908

• Box 50, Folder 8 contains 3 pieces of correspondence from C. H. Harlow, a scientist on the Greely Relief Expedition, to Spencer F. Baird. Two of these concern his application for employment with the Expedition; the third is a report on the collections made during the Expedition.

Primary Bibliography:

• Greely, Adolphus Washington. True Tales of Arctic Heroism in the New World. New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1912.
• Schley, Winfield Scott. The Rescue of Greely. New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1885.
• United States. Army. Signal Corps.. Work of the Signal Service in the Arctic Regions. Washington, D.C.: Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 1883.
• United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Military Affairs. Compilation of Narratives of Explorations in Alaska. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1900.
• United States. Navy Department. Report of Winfield S. Schley, Commander, U.S. Navy, Commanding Greely Relief Expedition of 1884. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1887.

Search Strategy:

• The Guide to the Smithsonian Archives/SIRIS index this expedition.
• SIRIS was used to compile the bibliography.
• Smithsonian Institution Annual Reports, 1883, p. 14; 1884, pp. 14-16; 1885, p. 8 (detail the Expedition and were used to compile the brief description).
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress.

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Official Name of Expedition: Exploration for American Bison

Alias of Expedition: Buffalo Expedition

Date of Expedition: 1886

Where to: Montana

Sponsor: Smithsonian Institution

Head Scientist: William Temple Hornaday, Chief Taxidermist, Smithsonian Institution

William Temple Hornaday with Bison Calf (From SI Archives RU 95)

Prominent Scientists:

• The scientific team was not detailed.

Brief Description:

In early spring of 1886, it was called to the attention of Secretary Spencer F. Baird that American bison were being exterminated at an "alarming" rate (Smithsonian Institution Annual Report, 1887, p. 5) , and that the United States National Museum had an incomplete collection of bison. Secretary Baird authorized William Temple Hornaday and a party of Smithsonian scientists to secure a complete series of skins for mounting. The Expedition was successful from a collecting point of view, and gathered information on species of elk, mountain sheep, goat, deer, and moose in imminent danger of extinction. "In view of this project," wrote Secretary Baird in the Report of the Secretary for 1887, "more stringent measures of game protection and preservation are loudly called for" (Smithsonian Institution Annual Report, 1887, p. 7).

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

No records found.

Search Strategy:

• This expedition is mentioned in the Smithsonian Institution Annual Report for 1886.
• Neither the Guide to the Smithsonian Archives nor SIRIS index this expedition.
• No bibliographic material was found in SIRIS.
• Smithsonian Institution Annual Reports, 1886, pp. 7-8; 1887, pp. 5-7, 9.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress.

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Official Name of Expedition: University of Pennsylvania Expedition to Babylonia

Date of Expedition: June 1888 - October 1891

Where to: Constantinople and Nippur (city in modern-day southeast Iraq)

Sponsor: University of Pennsylvania

Head Scientist: John Punnett Peters, Professor of Internal Medicine and Director of the Expedition

Prominent Scientists:

• Robert Francis Harper, Assyriologist
• H. V. Hilprect, Assyriologist
• Perez Hastings Field, Architect, Surveyor, Engineer

Brief Description:

When Paul Haupt was appointed Honorary Curator of the collection of Oriental Antiquities for the United States National Museum in February of 1888, he suggested to Secretary Samuel P. Langley that an expedition to Mesopotamia would yield a great many Assyrian and Babylonian artifacts. Concurrently, Professor John Punnett Peters was planning an expedition to Babylonia under the auspices of the University of Pennsylvania. Both were then competing for a fir man from the government in Constantinople, which would grant them access to the excavation sites and permission to remove a portion of the artifacts they discovered. Peters and his team of scholars and scientists were ultimately granted permission, and the Smithsonian partially funded the Expedition. Part of the Expedition collection was sent to the United States National Museum.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 192: United States National Museum, Permanent Administrative Files, 1877-1975

• Box 70, Folder 7 contains about 35 pieces of correspondence detailing Haupt's appointment to the United States National Museum and proposal of a Mesopotamian expedition, and Peters's subsequent protestation to the Smithsonian Institution and the differing teams of scientists vying for a fir man. After the decision in favor of Peters's team, the correspondence concerns specific artifacts requested by the Smithsonian, acknowledgments of objects received, and provisions for the transfer of funds to the Expedition. There is also an inquiry from Peters regarding a form to aid missionaries in making ethnological observations.

Primary Bibliography:

• Peters, John Punnett. Nippur, or, Explorations and Adventures on the Euphrates; The Narrative of the University of Pennsylvania Expedition to Babylonia in the Years 1888-1890. New York.

Search Strategy:

• The Guide to the Smithsonian Archives/SIRIS index this expedition.
• SIRIS was used to compile the bibliography.
• John Punnett Peters' book was used to compile the descriptive information.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: Winfrid Alden Stearns Expedition to Labrador

Date of Expedition: 1882

Where to: Labrador

Commander/ Head Scientist: Winfrid Alden Stearns, Amherst College

Prominent Scientists:

• The scientific team was not detailed.

Brief Description:

There is not sufficient information in the resources listed below to describe the expedition.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 189: Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, Correspondence and Memoranda, 1860-1908

• Box 123, Folder 7 contains 11 pieces of correspondence dated May 1882- March 1888, concerning Stearns's work on the mammals found on his trip to the Labrador coast; reprints of his article published by the museum; and a review of his work on an 1882 expedition when he requested assistance to return to Labrador in 1888. Folder 7 also contains information on Stearns's subsequent collecting trips to Labrador.

Primary Bibliography:

• Smith, Sidney I. List of the Crustacea Dredged on the Coast of Labrador by the Expedition Under the Direction of Winfrid Alden Stearns, in 1882. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1884.

• This expedition is mentioned in the collection description for RU 189 (found through keyword search in SIRIS).
• SIRIS was used to compile the bibliography.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: Central American Scientific Exploring Expedition

Alias of the Expedition: A. J. Miller's Archaeological Expedition to Central America

Date of Expedition: May - June 1889

Where to: Honduras, Guatemala, Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica

Manager: A. J. Miller

Prominent Scientists:

• The scientific team was not detailed, but Miller traveled with at least one naturalist/taxidermist.

Brief Description:

A. J. Miller, Editor of The Evening Tribune of Evansville, Indiana, began his expedition to Central America in 1889, and wrote the Smithsonian soliciting information on the types of specimens the Institution would most like to have from that region, and requesting financial assistance from the Institution. The Smithsonian was unable to provide any money to offset the costs of the Expedition (in part because it took place outside of the United States), but agreed to look at the specimens and perhaps purchase a portion of them. Miller's party left in May of 1889, but was forced to return in June due to an outbreak of Yellow Fever in the areas they were exploring. While in Honduras, they found a buried city in Olancho, and Miller tried to interest the Smithsonian in assisting with the excavation--scientifically and financially. Miller returned to Honduras in September of 1889. There is no evidence in the Archives to indicate whether the Smithsonian replied or became involved in the excavation.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 189: Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, Correspondence and Memoranda, 1860-1908

• Box 84, Folder 2 contains 12 pieces of correspondence concerning A. J. Miller's expedition to Central America; and includes Miller's first contact with the Institution, correspondence which outlines his proposed route and the specimens he intended to collect, and several of his circulars--one addressed to other newspapers, and another scientists in which he asks for orders for specific specimens to collect while exploring. There is a series of correspondence regarding Miller's discovery of the buried city in Honduras and subsequent attempts to interest the Smithsonian in assisting with the excavation, including two newspaper articles detailing the Central American Scientific Exploring Expedition.

Search Strategy:

• This expedition is mentioned in the collection description for RU 189 (found through keyword search in SIRIS).
• No bibliographic material was found in SIRIS.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: Death Valley Expedition

Date of Expedition: 1891

Where to: Death Valley

Head Scientist: Clinton Hart Merriam, Naturalist

Prominent Scientists:

• Vernon Bailey, Biologist
• Albert Kenrick Fisher, Ornithologist
• Edward William Nelson, Ornithologist, Mammalogist, Ethnologist
• Frank Stephens, Mammalogist
• Theodore Sherman Palmer, Zoologist

Brief Description:

There is not sufficient information in the resources listed below to describe the expedition.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 7272: Frederick Vernon Coville Papers, 1888-1936 and undated

• Box 6 contains Coville's notes and revisions to his Botany of the Death Valley Expedition, published in 1893.
  • Folder 1 contains a list of Death Valley plants, published and new.
  • Folder 2 contains changes in place names in Death Valley as of 1936.
  • Folder 3 contains a list of photographs of Death Valley plants, taken in 1933-1934.
  • Folder 4 contains a list of dry ground shrubs in Death Valley.
  • Folders 5-41 contain Coville's notes on 82 Death Valley plants, in both manuscript and hand-written form.

Primary Bibliography:

• Coville, Frederick Vernon. Botany of the Death Valley Expedition. Report on the Botany of the Expedition Sent Out in 1891 by the U. S. Department of Agriculture to Make a Biological Survey of the Region of Death Valley, California. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1893.
• Fisher, Albert Kenrick. Report on the Ornithology of the Death Valley Expedition of 1891. Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office, 1893.
• Fisher, Albert Kenrick, et al. The Death Valley Expedition: A Biological Survey of Parts of California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. Part II. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1893. (Part I never published).

Search Strategy:

• This expedition is mentioned in the collection description for RU 7272 (found through keyword search in SIRIS).
• SIRIS was used to compile the bibliography.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: United States-Mexican International Boundary Survey

Alias of the Expedition: United States-Mexico Boundary Survey; Mexican Boundary Survey

Date of Expedition: 1891 - 1896

Sponsor: United States State Department

Commander: Lieutenant-Colonel J. W. Barlow, United States Army Corps of Engineers

Head Scientist: Captain Edgar Alexander Mearns, Surgeon and Naturalist

Prominent Scientists:

• Frank X. Holzner, Taxidermist

Cereus Giganteus (Giant Cactus) found on the United States-Mexican International Boundary Survey (From SI Archives RU 7083)

Brief Description:

The Boundary Survey, when conceived by the State Department, was not planned to be a scientific expedition. Edgar Alexander Mearns, employed by the State Department as the survey's surgeon, wrote the United States National Museum in December of 1891 requesting money to subsidize his collecting activities, promising to donate his specimens to the Smithsonian Institution. Assisted by Frank X. Holzner, a Smithsonian employee, the two collected and returned to the Museum approximately 12,000 birds and mammals, 500 geological specimens, 100 fossils, and 10,000 plants. They also collected a smaller number of fish, mollusks and items of ethnological importance. These collections were classified and described by Smithsonian and government-affiliated scientists.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 189: Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, Correspondence and Memoranda, 1860-1908

• Box 81, Folders 5-8 contain 55 pieces of correspondence from Edgar Alexander Mearns, dated December 1891- August 1894, regarding the feasibility of Mearns collecting specimens for the Museum while engaged on the International Boundary Commission, his requests for supplies from the United States National Museum, and copies of inventories of the specimens sent to the United States National Museum. In 1892 there was some question as to whether Mearns would stay with the Boundary Commission, and the United States National Museum played a part in ensuring he could do so. There are several pieces of correspondence detailing this. In 1894, Mearns sent a paper for publication in the Proceedings of the United States National Museum. Nothing more on this is noted.
• Box 82, Folder 1 contains some 20 pieces of correspondence upon Mearns's return from the Survey in 1894. These letters concern his continuing work on his specimens at the United States National Museum. A July 1898 exchange relates to the production of an electrotype map of the Mexican boundary.

RU 192: United States National Museum, Permanent Administrative Files, 1877-1975

• Box 382, Folder 7, #110201 contains approximately 60 pieces of correspondence, dated December 1891 to July 1894. Most are copies of the letters received from Mearns while he was on the Survey, detailed above. There are several letters from J. W. Barlow, Lieutenant Colonel of Engineers, to Mearns regarding funding for Mearns's collecting work. There are also several copies and two original letters from Mearns's assistant, Frank X. Holzner, to the United States National Museum pertaining to routine business.

RU 7272: Frederick Vernon Coville Papers, 1888-1936 and undated

• Box 3, Folder 21 contains 8 pieces of correspondence from Edgar Alexander Mearns to Coville regarding Coville's report on the plants of the United States-Mexican International Boundary Survey Commission.

RU 7083: Edgar Alexander Mearns Papers, circa 1871-1916, 1934 and undated

• Box 4
  • Folder 1 contains 6 pieces of routine correspondence, dated December 1891 through June 1894, which concern Mearns's collecting work while on the expedition, some of which is duplicated in RU 189 and RU 192.
  • The rest of Folder 1 contains about 25 pieces of correspondence, dated 1895 to July 1898, detailing the subsequent work on the specimens, including the distribution of the various collections to the appropriate scientists, and a request for money from Colonel Barlow of the Corps of Engineers. There are a fair number of letters from Frank X. Holzner detailing his work in San Diego mounting some of the birds and mammals from the Sruvey. There are also two government documents denying funds for the publication of the report on the scientific results of the Boundary Survey. Letters of protest are filed, but no response is noted. (A book by Mearns on the mammals of the Mexican border was published by the Government Printing Office in 1907.)
  • Folders 2-5 contain approximately 160 prints of photographs taken between 1892 and 1894 on the United States-Mexican International Boundary Survey, mostly of landscapes and boundary sites.
• Box 5
  • Folders 1-3 contain some 130 drawings of the bones, skulls, paws, and full views of mammals from the Boundary Survey, including drawings by John L. Ridgway.
  • Folders 4-16 contain research data on mammals, circa 1892-1907. The data is organized by genus, sub-genus, or species, and includes the number, measurements and descriptions, type, locality, and geographical range of collected specimens.
• Box 6
  • Folders 1-10 also contain research data on mammals, circa 1892-1907. The data is organized by genus, sub-genus, or species, and includes the number, measurements and descriptions, type, locality, and geographical range of collected specimens.
  • Folder 1 also contains notes on the table of contents for Mearns's report.

