THK NAUTILUS. 8T 



ANNIE M. LAW and MRS. GEORGE ANDREWS. Before them> 

 RUGEL had made a beginning in this beautiful but difficult mountain 

 country. Until FERRISS and his friends began their explorations, 

 these three enthusiasts were the only naturalists to exploit the region 

 for land mollusks. 



Miss Law ' came from distinguished English ancestry. Her par- 

 ents were John and Ann Law, of Carlisle, England. Her uncle, 

 Richard Law, was governor of Malta. Other relatives who rendered 

 services to the State were Chief Justice Lord Ellenborough, the 

 Bishop of Bath and others. The Law family records were destroyed 

 during the Civil War, so that the exact date of Miss Law's birth 

 cannot be ascertained ; but her father, John Law, came to America 

 about 1850, Miss Law being about nine years old at that time. 



" Mr. Law located some nine miles from the town of Maryville, 

 Blount county, Tenn., a wild, mountainous country, though there 

 was a watering-place about two miles distant where the elite of the 

 South came through the summer for health and rest. Otherwise our 

 neighbors were illiterate. There were no schools or churches, so that 

 our parents were our teachers and companions. My father died in 

 1852 or '53. During his lifetime on the farm, my sister would ride 

 into Maryville and recite Latin and algebra to Dr. Anderson (the 

 founder of Maryville Theological Seminary) once or twice a week. 

 Then moving into the town, she still continued these studies. She 

 passed the examination for teaching school, and received a certificate 

 at the age of thirteen. Being large for her age, she was given .a 

 school. She was proficient in music and gave lessons. 



" Through Col. W. G. McAdoo, of Knoxville, she was introduced 

 to Dr. James Lewis, of Mohawk, N. Y., who wished her to collect 

 shells. She had from childhood a taste for shells, mineralogy, ento- 

 mology, botany, in fact everything connected with nature. She 

 began a correspondence with Dr. Lewis about 1868, which continued 

 until his death. She had also a number of other correspondents in 

 America and abroad. 



" I might write a long story about some of her trips while collecting. 

 After being in California four years, she returned to Tennessee and 

 spent several months there. On one occasion, Dr. Lewis wished some 



1 The following account is from data and a biographical sketch furnished by 

 Mrs. Fannie Law Andrews, Miss Law's younger sister. 



