42 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SAINT LOUIS MEETING 



meeting took place most informally in Hague's lodgings, while he was 

 finishing his morning toilet, and was followed by visits to the Mnsenm of 

 Practical Geology in Jermyn street, where the offices of Sir Archibald 

 Geikie, Frank Eutley, and other members of the Geological Survey of the 

 United Kingdom were located. The few days together in London and 

 the voyage home to New York w^ere the beginning of years of intimate 

 association in office and camp life, to which the writer looks back with 

 the happiest recollections. 



On reaching New York, Hague procoede.i to Washington to report in 

 person to King and to take the oath of office, which he did on April 10. 

 The first duties of Hague and his assistant were to arrange and catalogue 

 the extensive collection of rock specimens made by the exploration of the 

 Fortieth Parallel, which had been deposited in cabinets in the American 

 Museum of Natural History, but had become displaced with respect to 

 their labels by the movement of the drawers containing them. This 

 necessitated the identification of the specimens megascopically by com- 

 parison with the descriptions in Volume II and microscopically by a 

 study of the rock sections described by Zirkel — a study of great value to 

 the young assistant. The w^ork occupied a large part of the following 

 three years, which, however, were devoted to a number of other duties. 



The summer and autumn of 1880 were spent by Mr. Hague in the field 

 study of the Eureka district, Nevada. His assistants were Charles D. 

 Walcott, fresh from the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, and J. P. 

 Iddings, still fresher, from laboratory and lecture rooms. The district, 

 20 miles square, embraced Paleozoic strata and volcanic lavas, with silver- 

 lead mines and prospects in the desert region of central Nevada. Almost 

 the first night in camp came near being the last, for Mr. Hague in trying 

 to drive from his sleeping-tent a foraging mule was kicked in the head 

 above the temple and severely cut, l:)arely escaping with his life. Fortu- 

 nately he recovered rapidly and the field-M-ork proceeded normally. 



It had been the intention of the Director that Hague should establish 

 a branch office of the Geological Survey in San Francisco, and should 

 undertake a detailed study of the Pacific Coast volcanoes, beginning with 

 Lassen Peak. In fact, Hague had been appointed geologist in charge of 

 the Division of the Pacific. But a sudden change in King's plans, result- 

 ing in his resignation of the Directorship of the Survey in March of the 

 following year, 1881, caused Hague to relinquish the position and return 

 with his assistants to New York, where they found office room in the 

 American Museum of Natural History. Work on the Fortieth Parallel 

 collection was continued, in addition to the preparation of the report on 

 the geology of the Eureka district. 



