FOREST AND STREAM. 



409 



Obituary of the Late Eminent Paleontologist, 

 F. B„ Meek, Including Prof. Henry's Funeral 

 Oration.— On the 22(1 of December, 1876, one of the most 

 eminent of the scientific men of America passed away. 

 He died within the walls of the Smithsonian Institution, 

 where he had been permitted to occupy rooms for about 

 eighteen years. He had been connected with the U. S. 

 Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories as a 

 salaried officer for the greater portion of the time since its 

 first organization in 1867. 



Mr. F. B. Meek was born in the city of Madison, Ind., 

 Dec. 10th, 1817. His grandparents were Irish Presbyteri- 

 ans, and emigrated to this country from the county of Ar- 

 magh, Ireland, about the year 1768, and finally settled in 

 Hamilton county, Ohio. His father, with his family, re- 

 moved to Madison, where he was a lawyer of considerable 

 eminence. His father died when he was only about three 

 years of age, leaving his family in very moderate ciecum- 

 stances. His early youth was spent at Madison, where he 

 was educated at the city schools. From his earliest rec- 

 ollection he was interested in the silurian fossils so abund- 

 ant in the rocks of the neighborhood of his home. He had 

 then never heard of geology, but studied them with admi- 

 ration and wonder as to their origin. When he reached 

 his majority he desired some position in which he might 

 indulge his natural inclination for study, but by advice of 

 his friends and against bis own wishes he invested the 

 small fund received from his father's estate in business 

 with a merchant of good repute. In the pursuit of his fa- 

 vorite studies his business was negleeted, and the conse- 

 quence was that during the financial crises of 1847 he 

 failed, and lost all of bis property. During the years 1848 

 and 1849 he was an assistant of Dr. D- D. Owen in the U. 

 S. Geological Survey of Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota, 

 after which he returned to Owensboro, Ky. In 1852 he 

 became the assistant of Prof. James Hall, the eminent pa- 

 laeontologist, of Albany, 1ST. Y. He remained there until 

 1858, with the exception of three summers, two of which 

 he spent in the Missouri State Geological Survey. In the 

 summer of 1853 he was sent by Prof. Hall with Dr. Hay- 

 den as his associate, to explore the "Bad Lands" of Dako- 

 ta, and brought back very valuable collections. This was 

 the commencement of that long series of successful explo- 

 rations of all portions of the west which have continued up 

 to the present time. While at Albany he was constantly 

 engaged in the most important palseontological works, the 

 results of which were published in the proceedings of our 

 learned societies. 



In 1858 he went to Washington, where he resided until 

 the time of his death, leaving the city only for a few 

 months at a time, while engaged as palaeontologist for the 

 State of Illinois, Ohio, or in field explorations in the far 

 west in connection with the U. S. Geological Survey un- 

 der the direction of Prof. Hayden. 



His publications, aside from the State reports referred to, 

 were very numerous, and bore the stamp of the most faith- 

 ful and conscientious research. They are regarded all over 

 the world as authority on the subjects of which they treat, 

 and in very few cases have his conclusions ever been ques- 

 tioned. They may be found in the "Proceedings of the 

 Academy, of Natural Sciences," Philadelphia, "American 

 Journal of Science," New Haven; "Albany Institute," 

 "Smithsonian Contributions," and various and important 

 reports in the publication of the U. S. Geological Survey 

 for the Territories with which he was so long connected. 



He was so modest and retiring that he was scarcely 

 known outside of a very limited circle of friends. His 

 bodily infirmities prevented him from mingling in society, 

 and when he came to die, although his fame as the most 

 eminent palaeontologist on the American continent had 

 been acknowledged all over the civilized world among sci- 

 entific men, his existence was scarcely known to the world 

 at large, and probably hundreds will know of him through 

 this notice for the first time. He was a member of the 

 National Academy of Sciences, and many other prominent 

 scientific associations in this country and in Europe. 



