OBITUARY NOTICES. 
387 
carried on mostly in Texas, under the direction of a special 
agent appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture. Mr. Curtis 
was appointed meteorologist to accompany the expedition 
and report directly to the Secretary of Agriculture. His re¬ 
port, which attracted attention at the time, was unfavorable 
to the claims of the leader of the expedition and did not find 
place in the official report of the experiments, but was pri¬ 
vately printed in several scientific journals. 
While connected with the Smithsonian Institution Mr. 
Curtis prepared the definitions of the meteorological words 
from M to Z of the Century Dictionary. He was also asso¬ 
ciated with Professor Abbe in the establishment of a course 
of instruction in meteorology in the Columbian University. 
After three years’ residence in Washington Mr. Curtis found 
it necessary, on account of dangerous symptoms, to return to 
the dryer regions of the West. He reentered the United 
States Weather Bureau and was assigned to duty at Tucson, 
Arizona, in December of 1893. Here he remained only six 
months. Not getting the relief he hoped for, he wandered 
from place to place in Arizona and Colorado in the vain hope 
of improving his health. In January of 1895, despairing of 
recovery, he returned to Washington to spend his last days 
among his many friends. 
While devoting his best energies to the study of meteor¬ 
ology, Mr. Curtis always maintained a lively interest in other 
fields of inquiry and in the absorbing events of the day. He 
delighted in controversy. Aggressive in manner, he was 
always a conspicuous figure in a discussion. His strong aver¬ 
sion to the military organization of the Weather Bureau, 
combined with a spirit of independence, brought him into 
frequent collision with higher officials. This disposition 
doubtless stood in the way of a more rapid advancement in 
the service which his abilities merited. 
J. S. Diller and 0. L. Fassig. 