Primary Bibliography:

• International Boundary Commission. (United States and Mexico). 1882-1896. Report of the Boundary Commission Upon the Survey and Re-making of the Boundary Between the United States and Mexico West of the Rio Grande, 1891 to 1896. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1898.
• International Boundary Commission. Boundary Between the United States and Mexico, as Surveyed and Marked by the International Boundary Commission Under the Convention of July 29th, 1882. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1899.
• Mearns, Edgar Alexander. Mammals of the Mexican Boundary of the United States: A Descriptive Catalogue of the Species of Mammals Occurring in that Region; with a General Summary of the Natural History, and a List of Trees. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1907.
• Vistas de los Monumentos a lo Largo de la Linea Divisoria Entre Mexico y los Estados Unidos de El Paso al Pacifico, Tomados, por Parte de Mexico Bajo la Direccion del Ingeniero Jacobo Blanco, Jefe de la Seccion Mexicana de la Comission Internacional de limites que Restablecio los Monumentos en los Anos de 1892 a 1895. Neuva York, Impr. de J. Polhemus y Compania 1901. [Note: contains photographic views of the 258 monuments.]

Search Strategy:

• The Guide to the Smithsonian Archives/SIRIS index this expedition.
• SIRIS was used to compile the bibliography.
• Smithsonian Institution Annual Report, 1892, p. 10.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).
• Additional Edgar Alexander Mearns Papers pertaining to the Survey (Boxes 8-9) are housed in the Division of Birds, National Museum of Natural History. These were not examined.

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Official Name of Survey: Geological and Mineralogical Survey of Texas

Alias of the Survey: Geological Survey of Texas

Date of Survey: 1890 - 1895

Sponsor: Department of Agriculture, Insurance, Statistics and History of Texas

Head Scientist: E. T. Dumble, Texas State Geologist

Prominent Scientists:

• J. B. Walker, Assistant Geologist
• J. H. Henderson, Chemist in Charge, Geological Survey
• W. Kennedy, Assistant Geologist
• W. von Steeruwitz, Assistant Geologist
• Theodore B. Comstock, Assistant Geologist
• W. F. Cummins, Assistant Geologist

Brief Description:

The Geological Survey of Texas was established to search for ores and minerals of commercial value, to investigate the geological formations and topography of the region, to look for usable water for wells and irrigation purposes, to gauge the adaptability of the soil to crops, and to search for and develop useful, unknown objects. Geological and organic collections were of secondary importance to the economic features of the study, and were donated to public schools in Texas.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 189: Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, Correspondence and Memoranda, 1860-1908

• Box 73, Folder 5 contains 6 letters from Otto Lerch, a geologist uninvolved with the Survey, requesting and acknowledging various maps and publications. There is also a letter regarding the publication of his Survey report.

Primary Bibliography:

• Cope, E. D. (Edward Drinker). A Preliminary Report on the Vertebrate Paleontology of the Llano Estacado. Austin, Texas: B.C. Jones & Company, State Printers, 1893.
• Drake, Noah Fields. Report on the Colorado Coal Field of Texas. Austin, Texas: B. C. Jones, State Printers, 1893.
• Hyatt, Alpheus. Carboniferous Cephalopods, second paper. Austin, Texas: B. C. Jones & Co., State Printers, 1893.
• Texas. Geological Survey. Report on the Brown Coal and Lignite of Texas: Character, Formation, Occurrence, and Fuel Uses. Austin, Texas: B. C. Jones & Co., State Printers, 1892.
• Texas. Geological Survey. First<-Fourth> Annual Report of the Geological Survey of Texas, 1889<-1892>. Austin, Texas: State Printing Office 1890-1893.

Search Strategy:

• This expedition is mentioned in the collection description for RU 189 (found through keyword search in SIRIS).
• SIRIS was used to compile the bibliography.
• The First Annual Report of the Geological Survey of Texas was used to compile descriptive information.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: Illustrated American Expedition to South Utah and North New Mexico

Date of Expedition: 1891

Where to: Southern Utah and Northern New Mexico

Sponsors: Smithsonian Institution/Illustrated American Publishing Company

Prominent Scientists:

• The scientific team was not detailed, but included N. K. Moorehead

Brief Description:

In February 1891, the Illustrated American Publishing Company of New York sent an expedition into Southern Utah and Northern New Mexico. The Expedition was recognized by the Smithsonian Institution, which secured permission to work on government property. In return, the Smithsonian was to receive one half of the specimens found. Professor F. W. Putnam, in charge of the archeological and ethnological specimens for the World's Columbian Exposition, also agreed to recognize and aid the Expedition, in exchange for receiving collections to be displayed at the Exposition. (Putnam was the Permanent Secretary of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.)

According to a letter from N. K. Moorehead, a scientist on the Expedition, neither Professor Putnam nor the Illustrated American Publishing Company fulfilled their promises of financial support. Moorehead and another scientist paid the bills of the Expedition, which amounted to $1,900. Moorehead then brought suit against the publishing company and was awarded custody of the articles, plates, specimens, and other assets from the Expedition, and attempted to secure for the Smithsonian the specimens from Putnam. Putnam held that he was never financially responsible to the Expedition, and the Institution decided not to pursue Putnam for the specimens.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 189: Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, Correspondence and Memoranda, 1860-1908

• Box 102, Folder 8 contains a sequence of 4 letters, dated November 25- December 6, 1893, concerning ownership of the Expedition specimens, as detailed above. Included are a letter from Moorehead describing his situation; a letter from F. W. Putman; and three internal memoranda (one regarding correspondence with the publishing company, and the other two suggesting that the Smithsonian take no action).

Search Strategy:

• The Guide to the Smithsonian Archives/SIRIS index this expedition.
• No bibliographic material was found in SIRIS.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: Robert Stein Expedition to Ellesmere Land

Date of Expedition: It is unclear whether this expedition ever took place.

Where to: Ellesmere Land

Commander: Robert Stein

Prominent Scientists:

• George Pollock, Taxidermist

Brief Description:

In 1894, Robert Stein wrote the Smithsonian Institution, announcing his proposed expedition to explore Ellesmere Land to rescue Alfred Björling and Evald Kallstenius, two Swedish naturalists lost in the Arctic. Stein requested a collecting outfit for his Taxidermist, George Pollock, from the Smithsonian, in return for which the Smithsonian would receive the collection of specimens to study and retain possession of a set of specimens "equivalent in value to the expense and risk incurred in furnishing the outfit" (letter from Stein to Secretary Samuel P. Langley, March 13, 1894). The Institution agreed, additionally securing the first rights to purchasing any items of value returned by the Expedition. It is unclear whether this expedition ever received the funding it required to take place.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 189: Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, Correspondence and Memoranda, 1860-1908

• Box 124, Folder 3 contains 15 pieces of correspondence concerning the Stein Expedition, including Stein's initial proposal and several letters concerning the Smithsonian agreement with Stein, and a list of eggs from the region that the Institution wanted for its collection. There are also several published pamphlets, including two maps of the proposed expedition, a subscription form to assist Stein, a history of the Swedish explorers and the proposed rescue, a pamphlet which includes objectives and prospective expenses with letters of support, and another page from a pamphlet with messages of support from various societies.

Primary Bibliography:

• Stein, Robert. Proposed Expedition to Explore Ellesmere Land, Northwest of Baffin Bay and to Rescue Bjorling and Kallstenius, Swedish Naturalists Lost in the Arctic. Washington, D.C.: Gibson Bros., Printers, 1894.

Search Strategy:

• This expedition is mentioned in the collection description for RU 189 (found through keyword search in SIRIS).
• SIRIS was used to compile the bibliography.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Survey: Medicinal Plants Survey

Unofficial Name of Survey: American Medicinal Flora Survey

Date of Survey: 1897 - 1898

Sponsor: Pan-American Medical Congress, General Commission for the Study of Medicinal Plants

Chairman in Charge of Survey: Valery Havard, Chairman of the Sub-Commission for the United States

Members of the United States' Sub-Comission:

• Frederick Vernon Coville, Botanist of the United States Department of Agriculture
• Dr. C. F. Millspaugh, Curator, Field Columbian Museum
• Dr. Charles Mohr, State Botanist of Alabama
• Henry Hurd Rusby, New York College of Pharmacy

Brief Description:

At the November 1896 Pan American Medical Congress in Mexico City, a systematic study of American Flora was instituted. In early 1897 Frederick Vernon Coville sent some 1,500 copies of a circular designed to determine the distribution and degree of abundance of specific medicinal plants to all major botanists in the United States, along with postage for the transmission of specimens to the Smithsonian Institution. The Institution agreed to subsidize the postage required for the transportation of specimens in return for possession of them once the relevant data were collected.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 189: Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, Correspondence and Memoranda, 1860-1908

• Box 82, Folders 3-4 contain approximately 120 pieces of correspondence, dated 1896-1898, concerning the possibility and scope of Smithsonian's involvement with the effort, and correspondence from various scientists agreeing to participate in the Survey. There is also a copy of "The Proceedings of the Second Triennial Meeting of the International Executive Commission of the Pan American Medical Congress."

RU 7272: Frederick Vernon Coville Papers, 1888-1936 and undated

• Box 2, Folder 28 contains two letters, dated February 1897, from Valery Havard--one seeking Coville's advice on assembling the observation team, and one formally appointing him as Head of the Survey.
• Box 5
  • Folder 1 is a letterbook containing copies of approximately 150 pieces of outgoing correspondence from Coville, his assistant, and the Acting Curator of the Department of Botany. The correspondence, dated July 1897 through February 1899, regards the distribution of a Medical Plants Questionnaire designed to be sent to all botanists in the United States to determine the distribution and degree of abundance of medicinal plants, and to acknowledge receipt of specimens. There is an index at the beginning of the volume, detailing which letters were sent to which scientists.
  • Folder 2 contains 3 pieces of correspondence from Havard and Coville to Mr. Pollard regarding the questionnaire mailing during July of 1897.
  • Folders 3-4 contain approximately 80 returned Medicinal Plants Questionnaires and related correspondence. The questionnaires and correspondence are filed alphabetically by scientists' last names.

Search Strategy:

• The Guide to the Smithsonian Archives/SIRIS index Frederick Vernon Coville.
• No bibliographic material was found in SIRIS.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: Stanford University Expedition to the Galapagos Islands

Date of Expedition: 1898 - 1899

Where to: Galapagos Islands

Prominent Scientists:

• The scientific team was not detailed.

Snodgrass at Iguana Cove, equipped for field work. (From SI Archives RU 7179)

Brief Description:

There is not sufficient information in the resources listed below to describe the expedition.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 7179: Edmund Heller Papers, circa 1898-1918

• Box 1
  • Folder 31 contains ten pages of notes on the tortoises of the Galapagos Islands.
  • Folders 32-34 contain about 30 prints of photographs of the Galapagos Islands. Folder 32 contains mounted and labeled prints of landscapes, animals and expedition members. Folders 33-34 contain images of a tortoise.
  • Folder 35 contained negatives of the Galapagos Islands photographs - removed due to nitrate content.

Primary Bibliography:

• Banks, Nathan. Arachnida. Washington, D. C.: The Academy, 1902.
• Banks, Nathan. Thysanura and Termitidae. Washington, D. C.: The Academy, 1901.

Search Strategy:

• This Expedition is mentioned in the collection description for RU 7179 (found through a keyword search in SIRIS).
• The Guide to the Smithsonian Archives does not index this expedition.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: United States Navy Expedition to Guam

Date of Expedition: 1899

Where to: Guam

Sponsor: Smithsonian Institution (scientific collections)/United States Navy

Commander: George E. Ide

Prominent Scientists:

• C. J. Boush
• Assistant Surgeon Greenwell

Brief Description:

There is not sufficient information in the resources listed below to describe the expedition.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 189: Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, Correspondence and Memoranda, 1860-1908

• Box 48, Folder 5 contains 2 letters dated 1899, one from C.J. Boush requesting a modest collecting outfit for the crew of the Yosemite. Secretary Samuel P. Langley's reply, acknowledging interest in sponsoring the scientific collections of the crew and detailing procedures for the collection and preservation of specimens of natural history, is also included.

Primary Bibliography:

• Wheeler, Joseph. Report on the Island of Guam. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1900.
• Library of Congress. Division of Bibliography. A List of Books (with references to periodicals) on Samoa and Guam. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1901.
• Safford, William Edwin. The Useful Plants of the Island of Guam; With an Introductory Account of the Physical Features and Natural History of the Island, of the Character and History of its People, and of their Agriculture. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1905.