The following extract from a private letter addressed to 

 Prof. Hayden by Prof. J. D. Dana, of New Haven, writ- 

 ten the day after his death, will show the esteem in which 

 he was held by the most eminent of the scientific men of 

 the present age: — 



"Your telegram bearing the sad news of Mr. Meek's 

 death reached me at six this afternoon. A great loss it is 

 to the country, and a grievous one to me personally. What 

 a blotting out of knowledge, artistic skill, untiring energy, 

 moral excellence and friendly impulses! American palas- 

 ontology has lost, as regards the Invertebrate Department, 

 half its working force at a blow. His complete self-conse- 

 cration to scientific research and his fidelity to the truth 

 were most delightful to contemplate. Self, with him, was 

 never in truth's way. He has gone before his work was 

 done. But what he had finished was enough for half a 

 dozen ordinary men; a marvellous pile, if we view only the 

 aggregate of volumes and memoirs, but far more marvel- 

 lous when we look within at the amount of labored de- 

 scriptions and careful comparisons, and at the almost num- 

 berless illustrations, mostly from his own exact and beau- 

 tiful drawings. 1 have much personal reason for a grate- 

 ful remembrance of him. But the long, forward shove 

 which he gave to American geology, through his labors, 

 adds vastly to the debt and makes it a common debt for all 

 who shall hereafter find delight in this science." 



The funeral service over the remains of Mr. Meek were 

 held in the Geological Booms of the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion, at which time Prof. Henry read a most impressive 

 and appropriate address. Some excellent remarks were 

 made by Senator McCreary and Gen. A. B. Stout, life-long 

 friends, who had known him in his early days in Ken- 

 tucky. The following were the remarks of Prof. Henry: — 



"We are assembled to pay our respects to the remains of 



our late associate and friend, Fielding B. Mbek, and it is 

 becoming in us that these remains should not pass from 

 this building and this room without some special memen- 

 to of the occurrence. 



"He was no ordinary man, and though his existence was 

 unknown to but very few of the thousands of the inhabi- 

 tants of this city, his fame has been extended to every part 

 of the civilized world. His remains will be deposited, 

 with those of many of the illustrious of our country, in 

 the Congressional Cemetery. It will be unnecessary, how- 

 ever, to mark the place of his sepulchre by a conspicuous 

 monument of marble. It will be sufficient to designate his 

 grave, like that of the illustrious Franklin, with a single 

 slab resting upon the earth, and inscribed with his name. 

 He has achieved f or himself a prouder monument than 

 money can ever erect, 



"This quarto volume, a Report on the Territory Fossils 

 of the Region of the Upper Missouri," will perpetuate his 

 name in all the great libraries of the world. 



"His life has been laboriously and unostentatiously de- 

 voted to the advance of science. He did not aim at gen- 

 eral learning, but devoted his mental energies with signal 

 success to a single branch of the extended science of ge- 

 ology. He first studied with critical accuracy the living 

 invertebrate of the globe, and in connection with these he 

 devoted his labors especially to the shells found in the 

 different strata of the United States. 



"It is unnecessary to specify the value of his labors in 

 this line, since all who are acquainted with the science of 

 geology know that by a knowledge of these ancient re- 

 mains the relative ages of the several geological forma- 

 tions are principally determined. For this study Mr. Meek 

 possessed peculiar qualifications. He had a mind of gen- 

 eral powers consecrated in one pursuit, a well-trained eye 

 to detract the slightest shades of difference, a facility in 

 seizing upon characteristics which would indicate a spe- 

 cies, a command of language necessary to accurately de- 

 scribe what he discovered, and a pencil which gave a faith 

 ful 'delineation of the minutest characteristics of a speci- 

 men. He possessed an uncompromising love of truth, an 

 untiring industry, and knew no enjoyment greater than 

 that oi: devotion to the subject on which he was engaged. 



"Laboring under a disease of the lungs for several years 

 past he was exceedingly anxious to finish this volume be- 

 fore he should close his career. On this he continued to 

 labor while he sought prolonged days by visits in winter to 

 Florida, and in summer to the mountains of Maryland and 

 Virginia. In his journal we repeatedly find the entry, 

 'Very sick, but 1 work on.' Nor did he work in vain. A 

 kind Providence permitted him to finish the task which he 

 had set to himself, and he has left the world wiser, and we 

 trust better, for his having lived. He has for eighteen 

 years been connected with this Institution as a salaried 

 officer, but as au honored collaborator, always ready to 

 render service to the establishment, and while he was in- 

 creasing knowledge Dy his individual labor, he was always 

 ready to assist in diffusing special information among the 

 numerous correspondents of this Institution. 



