292 GROVE KARL GILBERT— DAVIS ^^'VolS; 



and his gentleness in his dealings with others. His views were so reasonable and his suggestions 

 were so persuasively excellent that he never had occasion to use authority to secure their 

 adoption. It has been a great credit to American science that a man of Gilbert's nature should 

 have been one of its acknowledged leaders. 



All this is a matter of common repute in geological circles; but it is well attested by the 

 acknowledgments of scientific indebtedness and by the protestations of personal gratitude 

 and affection expressed in a collection of letters which were written by his friends at the sugges- 

 tion of the director of the national survey which he had served so long and so faithfully, to 

 greet him on his seventy-fifth birthday, May 6, 1918, but which unhappily failed to reach him, 

 as his death occurred five days before. Such an outpouring of sincere feeling as these letters 

 manifest shows that their writers were deeply moved in mind and in heart, perhaps all the more 

 so because many of them knew that at the very time of their writing Gilbert was seriously ill, 

 and because some of them knew also that if he recovered his health it was his intention to give 

 up his residence in Washington, where many of the writers lived, and spend his remaining 

 years in California: they were not only letters of greeting but letters of farewell. 



It is difficult to say whether expressions of intellectual obligation or of affectionate ad- 

 miration are in the majority. If some writers tell of the high appreciation in which they held 

 Gilbert's reports of the 'seventies, where the glamor of a heroic age seemed to be reflected, 

 others recall the sympathetic support and helpful counsel that he gave them at trying junctures. 

 If some rightly regard his early accounts of the plateau province as containing the fundamen- 

 tals of modern physiography and rejoice in the profound impressions gained from them; others 

 remember with enduring pleasure his patience as a field teacher, his encouraging kindness, his 

 cheerful companionship. Some are still mindful of the awakening instruction they received on 

 first reading his report on the Henry Mountains; others look upon all his reports as models of 

 scientific attack and of lucid exposition; or admire their universal saneness, or marvel at his 

 faculty of hitting upon essentials and his capacity for going to the foundations of things. 

 On the other hand, some treasure most the memory of his kindly smde of welcome, his winning 

 manner, and his joyous laugh, which made those who met him the better for the meeting; and 

 some give assurance that his many colleagues hold him in high esteem because of his generos- 

 ity in sharing knowledge and his gentleness in imparting it; or report the gratification they 

 felt on hearing expressions of warm regard for him abroad where he was looked upon as the 

 leading American geologist; indeed, one excellent judge there ranked him with Faraday and 

 Darwin. An occasional companion writes of the delightful and instructive hours spent with 

 him, indoors and out; a long-time associate tells of the loving regard felt for the true worth of 

 his character; and many younger men thank him for the aid they derived from his interest in 

 their projects, for the help they received from his suggestions, and for the inspiration they 

 gained from his writings; he clarified their ways of thinking and exemplified to them the true 

 scientific spirit. The high standard of excellence in his work is thought to find its parallel in 

 the forceful, concise, and persuasive way in which the results of the work are set forth; and 

 the advanced position which geology has attained among us is declared to be largely due to 

 the influence that he exerted upon his juniors by the finished quality of his studies. Indebt- 

 edness is repeatedly expressed for the completeness and accuracy of his observations, for his 

 mastery of analysis, and for his clear presentation, his calm and restrained judgment; even the 

 few who did not in all points agree with him did not fad for that small reason to recognize his 

 fairness and courtesy in his dealings with them, or to pay tribute to his great scientific at- 

 tainments and his personal merits. Those who worked under him in the earlier stages of their 

 career treasure the memory of that formative association with him, and do not forget his lively 

 interest in their welfare or his wish to give them opportunity, responsibility, and credit; and 

 they assure him that now that they are older they remember all this and try in their turn to 

 treat their own assistants with equal justice. One who can not claim to have known, him 

 closely, nevertheless regards him as the outstanding figure among the geologists of America 

 and expresses the deepest admiration for his work and his nature; another who has known 

 him well lays weight on the fineness of his personality, the unfailing kindliness of his attitude 

 toward his associates, and the steadfastness of his friendships; one who knew him long and 

 intimately saw in him the closest approach to human perfection. 



