MINERALS
Mural Paintings for the Morgan Hall.
—Mr. WilUam S. Taylor, whose work on the
walls of Alaskan Hall is familiar to all visitors
to the Museum, is preparing a series of mural
paintings for the Morgan Memorial Hall of
Minerals. The excellent lighting and impos-
ing setting of this hall will combine to
furnish conditions for the most favorable
display of Mr. Taylor's work, which will be
done in a subdued key to harmonize well with
its surroundings.
There will be a triple panel at either end of
the hall, the middle panel of each group being
over the entrance arch. There will also be
two long rectangular panels on the south wall.
The subjects of Mr. Taylor's paintings will be
the Neohthic, Bronze, and Iron ages.
REPTILES
The Douglas Burden Expedition to the
Island of Komodo.— Mr. William Douglas
Burden, leader of the American Museum's
Expedition to Komodo Island, Dutch East
Indies, has reported singular success. The
main object of the Expedition was to collect
record specimens of the semi-mj^hical giant
Uzards of Komodo for a group in the new
Reptile Hall in the Museum. The Expedition
secured a large series of specimens of Varanus
komodoensis, as the Uzards are called, and has
shipped two adult specimens to the Zoo ahve.
Their arrival in New York called forth consid-
erable newspaper comment. They are not
only the largest and most spectacular Uzards
in the world, but they should prove of great
scientific interest in shedding Ught on the
evolution of the large fossil Varanoids of
AustraUa.
HONORS
The John Price Wetherill Medal. —
Carl Akeley, explorer and taxidermist of the
American Museum of Natural History, has
been nominated for the John Price WetheriU
Medal of the Franklin Institute, for his inven-
tion of a moving picture camera designed for
photographing wild animals.
APPEAL FOR BACK NUMBERS OF
"NATURAL HISTORY"
The Library of the American Museum
receives frequent requests for complete files
548
NATURAL HISTORY
of Natural History, which it is no longer
able to furnish. Should any subscribers care
to donate copies of earlier issues, the gift
will be very much appreciated, and postage
will be refunded to the donor. Address the
Librarian, American Museum of Natural
History.
NEW MEMBERS
Since the last issue of Natural History,
the following persons have been elected mem-
bers of the American Museum, making the
total membership 9050.
Life Member
Mr. W. H. Carpenter.
Sustaining Member
Mrs. Ethel Bergstresser Stewart.
Annual Members
Mesdames: James A. Finn, Minot Simons,
A. Solomon.
Miss: Lena F. Vanner.
Doctors: Harold Herman, A. Sulger.
Messrs: A. E. Carlton, Wm. Garelick,
Robert Hager, Jr., Claude N. Hitchcock,
S. B Kanowitz, Charles C. Nobles, Geo.
W. Reynolds, Y. Sasaki, Lyman D. Smith,
George Van Santvoord, Albert C. Wap-
pler, Richard S. Wormser, Rudolph
Zinsser.
Master Sandro Tovelli.
Associate Members
Mesdames: Charles T. Ashman, B. P.
Bole, C. W. De Long, Marjorie Lee Guest,
John N. Tidd.
Misses: Orrel M. Andrews, Annie
Celeste Cutter, Elisabeth Ireland, N. B.
Kimber, Vesta M. Rogers.
Prof. WiLHELM SeGERBLOM.
Doctors: J. F, T. Berliner, E. H. Gushing,
A. J. T. Janse, Philip W. Smith, John A.
Wilson.
Captain J. A. Judge
Messrs.: John L. Atlee, William Howard
Ball, James A. Bell, W. F. Bradshaw,
Edward B. Butler, George J. Cooke,
Clarence E. Fox, Samuel P. Hayes, Jr.,
N. H. Heck, Charles W. Hills, Henrik
KoppELS, Eugene C. Kuniholm, David I.
Modell, Sterling Rohlfs, Earl S. Rush,
J. Allan Smith, M. V. Terry, Lewis M.
Webb, Fred Wurm, Jr., Henry Anson
Wylde.
THE MUSEUM EXPLORING
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER
Pliny E« Goddard, Editor
Dr. Roy W. Miner visited the Bahamas during the summer to secure specimens, color
studies, and notes for the completion of the Coral Group. A hurricane visited the same locaUtj-.
