24 
labor from time immemorial. Physically and morally these two classes have al¬ 
ways appeared to me widely different, and I have doubted their having a common 
origin. The aborigines of Mexico, Peru, and Chile, were found by their Euro¬ 
pean conquerors in a high state of civilization. In their knowledge of the useful 
arts, except the art of war, they equalled their invaders, and their agriculture was 
carried to great perfection, for Indian remains of extensive works of irrigation are 
still to be found in those territories. There exists evidence, likewise, of their hav¬ 
ing been inhabited, for centuries before the conquest, by a race still more highly 
advanced in the arts of life; and even within our own limits, the" tumuli of the 
West denote the existence in that country, at one period, of a superior race to 
that which the first white settlers found there. These are subjects which it is ex¬ 
pected will engage the attention of the Institution, the examination of which can¬ 
not fail to shed light on our early history. 
“ Geology assumes in this country a greater interest than elsewhere, from the 
vastness of the region, from the great extent of its contiguous formation, and from 
its being a comparatively unexplored field for scientific investigation. It is im¬ 
portant to ascertain whether this portion of the world has, like that already exam¬ 
ined, been subjected in its creation to great general rules of construction, or, if 
that order has been departed from, to know in what particulars. Such investiga¬ 
tions have already been carried to some extent, but the results are not universally 
known ; and the geologist cannot ascertain, with any precision, the laws which 
govern the formations of this portion of the earth, and the relative order of their 
distribution, without some central place where specimens may be deposited, facts 
reported, and all necessary information obtained. Sensible of the advantages to 
be derived from conferring together to compare facts and mutually to correct theo¬ 
ries, the geologists of the United States lately assembled at Philadelphia, and separ¬ 
ated, it is understood, with the intention of meeting annually. Wherever such 
combinations exist, they have produced the most beneficial results; and the exist¬ 
ence of a museum of natural history here, will render Washington the most desirable 
place of meeting for the scientific associations of the Union.” 
“Indeed, the knowledge of Geology contributes, in an essential degree, to all the 
useful arts; and it is obvious that, collections of geological and mineralogical speci¬ 
mens, brought from every part of our country and rendered generally accessible to 
the people of the United States, being exhibited at the seat of Government, will 
tend to the advancement of knowledge, and its diffusion among our fellow-citizens.” 
* * * # * * * 
“ There is still something wanting to give to the science of Mineralogy that furth¬ 
er practical usefulness for which it is so well adapted, and which, in this country, 
is so much needed. Within the territory of the United States, almost every va¬ 
riety of mineral, useful or necessary to the wants of man, is found in greater or 
less abundance. In our southern States, gold ; in our western, copper, lead, and 
zinc ; and almost in all, iron and coal, in inexhaustible quantities. Chrome, bis¬ 
muth, antimony, manganese, cobalt, and many others, are known to exist, and 