Search Strategy:

• This expedition is mentioned in the collection description for RU 189 (found through keyword search in SIRIS).
• SIRIS was used to compile the bibliography.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress.

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Official Name of Expedition: Harriman Alaska Expedition

Date of Expedition: The George W. Elder departed Seattle on 31 May and returned 30 July 1899

Harvard Glacier - Photo by Edward S. Curtis (From Harriman Alaska Series, Volume I)

Where to: From Seattle to Plover Bay, Siberia

Commander: Edward Henry Harriman

Head Scientist: Clinton Hart Merriam, Chief of the Bureau of Biological Survey

Prominent Scientists:

• John Burroughs, Ornithologist
• Wesley R. Coe, Professor of Comparative Anatomy at Yale
• Frederick Vernon Coville, Botanist
• William Healey Dall, Paleontologist
• W. B. Devereux, Mining Engineer
• Frederick Samuel Dellenbaugh, Anthropologist, Geologist
• Benjamin K. Emerson, Geologist
• Bernhard E. Fernow, Dean of the School of Forestry, Cornell University
• Albert Kenrick Fisher, Ornithologist
• Louis Agassiz Fuertes, Artist, Naturalist
• Henry Gannett, Geographer
• Grove Karl Gilbert, Geologist
• Thomas Kearny, Botanist
• Charles Keeler, Director of the Museum of the California Academy of Sciences
• John Muir, Naturalist and Author
• Charles Palache, Mineralogist
• Robert Ridgway, Curator of Birds, United States National Museum
• De Alton Saunders, Botanist

Brief Description:

The Harriman Alaska Expedition of 1899 was co-sponsored by Edward Henry Harriman, President of the Union Pacific Railroad, and the Washington Academy of Sciences. Originally proposed as a hunting expedition, it was transformed into a scientific exploring expedition on the advice of Clinton Hart Merriam, Chief of the Bureau of Biological Survey. Many of the specimens collected were deposited in the United States National Museum, including large collections of birds and mollusks secured by Robert Ridgway and William Healey Dall.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 7272: Frederick Vernon Coville Papers, 1888-1936 and undated

• Box 1, Folder 36, under Coville, includes a copy of the preface to Flora of Alaska.

RU 7243: Harriman Alaska Expedition Collection, 1899

• Box 1
  • Folders 1-7 contain photographs, mounted and originally produced as a limited edition souvenir album. There are approximately 220 images, described and arranged chronologically, including land and seascapes, Eskimos and Eskimo villages, and on- and off-board pictures of expedition members. There are negatives of approximately an eighth of the prints; two listings of the title, order and photographer of each picture; and a paper entitled "Harriman Alaska Expedition Souvenir Album," which provides some background on the genesis of the album and brief biographical sketches of the photographers.
  • Folders 8-29 contain prints of 22 paintings, arranged alphabetically by artist.
  • The paintings include land and seascapes, birds, plants, and a picture of a camp of Indian Seal Hunters.

At Lowe Inlet, British Columbia - Photo by Edward S. Curtis (From Harriman Alaska Series, Volume II)

RU 45: Office of the Secretary, Records, 1903-1924

• Box 28, Folders 20-22 contain approximately 95 pieces of correspondence, dated January-December 1910, concerning the establishment of the Edward Henry Harriman Fund, to be used to publish the Harriman Alaska Series. The correspondence is addressed to Harriman's widow, Mary Averell Harriman, who presented the manuscripts to the Smithsonian Institution. Early correspondence also deals with Mrs. Harriman's purchase and subsequent donation of Clinton Hart Merriam's animals to the Smithsonian. She also provided a trust fund to enable Merriam to continue his research work through the Institution.
• Box 29
  • Folders 1 and 2 consist of bills and correspondence, dated 1911-1921, regarding the publication of the Harriman Alaska Series. The volumes were privately printed earlier. The later correspondence also concerns Mrs. Harriman's donations of money and objects to the Institution, and an aborted expedition to the East Indies.
  • Folders 3 through 7 concern the manuscript of Professor A. E. Verrill of Yale, whose manuscript on Alaskan starfish was published in the series. Clinton Hart Merriam edited the volume and wrote its introduction. Approximately 150 pieces of correspondence, dated 1911-1915, document the project, from Verrill's first inquiry through publication. Folders 6 and 7 outline the many delays the project suffered due to Verrill's failing eyesight and printing difficulties.
  • Folders 8 through 10 contain bills and correspondence with the Lord Baltimore Press, which published the Harriman Alaska Series. The approximately 75 pieces of correspondence, dated 1910-1911, regard the publishing of volumes 1 through 11 in the series.

Primary Bibliography:

• Curtis, Edward S., 1868-1952. The North American Indian: Being a Series of Volumes Picturing and Describing the Indians of the United States, and Alaska. Seattle: E. S. Curtis; Cambridge, Mass.: The University Press, 1907-1930.
• Dall, William Healey, 1845-1927. The Song of the Innuit. New York: Doubleday, Page, and Company, <1901?>.
• Grinnell, George Bird, 1849-1938. Alaska 1899: Essays from the Harriman Expedition/George Bird Grinnell; with Introductions by Polly Burroughs and Victoria Wyatt. Seattle: University of Washington Press, circa 1995.
• Harriman Alaska Expedition (1899). Harriman Alaska Series. vol. I-V, VIII-XIV. Contents: v. 1. Narrative, Glaciers, Natives/by J. Burroughs, J. Muir and G. B. Grinnell -- v. 2. History, Geography, Resources/by W. H. Dall, et al. -- v. 3. Glaciers and Glaciation/by G. K. Gilbert -- v. 4. Geology and Paleontology/by B. K. Emerson, et al. -- v. 5. Cryptogamic Botany/by J. Cardot, et al. -- v. 8-9. Insects/by W. H. Ashmead, et al. -- v. 10. Crustaceans/by M. J. Rathbun, et al. -- v. 11. Nemerteans/by W. R. Coe. Bryozoans/by A. Robertson -- v. 12. Enchytraeids/by G. Eisen. Tubicolous Annelids/by K. J. Bush -- v. 13. Land and Fresh Water Mollusks/by W. H. Dall. Hydroids/by C. C. Nutting -- v. 14. Monograph of the Shallow-water Starfishes of the North Pacific Coast from the Arctic Ocean to California/by A. E Verrill. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1910-1914. (Most were previously published separately by New York: Doubleday Page, 1904-1905.) Volumes 6-7 remain unpublished.

Chief's House, Deserted Village, Cape Fox - Photo by Edward S. Curtis (From Harriman Alaska Series, Volume I)

Secondary Bibliography:

• Goetzmann, William H. and Sloan, Kay. Looking Far North: The Harriman Expedition to Alaska, 1899. New York: Viking, 1982.
• Sherwood, Morgan. Exploration of Alaska: 1865-1900. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1965.

Search Strategy:

• The Guide to the Smithsonian Archives/SIRIS index this expedition.
• SIRIS was used to compile the bibliography.
• Smithsonian Institution Annual Report, 1900, p. 55.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress.

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Official Name of Expedition: United States Biological Survey of Canada and Alaska

Date of Expedition: 1900

Where to: Canada and Alaska (more specific information is not included)

Prominent Scientists:

• Edmund Heller, Naturalist
• The remainder of the scientific team was not detailed.

Brief Description:

There is not sufficient information in the resources listed below to describe the expedition.

On the United States Biological Survey of Canada and Alaska (From SI Archives RU 7179)

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 7179: Edmund Heller Papers, circa 1898-1918

• Box 1
  • Folders 36-37 contain approximately 50 prints of photographs of Alberta, Canada, including scenery, animal life, camps and expedition participants.
  • Folder 38 contained negatives to some of the photographs - removed due to nitrate content.

Search Strategy:

• This expedition is mentioned in the collection description for RU 7179 (found through keyword search in SIRIS).
• No bibliographic material was found in SIRIS.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of the Expedition: Not found.

Date: 1901

Where to: Hawaiian Islands

Commander: Not found.

Prominent Scientists:

• W. H. Ashmead
• The remainder of the scientific team was not detailed.

Brief Description:

There is not sufficient information in the resources listed below to describe the expedition.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

No records found.

Search Strategy:

• This expedition is mentioned in the Smithsonian Institution Annual Report for 1901.
• Neither the Guide to the Smithsonian Archives nor SIRIS index this expedition.
• No bibliographic material was found in SIRIS.
• Smithsonian Institution Annual Reports, 1901, pp 60-61; 1902, p. 35.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of the Expedition: Not found.

Date: 1903

Where to: Polar Regions

Commander: Not found.

Prominent Scientists:

• Franz Josef Land, natural history specimens
• Baldwin, additional information not available
• Ziegler, additional information not available

Brief Description:

There is not sufficient information in the resources listed below to describe the expedition.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

No records found.

Search Strategy:

• This expedition is mentioned in the Smithsonian Institution Annual Report for 1901.
• Neither the Guide to the Smithsonian Archives nor SIRIS index this expedition.
• No bibliographic material was found in SIRIS.
• Smithsonian Institution Annual Report, 1903, p. 31.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: Smithsonian Alaskan Expedition

Date of Expedition: Summer 1904

Where to: Northern Alaska

Sponsored By: Smithsonian Institution

Head Scientist: A. G. Maddren

Prominent Scientists:

• The scientific team was not detailed.

Brief Description:

A. G. Maddren left for Alaska in the summer of 1904 to search for and study the Pleistocene fossils of the area, particularly mammoth remains.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

No records found.

Search Strategy:

• Neither the Guide to the Smithsonian Archives nor SIRIS index this expedition.
• No bibliographic material was found in SIRIS.
• Smithsonian Institution Annual Report, 1905, pp. xiii, 14-15.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: Agassiz-Albatross Expedition to the Eastern Tropical Pacific

Date of Expedition: October 1904 - March 1905

Where to: Eastern Tropical Pacific

Sponsor: George M. Bowers, United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries.

Head Scientist: Louis Agassiz

Prominent Scientists:

• Frederick M. Chamberlain, Naturalist
• The remainder of the scientific team was not detailed.

Brief Description:

The Albatross was a ship designed by Spencer F. Baird for collecting activities in the ocean. There is not sufficient information in the resources listed below to further describe the expedition.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 7258: Frederick M. Chamberlain Papers, 1899-1909

• Box 1
  • Two letterbooks contain correspondence from Chamberlain, dated June 1904 through 1905. This correspondence includes his acknowledgment reassignment, his preparations to leave his work in Alaska, and several letters regarding his collections and photographs at the end of the trip. There are several personal letters included which contain his observations and candid remarks about his time aboard the Albatross, including two 20 page letters to his niece at the beginning of the second letterbook. Chamberlain stayed aboard the Albatross during its Alaskan Expedition. Some of the earlier correspondence is illegible.
  • Folder 4 contains Chamberlain's diary for 1904-1905. The diary contains reports of weather and his daily activities.

Primary Bibliography:

• Albatross. Dredging and Hydrographic Records of the U.S. Fisheries Steamer Albatross, 1904-1905. Washington, D.C.: 1906.
• Bigelow, Henry Bryant. The Medusae. Cambridge, U.S.A.: Printed for the Museum, 1909.
• Bigelow, Henry Bryant. The Siphonophorae. Cambridge: Printed for the Museum, 1911.
• Hansen, H. J. The Schizopoda. Cambridge, U.S.A.: Printed for the Museum, 1912.
• Kendall, William Converse. The Shore Fishes. Cambridge, U.S.A.: Printed for the Museum, 1912.
• Lendenfeld, R. von (Robert). The Sponges. Cambridge: Printed for the Museum, 1910-1915.
• Moore, J. Percy (John Percy). The Polychaetous Annelids Dredged by the U.S.S. "Albatross" Off the Coast of Southern California in 1904. Philadelphia: Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 1909-1923.
• Murray, John. The Depth and Marine Deposits of the Pacific. Cambridge: Printed for the Museum, 1909.

Search Strategy:

• The Guide to the Smithsonian Archives/SIRIS index this expedition.
• SIRIS was used to compile the bibliography.
• Smithsonian Institution Annual Report, 1905, p. 35 (accessions received).
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress.

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Official Name of the Expedition: Smithsonian Glacier Expedition

Date: 1905

Where to: Canadian Rockies and Silkirks

Commander: Professor William H. Shertzer

Scientific Team:

There is insufficient data in the following resources to compile a list of the scientific team.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

No records found.

Search Strategy:

• This expedition is mentioned in the Smithsonian Institution Annual Report for 1905.
• Neither the Guide to the Smithsonian Archives nor SIRIS index this expedition.
• No bibliographic material was found in SIRIS.
• Smithsonian Institution Annual Report, 1905, pp. 15-17.
• The Expedition report was printed in the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Name of Expedition: Gilmore Alaskan Expedition

Date of Expedition: May 1907

Where to: From Seattle to Alaska

Sponsor: Smithsonian Institution

Head Scientist: Charles Whitney Gilmore, United States National Museum

Prominent Scientists:

• Benno Alexander

Brief Description:

In 1907, Charles Whitney Gilmore received authorization from the Smithsonian Institution to travel to Alaska to search for Pleistocene fossil vertebrates, continuing the work A. G. Maddren begun in 1904.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

No records found.

