writing, and as judgment ripened, destroying volumes of
manuscripts, while at the same time he evinced uncommon diligence at his
books and studies. The poetic talent was, indeed, strongly developed.
His power of versification was early and well formed, and the pieces
which were published anonymously at a maturer period, as "Geehale," and
"The Iroquois," &c., have long been embodied without a name in our
poetic literature. But this faculty, of which we have been permitted to
see the manuscript of some elaborate and vigorous trains of thought, did
not impede a decided intellectual progress in sterner studies in the
sciences and arts. His mind was early imbued with a thirst of knowledge,
and he made such proficiency as to attract the notice of persons of
education and taste. There was developed, too, in him, an early bias
for the philosophy of language. Mr. Van Kleeck, a townsman, in a recent
letter to Dr. R.W. Griswold, says:--

"I revert with great pleasure to the scenes of my residence, in the part
of Albany County which was also the residence of Henry R. Schoolcraft. I
went to reside at the village of Hamilton, in the town of Guilderland,
in 1803. Col. Lawrence Schoolcraft, the father of Henry, had then the
direction of the large manufactories of glass, for which that place was
long noted. The standing of young Henry, I remember, at his school, for
scholarship, was then very noted, and his reputation in the village most
prominent. He was spoken of as a lad of great promise, and a very
learned boy at twelve. Mr. Robert Buchanan, a Scotchman, and a man of
learning, took much pride in his advances, and finally came to his
father and told him that he had taught him all he knew. In Latin, I
think he was taught by Cleanthus Felt. He was at this age very arduous
and assiduous in the pursuit of knowledge. He discovered great
mechanical ingenuity. He drew and painted in water colors, and attracted
the notice of the Hon. Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, Lt. Governor of the
State, who became so much interested in his advancement, that he took
the initial steps to have him placed with a master. At an early age he
manifested a taste for mineralogy and natural science, which was then (I
speak of about 1808) almost unknown in the country. He was generally to
be found at home, at his studies, when other boys of his age were
attending horseraces, cock-fights, and other vicious amusements for
which the village was famous.

"At this time he org