MEMORIAL OF C. W. DRYSDALE 31 



In June, 1903, after completing his preparatory course in a private 

 school and in the Montreal High School, Drysdale determined to see 

 something of the world before entering college, and to this end secured a 

 return passage to South Africa as steward to the engineers on a steamer 

 sailing from Montreal. On this trip he displayed those qualities of kindly 

 independence and keen observation that characterized his collegiate career 

 and later work. 



On entering McGill University in 1904, he spent one year in the Fac- 

 ulty of Arts, but in the following summer, while engaged in mining de- 

 velopment work at Mammoth, Montana, he decided to change his course 

 of study to the Faculty of Applied Science, and, in 1909, he graduated in 

 Mining Engineering. He v^as a thorough, painstaking student, possess- 

 ing an orderly mind which, by readily sorting out facts according to their 

 relative importance, arrived at sound conclusions. His genial disposition, 

 his quiet, unassuming manner, and the absolute sincerity of all his activi- 

 ties made him a universal favorite among his fellow-students. He was a 

 member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. 



His summer holidays were devoted to acquiring a variety of experiences 

 that later stood him in good stead. During the summer of 1906, he was 

 a draftsman on the staff of the Dominion Coal Company, at Sydney, 

 Nova Scotia; in 1907, he was prospecting for mineral deposits in the 

 Gowganda district of northern Ontario. During the college session of 

 1907-1908, he first made his acquaintance with geology, and in the follow- 

 ing summer gained his first experience in field-work on the Geological 

 Survey of Canada, being sent to the boundary district in British Colum- 

 bia as an assistant to that sterling character and inspiring geologist, 

 Capt. 0. E. Le Eoy, of the 46th Battalion of the Canadian expeditionary 

 forces, who in the latter part of last October died of wounds received 

 while leading his men in Flanders. Drysdale returned to his senior year 

 at McGill University filled with enthusiasm for geology and with a quiet 

 determination to thoroughly prepare himself for work on the many prob- 

 lems of economic geology in British Columbia. 



During the next three years (1909-1912), winters in the Graduate 

 School of Yale University alternated with summers spent in field-work 

 in British Columbia. At Yale, because of the commendable character of 

 his work, he was awarded a fellowship, was elected to Sigma Xi, and in 

 1912 received the degree of Ph. D. The thesis that he submitted for this 

 degree was entitled "Geology of Franklin Mining Camp, British Colum- 

 bia," and it was later published as Memoir 56 of the Canadian Geological 

 Survey. 



For two years after completing his studies at Yale University, he was 