An illustrated article will give a vivid account of this trip.
Assistant Director Murphy cruised in the Mediterranean where there are birds above, fish
below, and mammals on the surface of the sea. There are pictures and interesting text.
Associate Curator Nelson and Mrs. Nelson have been in Asia with the Central Asiatic
Expedition two summers and a winter. The winter they spent in the upper Yangtze valley
hunting for early man. Mr. Nelson writes interestingly and scientifically of the evidences of
Stone Age man. Mrs. Nelson tells of her experiences with the living inhabitants.
Mr. H. E. Anthony, curator of mammals, presents some observations on the Indians of
Ecuador. The country these people live in is better adapted for scenery than agriculture, but
nevertheless supports a considerable population.
Mr. Erich Schmidt, a graduate student at Columbia University, undertook a research
problem in archeeology which he worked out in the laboratory of the Southwest. The field
trip was financed by Mrs. William Boyce Thompson who personally assisted in the work of
excavation.
Douglas Burden, a trustee of the Museum, went to the Grand Canon and saw things in
Arizona which tourists miss. Besides the deep canon and sculptured mesas he saw where
erosion has taken aw^y enormous deposits in other geological periods. f '
How did the fishes of the North Atlantic get to the North Pacific without passing through
tropical waters? Associate Curator Nichols discusses this from some observations made on a
recent trip to Bering Sea.
THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
FOUNDED IN 1869
Board of Trustees
Henry Faikfield Osboun,
George F. Baker, First Vice President
J. P. Morgan, Second Vice President
George F. Baker, Jr., Treasurer
Percy R. Pyne, Secretary
George T. Bowdoin
Frederick F. Brewster
Douglas Burden
Frederick Trubee Davison
Cleveland Earl Dodge
Childs Frick
Madison Grant
Chauncey J. Hamlin
William Averell Harriman
Felix M. Warburg
President
Clarence L. Hay
Archer M. Huntington
Adrian Iselin
Walter B. James
RoswELL Miller
Ogden Mills
Junius Spencer Morgan, Jr.
A. Perry Osborn
Daniel E. Pomeroy
George D. Pratt
A. Hamilton Rice
Leonard C. Sanford
William K. Vanderbilt
James J. Walker, Mayor op the City of New York
Charles W. Berry, Comptroller of the City of New York
Francis D. Gallatin, Commissioner of the Department of Parks
MEMBERSHIP MORE THAN NINE THOUSAND
For the enrichment of its collections, for the support of its explorations and scientific research,
and for the maintenance of its publications, the American Museum of Natural History is de-
pendent wholly upon membership fees and the generosity of friends. More than 9000 members
are now enrolled who are thus supporting the work of the Museum. The various classes of
membership are:
Associate Member (nonresident) *
Annual Member
Sustaining Member
Life Member
Fellow . .
Patron
Associate Benefactor
Associate Founder .
Benefactor
Endowment Member
*Persons resid
annually
annually
annually
$200
ng fifty miles or more from New York City
$1,000
$10,000
$25,000
$50,000
$100,000
Subscriptions by check and inquiries regarding membership should be addressed: George
F. Baker, Jr., Treasurer, American Museum of Natural History, New York City.
FREE TO MEMBERS
NATURAL HISTORY: JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM
Natural History, published bimonthly by the Museum, is sent to all classes of members
as one of their privileges. Through Natural History they are kept in touch with the activi-
ties of the Museum and with the marvels of nature as they are revealed by study and explora-
tion in various regions of the globe.
AUTUMN AND SPRING COURSES OF POPULAR LECTURES
Series of illustrated lectures, held in the Auditorium of the Museum on alternate Thursday
evenings in the fall and spring of the year, are open only to members and to those holding tickets
given them by members.
Illustrated stories for the children of members are presented on alternate Saturday mornings
in the fall and in the spring.
MEMBERS' CLUB ROOM AND GUIDE SERVICE
A room on the third floor of the Museum, equipped with every convenience for rest, reading,
and correspondence, is set apart during Museum hours for the exclusive use of members. When
visiting the Museum, members are also privileged to avail themselves of the services of an
instructor for guidance.
THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY has a record of fifty-six year
of public service during whicli its activities have grown and broadened, until today it occupies
a position of recognized importance not only in the community it immediately serves but in
the educational life of the nation and in the progress of civilization throughout the world.
Every year brings evidence — in the growth of the Museum membership, in the ever-larger
number of individuals visiting its exliibits for study and recreation, in the rapidly expanding
activities of its school service, in the wealth of scientific information gathered by its world-wide
expeditions and disseminated through its publications— of the increasing influence exercised by
the institution. In 1925 no fewer than 1,775,890 individuals visited the Museum as com-
pared with 1,633,843 in 1924 and 1,440,726 in 1923. All of these people had access to the
exhibition halls without the payment of any admission fee whatsoever.
The EXPEDITIONS of the Museum have yielded during the past year results of distinct
value. The collections being made by Mr. Arthur S. Vernay in Angola, Africa; the studies of
Andean avifauna pursued by H. Watkins in Peru; the three fossil expeditions in the western
United States, in New Mexico, and Nebraska and Montana; the extensive survey of Polynesian
bird life conducted by the Whitney South Sea Expedition; the work pursued in selected faunal
areas of Venezuela by Mr. G. H. H. Tate; the field observations and collections made in
Panama by R. R. Benson; the studies of microscopic pond life of Mt. Desert Island by Dr.
Roy W. Miner and Mr. Frank J. Myers; the archeological excavations at two important
sites in Arizona; and the continuation of the brilliant work of the Third Asiatic Expedition
during the past season — these (and the list might be extended) are among the notable
achievements of the past twelve months.
The SCHOOL SERVICE of the Museum reaches annually about 6,000,000 boys and girls
through the opportunities it affords classes of students to visit the Museum; through lectures
on natural history especially designed for pupils and delivered both in the Museum and in
many school centers; through its loan collections, or "traveling museums," which during the
past 3^ear circulated among 410 schools, and were studied by 977,384 pupils. During
the same period 672,479 lantern slides were loaned by the Museum for use in the schools,
the total number of children reached being 3,941,494. 1,076 reels of motion pictures were
loaned to 48 pubUc schools and other educational institutions in Greater New York, reaching
333,097 children.
The LECTURE COURSES, some exclusively for members and their children, others for the
schools, colleges, and the general pubhc, are delivered both in the Museum and at outside
educational institutions.
The LIBRARY, comprising 100,000 volumes, is at the service of scientific workers and others
interested in natural history, and an attractive reading room is provided for their
accommodation .
The POPULAR PUBLICATIONS of the Museum, in addition to Natural History,
include Handbooks, which deal with the subjects illustrated by the collections, and Guide
Leaflets, which describe some exhibit or series of exhibits of special interest or importance, or
the contents of some hall or some branch of Museum activity.
The SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS of the Museum, based upon its explorations and the
study of its collections, comprise the Memoirs, of quarto size, devoted to monographs requiring
large or fine illustrations and exhaustive treatment; the Bulletin, issued since 1881, in octavo
form, dealing with the scientific activities of the departments, aside from anthropology; the
Anthropological Papers, recording the work of the staff of the department of anthropology;
and Novitates, devoted to the publication of preliminary scientific announcements, descriptions
of new forms, and similar matters.
