84 The American Geologist. February, l>^97 
;ind table-lands of sandstone, a formation he believed to have 
once covered this entire region. He also noted the extraord- 
inary erosion elfects on gneiss, produced by transported sands 
and stones, at the rapids of Paulo Alfonso^the formation of 
innumerable pot-holes, their communication with one another, 
and tiie tinal excavatif)n of the rock in consequence. 
Most of his papers, writen while he was in Brazil, were 
published in Portugese, but the following were ])rinted in 
English: "Notes on the manufacture of Pottery among Sav- 
age Eaces," 1875; "Amazonian Tortoise Myths," 1876. 
In June, 1877, the work of the survey was suspended. 
How great was Hartt's disappointment none but his closest 
friends can tell. That it wore upon him seriously there can 
be no doubt. In the spring of 1878 he fell ill, dying rather 
unexpectedly on the 18th ofMarch, at the cora])aratively early 
age of thirty-seven j^ears and seven months. It was reported 
that he was a victim of that terrible scourge, yellow fever, 
then raging in Rio, but, according to Dr. Branner, the attend- 
ing physician expressed the opinion that his death resulted 
from congestion f>f the brain.* 
The following extract from his last report covei'ing the in- 
terval between July 1, 1877 and January 1, 1878, will give a 
notion of liis great activity and serve to show how the closing 
months of his eventful life were spent. 
"The Geological Commission of Brazil found itself, on re- 
"turning from the field, with an immense mass of most valu- 
"able material, for the most part new, and without a scientific 
"library, without access to museums and separated by an 
"ocean from specialists in its various departments. The idea 
"of working up paheontological and geological results under 
"these conditions and of presenting reports on a par of ex- 
"cellence with those of other geological commissions would 
"seem Utopian to foreign scientific men, and I should never 
"have undertaken the work had not my knowledge of the 
"country enabled me to foresee results and to prepare jnyself 
"and my assistants beforehand for the probable work before 
"us. Except for several years of preparatory work in the 
"United States, the consulting of the best libraries and luu- 
*See Article: "Professor Hartt in Brazil" by John C. Branner. The 
Cornell Magazine, vol. ii, p. 188. 
