380 Frank Carney 



The great difference between geology and other sciences is that 

 it imposes upon us greater patience. Our generation can record 

 observations; another, we know not how far ahead, must make 

 the deductions. Formerly some of the earth's functions were 

 catalogued with the supernatural; now many mythological deities 

 and lesser personages have been resolved into simple and usually 

 harmless natural phenomena. In geology the field of fact has 

 spread quite completely over that of fancy. The catastrophies of 

 the past have become the mild, ever active, forces of the present. 

 Mountain-making, canyon-cutting, lava-extrusion, and earth- 

 tremors, are normal functions of the globe. If rivers flow across 

 mountain ranges, it is because the mountains grew so slowly 

 that the rivers held their courses. If a river has cut down into 

 the rocks much more rapidly than it has cut laterally, it is because 

 the region has been subject to relative uplift, thus keeping the 

 river young. 



