Philippine Expedition (1907-1910)

Biography

Abstract:

The Philippine Expedition (1907-1910) was a United States federal expedition aboard the S.S. Albatross, the primary goal of which was to survey the US territorial acquisition of the Philippines after the Spanish American War. Commencing in 1907, director of the expedition was Hugh McCormick Smith, deputy commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries. Its initial scientific crew included Frederick M. Chamberlain, Resident Naturalist; Lewis Radcliffe, General Assistant and Naturalist; H.C. Fasset, Fishery Expert; Paul Bartsch, malacologist, and representative of the Smithsonian; and Clarence M. Wells, Assistant and Clerk.

In 1909, Roy Chapman Andrews, then a 24-year-old doctoral student at Columbia and an employee at the American Museum of Natural History, was asked to join the expedition by the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries as a representative of the museum. This invitation seems to have been based on prior research Andrews had done on marine mammals, particularly whales. This invitation was extended toward the end of the expedition, so Andrews was only on board the Albatross for the last few months of its time in the Philippines. Andrews was meant to study porpoises and collect land mammal and bird specimens.

Andrews first left Seattle on the S.S. Oki Maru in August 1909. In September, while on the Oki Maru, Andrews stopped in Japan, photographing people and places in Nikko, Yokohama, Kobe, Kyoto, Tokyo, and Hiroshima. The Oki Maru left Japan and stopped in Hong Kong in October, where Andrews boarded the S.S. Tamin on way to Manila. Once in Manila, Andrews was not able to immediately board the S.S. Albatross because it was stationed near Zamboanga City, so on a recommendation from Dean C. Worcester he spent a few weeks in Luzon and Mindoro Island. When the ship returned to Cavite Navy Yard, Manila, Andrews formally joined the expedition. He stayed on the S.S. Albatross for about four months, stopping at and photographing Ambon Island, Sulawesi, Buru, Makassar, and Taiwan. In February 1910, the S.S. Albatross ended its expedition and Andrews disembarked in Nagasaki, Japan.

Chronology:

October 1907

Philippine Expedition of the USS Albatross commences. The director of the expedition was Hugh McCormick Smith, deputy commissioner of the Bureau of Fisheries. Also on board were Frederick M. Chamberlain, Resident Naturalist; Lewis Radcliffe, General Assistant and Naturalist; H.C. Fasset, Fishery Expert; Paul Bartsch, malacologist, and representative of the Smithsonian; and Clarence M. Wells, Assistant and Clerk.1

June 1909

Roy Chapman Andrews is invited to join the Philippine Expedition on behalf of the American Museum of Natural History, for the purposes of studying porpoises and collecting land mammals and birds.2

August 1909

On the 25th of August 1909, Andrews left from on Seattle on the S.S. Oki Maru in Seattle for Borneo and Indonesia.

September 1909

The Oki Maru stops in Yokohama on the 17th of September, 1909. Based on the photographs Andrews took, he seems to have also gone to Nikko, Kobe, Kyoto, Tokyo, and Hiroshima in September 1909.

October 1909

In his memoir, Andrews notes that the Oki Maru stops in Shanghai, though he does not appear to have taken photographs there. Next, the ship goes to Hong Kong, where Andrews takes photographs and boards the S.S. Taming. Later in October, the S.S. Taming lands in Cavite Navy Yard, Manila. While waiting for the S.S. Albatross to return to Manila, Andrews visits Luzon and Mindoro Island for two weeks.

November 1909

Andrews boards the S.S. Albatross in Manila. The ship stops briefly in Tawau (formerly Tawao, British North Borneo) and Sebatik Island. After Borneo, the ship docks in the port of Manado. Andrews notes in Under a Lucky Star that the expedition also makes stops in Gorontolo, Ternate, and Gillolo.

December 1909

On December 4th, the Albatross anchored in Ambon Island (formerly Amboina). They also make stops in Buru Island and Makassar. In his memoir, Andrews describes spending Christmas 1909 as part of a crocodile hunting party in Makassar.

January 1909

In January, the S.S. Albatross stopped in Keelung, Taiwan, for a week so the ship could be repaired after having been caught in a typhoon.

February 1909

After leaving Taiwan, the S.S. Albatross made its way to the Ryukyu Islands (formerly Loo Choo Islands), in Japan. In the Ryukyu Islands, Andrews spent time in Naha and photographed the Shuri Castle. The expedition then went on to Nagasaki, where it officially ended, and Andrews disembarked from the S.S. Albatross.

Citation:

David, Smith G., and Williams T. Jeffrey. “The Great Albatross Philippine Expedition and Its Fishes.” Marine Fisheries Review, vol. 61, no. 4, 1999, pp. 31–41.

Andrews, Roy Chapman. Under a Lucky Star. Blue Ribbon Books, 1945. Internet Archive. Accessed 2024.

Andrews, Roy Chapman. “8 page undated report on RCA’s Trip to Far East” Mammalogy Department Archives, Andrews, Roy Chapman; II Intra-Museum 5A Osborn, Henry Fairfield, 1910-1918, American Museum of Natural History. 1910.

Topics

• AMNH Expeditions

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