1850 TO 1865 373 



Since I last wrote you various things have come to pass with me. 



All last summer I lay idly at home (at the Grove) hibernating 

 like a siffleur. 30 Toward fall I tried desperately hard to write good 

 letters to you all but did not succeed to my satisfaction. 



You have sometimes heard me speak of my wish to establish a 

 good museum of Natural History in Chicago which should enable 

 me to work more effectually at what I consider my vocation the 

 making popular of Natural History, and its advancement. At present 

 the only good museums in America are along the Atlantic States and 

 in eastern Canada, therefore a good museum where naturalists can 

 study at the west is a great desideratum. 



Since last fall I have devoted myself almost exclusively to this 

 matter. A young friend of mine, Mr. George C. Walker of Chicago, 

 who has superior business capacity, took great interest in the matter 

 and a place of operations was formed an association organized, and 

 the citizens of Chicago have donated a considerable sum of money to 

 the object enough to secure a hall and laboratories for the museum 

 and to provide for the care and public exhibition of the collections 

 open and free to all students of natural history of course. I have been 

 appointed curator in charge of the museum, so that henceforth I shall 

 be in charge of a sort of " Young Smithsonian." I of course can't 

 expect to make a Baird of myself, but having him for a close ally in 

 all matters I hope to make our Chicago museum "give track" to the 

 progress of science. It is a harder train to drive than that I had at 

 the North, and will keep me very closely at work, but it is all in a 

 good cause. One matter worthy of consideration is that I shall be 

 paid a regular salary, which, if not large, will still keep me respectably, 

 and enable me hereafter to devote myself wholly to natural history 

 and to the creation of a great museum. 



I received the appointment of curator of the museum a couple 

 of weeks since, and am now engaged in getting out such collections 

 of natural history as are given us by the S. I. and my own private 

 collections all the collections belonging to me which I have made 

 during the last ten years I give to the new museum, and we are 

 promised assistance from many parties. 



The names of you gentlemen at the North will figure pretty 

 largely in our museum from what you have already collected, as the 



30 



The hoary marmot of the north. 



