230 DAVfiXPORT ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES. 



Returnino- to his western home, the wideiiino- intiueiice ot" liis ob- 

 servations and experiences was made apparent, by an increased in- 

 terest in th(- Academy f>f Sciences. Henceforth a constant attendant 

 on its regular meetings, he gradually took upon him its most respons- 

 ible duties; elected recording secretary in April, 1811, we note from 

 this date a more careful attention to the often neglected duty of pre- 

 serving earlv recoi'ds, an attempt to condense the sul)jects presented 

 at the several meetings, a more systematic arrangement of sub- 

 jects, and promising indications of substantial progress. Some 

 casual remarks in a presidential address on the desirability of secur- 

 ing a permanent home, and commencing the publication of proceed- 

 ings, were not allowed to remain a mere suggestion, l>ut were kept 

 constantly in view till the proper time arrived for their consumma- 

 tion, and then all the means and appliances at command were 

 brought effectually to bear on the desired results, such as we now 

 witness. 



It was in the following year, 187'2, that my first personal acquaint- 

 ance was made with the subject of this sketch. Having been re- 

 cently relieved from an official position in Washington, I was plan- 

 ning a retui'ii to more congenial pursuits in the free atmosphere of 

 the Rocky Mountains. It was at this favorable junctuie, that young 

 Putnam offered himself as a companion, thenceforth rarely to be sep- 

 arated, nev(M- at least in mutual regard. 



Though ovei- thirty years his senior, on the l)road lield of nature 

 we occupied the same level. Always respectful to my personal 

 wishes or suggestions, never flinching from any imposed duty, always 

 cheerful, hopeful and zealous, he proved a companion worthy of the 

 highest regard, which he never forfeited either by word or deed. 



After a short preliminary excursion into a near district in Iowa, 

 which afforded a fair test of his physical ability, we left Davenport 

 the latter part of .lune, direct for the Rocky Mountains of Colorado 

 Territory. Passing rapidly by rail over the plains of Kansas, we 

 were delayed for a few days at Denver, to com[)let(' our mountain 

 outfit. Here in full view of the region we intended to explore, the 

 voung naturalist often cast wistful glances towards those cool re- 

 treats still flecked with patches of glistening snow, but not to the 

 neglect of the singular district immediately surrounding this embryo 

 city. Accordingly we find in his journal of this date, June ^2d, 

 1873, a record of finding his first specimen of (ialeodes belonging to 

 the family of SolpiiAi'tdw^ intermediate between spiders and scorpions. 

 The peculiar features of this strange insect at once attracted his 



