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1876.] A Neglected Naturalist. 469 
rank wild oats which formed our beds, the bowers of flowering 
shrubs which loaded the air with a rich perfume, the music of the 
mountain brook which went dancing down near by on its way to 
the great Pacific, soothed to sleep at night and bade a pleasant 
welcome in the morning. 
— 
A NEGLECTED NATURALIST. 
BY HERBERT E. COPELAND, M. S. 
O many of the untiring naturalists who fifty years ago ac- 
' cepted the perils and privations of the far West, to collect 
and describe its animals and plants, we have given the only re- 
ward they sought — a grateful remembrance of their work. Au- 
dubon died full of riches and honor, with the knowledge that his 
memory would be cherished so long as- birds should sing. Wil- 
son is “ the Father of American Ornithology,” and his mistakes 
and faults are forgotten in our admiration of his great achieve- 
ments. Le Sueur is remembered as “the first to explore the 
ichthyology of the Great American Lakes.” Laboring with 
them, and greatest of them all in respect to the extent and range 
of his accomplishments, was one whose name has nearly been 
forgotten, and is oftenest mentioned, in the field of his best labors, 
with pity or contempt. 
The early field-naturalists (had very imperfect conceptions of 
the relationship existing between closely allied forms, — for the 
hecessary comparison can be made only after the accumulation of 
more specimens than are ever collected by one man, — and they 
therefore described as “ species ” forms due to geographical in- 
nences or individual peculiarities. Who among them erred 
most in this direction cannot yet be determined, for our own 
knowledge is too imperfect, a fact readily appreciated by those 
who have followed scientific thought at all closely for the last 
ew years. We may, therefore, now pass judgment only on the 
honesty and truthfulness of these investigators, and for this we 
Aave two sources of evidence: first, the testimony of contempora- 
ries; second, the testimony of their work. On the first head we 
ve in regard to the subject of this sketch, the most emphatic 
statements from his friénds and ¢o-laborers, Swainson and Audu- 
on. If there be anything recorded against the integrity of his 
Intentions, diligent research has failed to reveal it to me. It is 
pe Present purpose to present an outline of his work, for the con- 
“ration of the candid reader. 