For a detailed list of popular and scientific publications with prices apply to:
The Librarian, American Museum of Natural History
New York City
Vol. XXVI NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1926
No. 6
iNATURALl
iHlSTORYi
^
i
USEUM EDC^ORING
<«• "■-*»- ^j - "^
i
» ^/?^'^w r ^-</ y wLiJvyflrAJWfljwi»gviws«
J JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN <
Q MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY (1
L
EXPLORATION RESEARCH-EDUCATION
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION $3.00 SINGLE COPIES 50 CENTS
FREE TO MEMBERS AND ASSOCIATE MEMBERS OF THE MUSEUM
THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
Scientific Staff for 1926
Henry Fairfield Osborn, LL.D., President
George H. Sherwood, A. M., Acting Director and Executive Secretary
Frederic A. Lccas, Sc.D., Honorary Director
Robert C. Mcrphy, D.Sc, Assistant Director (In Scientific Correspondence, Exhibition, and Labeling)
James L. Clark, Assistant Director (In full charge of Preparation;
I. DIVISION OF MINERALOGY, GEOLOGY,
AND GEOGRAPHY
Astronomy
G. Clyde Fisher, Ph.D., LL.D. (In Charge)
History of the Earth
WD. M.^TTHEW, Ph.D., Acting Curator in Geology
Chester A. Reeds, Ph.D., Associate Curator of Inverte-
brate Palaeontology
Minerals and Gems
Herbert P. Whitlock, C.E., Curator
George F. Kunz, Ph.D., Research Associate in Gems
Lea McIlvaine Luquer, Ph.D., Research Associate in
Optical Mineralogy
Extinct Animals
W D. M.vtthew, Ph.D , F.R.S., Curator-in-Chief
Henry Fairfield Osborn, LL.D., D.Sc, Honorary
Curator
Walter Gr.anger, Associate Curator of Fossil jMammalB
B.vRNUM Brotvn, A.B., Associate Curator of Fossil Reptiles
Cn.iRLES C. MooK, Ph.D., Associate in Pakeontology
Childs Frick, B.S., Research Associate in Paleontology
William K. Gregory, Ph.D., Research Associate in Palae-
ontology
II. DIVISION OF ZOOLOGY, AND ZOO-
GEOGRAPHY
Marine Life
Rot W. Miner, Ph.D., Ciirator
Willard G. Van Name, Ph.D., Associate Curator
Fr.\nk J. Myers, Research Associate in Rotifera
Horace W. Stunkajrd, Ph.D., Research Associate in Para-
sitology ... ,
A. L. Treadwell, Ph.D., Research Associate m Annulata
Insect Life
Frank E. Lutz, Ph.D., Curator
A. J. Mutchler, Assistant Curator of Coleoptera
Frank E. Watson, B.S., Assistant in Lepidoptera
William M. Wheeler, Ph.D., Research Associate in Social
Insects
Charles W. Leng, B.S., Research Associate in Coleoptera
Herbert F. Schwasz, A.M., Research Associate in
Hymenoptera
Fishes
WiLLiAii K. Gregory, Ph.D., Curator
Bashford Dean, Ph.D., Honorary Curator
John T. Nichols, A.B., Associate Curator of Recent Fishes
E. W. Gudger, Ph.D., Bibliographer and Associate
Ch.^rles H. Townsend, Sc.D., Research Associate
C. M. Breder Jr. Research Associate
V.\N Campen Heilner, F.R.G.S., Field Representative
Amphibians and Reptiles
G. KiNGSLEY Noble, Ph.D., Curator
Bertram G. Smith, Ph.D., Research Associate
A. B. Dawson, Ph.D., Research Associate
Birds
Frank M. Chapman, Sc.D., Curator-in-Chief
W. DeW. Miller, Associate Curator
Robert Cushman Murphy, D.Sc, Associate Curator of
Marine Birds
James P. Chapin, Ph.D., Associate Curator of Birds of the
Eastern Hemisphere
Ludlow Griscom, M.A., Assistant Curator
JoNATH.vN Dwight, M.D., Research Associate in North
American Ornithology
Elsie M. B. Naumburg, Research Associate
Mammals of the World
H. E. Anthony, M.A., Curator
Herbert Lang, Associate Curator of African Mammals
Carl E. Akeley, Associate in Mammalogy
Comparative and Human Anatomy
William K. Gregory, Ph.D., Curator
S. H. Chubb, Associate Curator
H. C. Raven, Associate Curator
J. How.vrd McGregor, Ph.D., Research Associate in
Human Anatomy
Dudley J. Morton, M.D., Research Associate
III. DIVISION OF ANTHROPOLOGY
Science of Man
Clark Wissler, Ph.D., Curator-in-Chief
Pliny E. Godd.\rd, Ph.D., Curator of Ethnology
N. C. Nelson, M.L., Associate Curator of Archaeology
Ch.\bles W. Mead, Honorary Curator of Peruvian Archae-
ology
H.^rryL. Shapiro, Ph.D., Assistant Curator of Physical
Anthropology
Marg.^ret Mead, Ph.D., Assistant Curator of Ethnology
William K. Gregory, Ph.D. , Associate in Physical Anthro-
pology
Clarence L. Hay, A.M., Research Associate in Mexican
and Central American Archaeology
MiLO Hellman, D.D.S., Research Associate in Physical
Anthropology
IV
DIVISION OF ASIATIC EXPLORATION
AND RESEARCH
Central Asiatic Expeditions
RoY' Chapman Andrews, A.M., D Sc, Curator-in-Chief
Walter Granger, Associate Curator in Palaeontology
Chables P. Berkey, Ph.D. [Columbia University], Pwe-
search Associate in Geology
Frederick K. Morris, A.M., Associate in Geology and
Geography
Amadeus W. GR.^B.iu, S.D. [Geological Survey of China],
Research Associate
Clifford H.Pope, B. A., Assistant in Zoology
V.
