REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 75 



year. By June 30 a little over half of the basin had been covered. 

 Numerous sites had been located and recorded, and a number had 

 been trenched for additional information. Several small rock shel- 

 ters were excavated to salvage material which was being disturbed by 

 unauthorized collectors. Two laborers for digging test trenches and 

 for excavating in the shelters were supplied by the resident engineer. 

 The Brazos flows through an important archeological and paleon- 

 tological area in Texas and much information is contained in the sites 

 which will be flooded by the Whitney Dam. On the basis of data 

 already obtained by the survey, a number of key sites will be recom- 

 mended for excavation. 



Joe Ben Wheat, archeologist, was appointed to the Surveys in Texas 

 on March 20, 1947. He left Austin on March 25 for Galveston where 

 he conferred with the district engineer and obtained information 

 about the priority of various Corps of Engineer projects in Texas. 

 From Galveston he proceeded to the Barker Reservoir near Houston. 

 He found that the project was so near completion that there was no 

 possibility of salvaging archeological information from that area. 

 Construction on the Barker Dam had completely destroyed one large 

 mound and obliterated any evidence of occupation areas. As a con- 

 sequence he proceeded to the nearby Addicks Dam and began a sur- 

 vey of that area. After learning that much of the reservoir basin 

 would be under water onlj'- at rare intervals, Mr. Wheat turned his 

 attention to six sites in the immediate vicinity of the dam which 

 would be destroyed either as a result of construction or by erosion 

 from stream action. All these were tested, and from the information 

 thus obtained he concluded that two of them should be excavated as 

 they contained a sequence of materials showing a number of cultural 

 changes. In this connection he went to Galveston on ISIay 20 and con- 

 ferred with Colonel Griffiths, the district engineer. As a result of 

 this conference, Mr. Wlieat was furnished an excavation crew, trans- 

 portation, and the equipment necessary for conducting the excava- 

 tions. He returned to Addicks on May 22, and was able to begin 

 actual excavations on May 29. Digging was still in progress on 

 June 30. 



Robert L. Stephenson, archeologist, joined the Surveys in Texas on 

 April 28. From that date until May 5 he worked at Austin, conferring 

 with members of the Museum staff at the University, studying collec- 

 tions of archeological material, and making preparations for field 

 reconnaissance. He left Austin on May 6 for the Hords Creek Reser- 

 voir. From May 7 through May 17 he examined the Hords Creek 

 Reservoir Basin, locating and recording eight archeological sites. On 

 May 18 he left Coleman for Waco where he conferi-ed with Frank 

 H. Watt, of the Central Texas Archeological Association, obtaining 

 information about archeological sites along the Brazos River, and 



