CHAPTER IV 



1867-1868 

 THE CALUMET AND HECLA MINE 



Agassiz had not been long established at the Museum 

 before he realized that his salary would be entirely in- 

 sufficient for the support of a family, to say nothing of 

 his desire to possess the means to continue and publish 

 his original work. Looking about for some remunera- 

 tive employment, he obtained, through his friend Mr. 

 J. M. Forbes, the presidency of some coal mines in 

 Pennsylvania, a position for which his studies at the 

 Scientific School had especially fitted him. Little is 

 known of this episode ; for a time in the early sixties, 

 he appears to have managed the enterprise from Boston, 

 with occasional visits to Pennsylvania, but seems finally 

 to have realized that the occupation was not likely to 

 prove advantageous. It is not clear how, with his duties 

 at the Museum and his research, he managed to find 

 time for this additional work. 



This experience, though little in itself, must have dis- 

 closed his ability to handle men, and given him confi- 

 dence. Without it, the owners of the Calumet and Hecla 

 Mines might never have given him his chance, by turn- 

 ing to him as a forlorn hope when that venture seemed 

 desperate. 



The story of the discovery of the Calumet Mine, 

 though based on apparently sufficient evidence, reads 

 like a page of " Monte Cristo," rather than a forgotten 



