36 PROCEEDINGS OP THE WASHINGTON MEETING 



need for further instruction in these pursuits, which at that time could 

 not be had here in the West, he went, in 1894, to the Michigan School of 

 Mines at Houghton, Michigan, where he remained four years, taking a 

 technical course and continuing as instructor in mineralogy and crystal- 

 lography. 



Eeturning to British Columbia, Mr. Sutton entered the service of the 

 Wellington Colliery Company as geologist, and on the company's interests 

 being acquired by the Canadian Collieries (Dunsmuir), Limited, he con- 

 tinued with the new company in the same capacity until the time of his 

 death, on May 19, 1914. 



During his connection with the Wellington Colliery Company, Mr. 

 Sutton also acted as consulting geologist for Mr. James Dunsmuir, who 

 had numerous interests in the various metalliferous mining camps of the 

 province. 



The Wellington Colliery Company owned the coal rights under a large 

 portion of Vancouver Island, and these were unsurveyed and undefined; 

 it therefore fell to Mr. Sutton to survey and geologically map all these 

 areas and to prospect portions of these for workable coal. In this way he 

 mapped geologically the greater part of the island, an extensive and val- 

 uable piece of work, but of such a confidential nature that its publication 

 would have been contrary to the interests of the company. 



In connection with this work and his personal timber interests, he ac- 

 quired a knowledge of the geology of Vancouver Island probably more 

 extensive than that possessed by any other person. He was regarded as 

 the authority on the Cretaceous coal-bearing strata of Vancouver Island, 

 and his opinions were often sought by the government departments. 



It was always a matter of sincere regret on Mr. Sutton's part and that 

 of his friends that his official position prevented the publication of the 

 mass of valuable geological information he had acquired. It seemed as 

 though he had been obliged by his commercial duties to "keep his light 

 under a bushel," and few but his personal friends and professional con- 

 freres realized the extent of his geological work. 



So irksome to Mr. Sutton had become this feeling of restraint that he 

 had planned to retire from commercial life and to devote his time to the 

 preparation of his geological and mineralogical data for publication and 

 had practically arranged with the writer that such should be done, under 

 the auspices of the British Columbia Bureau of Mines. This intention 

 was, however, frustrated by his sudden death, at Ucluelet, on the west 

 coast of Vancouver Island, while in the active pursuit of his work. 



Mr. Sutton was a man of unusually strong physique and his death was 

 probably due to heart failure, as he was never sparing of himself in his 



