Exploration Work of the Institution 473 



of showing by prompt and full correspondence the appreci- 

 ation of the Institution of labors in the cause of science, how- 

 ever small, has led to the formation of an army of zealous 

 collaborators, scattered throughout the world, who are always 

 willing to advance the work of the Institution and to add to 

 the collections which have grown up in the National Mu- 

 seum under its charge. Indeed, it seems to have become a 

 fixed belief in many parts of the United States that all scien- 

 tific explorations in the country are conducted by the Smith- 

 sonian Institution, and that all explorers are its agents. The 

 fruits of these hundreds of minor explorations are to be found 

 in the collections of the National Museum, and the names of 

 thousands of contributors are inscribed in its record-books. 

 A simple list of these correspondents and their donations 

 covers a score or more of pages in each annual Report, and it 

 would be obviously impossible to do justice to such a roll in 

 the space here available. 



It is desirable, however, to make mention of a few explo- 

 rations which show the generous response of individuals and 

 organizations to the endeavors of the Institution for the ad- 

 vancement of science. One of the earliest of these was the 

 exploration of the prehistoric mounds of Wisconsin by the 

 American Antiquarian Society, in relation to which Secretary 

 Henry made the following interesting statement in the Re- 

 port for 1851 : 1 



"The most interesting circumstance connected with the 

 study of the ancient remains of this country is a recent action 

 of the American Antiquarian Society of Worcester, Massa- 

 chusetts. This Institution was founded in 1812 by the zeal 

 and liberality of Isaiah Thomas, for the purpose of collecting 

 and preserving such manuscripts, pamphlets, and other articles 

 as relate to the history of this country, and for the explora- 



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