Grove Karl Gilbert 



65 



His loyalty to his friends and to his work was an inspiration 

 to all those who had the privilege of living and working with 

 him. Night after night after Matcho the mule, and leader of 

 the pack-team, had been tethered so as to avoid disaster among 

 the team from the dreaded loco-weed, Gilbert would have the 

 pine logs piled high, and in the blaze therefrom he would read 

 to us stories of Clarence King. He would tell us of ''Fossil 

 Eye" Walcott, of Shaler, and of others. He admired Shaler 

 for his personality. "Shaler," said he, ''was fond of dichot- 

 omous classifications. Thus in one of our trips together we 

 came to a common sort of public house in the country. A large 

 and fierce dog came straight at us. In the fraction of time 

 while the ferocious animal was rushing at us Shaler said, 'All 

 men belong to two classes — namely, men whom dogs bite and 

 men whom dogs don't bite. I belong to the smaller group.' He 

 thereupon called to the beast, vv^hich at once fawned upon him ! 

 As we washed our hands in the common bowl at the same pub- 

 lic house Shaler noticed a dirty roller-towel doing duty for all 

 comers. 'Gilbert,' said he, 'there are two kinds of men, men 

 who wipe on the outside of the towel and men who wipe on the 

 inside. I belong to the minority group — namely, those who 

 wipe on the inside.'" 



Willard D. Johnson was one of our party on the Sierran trip 

 of July, August, and September, 1908. Gilbert was a staunch 

 friend of Johnson's, and he declared that Johnson was one of 

 the keenest intellects and one of the finest natures that he had 

 ever known. In a letter to the writer in February, 1918, short- 

 ly before his death, Gilbert set out briefly the facts of John- 

 son's sad case of sickness and death, and straightway stated his 

 opinion of Johnson's great worth both as geologist, and as a 

 man. 



Johnson revered Gilbert, but confided to the writer his fears 

 that Gilbert thought of him only as a child or boy. "As a 

 youth I followed Gilbert into the field without instruments," 

 he said. "Gilbert gave me a task of geological surveying. I 

 explained that I was without instruments. 'Make them,' said 

 Gilbert. And I had to do so." 



Gilbert had a deep afifection also for the Le Contes. In the 

 Yosemite he spoke of Le Conte and of Whitney, and through- 