Primary Bibliography:

• Gilmore, Charles Whitney. Smithsonian Exploration in Alaska in 1907 in Search of Pleistocene Fossil Vertebrates, with Thirteen Plates. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1908.

Search Strategy:

• This expedition is mentioned in the Smithsonian Institution Annual Report for 1907.
• Neither the Guide to the Smithsonian Archives nor SIRIS index this expedition.
• SIRIS was used to compile the bibliography.
• Gilmore's report was used to compile the brief description.
• Smithsonian Institution Annual Reports, 1907, pp. 10-11; 1908, p. 20.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: Field Museum's African Expedition

Kema Forest Showing Trunk of Gigantic Fig Tree - Photo by Carl Ethan Akeley (From SI Archives RU 7179)

Alias of the Expedition: Carl Ethan Akeley Expedition to British East Africa

Date of Expedition: 1907

Where to: British East Africa

Sponsor: Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago

Head Scientist: Carl Ethan Akeley

Prominent Scientists:

• Edmund Heller, Faunal Naturalist
• The remainder of the scientific team was not detailed.

Brief Description:

There is not sufficient information in the resources listed below to describe the expedition.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 7179: Edmund Heller Papers, circa 1898-1918

• Box 1, Folder 55 contains about 20 prints of photographs taken on the Field Museum's African Expedition, including prints of Barringo, Lake Elmentia and Tona River.
• Box 1 also contains 8 folders of materials relating to Africa, that are either undated or unattributed to specific expeditions.

Search Strategy:

• The Guide to the Smithsonian Archives/SIRIS index this expedition.
• No bibliographic material was found in SIRIS.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress.

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Official Name of Expedition: Albatross Philippine Expedition

Date of Expedition: 16 October 1907 - 4 May 1910

Where to: From San Francisco to Manilla

Sponsor: United States Bureau of Fisheries

Commander: Marbury Johnston

Head Scientist: Hugh M. Smith, Deputy Commissioner of Fisheries, Director of the Expedition

Prominent Scientists:

• Frederic M. Chamberlain, Resident Naturalist
• Lewis Radcliffe, General Assistant and Naturalist
• H. C. Fassett, Fishery Expert
• Paul Bartsch, Zoologist, representing the United States National Museum

Brief Description:

The Albatross was a ship designed by Spencer F. Baird for collecting activities in the ocean. There is not sufficient information in the resources listed below to further describe the expedition.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 7089: Paul Bartsch Papers, 1901-1963

• Box 8
  • Folders 3-4 contain Paul Bartsch's manuscript on Philippine Land Shells
  • Folders 5-6 contain Bartsch's manuscript on Philippine Zontidae
• Box 9
  • Folder 1 contains the rest of Bartsch's manuscript on Philippine Zontidae
  • Folders 2-5 contain Bartsch's manuscript on Philippine Heliocstyla, as well as subsequent references and diagnoses of this manuscript.
• Box 10
  • Folders 1-4 contain Bartsch's manuscript, "The Larger Zonitid Land Mollusks of the Philippine Islands"
  • Folder 5 contains 22 plates from Bartsch's manuscript on zonitid land mollusks.
• Box 11
  • Folder 1 contains the 34 plates from Bartsch's manuscript on zonitid land mollusks.
• Box 17 contains photographs and negatives of maps of the Philippine Islands.

RU 7180: Henry Weed Fowler Papers, circa 1920, 1930-1941

• Box 2, Folder 1- Box 9, Folder 5, contain Part 7 of Fowler's unpublished manuscript on Philippine fishes. The folders are organized by sub-order or family of the fish.
• Box 10, Folder 1- Box 13, Folder 7, contain Part 8 of Fowler's unpublished manuscript on Philippine fishes.
• Box 14, Folder 1- Box 17, Folder 1, contain Part 9 of Fowler's unpublished manuscript on Philippine fishes.
• Box 17
  • Folder 2 contains a 3-letter exchange of correspondence among Alexander Wetmore, George Sprague Myers and Henry Weed Fowler concerning Part 10 of Fowler's manuscript on Philippine fishes.
  • Folder 3 - Box 19, Folder 8 contain Part 10 of Fowler's unpublished manuscript on Philippine fishes.
• Box 20, Folder 1- Box 22, Folder 6, contain Part 11 of Fowler's unpublished manuscript on Philippine fishes.
• Box 22, Folder 6- Box 24, Folder 7, contain Part 12 of Fowler's unpublished manuscript on Philippine fishes.
• Box 24, Folder 8 contains unidentified notes on fishes.

Primary Bibliography:

• Bartsch, Paul. Giant Species of the Molluscan Genus Lima Obtained in Philippine and Adjacent Waters. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1913.
• Bartsch, Paul. Philippine Mollusks of the Genus Dimya. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1913.
• Chace, Fenner Albert. The Caridean Shrimps (Crustacea-Decapoda) of the Albatross Philippine Expedition, 1907-1910: Part 4: Families Oplophoridae and Nematocarcinidae. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1986.
• Chace, Fenner Albert. The Caridean Shrimps (Crustacea-Decapoda) of the Albatross Philippine Expedition, 1907-1910: Part 3: Families Thalassocarididae and Pandalidae. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1985.
• Chace, Fenner Albert, Jr. The Caridean Shrimps (Crustacea-Decapoda) of the Albatross Philippine Expedition, 1907-1910: Part 2: Families Glyphocrangonidae and Crangonidae. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1984.
• Chace, Fenner Albert. The Caridean Shrimps (Crustacea-Decapoda) of the Albatross Philippine Expedition, 1907-1910. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1983.
• Pilsbry, Henry Augustus. Diagnoses of New Barnacles from the Philippine Archipelago and China Sea. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1912.
• United States National Museum. Papers on Echinoidea, Fishes, and Copepoda. Contents: Report on the Echinoidea Collected by the United States Fisheries Steamer "Albatross" During the Philippine Expedition, 1907-1910, pt. 2 ..., by T. Mortensen (1940). - pt. 2. Descriptions and Figures of New Fishes Obtained in Philippine Seas and Adjacent Waters by the United States Bureau of Fisheries Steamer "Albatross," by H. W. Fowler (1943). - pt. 3. Report on the Echinoidea Collected by the United States Fisheries Steamer "Albatross," pt. 3 ..., by T. Mortensen (1948). - pt. 4. Copepods Gathered by the United States Fisheries Steamer "Albatross" from 1887 to 1909, Chiefly in the Pacific Ocean, by C.B. Wilson (1950). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1963.
• Other titles: Contributions to the Biology of the Philippine Archipelago and Adjacent Regions. These papers were published individually by the Smithsonian Institution Press.

Search Strategy:

• The Guide to the Smithsonian Archives/SIRIS index this expedition.
• SIRIS was used to compile the bibliography.
• Smithsonian Institution Annual Reports, 1908, p. 39; 1909, pp. 36-37; 1911, p. 28; 1912, p. 33 (these are primarily accession records).
• Contributions to the Biology of the Philippine Archipelago and Adjacent Regions was used to compile biographical information.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: Sowerby-Clark Expedition to the Shansi and Kansu Provinces of Northern China

Alias of the Expedition: Clark Expedition to the Shansi and Kansu Provinces

(Right to Left) Captain H.E.M. Douglas, George A. Grant, Nathaniel H. Cobb, Robert Sterling Clark, Arthur de Carle Sowerby (From SI Archives RU 7263)

Date of Expedition: 1908

Where to: Shansi and Kansu Provinces of Northern China

Sponsor: Robert Sterling Clark

Head Scientist: Arthur de Carle Sowerby, Naturalist

Brief Description:

There is not a substantial amount of information on the background of this expedition, but the records indicate that Robert Sterling Clark, an American business man, sponsored Sowerby's collecting on the Expedition. Sowerby hoped to be hired by the Smithsonian following this expedition, but as a British citizen he was ineligible. The Smithsonian helped to encourage Clark's continuing support of Sowerby's collecting in China, at least through 1922, where the correspondence contained in RU 192 ends.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 7263: Arthur de Carle Sowerby Papers, 1904-1954 and undated

• Box 1, Folder 2 contains Sowerby's correspondence with Robert Sterling Clark, who financed many of Sowerby's collecting expeditions, although there is nothing specific to this expedition.
• Box 13, Folder 13 contains some 20 prints of photographs taken on the Clark Expedition to the Shansi and Kansu Provinces. The folder includes prints of the Expedition party.
• Boxes 9-25 contain prints of photographs, many of which depict undated or unidentified scenes in China.

RU 192: United States National Museum, Permanent Administrative Files, 1877-1975

• Box 78, Folder 1, #26936 contains correspondence, dating from 1909 through 1922. Approximately 70 pieces of correspondence concern Sowerby's collections from the Expedition and the desirability of prolonging the Institution's relationship with Sowerby, ideally through Clark's continuing support; and administrative confusions regarding the accessioning of Sowerby's specimens. The later correspondence details the Smithsonian's aid in acquiring a gun licence and routine collecting supplies for Sowerby, and reprints of three articles on Sowerby's findings.

Primary Bibliography:

• Clark, Robert Sterling and Sowerby, Arthur de C. Through Shen-kan: The Account of the Clark Expedition in North China, 1908-1909. London, etc.: T. F. Unwin, 1912.

Secondary Bibliography:

• Sinton, Jonathan Edwards. "Arthur deCarle Sowerby: A Naturalist in Republican China." Bachelor's Thesis, Harvard: 1986.

Search Strategy:

• This expedition is mentioned in the collection description for RU 7263 (found through keyword search in SIRIS).
• SIRIS was used to compile the bibliography.
• Sinton's thesis was used to compile the brief description.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: Alexander Alaskan Expedition

Date of Expedition: 1908

Where to: Alaska

Commander: Not found.

Edmund Heller on the Alexander Alaskan Expedition (From SI Archives RU 7179)

Prominent Scientists:

• Edmund Heller, Naturalist
• The remainder of the scientific team was not detailed.

Brief Description:

There is not sufficient information in the resources listed below to describe the expedition.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 7179: Edmund Heller Papers, circa 1898-1918

• Box 1
  • Folder 58 contains 6 maps from the Expedition--five of which are identical and include the Expedition route.
  • Folders 59-60 contain prints of approximately 110 photographs from the Alexander Alaskan Expedition, including animal life, expedition participants, camps and scenery.
  • Folder 61 contained negatives for some of the photographs - removed due to nitrate content.

Search Strategy:

• The Guide to the Smithsonian Archives/SIRIS index this expedition.
• No bibliographic material was found in SIRIS.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: Smithsonian-Theodore Roosevelt African Expedition

Alias of Expedition: Smithsonian African Expedition; Smithsonian-Roosevelt Expedition; Smithsonian Scientific Expedition

Date of Expedition: March 1909 - March 1910

Theodore Roosevelt and Elephant (From SI Archives RU 7179)

Where to: From New York to Mombasa, British and German East Africa, Uganda and Khartoum

Sponsor: Theodore Roosevelt/Smithsonian Institution

Commander: Theodore Roosevelt

Head Scientist: Edgar Alexander Mearns, Naturalist

Scientists:

• Edmund Heller, Naturalist
• J. A. Loring, Naturalist

Brief Description:

Immediately following the end of his service as President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt lead the Expedition to Eastern Africa with his son, Kermit, serving as Expedition Photographer. The Smithsonian, through anonymous private donations, funded the three naturalists who worked on the Expedition in return for the receipt of live and preserved specimens. The United States National Museum acquired approximately 1,000 skins of large mammals, 4,000 of small mammals, and other specimens totaling approximately 11,400 items. About 10,000 plant specimens were also obtained, as well as a small collection of ethnological objects.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 45: Office of the Secretary, Records, 1903-1924

• Box 48
  • Folders 9 through 13 outline Roosevelt's preliminary preparations for his hunting and scientific expedition to Africa. The correspondence, approximately 400 pieces, is dated from June 1908 through May of 1909, and regards Roosevelt's interest in using the National Museum as a repository for the specimens of the Expedition; the Secretary's acceptance and subsequent appointment and funding of the naturalist team; funds for the Expedition; team outfitting; and secure passage for the Expedition. There are also several letters from various scientists wishing to raise specific scientific questions to the naturalists' attention.
  • Folder 11 contains a letter from the laboratories of Thomas Edison requesting permission to send with the Expedition a moving picture camera and cameraman for educational and publicity purposes. In Folder 12 Roosevelt declines, explaining that "the advertising would be very undesirable. " In Folder 13 a dictaphone is offered, but no reply is filed.
• Box 49
  • Folder 1 is a continuation of the series described above, and contains a short sequence of correspondence, dated 1909 to 1910, with the National Zoological Park regarding the capture and transport of live animals to the Zoo.
  • Folders 2 through 7 contain approximately 210 pieces of correspondence related to the Expedition. The items, dated between May 1909 and March 1910, concern changes in the Expedition's itinerary, acquiring additional funds, inventories of preserved or live animals sent to the Smithsonian, and Associated Press news releases on the progress of the Expedition.
  • Folders 2 and 3 also contain several pieces of correspondence between Henry Elliott and Secretary Charles D. Walcott regarding Roosevelt's policies as President and how the Expedition was funded. (Theodore Roosevelt paid two-fifths of the expenses, for his and his son's participation. The rest of the money was donated by friends of the Smithsonian and of Roosevelt.)
  • Folders 7 through 15 consist of 340 pieces of correspondence, dated from mid-February 1910 through November 1916. They focus on the end of the Expedition, including the subsequent publications; the preservation and taxidermy of the skins shipped to the United States National Museum; routine correspondence regarding the preparation of material for publishing, including clarification on what the scientific team could and could not lecture and publish; and several newspaper clippings. There are several pieces of correspondence regarding Heller's appointment to the Rainey African Expedition. Most correspondence after 1913 pertains to Heller's manuscript on the mammals of the Expedition; and the responsibility for finishing, which was ultimately given to Ned Hollister, Assistant Curator of Mammals in the United States National Museum, in February of 1915.
  • Folder 15 includes a letter from Secretary Charles D. Walcott informing Theodore Roosevelt of Mearns's death due to complications from diabetes on November 1, 1916.
  • Folder 16 contains 7 photographs and artists' renderings of photographs of the scientists, villages, and villagers of Africa, taken during the Expedition. Subjects are unidentified.
  • Folder 17 contains an undated letter to Roosevelt from Secretary Walcott regarding the taxidermy of several specimens and an unattributed report to the Secretary on the Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition.

