8 ANNUAL REPOET SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1924 



As a result of this expedition, enough material was secured for a 

 good skeletal mount of Diplodocus which, it is estimated, will exceed 

 80 feet in length with a height at the hips of 14 feet. 



BIOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS IN THE YANG-TZE VALLEY, CHINA 



Through the continued generosity of Dr. W. L. Abbott, Mr. Charles 

 M. Hoy sailed for China toward the close of 1922 to collect verte- 

 brates for the Institution in the Yang-Tze Valley region. His first 

 collecting was done in the Yochow district, where he obtained a total 

 of 169 mammals and 84 birds. At the beginning of the fiscal yeai' 

 just past, Hoy left for a trip through Hunan and Kiangsi, in the 

 course of which many interesting specimens were obtained. From 

 Ruling, Kiangsi, a letter was received from Hoy, describing a series 

 of misfortunes, as follows: 



The day after writing my last letter to you, from Iningchow [never received], 

 I had a bad fall and badly wrenched my back. For about a week I was 

 scarcely able to crawl about. Just when my back was getting so I could 

 straighten up I had another accident and shot myself through the left leg with 

 the Colt 45 automatic. The accident was due to a " hang fire." The gun did 

 not go off when the hammer struck and so I lowered the gun to eject the 

 shell when the shell exploded. The bullet struck me on the inside of the leg 

 4 inches above the ankle bone. * * * The wound is healing nicely, but the 

 doctor says that it may be several months before I get full use of my foot and 

 that I will most likely have a slight permanent limp. However, I am hoping 

 that it won't interfere with my collecting, but even if I won't be able to do 

 much walking myself I have one man who is a crack shot with the shotgun 

 and another that is fair with the rifle, so I ought to be able. to get specimens 

 anyhow. My trip down from Iningchow was rather uneventful except for the 

 above accidents. We were under military guard all the way from there to 

 Kuikiang. The country, it seems, is full of disbanded Northern soldiers who 

 have driven out the natives and occupied their farms. Consequently it is 

 dangerous for even natives to travel through that region. The final explana- 

 tion given me, as to the reason of the escort, was that it was feared that my 

 guns and ammunition might fall into their hands. We were fired on once, in 

 the night, but aside from a lot of shouting and that one shot, nothing hap- 

 pened. We could never learn who fired the shot, but the way things turned out 

 I am convinced that we were mistaken for bandits and the shot was fired to 

 scare us off. Owing to the accidents, I have not been able to secure any speci- 

 mens since the writing of my last letter. My outfit has not j^et arrived owing 

 to the heavy rains, but as soon as it gets here I plan to send my men out collect- 

 ing so I will be able to get specimens notwithstanding the fact that I am con- 

 fined to the house. 



The gunshot wound was apparently healing, but while Hoy was 

 still confined to the house he developed a severe case of appendicitis, 

 necessitating an immediate operation, from which he never recovered. 



BOTANICAL EXPLORATION IN PANAMA AND CENTRAL AMERICA 



Dr. William R. Maxon, associate curator of plants in the National 

 Museum, was detailed in May, 1923, to accompany an expedition 



