REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 17 



Colorado. In the year 1870 a general reconnaissance of the country 

 had been made, and several routes through it explored from Salt Lake 

 City to the Green and Colorado Rivers, aud depositaries of supplies estab- 

 lished. The operations of Professor Powell and party under his com- 

 mand iu 1871, consisted, first, in an exploration of the Green River from 

 the point where it is crossed by the track of the Union Pacific Railway 

 to its junction with the Grand, or where the union of these rivers forms 

 the Colorado of the West, and the exploration of this to the mouth of * 

 the Paira; second, the establishment of a base-line in the valley of the 

 Kanab, from which a system of triangles was extended westward to the 

 valley of the Virgin River, southward and eastward to the Colorado, 

 and northward to the Paira; third, a geological survey of the region, 

 and the collection of a series of specimens of geology and mineralogy ; 

 fourth, an ethnological study of the Indians of the region, including 

 their mythology, manners and customs, means of subsistence, language, 

 &c, together with a full collection of all their implements and articles of 

 manufacture. The explorations and surveys of Professor Powell have 

 furnished additions to our knowledge of a portion of our public domain 

 previously but very imperfectly known, which, together with the extensive 

 series of specimens which he has added to the collections of the Institu- 

 tion and the National Museum, fully repay the appropriation which was 

 made from the national Treasury on this account. I have certified to 

 this effect to Congress, and respectfully commend the application of 

 Professor Powell for an additional appropriation to complete the survey. 

 The alleged decrease of the food-fishes of the coast and lakes of the 

 United States led to the passage of a law at the last session of Con- 

 gress, directing the President to appoint a commissioner of fish and fish- 

 eries, for the purpose of making inquiries upon the subject. Professor 

 Baird, assistant secretary of this Institution, whose attention has been 

 directed for some time both to the scientific and economical relation- 

 ships of the fishes, received the appointment, and proceeded in June 

 last to Wood's Hole, a convenient point on the Massachusetts coast, 

 from which to prosecute his inquiries. With the aid of an appropria- 

 tion from Congress, and facilities afforded by various departments of 

 the Government, he was enabled to carry on an extended research 

 during a period of several months. In this work he had the special 

 co-operation of Professors Verrill and Smith, of Yale College, in the 

 investigation of the invertebrate fauna of the coast in its gelation to the 

 food-fishes; of Professor Gill, of Washington, in the study of fishes 

 themselves ; and of Professor Hyatt, of the Boston Society of Natural 

 History, Professor Jenks, of Middleborough, Dr. A. S. Packard, jr., of 

 Salem, and W. G. Earlow, of Cambridge, in other branches of the 

 investigation. Among other gentlemen interested in the researches, who 

 visited Wood's Hole during the season, were Professor L. Agassiz, Pro- 

 fessor J. Gwyn Jeffreys, of England, Colonel Lyman, Professor D. C. 

 Eaton, Professor W. H. Brewer, Professor J. H. Trumbull, and Professor 

 2 S I 



