500 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROCHESTER MEETING! 



meat of sun spots," the u Occurrence of foraminifera, coccoliths, &c, in 

 the Cretaceous rocks of Manitoba," etcetera. 



When the work of the Boundary Commission was brought to a close? 

 he received in 1875 an appointment as Chief Geologist on the staff of the 

 Geological Survey of Canada, and began the long series of explorations 

 in the northwest and British Columbia which brought such credit to 

 himself and his country. In 1883 he was made Assistant Director of 

 the Survey, and in 1895, on the retirement of Doctor Selwyn, he suc- 

 ceeded him as Director. This position he held at the time of his decease. 



His field work while connected with the Survey was carried on almost 

 exclusively in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories, and the 

 excellent character of this work contributed largely to the great develop- 

 ment of the mining industries in these parts of the Dominion during 

 recent years, for his reports though thoroughly scientific always took 

 account of the practical and economic side of geology, and accordingly 

 commanded the attention and confidence of mining capitalists, mine 

 managers, and others interested in the development of the mineral re- 

 sources of the country. 



To outline the results of Dr Dawson's geological work in this western 

 half of Canada would be to write a sketch of the geology of that part of 

 the Dominion. Practically nothing was known of the geological rela- 

 tions of that vast district before he commenced his labors there. Now a 

 large part of it has been mapped and studied geologically, while a gen- 

 eral knowledge of the geological structure and the resources of the whole 

 area has been obtained. This great work may be said to be due to Daw- 

 son, for it was carried out either by him personally or by his assistants 

 and immediate successors in the field, men who were trained by him 

 and derived their zeal for the work from his illustrious example. 



Although a man by no means robust physically, much of this explor- 

 atory work was carried out in districts and under conditions which 

 would have taxed the endurance of many a stronger man, as, for in- 

 stance, his work in the Queen Charlotte islands in 1879, and, later, his 

 exploration of the Yukon district and the adjacent portions of northern 

 British Columbia. He felt an especial interest in the great regions of 

 the north, about which until recently so little was known, and in 1887, 

 having made a careful search through all the accounts left by the Arctic 

 explorers, and having examined the geological collections brought back 

 by certain of them, he published a " Geological map of the northern 

 portion of the Dominion of Canada east of the Rocky mountains," with 

 accompanying notes, in which all the existing information concerning 

 the geology of this remote region was set forth. He subsequently pub- 

 lished a paper " On some of the larger unexplored regions of Canada," 



