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REMARKS OF ROBERT E. C. STEARNS

ON THE

DEATH OF COLONEL EZEKIEL JEWETT,

California Academy of Sriences,

June 18th, 1877.

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REMARKS OF ROBERT E. C. STEARNS

DEATH OF COLONEL EZEKIEL JEMET California - : Sriences,

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Members or THE Acapemy: The duty has fallen on me to §

i formally announce to the Academy the death of two of its e

corresponding members, well-known and highly esteemed in ¢ scientific circles—Colonel Ezekiel Jewett and Dr. Philip P. §

# Carpenter. This evening I will read the following brief bio- Ss

graphical sketch of the tirst--reserving a notice of the latter :

4 tor another occasion.

Colonel Ezekiel Jewett, Ph. D., who was elected a corres-

} ponding member of the Academy, April 6th, 1868, was born ‘

in the town of Rindge, New Hampshire, October 16th, 1791. @ His educational opportunities were such as the common schools of the neighborhood afforded at the time. His father, who §

# was a doctor of medicine, would have educated the son for the § # same profession, but the diverse tastes and restless tempera- §

ment of the latter, required a broader and more active field of § exertion than that of a country physician. ;

When, in 1812, accumulated grievances culminated in a § declaration of war by the United States with Great Britain, §

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Jewett, then in the vigor of youth, enlisted in the army, and continued in active seryice until peace was proclaimed. Dur- ing this military service he was under General Scott; being in the brigade of that celebrated soldier, and received promotion for his gallantry as exhibited on various occasions. He was in the battles of Lundy’s Lane, Chippewa and Fort Erie, and at the latter his courage was notably conspicuous. He served his country with distinguished fidelity and bravery, and the com- mendation of his commanding general was bestowed upon him. The war with Great Britain being over, and about this time the South American republic of Chili, then a province of Spain, having revolted against the Spanish rule, Jewett, and a few others of his companions-in-arms chivalrously espoused. the cause of the Chilians, and pledged their services to the Chil- ian leader, General Carrera, in behalf of Chilian independence. Crossing the South American continent from Buenos Ayres to } Chili, the passage of the Andes was made in a most inclement season and at great peril. When near the crest of the cordil- f lera a fearful snow storm of four days’ duration was encoun- | tered, in which they nearly perished ; and at the summit, thir- teen thousand feet above the sea, the cold was so intense that # it was with great difficulty he saved himself from freezing. Ar- f riving in Chili, he took command of the cavalry, and served with distinction until the successful close of the war, when he sailed for Rio Janeiro, and returned to his native village in 1818. Soon after he married a woman of superior culture and char- acter, Elizabeth Arnold, of Westmoreland, New Hampshire, who proved not only a devoted and affectionate wife, but a sympathetic companion and an appreciative assvciate in his scientific labors, for whom he ever manifested a most tender regard. In 1826 he removed to Fort Niagara, where he re- mained in charge seventeen years, his leisure hours occupied f with the study of the natural sciences; he also improved the advantages which the locality furnished by making a col- lection of ethnological material pertaining to the American fH aborigines. In 1843 he removed to Lockport, New York, and Hl his entire time was now given to the study of geology. In this # connection he travelled extensively throughout the United j States, including several journeys to the Lake Superior coun- j try in the years, 1844, 5, 6, where he was engaged in the

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exploration of the mineral region, since so famous for its pro- duction of copper and iron; and also added largely to his § ethnological collection, which he subsequently gave to the § Smithsonian Institution. The vicinity of Lockport, at the § time referred to, was equal to any, if not the best single point & in the world for the student of paleontology. The heavy cut- § ting, through the Niagara limestone, for the locks of the Hrie Canal, then in process of enlargement, revealed many won- § derful paleontological secrets. It was while Jewett was reap- ff ing in this interesting field that he was visited by Agassiz and Ed. de Verneuil, of France, and the acquaintance formed at § that time with these eminent men ripened into a friendship @ which was terminated only by death. At the suggestion of § Agassiz, he organized a summer school in geology, which was continued four years, and received the patronage of many now ff eminent in scientific pursuits. Though Colonel Jewett was ff especially interested in geology and paleontology, and of ma- & terial related to the latter had made a large and valuable col- §

lection, he was also an eager student in conchology, as will be |

seen by the following from the report of the British Asso- — ciation for 1863, written by Dr. Philip Carpenter : ;

‘Colonel Jewett went'to Panama . . . . in January, 1849, spend- § ing ten weeks in that region, including Taboga. This was two years be- fore Professor Adams’ explorations. Thence he sailed to San Francisco, where he spent four months in exploring the shore for about fifty miles t from the head of [entrance to] the bay. After laboring for a week at & Monterey, he spent ten weeks at Santa Barbara and the neighborhood, § thoroughly exploring the coast for fifteen miles, as far as San Buenaven- tura. . . . . Before his return to the East, he also collected at Maz- Ula ee and Acapulco:

‘There can be no doubt of the accuracy of the Colonel’s observations at the time they were made. Unsurpassed in America as a field palexon- | tologist, possessed of accurate discrimination, abundant carefulness, and

unwearied diligence and patience, no one was better fitted to collect ma- §

terials for a scientific survey of the coast.”’

