156 SPENCER FULLERTON BAIRD 



Much to his surprise, Baird received the following 

 letter: 



From James Dzvight Dana to Spencer F. Baird. 11 



NEW HAVEN, CONN., January, 1847. 

 DEAR BAIRD, 



I have just written Dr. Pickering 18 that you would make a good 

 curator for the Smithsonian Institution. What do you say to it? 

 Salary, $1500.00, with house rent, as I understand. If you wish 

 such a situation you should write at once and send your credentials 

 to Professor Henry, and enclose a copy also to Hon. R. D. Owen, 

 who is one of the Regents. I would give you all of my influence 

 and the best recommendation. 



From James Dzvight Dana to Spencer F. Baird. 



NEW HAVEN, CONN., February 7, '47 

 DEAR BAIRD, 



. . . By your credentials I mean any recommendations you 

 could obtain; and a word from a Political man is perhaps quite as 

 important as from Scientific, since much depends on favor in all 

 Washington appointments. I know nothing with regard to the candi- 

 dates or the state of the question. The day on which I wrote you 

 I had a letter from Dr. Pickering desiring to know if / wish it, and 

 advising me to make my application at once; whereupon I wrote a 

 negative reply, and mentioned your name to Pickering. I suppose 

 that Peale is looking for the place, and no doubt there are many 

 other applicants. But I know of none that I should prefer to your- 

 self. . . . 



Evidently Baird took immediate action, and while 

 only drafts of letters sent are among the papers accessible 

 to me, they are doubtless correct in essentials. He put 



17 The reply to this is not preserved. 



18 Charles Pickering, M.D., born in 1805, and a graduate of 

 Harvard in 1823, was distinguished for his contributions to the 

 knowledge of the geographical distribution of plants, animals and. 

 man. He died in 1878. 



