SOUTH CAROLINA AND ALABAMA GEOLOGICAL SURVEYS 169 



Those of US who have followed Tuomey in Alabama realize most fully 

 the comprehensive grasp he had of the geology of the state. No one but 

 a master of the subject could have accomplished what he did in so limited 

 a time. His reports, after a lapse of more than fifty years, are still con- 

 sulted. His successors have been mainly occupied in filling in with details 

 the outline which he gave. 



He was a man of great information, and his memory was stored with 

 instructive facts and amusing anecdotes. 



"These qualities, joined to the manners of a finished gentleman of the old 

 school, and a manly, dignified presence, made him a most agreeable companion. 



"As a teacher. Professor Tuomey possessed in a remarkable degree the fac- 

 ulty of interesting the student, and those even who cared little for the subject- 

 matter of his lectures were attracted by his style and found both entertain- 

 ment and instruction in his discourses. His native Irish wit did much to render 

 his lectures entertaining, especially to those who were not the victims of it, for 

 it must be admitted that he did not always spare the feelings of the student at 

 whose expense he could make a good point. He was particularly unmerciful 

 in his rebukes and exposures of shams and affectations. 



"The quality which attracted the students in his lectures makes his geological 

 reports very interesting reading. One of the elements contributing perhaps 

 most to this interest is the impression conveyed that the author is speaking 

 out of the fullness of his knowledge."" 



Suffering from the malady which, on the 30th of March, 1857, termi- 

 nated his life. Professor Tuomey came from Mobile to Tuscaloosa by 

 steamboat, on the arrival of which there was a great number of the citi- 

 zens of Tuscaloosa assembled at the wharf to meet him. As the proces- 

 sion of carriages wound its way up the hill from the river, Professor 

 Tuomey looked out of his carriage window at the long line, remarking 

 that he was probably the first man to be a living witness of his own funeral 

 procession. 



After the death of Professor Tuomey, the Civil War and the resulting 

 Reconstruction problems overshadowed all other subjects, and no geologic 

 work was carried on by the state until 1873. During this interval, how- 

 ever, a Commissioner of Industrial Resources was one of the regular offi- 

 cers of the state, and four short pamphlets were issued from his office 

 between 1869 and 1874. 



In 1871 the University of Alabama, on its reorganization, again took 

 the lead in geologic investigations by authorizing the Professor of Geology 

 in that institution to spend a part of his time in geologic field work. 



22 Eugene A. Smith : Sketch of the life of Michael Tuomey. American Geologist, vol. 

 XX, 1897. 



