SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 1 37 



composite which is the dream of countless men many years his junior, 

 but reahzed by few. A thick shock of glistening white hair, a ruddy 

 complexion, and alert blue eyes, which require the aid of glasses only 

 for reading, denote unusual physical stamina. A phenomenal memory 

 for facts and events, a wealth of basic knowledge at his ready com- 

 mand, thorough training in the use of the Classical and Romance 

 languages, and an unlimited vocabulary in English and German, spiced 

 with wit, which is ready but sometimes shai-p, make conversations 

 with him informative and memorable pleasures. 



The author has spent many enjoyable hours listening to Dr. Snod- 

 grass relate incidents of his early life, reading his unpublished diary 

 and travelogs, browsing through his correspondence files and publica- 

 tions, laughing over original copies 

 of his cartoons, and admiring his 

 numerous precise drawings and oil 

 paintings of insects and their life 

 histories, which are accurate in 

 minute detail as well as being note- 

 worthy as works of art. 



"My ancestry is as unknown to 

 me as I am to my ancestors, but I 

 believe I am a typical American, 

 since, judging from the family 

 names, I must be a mixture of 

 English, Scotch, Welsh, and Irish, 

 and I do not know who my grand- 

 father was." (His sister belonged 

 to the Daughters of the American 

 Revolution.) Thus, Dr. Snodgrass opened one conversation with the 

 author continuing with the information that his parents, James Cath- 

 cart Snodgrass and Annie Elizabeth Evans Snodgrass, came from 

 Ohio and settled in St. Louis, Mo. There he was born on the 5th of 

 July 1875, so they told him. A sister and brother, born 3 and 8 years 

 later, completed the family. He lived in St. Louis until about the age 



of 8 years. 



His first ambition in life was to become either a railway engineer 

 or a Pullman conductor, but he could never decide which personage 

 looked more important. Before leaving St. Louis, however, an in- 

 terest in zoology had been aroused through visits to the St. Louis Zoo. 

 There the sea-lion in particular so impressed him that he became adept 

 in imitating its manners and bark, much to the consternation later of 

 one of his mother's friends. His mother, while entertaining a lady 



•'COME, DrAIJIi:, PE A GOOD BOY, NOW, AND 

 HOOK UP MY SHELL liEIIIND FOR ME." 



(From Life, Feb. 23, 1911.) 



