Clarence King — Geologist 



Nevada, they left the party to visit 

 the then famous Comstock Lode. On 

 the night of their arrival in Virginia 

 City, the house in which they were 

 staying caught fire, and all their be- 

 longings were lost. Nothing daunted, 

 King went to work at days' wages in 

 a quartz mill to earn sufficient funds 

 to enable them to continue their 

 journey. In a few weeks they started 

 again, crossing the Sierra Nevada on 

 foot, and proceeding by boat from 

 Sacramento to San Francisco. On 

 this trip an incident which led to 

 their making the acquaintance of 

 Prof. William H. Brewer, then as- 

 sistant on the Geological Survey of 

 California, proved to be the turning- 

 point in their careers. 



King's professional work as a ge- 

 ologist may be said to have com- 

 menced with his acceptance of the 

 position of volunteer assistant ge- 

 ologist on the Geological Survey of 

 262 



