IB Yale University Library 39002029830818 Oregon. University. In memory of Thomas Condon . . . (Oregon Univ. bulletin,v. IV.no. 8, June, 1907) u^ >YAiLmmmwMsmTTY° • iLmaiaAisy • University of Oregon Bulletin IN MEMORY OF THOMAS CONDON PROFESSOR OF GEOLOGY lSTO-lDOe Published by tub Umvedsity JUNK, 190T DR. THOMAS CONDON University of Oregon IN MEMORY OF THOMAS CONDON Born march 3. lasts, died February 11. 190T ONE WHO LOVKO NATURE AND HIS FKI.I.OW MEN, THE GOOD, THE TRUE, AND THE BEABUFBL UNIVERSITY OF OREGON BULLETIN NEW SERIES JUNE, 1907 * VOL. IV., NO.8 Published monthly by the University of Oregon, and entered at the postoffice at Eugene, Oregon, as second class matter. CONTENTS Page Portrait of Thomas Condon .".... Photographed by Sue Dorris, '90 Resolutions by the Faculty 2 Resolutions by the Alumni : 3 One of Oregon's First Students of Nature 4 The Rock That Held a Tooth Edmond S. Meany 14 A Founder of the University of Oregon Luella Clay Carson 15 At the beginning. . . / Ida Patterson, '86 20 Emeritus. .Frederick Stanley Dunn, '92 23 (Read at the Memorial Meeting, February 14.) The Familiar Room With the ¦ Belo'ved Professor in the Midst (a picture). The Rocky Mountain Nautilus ...... Irving M. Glen, '94 26 , t. Professor Condon as a Teacher and Scientist Chester W. Washburne, '06, (Chicago, 111.). 27 Professor Condon: A Record of Some of His Triumphs. . . .Edmond S. Meany (University of Washington) 32 fExtracts from an article written while Professor Condon was still with us, and printed in , November, 1906, in Pacific Monthly.] Characteristic Sayin,gs of the Revered Teacher 36 Professor Condon as a Citizen .E. O. Potter, '87 37 (Read at the Memorial .Meeting, February 14.) Professor Condon as a Man .Raymond S. Brooks 40 (Read at the Memorial Meeting, February 14.) Immortality , Charlotte F. Roberts 45 A Lover of the Trees (a. picture). Tributes and Extracts from Letters. , From contemporaries in the faculty of the University of Oregon 46 Extracts from the memorial exercises at The Dalles ' 51 From a few friends and students 54 His Own.. Luella Clay Carson 63 infUcmnriatn RESOLUTIONS OF THE FACULTY WHEREAS, on the eleventh day of February, nineteen hundred and seven, Professor Condon, the best loved teacher Of the University of Oregon, passed into the eternal life, having fulfilled his mission to the youth of Oregon, therefore, RESOLVED, That we, as a Faculty, express our admira tion for him who, with the ardor of a prophet, read the plan and purpose of the Creator in the record imbedded in the rocks. Scientific truth became to him a form of moral energy, devoted to the upbuilding of mind and character. RESOLVED, That we express to the family and the com munity the sense of ."our loss of a gentle spirit, a lovable friend, and an honored mentor. "Well done, thou good and faithful servant! * * * * - — enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." RESOLUTIONS OF THE ALUMNI WHEREAS, Dr. Thomas Condon died on the eleventh day of February, nineteen hundred and seven, therefore, RESOLVED, That the Alumni Association of the University of Oregon, in annual meeting assembled, record here, this, our tribute to his memory: He was a kindly instructor who inspired a love of knowl edge, by his own zeal in pursuit of it. He was a scholarly and gentle man whose earnest and profoundly religious life im parted to all his students a love of spiritual things. He was a reverent scientist. To, him the earth was God's holy book. Its sacred pages, containing the only true ex ternal knowledge of the character and purposes of the Al mighty, were the earth's strata, its seas, lakes, rivers, mount ains, valleys, trees, and flowers. Every aspect of nature spoke to him of the Creator. As our instructor, he implanted high ideals of honor, of gentleness, of forbearance, . of charity, of chivalry, of lib erty, and of. good citizenship. As our friend, he brought home to- us a full realizaticfh of our capabilities and our consequent duties and responsibilities. We have all felt his keen sym pathy in our sorrows and he has shared our joys and triumphs to the full. Nevermore to sde his kindly face, or to hear his voice raised in earnest plea for the betterment of mankind, is to us a sadness unspeakable, and to the community at large a profound loss. But from his life and teaching a stream has gone forth bearing rich treasures of intellectual freedom, hopefulness, and altruism, into ever new and widening channels. He loved truth and was wise in discerning it,, and his whole life was an unselfish devotion to its pursuit. The spirit of his life and teaching will live evermore, and we reverently testify here to the honor and love in which we cherish his memory. ONE, OF OREGON'S FIRST STUDENTS OF NATURE There was a limestone quarry near the home of Mr. Condon's childhood that must have made a deep impression upon his thoughtful mind and shed the affectionate glamour of early association over his study of the rocks, for his in terest v in geology began with his childhood. Fortunately for him his family left the old home in South ern Ireland and crossing the Atlantic made their home in the city of New York. Here we find the future scientist an active wide-awake boy, full of life and with a strong appetite for knowledge. Some of his leisure hours were utilized in ex ploring the old Revolutionary fortifications near the city. And occasionally he spent a half holiday hunting rabbits in the wilds of what is now Central Park. A few years ago, in speaking of those days of his boyhood, he referred to his study of algebra and then said: "But when I took up geom etry it lifted me to the clouds. I drank it in as a mental food." It seemed to be the pure, beautiful logic, the perfect chain of reasoning, that appealed to his mind. At about eighteen years of age, he was working, studying, and teaching in Camillus, Skaneateles, and other places in Central New York, where he finally entered The Theological Seminary at Auburn while teaching in the evening school at Auburn States Prison. The history of those years in the lake country of central New York would read like a romance of ex treme interest. But in spite of all difficulties he spent many leisure hours among the hills and quarries gathering fossils and studying the geological formation of the- region. But he had heard of the Whitman Mission in the Far West and had made up his mind to go as a home missionary to the Oregon country, and in 1852, with his young bride, he sailed in a clipper ship around Cape Horn for San Francisco. After .a long and eventful voyage they found themselves in the newly settled and unexplored Oregon. Trappers had long known it as a land of furs; miners had known it as a land of gold; the early pioneer had found it a country with rich and fertile soil; but its 'scientific resources were still undiscovered. The questions that had dawned dimly upon his mind as he played by the stone quarry of his childhood, the questions that were kindled into life as he studied the fossils of central New York, the questions of the how and wherefore of creation must have come to him with new force as he looked out upon the fertile valleys, grand mountains, and noble rivers of his new home. But the activity Of these first years left but little time for scientific research; for new homes must be built, land cleared, crops planted, schools started, churches organized, and hostile Indians subdued, and there were but few of these labors of pioneer life in which he did not take an active part. After ten years of life in western Oregon Mr. Condon, wishing for a more needy field, moved his family to The Dalles, then, the head of navigation on the Columbia, the gate way through which all the rough, reckless mining popula tion must pass on their way to the newly discovered gold fields of eastern Oregon. Here, too, was an army post from which men and supplies were sent to all parts of the North west. An army officer returning from an expedition against hostile Indians brought Mr. Condon