PREFACE 



The present pamphlet contains preliminary illustrated accounts of 

 the year's field expeditions of the Institution and certain of its 

 branches, namely, the National Museum, Bureau of American Eth- 

 nology, Astrophysical Observatory, and National Zoological Park. 

 The full results of this field-work will be published later in the vari- 

 ous series issued by the Institution. 



In the branches of science that constitute the main activity of the 

 Smithsonian Institution — geology, biology, anthropology, and astro- 

 physics, field-work is essential in the collection of specimens and in- 

 formation needed in the researches under way. Many of these expedi- 

 tions perforce visit little-known regions of the earth, and it is the 

 hope that the reader will find in these brief accounts some of the 

 interest of scientific exploration. 



W. P. True, 

 Editor, Smithsonian Institution. 



