XXXVI INTRODUCTION. 
country, the cranberry delights in the irreclaimable marshes and_ bogs, and the 
huckleberry flourishes in the barren ridges. Most of the common articles of diet in 
use among the Indians, Dr. Parry has been able to refer both to their botanical 
terms and Indian names. 
On account of the peculiar interest attached to the cryptogamia in connexion 
with geology, I requested Dr. Parry to pay particular attention to that class of 
plants. He informs me that he has collected thirty-eight species of Ferns, and the 
allied orders Equisitacea and Lycopodiacea. 
All doubtful specimens have been referred to Dr. Torrey, of New York, especially 
in the classification of grasses and sedges. The mosses collected have been sub- 
mitted to Mr. Wm. S. Sullivant, of Ohio. 
The Indian names of the plants have been obtained partly from Mr. Ely, of La 
Pointe, and partly from the Rev. R. Hopkins, of Traverse des Sioux. 
Mr. Pratten, one of the assistants engaged on the St. Peter's, being conversant 
with the subject of ornithology, I requested him to make, in addition to his other 
duties, observations in that department of natural history. 
On the St. Peter’s and its tributaries, Mr. Pratten observed ninety-five species of 
birds that breed in the country. The greater part of these birds are such as have 
a wide geographical range; only two may be considered as peculiar to the West, viz., 
Embiriza pallida, and Icterus xanthocephalus (yellow-headed black-bird); the latter, 
I believe, has not been found east of the Mississippi River. Mr. Pratten also 
observed, opposite the mouth of the Mankato River, the Golden Eagle, which is 
rather a rare bird. 
A classified list of these birds will be found in the Appendix. 
