finished drawing of a bird in flight hovering over a flower. 
Baird glanced at the drawing with a kindly but questioning look 
and hesitatingly inquired, ir And what is the species of the bird? TT 
This ended the episode which, by the way, was the artist f s first 
real lesson in the realm of science. 
In the spring of 1872 Holmes was appointed artist to 
the U. S. Geological Survey of the Territories under Dr. F. ¥. 
Hayden, to succeed Henry W, Elliott who had resigned the position 
to 30 In the Polaris Expedition under the direction of Dr. Emil 
Bessels. The summer of 1872 was spent with the Survey of the 
Yellowstone country, now the Yellowstone national Park, reached 
from Ogden, Utah, by pae-k-- train, where ample opportunity was 
afforded to prove his ability with the pencil and incidentally as 
a mountaineer and graphic recorder of geological phenomena; and 
the following winter was spent in Washington preparing maps and 
illustrations for the reports of the Survey and in the study of 
art . . . . i . n - rf , , / . *, _ • , 
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The survey of Colorado followed in 1873 with Denver 
as a basis of operations. Holmes climbed many of the principal 
peaks of the front ranges and was the first person known to 
reach the summit of the then mysterious mountain of the Holy Cross 
(See detailed account of this ascent herewith) In 1874, continu- 
ing under the same auspices, he had made such progress In field 
geology that he was appointed Assistant Geologist on the Survey 
and assisted the Director in the study of the great mountain 
