13 



miles ; then pile the rocky cliffs on each side to a height of two 

 thousand feet, instead of two or three hundred, and through this 

 gorge pour a river with three times the volume of the Mississippi. 

 Now place two white men, with more than a hundred Africans under 

 them, all utterly ignorant of what lay before them, in half a dozen 

 rude canoes, and bid them make their way down this gorge, over its 

 rapids, and around its three score cataracts. This is what STANLEY 

 undertook to do, and did." 



OUR SCIENTIFIC OPPORTUNITIES. 



Thus, my friends, have we briefly considered subjects which 

 seemed especially appropriate to this occasion. Justice, however, 

 would not be done, either to you or to the Academy, did I not at 

 this time, in addition to a record of work accomplished, and a 

 sketch of the possibilities dawning upon us in the realm of scien- 

 tific investigation, indicate vital relations which this institution 

 bears to the citizens of Chicago. Every individual who apprehends 

 the value of scientific truths, sustains responsibilities to the Chicago 

 Academy of Sciences. It may seem superfluous, at this day, to 

 array arguments to prove the advantages of scientific pursuits ; and 

 yet, the comparatively recent introduction of science as a prominent 

 element in education may justify its consideration. Foundations 

 have been laid in this Academy, at the cost of years of effort and 

 self-denial, whose benefits, resultant to us and to our children, every 

 consideration proves to be of value. 



I might speak, recalling to your minds the pressure upon brain 

 and muscle in this over-driven city, of the health-giving, recreative 

 power of scientific pursuits ; while to the necessity of the introduc- 

 tion of such an element into the business and professional life of 

 Chicago, our medical friends would bear united testimony. Espec- 

 ially in the natural history department of science is this true, where 

 the study of the habits of animal life and the collecting of specimens 

 are conducted in the free air and sunshine. And here let me speak 

 of the favorable location of Chicago for the prosecution of such a 

 taste ; for, unpromising as our environs may appear to the ordinary 

 observer, the region around us furnishes one of the richest fields in 

 our land for the collection of specimens of natural history. Allow 

 me to specify a moment. 



