19 



ress, and the figurine and the pretty fiction were laid before him. He 

 recognized the figurine as a toy such as the neighboring Indians give 

 their children, and laughed at the story ; whereupon the owner of the 

 object enjoined secrecy, pleading "Don't give me away ; I've fooled a 

 lot of! fellows already, and I'd like to fool some more." The geologist 

 in question gave no further thought to the matter, knowing that so trans- 

 parent a fraud would never deceive even a tyro in geologic science ; but 

 when it came to the notice of the Reverend Professor Wright he ac- 

 cepted the fiction and far outstripped the jocular finder by foisting it in 

 the public print as evidence of great human antiquity. It may be added 

 that while the figurine has attracted much attention among archeologists, 

 several (including Professor Holmes) refused to accept it even as pre- 

 historic because of the suggestion of classic models found in its lineaments. 



In short, chapter VIII is a tissue of error and MISREPRESENTA- 

 TION; not one of the "indubitable" instances is worthy of credence; and 

 its publication to the world as an exposition of American science is an 

 OFFENSE TO THE NOSTRILS. 



Two chapters follow on "The cause of the glacial period" and 

 "The date of the glacial period;" it is enough to say that they are of a 

 piece with the earlier chapters. 



The work ends with an appendix on "Tertiary man," by Professor 

 Henry W. Haynes, which, albeit short and from the geologic stand- 

 point superficial, is a silver lining to the cloud. 



In brief, the introductory chapter of "Man and the glacial period" is 

 absurdly fallacious ; the chapter on existing glaciers is redeemed by quo- 

 tations, but the chapter on "glacial motion" is DAMNED by error and 

 SPECIOUS MISREPRESENTATION; the chapter on " past glacia- 

 tion" is crude, unjust, egotistic and a generation behind modern science; 

 the fifth, sixth and seventh chapters contain a large body of information 

 which would be useful if properly arranged, but the arrangement is 

 unscientific, unfair to American geologists, and misleading to read- 

 ers; the eighth chapter purports to prove that man existed during the 

 glacial period, but the evidence is inconclusive, and only proves, first, 

 that the author is incompetent to deal with geologic phenomena, and, 

 second, that his conception of geologic history is feeble and hazy; while 

 of the concluding chapters it must be said, tritely yet truly, that noth- 

 ing that is true is new, and nothing that is new is true. 



It would be charitable to allow the arraignment of the work to end 

 here with the implication that the author in his ready acceptance of 



The Nation had an article; accounts were extensively published in Scrib- 

 ner's Magazine for Feb. 1890, in the Atlantic Monthly for April, 1891, 

 and in other prominent papers. It seems improbable that this best known 

 geologist, if connected with the United States Survey, in public pay , at a 

 knave's request, permitted such a public fraud openly confessed, if indeed, 

 this "is a fact" and not another mistake of Mr. McGee's. 



