[15] 



FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 527 



Forbes, to m hich are referred all zoological problems of interest to the State. In con- 

 nection with his other duties, Professor Forbes has conducted careful zoological sur- 

 veys of many of the lakes and rivers of the State, including the southern part of Lake 

 Michigan. 



In this connection, reference might also be made to private fishing clubs and to ama- 

 teur and professional fishermen, who are making constant contributions regarding the 

 habits and distribution of fish. 



Western Union Telegraph Expedition. — This expedition to ascertain and survey the most 

 feasible route for a line of telegraph from the United States to Bering Straits, in Alaska, 

 thence to connect with a similar line through Siberia to Eussia, although without 

 practical issue so far as the construction of a telegraph line was concerned, gave excel- 

 lent scientific results, and afforded the means of studying the fauna and flora of a pre- 

 viously unexplored region. The party was organized on a military basis, with Captain 

 Charles S. Buckley, engineer in chief; Captain Charles M. Scammon, chief of marine ; 

 and Mr. Eobert Kennicott, chief of the scientific corps. A steamer and four sailing 

 vessels were at their disposal. The scientific corps consisted of the following mem- 

 bers, in addition to the chief: William H. Dall, H. M. Bannister, Ferd. Bischoff, H. 

 W. Elliott, J. T. Eothrock, and Charles Pease. They left New York for San Francisco 

 in April, 1865, by way of the Isthmus of Nicaragua, and spent some three weeks at the 

 latter place making collections. Arriving at San Francisco in May, Messrs. Bannis- 

 ter, Elliott, and Eothrock soon left for British Columbia, while the rest of the party 

 remained until the middle of July, studying the fauna and making extensive collec- 

 tions. In July, Mr. Kennicott, with the balance of his party, sailed for Alaska, touch- 

 ing at Vancouver's Island on the way. He visited Sitka, the Shumagin Islands, and 

 Saint Michael's, establishing himself at the latter place for a prolonged series of explo- 

 rations. In the meantime Mr. Dall, with the main party, proceeded to Plover Bay, 

 Eastern Siberia, and thence to Petropavlovsk, Kamschatka, returning to San Fran- 

 cisco in November, 1865. Several weeks of January, 1866, were spent by Mr. Dall at 

 Monterey, California, in zoological collecting, but in July of the same year he returned 

 to Saint Michael's, Alaska, by way of Plover Bay, arriving at the former place in Sep- 

 tember, only to find that Mr. Kennicott had died several months before. The direc- 

 tion of the survey thenceforward devolved upon Mr. Dall, who remained in the country 

 more than two years longer. 



The winter of 1866-'67 was spent at Nulato, and in the spring of 1867 Mr. Dall 

 started up the Yukon Eiver for Fort Yukon, returning again down the river to its mouth, 

 and thence going by sea to Saint Michael's. Here ended the explorations in the inter- 

 est of the telegraph company, but Mr. Dall continued his natural history observations 

 and collecting at his own expense. His field of operations was much the same as 

 during the previous year, the winter being spent at Nulato, and the descent of the 

 Yukon commenced in the spring. The better part of the collecting season was spent 

 in the Yukon Delta, after which Mr. Dall returned to San Francisco by way of Saint 

 Michael's and the Pribiloff and Aleutian Islands. The collections obtained by the 

 telegraph expedition and Mr. Dall consisted principally of birds and mammals, but 

 also included a full series of all the fishes then known to inhabit the Yukon Eiver, 

 and many marine fishes and invertebrates from the various localities visited. The 

 expenses of the original collecting outfit were shared conjointly by the Smithsonian 

 Institution and the Chicago Academy of Sciences, but after the abandonment of the 

 expedition Mr. Dall received no outside aid. 



United States Coast Survey. — In 1871, Mr. William H. Dall began a second series of 

 explorations of Alaskan waters, under the auspices of the Coast Survey, as an assistant 

 of that survey, and although the collecting of zoological specimens was incidental to 

 the primary objects of the explorations, an immense amount of natural history 

 material has already been obtained and in large part described. The first cruise, 



