9 2 LOUIS AGASSIZ. [CHAP. xvu. 



them. At his special request, I came to the Museum 

 almost daily during 1861-62, to give advice to several of 

 the pupils, 1 taking them on geological excursions about 

 Boston and Gay Head. Finally, after helping Agassiz 

 gratuitously for two years, some family friends and rela- 

 tions in Boston subscribed a thousand dollars for two 

 years, to defray my travelling expenses, on the condi- 

 tion that I should give to the Agassiz Museum the col- 

 lection of fossils made during my explorations. In this 

 way I was more or less connected with the Museum 

 during the first four years of its existence, by far its 

 most difficult period ; for not only was the building- 

 small and crowded, but the space allowed for each 

 specialty was inadequate, the halls were cold and most 

 uncomfortable during the long winters, and it was not 

 easy even to reach the building, on account of the lack 

 of proper sidewalks and roads, through the surrounding 

 marsh. 



The lack of money was a difficulty which fettered the 

 development of the Museum from the start. Agassiz 

 had been too precipitate in his purchase of collections 

 in Europe, relying upon the grant of a hundred thou- 

 sand dollars voted by the Legislature, the payment of 

 which was delayed several years ; and when it was 

 received the trustees of the Museum refused to allow 

 the use of the capital, but only the income, a great 

 disappointment to Agassiz, who was hard pressed for 

 money to pay for his foreign purchases. 



1 Agassiz recommended me more specially Messrs. Alpheus Hyatt and 

 N. S. Shaler, ami afterward Messrs. C. Frederick Ilartt and Orestes St. 

 John, with the request that I should help them in geology and the use of 

 palaeontology in practical stratigraphy. 



