PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 3 



HISTORY OF THE TWO SPECIMENS OF FOSSIL TREES IN THE SMITH- 

 SONIAN INSTITUTION, WASHINGTON, D. C. 



The General of the Army, General W. T. Sherman, while on a tour 

 across the continent in the fall of 1878, snggested to Lieut. Col. P. T. 

 Swaine, Fifteenth United States Infantry, then in command of the post 

 of Fort Wingate, K. Mex., the expediency of procuring two of the pet- 

 rifactions of the country in that vicinity of reasonable dimensions for 

 transportation, yet sufdciently large to be worthy of a place in the 

 Smithsonian Institution. Acting upon this snggestion, an expedition 

 was organized early in the spring of 1879 to proceed to the Lithodeudron 

 (stone ^trees) in Arizona. Thomas V. Kearns, a gentleman of long 

 residence in that part of the country, and familiar with the locality to 

 be explored,- kindly volunteered Ids services, and success was, in a great 

 measure, due to his efforts in carrying out the wishes of the General. 

 The military detaU consisted of Second Lieut. J. T. C. Hegewald, one 

 sergeant, and twelve soldiers, all of the Fifteenth United States Infantry, 

 and the party was well supplied with army wagon running gears spe- 

 cially arranged for hauling stone, and with tools and appliances complete. 

 Lieutenant Hegewald has furnished a detailed and comprehensive 

 statement of the events connected with this expedition, which is inter- 

 esting as an appendix to this paper. 



Only one of the two specimens obtained from the Lithodeudron by 

 Mr. Kearns and Lieutenant Hegewald was forwarded to Washington. 

 This is the large dark-colored one. In the place of the second one 

 brought in from the locality of the Lithodeudron a better specimen was 

 found on the Mesa to the north of and adjacent to Fort Wingate, 

 about two miles irom the flag-staff. This is the smaller and lighter 

 colored one. 



First. Lieut. S. R. Stafford, regimental quartermaster, Fifteenth 

 United States Infantry, had a strong platform made of plank spiked 

 together, and rolled each fossil on separately, fastening them in place 

 with strap iron, and hauled them to Santa Fe, N. Mex., where they were 

 detained in the government corral awaiting the collection of enough 

 other curiosities to make up a car load, when they were shipped to 

 Washington under the direction and care of agents of the Smithsonian. 



P. T. SWAIXE, 

 Lieutenant-Colonel Fifteenth Infantry, Brevet Colonel, U. S. A. 



A STUKYOF THE PHRONIHIW-IE OF THE .\ORTJI PACIFIC SUKVEV- 

 IIV« EXPEOITI©I\. 



By THO§. II. STKEET§, M, !>., U. S. IV. 



The identification of the Fhrouimw has been attended with difficulty 

 on account of the absence of properly-defined characters. Glaus, who 

 gives the most detailed account of them, combines in his description of 

 P. sedentaria more than one species. I have had no opportunity to 

 examine P. sedentaria. The following article is the result of close 



