The Three Secretaries 175 



It was so in the Museum in every department, and each of 

 his associates knew that he was many times competent to do 

 the work which he had made over to others. 



Particularly keen was his insight into North American 

 archaeology. The great collection of the Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution grew up under his hands, and up to the time of his 

 death every single object was handled by him as soon as it 

 was received. No one was so quick to perceive a new fact 

 or so keen in the detection of a fraud, and although he never 

 published a formal contribution to archaeology, there was in 

 his day no archaeologist in America who was so learned. 

 He was, indeed, an "all round " naturalist — one of the last of 

 a school which has now almost ceased to exist. 



But that he, like Professor Henry, was willing to give up 

 the pleasure of doing things himself, in order that he might 

 provide the means by which hundreds of others might be 

 enabled to work, the sum total of his contributions to science 

 would have been much greater. 



It was his self-chosen task to amass material for research, 

 to secure the money for the prosecution of studies upon it, to 

 select the men, to train them and point out to them the 

 results to be accomplished, to watch their progress, and, when 

 satisfied that an adequate result had been reached, to secure 

 its publication. Like most men of active mind, he delighted 

 to enter unfamiliar regions, to become thoroughly familiar 

 with all that was known, and to begin some research in each 

 field in order to satisfy himself of his competency to enter it 

 if he chose. This having been done, he was quite willing to 

 hand over his accumulations of notes and material to some 

 one else, and to this trait of his character many naturalists 

 since prominent have owed their first establishment in the 

 fields of research which they have since occupied. 



Reference has been made to the characteristics of the 



