III. THE PROFESSOR. 



THE establishment of peace left the soldier without an occupa- 

 tion. He had willingly followed a life of toil and danger, 

 when great national issues were at stake, but he could not be a sol- 

 dier in time of peace. He therefore speedily sought some new oc- 

 cupation. After considering many different plans, he was prevailed 

 upon to accept a nomination for the office of County Clerk of Du 

 Page County, Illinois. 



A few days later he received a letter from the President of the 

 Illinois Wesleyan University, at Bloomington, offering him the 

 professorship of geology in that institution. This he accepted at 

 once, although the salary was but $1,000 per annum, while the 

 office of County Clerk was worth from $5,000 to $6,000. This uni- 

 versity had previously given him the degree of A. B. and then of 

 A. M., but the offer of the professorship was entirely unexpected. 

 He left for Bloomington at once and entered upon his new duties. 



The institution was more prosperous than had been supposed, 

 and his salary, even for the first year, was better than had been 

 promised. For three years he there led the quiet life of a professor 

 of geology. 



It was agreed when he accepted the position that a part of his 

 time should be devoted to field geology and natural history, and 

 that the greater part of his duties should be the organisation and 

 building up of a museum. 



During his life as a soldier, Major Powell did not forget the 

 pursuits in which he had previously been so deeply interested, and 

 often while in camp he applied himself to the study of natural his- 

 tory. During the more quiet pursuits of camp life, he found op- 

 portunities for studying the botany of the country in which he was 

 sojourning. While in Kentucky and Tennessee, he made large 

 collections of land and fresh-water shells. But the study in which 

 he most interested himself was geology; and it was his custom to 



