70 The American Geologist. August, i899 
come under my notice, and they give an insight into his char- 
acter, the conditions wliich surrounded him and the problems 
which he had to solve. 
Half a dozen of the articles are metaphysical in nature — 
Sophistry, Concept of God, Beauty, Truth, Spencerian 
Ethics, Vital Force — showing that speculative j)hilosophy had 
strong attractions for him. 
A large number of the articles plead for a wider place in the 
college curriculum for natural science subjects. His work be- 
gan at a time when Cerberus was trying to keep the youthful 
natural science thoroughbreds from the manger and much 
energy and thought were necessary to gain a proper recogni- 
tion of the value of scientific studies. One of the best of his 
articles, entitled Science-Education* presents many inter- 
esting facts and with a true philosophical spirit shows the im- 
portance of natural science in a college course. 
The greater number of the articles were upon geological 
subjects — Mammoth cave, Lou Lou trail (Idaho), vicinity of 
Evanston. the museum, etc. Some of them would misrepre- 
sent the author to the reader who did not appreciate the fact 
that the articles recorded the growth of the author rather than 
his final position. 
For example, at one time he was a catastrophist like his 
teacher, Buckland, for he says, "Not a single species passed 
the line " (close of Devonian). "Every living thing in 
all the seas of the world had died and the swarming millions 
whose remains filled the rocks above had been brought into 
existence by the creative fiat."f In numerous articles he op- 
posed "mechanical evolution," and believed as Lyell at one 
time did, and Dawson continued to do, in the ice-berg theory 
of the causes of phenomena now known to be due to glacial 
action. Yet so diligent a student was he, so scientific in 
spirit, so free from bigotry and dogmatism, that he kept 
abreast of the progress in his science; and his students and 
those most intimate with him know that he adopted the views 
of the majority of the geologists of to-day, that he was con- 
vinced of the error of the idea of cataclysm and taught grad- 
*Illinois Schoolmaster, March, 1874. 
fNorthvvestern Christian Advocate, Aug. 17, '64. 