DIVISION OF EDUCATION AND
PUBLICATION
Library and Publications
Ida Richardson Hood, A.B., Acting Curator
H.^ZEL Gay, Assistant Librarian
J.o<nette M.iY Luc.^s, B.S., Assistant Librarian — Osborn
Library
Education and Public Health
George H. Sherwood, A.M., Curator-in-Chief
G. Clyde Fisher, Ph. ID., LL.D., Curator of Visual In
struction
Grace Fisher Ramsey. Assistant Curator
Frank E. Lutz, Ph.D., Research Associate in Outdoor
Education
Ch.uiles-Edward Amory Winslow, D.P.H., Honorary
Curator
M.ary Greig, Assistant Curator of Public Health
Public Information Committee
George N. Pind.^r, Chairman
George H. Sherwood, A.M.
W.4.YNE M. Faunce. Sc.B.
Natural History Magazine and Advisory Committee
George H. Sherwood, A.M., Chairman
The Departmental Editors
A. Katherine Berger, Assistant^ Editor
Frank M. Chapm.vn, Sc.D.
Frank E. Lutz, Ph.D.
W. D. M.\tthew, Ph.D.
Cl.^rk Wissler Ph.D.
NATU°
H
L
TORY
THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM
DEVOTED TO NATURAL HISTORY,
EXPLORATION. AND THE DEVELOP-
MENT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION
THROUGH THE MUSEUM
THE MUSEUM EXPLORING
PLINY E. GODDARD. EDITOR
NOVEMBER -DECEMBER, 1926
[Published January, 1927]
Volume XXVI, Number 6
Copyright, 1927, by the American Museum of Natural Historj-, New York, N. Y.
NATURAL HISTORY
Volume XXVI CONTENTS FOR NOVEMBER-DECEMBER Number 6
A Cruise to Majorca Robert Cushman Murphy 552
The Mediterranean, navigated since the times of Homer, yields results to the explorer.
Prehistoric Man of Central China N. C. Nelson 570
A search of the gorges of the Yangtze reveals no occupation of the caves by prehistoric men who
were late settlers in the region.
A Houseboat on the Yangtze Ethelyn G. Nelson 580
An intimate view of the daily Ufe of the common people in a section of China
The Bahamas in Sunshine and Storm Roy Waldo Miner 588
A hurricane interrupts under-sea exploring and wrecks the work of man and nature
Impressions of Alaska — Where East and West Approximate . . J. T. Nichols 605
The inhabitants of the waters of North Pacific Ocean and their migrations
A Collector's Impressions of the Quichua Indians H. E. Anthony 614
The mountaineers of Ecuador in many respects live as they did in pre-Spanish times
Niznaz Boko — The Great Hole in the Ground Douglas Burden 626
During geologic time water in a somewhat arid region has deposited and removed incomprehensible
masses of material
The Mrs. William Boyce Thompson Expedition Erich F. Schmidt 635
a region but little known to archaeologists gives up much of its history
"Distribution of Bird-Life in Ecuador" Witmer Stone 645
An appreciation of Curator Chapman's study of the birds of Ecuador in relation to past and
present environment.
