GEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS IN MINNESOTA. 697 



and its maps are first-class. It is a well-known work, and can still 

 be seen sometimes offered for sale by dealers. It constituted at 

 that time one of the largest and most expensive publications of 

 the United States government, a monument at once to the learning, 

 the zeal and the wise management of Dr. Owen. It is not neces- 

 sary here to go into the scientific merits of this volume, since its 

 contributions to the geology of Minnesota and of the Northwest 

 are well known and have entered into the geological literature 

 of the country in many forms. 



After this territorial period, ending in 1858, the new state 

 made early attempts at a geological survey, but met with poor 

 success. The first legislature ordered a reprint of portions of the 

 geological report of Professor Daniels on the survey of Wisconsin, 

 Minnesota having formerly been embraced in the territory of 

 Wisconsin. The second legislature instituted a plan for estab- 

 lishing a thorough survey. Messrs. Charles L. Anderson and 

 Thomas Clark were appointed commissioners to report on the 

 geology of the state and on a plan for such survey. They ren- 

 dered a report the following year, making an octavo pamphlet 

 of twenty-six pages, outlining the proper scope and methods of 

 such a survey. But the legislature took no action, probably 

 because of the objections of Governor Ramsay who considered 

 that the state was not able at that time to bear the cost 

 which the survey would entail. In 1864 a law was passed by the 

 sixth legislature authorizing the governor to appoint and direct a 

 state geologist. The first appointee under this law was Dr. Aug. 

 H. Hanchett. His assistant was Thomas Clark. But little or 

 nothing of value was done by Dr. Hanchett, but Mr. Clark ren- 

 dered a report of seventy octavo pages on the physical features 

 of that portion of the state bordering on Lake Superior. The 

 next two years the survey was conducted by Mr. H. H. Eames 

 who had his brother, Richard M. Eames, for assistant. Two 

 small annual reports were rendered by Mr. Eames, who was 

 devoted to prosecuting a "mineral hunt" in the northern part of 

 the state. This was apparently in accordance with instructions 

 from Governor Miller. Excitement soon arose over the discov- 



