EEPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 7 



McKay, lias supplied much tbat was desirable in the way of bird- 

 skins, Eskimo clotliing, stone relics, &c. By tLe withdrawal of most of 

 the signal stations from Alaska, Mr. Johnson has been transferred to 

 Port Huron, Mich., although it is expected that contributions will still 

 be received from the station through the kind assistance of Mr. Chirk, 

 the resident ofiScer of the Alaska Commercial Company. 



Mr. Grebnitsky, in charge of the Commander Islands off the coast of 

 Kamchatka, whose kind assistance to Dr. Stejueger, during his stay 

 in that region has been gratefully acknowledged, has continued to 

 make quite extended transmissions of collections, including skeletons 

 of mammals, alcoholic preparations of mammals, Inrds, crustaceans, 

 &c., which are very much valued. 



From Capt. H. Vj. Nichols, commander of the U. B. S. Fiiita, and Dr. 

 T. n. Streets, surgeon of the same vessel, stationed at Sitka, many im- 

 portant collections in natural history" haA^e come to hand, while from 

 Lieut. T. Dis Bolles, of the same service, have been received a number 

 of ethnological objects of much interest. 



Washington Territory. — Mr. -James G. Swan, the veteran correspond- 

 ent of the Smithsonian Institution at Puget Sound, lias continued his 

 investigations and contributions through the year, the latter including 

 numbers of articles prepared and used by the Indians for domestic 

 purposes. 



Rocky Mountain Region, — A large collection of skins and eggs of birds 

 was received from Capt. Charles P>endire. 



As explained elsewhere, this gentleman has been retired from actual 

 service in the Army, after the proper term of service, at his ow^n request, 

 and is now devoting himself as voluntary curator of oology to the 

 building up and thorough organization of the collection of nests and 

 eggs of birds, after presenting to the Museum his own magnificent cabi- 

 net, perhajis the largest in the United States. He has the aid of all 

 his correspondents towards completing the series, as also that of Dr. J. 

 C. Merrill, who has likewise presented his entire cabinet of eggs. 



Montana. — The attention of the Smithsonian Institution has been 

 called very impressively to the iuqjending extinction of the buffalo, and 

 to the fact that the localities which, a few years ago, abounded in these 

 animals are now almost without them. Indeed, the reduction in num- 

 ber has been so rapid as to render it probable that it is a question of 

 months rather than of years before they become extinct. 



Eealizing the fact that neither the National Museum nor the other 

 museums of the country possess well-prepared siiecimens of the buffalo, 

 and, desirous of securing a series before it is too late, the Institution 

 determined to send its chief taxidermi.st, Mr. William T. Hornaday, 

 with a party of assistants, to localities where the buffalo were still sup- 

 posed to occur in small numbers, with the view of securing enough for 

 the purposes in question. 



