29S The American Geologist. 
Mav, 1901. 
sary to throw off, and purge myself completely, of the obnox- 
ious antecedents, if the survey appropriation was to be sus- 
tained at the coming- session of the legislature. I therefore, 
aftfer consulting with Governor McWillie, wrote a short Re- 
port upon tlic Condition of the Geological and Agricultural 
Survey of the State of Mississippi, of 22 pages, 8vo., which 
was printed by executive order and circulated prior to the 
session of the legislature in the winter of 1858- '9. In this re- 
port I discussed, first, the need and advantages of a thorough 
geological and agricultural survey of the state ; recited the 
causes of the slow progress and failure to satisfy the public, 
chief among which were inadequate appropriations and the 
incompetency of the late incumbent; also gave examples of 
what had been done in the matter in other states, and closed 
with a recommendation for the repeal of the law locating the 
headquarters of the survey in the state penitentiary, and for 
the restoration of the geological assistantship, in connection 
with a more reasonably adequate appropriation. 
The storm, however, broke loose when the legislature as- 
sembled. Those who had been instrumental in passing Har- 
per's bill in 1857, were now most eager to have the survey 
"wiped out" to allay their soreness. A special committee was 
appointed to investigate the subject, and without even giving' 
me a hearing, that committee promptly reported a "bill to abol- 
ish the geological and agricultural survey of the state." In pre- 
senting this report the chairman inveighed fiercely against the 
insolence exhibited in my report, above alluded to, and my at- 
tempt to ''coerce the legislature by forestalling public opinion." 
The report to abolish would undoubtedly have been promptly 
adopted, but for my forcing a personal conference with the 
chairman ; in which I presented to him the documents in the 
case, and exhorted him to abolish nie, if he thought there was 
cause, but not the suri'cy, the revival of which would only be a 
question of time. After this, the "bill to abolish" was not called 
up, and the survey remained in statu quo during 1859. 
The previous season's work having settled conclusively the 
succession of the several stages of the tertiary, and their promi- 
nent stratigraphical, lithological and paleontological features, 
I devoted the season of 1859 to the filling-in of details. I went 
more leisurelv over the ground intended to have been covered 