his first eastern Oregon fossils- from the Crooked River country. These fossils aroused the keen interest of the student of nature and in 1862 or' 6 3 .he obtained permission to accompany a party of cavalry car rying supplies to Harney Valley. They returned by way of old Camp Watson, on the John Day River, and. here Mr. Con don found his first fossils in the now famous John Day Val ley. These glimpses of this fossil field only served to make him eager for more, and as soon as the Indians had been sub dued and it was safe to venture among those hills and ravines without an army escort, Mr. Condon spent his vacations ex ploring in the John Day country. On one of these trips he found and named Turtle Cove, which has since proved to be one of the richest fossil beds in the valley. He employed young men to spend their summers collecting -the fossils exposed by the wear of. winter storms. He made friends with the rough teamsters who drove the great government freight wagons from Fort Dalles to the army posts in the wilderness. iAs these teamsters returned with empty wagons they often brought a few rocks or a fine box of fossils for their new friend at The Dalles. In a few years Mr. Condon found in his possession a large quantity of valuable material that must be classified and described. But he was without scientific books, was thousands of miles from the great libraries and museums of the East, and far from other scientists with whom to confer. Fortunately at this time the United States Government was making its famous geological survey of the fortieth parallel, embracing a strip of land one hundred miles in width, and connecting the geology of the great plains east of the Rocky Mountains with that of California and the Pacific Coast. One evening as this great work was nearing complex tion, Mr. Condon was delighted to learn that Clarence King,, the leader of the survey, had reached The Dalles, and he lost no time before meeting^ this distinguished geologist. Mr. King was deeply interested in the pioneer discoverer's account of Oregon geology and the next day found him in the Condon home studying the unique collection. Not later than the spring of 1867 Mr. Blake, an eastern geologist, visited the cabinet at The Dalles, and on his return voyage carried with him a few specimens of fossil leaves originally from Bridge Creek in the John Day Valley. These were perhaps the first Oregon specimens to find their way to the Atlantic Coast. They soon fell into the hands of Dr. Newberry of Columbia College, New York, who, being a spec ialist in fossil botany, longed earnestly for more. After talk ing with Clarence' King in Washington, and learning from him more of the Oregon geologist and his country, Dr. Newberry wrote Mr. Condon in 1869 and received in response a box of fossils of which he writes: "I received your two let ters with great pleasure. Since then the box has safely come to hand and that has given me still greater satisfaction, for I found it full of new and beautiful things which fully justified the high anticipation I had formed judging from your letters and the specimens brought by Mr. Blake." ' In the autumn of 1870 Arnold Hague, also connected with the geological survey of the fortieth parallel, spent a month in Oregon, part of the time being at The Dalles in discussion over the geological problems of the Columbia River region. That tbis- visit was a source of mutual pleasure is shown by a subsequent letter in which Mr. Hague refers to his. "month in Oregon in 1870 as one of the pleasant memories of the past." But a new era was dawning for "the Oregon country." The first transcontinental railroad had touched the Pacific and with it. came many large parties of cultured tourists who, wishing to look upon the grand scenery of the Columbia, found themselves obliged to spend the night in The Dalles. In this way it often happened that late in the afternoon a party of fifteen or twenty ladies and gentlemen would gather at the home of the Oregon geologist and spend a pleasant hour studying the life of past ages. In 1870 Mr. Condon snipped his first boxes of specimens to the Smithsonian Institute at Washington, and from there they were sent to, Dr. Leidy of Philadelphia Academy of Sciences for expert examination. The National Museum was glad to receive these new fossils from the Pacific Coast and promised its official assistance in every way possible. A few months later of this same year Professor Marsh of Yale College wrote from San Francisco as follows:, "1 have heard for several years' a great deal of the good work you" are doing in geology and of the interesting collection of ver tebrate fossils , you have made, and I intended during my present visit to the Pacific Coast to come to Oregon and make 'your acquaintance personally and examine your fossil treas ures which my friends, Professor George Davidson, Clarence King, Mr. Raymond, and others had often wished me to see." And a little later Professor Marsh1^ writes urging that all fos sils of extinct mammals be sent to Yale to be used by him in a work on paleontology gotten out by the United States Gov ernment in connection with- the survey of the fortieth parallel. During these years many Oregon fossils found their way to the educational centers of the East.r If they were fossil leaves they were sent to Dr. Newberry of Columbia College; if shells, to Dr. Dallof the American Museum of Natural History; if fossil mammals, to the Smithsonian or to, Marsh of Yale or Cope of Philadelphia. A few of these were sold, some of . them were sent in exchange for Eastern fossils, but most of them were simply lent in order that they might be classified and described by scientific experts. Iu May, 187,1, Mr. Condon published in the Overland Monthly his paper on "The Rocks of the John Day Valley." And in November of that year his .article entitled "The Wil lamette Sound" appeared in the same magazine. The latter was perhaps his favorite of all his geological writings. He felt that "The Rocks: of the John Day Valley" mightneed re vising after a more thorough exploration t but that "The Wil lamette Sound" would endure. Both of these papers are given in "The Two Islands," published in 1902. Mr. Diller of /the United States Geological Survey' has virtually accepted "The Willamette Sound" and incorporated its substance in his report of the geology of northwestern Oregon, his only criticism being . the suggestion that the waters of the sound were probably even higher than noted in the original publication. These two papers fairly represent Mr. Condon's strength as a constructive geological worker. They indicate his ability to begin at ocean level and by means of mountain upheavals, marine and like sediments, fossil leaves and bones, and volcanic outflows, to reconstruct and make wonderfully vivid the geological part of a new coun try. From this time on, the sense of lonely isolation that had so hampered him in his work, gave place to the most cordial intercourse between the Oregon pioneer and distinguished scientists of the United States and Canada. In 1871 Mr. Con don had the pleasure of showing Professor Marsh and a large party from Yale College through this new fossil field, and a little later Professor LeConte of the University of California was introduced into the same John Day Valley. The. latest scien tific publications began to find their way into Mr. Condon's library in exchange for information and material freely given to eastern workers. The stimulus of all this stirring inter- ' course by exchange, correspondence, or personal conversation with some of the most learned men of 'the age, was a great boon. Life in the strength of his manhood was full of buoy ancy and joy, a grand opportunity for usefulness. It gave Mr. Condon real pleasure to sit down beside a rough block of sandstone with only the corner of one glisten ing tooth in sight, to pick and chip and chisel until another tooth and "part of the jaw were seen, to continue with careful skill until the