204 The American Geologist. April, isao 
Dr. Orton learned that the writer had nominated him at Bos- 
ton as president of the American Association for the Advance- 
ment of Science for the Columbus meeting, and in a character- 
istic letter, dated September 4th, 1899, he writes: "I have 
always credited you with the most important share in giving 
me the greatest honor of my life, and now that the service is 
mainly over, I am impelled to make acknowledgement of your 
generous good will, and over favorable consideration in the 
matter. My friends thought more of me than I did of my- 
self. I would like to take their estimate but Veritas vetat." 
There was something extremely pathetic in the last years 
of Dr. Orton's life, following the paralytic stroke in December, 
1 89 1, which lost to him entirely the use of the left hand, since, 
after that, he fully expected the final summons to come at any 
moment. In remitting his annual dues for the Geological 
Society of America in the following spring he wTote: "I am 
only the half of a man, and this is probably the last remittance 
that I shall ever send you," and yet such was his indomitable 
will, that, handicapped as he was, he continued to teach his 
classes in the University, attend to the duties of state geologist, 
and carry forward special work in other states every year there- 
after, living on in spite of this ever present sword of Damocles, 
to become the president of the Geological Society of America 
for the Montreal meeting in 1897, and to be finally honored 
with the rarest gift in the possession of American science, in 
1898. 
The end came suddenly on October loth, 1899, as he had 
been expecting it would for eight long years. Bravely had he 
fought the battles of life; cheerfully and fearlessly he met the 
last enemy. 
Bibliography . * 
Report on the Geology of Montgomery County. Ohio Geological 
Survey, pt. 3, 1869. pp. 139-164. 
On the occurrence of a peat bed beneath deposits of drift in south- 
western Ohio. American Journal of Science, v. 50, 1870. 2d series. 
pp. 54-57. 293- 
Cliff limestone of Highland and Adams counties. Geolog. Surv. 
of Ohio, report of progress in 1870. pp. 295-309. 
♦Compiled by Lucy Allen, Ohio State University Library. 
