534 FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. [22] 



in working up results, and several short, papers briefly descriptive of the more inter- 

 esting groups of animals had been issued, when the memorable conflagration of 1871, 

 which destroyed so large a part of Chicago, completely annihilated the entire collec- 

 tion there, as well as all the MSS. and drawings which had been prepared for publi- 

 cation. The only collections of marine invertebrates which escaped were the corals 

 and a few of the Crustacea, which had been left for study at the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion, the Museum of Comparative Zoology, and Yale College. 



Surveys of lesser magnitude under the Navy Deparment have been the exploration 

 of the Eiver Amazon and its tributaries, in 1852, by Lieutenant W. L. Herndon, dur- 

 ing which a very large collection of fresh-water fishes was made. The astronomical 

 expedition to Chili, from 1849 to 1852, by Lieutenant J. M. Gilliss; interesting col- 

 lections of marine animals. Explorations of the La Plata and its tributaries, from 

 1854 to 1857, by the U. S. S. " Waterwitch," Captain T. J. Page. Although unac- 

 companied by a naturalist, Captain Page sent to Washington a very extensive col- 

 lection of the fishes of this extensive river system. 



Survey of the islands of the North Pacific Ocean, in 1873-'74, by the U. S. S. " Ports- 

 mouth," Drs. T. H. Streets and W. H. Jones, surgeons and naturalists. Survey of 

 the coast of the Peninsxila of Lower California, on both the ocean and gulf sides, by 

 the U. S. S. " Narragansett," Dr. William Evers, surgeon and naturalist. On each 

 of these expeditions large numbers of marine invertebrates and fishes were obtained. 



The Polaris Expedition to the Arctic Ocean during 1871 and 1872, under Captain 

 Charles F. Hall, Dr. Emil Bessels, chief of the scientific department. This ill-fated 

 expedition was fitted out by the Navy Department, pursuant to an act of Congress, 

 and sailed from the United States in the summer of 1871. It reached the latitude of 

 82° 16 ; N., the most northern point attained by civilized man up to that time. Dur- 

 ing the winter of 1871 and 1872, and the following spring, very large collections of 

 marine animals, mainly invertebrates, were made and preserved, but on account of 

 their bulk they had to be left on board the steamer and were lost with her. 



Archa3ological explorations of Dr. J. F. Bransford, United States Navy, in Nica- 

 ragua, in 1873, 1876, and 1877, and in Panama in 1875, during which many interest- 

 ing species of fresh-water and marine fishes and invertebrates were collected. 



Transit of Venus Expedition of 1874-'75. Dr. J. H. Kidder, United States Navy, 

 acted as naturalist of the party landed on Kergueleu Island, by the U. S. S. " Swa- 

 tara," and devoted his entire time to zoological investigations, making large collec- 

 tions of marine animals. Dr. E. Kershner, United States Navy, surgeon of the 

 "Swatara,"on this same cruise, added to Dr. Kidder's results many interesting speci- 

 mens of marine invertebrates from various sources in the South Pacific, and Mr. 

 Israel Enssell, photographer of the New Zealand party, collected extensively at that 

 island. 



In 1876, Engineer W. A. Mintzer, United States Navy, made interesting collections 

 of marine fishes and invertebrates from the Arctic Ocean, north of Hudson's Straits. 



The steamer "Jeanuette," under Lieutenant De Long, fitted out by Mr. James 

 Gordon Bennett and the Navy Department, for a cruise through the Arctic Ocean, 

 from the Pacific westward to the Atlantic, was fully equipped for natural history in- 

 vestigations, and up to the time of her abandonment and destruction very large and 

 valuable collections of marine animals and many interesting notes had been made 

 by the naturalist on board, Mr. Eaymond L. Newcomb. 



In 1881 the U. S. S. "Alliance" visited the region about Spitzbergen, in the Arctic 

 Ocean, in a search for the Jeaunette, on the supposition that she had safely trav- 

 ersed the ocean north of Asia, in her westerly course, and, although unsuccessful in the 

 search, she succeeded in making numerous successful dredgings in moderate depths of 

 water off the island of Spitzbergeu. The collection sent home was quite large and in 

 good condition ; it consisted of marine invertebrates and also of fresh-water fishes. 

 About the same time the steam whaler "Rogers, " purchased by the Government, and 

 officered and manned by the Navy, started up on the west side, via Bering Straits, for 



