BIOLOGICAL COLLECTING WITH THE U. S. NAVAL 



OBSERVATORY ECLIPSE EXPEDITION 



TO THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS/ 



By dr. henry C. KELLERS, 



United States Naz'y 



While on duty with the U. S. Marine Corps in Nicaragua, I re- 

 ceived a radio early in January, 1929, detailing me to accompany the 

 U. S. Naval Observatory Eclipse Expedition to the Philippine Islands 

 as representative of the Smithsonian Institution. I left Nicarag"ua 

 January 10, and eleven days later arrived in San Diego, California, 

 where I gathered together the collecting equipment which had been 

 sent out for me by the U. S. National Museum, and joined the eclipse 

 party on board the \J. S. S. Henderson, which sailed for Manila 

 January 26. After a pleasant voyage across the Pacific, stopping at 

 Honolulu and Guam, we arrived at Manila, February 19, where the 

 party was met by Father Selga, Director of the Manila Observatory, 

 who had during the previous year prepared interesting maps and 

 astronomical and meteorological data indicating the conditions likely 

 to prevail at the time of the eclipse; also a summary of the housing 

 facilities, hygienic conditions, and accessibility of the places in the 

 path of totality, which were of great value to the astronomers and 

 also to me as biologist of the expedition. After remaining two weeks 

 at Manila, we left March 5 on the V. S. Pcnquin for Iloilo, Panay 

 Island, arriving there March 9. This gave me exactly 8 weeks to do 

 collecting before the eclipse which took place on May 9. 



Iloilo is the second largest city of the Philippine Islands, in popula- 

 tion as well as in commerce. We spent several days in visiting various 

 places and examining sites on which to erect the astronomical instru- 

 ments and cameras. It was decided at last to occupy the grounds 

 of the Philippine Railroad at Lapus, which was just across the Iloilo 

 River from the City and connected by a ferry that ran unceasingly 

 day and night at one centavo a trip in the daytime and two centavos 

 at night. The president of the railroad offered to us all the facilities 

 at his command, including the use of the machine and work shops 



^ The Smithsonian Listitution is greatly indebted to the Navy Department for 

 its cooperation and courtesy in designating Lieutenant Kellers, the medical officer 

 of the Eclipse Expedition, as special representative of the Institution for the 

 purpose of collecting natural history material. 



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