MEMOIR OF JOHN B. HATCHER 551 



mian to the Pleistocene, Hatcher was continually studying the stratigra- 

 phy of the beds in which he worked and determining their faunistic 

 divisions and subdivisions. Nor did he neglect the dynamical and 

 structural problems involved in the formation of the successive beds- 

 Not only was he an unusually keen and accurate observer, but he pos- 

 sessed a singularly original and independent mind. He was utterly 

 impatient of authority in science, and to him every theory must be sup- 

 ported by convincing evidence and not merely buttressed by the weight 

 of great names. His untimely death has robbed the world of a rich store 

 of geological knowledge, the publication of which had not fairly begun. 



In 1893 Hatcher accepted a call to Princeton University as assistant 

 in geology and curator of vertebrate paleontology in the museum, and 

 with unabated zeal continued his work along much the same lines as 

 before. During tbe three seasons 1893-1895 he worked in the Uinta, 

 White River, and Loup Fork and Sheridan beds, gathering great quanti- 

 ties of priceless material. On all of these trips he was accompanied by 

 field parties of students, who became his fast friends and ardent ad- 

 mirers; his skill, energy, persistence in the face of difficulty and peril 

 appealed most strongly to their imaginations. On the other hand, he 

 took the warmest interest in his students, especially in those whose edu- 

 cation must be gained through their own efforts ; with admirable delicacy 

 and tact, he was fertile in devices to enable them to help themselves and 

 thus continue their studies unweighted by any humiliating sense of being 

 the objects of charity. 



The most important work that Hatcher undertook during his connec- 

 tion with Princeton, and perhaps the most important enterprise of his 

 whole career, was his exploration of Patagonia in the three expeditions 

 of 1896-1899. The plan and execution of this great work were his own ; 

 from his former students he obtained a large part of the necessary funds, 

 to which he generously contributed himself. Indeed, proportionately to 

 his means he was the largest subscriber to the fund. The expeditions, 

 the main object of which was to secure representative collections illus- 

 trating the geology and paleontology of Patagonia, were brilliantly suc- 

 cessful, and their scope was gradually extended so as to include as well 

 the botany and zoology of the region. To his assistants, Messrs Peterson 

 and Colburn, much credit for the success of the work is due; but the 

 leading spirit was Hatcher's throughout. In his " Narrative," already 

 mentioned, may be found the extremely well written and interesting 

 account of his Patagonian journeys ; but, interesting as it is, this book 

 gives to the reader a very imperfect conception of his achievement. 

 Only those who heard his intimate talk and had the pleasure of reading 

 his fascinating letters from the field can understand what were the diffi- 