Theodore Roosevelt and Members of the Smithsonian-Theodore Roosevelt African Expedition, 1909 (From SI Archives RU 95)

RU 74: National Zoological Park, Records, 1887-1966

• Box 1, Folder 14. The diary of Frank, the Zoological Park's Director for 1909, has an entry noting a meeting with Mearns, Heller, and Loring and another acknowledging receipt of live animals from the Expedition.
• Box 19, Folders 1 and 2 contain 5 pieces of routine correspondence with Edgar Alexander Mearns, dated 1909 and 1910, regarding the preparation, shipment and receipt of animals captured by the Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition.
• Box 29, Folders 1 and 2 contain about ten pieces of correspondence from 1909 and 1910 among Acting Secretary Richard Rathbun, Walcott, Heller and Mearns confirming the Zoo's interest in procuring live animals, and outlining the African animals most desired and the procedures for shipping them to Washington, as well as an inventory of the animals received. Duplicates of this correspondence are filed in Box 85.
• Box 85
  • Folder 15 contains a letter from Secretary Charles D. Walcott from December 1908 outlining Theodore Roosevelt's proposed trip to Africa and requesting a list of "most desirable specimens."
  • Folder 16 contains 50 pieces of material, dated January-May 1909, pertaining to the Expedition. The correspondence regards the care, shipping, and acknowledgment of receipt of live animals from the Expedition to the Zoo, as well as funding information.
• Box 287, Folder 1 contains the National Zoological Park's scrapbook for 1900-1919. There are about ten articles, dated July 8, 1909, to October 2, 1910, from various newspapers and magazines regarding the Zoo's acquisitions, the progress of the Expedition, and the health of Theodore Roosevelt.

RU 192: United States National Museum, Permanent Administrative Files, 1877-1975

• Box 79, Folder 6, #29981 contains some 30 pieces of correspondence from Gerrit Smith Miller, dated June-October 1910, on his work with mammals from the Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition at the British Museum.
• Box 93, Folder 3, #37906 contains 6 pieces of correspondence from July-August of 1912 which concern the final repository for the plants collected by Edmund Heller on the African Expedition. The Expedition chose to ship specimens to the Royal Botanic Gardens from the field for identification. The correspondence includes a list of plants collected in British East Africa.
• Box 130, Folder 10, #46740 contains 12 pieces of correspondence dating from January 1913 to December 1914 regarding the distribution of mammal duplicates collected on the Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition. Most of the correspondence regards the transfer of a number of the small mammals from the Expedition to the Museum of Comparative Zoology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
• Box 180, Folder 2, # 59004 contains 7 pieces of correspondence dating from June 1911, with related correspondence from 1915 and 1917, concerning the report on the plants from the African Expedition. The later correspondence indicates that Maxon and Coville, both of the United States National Museum, had interest in completing the report in 1915, and requested instructions as to whether they should rush to complete it. There is no reply filed.
• Box 290, Folder 13, #843977 contains some 25 pieces of correspondence dating from August 1924 to March 1925, regarding Kermit Roosevelt's request for animal heads of mammals collected during the Expedition. Roosevelt argued they were promised him at the time of his donation. The Institution had no record of such an agreement, and much of the correspondence concerns which, if any, of the mammals could be given to him, and an invoice and acknowledgment receipt of the specimens sent.

RU 208: National Museum of Natural History, Division of Mammals, Records, circa 1867-1971

• Box 52, Folder 8 contains approximately 40 pieces of correspondence from 1909-1910, most from Heller, although here are several letters from Mearns to Gerrit Smith Miller, Curator in the Division of Mammals. The correspondence includes reports on new species of mammals, invoices of specimens received by the Smithsonian, and Heller's reports on the Expedition.

RU 7083: Edgar Alexander Mearns Papers, circa 1871-1916, 1934 and undated

• Box 1, Folder 4 contains photocopies of 15 pieces of correspondence, dated 1909, from Mearns to his family while he served on the Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition.

RU 7179: Edmund Heller Papers, circa 1898-1918

• Boxes 2, 3 and 4
  • Box 2, Folder 1- Box 4, Folder 31 contain approximately 355 prints of photographs of animals, primarily mammals, taken on the Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition.
• Box 4
  • Folder 32 contains approximately 30 prints of flora.
  • Folders 33-74 contain approximately 225 prints of photographs of non-animal subjects taken on the Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition.
  • Folder 75 contains the prints used in Scribner's Magazine articles by Theodore Roosevelt.
• Box 5
  • Folders 1-50 are reprints of negatives (original negatives were removed due to nitrate content).
  • Folders 56, 58-60 contain Heller's journal of the Expedition, a narrative account of part of the Expedition, maps, and a notebook, apparently concerning Life Histories of African Game Animals.
  • Folder 57, contains Heller's specimen notebook.

RU 7472: Theodore Roosevelt Collection, Newspaper Clippings, circa 1901-1928, 1933, 1936 and 1958

• Box 1, Folders 1-3 contain 15 clippings from various newspapers and magazines pertaining to the Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition.

Primary Bibliography:

• Heller, Edmund. African Mammals: 1909-1914. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1909-1914.
• Heller, Edmund, 1875-1939. New Genera and Races of African Ungulates. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1912.
• Heller, Edmund. New Races of Carnivores and Baboons from Equatorial Africa and Abyssinia, by Edmund Heller. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1913.
• Heller, Edmund. A New Sable Antelope from British East Africa. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1910.
• Heller, Edmund. New Races of Insectivores, Bats, and Lemurs from British East Africa. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1912.
• Heller, Edmund. New Species of Insectivores from British East Africa, Uganda, and the Sudan, with One Plate. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1910.
• Roosevelt, Theodore. African and European Addresses, by Theodore Roosevelt: With an Introduction Presenting a Description of the Conditions Under which the Addresses Were Given During Mr. Roosevelt's Journey in 1910 from Khartoum through Europe to New York, by Lawrence F. Abbott. Contents: Peace and Justice in the Sudan. --Law and Order in Egypt. --Citizenship in a Republic. --International Peace. --The Colonial Policy of the United States. --The World Movement. --The Conditions of Success. --British Rule in Africa. --Biological Analogies in History. New York, London: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1910.
• Roosevelt, Theodore. African Game Trails: An Account of the African Wanderings of an American Hunter-Naturalist/by Theodore Roosevelt; With More than Two Hundred Illustrations from Photographs by Kermit Roosevelt and Other Members of the Expedition, and from Drawings by Philip R. Goodwin. New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1910.
• Roosevelt, Theodore. Life-histories of African Game Animals, by Theodore Roosevelt and Edmund Heller: With Illustrations from Photographs, and from Drawings by Philip R. Goodwin; and with Forty Faunal Maps. New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1914.

Search Strategy:

• The Guide to the Smithsonian Archives/SIRIS index this expedition. RU 208 was suggested by William Cox.
• SIRIS was used to compile the bibliography.
• Smithsonian Institution Annual Reports, 1909, pp. 7-10 (the history and itinerary for the Expedition, including reprints of Roosevelt's proposal and Walcott's response); 1910, pp. 8-9 (a summary of the Expedition and a reprint of Roosevelt's report); 1910, pp. 43, 44, 83, 84, 101, 102 (the funding, specimens and publications of the Expedition).
• Additional Edgar Alexander Mearns Papers are housed in the Division of Birds, National Museum of Natural History. These were not examined.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: Owen Bryant-William Palmer Expedition to Java

Alias of the Expedition: Palmer-Bryant Java Expedition

Date of Expedition: 1909 - 1910

Where to: Java

Sponsor: Owen Bryant/Smithsonian Institution

Head Scientist: Owen Bryant

Prominent Scientists:

• William Palmer, United States National Museum

Brief Description:

In 1908, Owen Bryant approached the United States National Museum regarding his proposed collecting trip to Java and requesting that they release William Palmer, Curator at the United States National Museum and an expert in mammals, to accompany him on the Expedition. Bryant agreed to pay his and Palmer's expenses if Palmer's salary was paid by the government. The Smithsonian Institution, in return, mounted and identified the specimens and received the right to half of the collection.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 192: United States National Museum, Permanent Administrative Files, 1877-1975

• Box 79, Folder 5, #29314 contains 3 letters, dated March through April 1910, concerning the mental condition of Owen Bryant, who suffered an attack of malarial fever while collecting in Java and subsequently returned to the United States.
• Box 147, Folder 8, #50889 contains approximately 45 pieces of correspondence, dated 1908-1910, concerning plans for and terms of the Expedition; letters of introduction from various Smithsonian officials; numerous letters of complaint from Bryant concerning the weather, difficulty in securing specimens, and the preservation techniques of Smithsonian curators; and an invoice of all specimens. There are also about 30 pieces of correspondence, dated 1912-1923, which concern the mounting, identification, and distribution of the specimens, and the loan of a basket of Javan insects to Mr. C. P. Alexander.
• Box 377, Folder 14, #109253 contains a letter from Owen Bryant of 21 March 1930 to John Merton Aldrich containing remarks on the his relationship with Palmer on the Javan Expedition.

Search Strategy:

• This expedition is mentioned in the collection description for RU 192 (found through keyword search in SIRIS).
• No bibliographic material was found in SIRIS.
• Smithsonian Institution Annual Report, 1910, p. 43, regarding the specimens donated to the United States National Museum.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress.

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Official Name of Expedition: Metropolitan Museum of Art Expedition to Egypt

Date of Expedition: 1909

Where to: Egypt

Sponsor: Metropolitan Museum of Art/Smithsonian Institution

Commander: Not found.

Scientific Team:

• Ales Hrdlicka, United States National Museum
• The remainder of the scientific team was not detailed.

Brief Description:

There is not sufficient information in the resources listed below to describe the expedition.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 192: United States National Museum, Permanent Administrative Files, 1877-1975

• Box 74, Folder 6, #23058 contains a June 1909 letter from Ales Hrdlicka to the Assistant Secretary reporting a safe arrival in Egypt, a summary of the Expedition itinerary, and his disappointment concerning the plundered tombs found by the Expedition. Also included is the reply from the United States National Museum and two routine memoranda noting the exchange.

Search Strategy:

• The Guide to the Smithsonian Archives/SIRIS index this expedition.
• No bibliographic material was found in SIRIS.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: Biological Survey in the Canadian Rockies

Date: 1911-1912

Where to: Canadian Rockies

Commander: Dr. A. O. Wheeler, Alpine Club of Canada

Prominent Scientists:

The scientific team was not detailed.

Brief History:

The Smithsonian Institution sent a small group of naturalists with Dr. A. O. Wheeler of the Alpine Club of Canada to complete a topographical survey of British Colombia and Alberta.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

No records found.

Search Strategy:

• This expedition is mentioned in the Smithsonian Institution Annual Report for 1911.
• Neither the Guide to the Smithsonian Archives nor SIRIS index this expedition.
• No bibliographic material was found in SIRIS.
• Smithsonian Institution Annual Reports, 1911, p. 6; 1912, p. 11.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: Stanford Expedition to Brazil

Date of Expedition: 1911

Where to: Madeira Valley, Brazil

Commander: Not found.

Head Scientist: Dr. Brammer, Geologist, Vice-President of Stanford

Prominent Scientists:

• Dr. Wheeler
• Dr. Baker
• William M. Mann, undergraduate at Stanford, Entomologist

Brief Description:

There is not sufficient information in the resources listed below to describe the expedition.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 7293: William M. Mann and Lucile Quarry Mann Papers, circa 1885-1981

• Box 2, Folder 7 contains 8 letters from William M. Mann to his mother, Anna Mann, dated March through October 1911. The letters concern his preparations for and excitement over the Expedition, anecdotes of the trip to Brazil, employment and graduate study offers received, his collecting activities, his return trip, and his work on the Brazilian collections at Harvard.

Primary Bibliography:

• Starks, Edwin Chapin. The Fishes of the Stanford Expedition to Brazil. Stanford University, California: The University, 1913.

