REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 35 



miles west of the Lake of the Woods, and will be continued in 1874, it 

 is hoped, under the same auspices, to the summit of the Eocky Moun- 

 tains or to tho junction with the line which, in 1880, had been extended 

 from the Pacific Ocean eastward. 



The next Government expedition, in geographical position, was one 

 sent out by the War Department to protect the exploring and construc- 

 tion parties of the Northern Pacific Railway, and placed under the com- 

 mand of Gen. Darius N. Stanley. This consisted of a very large force of 

 men, some two thousand in all, as being necessary to protect the rail- 

 road parties against the threatened attacks of hostile Indians. Recog- 

 nizing the propriety of utilizing so favorable a service in the interest of 

 science, when it could be done at so trifling an expense, the Secretary 

 of War authorized the appointment of a corps of naturalists for the expe- 

 dition, and Mr. J. A. Allen was placed in charge of this, with several as- 

 sistants. The expedition proceeded westward from Fort Rice to the 

 Upper Missouri, and crossed some distance beyond the Yellowstone. 

 The results of this expedition are very interesting, and would have 

 been much more extensive but for the necessity of moving in constant 

 apprehension of hostile attacks. 



The geographical and geological exploration of the Territories, under 

 Professor Hayden, furnished the next source of museum supply, the 

 researches of himself and parties having extended over parts of Colorado 

 and New Mexico. These furnished very large collections of fossil re- 

 mains, of minerals and rocks, and of objects of natural history generally. 



The exploration of the region west of the hundredth meridian, under 

 the direction of Lieut. George M. Wheeler, of the United States 

 Engineers, has also furnished a large mass of material, equal in extent 

 and general character to that of Professor Hayden, the two parties 

 together contributing a very large proportion of the general results of 

 the year. Thousands of birds and hundreds of mammals, with tons of 

 fossil and geological specimens, are counted in the aggregate received 

 from these two expeditious. 



From the explorations of Maj. J. W. Powell, in the canons of the Colo- 

 rado, most extensive collections have also been received ; his survey 

 being unique in the great extent and completeness of its ethnological 

 representation. In these and the collections of the previous summer, 

 the National Museum now owes to Major Powell's exertions a most inter- 

 esting and extensive representation of the habits, manners, and customs 

 of the Ute Indians, including every form of dress and personal adorn- 

 ment, of weapons of war and of the chase, of household and agricultu- 

 ral utensils, specimens of their food in different stages of preparation, 

 and whatever else may throw light upon the habits and characteristics 

 of one of the most primitive people on the American continent. A 

 special feature of this collection is the number and variety of stone 

 implements used for various purposes, properly mounted, and showing 



