| | 1 | Author: | Oskison, John M. | Add | | | Title: | The Biologist's Quest  | | | | Published: | 1996 | | | | Subjects: | University of Virginia Library, Text collection | UVA-LIB-Text | | | | Description: | JAKE was a collector of small mammal skins for the Smithsonian
authorities in Washington and for the British Museum. His work had been
done mainly in the mountains of Southern California and on the big stretches
of Arizona deserts. In the winter of 1895 there was a good deal of heated
discussion between professor McLean of the Pennsylvania Scientific Society
and one of the scientists at Washington, over the question of whether or not a
certain species of short tailed rat still existed in the Lower California
Peninsula. The Smithsonian authority believed that it did, from reports sent
in by Aldrich, who had collected in the Southwest until 1893, when he was
killed by a superstitious Mexican. The rat, if it existed, was a curious
survival, and the scientist who could secure and classify it would earn an
enviable reputation. So Lake, in the early spring, received orders to go down
into the Lower California region and make a thorough search, following
Aldrich's lead. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
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