Felix von Luschan and His Collections Clark Wissler 650
How a great collection of human skeletal remains came to be made
J. T. Wortman — A Biographical Sketch Henry F. Osborn 652
The Greenland Shark H. C. Raven 654
Notes • 655
Published bimonthly, by the American Museum of Natural History, New York, N. Y. Subscription price $3.00
a year.
Subscriptions should be addressed to George F. Baker, Jr., Treasurer, American Museum of Natural History,
77th St. and Central Park West, New York City.
NATUR.A.L History is sent to all members of the American Museum as one of the privileges of membership.
Entered as second-class matter April 3, 1919, at the Post Office at New York, New York, under the Act of
August 24, 1912.
Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized
on July 15, 1918.
EXPLORING
IN order to provide habitat groups and other exhibits illustrating
the natural history of the entire world, expeditions must be
constantly in the field. These exploring parties travel over
land to remote regions often difficult of access and lacking means
for easy and rapid transportation. Other investigations require
ships for the study of the life of the seas, islands, and shores more
accessible by water than by land. There is also a vast and varied
under-water world of both vegetable and animal life that must be
explored and recorded by dredging and diving.
This issue of Natural History presents the experiences of
several Museum expeditions during the current year. These
include voyages in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Mediterranean, and
up the great river of China, the Yangtze. While such trips often
present the lure of the unknown and reward the participants with
striking scenery and many pleasurable experiences, dangers are
ever present. The Mediterranean is not always safe and com-
fortable for a small boat; and the Yangtze gorges, normally
infested by bandits, were in the Chinese war zone. A hurricane
devasted the very region in which Doctor Miner and his party
were exploring. It is precisely this element of the unexpected and
unknown, with the attendant dangers, that makes the explorer's
life alluring.
.•y^f, i,'. i^t/C/Ai'rtVA'
THE OCEANOGRAPHIC MUSEUM AT MONACO
The only complete and most beautiful institution of its kind, this Museum was founded by
the late ruler of the Principahty, His Serene Highness Prince Albert I. It was dedicated m 1910.
In addition to sumptuous exhibits illustrating oceanographic technique, fisheries and other marine
resources, the physical and chemical properties of the earth's water, and the hfe of the sea in aU
parts and at all depths, the Museum also includes laboratories for oceanic research and an aquarium
in which Mediterranean animals may be studied under conditions which simulate their natural
habitats
552
Volume XXVI
\L HIST
NOVEAl B]<]R-DECKMBER, H)2()
Number 6
A Cruise to Majorca
EXPERIENCES OF A SUMMER YACHTING TRIP, 1926
By ROBERT CUSHMAN MURPHY
Assistant Director (Scientific Section)
THE windless sunset of July 13
lived up to Iberian traditions,
making us forget for the time
that such weather was getting us
nowhere. The sea lay pale green, with
purplish flashing hollows. No swell
rocked our schooner ; no air shook the
sails. Over the red west the new
moon carried a luminous sphere within
her horns. The leaden east, toward
Corsica, had a peculiarly impenetrable
appearance until stars broke through,
after which those of high magnitude
east unbroken beams across the water.
At eleven o'clock our host, standing the
evening watch, called me to the quart-
er-deck to see the whole bright re-
flection of the Milky Way in the depths
of a refulgent mirror. Nothing of the
sort came to memory from my previous
life at sea and, moreover, for the first
time I could discern stars down to the
level of the eye, almost at the boundary
of sky and water.
At dawn of the previous day we had
left Monaco with a cool and lively
wind which had been blowing for a
week off the Maritime Alps. The
Oceanographic Museum and the green
promontory had gleamed in the first
rays of the sun as we left them astern.
All day we had slanted away from the
Riviera on our westerly course, through
increasing choppy swells from the
north. Those on board who were not
incapacitated by the sudden break from
life ashore were on the lookout for sea
birds, but it took an experienced eye
to make out the fluttering specks which
were stormy petrels, and which passed
us bow and stern as they beat their way
up wind toward the coast of France.
The "Wawaloam," the craft of our
adventuring into old fields, had been
placed at the disposal of the Ameri-
can Museum by her owner, Mr. Jesse
Metcalf. She was a seemly three-
masted schooner of comfortable Dutch