200 A CENTURY OF SCIENCE 



lished reports varied greatly in scientific value and in 

 carefulness of preparation, while the publication of at 

 least two reports was delayed until long after the war, 

 and the manuscript of another was lost. The report of 

 the expedition of Major Emory contained a colored 

 geologic map of the western half of the country, a pioneer 

 publication, for the map prepared by Marcou extended 

 only to the 106th meridian. 



Thus in the first period of Government surveys, cover- 

 ing about forty years, the great West, with its wealth of 

 public lands, was well traversed by exploratory surveys, 

 which furnished, however, only general outlines for a 

 comprehension of the stratigraphy and structure of 

 mountain and valley, plain and plateau. To an even less 

 degree was there any realization of the economic possi- 

 bilities of the vast territory west of the Mississippi. 

 President Jefferson, in planning the Lewis and Clark 

 expedition, had stated his special interest in the mineral 

 resources of the region to be traversed. Nearly forty 

 years later Doctor Owen was strongly impressed with 

 the commercial promise of the region he surveyed. His 

 reports contain analyses of ores and statistics of produc- 

 tion; he compared the lead output of Wisconsin, Iowa, 

 and Illinois with that of Europe and foretold the value 

 of the iron, copper, and zinc deposits of the area; he 

 outlined the extent of the Illinois coal field ; and he laid 

 equal emphasis upon the agricultural possibilities of the 

 region. Indeed, so optimistic were Owen's general con- 

 clusions that he referred to his separate township plats, 

 with their detailed descriptions, as the basis for his san- 

 guine opinions, realizing that "the explorer is apt to 

 become the special pleader." With equal breadth of 

 view and thoroughness of execution the surveys of Fos- 

 ter and Whitney laid the foundation for the development 

 of the copper and iron resources of the Lake Superior 

 region, and although these areas were largely wilderness 

 and not adapted to rapid traverse or easy observation 

 the reports on their explorations nevertheless compare 

 most favorably with the contributions of geologists work- 

 ing in the more hospitable regions in the older States. 



The period following the Civil War naturally became 

 one of national expansion, the faces of many were turned 



