MEMOIR OF S. F. EMMONS 23 



During his whole life ^[r. Emmons' personal appearance had distinc- 

 tion; tall, erect, and slender, his carriage was graceful and unstudied. 

 In the early days of his out-of-door professional work he was extremely 

 active and alert. "While he may have had a certain enjoyment in the 

 pursuit of large game, he always seemed to prefer a long-range shot, 

 perhaps at a rabbit in the sage-brush or a grouse in the pine timber. It 

 was the exactness and finish of the shot, rather than the bagging some- 

 thing, that he cared for. A good mountain climber, he disliked a long 

 walk on level ground. Wliile in Leadville he wrote to a friend : "I fear 

 boyish exuberance has left me, but keen zest for field work is as strong 

 as ever.*' The probable explanation of this attitude can be traced to 

 the fact that mental effort and physical exercise had to go together, and 

 before long the sense of responsibility, which was always a strong charac- 

 teristic, got the better of enjoyment of mere bodily exhilaration. 



During the thirty years of his active service in the Geological Survey 

 he gave to it a thoroughness and lofty devotion. It he demanded high 

 standards of scientific work from those with whom he was associated, he 

 afforded an example by maintaining them himself. While in charge of 

 the Division of Economic Geology he gave personal supervision to the 

 investigations of others, and never wearied in aiding younger men, train- 

 ing them in methods of work, even advising them as to the form of 

 recording their notes. He alwa3's sought to inspire them with love of 

 research for its own sake. He often said, in the kindliest way, of young 

 men fresh from the technical schools : "They have excellent powers of 

 observation, but their English is wretched." They all loved Mr. Em- 

 mons and kept for him their appreciation and respect, and he cared very 

 much for their affectionate regard. Under a somewhat indifferent man- 

 ner he had a warm and tender nature. His closest friends, those of a 

 lifetime, never knew him to be guilty of an unworthy action, and if he 

 ever cherished a resentment it was not without good cause. He was 

 always ready to discuss differences of opinion in a cool, dispassionate 

 way, showing a desire to get at the truth rather than to carry his own 

 point. He was charitable and modest, while preserving with proper 

 dignity the high professional and personal position he had so honestly 

 earned for himself. 



His later days were, it is to be feared, full of patient endurance of 

 physical pain — it was patient endurance — but he worked all the time 

 and was kindly and gentle always. The younger men of his profession 

 may not always have realized how helpful he had been to them until he 

 could help them no more. His oldest friends, with whom he had built 

 up his character, as well as his professional standing, grieved for him 



