F. GEOGRAPHY. 267 



summer. 8. Two courses to the pole, involving most prom- 

 ise of results, are the sea between Spitzbergen and Nova 

 Zembla and that north of Behring Strait to the coast of the 

 unknown polar hdnd. Geograji/ty and Exploration of Polar 

 jRegions, No. 93. 



EXPLORATIONS IX 1874 OF LIEUTENANT G. M. WHEELER, 

 UNITED STATES ENGINEERS. 



The officers and civilian assistants of Lieutenant Wheeler's 

 explorations were engaged during the year, until the com- 

 mencement of the field season, late in June, in their regular 

 office duties in the several branches of the work. Lieuten- 

 ant S. E. Tillman, Corps of Engineers, having been relieved 

 from the work, was ordered to report for duty with one of the 

 Transit of Venus parties. Lieutenant R. L. Hoxie, another of 

 the Engineer officers connected with the survey in 1872-73, 

 was ordered to duty as engineer for the Board of Public 

 Works, District of Columbia, The force, however, was in- 

 creased by one officer (Lieutenant Price) of the Corps of En- 

 gineers and three officers selected from the line of the Army. 

 The results from the office work have been the publication 

 of the Progress Report of 1872, a preliminary catalogue of 

 plants gathered in 1871, '72, and '73, and a preliminary re- 

 port upon the ornithological specimens collected in 1871, '72, 

 and '73 the first in quarto, the two latter in octavo. An 

 advance edition of the topographical atlas sheets, comprising 

 four of the main sheets, embracing an area of little more than 

 70,000 square miles, and other physical sheets, was also pub- 

 lished. The total professional force taking the field was 3 

 officers of the Corps of Engineers, 3 officers of the line of the 

 Army, 2 acting assistant-surgeons, 1 hospital steward, 2 ad- 

 ditional astronomical assistants, 11 topographical assistants, 

 11 meteorological assistants, 2 paleo'ntological assistants, 2 

 natural-history collectors, 1 photographer, 1 property agent, 

 1 disbursing clerk, 1 property clerk. While the party was 

 engaged in field operations, an office force, consisting of 3 

 draughtsmen and 1 computer, was constantly engaged; and 

 1 clerk, in charge of the general records and revision of the 

 manuscript for the final reports, was also of their number, 

 with the requisite number of guides, cargadores, packers, cooks, 

 laborers, etc. Nine separate parties took the field for oper- 



