in company with the late William E. Dodge to Albany to consult with 
members of the Legislature about granting it. To our surprise we found 
that the matter of granting us a charter depended upon the decision of 
William M. Tweed, who was then practically in supreme control of the 
Legislature. We hardly anticipated that he would put no obstacles in 
our way, but wonderful to tell, he received us really with enthusiasm, 
and said that he entirely approved of the project as an educational meas- 
ure and that he would do whatever we wanted. Consequently, we 
obtained without any delay, or expense, or trouble the much desired 
charter. 
“A few men of large wealth were interested in the project, being ama- 
teur lovers of natural history in one or another department, but there 
was no such splendid scientific supervision as the Museum now enjoys 
in its president and its various curators. Some of the gentlemen inter- 
ested in the Museum in that early day had little collections of their own 
which they were very glad to contribute, and also money to spend for 
such benign purposes; and I suppose that they wanted me to become one 
of the founders so that they might have a legal advisor to fall back upon, 
in case of need, who should be one of their own number, and I very 
gladly joined, although having nothing to contribute in the way of col- 
lection or of money. 
“Professor A. S$. Bickmore fortunately was the great promoter of the 
organization of the Museum. He had been a pupil of Agassiz, and was 
besides a young man of energy and persistence. It was he who instigated 
the various gentlemen of large wealth, of whom I have spoken, to unite 
for the Museum’s formation and first organization. He labored inces- 
santly in season and out of season, and in any history of the American 
Museum he is to be remembered as its most effective early promoter. 
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