beautiful agatized molars were laid bare, to work patiently on until there stood before him, no longer the shapeless mass of stone, but a fine fossil head to add its tesv timony to the record of the past. But it gave him greater pleasure still, to work with rough, unpolished human char acter and discover the glint of gold hidden under the rough exterior^ The book of nature was indeed fascinating but did not appeal to him as did the work with men. He had the artist's eye for seeing the beautiful in character and the en thusiasm of a sculptor for shaping rough, faulty human nature until its beauty reflected the Divine. To many minds, these two lines of interest, the develop ment of character and the study of nature, would seem in congruous, but to him they were both God's truth, the one the preparation, the other the culmination of God's work. And yet strange and unusual as is this combination of geologist and minister, it seemed exactly what was needed to equip one for usefulness thirty or forty years ago. For these were years of great stir In the scientific world. The author of "The Origin of Species" and "The Descent of Man" had given his theory of evolution to the world. The grand truths developed hy that galaxy of brilliant English writers, Spencer, Huxley, Tyndall, and others, had been seized. by materialists who were calling ' upon all thinkers to discard the Bible as out of date because not in harmony with scientific thought., Chri'stian ministers were not scientists and the principles of "Higher Criticism," if thought of *at all, were considered dangerous heresies against which to warn their people. To Mr. Condon' the .theory of evolution presented to the human mind a wider conception of God than the world had ever known. It involved a plan of unthinkable grandeur; beginning with the- smallest, simplest things, gradually unfolding into more complex life, often in terrupted by some great upturning of nature, but never losing. the continuity of -purpose, the steady progress toward the cul minating glory of all: the spiritual life of man. To have all this new wealth of spiritual vision appro priated by materialists was a source of deepest sorrow. The storm, starting on the intellectual heights of Europe, was slowly traveling westward. A little later magazines were full of the subject and materialism was. creeping into college life with the claim that evolution was antagonistic to religion. The young men who studied science found few leaders so en dowed as to interpret the beautiful adaptation of the doctrine of evolution to the spiritual life. - Mr. Condon saw that the old ramparts erected by theo logians were no longer a safe retreat; that the church must be defended even by science itself and he longed to help unfurl the Christian banner over' this newly discovered realm of truth. He felt his most effective work could be done with his. cabinet in shaping the immature minds of Oregon's sons and daughters.. This, with the growing educational needs , of his family, finally led him in 1873 to take his place with- the faculty of Pacific University at Forest Grove and later in.. 18,76 to accept the chair of Geology and Natural History in the State University. In 1876, shortly after reaching Eugene, Mr. Condon, in company with a son of ex-Governor Whiteaker, made a trip to the Silver Lake country in southeastern Oregon. Here they gathered a fine collection of beautifully preserved fossil bird bones, which were sent east to be described but seemed too rare and valuable to be returned, for, in spite of many efforts to recover them they were finally lost to the rightful owner. Fortunately, they had been previously examined and- described by Dr. Shufeldt, an expert in the study of fossil birds, and to him we are indebted for much interesting knowledge of the ancient life of the region. This same locality has also yielded some of the finest specimens of fossil mammals in the state. By this time Oregon had passed" out of its pioneer stage and was looking to a broader expansion of statehood, with all its hidden possibilities of industrial development. Men were asking, "Have we coal in Oregon?" "How shall we util ize our gold-bearing black sands?" Have we the right geolog ical formation for artesian water?" "Have we cement rock, copper, or limestone?" Letters on all of these and many other problems kept coming to Mr. Condon from near and from far. These questions and the investigation necessary fbr their answers resulted in his acquiting an extensive knowledge of the industrial problems of the state. If any one wished to bore for artesian water his advice was asked.' The discoverer of a fresh prospect for coal, copper, asbestos or marble, must send him a sample specimen and ask his opinion of its value, and he was always ready with a word of advice, a bit of en couragement or a needed caution. All these years he had been glad to share his rapidly in creasing knowledge with the people of the Northwest. The old river steamers and slow moving trains ,of early Oregon often carried < him to fill lecture engagements, and he was usually, cumbered with many heavy packages of specimens and choice fossils' to illustrate his subject. Sometimes the lecture would be before a cultured Portland audience; some times it was a course of lectures for some growing young college or perhaps a talk to thfe farmers at the State Fair upon the' formation and composition of soil. But as the years passed, most of his time and strength were given to his teach ing at the University, while his summer vacations were spent with his family at his Nye Brook Cottage by the Sea. ¦Here his life was almost unique, but it again brought him into the most friendly relations with many classes of peo ple from all parts of the Northwest. Sometimes there were formal lectures before a summer school, but more often there was an informal announcement that "Professor Condon would lecture on the beach," perhaps near Jump-off Joe. And here his audience would .gather around him in the shelter of the bluff or Headland, some standing, some sitting on the rocks, others perched upon the piles of weather bleached drift wood, while the children sat "Turk fashion" upon the dry, glistening sand. And he, with his tall alpine stalk in his hand, his broad ha.t and loose raglan coat made a picturesque figure standing in their midst. Perhaps he talked of the three beaches, the one upon which they stood and the two old geo logical beaches so plainly visible in the ocean bluff behind 10 them. The banker, the college president, the physician from a distant part of the state, the young city clerk, the carpenter, the teacher of the country school, the farmer and his family taking an, outing by t-he sea, even the high school boy, and the children, all listened with interest. And when the talk was over and all. their questions had been answered, the motly gathering strolled leisurely away. But the rolling breakers at their feet, the hurrying scud and blue summer sky, all had a new significance as they pondered on the mystery of crea tion. Or perhaps a geological picnic was planned up the beach to Otter Rocks. After a brisk ride of ,a few miles over the hills and along the beach, Mr. Condon's carriage would stop, the, other vehicles would group themselves around near' by, and, standing in his conveyance, he would give a short talk on the geological formation of the particular cove or headland with its base of old sandstone full of fossil shells. Then the company would move on, and after a few more miles of de lightful beach ride upon the hard sand near the breakers, they would leave their carriages, gather their picks, hammers, and chisels and spend an hour chipping fossils from the bluff or from the large bowlders at its base. The next stop would be to lunch near Otter Rockn and explore the unique Devil's Caldron or Punchbowl and the interesting beach beyond. But the most common picture, the one that must make the Condon Cottage at Nye Beach an almost sacred spot for some, was