Search Strategy:

• Found through keyword search for "expedition" in SIRIS.
• SIRIS was used to compile the bibliography.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Arthur de Carle Sowerby (From SI Archives RU 7263)

Official Name of the Expedition: Shensi Relief Expedition

Date of Expedition: 1911 - 1912

Where to: Shensi Province of China

Commander: Arthur de Carle Sowerby

Brief Description:

During the Chinese Revolution of 1911, Arthur de Carle Sowerby lead the Shensi Relief Expedition to evacuate foreign missionaries in the country.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 7263: Arthur de Carle Sowerby Papers, 1904-1954 and undated

• Box 18, Folder 2 has a picture of Sowerby as leader of the Shensi Relief Expedition.

Search Strategy:

• This expedition is mentioned in the collection description for RU 7263 (found through keyword search in SIRIS).
• The finding aid to RU 7263 was used to compile the brief description.
• Neither the Guide to the Smithsonian Archives nor SIRIS index this expedition.
• No bibliographic material was found in SIRIS.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: Excavation of Rito de los Frijoles

Date: 1911-1912

Where to: Northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico

Sponsor: Bureau of American Ethnology

Commander: Dr. Edgar L. Hewett, Director of the Expedition

Prominent Scientists:

• J. P. Adams, Surveyor
• K. M. Chapman, Pottery and Pictographs
• John P. Harrington, Bureau of American Ethnology
• Professor Junius Henderson, University of Colorado, Boulder, Ethno-zoology
• Sylvanus G. Morley, Excavation
• Jesse L. Nusbaum, Photographer
• Nassau W. W. Robbins, University of Colorado, Boulder, Ethno-biology

Brief History:

In 1911, the Bureau of American Ethnology, in conjunction with the School of American Archaeology, began excavations of archeological sites in Rito de Los Frijoles. The artifacts found were of great use in understanding the early distribution of the Pueblo people.

Primary Bibliography:

• Hewett, Edgar Lee. Pajarito Plateau and its Ancient People. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press and School of American Research, Sante Fe, 1953.

Search Strategy:

• This expedition is mentioned in the Smithsonian Institution Annual Report for 1911.
• Neither the Guide to the Smithsonian Archives nor SIRIS index this expedition.
• SIRIS was used to compile the bibliography.
• Smithsonian Institution Annual Reports, 1911, pp. 32-33; 1912, pp. 37-39.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: Rainey African Expedition

Date of Expedition: Arrived in Mombassa on 22 March 1911; left for New York on 16 March 1912.

Where to: North and East of the Smithsonian-Roosevelt Expedition, the Mombassa Region, the Loiti Plains, Nairobi and vicinity, Fort Hall, Mount Kenia and vicinity, Mount Uaragess and vicinity and the Kavirando Bay Region of Lake Victoria.

Sponsor: Paul J. Rainey

Head Scientist: Edmund Heller, Naturalist

Brief Description:

Paul J. Rainey, having planned a hunting and collecting trip to Africa, offered specimens obtained during the trip to the Smithsonian. In exchange, the Smithsonian was to help prepare the specimens. Edmund Heller was chosen to accompany the Expedition, which collected some 4,700 skins of mammals, as well as numerous birds, reptiles and other animals.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 192: United States National Museum, Permanent Administrative Files, 1877-1975

• Box 82, Folder 6, #34431 contains 14 pieces of correspondence, dated June to December 1911, from Edmund Heller regarding his participation in the Rainey Expedition. The letters concern the progress and collecting activities of the Expedition; Heller's instructions for the care and extent of the specimens sent to the Smithsonian Institution; Heller's request for and receipt of permission to accompany the Expedition in its additional trip to Rhodesia; and a search for a paper Heller sent to the Institution, which was apparently lost by the postal service.
• Box 84, Folder 1, # 35391 contains 6 pieces of correspondence, dated November-December 1911, concerning Heller's itinerary for his return to the United States.

RU 7179: Edmund Heller Papers, circa 1898-1918

• Box 6
  • Folders 1-39 contain approximately 550 prints of photographs taken on the Rainey African Expedition. Subjects include African individuals and activities; animals (mostly specimens); scenery; vegetation; and expedition sites, members and activities.
  • Folders 40-55 contained negatives - removed due to nitrate content.
  • Folder 56 contains a typewritten copy of Edmund Heller's journal during the Expedition, dated March 22, 1911, through March 16, 1912. It lists places traveled as well as animals observed and collected.
  • Folder 57 contains both the manuscript and typescript of Heller's "Mount Lolokwi, An Unexplored Fragment in the Southern Abyssinian Desert," which gives an account of the Expedition's exploration and hunting activities.
• Box 7
  • Folder 1 contains a notebook of data on salt skins from the Expedition.
  • Folder 2 contains 4 copies of a map showing the route taken by the Rainey African Expedition.
  • Folder 3 contains a letter from Heller to Rainey regarding the outline of a book on the Rainey Expedition, which is also included.
  • Folder 4 contains pages 18-32 of an unidentified work. This excerpt concerns experiences with lions on the Expedition.
  • Folder 5 contains the newspaper The African Standard, dated October 19, 1912.

Primary Bibliography:

• Heller, Edmund. New Races of Carnivores and Baboons from Equatorial Africa and Abyssinia. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1913.
• Heller, Edmund . The White Rrhinoceros, with Thirty-one Plates. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1913.
• Heller, Edmund. New Genera and Races of African Ungulates. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1912.
• Heller, Edmund. New Races of Insectivores, Bats, and Lemurs from British East Africa. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1912.

Search Strategy:

• The Guide to the Smithsonian Archives/SIRIS index this expedition.
• SIRIS was used to compile the bibliography.
• Some of the bibliographic material also refers to Heller's collecting activities while engaged in the Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition.
• Smithsonian Institution Annual Reports, 1911, pp. 6-7, 105; 1912, pp. 8-9; 1913, pp. 9-10 give an overview, the itinerary, and preliminary results of the Expedition. The brief description was compiled with the aid of these accounts. Smithsonian Institution Annual Report, 1912, p. 33 concerns the additions to the United States National Museum collections from the Expedition.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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RU 45: Office of the Secretary, Records, 1903-1924

• Box 42, Folder 14 contains some 65 pieces of correspondence, dated March 1904 through December 1910, discussing of the need for a biological survey of the region before the completion of the canal (noted in more detail above), the terms of agreement between the Smithsonian Institution and the United States Field Museum, estimates of expenses, and details concerning the scientific team's supplies and travel.
• Box 43.
  • Folder 1 contains approximately 110 pieces of correspondence regarding the Panama Canal Zone Biological Survey Project for 1911, including routine correspondence concerning travel, budget, and supplies; the shipment of specimens to the United States; and specific policies for accessioning and disposing of natural history specimens found by the Survey (in light of the different institutions and governmental departments participating in the Survey). There is also correspondence concerning the assignment of A. S. Hitchcock to the Survey in July 1911.
  • Folder 2 contains correspondence concerning the Panama Canal Zone Biological Survey Project for January-June 1912. Approximately 80 pieces of correspondence regard the shipment of supplies to scientists in the field, the United States National Museum's policy on accessioning specimens from the survey, proposals from several scientists regarding fieldwork in the Canal Zone (most of which were denied due to lack of funds, including a series of correspondence regarding Mrs. Agnes Chase, whom A. S. Hitchcock proposed to complete his fieldwork using the rest of his budget to support her work). Frederick Vernon Coville, Botanist, Bureau of Plant Industry, United States Department of Agriculture, upheld Chase's competency as a scientist and the appropriateness of her appointment in a subsequent letter. However, F. W. True, Assistant Secretary in Charge of Library and Exchanges, and the administrative liaison for the Survey, discouraged Secretary Charles D. Walcott from approving her appointment due to his concerns about costs and "the advisability of engaging the services of a woman for the purpose."
  • Folder 3 contains some 50 pieces of correspondence regarding the Panama Canal Zone Biological Survey Project from July 1912-1917. They concern the settling of accounts between the Smithsonian and members of the scientific team, and the preparation of the collections for study. There is a series of letters from C. H. Eigermann, who was instrumental in establishing the Survey, requesting financial assistance to aid his work on fresh water fishes south of the Panama Canal Zone, which was explored by Seth Eugene Meek. The Institution was unable to fund this expedition, and subsequent correspondence regarding Eigermann's controversial use of the collection is filed here. Much of this correspondence involves Secretary Walcott and Dr. Barton W. Evermann, Bureau of Fisheries, United States Department of Agriculture.
  • Folder 4 contains approximately 90 pieces of correspondence regarding the disbursements and contributions to the Panama Canal Zone Biological Survey Project from 1910 to 1912. Many of those requested to subscribe gave money in conjunction with the Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition.
  • Folder 5 contains correspondence with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), dated 1910-January 1913, concerning the Panama Canal Zone Biological Survey Project. The 55 pieces of correspondence regard the outfitting of a team of scientists from the USDA, the procurement of maps, shipping considerations, the procedure for sending live plants to the United States, the feasibility of using the Albatross for research and transport of specimens, the renewal of contract for the scientists working on the Survey for the second season (December/January 1911/1912-February/March 1912) and the transfer of Dr. C. Dwight Marsh from the payroll of the USDA to that of the Smithsonian Institution while he worked on collections from the Survey.
  • Folder 6 contains correspondence with the State and War Departments of the United States regarding the Panama Canal Zone Biological Survey Project, 1910-1911. The nine pieces of correspondence with the War Department concern cooperation with the Isthmian Canal Commission, as well as maps of Panama from the War Department. There are copies of two letters from Seth Eugene Meek of the Field Museum to the Isthmian Canal Commission requesting and assuring cooperation with the Field Museum's Survey (the two were subsequently merged). The correspondence with the State Department regards the Department's aid in securing cooperation from the Panamanian government, and includes copies of the correspondence (in Spanish and in translation) between Frederico Boyn, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and Charles Campbell, Jr., Charge d'Affaires ad Interim of the United States of America.
  • Folder 7 contains some 90 pieces of correspondence with the Isthmian Canal Commission regarding the Panama Canal Zone Biological Survey Project, dated 1910-1912, and 1914. The correspondence concerns President Taft's affirmation of the Commission's cooperation, an outline of the planned Survey route, requests for maps, and the free passage and transport of specimens from the Commission. The correspondence includes cablegrams sent through the Isthmian Canal Commission between Pittier and the Institution. Most of the correspondence concerns the transportation of Survey members during 1911 and January 1912. There are two letters from early 1914 concerning Henri A. Pittier's continuing work in the Panama Canal Zone and the reinstatement of the Commission's assistance.
  • Folder 8 contains correspondence with the Republic of Panama concerning the Panama Canal Zone Biological Survey Project from 1912 to 1913. There is a memorandum regarding a request from the Charge d'Affaires of the Republic of Panama in December 1911 for a set of plants collected by the Survey, which the Institution agreed to honor as soon as the specimens were available for shipment. In February of 1912 Ricardo M. Arango, Chief Engineer of the Republic of Panama, wrote the Isthmian Canal Commission requesting information on the cost and feasibility of a general survey of the entire Republic of Panama. The Isthmian Canal Commission referred him to the Smithsonian Institution. The 17 pieces of correspondence concern estimates on the cost and scope of survey to be conducted by the United States Geological Survey, to whom the request was referred. All further correspondence regarding a general survey of Panama was directed to the United States Geological Survey.
  • Folders 9-10 contain correspondence with Henri A. Pittier regarding the Panama Canal Zone Biological Survey Project from December 1910-December 1911. Approximately 70 pieces of correspondence concern preparations for Pittier's trip to Panama; his arrival, request for and receipt of an assistant; reports on the collection and shipment of specimens; requests for and receipt of additional equipment; the return of William Ralph Maxon, his assistant, to Washington; and reports on Pittier's account with the Institution.
  • Folder 9 contains a series of correspondence regarding an accident during which Pittier broke a bone in his hand and delayed collecting for a week. Copies of cablegrams referring to this incident are filed in Folder 7 with a series of internal Smithsonian correspondence regarding policies for accessioning specimens and sending the appropriate specimens to the Field Museum.
  • Folder 10 contains Pittier's request to remain for an additional month (through February 1912), which was denied due to the lack of funds.
  • Folder 11 contains correspondence with Henri A. Pittier regarding the Panama Canal Zone Biological Survey Project. The first 5 pieces of correspondence are dated from January-March 1912, and concern the completion of Pittier's work on the Survey. Three letters from January 1914 concern the publication of a paper on the plants of the Survey by a scientist who assisted Pittier. The remaining 17 pieces of correspondence from February-June 1914 concern the Institution's support for Pittier on his return trip to the Panama Canal Zone to complete his work on the botany of the region.

RU 192: United States National Museum, Permanent Administrative Files, 1877-1975

• Box 127, Folder 8, #45929 contains 22 pieces of correspondence, dated October 1914 through August 1915, concerning the study of the fishes from the Smithsonian Biological Survey of the Canal Zone by Samuel Frederick Hildebrand after the death of Seth Eugene Meek. The United States Field Museum in Chicago agreed to the transfer and reiterated its assumption of the publishing costs.
• Box 401, Folder 3, #114963 contains some 40 pieces of correspondence, dated October 1927 to April 1932, concerning the preparation of a report on the amphibians and reptiles of the Survey by Karl P. Schmidt of the Field Museum. This correspondence includes a copy of the memorandum which stated that these collections would be studied and reported on by the United States National Museum, then divided equally between the two museums. Also included are invoices of specimens sent to the Field Museum for Schmidt's studies, returned to the United States National Museum, and ultimately divided between the two museums at the completion of Schmidt's report. The correspondence follows this exchange.