"His memory will be honored as long as geology is a 

 prominent object of study, especially in tins country, and 

 the simple stone which marks his grave will ever be an ob- 

 ject of pious regard to the appreciative student of natural 

 history." 



A few but sympathetic friends only were present at his 

 funeral, and the remains of one of the most eminent sci- 

 entific men of the nineteenth century were borne to their 

 final resting place in the Congressional Cemetery, without 

 noise or osttntati©n, so quietly that no notice was taken of 

 it by the public press. The last rites were in harmony 



with his life. F. V. H. 

 -•>•♦■ ■ 



GAME PROTECTION. 



Maine. — A petition being before the Maine Legislature 

 to repeal the game laws, the Committee on Legal Affairs 

 gave the matter a hearing on the 19th inst. Mr. Manasseh 

 Smith of the International Association for the Protection 

 of Fish and Game, was present and argued against the re- 

 peal. His statistics showing the vast destruction of game 

 in Maine to supply the markets of other states, which pre- 

 serve the game in their own limits by stringent laws, were 

 very interesting and produced a marked effect on the com- 

 mittee. His position that all game is owned by the State and 

 its disposal is a matter for State law was favorably received 

 The committee will probably report against the repeal 

 The same committee will report for the repeal of the bounty 

 on bears. The Committee on Fisheries will report a bill to 

 codify the laws relating to fisheries with a commission to 

 consist of five persons, without pay, to report to the next 

 Legislature; also a bill to prevent the killing of seal in 

 Casco Bay. 



The annual meeting of the Maine State Association for 

 the Preservation of Fish was held at the Augusta House 

 the same evening. The following officers for the ensuing 

 year were elected: President, W. S. Badger, Augusta; 

 Vice President, C. B. Hazeltine, Belfast; Treasurer and 

 Secretary, J. W. Clapp, Augusta; Executive Committee 

 J. H. Kimball of Bath, Mannaseh Smith of Portland, Sam- 

 uel E. Smith of Wiscasset. The Secretary was instructed 

 to procure a change in the charter so as to include the pro- 

 tection of game within the scope of the society. 



Game Laws of New York, — We are indebted to the 

 Hon. De Witt Webb (and also to another Albany corres- 

 pondent) for copies of the amendments to the existing 

 State game laws introduced by him into the Assemby dur- 

 ing the present session. The bill has reached so far on its 

 progress as a second reading, and after being referred to 

 the Committee on Game Laws, was ordered printed. The 

 first clause in the amendments reduces the open season for 

 moose or deer from five months to three, viz., September, 

 October and November, and allows but one month more — 

 December — in which venison can be sold. It is made un- 

 lawful to pursue deer with hounds at any time. 



Looking at the dreadful slaughter which has been made 

 of deer in. this State, and the comparatively few remaining, 

 and also the fact that the number of persons who are de- 

 pendent upon venison for meat is constantly decreasing. 



we think that in order to save what is left, a reduction in 

 the period of the open season is desirable. As regards 

 hunting deer with hounds, we are not so well satisfied that 

 it should be entirely prohibited. If it is, how are deer to 

 be taken at all? Still hunting, with but few deer scattered 

 over a great expanse of country, is almost out of the ques- 

 tion. Certainly no more sport can be more legitimate than 

 putting hounds on the scent of a deer, and having them 

 driven past runways where it is impracticable to follow on 

 foot or on horseback. Let the deer have right of sanctu- 

 ary when water is reached, and let the lake or pond be as 

 inviolate for the buck as the abbey or monastery was to the 

 fugitive in days of old, but do not stop entirely the manly 

 custom of hunting with hounds, a mode recognized every- 

 where as the acme of legitimate sport. 



Section 2, which refers to the capture of wildfowl, is 

 unchanged as far as the close season is concerned, but an 

 important addition is made in prohibiting the killing be- 

 tween sunset and daylight, or with the aid of any light or 

 lantern. This is one of the amendments proposed last 

 year, and we hope it will be passed. 