the party strolling homeward from a morning on the beach — especially at low tide. They always stopped beside his cottage door to show their treasures to Mr. Condon. There were baskets, tin pails, and all sorts of packages filled with curios gathered on the morning walk; one had a rare shell-fish, another an unusual fossil, some had sea, moss, others only a group of bright pebbles, while a few proudly exhibited their water agates. All had their; eager questions and his kindly, helpful interest never failed; for if some child but left his cot tage door with eyes large and shining with a new joy, because it had caught a glimpse of the beauty of knowledge, he was content. And so his summers passed. Meanwhile he had been carrying on his. original research -work by taking trips to the southwestern part of the state, and was slowly filling out his geological map of Oregon.. Mr. Condon's love for knowledge was not confined to nat ural science, for his interests were broad as t-he universe. TO him, human history began with the men of preglacial age, and, he sought eagerly for every ray of light that archeological 11 research could throw upon the old Cave Dwellers of prehistoric times. He studied all primitive peoples, their religion, indus tries, and social development, and endeavored to trace their relationship to common ancestry. There were but few ob scure nations of the' world in which he was not deeply in terested; he knew their past history, their present political condition and struggles for liberty. He prized the history of our Aryan ancestors and treasured their old Vedic hymns as among the first bright glimpses of the human soul in reaching out for its Creator-. The religion, art, and literature of the Egyptians, Arabians, Persians, and Greeks were to him a source of great pleasure. He followed the lives of noted statesmen and was most enthusiastic in . his admiration for the world's true heroes. All great religious movements,- in cluding the higher criticjsm and the relation of science to re ligion were matters of absorbing interest. And yet there were but few who knew and loved Oregon's trees, shrubs, and wild flowers so well as he. In 1902, after passing his eightieth birthday, Mr. Condon published his "The Two Islands," a popular work on the geo-% logy of Oregon, which, aside from its scientific value, will be prized for its clearness and simplicity of style and the subtile charm of his own personality as constantly revealed in its pages. It was not written for technical scientists but for the larger circle of readers who love to catch such glimpses of the progress of creation. No, Mr Condbn was not a specialist, either by nature, inclination, or education. %nd it was well for the early development of Oregon that he was a true pioneer with a large appetite for all knowledge, a keen pleasure in impart ing that knowledge to others,' and a broad, sympathetic outlook into the needs of the Northwest. If he had, been a specialist he might have received more technical credit in the scientific world, for he discovered many new fossils and named but few. But what is the naming of a few fossils more or less, when compared with the grandeur of such a broad sweep of knowl edge, psrmeated by such a beautiful spirit of helpfulness? The pioneer "work in this new and unexplored state, so remote from the great centers of learning, required just his type of mind; just his habit of first sketching in the broad outlines and then filling in the. details with all their pictur esque beauty. For as the artist works, he worked. A col league who wrought by his side has said of him, that instead of beginning with the minute details and progressing toward the large facts of life, he always began with the broad out- 12 line's, the great, principles of any subject, and worked down to its details. After this active, eager life had passed and failing health gave him ample time for retrospective meditation, he realized that he had lived through a grand period of pioneer history and remarked, as he looked forward into the future in store for the rising generation, "I do not know that I would ex change the rich chapters of my own life for all the future op-: portunities of these young men." For he was the pioneer geologist who, by his own original research, caught the first glimpse of Oregon's oldest land as it rose from the ocean bed; he saw the seashells upon her old est beaches; watched the development of her grand forests; saw her first strange mammals feeding upon her old lake shores; he listened in imagination to the cannonading of her first volcanoes and traced the showers of ashes and great floods of Java. He followed the creation of Oregon step by step all through her' long geological/ history and then entered with enthusiasm into the industrial and educational develop ment of her present life. But above all, infinitely above all, he prized and labored for the noble character of her sons and daughters. Is it any wonder that his heart was full of gratitude to God, for having guided him into such a rich heritage of life? 13 THE ROCK THAT HELD A TOOTH In the valley of the great Columbia, a rock with tooth protruding was passed by careless men in quest of wealth u»til there came one 'with sympathetic vision - who caressed the rock with loving touches and carried it away from its bed of mud, hardened into stone. With infinite care he chipped away the fragments of rock until the one tooth was joined by its fellows and there stood out in clear and perfect form the skull of the an cient horse. Even careless men now admired the beau teous sculpture of nature's older days; but the inspired geologist bore his treasure to the summit of the hills and by a subtle chemistry of the soul he clothed it anew with flesh and from words strange to other ears he learned of the mighty lakes and forests, of the many horses and camels and of the herds of huge mammoths, whose trumpetings drowned the voices of many roaring ¦ waters. He looked away to the hills that once held those forests, to the riyer that drained those lakes to the sea, and then he looked up to the star-lit dome above him and cried out with reverent love: "Oh, God, thou Great Creator, lift my soul to greater light!" 14 A FOUNDER OF THE UNIVERSITY When, on that clear, winter day in early February, the news came into the beautiful town of Eugene that Professor Condon had passed, away from earth, men bowed their heads and thought on a noble life lived so long among them; women renewed their faith in immortality; little children talked of one who always spoke to them as they passed him on the street. The news came along the country road from the quiet home on the hillside, where he had gone to spend the evening of his days among the trees and flowers. ' He loved that quiet home. He could look off to the west and see the sun setting clear, and it symbolized to him the glory of the close of life; he could look far into the east and watch the mists over the river, softening the rich purple of the distant hills. And, as he stood. with bared head looking out on what he called God's world, his countenance would become transfigured with the memories that thronged upon him. He had written the biography of the hills he looked itpon; he had found companionship in the flowers, and trees, and rocks. He knew theni all by name. And over yonder, where he saw the gray buildings, was the University, and there passed before his vision a procession of men and women, the youth of Oregon, to whom he had given of his soul arid from whom he received in rich measure, love and reverence. And he was content to know that life for' him was nearing its close. He waited for the end. He sometimes longed for her who had gone before, of whom he said, "She was the key stone of my life," "She was the light of my life." And so, on that morning when it was told from mouth to mouth that Professor Condon had gone, all said, "It is well." But busy men walked with slow, muffled step along the streets, where for