Page 121 - Early Naturalists of the Black Range

Vernon Orlando Bailey
Bailey began collecting for C. Hart Merriam and the Bureau of Biological Survey when it was founded. Merriam was the first head of the Survey. In 1887, Bailey was appointed special field agent to the Division of Economic Ornithology and Mammalogy. In 1890 he was appointed Chief Field Naturalist, retiring from that position in 1933. He was president of the American Society of Mammalogists from 1933 to 1934.
In 1899, he married ornithologist Florence Augusta Merriam. Both collected specimens on their travels.
During his career Bailey provided the Bureau with roughly 13,000 species, many never described before. He published 244 monographs and articles while with the USDA. His biological surveys of Texas, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Oregon were landmark publications.
From May 8 to June 2, 1906, Bailey traveled in and near the Black Range. His field notes for this period follow. He also kept a journal during this period; a few excerpts from the journal are included on this page. The transcription of these field notes is provided by the Smithsonian Digital Volunteers: Transcription Center. In November of that year he was back in this area.
The writing in his journal takes some work to decipher. The entry from May 8 (at Nutt and Deming) is an example. But, it is full of insight and worth the effort. It includes entries like:
• “Two turkey buzzards seen near Spalding”;
• “Woodrat browses on —- in mesquite bushes up slope west of Rincon and in places half or more of the surrounding bushes have been stripped of bark and killed.”;
• “The break from Lower to Upper Sonoran comes between Faywood and White Water in the open valley, though the —- south slopes above carry traces of Lower Sonoran higher up.”;
• “Reached Silver City at noon and went to the Broadway Hotel. The town is in a barren gulch between barren hills, but with a south slope.”;
• “From the hill back of town (ed. Silver City) the black timber of the Forest Reserve shows not far to the north.”;
• “May 11. Left Silver City for the GOS Ranch at 7:30, raining and squally. Came through Central, which is about to Ft. Baird then through Santa Rita then over the ridge and down onto the Mimbres at the old town of Mimbres, then about 11 miles up the river and over onto the head of Sappillo Creek and down it a few miles to the G.O.S. Ranch, a beautiful place in wide park like valley, the
Sappillo is a branch of the Gila. Came 40 miles from Silver City, but in a round about way. The country is rough and woods are scarce, steep and stony in places, most of the country is dry but there is a little water in the creeks at Silver, Central, and Santa Rita and the Mimbres is a pretty little river too wide to jump across.”;
• “May 12. With Mr. Leavenworth, I rode down the canyon 4 or 5 miles to look for wolf tracks, but found only old tracks.“; and
• “May 16. No wolf tracks on the mesa this morning. Started for my traps just as the sun touched the hill tops and got back at 9 a.m...afternoon went down the river about 3 miles and set 3 wolf traps, two in the main canyon and up in Powderhorn Canyon...”
Much of the work done by the Bureau of Biological Survey was “economic biology”; ridding the west of “vermin” was a priority.
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