December 1, 1916] 



SCIENCE 



795 



foot behind and was decorated with hawk's 

 feathers (p. 76). 



As these natives followed along with the 

 expedition for a number of days, Captain 

 White was afforded the opportunity to study 

 not a few of their habits and customs ; indeed, 

 before this exploratory excursion drew to a 

 close, he not only was the discoverer of an en- 

 tirely new tribe, but he contributed a mass of 

 ethnological and anthropological knowledge to 

 what we formerly knew of the native tribes. 

 This was not only new, but also of great im- 

 portance, especially in view of the fact that 

 these black men are now gradually being elimi- 

 nated by the whites, and will soon become 

 utterly extinct. Miscegenation with respect 

 to the two races practically amounts to nil; 

 moreover, the native women, as in the cases of 

 other low races, are usually nonfertile in such 

 crossing. 



The women of this tribe never wear clothing 

 of any kind, and Captain "White's photographs 

 of them exhibit those he succeeded in obtain- 

 ing entirely nude. They have great affection 

 for their children, and are much pleased when 

 strangers pay them any attention. The pecu- 

 liar ceremonies of this tribe are described by 

 our intrepid explorer with very considerable 

 detail, and among other things he remarks : 



The dry watercourse before mentioned still tra- 

 versing our line of march, we were at times pass- 

 ing over its loose, sandy beds, with a row of red- 

 gums (which lined the watercourse) on either side. 

 A native would give forth a sharp exclamation 

 while looking up into one of the gumtrees. Then, 

 in the twinkling of an eye, half a dozen natives 

 would be up that tree, their lithe, muscular and 

 naked forms moving from branch to branch with 

 the ease of apes. They were in search of the large 

 white grubs, or larvaa, of a well-known moth, which 

 passes the first part of its existence boring in the 

 gum wood. These grubs are much sought after 

 by the natives, who call them "margoo. " It is 

 wonderful how they can tell at a glance if the 

 grub is at home, and how well they can make a 

 hole in the gum wood with a sharp-pointed stick 

 hardened by fire ! When the search was over, down 

 they would come again to mother earth with a 

 grunt, and on the march again. Not an item of 

 anything missed these happy children of the des- 

 ert. They would try to show me a bird, a reptile 



or an insect at a distance when the object was 

 stationary; and after several minutes of vain at- 

 tempts to show me where it was, the object would 

 move off; if I showed my vexation, they would 

 laugh softly and pass remarks among themselves. 

 Tracks, which these wild men saw at a glance as 

 they walked along, the sight expressed only by a 

 nasal ' ' hem, hem ' ' and the outspreading of the 

 fingers, or the pointing in a certain direction with 

 the index one, were not revealed to me, when, on 

 hands and knees, I was peering into the spot 

 where the track, to my dusky companions, was 

 easily seen; and when I rose with a shake of the 

 head, they only quietly laughed and passed on, 

 wondering, no doubt, at the slow-witted white man. 



Captain "White found but few mammals in 

 the country traversed, and snakes, too, were 

 rare. Upon the other hand, quite a number of 

 new birds were taken, and the specimens 

 brought back with the party. In fact, ninety- 

 four species of birds were collected, five of 

 which were new. Many undescribed insects 

 were found in the stomachs of the small birds 

 brought back, and the main collection of 

 spiders and insects contained a great many 

 more entirely new forms. New moths and 

 ants were also taken, the latter being worked 

 up by Professor "W. M. Wheeler, of Harvard 

 University. Professor Wheeler found nineteen 

 species of ants new to science. Five new plants 

 were found in the two hundred species col- 

 lected, one of which was a heretofore un- 

 described species of tobacco. 



Another expedition will soon be organized; 

 doubtless many more novelties will be dis- 

 covered, and more exhaustive studies made of 

 the rapidly disappearing natives. 



R. W. Shufeldt 



Washington, D. C, 

 September 14, 1916 



SPECIAL ARTICLES 



THE OVULATION PERIOD IN RATS 



There are many observations on the occur- 

 rence of ovulation in mammals; but very few 

 investigations on the regular recurrence of 

 that event, perhaps because of the fact that 

 such investigation must involve the systematic 

 study of sections of whole ovaries and oviducts 

 of animals killed at frequent intervals over 