a generation he had passed, always with a kindly greeting for each one he met. The alumni, from 'the first graduating class in 1878 down through the history of their Alma Mater to 1907, recalled with tender gratitude the benefi cent influence of one who had wrought from the beginning. And out at the University there was a glory -about his name, as students learned that one who had laid the foundations had passed away. Slowly upon' those foundations has the structure of the University arisen. In -the building, there has been nothing 15 . to undo, but much to do. The foundations were laid in strength, and for permanence. Sixteen years after the landing of the Mayflower on the lonely shores of New England, Harvard College was founded. Love of learning inspired the early settlers in Oregon. They established colleges, and named some of them in small, wooden buildings, universities; and men of rare experience and de votion were in those little colleges, up and down through western Oregon. As I write these lines, one of these college pioneers, Professor Joseph Marsh of Pacific Univrsity, after forty years of devotion, is laying down his work for quiet hours of rest. About 1875. a few men in Lane County planned to secure the establishing of> a state university at Eugene. When plans had matured and the state assumed responsibility, a president was sought. The new Board of Regents found a man of culture who was known throughout the Northwest. He had blazed geologi cal paths all over this new state. He had traced the deposits from Cape Disappointment northward, beyond Shoalwater Bay; eastward, far up the Columbia; southward, along the- Willamette, and beyond to fields of southern Oregon. He was a student of history, and out of his large-hearted faith in man kind, he inspired confidence in the future. In public speech, his power was brilliant and rare. If the word "eloquence" be considered in its deepest significance and highest reach, it belonged to him. It was an eloquence which, like that of Webster, made the loftiest subject minister to the needs of to day. More than all, he was a lover of his fellow men, and he was ever a participant in the joys and necessities of those about him. No one within his sphere was externarto his interest. He was a realist in recognizing the everyday problems of life that confront us all, and in counselling that they be solved with practical means that are available to common sense and industry. But,, ah, — and here was a rare combination, — he was an idealist of the most delicate mold. His, intellectual faculties, 'poised, calm, seemed ever in the light of his sym pathies and warm emotions; his amotions, burning with a steady flame', seemed always controlled by his judgment. His rare imagination saw . daily about him a new heaven and a new earth; his eyes were so kindly, and he looked right into your nature and always saw the best in you, and somehow his, face and words were a blessing. He seemed almost to belong to another age, with that stately Courtesy that fitted him as a garment. " When the age 16 of chivalry 'was not yet gone, Chaucer thus described his young knight, the flower of English chivalry: "Curteis he was, lowly and servisable." Courtesy, modesty, and service! The Irish youth had brought those attributes to this country and they characterized his citizenship. He was a lover of America; he was a constant, loyal friend;' his objects in life were for public welfare, not personal. The ends he aimed at were "his country's, His God's, and truth's." Here, indeed, was a man ready, and so Professor .Condon was chosen to become the first president of the new State University. But he declined, and suggested one that he thought better fitted than himself, Professor John W. John son, Principal of the Portland High School. The Board of Regents then selected Professor Johnson, a graduate of Yale University, as president and professor of . Greek and Latin; Professor Mark Bailey, a graduate of Brown University, then in McMinnville College, as professor of mathematics; Professor Thomas Condon, a graduate of Auburn Theological Seminary, then iii Pacific University, as professor of natural history and geology. A preparatory de partment was also provided, with Mrs. Mary P. Spiller as principal and Mrs. Elizabeth Boise as assistant. ¦ In the summer of 1876 these three men of the college faculty came to Eugene. Two of them were in middle life and had already gained a large experience of men and things. A student recently said of dear Professor Bailey : "He taught us manhood and citizenship.'' The president was a younger' man, but was intense in his purpose and in his devotion to true learning. These men , sincere, purposeful, carefully trained, and of tried experience, grounded deep the roots of the State University. On the first morning they met, on the lower floor of the one building (now called Deady Hall), a little group of students and organized the university. There were children for the preparatory classes;, there were also men and women ready for the college. I quote this passage: "There was even at the beginning a fine, eager, expectant, earnest company of mature students waiting for better opportunities. And every one seemed happy." The first college festivity was a geological picnic in May, 1877, on the top of Spencer's Butte. From the top of this eminence, 1500 feet high, Professor Condon gave a short talk on the geology of the country in view. Later, the classes in 17 geology were taken to the "quarry" ¦ east of town and there, as they found shells imbedded in the rock, they listened to fascinating stories of ages long passed, and this earth became to them another world; and these students of nature recognized. themselves as part of the past and the future. Whether Professor Condon was on a mountain peak overlooking a valley, or within the four walls of his class room with a frag ment of rock in his hand, he linked inanimate nature with the soul of man. The rock and the tree became brothers, teaching lessons of truth and rectitude. Why, I have seen the dear Professor stand with a fossil in his hand and talk of it in tones of sympathy, until it seemed as if it would stir and give some sign in response. Stopford Brooke writes of Tennyson: "He knew that nature alone was not half so delightful as nature and man together. * * * * It is from this impassioned mingling of the soul and sight of man with the soul and sight of nature that specialized loveliness arises which charms us." Professor Condon, in his soul, was allied. with the old myth-makers who personified nature; with the prophets who saw in nature ex pressions of the Creator and revelations of the destiny of man. He loved growing things, and suggested the custom each graduating elass followed for many years of planting a class tree on the campus. "After you are gone," he once said, "your tree will symbolize for you the way to meet life. It will ever reach outward and upward, according to the laws of its own being," He. often helped to select and secure these class memorials, and many tall trees that adorn the campus in majesty testify to his love. Let us "ever keep a fresh laurel wreath in memory of him in Villard Hall. The first catalogue was' printed at the close of the first year, in the spring of 1877. It is a pamphlet of eighteen pages, recording eighty-nine college students and one hundred and twenty-three in the preparatory department. Four years later the catalogue of 1881-'82 shows one hundred and forty-three in college and seventy-four in the . prepar atory department. This same catalogue .intimates the finan cial struggle that threatened the life of the infant university and records the generosity of its first benefactor. I quote: , "During the year an embarrassing claim against the buildings of the University, which the courts had decided to be valid, has been paid. "For this purpose the citizens of Lane County generously donated $1,182, and Mr. Henry Villard, President of the Northern Pacific Raijroad, still