of
Michigan, by Talcott; and of Maine, by Graham; have gained us great
credit. The national work of the coast survey, begun by the late Mr.
Hassler, and prosecuted through all discouragements and difficulties by
that indomitable man, has reflected honor upon his adopted country,
through the Government which liberally supported the work, and through
whose aid it is now progressing, under new auspices, with great
energy.[6] The lake survey is also now advancing under the direction of
Captain Williams, of the Topographical Corps. Among the important recent
explorations, is that of the enlightened, untiring, and intrepid
Fremont, to Oregon, which fixes the pass of the Rocky Mountains within
twenty miles of the northern boundary of Texas. Lieutenant Fremont is a
member of the Topographical Corps, which, together with that of
Engineers, contains so many distinguished officers, whose labors,
together with those of their most able and distinguished chiefs, Colonel
Totten and Colonel Abert, fill so large a portion of the public
documents, and are so well known and highly appreciated by both Houses
of Congress and by the country. The Emperor of Russia has entered the
ranks of our Topographical Corps, and employed one of their
distinguished members, Captain Whistler, to construct his great railroad
from St. Petersburg to Moscow. The travels of our countrymen, Stephens,
to Yucatan and Guatemala, to Egypt, Arabia, and Jerusalem, and of Dr.
Grant to Nestoria, have increased our knowledge of geography and of
antiquities, and have added new and striking proofs of the truths of
Christianity.

Fossil geology occupied much of the time and attention of the great
philosopher and statesman, Jefferson, and he was rewarded by the
discovery of the megatherium. The mastodon, exhumed in 1801, from the
marl pits of New York, by Charles Wilson Peale, has proved but one of an
order of animal giants. Even the tetracaulodon, or tusked mastodon, of
Godman, upon which rested his claims to fame, is not the most curious of
this order, as the investigations of Hayes and Horner have proved. This
order has excited the attention, not only of such minds as Cooper,
Harlan, and Hayes, but has also occupied the best naturalists of France,
Britain, Germany, and Italy.

Fossil conchology has attracted the attention of Conrad, the Lees, and
the Rogerses, not only calling forth much ingenuity in description and
classification, but also throwing great light upon th