Primary Bibliography:

• Busck, August. Descriptions of New Genera and Species of Microlepidoptera from Panama, with One Plate. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1912.
• Busck, August. Report on a Trip for the Purpose of Studying the Mosquito Fauna of Panama. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1910.
• Dall, William Healey. New Species of Landshells from the Panama Canal Zone, with Two Plates. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1912.
• Goldman, Edward Alphonso. Mammals of Panama (with Thirty-nine Plates). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1920.
• Hildebrand, Samuel Frederick. A New Catalogue of the Fresh-water Fishes of Panama.Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, 1938.
• Marsh, C. Dwight. Report on Fresh-water <Copepoda> from Panama, with Descriptions of New Species (with Five Plates) Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1913.
• Maxon, William Ralph. A Remarkable New Fern from Panama, with Three Plates. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1911.
• Meek, Seth Eugene. Descriptions of New Fishes from Panama. In: Zoological Series. v. 10, no. 6 (1912).
• Meek, Seth Eugene. The Marine Fishes of Panama. Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, 1923.
• Meek, Seth Eugene. New Species of Fishes from Panama. In Fieldiana Zoology . v. 10, no. 8 (1913).
• Meek, Seth Eugene and Hildebrand, Samuel F. The Fishes of the Fresh Waters of Panama. Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, 1916.
• Pittier, Henri. On the Relationship of the Genus Aulacocarpus, with Description of a New Panamanian Species. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1914.

Search Strategy:

• The Guide to the Smithsonian Archives/SIRIS index this expedition.
• SIRIS was used to compile the bibliography.
• Smithsonian Institution Annual Reports, 1910, pp. 13-14; 1912, pp. 9-10; 1913, p. 9 concern plans for the Survey; Smithsonian Institution Annual Report, 1911, pp. 5-6 gives a summary of the Survey's scope and results.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: Childs Frick Abyssinian Expedition

Date of Expedition: October 1911 - 1912

Where to: Abyssinia (Ethiopia and Kenya)

Commander: Childs Frick

Head Scientist: Lieutenant-Commander Edgar Alexander Mearns, United States

Prominent Scientists:

The scientific team was not detailed.

Brief Description:

Childs Frick approached the Institution in 1911, looking for a scientist to accompany him on his collecting trip to Africa. Edgar Alexander Mearns was chosen. Frick agreed to pay Mearns's salary and expenses, and donate all bird collections to the United States National Museum. This was Mearns's last expedition.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 45: Office of the Secretary, Records, 1903-1924

• Box 23, Folder 21 contains 24 pieces of correspondence from January 1911 through May 1912 regarding Frick's proposed expedition, the decision to send Mearns, several pieces of correspondence with the State Department concerning the loss and replacement of some of Mearns's papers of introduction, and Mearns's progress reports to the Smithsonian. The correspondence does not cover the entire duration of the Expedition.

Primary Bibliography:

• Friedmann, Herbert. Birds Collected by the Childs Frick Expedition to Ethiopia and Kenya Colony. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1930-1937.

Search Strategy:

• This expedition is mentioned in the collection description for RU 45 (found through a keyword search in SIRIS).
• SIRIS was used to compile the bibliography.
• Smithsonian Institution Annual Reports, 1912, p. 9; 1913, p. 10.
• Additional Edgar Alexander Mearns Papers are housed in the Division of Birds, National Museum of Natural History. These were not examined.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: Harvard-Smithsonian Expedition to the Altai Mountains

Date of Expedition: June - October 1912

Where to: Altai Mountains, Siberia and Mongolia

Sponsors: Harvard University/Smithsonian Institution

Head of Expedition: Theodore Lyman, Jefferson Physical Laboratory, Harvard University

Prominent Scientists:

• Ned Hollister, Assistant Curator, Division of Mammals, United States National Museum

Brief Description:

Theodore Lyman, Harvard University, wrote Secretary Charles D. Walcott in early 1912, informing him of his proposed trip to the Altai Mountains, and requesting the assistance of a naturalist. Ned Hollister, an Assistant Curator at the Museum, was appointed to accompany him and collect specimens for Harvard and the United States National Museum. The Museum received the mammals collected and the Museum of Comparative Zoology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, received all other specimens. The museums agreed to exchange all specimens that could be spared.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 192: United States National Museum, Permanent Administrative Files, 1877-1975

• Box 85, Folder 10, #36120 contains approximately 60 pieces of correspondence, dated January to May 1912, including Lyman's request for a naturalist, internal correspondence regarding the appropriate candidate, correspondence concerning the distribution of specimens between Harvard and the United States National Museum, and a long series of correspondence concerning passports needed for the Expedition. There is also a November 4, 1912, memorandum regarding the division of specimens after the Expedition.

Search Strategy:

• This expedition is mentioned in the collection description for RU 192 (found through a keyword search in SIRIS).
• No bibliographic material was found in SIRIS.
• Smithsonian Institution Annual Reports, 1912, p. 10; 1913, pp. 9-10 contain brief accounts of the Expedition; 1912, p. 33 concerns accessions from the Expedition.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: Roosevelt-Rondon South America Expedition

Date of Expedition: October 1913 - 1914

Where to: Amazon Basin

Commander: Candido Mariano da Silva Rondon/Theodore Roosevelt

Prominent Scientists:

• Leo Miller, American Museum of Natural History
• George Cherrie, American Museum of Natural History

Brief Description:

The scientists were sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Rondon was one of the most experienced Brazilian explorers of the time. Roosevelt and his son, Kermit, also accompanied the Expedition. On the last leg of their trip, trying to traverse the River of Doubt, an uncharted tributary to the Amazon, Roosevelt contracted malaria, and everyone on the Expedition came very close to death. One of the native paddlers was killed when a canoe capsized, but everyone else survived the Expedition. This was Theodore Roosevelt's last field expedition.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 7472: Theodore Roosevelt Collection, Newspaper Clippings, circa 1901-1928, 1933, 1936 and 1958

• The record unit contains several newspaper clippings, dated after Roosevelt's death, that detail his work in South America.

Secondary Bibliography:

• Rexer, Lyle and Rachel Klein. American Museum of Natural History: 125 Years of Expedition and Discovery. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1995.

Search Strategy:

• The Guide to the Smithsonian Archives indexes this expedition. It was not indexed on SIRIS.
• No bibliographic material was found in SIRIS.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name: Borneo and Celebres Expedition

Date: February 1912-1914, Borneo; September 1914-1917, Celebres

Where to: Borneo and Celebres

Sponsor: William Louis Abbott

Commander: Henry Cushier Raven

Scientific Team:

• Daniel Denison Streetcar, Jr., Naturalist

Brief Description:

Due to illness, Dr. William Louis Abbott was unable to continue collecting trips to the Malay Archipelago. Through donations to the Smithsonian, he funded this expedition to complete his work in Borneo.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 7178: Henry Cushier Raven Field Journal, 1912-1914

• Box 1
  • Folder 1 contains a typewritten copy of Raven's 178-page field journal from February 22, 1912- November 1, 1914, while in the Pacific. It details the daily weather, collecting activities and anecdotes of Raven's time in Borneo.
  • Folder 2 contains a field map of Borneo.

Search Strategy:

• This expedition is mentioned in the Smithsonian Institution Annual Report for 1912.
• SIRIS was used to check further records. The Guide did not index this expedition.
• No bibliographic material was found in SIRIS.
• Smithsonian Institution Annual Reports, 1912, pp. 10-11; 1913, pp. 10-11; 1914, p. 15; 1915, p. 7; 1916, p. 10; 1917, pp. 14-15.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: Koren Arctic Expedition

Alias of Expedition: Koren Expedition to Siberia

Date of Expedition: June 1914 - October 1915

Where to: Kolyma Valley, Siberia

Sponsor/Commander: Johan (John) Koren/Copley Amory, Jr.

Prominent Scientists:

• Benno Alexander, Naturalist
• Copley Amory, Jr., Biologist

Brief History:

Johan Koren wrote the Institution in February of 1914 discussing his proposed trip to Siberia and requesting that the Smithsonian subsidize two scientists to accompany him--one to make collections of fossils, and another to make a complete ethnological collection of the locals visited by the Expedition. The Institution agreed to subsidize the collection of fossils, in hopes of attaining a complete skeleton of a mammoth. The Expedition left Seattle for Siberia in June 1914, accompanied by Benno Alexander, a collector who served with Charles Whitney Gilmore on his Alaskan trip in 1907, and Copley Amory, Jr., Columbia University, whose collections were to be donated to the United States National Museum. Alexander was subsidized by the Institution with the aid of a grant from the Telluride Association.

Once the Expedition arrived in Siberia, Amory and Alexander were dissatisfied with the living and scientific conditions (they arrived very late in the season for collecting, and complained about the poor outfitting that Koren provided). Amory bought Koren's share of the Expedition, thus becoming the Manager, and sailed to Nome, Alaska, to collect further. There is little documentation of the Expedition under Amory, but according to several letters from Alexander, little of scientific value was acquired due to insufficient means to pack specimens, and manipulation on the part of Amory and Koren.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 45: Office of the Secretary, Records, 1903-1924

• Box 34
  • Folder 6 contains some 45 pieces of correspondence from February and April of 1914, including Koren's original request for assistance, his letters of reference and correspondence regarding the appointment of Albert C. Siberling as a collector of vertebrate fossils, and routine correspondence with Copley Amory, Jr., an independent collector.
  • Folder 7 contains approximately 75 pieces of correspondence regarding preparations for the Expedition; and the search for a replacement for Siberling, who fell ill in May 1914, and was ultimately replaced by Benno Alexander. The correspondence also concerns accommodations for outfitting, salaries, a collecting permit for Alexander, and papers of introduction for both Alexander and Amory.
  • Folders 8-9 contain 30 pieces of correspondence, dated June 1914-June 1915, concerning the Koren Arctic Expedition. The correspondence pertains to the contract between the Smithsonian and Johan Koren, and the scientists' dissatisfaction with the conditions of the Expedition, Amory's offer to buy Koren's interest in the Expedition, Alexander's support of the offer, and Smithsonian funding for Alexander's provisions and transportation.
  • Folder 10 contains some 25 pieces of correspondence from August-December 1915 which concern the return of the Expedition, Alexander's frustrations regarding the work he was able to complete, and his account of the situation with Amory and Koren. Also included is internal Smithsonian correspondence regarding the situation, the Smithsonian's disappointment with the collections, and what, if any, remuneration they should request from Amory or Koren for the sacrifice of expected specimens due to factors within their control.
  • Folder 11 contains 13 pieces of correspondence from 1916-1917 which concern Alexander's account with the Institution, his report on the Expedition (he refused to submit one until the balance of his account was paid to him; there is correspondence indicating that it was, but no further acknowledgment or report is filed here), and Koren's return to Siberia in 1916.

Search Strategy:

• The Guide to the Smithsonian Archives/SIRIS index this expedition.
• No bibliographic material was found in SIRIS.
• Smithsonian Institution Annual Reports, 1915, pp. 7-8; 1916, pp. 10-11.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of the Expedition: Geological Survey of Panama

Date of Expedition: 1914- (the end-date of the Expedition was not found)

Where to: Panama

Sponsor: United States Geological Survey/Isthmian Canal Commission (see also the Biological Survey of the Panama Canal Zone)

Scientific Team:

The scientific team was not detailed.

Brief History:

In February of 1912, Ricardo M. Arango, Chief Engineer of the Republic of Panama, wrote the Isthmian Canal Commission requesting information on the cost and feasibility of a general survey of the entire Republic of Panama. The Isthmian Canal Commission referred him to the Smithsonian Institution. Secretary Charles D. Walcott then directed all further correspondence regarding a general survey of Panama to the United States Geological Survey.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 45: Office of the Secretary, Records, 1903-1924

• Box 43, Folder 8 contains correspondence with the Republic of Panama concerning the Panama Canal Zone Biological Survey Project from 1912 to 1913. There is a memorandum regarding a request from the Charge d'Affaires of the Republic of Panama in December 1911 for a set of the plants collected by the Survey, which the Institution agreed to honor as soon as the specimens were available for shipment. In February of 1912 Ricardo M. Arango, Chief Engineer of the Republic of Panama wrote the Isthmian Canal Commission requesting information on the cost and feasibility of a general survey of the entire Republic of Panama. The Isthmian Canal Commission referred him to the Smithsonian Institution. The 17 pieces of correspondence concern estimates of the cost and scope a survey would entail from the United States Geological Survey, to whom the request was referred. All further correspondence regarding a general survey of Panama was directed to the United States Geological Survey.

Search Strategy:

• This correspondence was found while researching the Biological Survey of the Panama Canal Zone.
• Smithsonian Institution Annual Report, 1914, pp. 12-13.
• No bibliographic material was found in SIRIS.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: Philip Expedition to the Middle East

Date of Expedition: 1914

Where to: Egypt and Palestine

Commander: Not found.

Prominent Scientists:

• William M. Mann
• The remainder of the scientific team was not detailed.

