684 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters. 
constitution and that he succumbed a martyr to his profession. 
Dr. J. J. Kaumheimer, secretary to the medical staff of the hospi¬ 
tal where he died, writes the author that there is only one per¬ 
son now living who was connected with the institution at that 
time. In the same letter Dr. Kaumheimer explains the action of 
these poisons: 
“You say the man was a naturalist. This, with the diagnosis given, 
leads me to the following explanation which, however, is purely personal 
and speculative. In the preparation and preservation of shipped speci¬ 
mens, large quantities of arsenical and mercurial preparations are used 
as preservatives. It iS" possible that by constant association with these 
poisons he inhaled enough to cause poisoning, chronic looseness of the 
bowels being a not infrequent symptom of such poisoning, if not acute.” 
He was buried Tuesday, August 7, at the cemetery near his 
home (2). 
“(From 1881 to the time of his death he held the place of conservator 
to the Milwaukee Public Museum; a position which he was about to re¬ 
sign simply in order that he might retire and pass a peaceful old age at 
his quiet and secluded home near Lake Koshkonong. The dear com¬ 
panion of all his early and long years of frontier life had passed to her 
rest in 1874. Four of his children, three of them sons and all adult, 
were spared to him until early in the present year, when Frithiof, the 
youngest, died, and the father’s bereavement was most distressing. But 
there was no indication that his own end was approaching. A young 
man, indeed, for one who had so nearly filled out his three score years 
and ten; neither mind nor body yet showing the infirmities of age. He 
was making ready for a return to the birthplace of his children, and now 
of his grandchildren, to be with them thenceforward. .His own death 
came speedily, from accidental poisoning, and that after long years of 
experience with the deadly chemicals of the botanical and zoological 
laboratory” ( 4 ). 
“Mr. Kumlien was no narrow man. He was passionately fond of paint¬ 
ing, music, and poetry. I have heard him repeat with a glow of delight 
verses from Buneberg, and from Frithiof’s Saga, rendering the wonder- 
full rhythm of the latter with exquisite grace and precision. He was a 
man of most refined tastes, without any of the extravagant desires which 
such tastes often engender. He was satisfied to live most simply a life 
which philosophers might envy. 
“None who met Mr. Kumlien ever forgot his kind address, the lack 
of all affectation and the modesty and ease of his conversation. He was 
very fond of the young and always ready to put at their disposal his long 
experience as a practical ornithologist and botanist. Such qualities are 
not to be underestimated in a naturalist, for they are the means of charm¬ 
ing the young and making good naturalists of youths who would be re¬ 
pelled by a cold exterior. Many of our rising botanists and zoologists 
owe much to Mr. Kumlien’s warm and sympathetic enthusiasm, which 
was as contagious as hearty mirth” ( 3 ). 
