﻿60 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. /S 



the U. S. Naval Observatory Eclipse Expedition to Sumatra. Dr. 

 Kellers reports the following : 



The expedition left San Francisco September i, and arrived at 

 Sumatra October 26, stopping at Java for three days for vise of 

 credentials of the members of the expedition by the Dutch officials. 

 The Astronomical Station was located at Kepahiang, a small village 

 on the Moesi River situated among the foothills of the western 

 range, with an elevation of about 1,900 feet above sea level. Kepa- 

 hiang is near Mt. Kaba, an active volcano, and about 40 kilometers 

 from the Indian Ocean. This proved to be an excellent location 

 for collecting trips. Most of the collecting was done around and on 

 the slopes of Mt. Kaba. 



Two ascents of this mountain were made to the rim of the crater, 

 and on each occasion numerous specimens were collected. Snares 

 and spring traps were set along the banks of the Moesi River and 

 in the jungle, with good results. xA.s the rainy season was on in 

 force by the end of November, hunting in the jungle was rather 

 disagreeable because of the countless leeches that attacked one, no 

 matter what precautions were taken. They bite so softly that their 

 presence cannot be detected except for the blood which trickles from 

 the wound. After covering a few kilometers in the jungle, the legs 

 of my native hunters would change in color from the natural brown 

 to a bright red, when they would rest and scrape off the leeches. 

 The terraced rice fields in the vicinity of the station were worked over 

 with seine and dip net for fresh-water fish and amphibia, with good 

 results, and many reptiles were captured. 



Four trips were made to the village of Benkoelen on the coast of 

 the Indian Ocean for marine invertebrates and tow net hauls. A 

 double outrigger canoe was used for towing the plankton nets, and 

 I was able by increasing or furling the sail area, to obtain all the 

 speed needed with the afternoon trade wind. The canoe although 

 rather small, was in no danger of turning over while sailing, as 

 the outriggers used by the natives were the largest I have seen, 

 either in the Solomon group of Islands or the Samoan Islands that 

 I have visited. Two excursions were made to the Island of Poeloetikus 

 in the Indian Ocean where large quantities of marine life were 

 collected. 



The advent of the automobile, with the whirr of the engine on the 

 roads skirting the edge of the jungle, makes collecting more difficult, 

 and one must now penetrate far into the jungle to hunt game which 

 formerly might have been obtained comparatively near the borders 

 of the wild territory. 



