if Mr. Schoolcraft 



25 



MoNTPELiER, Jan. 22, 1822 



Sir^ 



\ have received the copy of your memoir on the fossil 

 tree, which you politely forwarded- Of the decisive bear- 

 ing of this phenomenon, on important questions in geology, 

 I rely more on your judgment than my own. 



The present is a very inquisitive age, and its researches of 

 late have been ardently directed to the primitive composi- 

 tion and structure of our globe, as far as it has been penetra- 

 ted, and to the processes by which succeeding changes have 



been produced* The discoveries already made are encour- 

 aging; but vast room is left for the industry and sagacity of 

 Geologists. This is sufficiently shewn by the opposite the- 

 ories which have been espoused ; one of them regarding 

 water, the other fire, as the great agent employed by nature 

 in her work. 



It may be expected that this hemisphere, which has been 

 least explored, will yield its full proportion of materials to- 

 wards a satisfactory system. Your zealous efforts to share 

 in the contributions, do credit to your love of truth and devo- 

 tion to the cause of science, and I wish they may be reward- 

 ed with the success they promise, and with all the personal 

 gratifications to which they entitle you. 



With 



JAMES MADISON. 



"'Th. Jefferson returns his thanks to Mr. Schoolcraft for 

 the memorial he has been so kind as to send him on the fos- 

 sil tree of the river des Plaines. It is a valuable element 

 towards the knowledge we wish to obtain of the crust of the 

 globe we inhabit: and its crust alone is immediately inter- 

 esting to us.^ We are only to guard against drawing our 

 conclusions deeper than we dig* Mr. Schoolcraft is enti- 

 tled to the thanks of the lovers of science for the preserva- 

 tion of this fact : he has those of Th. J, with his salutations 

 of esteem and respect. 



MoNTiCELLO, Jan, 26, 1822. 



. Vol. V No. L 4 



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