Biographical Notice 



was not perceptibly pertinent to the 

 immediate case in which he was 

 engaged. 



In general, his exhaustive prep- 

 aration and wonderful general 

 knowledge, reinforced by his alert 

 self-possession, ready wit and unfail- 

 ing good-nature, made him a most 

 effective expert witness and a terror 

 to cross-examiners. 



After retiring from the U. S. Geo- 

 logical Survey, King spent three 

 years (1882, '83 and '84) studying the 

 geology of Scotland, Switzerland and 

 Central Europe, occasionally visiting 

 a mining district, like Bilbao, Rio 

 Tinto or Almaden, and enjoying the 

 social courtesies eagerly extended 

 to him by the leaders of scientific 

 thought, to whom his work had al- 

 ready made him known and his charm- 

 ing personality soon endeared him. 



At a later period, after recovery 

 from a severe illness, he spent a win- 

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