THE KING OF MUSEUM-BUILDSRS. 
15: 
his plan to build for himself a wickiup on the 
edge of the prairie near the city, shoot prairie 
chickens, and sell thexn in the open market, for 
cash. 
During his first day's experience on the Chi- 
cago prairie, he encountered a good Samaritan, 
who chanced to be the gentleman after whom 
Clark street was Bubsequently named. Mr. 
Clark kindly extracted the lad's story, took the 
embryo market hunter to his own home, "and 
grossly betrayed my confidence," said Profes- 
sor "Ward, by writing to my Uncle Moses, 
who sent one of his clerks after me, who igno- 
miniously took me back to Rochester. But at 
the Rochester depot I gave him the slip, went 
home without bim, and he went back to Buf- 
falo, where he spent two days watching forme 
to get on a boat bound for Chicago/' 
I doubt if any boy ever wrestled harder with 
circumstances to win an education than did 
young Ward during the two and a half years 
he spent at the Middlebury Academy at Wyom- 
ing, N. Y. By virtue of his official position 
(as janitor), he lived in the top of the academy 
building, and supported himself by doing more 
kinds of work than many a boy 
of to day has ever seen done. As 
opportunity offered, he did car- 
pentry, shoemaking, gardening, 
painting, and livery stable work. 
One of bis specialties was cleaning 
orit wells. In September, 1848, 
while the late well-known agri 
cultural publisher, Orange Judd, 
tramped the road between Warsaw 
and LeRoy repairing clocks, Ward 
and his partner went over the same 
route, cleaning out wells on a very 
profitable basis. 
After Warsaw Academy, he 
went to Williams College, at Will 
iamstown, Mass., where he was a 
fellow student of Senator Tngalls, 
and Honorable Charles E. Fitch. 
There, also, he supi>orted himself 
by hard work in hours filched 
from i^eiiods that should have 
been devoted to study and recrea 
tion. His best friend was Pro- 
fessor Emiiv,'>ns, the geologist, who 
showed him Uie path that after- 
wards led to geology and minera 
logy, and started him therein. 
In speaking of that period of his 
life. Professor Ward admits that 
he was a bad student in all his 
studies except geo»gy, mineralogy and the 
languages, in whirif he always stood high. 
"How were you in mathematics?" I in- 
quired. 
*' Oh, horrible ! I couldn't do a thing, and 
cut the examinations entirely." 
In 1853 Professor Louis Agassiz came to 
Pittsfield, Mass., twenty-eight miles from 
Williamstown, to deliver a lecture. The col- 
lege boys hired a band wagon and drove over. 
The fare was seventy-five cents, and being with- 
out money, young Ward walked the twenty- 
eight miles to the lecture. Arriving late and 
weary, he watched his opportunity when the 
great naturalist paused to draw a figure, and 
asked an old gentleman who sat beside him for 
pointers as to what had gone before. 
' ' Did you not hear what the Professor said T 
*' No, I had to walk from Williamstown, and 
it made me a little Utte." 
What? you walked from Williamstown to 
this lecture?" 
"Yea." 
"Well, well, well I The Profeaaor must 
The Le-wis Bkooks Hall op 8ciEN(-ii, ijMvLt^siTx or MivOima. 