Brief Description:

There is not sufficient information in the resources listed below to describe the expedition.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 7293: William M. Mann and Lucile Quarry Mann Papers, circa 1885-1981

• Box 2, Folder 7 contains 7 letters, dated March through July 1914, from William M. Mann to his mother while on the Philip Expedition. The letters concern his health, his visits to monuments and religious landmarks, collecting troubles, and his return trip.

Search Strategy:

• SIRIS indexes this record.
• No bibliographic material was found in SIRIS.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: Tomas Barrera Expedition to Cuba

Date of Expedition: May - June 1914

Where to: Western Cuba and the Colorados Reefs

Sponsors: Smithsonian Institution/Cuban Government

Prominent Scientists:

• Charles T. Simpson, formerly of the Division of Mollusks at the United States National Museum
• Dr. Carlos de la Torre, Havana
• George H. Clapp, Director of the Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh
• George W. Gill, United States National Museum
• John Henderson, Jr., Regent of the Smithsonian Institution
• Paul Bartsch, Curator of the Department of Marine Invertebrates, United States National Museum
• Victor J. Rodriguez, Assistant in the museum at the University of Havana

Brief Description:

In March 1914, John Henderson consulted Carlos de la Torre regarding a collecting trip for Cuban marine mollusks. Henderson's previous work had been in the mollusks of Florida, and he was interested in obtaining sufficient information to do a comparison. Torre took care of the scientific details, and the Smithsonian Institution provided the collecting outfits. The cruise set sail from Havana on May 8, 1914.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 7075: Henderson Family Papers, 1868-1923

• Box 1, Folder 15 contains 33 pieces of routine correspondence, dated October 1915 to April 1919, between John B. Henderson, Jr., and G. P. Putnam's Sons regarding the publication of Henderson's book, The Cruise of the Tomas Barrera.
• Box 4
  • Item #1 is the logbook of the Tomas Barrera, May-June 1914. The logbook includes Henderson's observations, collecting activities, and hand-drawn maps.
  • Folder 10 contains a list of Cuban shells.
• Box 8, Folder 12 contains some 45 newspaper reviews, dated 1916, of Henderson's book, The Cruise of the Tomas Barrera.

RU 7089: Paul Bartsch Papers, 1901-1963

• Box 2
  • Folder 4 contains Bartsch's journal of the Tomas Barrera, May 1-16, 1914. The folder also contains a graph of the birds collected, locations, and a specimen list.
  • Folder 5 contains a list of the Tomas Barrera's collections from western Cuba in May and June of 1914.
• Box 1, Folder 6 contains undated notes in Spanish about mollusks, most likely about Cuba.

Primary Bibliography:

• Henderson, John Brooks. The Cruise of the Tomas Barrera: The Narrative of a Scientific Expedition to Western Cuba and the Colorados Reefs, with Observations on the Geology, Fauna, and Flora of the Region. New York and London: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1916.

Search Strategy:

• The Guide to the Smithsonian Archives/SIRIS index this expedition.
• SIRIS was used to compile the bibliography.
• Additional Paul Bartsch Papers are housed in the Division of Mollusks, National Museum of Natural History. These were not examined.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: Dease River-Telegraph Creek Expedition

Alias of the Expedition: Lincoln Ellsworth Expedition to Alberta and British Columbia; Telegraph Creek Expedition

Date of Expedition: September 1914 - January 1915

Where to: Alberta and British Columbia

Commander: Lincoln Ellsworth

Edmund Heller (From SI Archives RU 95)

Prominent Scientists:

• Edmund Heller, Naturalist
• Brooks, additional information not available
• John Simpson

Brief Description:

There is not sufficient information in the resources listed below to describe the expedition.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 7179: Edmund Heller Papers, circa 1898-1918

• Box 7
  • Folder 6 contains Edmund Heller's field journal, dated September 1, 1914, through January 13, 1915. There is a typed version of the journal for the first 12 days of September. In addition to the daily itinerary and animals observed and collected, there is an inventory of the birds and vegetation of the Sheslay Mountains, the mammals seen on the Expedition and an account of an animal assumed to be mythical. The handwritten version contains additional notes.
  • Folder 7 contains 14 maps of British Colombia and the Yukon for the Dease River-Telegraph Creek Expedition, including a hand-drawn map of the Dease River and several color-coded maps detailing the range and density of moose, grizzly bear, black bear, and goats.
  • Folders 8-13 and 15-17 contain 240 prints of photographs taken on the Telegraph River Expedition, including photographs of people, locations, live animals, and specimens from Alberta and along the Expedition route.
  • Folder 14 contains 6 postcards from various localities.
  • Folders 18-25 contained negatives - removed due to nitrate content.

Search Strategy:

• This expedition is mentioned in the finding aid to RU 7179.
• No bibliographic material was found in SIRIS.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: National Geographic Society-Yale University Expedition to Peru

Date of Expedition: 1914 - 1915

Where to: Peru

Director: Hiram Bingham

Head Scientist: Elwood C. Erdis, Chief Engineer, Acting Archeological Engineer

Prominent Scientists:

• Edwin L. Anderson, Topographer
• O. F. Cook, Botanist
• Harry W. Foote, Entomologist
• D. E. Ford, M. D., Surgeon
• G. B. Glibert, Dr. Cook's Assistant
• Herbert E. Gregory, Geologist
• Osgood Hardy, Chief Assistant
• J. J. Hasbrouck, Engineer
• Edmund Heller, Naturalist
• C. F. Maynard, Assistant Topographer

Brief Description:

This is the Expedition that excavated the ruins of Machu Picchu, which were discovered during an expedition to Peru in 1911 by explorers Tucker and Lanius (Bingham, Machu, p. 1). The Expedition explored and excavated the ruins, collecting natural history and ethnological specimens. The insects collected by Harry W. Foote were deposited in the United States National Museum. Much of the other material was kept by Yale University.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 192: United States National Museum, Permanent Administrative Files, 1877-1975

• Box 131, Folder 6, #46898 contains correspondence, dated January 1915-January 1917, concerning Smithsonian assistance to outfit the Expedition and to secure some of the ethnological collections by Ales Hrdlicka of the United States National Museum. The Institution was unable to supply either the instruments for ethnological study or the staff requested, although Hrdlicka made himself available as a consultant.

RU 7179: Edmund Heller Papers, circa 1898-1918

• Box 8
  • Folder 1 contains a copy of the Official Circular of the Peruvian Expedition, which includes the members of the Expedition as well as vaccination requirements for these scientists.
  • Folder 2 contains 6 maps of Peru, Bolivia, and South America. There are two field maps of the Expedition area.
  • Folder 3 contains a copy of the June 22, 1915, edition of the El Sol, a Peruvian newspaper, written in Spanish. There is an article relating to the Expedition, including a long letter to the President of the Instituto Histórico del Cuzco from Bingham.
  • Folder 4 contains a copy of the scientific outfit given to Heller for the Peruvian Expedition.
  • Folder 5 contains a list of the birds collected by Heller in Peru, including the gender of the specimens and the location from which the specimens were collected.
  • Folder 6 contains a list of the plants collected by Heller in Peru.
  • Folder 7 contains two of Heller's diaries of the Peruvian Expedition--one from March 3-April 4, 1915, and another from December 15, 1915-February 10, 1916.
  • Folder 8 contains a partial manuscript and 181-page typescript of Heller's itinerary in Peru from April 6 through November 27, which details the Expedition's movements and collecting activities.
  • Folder 9 contains Heller's unpublished manuscript, "Hunting in the Shadow of Manchu Picchu."
  • Folder 10 contains a manuscript and typescript on Idina, Peru.
  • Folder 11 contains a manuscript on La Raya Pass.
  • Folder 12 contains a manuscript on the Mammals of Peru, organized by order, family and common name, and habits and range.
  • Folder 13 contains a partial manuscript of Heller's popular account of the Peruvian Expedition.
  • Folder 14 contains lists of Peru photographs.
  • Folder 15 contains 10 postcards from Bolivia.
  • Folders 16-23 contain 80 prints of photographs from the Expedition, including photographs of landscapes, animals, campsites, villages, Peruvians, the Lima Zoo, and two photographs from a magazine article concerning the Expedition.
  • Folders 24-5 contained negatives - removed due to nitrate content.

Primary Bibliography:

• Bingham, Hiram. Machu Picchu, a Citadel of the Incas: Report of the Explorations and Excavations Made in 1911, 1912 and 1915 Under the Auspices of Yale University and the National Geographic Society. New Haven: Pub. for the National Geographic Society, Yale University Press; London: H. Milford, Oxford University Press, 1930.
• Ferris, Harry Burr. Anthropological Studies on the Quichua and Machiganga Indians. New Haven, Connecticutt: Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences <1921>.
• Bowman, Isaiah. , 1878-1950. The Andes of Southern Peru: Geographical Reconnaissance Along the Seventy-third Meridian. New York: Published for the American Geographical Society of New York by H. Holt, 1916.
• Ferris, Harry Burr. The Indians of Cuzco and the Apurimac. Lancaster, Pa.: Pub. for the American Anthropological Association, the New Era Printing Company <1916>.
• Dall, William Healey. Report on Landshells Collected in Peru in 1911 by the Yale Expedition Under Professor Hiram Bingham, with Descriptions of a New Subgenus, a New Species, and New Varieties. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1912.

Search Strategy:

• The Guide to the Smithsonian Archives/SIRIS index this expedition.
• SIRIS was used to compile the bibliography.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: Not found.

Dates: 1915

Where to: Cuba

Commander: Not found.

Brief Description:

After the Tomas Barrera Expedition to western Cuba, John B. Henderson, a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution, made two trips to Cuba to supplement the work of that expedition. One expedition was to Cardenas Bay. Collections included marine organisms, shells and land mollusks.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

No records found.

Search Strategy:

• This expedition is mentioned in the Smithsonian Institution Annual Report for 1915.
• Neither the Guide to the Smithsonian Archives nor SIRIS index this expedition.
• No bibliographic material was found in SIRIS.
• Smithsonian Institution Annual Report, 1915, pp. 8-9.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: Not found.

Date of Expedition: Began in 1915, interrupted by the war.

Where To: Africa (more specific information is not included)

Commander: Dr. V. Schuck

Scientific Team:

The scientific team was not detailed.

Brief History:

Dr. V. Schuck went to Africa to carry out anthropological research on various tribes to examine "the negro child in its native habitat" (Smithsonian Institution Annual Report , 1915, p. 10). His work was interrupted by the war.

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

No records found.

Search Strategy:

• This expedition is mentioned in the Smithsonian Institution Annual Report for 1915.
• Neither the Guide to the Smithsonian Archives nor SIRIS index this expedition.
• No bibliographic material was found in SIRIS.
• Smithsonian Institution Annual Report, 1915, p. 10.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Official Name of Expedition: American Museum of Natural History China Expedition

Alias of the Expedition: American Museum of Natural History Expedition to China

Date of Expedition: March 1916 - 1917

Where to: Southern China and Rangoon via Bhamo and Mandalay.

Commander: Roy Chapman Andrews, Department of Mammals, American Museum of Natural History

Scientific Assistant:

Edmund Heller, Naturalist

Brief Description:

In 1916-1917, the American Museum of Natural History in New York City sent an expedition under Roy Chapman Andrews to study the zoology of southern China. Yvette Borup Andrews, wife of Roy Chapman Andrews, served as the official photographer. The Expedition hunted tigers near Foochow, then left for the Yunnan Province by way of Hong Kong, Hainan, Haiphong and Hanoi. More detail about the route of the Expedition can be found in the finding aid to RU 7179.

Yvette Borup Andrews with Cub - Photo by American Museum of Natural History, New York (From SI Archives RU 7179)

Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

RU 7179: Edmund Heller Papers, circa 1898-1918

• Box 9
  • Folders 1-5 contain Heller's handwritten journal from June 4, 1916 through October 8, 1917.
  • Folders 6-37 contain prints of photographs taken by Heller of Asian and European peoples, land and riverscapes, the Expedition members and equipment, the Great Wall of China, the Ling Sioh temple, the Peking Observatory, Chinese villages, and unidentified urban scenes. Also included are prints sent to Heller, most likely by William Palmer of the Bryant-Palmer Javan Expedition, from Teng Yueh of individuals and game.
  • Folders 39-59 contained negatives - removed due to nitrate content.
  • Folders 60-76 contain approximately 60 prints of photographs credited to the American Museum of Natural History, New York, some of which were taken by Yvette Borup Andrews. Included are prints of Asian people, animals, various land and riverscapes, villages, Expedition members, and equipment.
  • Folder 77 contains 14 prints of various Asian people.
  • Folder 78 contains a book of check stubs, 1916-1917.
  • Folder 79 contains a copy of a letter from LeJune concerning costs, best means, necessary equipment, and environment for a hunting trip to the Northern Annam Territory.

Primary Bibliography:

• Andrews, Roy Chapman and Andrews, Yvette Borup. Camps and Trails in China: A Narrative of Exploration, Adventure, and Sport in Little-known China. New York and London: D. Appleton and Company, 1918.

Search Strategy:

• The Guide to the Smithsonian Archives/SIRIS index this expedition.
• SIRIS was used to compile the bibliography.
• The finding aid to RU 7179 was used compile the brief description.
• Not checked: Card correspondence for individual scientists; government records; Library of Congress; accession records (RU 305).

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Contact us at osiaref@si.edu

Revised: May 19, 2003