Georg'e Mercer Dawson. 419 



sciences enabled him not merely to collect objects of 

 natural history in an intelligent and discriminating- 

 way, and to discuss the flora and faunas of different 

 districts, but also to make important observations on 

 the habits and languages of Indian tribes, to keep 

 continuous meteorological records and to determine 

 latitudes and longitudes. We accordingly find that 

 his reports generally conclude ■^^dth a series of most 

 valuable appendices, giving special information which 

 could not well be included in the body of the 

 document. 



In an elaborate notice of his report on the Queen 

 Charlotte islands, published in Petermann's Mittheil- 

 ungen (Vol. 2Y, 1881), the writer, after calling atten- 

 tion to the fact that the report dealt not merely with 

 the geology of the islands, but also with their 

 topography, natural history, climate and ethnology, 

 says : " One is amazed at the rich results which he 

 brought back in all these branches, especially as he 

 had only one assistant, Mr. Rankine Dawson, and 

 remained in the islands only two and a half months, 

 from the 12th of June to the end of August, and that 

 in most unfavourably wet weather." 



In addition to his field-books proper, he generally 

 kept copious journals which contain much interesting 

 information. He had a habit, too, of jotting down 

 notes and sometimes verses on scraps of paper or on 

 the backs of telegraph forms. In the wilds of British 

 Columbia, for example, he writes : 



" Contorted beds, of unknown age. 



My weary limbs sball bear. 

 Perchance a neat synclinal fold 



At night shall be my lair. 

 Dips I shall take on unnamed streams, 



Or where the rocks strike, follow 