Section C is amended so as to make the close season for 

 woodcock close on July 15th, except on Long Island, where 

 it is to remain July 3d, as before. Why Long Island should 

 be thus favored we do not understand, nor do we think 

 that the date selected is a good one. August 1st would be 

 better, if a compromise must be made; but for our part 

 we should like to have woodcock protected for say three 

 years, until October 1st. This would be ample time in 

 which to demonstrate whether summer shooting is really 

 exterminating the birds. The twelve days more of grace 

 which it is proposed to grant the young broods may work 

 some little good, if it is observed, but why make two bites 

 at the cherry ? 



Section 7 restores the old close time for quail, viz., Oc- 

 tober 20th, which is a very righteous amendment. It also 

 make a corresponding general close time for rabbits and 

 hares, which excludes, however, the counties bordering on 

 Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence river, and the counties 

 of Genesee, Livingston and Seneca. At present rabbits 

 and hares are protected only on Long and Staten Islands. 



Section 14, which now forbids the taking of ruffed grouse 

 or quail with traps only, is amended so as to include nets 

 and snares, and it is made lawful for any person to de- 

 stroy such traps, nets, or snares. 



Section 16, referring to trespass, is amended so as to 

 make; the trespasser liable for exemplary damages to the 

 extent of $10 instead of $100, as now printed, and the same 

 penalty is to be enforced for defacing or tearing down a 

 sign-board. 



Section 18 removes the privilege now existing to corpo- 

 rations or manufactories to throw into the streams as much 

 refuse matter as they please. Many of the sections refer- 

 ring to certain localities are changed. If the bill is passed 

 we will print them in detail. 



Several new sections are introduced, the first of which 

 makes a close season for crabs from November 1st 

 to April 15th. We do not see that Section 33, the most 

 obnoxious in the whole existing law, and which permits 

 quail, ruffed and pinnated grouse to be sold in our markets 

 until March 1st, is abolished. It is a provision which of- 

 fers a direct premium for poaching and law breaking in 

 this and contiguous States, and should be so amended as to 

 allow a reasonable time, say fifteen days from the com- 

 mencement of the close season, and no longer, in which 

 dealers could sell game. 



New Yoke. — The Yonkers Game and Fish Protection 

 Society is one of the most energetic organizations of the 

 kind we have here. Their regular meeting was held on 

 the lOtkinst. Among the matters under discussion was 

 the stocking of the Grassy Sprain reservoir with trout, 

 Messrs. Frederic Shonnard, G. L. Morse and G. B. Balcb. 

 being appointed a Committee to arrange with the water 

 commission for the privilege of stocking and fishing for 

 the members. Alderman Morse, Vice-President of the 

 Yonkers Society, has kindly consented to take charge of 

 hatching in his piscatoral establishment. The officers of 

 the Yonkers Fish and Game Protective Society are: C. 

 W. Torrey, M. D., President; G. Livingston Morse, Vice- 

 President; H. T. Keyser, Secretary; James Ackerman, 

 Treasurer; Alanson J. Prime, Counsel; Frederick Shon- 

 nard, Hyatt L. Garrison, R. E. Prime, Dr. G. B. Balch, J. 

 G. P. Holden, Isaac D. Cole, M. F. Rowe, J. A. Sniffin, 

 W. F. H. Getty and W. W. Wilson, Directors. 



— A Philadelphia correspondent writes us that the 

 Philadelphia Sportsmen's Club has begun suit against W. 

 W. Jones & Co., Second and Lombard streets, Phila- 

 delphia, for having unlawfully in their possession thirty- 

 one and a haif dozen quail. Jones & Co. have entered 

 security for $4,000 wijjfsquire List, and will fight for it. 

 As the birds were shipped fr»m Missouri, and they say they 

 can so prove, where the law allows the shooting of quail until 

 February 1st, some members of the Club fear that they 

 will lose the suit. We are of a contrary opinion, provid- 

 ing that the quail were found in possession of Messrs; 

 Jones & Co., at a date subsequent to the first of the month. 

 The amendments to the game laws which passed the 

 Pennsylvania Legislature, and were approved May 6th, 

 1876, name, as the commencement of the close season for 

 quail, December 15th. Section 26 of the same act pro- 

 vides for the sale and possession of game, and permits the 

 dealer to have in possession quail, etc., for a period of 

 fifteen days after the close season has commenced. Now, 

 the only quibble that could be made would be, that the 

 act does not say definitely, whether the fifteen days shall 



