10 



THE COLLECTORS' MONTHLY. 



Goss was elected president. He was also 

 land attorney of the Santa Fe at one 

 time. 



Established at "The Falls" once more, 

 he found ample time for his favorite 

 study, and his collection of birds began 

 to grow rapidly and attract attention 

 throughout the state and abroad. He 

 had made himself comfortable in this 

 world's goods, and in 1881 he donated 

 his collection to the state, without any 

 remuneration, but upon the conditions 

 that it be known as the "Goss Ornithol- 

 ogical Collection," and that he be the 

 custodian during his lifetime. The offer 

 was accepted and a room was set apart 

 for it in the capitol building by the legis- 

 lature and also one for his own use. His 

 rooms were beautifully arranged and 

 were visited continually by large num- 

 bers of people. All lovers of his favorite 

 science were cordially welcomed, and his 

 kind and genial manners endeared him 

 to all: In the fall of 1881 he took up 

 his residence in Topeka. 



He has made frequent trips to various 

 localities in North America and Central 

 America, along the coasts and among 

 the islands of the Gulf of California, 

 among the everglades of Florida, along 

 the northwest coast and the coast of 

 Labrador, among the Rockies, the Sierra 

 Nevadas, the Great Lakes and the rivers, 

 searching almost every part of the conti- 

 nent for birds, and giving to the state by 

 his labors, a collection of North Ameri- 

 can birds which rivals or exceeds any 

 private collection in the union. 



In 1883 he complied and published a 

 catalogue of the birds of Kansas, a neat- 

 ly printed phamphlet of thirty-four pages, 

 based upon observations in the field and 

 knowledge gathered during a residence 

 of over twenty-six years in Kansas. The 

 catalogue embraces 49 families and 320 

 species and subspecies. In 1886 here- 

 vised the catalogue, increasing the spe- 

 cies to 3 35. 



In October, 1883, he was elected a 

 member of the American Ornithologval 

 Union, an organization established in 

 New York, with a membership of fifty, 

 and composed of the distinguished orni- 

 thologists of this country. This compli- 

 ment was unsought and was even with- 

 out his knowledge. 



The value of his collection has been es- 

 timated at .$100,000 by competent 

 judges. 



Colonel Goss left Topeka on a short 

 visit with his nephew, Mr. Cuarles W. 

 Waterman. He was in good health and 

 particularly good spirits, because he had 

 just completed his life's work and at- 

 tained his one ambition, the publication 

 of his beautiful work, "History of the 

 Birds of Kansas." It had been in pre- 

 paration for over << year and Colonel 

 Goss had, with characteristic enegy and 

 singleness of purpose, devoted himself al- 

 most night and day to its completion. 

 So hard did he labor upon it, that his 

 friends, more than once, admonished him 

 that he should not work so hard, but 

 he persevered and proudly witnessed the 

 completion of the work. What a grand 

 mounment it is to the memory of a man" 

 And what a grand thing it is that he was 

 spared to complete it and have the satis- 

 faction of feeling .that he bad achieved 

 his one ambition. 



Colonel Goss was one of the most wide- 

 ly known men in Kansas. To those who 

 knew hiin best, he will be remembered es- 

 pecially for his rare social qualities, his 

 kind - heartedness, his high-minedness, 

 and his warm friendship. In every sense- 

 he was a man whom to know was to ad- 

 mire, respect and love. His character 

 was without blemish, and his integrity 

 unimpeachable. He hadn't an enemy in 

 the world, and few men ever had more 

 friends. 



He had but just completed his beauti- 



