failure, he pressed forwards to this vast enterprise, confident in himself, 

 and basing that confidence on the immutable laws of nature, and in due 

 time completed this crowning effort of his life. We quote his own words 

 at a meeting of the citizens of St. Louis in 1875 : "I therefore undertake 

 the work with a faith based upon the ever constant ordinance of God him- 

 self, and so certain as He will spare mj life and faculties for two years more, 

 I will give to the Mississippi River, through His grace and the application 

 of His laws, a deep, open, safe, and permanent outlet to the Sea." 



These are grand words, and worthy of the man and the grand under- 

 taking concerning which they were spoken. 



If to brave perils, and to overcome great difficulties and obstacles, and to 

 where other men are afraid or unable to follow, and ''out of the nettle, 

 danger, to pluck the flower, safety" and success, entitles one to be called 

 a hero, surely James B. Eads is worthy of the appellation. 



Making the Mississippi safely navigable from the Ocean was the last 

 great accomplished work of Capt. Eads. As an evidence of his renown 

 and the distinguished honor in which he was held by the most competent 

 to judge, it may be mentioned that in 1884 the Albert medal of the Society 

 of Art, instituted in 18S2 as a Memorial of the Prince Consort and given' 

 annually for distinguished merit, was awarded to Capt. James B. Eads — 

 believed to be the only instance in which it was bestowed on an American. 



His conception of the construction of a ship railway across the Isthmus 

 of Panama was, to the common mind, most brilliant and startling, and 

 seemed like the wild vagaries of the imagination. 



Whether, if Capt. Eads had lived, the project could ever have been car- 

 ried to a successful practical result is of course unknown, and could be 

 determined only by time and the logic of events; but the boldness of the 

 conception, and the energy and courage with which he advocated and 

 fought for it, were characteristic of the man, and show that he had faith 

 in its feasibility; and, having that faith, he was true to himself and his 

 convictions, and was ready to stake his means and reputation upon its 

 success. We believe, if it were in the power of man to realize that project, 

 Capt. Eads, had he lived, would have accomplished it. 



But his career is ended and his throbbing brain is at rest, and it only 

 remains for us to pay this inadequate but final tribute to his memory. 



[Signed,] M. L. Gray, 

 Ro'bt Moore, 

 Enno Sander. 



April l^tk, 1887. 



President Nipher in the chair ; nine members present. 

 Prof. Nipher exhibited and explained the uses of a Kaidrausch's 

 amperemeter, and a simple form of dynamo machine. 



