COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA 
(THE OMAHA MEDICAL COLLEGE)

HENRY B. WARD, DEAN, LINCOLN
HAROLD GIFFORD, ASSOCIATE DEAN, OMAHA

ANATOMY 
ROBERT H. WOLCOTT
C. W M. POYNTER

LINCOLN NEBR., 
July 16, 1906

Dear Shoemaker,
Wie gehts? Was machst du? Why don't you
write? When are you coming down?

I was so "done up" the-fourth-of July that I played in bed 
till a most disgraceful hour in the morning and lounged about 
the house and slept the rest of the day. No "taggers"~ and didn't 
care a damn, either. But I feel like an individual the next 
morning and not like a collection of more or less connected
details. My trip east was about all I could stand.

Saturday, July 7, I went down on the hill south of the pen-
itentiary and found sercral celeripes - in fact I picked up 
quite a number ~ you know they come that way sometimes. Yes
terday was down again and got some more. Wont say how many ~ 
afraid you'd call "tiger beetle hog" ~ but if your stock runs low 
I can help you out. Down along the creek I found three cursitans
but that was all The same day Bruner found celeripes in an-
other locality southwest of the city. Saturday I took my class 
in nature study up to Meadow, near South Bend, and found 
celeripes there. It is probably generally distributed in Eastern Neb.

Sunday, a week ago, went down to look up knaussi and after
quite a search found it just as I had to go home. Last Wednesday
went for some and secured 21, and about 10 circumpicta. They
occur together under the overcrust!!! Conditions in which I ever
found "taggers." There is a stream down on the mud floats 3 feet
wide and about 3/8 of an inch deep; on either side about four or 
five feet more of slippery, slimy mud Then mud ~ dried, crack-
ed mud - back knaussi sits on the margin of the water - at your 
approach he gracefully flits across the stream to the other-
side, ~ you try sweeping, and he barely skims the water, you
try to put your net over him and get it covered with slimes, ~
you try knocking him into the water and and grabbing after him, but

your foot goes into the mud up to your ankle and he dex-
trously rises from the water and off he goes, ~ you try skim-
ming the water too and the result is to shower yourself with
mud and water, but no tiger beetle. I worked along on hands
and knees at the edge of the dry mud, and tried every way ~ 
by accident, as much, as anything else, I got what I did in 
half a day, and I was mud-bespattered from head to foot. Per-
haps you can imagine, too, how nice and warm it was. If I 
could only have had somebody to walk a little back from me 
and swear continuously it would have been quite a relief ~ 
I tried but couldn't do the situation justice at all.

Circumpicta has a different stunt ~ it is vigorous and wary 
and hard to get within reach of and when you do get in reach,
on the dry cracked mud, it dodges into a crack and so eludes
the sweep of the net and also capture by placing the next over it.

Togata is a "snap" to collect, but I shall earn every knaussi 
and circumpicta I get. Judged by the work of collecting they 
are worth about 20 celeripes apiece.

Bruner and the crowd are planning to go to Sieux Co. about the
second week in August and I am hoping ot go with them. If I 
do shall "lay" for a good lot of cinctipennis, pusilla, etc. May stop 
in Cherry Co on the way for limbrata~ if not shall go up there the 
first week in September Wish you could make one trip or the other

Am hoping Miss Van Sant has about recovered. Please give 
her my regards and best wishes  and also remember me to her
father

Cannot you come, down for knaussi and circum-
picta? What are you doing for the cause, any-
way,
With warm regards,
Your friend,
Robt. H. Wolcott