more generously gave $7,000. Mr. Villard has also given $1,000 in books for the library; $1,000 for appar atus; $250 to be awarded in' scholarships of $50 each to worthy and successful students, whose lack of funds exposed them to more than ordinary difficulty in their educational course; and has agreed to pay the salary of one professor for a year. This makes Mr. Villard's whole donation for /the year $11,010. It is only necessary to know how great relief these donations gave to understand how thank fully they were received." Those early days were full of ambition. Each professor tried to enlarge the bounds of knowledge by teaching many subjects. Professor Condon taught at times during the early years, geology, paleontology, zoology, botany, rhetoric, ancient history, physical features of the earth, ethnology, Guizot's History of Civilization and international law. And so his con structive mind laid broad the foundations. He and his, fellow- workers thought long on the ground-plan of the University. They dedicated its .four corners to the qualities of character that abide. For twenty years these founders worked together for the welfare of the University. They established ideals of true scholarship, of exactness in thinking, of humility and catho licity, of respect for wisdom and reverence for law. They in spired courage, faith, love of God and his righteousness. Let us rear memorials on the campus to their names and erect memorials in our hearts to their virtues. 19 AT THE BEGINNING In the earlier years of the University, primary and pre paratory departments were carried on, and into the former, children were admitted, even if they did not know the letters of the alphabet. A group of children entered the primary department at this time who will ever bear a unique relation to the University. Its influence, fell upon them in the be ginning of their school life and its ambitions and ideals guided them through their preparatory work and to the com pletion of their college course. As a member of this group I would bear tribute to the memory of one of the pioneers of our University life — Dr. Thomas Condon. The relation of the different departments of the Univer sity was closer then than it would seem possible. On account of the limited teaching force, each college professor had one or more, classes in preparatory work. The primary pupils sat in ro.oms side by side with college students, became familiar with many details of their work and had more or less acquaintance with their instructors. To all of us there was a wonderful fascination about the room occupied by Professor, Condon. Its wide board, reaching almost to the floor, was usually covered with .colored draw ings. We had had glimpses of various interesting things upon the tables and could only guess what might be stored away in the numerous boxes. Once, too, Professor Condon, as we soon learned to know him, had shown us his "rose garden," as he called a beautiful specimen of quartz crystals. We had learned that he loved flowers and birds and all things out of doors and could tell strange stories about the inside of the earth. The time came, after successive promotions, when we were -ready for advanced geography arid we learned that we had been , placed in Professor Condon's class and were about to enter into the wonderland of our dreams. But it was ,a very timid group "that presented itself at that first recitation. Shall any of us ever forget the gentle courtesy with which he received us, awed as we were, and feeling so awkward and ignorant in his presence? I can see him still, in character istic pose, glasses in hand, as a well-known picture represents him, bending upon us that glance, which could be so keen and at the same time so kindly. That course in geography was a real- and living joy to * 20 «s. To be sure, it meant hard work, so to learn a lesson that we could go to the board, and with only our chalk and our memory, place upon it the map of a state or other division, with rivers, cities and other important details. And the stand ard was high, and. sueh was the respect, not .unmixed with awe, In which we held our instructor, and so great a privilege did we deem it to be admitted to his class, that we felt we must give' him our best, efforts. But>there was always the prospect, If we produced an excellent map, of having colored crayons placed in our hands, of being allowed to color it according- to our own taste; or a simple sketch, a shell, a cup and saucer, or a hat with a feather would be placed upon the board and we would be allowed to copy it. And, often, he selected something from the store of wonders about him, and we list ened with rapt attention, while he told us its story as' only one who has probed deep into nature's heart could have the power to tell it. The geography that Professor Condon taught meant more than we had ever dreamed geography- could mean. It reached far, beyond the maps and the book, into the world of people and things, and even touched our very lives. Can anyone who has not had the experience, realize what this- meant to us? We had had meagre advantages. Professor Condon was in all the vigor and enthusiasm of his prime, and he opened wide the gates of opportunity, and pointed out the treasures that lay beyond. To us, that courtly presence, that wealth of knowledge, that love for truth and right and beauty meant the Univers^y, which our parents and 'townspeople had labored ..so hard to estab'isl" and we gave n'"m a loyalty and revprence and love that never wavered. During the following years, we spent many hours in Professor- Condon's class room, and came to know him as a very dear friend. We -learned a greatdeal that is in books, but more that is not, for his teaching was never abstract. It always was in some way related to human life and duty, though this was seldom formally expressed and often' left to inference; and some of the lessons that have influenced us most and which, we can never forget, were not spoken ones. While the same earnestness characterized all his work, it was in geology that we found the master. The teaching of this subject seemed to be to him a constant joy, and called forth his best 'powers arid his highest enthusiasm. And through it all, there vibrated the same dominant, triumphant note, as 21 of one who has searched deep and found what he sought and! rejoices in the telling of the message.. There are idols that the years shatter. Maturity destroys many of our early impressions and contact with the world outside of college robs us of the illusions of bur school days. But the alumni of the University are happy in their memories.. As time goes by, we realize the more fully the inestimable- privilege vouchsafed to those who came under the tutelage of Professor Condon as children and spent the succeeding: years of their school life within the sphere of his influence. And as we live over those years, and in grateful memory come again to the familiar room and into his presence, with fuller understanding, we. render homage to the spiritual. majesty of" this man, whom it has been our privilege to kno.w as dearly beloved teacher and friend. 