Manuscripts
Letter from William Raymond to his mother and sister, written from San Pedro, California, shortly after Raymond had returned from an oceanography research trip on Catalina Island. Raymond was in charge of hydrographic work for the expedition, as well as lending his expertise in conchiferous mollusca. He accompanied William E. Ritter, a professor of zoology at U.C. Berkeley who in 1903 secured funding from Ellen Browning Scripps and E.W. Scripps to found the Marine Biological Association of San Diego, which later became the Scripps Institute of Oceanography at UC San Diego. Raymond's fellow researchers included zoologists Charles A. Kofoid and Calvin O. Esterly, as well as men named Cady, Bancroft, and Jorrey. The letter also mentions work being done by geologist Ida Shepard Oldroyd and zoologist Alice Robertson. Raymond writes of dredging work near Silver Canyon, in the harbor at Avalon near the Isthmus, at Little Harbor, and at Long Point. He describes the topography of the ocean floor and of "small but good" harvesting results. Raymond writes of the types of conch shells collected, some of which were "new to the trip, if not undescribed." They later discovered a few "extremely rare species...so rare that Mrs. Oldroyd says that have not even at Washington a good one." Raymond writes extensively of the sorting and preserving process, as well as answering his mother's questions about his cooking and camping conditions. He mentions sailing to the island on the Banning brothers' steamer Hermosa, and notes that "the Bannings are trying to start a new town at the Isthmus," although in Raymond's opinion "better places for a town might be imagined." Back in San Pedro he reflected on the future of such expeditions, noting that "Ritter is in a quandary about how to keep the work going." He was optimistic that "L.A. people seem enthusiastic about our work" and that a donor had given $25 at a recent lecture. Raymond hoped that "there will be something for our expenses" and thought he might not make further research trips. Includes envelope.
mssHM 78779
