SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST. 33 
cotton, and had some ceramic art. They had also devised a system of 
picture-writing, the characters of which were made by painting or carv- 
ing on wood, and by etching on stones. 
The ruins of many of these houses have been discovered in the valley 
of the Colorado, and in them broken pottery, stone implements, and 
baskets have been found. In many places, also, their etchings on the 
rocks have been preserved, and these have been copied to a definite 
scale, giving us an interesting set of their picture-writings. 
The same system of picture-writing still exists with the remnant of 
this great race that inhabits the pueblos of New Mexico and Arizona, 
and we are able, in part, in the studies made among these later people, 
to discover some of the meanings of these writings, but their full inter- 
pretation has not yet been made. It is hoped that future studies will 
throw much light on this subject. 
I have thus briefly indicated the extent of the ethnological work which 
has been done, giving only such illustrations as were necessary to indi- 
cate the character and direction of the studies. 
NATURAL HISTORY. 
In the earlier part of the work, collections of mammals and birds 
were made ; no new species were found, but facts concerning the geo- 
graphical distribution were obtained. During the same time collections 
of reptiles, fishes, and insects were made. These were deposited in the 
building of the Chicago Academy of Sciences, for the purpose of identi- 
fication by specialists; but, in the great fire at Chicago, all these collec- 
tions were lost. Both in the earlier and later part of the work extensive 
collections of plants have been made, and eighteen species have been 
added to the known flora of North America. 
PHOTOGRAPHY. 
Since the spring of 1871, a photographer has accompanied the expe- 
dition for the purpose of making views of geological and topographical 
interest. Many of these are of prime importance to the geologist, pre- 
senting to the eye the structural geology of the country, and to the 
topographer also, in presenting to the eye the outlines of cliffs and 
mountains which are to be reproduced on the maps. Such ruins as 
present walls or other features that could be caught by the camera, 
were also photographed. 
A great many Indian pictures also were made, representing the In- 
dians engaged in their daily labors, or in attitudes which illustrate their 
habits and customs. Altogether more than seven hundred and fifty 
negatives have been made. 
PROGRESS OF THE OFFICE-WORK. 
The computations for astronomic, geodetic, and hypsometic works have 
only been partially made. A computer is now engaged on that work. 
3 c w 