22 EMERITUS As far back as my memory can penetrate, there was a face, there was a form, a presence, a personality, that grew into my own being, as the roots of a tree draw the sap from the ground. They belonged to a man whom as a child I used to admire and reverence as Professor Condon. I recall the ecstatic delight I felt, when that kindly, even then, elderly man of the far-away University once held me an entranced prisoner in his home parlor, showing me endless varieties of butterflies from his private collection. And another boyish picture is that of this college professor wandering like a delighted child through my mother's maze of flowers, select ing a species here and there, and now and then charmingly commenting on their beauty or rarity. My experiences, there fore, as a student under Professor Condon date from long before the time when it fell to my lot to sit in his classroom, for I was 'long ere that learning beautiful lessons from his gentle, wholesome character as a man — lessons I have never forgotten^lessons which would to God I had the grace to impart to my own children and to my own students. Professor Condon had already,' one might say, graduated a generation of students before I came to sit under his in struction. Of these earlier, greener years I am therefore unable to speak. An older student could tell a longer tale of his experiences in the Professor's classroom. No one may estimate the words' and acts of kindness and great-hearted- ,nes's which I, by reason of my late coming, failed to hear and see. But enough was granted me to make me realize keenly how much the University as an institution owed -to its reverend professor in geology, and, more than that,, how much our community and generation were and ever shall be indebted to its Thomas Condon. A happy recognition of this general feeling has been only recently brought to me in the earnest remarks of two fellow-citizens. Orie spoke of Professor Condon as "a man before whom he was always unconsciously moved to bare his head." And the other said, "I feel toward him as I do toward Abraham Lincoln." If men who. perhaps had but casual acquaintance with him were thus drawn towards Professor Condon, what may be said of us who enjoyed thA **& '-'*4 v . . 5M*iP ¦! :-;¦;'¦ "¦''-'¦¦¦;.":¦ Because the teaching, the example, the authority of the man were so like those of a. father, so wholesome, so pure, and so good. To scorn thein, to forget them, were veritably a sin. 1 have not a shadow of doubt that those who passed from out his tutelage, heeding his instruction and endeavoririg to profit by his example, are the happier therefor and have enriched the nation. Our young men and our young women have been broadened and heightened and deepened by having known a Dr. Thomas Condon. And this influence shall not be to a generation, but to our children's children forever. This morning, while thumbing almost carelessly the leaves of a huge Dictionary of Antiquities, my eye was caught by the reproduction of a Roman coin. It- was a money struck in honor of the disbanding of a legion, and on one face was a form of the word "E'merita," the name given to the new military colony in recognition of the honorable discharge of the old veterans. Like a flash the appreciation of the word and its original significance came over me. For some years, our dear old Professor was known by the title of Emeritus. He was, as it were, an old battle-worn veteran, who had served many weary years in campaigning for hi& Country and General, till the drifting snows of many a winter were caught in his locks, the crowded vistas of long years had dimmed his eyes, and the hand was no longer strong to lift its burden. The old soldier has now been taken by the hand of his General and called by his own name — fs only the true General knows how to do. 25 THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN NAUTILUS A lucky accident took me past Professor Condon's door at the time when the case containing the specimens of the Rocky Mountain Nautilus had just arrived from the Black Hills, and the venerable Professor invited me in to "help him hurrah," as he expressed it. But as the con tents of the case were unpacked, and specimen after spec imen, in an almost perfect state of preservation, came into view, he forgot the presence of others, forgot every thing except the beauty and wonder of the opalescent ob jects that glowed in his hands, or the possibilities that the unwrapped packages might contain; and as he hovered over his treasures laying one carefully here, another lov ingly there, whistling all the while softly into his beard a little comfortable tune that defies reproduction, I thought that I had never before seen such enthusiasm, such rapt absorption ^s this man had in his work. He straightened up once . and a rare smile lighted his face as he came over to me, and laying his hand on my shoulder, said, as if in explanation, "Oh, the tune inside of me is too big for my whistle." He returned to his shells and I to my class room, realizing that the message from the Black Hills must indeed have been of rare, elo quence so deeply to move the soul of this high priest of nature. 26 THOMAS CONDON AS A TEACHER AND SCIENTIST To write conservatively of the man who more than any other has influenced my life and activities is most difficult. Such strong feelings arise from the memories of this stim ulative teacher and kind man, who led me through the fields of earth-science even in boyhood, that I realize my task is one I can not perform without prejudice. Yet tp try is a pleasure. Professor Condon's mind was of the imaginative type. From a few observations and readily gleaned facts, he could construct a picture or story that at once wakened . lively in terest in the listener, whether scientist, student, or visitor to his museuih. Many a lesson that would have been dry in the hands of ¦ another man, held the thoughtful attention of his classes. The spirit and energy of the roan were in his words. This mental quality was one of this teacher's rare at- tiibutes. It served him in reconstructing the past history of Oregon, the changes in geography,, and the coming and going of the strange hordes of tropical and arctic animals that at various times have, occupied our state. After he had gathered the scant evidence available, it was easy for his mind to grasp its meaning and to picture those distant times in terms of the present. The store of information gathered by Professor Condon and partially preserved for us in his writings and paleontolog- ical collections is very large for the work of one lifetime. When we consider the facts: that his early training was for the ministry, that in Oregon he had no access to foreign sources, nor much association with other scientists, that his work was done before the Geological Survey had reached high productivity, and that in his active days the state was very thinly settled and travel difficult — the work he accomplished seems remarkable. It is unfortunate that more of this information was not published. Some of the unpublished material remains in the minds and notes of his students, but much of it must be lost. Part of .this material may be found in the writings of the scientists of his day, Le Conte, Dana, Marsh, Cope, and others, who made many references to Dr. Condon, and all of whom acknowledged his contributions, to science by exploration and theory. A more recent worker, Mr. J. S. Diller, who has done 27 more than any other man towards deciphering the geology of the southern part of the , state, has accepted many of Professor Condon's conclusions. Under the name, Klamath Mountains, Diller has grouped all the mountains of south western Oregon and northern California included, in Condon's Siskiyou Island of Cretaceous times. Many scientists have recognized Condori's services to science by naming species in his honor. This has been done by Newberry, Marsh, Cope, Leidy, Wortman, White, Dall, Merriam, Anderson, and others, i In his collection there are doubtless many new species still un- described. ' Professor Condon described but few of his paleontologic finds himself, apparently preferring td give that privilege to the specialists in eastern states. This was probably a wise preference, for this pioneer investigator could not go to the great museums and libraries where such work should be done. But when he did describe a fossil, the description was precise, accurate, full and clear, as attested by one of his earliest- pu pils, Dr. J. L. Wortman, who is now a recognized authority in that subject. Dr. Wortman says: 2 "Iri a bulletin recently issued by the Oregon State Uni versity, Professor Thomas Condon has given a description of an unusually interesting fossil pinniped which was obtained by him from the Marine Miocene of the Oregon coast. It is, indeed, a happy coincidence that this nestor of Oregon geology should celebrate his eighty-fourth birthday by so interesting and important a discovery. * * * * Professor Condon has kindly permitted me to. make a careful study of this unique specimen, and I do not hesitate to pronounce it easily the inost important find that has yet been made in this group. As far as I am aware, the specimen represents an entirely new and hitherto unknown genus, intermediate in many respects be tween the sea lions and seals, with perhaps the most pro nounced affinities with the latter, and at the same time ex hibiting a number of primitive or ancestral characters not found in the skeleton of any modern pinniped. He has ap propriately named the new genus 'Desmatophoco oregonen- sis.' " 1. ' Among these the writer recalls: Platanus condoni (Newberry), Flcus condoni (Newberry), Trophon condoni (White), Onio condoni (White), Chrisotrema condoni (Dall). Scalaria condoni (Dall), Scaphites condoni (Anderson), Anchura condonlana (Anderson) Anchitherium condoni. (Leidy), Platygonus condoni- (Marsh), Philotrox condoni (Merriam.) ' 2. Wortman, J, L., "On a New Fossil Seal from the Oregon Coast." Science N S- Vol. XXIV, July 20, 1906, pp 89-92. 