SKETCH OF PROFESSOR C. F. HARTT. 233 



geological exploration — the Amazonian Valley — hoping there to dis- 

 cover, at the falls of the different tributaries of the Amazonas, other 

 fossiliferous formations than the Cretaceous, which latter alone he had 

 found along the coast. He was well rewarded, and returned to the 

 United States with large collections of fossils of the Palaeozoic age, 

 and sufficient other evidence to allow of his giving us a very accurate 

 though general idea of the formation of the Amazonian Valley. His 

 results were strongly opposed to the theory of Prof. Agassiz, of its 

 glacial origin. Not entirely satisfied with the amount of material ob- 

 tained on this last expedition, he returned again to the Amazonas in 

 1871 with Mr. O. A. Derby, who had accompanied him on the former 

 trip. Together they carefully reexplored the same regions gone over 

 before, adding much to the stores already brought to the United States, 

 and also examining the ancient Indian mounds and shell-heaps of nu- 

 merous localities. The two Amazonian trips of Prof. Hartt were ren- 

 dered possible through the liberality of Mr. Edward Morgan, of Aurora, 

 New York, in whose honor they have been called the " Morgan Ex- 

 peditions." 



Returning from Brazil once more, he remained at Cornell University 

 about three years, quietly working up the results of his later trips, and 

 publishing his reports upon them ; but his active spirit would not allow 

 him to remain in this condition long. He conceived the idea of sys- 

 tematically exploring the entire empire of Brazil, a country possessing 

 an area almost as great as the United States. In August of 1874, by 

 request of the Brazilian Minister of Agriculture, he went to Rio de 

 Janeiro to submit his plans for the organization of a Geological Com- 

 mission of Brazil. He first suggested the forming of a very large party 

 similar to those engaged in our own national explorations ; but it was 

 found that the existing appropriations would not suffice for so grand an 

 undertaking, and he was forced to begin on a more modest scale, the 

 commission dating from May 1, 1875. In addition to the chief, there 

 were never more than five or six assistants at any one time, comprising 

 two assistant geologists, one topographer, and two other assistants, 

 and at times a photographer or other specialist. His former expe- 

 riences in Brazil aided him in rapidly attaining good and important 

 results. He took the old grounds which he had already examined as 

 starting-points for his new explorations, and worked outward from them 

 in all directions, quickly but carefully enlarging the known area of fos- 

 siliferous and other rocks. This kind of work he was, of course, able 

 to carry out only on the Amazonas and in the northern coast prov- 

 inces ; but to the south of Rio he had everything to begin, and in 

 those localities his examinations were more hasty, bearing the char- 

 acter of preliminary surveys ; but they were also productive of val- 

 uable results. 



On the reorganization of the National Museum at Rio, in 1876, 

 Hartt became director of its department of Geology ; but, on account 



