JOSEPH TRIMBLE ROTHROCK 205 



come an explorer! The idea took possession of 

 me. But I must prepare myself by study; so 

 from that time on, I worked in earnest. The 

 report of Fremont's explorations, 1842-43-44, 

 and later the explorations of Dr. Kane, came into 

 my possession, adding fuel to the flame. 



" When I returned to school at Academia 

 (then a well-known preparatory school in Juni- 

 ata County), I fitted for admission to Lawrence 

 Scientific School in Harvard University, and in 

 1860 was accepted by Prof. Asa Gray as a special 

 pupil in botany, working in his herbarium. He 

 was one of the botanical magnates of the world, 

 beyond question deservedly so. 



" No youth was ever more fortunate in his 

 teacher. Dr. Gray was kindness personified, 

 though a strict disciplinarian and a most merci- 

 less critic of a student's work. I owe more to him 

 than to any other man, and I never think of him 

 without veneration. I also attended the lectures 

 of Louis Agassiz and Jefferies Wyman, and en- 

 joyed the personal friendship of these great 

 teachers. 



" The Civil War was upon us. I volunteered 

 as a private in Company D, i3ist Regiment 

 Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and was eighth 

 corporal in the company. Getting wounded in 

 the right thigh at the battle of Fredericksburg, 

 1862 (Burnside's fight), I was taken to Carver 