28 Another of Professor Condon's discoveries described* by "himself in "Tephrocyon rurestris" (Condon). Professor Mer- Tiam, of the University of California, and the recognized au thority on the vertebrate paleontology of , the Pacific Coast, "has accepted 2 Condon's name for this species of dog. Dr. Condon had the power to see broad general facts, as ¦shown by a letter written to that founder of Amer\cah geplogy, Professor James D. Dana, on July 1st, 1879, ana published "by Professor Dana in the American Journal of Sciences . In this, Professor Condon shows that the Cascade Mountains are primarily igneous, and he indicates that the broad spurs reach ing far out from the main range are great lava flows. He ¦shows the Intimate' connection between the rocks of the Cas cades and those of the country to the eastward, how the course ¦of the John Day River has been changed by lavas from neat -old Camp Watson, and that a lake existed near the Dalles "before the Columbia River had cut its gorge down to Its pres ent depth. Professor Condon discovered the famous John Day beds "which have so enriched our knowledge of Tertiary vertebrates. Here he found some of the specimens of three-toed horses on "which Professor Marsh based his theory -of the evolution of that animal. 4 In this instance the discoverer was giyen scant credit for- his work, and the type-specimens remained in Yale Museum for many years, but were at last returned. The same thing happened to many other Valuable specimens sent to other eastern authorities for determination. A fine -lot of Pliocene birds from southeastern Oregon were never returned. It was certainly to the interest of science that these fossils were sent to eastern specialists, but it was unjust to the discoverer not to acknowledge more fully his services, and not to return his specimens. In 1867 Professor Condon printed in the Portland Oregonian an account of what he then thought tb be the first fossil horses found in America, the same specimens that Marsh described several years later. What a strange co'ntrast between these zealous, ambitious paleontologists; and that 1. "Scientific Description of Two New Fossil Dogs,"- Prof, Thomas Condon. Bulls University of Oregon, Vol. II., No. VI., March, 1896. 2. Prof. John C. Merriam, Camivora from the Tertiary Formations of the John Dry Region. University of California. Bull. Dep'V. Geol , Vol, V., pp. 6-11, plates, Dec. 1906. 3. On some points cprittected with tbe igneous eruptions along the Cascade Mountains of Oregon, by Rev. Thomas Condon. Am. Jour. Science, 3rd Series, Vol. XVIIl, 1879, pp. 406-8. 4. Professor Henry F. Osborn has said: "I believe that Professor Condon deserves the entire credit of the discovery of the Upper Oligocene horses in the John Day.4' [t-acifte Monthly, Nov.. 1906, p. 566.] 29 lottery,, unselfisfi, but no' less devotect worker in the wilder ness of Oregon! Professor Condon's best friend and occasional companion: was Professor Joseph Le Conte,. wha accompanied him om several trips, and who always gave him the fullest credit when- publishing his ideas or Observations.. These two lovers of e^rth-science did' distinguished service in revealing, unknown; and hiddten record's of the" Pacific Coast. The state univer sities of Oregon and California are indeed rich in possessing; the lives and influence of these men and inheriting the scien tific knowledge and conclusions of these pioneer instructors. Professor Arthur J. Collier, now geologist on the United States Geological Survey, has remarked that the most satis factory contribution ever made, to our knowledge of the phy siography of western Oregon, is Condon's paper on "The Willamette i§ound."i Any man familiar with the region must realize the truth of this remark, made by one of Con don's most successful pupils. In the paper referred to, 'Condon showed that a Pleistocene body of water filled the Willamette Valley, and extended north to Puget Sound, with a probable' length of about three hundred miles. He worked out its extent. and depth by means of terraces along the Columbia River and the ocean. Professor Condon's book, "The Two Islands,"* is a pop ular account of the geological history of the original "Oregon Country." The Klamath mountain group of southwestern Oregon and northern California was an island (Siskiyou Is land) in the Cretaceous sea, spearated from the Sierra Nevada by Diller's Lassen Strait. Professor Condon's treatment of the subject brought out the striking geological difference between the Klamath and Blue Mountain groups and the rest of the state, showing that they are two regions of Paleozoic' and Mezozoic rocks surrounded by Tertiary lavas and sediments. x The. last years of this devoted student were such as every man should desire for the close of his life. Honored and re spected by all, he lived In quiet contentment, teaching his classes with the same regularity, spirit, and clear mind- as in earlier years. He was too feeble to "go into the field, but he had become so well known that people in all parts of the state were constantly sending him new specimens, knowing well the 1. "The Willamette Sound," Overland Monthly, Vol. VII , No. 5, pp.. 468-73, [Sa Francisco,- 187l]; Reprinted as a chapter in "The Two Islands " 2. "The Two Islands" [Portland, Oregon, 1904, The J. K. Gill Co.] 30 pleasure these gifts brought to the old naturalist who no longer tcould gather them himself. They were fresh links to the out door world, to the scenes of his early activities that he so sen joyed in memory. "And O, ye Fountains, Meadows, Hills and Groves, Forbode not any severing of our loves! Yet. in my heart of hearts I feel your might; I ¦ only have relinquished one delight— To live beneath .your habitual sway." Professor Condon's work was ever constructive. He did not try to tear down preexisting theories,; he generally accepted the conclusions of "other scholars:; to no man was he an -oppo nent, for he constantly sought new facts and new explana tions for the problems he had discovered himself.-, May the work he has started never cease, that the University which :so proudly claims him, may some day become preeminent In science. In the memory of the people of Oregon and all who .knew him, the achievements of Professor Thomas Condon wiU always remain, and his personality will ever be dear. » SI PROFESSOR THOMAS CONDON-A REC ORD OF SOME OF HIS TRIUMPHS Oregon's Grand Old' Man of Science is the title' that should* be conferred by common consent upon Professor Thomas; Condon. He is one of the finest' examples in history of the born- geologist. He' first saw tlie light" in Ireland in ~l§gi. His. ilather was a stone-cutter arid the child's earliest toys were, the curious fossils that fell from the stones in the quarry. Whew he had attained the age' of eleven years the family moved