“And since I have mentioned Dr. Franklin, I will relate another fact which I had from his mouth.  When he lived at Passy, a new quarry of stone was opened in the garden of Mr. Ray de Chaumont, and, at the depth of twenty feet, was found among the rocks a shark’s tooth, in perfect preservation, which I suppose my Portland friend would account for as he did for his conger eel, though the tooth was not petrified.”

Thus, my memoir was the cause of the expression of opinions and facts from distinguished individuals, which possess an interest distinct from the bearing of such opinions on geology.

Mr. Carter, who has just transferred the publication of the Statesman from Albany to New York, writes (Jan. 10th) from the latter city, urging me to hasten my return to that city.

Poem on the theme of the Aborigines.—­“I have,” he remarks, “read Ontwa, the Indian poem you spoke to me about last summer.  The notes by Governor Cass are extremely interesting, and written in a superior style.  I shall notice the work in a few days.”

Geology of New York Island.—­“I wish you to give me an article on the mineralogy and geology of Manhattan Island, in the form of a letter purporting to be by a foreign traveler. (See Appendix, No. 2.) It is my intention to give a series of letters, partly by myself and partly by others, which shall take notice of everything in and about the city which may be deemed interesting.  I wish to begin at the foundation by giving a geographical and geological sketch of the Island.”

Indian Biography.—­“Colonel Haines also wishes you to unite with him and myself, in writing a series of sketches of celebrated Indians.”

Professor Silliman writes (Jan. 20th), acknowledging the receipt of a memoir on the fossil tree of the River Des Plaines, which was prepared for the American Geological Society.  He requests me to furnish him a copy of my memoir on the geology of the regions visited by the recent expedition, or, if it be too long for the purposes of the American Journal, an abstract of it.

Animal Impressions in Limestone.—­“I am much obliged to you for your kind intention of furnishing me with a paper on the impressions in limestone, and I hope you will bear it in mind, and execute it accordingly.

“I have observed the appointment which the newspapers state that you have received from the government, and regret that it carries you so far south,[11] into an unhealthy climate; wishing you, however, health and leisure to pursue those studies which you have hitherto prosecuted so successfully.”

[Footnote 11:  This is evidently an allusion to St. Mary’s, in Georgia, instead of Michigan.]