I was soon established as Curator of the Depart- 
ment of Anthropology in the Field Museum, an event doubt-~ 
less recorded in the reports and publications of that In- 
_ stitution. I had hardly gotten settled in the work when 
one of the most gratifying and important events of my life 
came to pass. i was asked by Mr. Alison V. Armour of 
Chicago to join him in a trip of exploration to Tasedan in 
his charming yacht Ituna, in which we sailed from Jackson-~ 
ville, Florida, reaching Havana, Cuba, the day before Christ- 
mas, 1894, Sailing thence we were anchored off the port 
of Progreso, Yucatan, on December 30th. At this place Mr. 
Edward H. Thompson, ex-U. S. Consul at Merida, and a well- 
known student of archeology, joined the party. With this 
port as a basis of operations, visits were made to numerous 
localities on the peninsula of Yucatan, as well as in Mexico 
proper, three months of the winter season being devoted to 
the studyof Botany, Geology, Anthropology and Naural History 
of these most interesting regions. | 
The first voyage was toward the east, and visits 
were made to the islands of Contoy, Mugeres, Cancun and Cozu- 
mel and to the mainland of Yucatan, opposite these islands. 
This part of Yucatan has rarely been visited either by 
travelers or by students of the history and resources of the 
country. 
