116 SPENCER FULLERTON BAIRD 
away, and spent most of the next day looking over the 
Doctor’s extensive collection of insects and books. The 
next day he continued his journey to Chickasalunga, the 
mansion of S. S. Haldeman, a fine large house at the 
foot of a high hill with a 300 foot precipice near it called 
Chickies Rock. Haldeman was one of the noted scientific 
men of that day, who wrote on many subjects, especially 
conchology and philology, and had a fine library of books 
on all branches of science and large collections in Natural 
History and Archeology. He was noted for his kindness 
to young students of science, and became for many years 
a friend and correspondent of Baird. Usually wearing a 
round fur cap, short, with brilliant black eyes and slightly 
eccentric manners, he was a personage who lived in one’s 
memory after even a brief interview. On the present 
occasion he gave books and specimens to his young 
visitor. On the 9th Baird returned to Carlisle. 
Baird expresses little political sentiment in his Journal. 
All his family were Whigs and he records spending an 
evening at his Aunt Julia’s helping to fix a banner to be 
presented to the Whig organization of the town by the 
ladies of Carlisle. This function came off on August 17th, 
when thirty carloads of people came from Chambersburg 
to see the procession, with men working at their trades, 
on “‘floats,”’ blacksmiths, coopers, leather dressers, etc. 
On September 6th the Loco-foco party retaliated by 
holding a grand meeting in Carlisle at which four thousand 
people were estimated to be present. 
As is natural at his age, Baird saw much of the ladies 
of his acquaintance in these days, spending most of his 
evenings at one hospitable house or another, and there are 
indications that some of them were not indifferent to 
the cheery, handsome young fellow. 