At Santa Barbara he also made a collection of pliocene fos- sils, which are referred to in the report from which I have § quoted. In 1856 he was appointed Curator of the State Mu- ff seum of New York, at Albany, his incumbency continuing for ff several years, ‘‘a position which he filled,” says a writer, § “‘with great credit to himself and incalculable benefit to sci- § ence.”

The voyage from Panama to San Francisco was made on the § old whaleship Niantic, as I have learned from a fellow-passen- ger, a well known citizen of San Francisco. Among the nearly

a three hundred emigrants, adventurers and pioneers on that now historic vessel—including men of all grades of character and culture, exhibiting every mood and tense of humanity— § ‘Colonel Jewett was a general favorite with them all.” . ; ‘* He was a gentleman everywhere and at all times.”

@ In 1859 Numismatics attracted his attention, and with char- § Be acteristic zeal he pursued the study, and got together in five ff @ years one of the largest and most valuable collections of coins : =| and medals in the country. Karly in the beginning of the great civil war, though seven- ff @ ty years of age, he wrote to his old commander, who was then #) at the head of the army, expressing his readiness to enter the service again, in defence of the Union. The reply of his ven- ff #@ erable chief was to the effect, that the magnitude and probable § duration of the struggle, required that its burdens and man- ‘i agement should devolve upon younger men. During the fre- } quently changing aspect of that prolonged and terrible conflict, those who knew him can tell you how he chafed under this enforced inaction.

i PERSONAL REMINISCENCES.

'@ = In 1866 he visited California again. It was in the month of % June of that year when I met him for the first time and with a : few members of the Academy, made up a small party for a # short excursion to Bolinas Bay. There are others here to-night & who must remember with pleasure the climbing of Tamalpais, the descent to the Bay, and the ‘walks and talks” with him @ on that occasion. He was with us but a few months, but suf- @ ficiently long to endear himself to all. After returning East,

he made several journeys to Florida, during succeeding win- @ ters, collecting everything of interest to himself or which might be of service to others. While visiting the Hast in 1868-70 I agai had the pleasure of his companionship on one of these Florida excursions, and with the lamented Stimpson, our little party of three spent the months of January, February and March in the delightful winter climate of that country, collect- ing along the eastern shore and among the keys on the Gulf side of the peninsula. In November 1869, in company with

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his friends, Dr. and Mrs. Newcomb, he made a second visit to ff

Panama ; but the climate affected him so severely that he was § obliged to return, after a brief stay of only five weeks. He § again visited Florida in the winter of 1872, being the fourth § time, for the purpose of collecting as before, and was as usual, §

successful. As may be supposed a man so incessantly active

and untiring as Colonel Jewett, was widely known and appre- §

ciated in scientific circles, and possessed the friendship and

THE CLOSE OF A USEFUL LIFE.

4 In 1862 he met with the severest affliction in the death of his re f wife; after this sad event he made his home with his daughter, &

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# esteem of very many of the most distinguished men of the day. & i In 1860 Hamilton College, New York, honored him with the i degree of Doctor of Philosophy; and his services to science f ia were further recognized by many learned societies at home and 3 @ abroad, of which he was an honorary member.

Mrs. A. A. Boyce, and upon the removal of herself and family §

to California, about two years ago, accompanied them to Santa § Barbara, where, on the 18th of last May, after a brief illness, B

he closed his eyes forever, at the ripe age of eighty-six years.

Imperfect as is this rapid sketch, it is sufficient to give you & some idea of the career of this remarkable man, of his wonder- { fully active and prolonged life, which exhibited, nearly to its & last moments, indomitable energy and perseverance Intel- & f lectually of quick perceptions, eager in the pursuit of knowl- | i edge, and enthusiastic in his love for and appreciation of § nature; actuated by a high sense of honor, and of the most i rigid integrity ; he was also a man of generous sympathies and

impulses. Of exceeding modesty, flattery was distasteful to

him, and he was sensitive to the publication of anything in his praise. While courteous to all, he was critical in the selection ® of his friends, with whom he was exceedingly companionable, &

and by whom he was greatly beloved.

And here, imperfect as it is, let us close this poor rehearsal

of a life well rounded in its fullness of useful service, and of

honorable years. Of those refined and delicate qualities which } though unseen by the outer world attract kindred spirits and § draw them together, I will not speak. Friendship will seek |

its consolation in precious memories too tender to be told.

———— enka

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.

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