Mineral Industries and Geology of Certain Areas - Vermont Agency ...

REPORT OF THE VERMONT STATE GEOLOGIST.
lecting the material for a complete history, 'natural, civil, sta'dstical,
of his native State, and for more than twenty years he
devoted much of both time and money to the execution of this
plan.
In 1842 he had gathered and arranged his materials and was
ready to publish, but now his funds were wholly exhausted and
his manuscript seemed likely to remain hidden in his desk. At
this juncture an old friend and neighbor, Mr. Chauncey Goodrich,
who was a publisher and printer, came to the rescue and
offered to print the work without the usual royalty and to wait
for payment of all bills till returns should come from the sales
of the book. The offer was accepted and an edition of five
thousand copies was soon issued. The Legislature of the State
ordered one hundred copies for the use of the State library
and after the publication of the work voted five hundred dollars
to the author in token of the popular appreciation of what he
had done.
The work is in three parts each of which if less closely printed
would make a fair sized volume. The first part is devoted to
the natural history of Vermont and is quite fully illustrated, the
second is a civil history, and the third is an enlarged and revised
edition of the gazeteer. The unselfish spirit of the author is
well shown in the price fixed upon this work. His publisher
urged Mr. Thompson to sell the parts separately, charging two
dollars each, or six dollars for the whole work, which contained
six hundred and forty-six pages, and, as hooks then sold, would
not have been considered dear at that price. Mr. Thompson,
however, had all his life known the pain of wanting books that
he could not afford to buy and he insisted that the price should
be low so that those of limited means might not he deprived
of the benefits of the work. The three parts were therefore
sold together for two dollars and a half, though his own profits
were thereby greatly lessened.
Although busily occupied in study of natural and civil history
and in preparing his various publications, and in teaching, Mr.
Thompson found time to study, theology and in 1836 he was
fl.
REPORT OF THE VERMONT STATE GEOLOGIST.
ordained deacon in the Episcopal church. On account of uncertain
health he never settled over a parish, though he often
preached in or near Burlington, where he spent most of his life.
In 1845 a geological survey was authorized by the Legislature
and Prof. C. B. Adams of Middlebu'ry appointed geologist in
charge. He appointed Professor Thompson and Rev. S. R.
Hall assistants. During the ensuing season, Professor Thompson
with his fellow assistant explored a hundred and ten townships,
and were most busily occupied in the prosecution of their
work till the Legislature of 1847-8 summarily put an end
to the appropriation. The field notes, specimens and instruments
of the survey were stored here and there for some
months, but the next Legislature ordered the scattered property
to be collected and cared for and Profess9r Thompson was appointed
to execute the order, which he did, and made a report
of his work in 1849. No other report of the work of this survey
was ever made, as the succeeding Legislature failed to vote
necessary appropriations; and as the most important notes,
those of Professor Adams, were taken in a peculiar shorthand
which only he could read, these became useless at his death in
1853. In 1853 an appendix to the "History of Vermont" was
published. This, a book of 64 pages, is mainly given to natural
history.
In 1851 Mr. Thompson was elected Professor of Natural History
in the University of Vermont, and about the same time
some of his many friends, learning of his strong desire to visit
the Exposition in London, kindly provided the means, and he
spent three months in England and on the continent.
After his return he published as "A Thankoff ering " an account
of his tour in a volume of 143 pages.
In 1853 an act was passed by the Legislature which provided
for completing the geological survey of the State, and under
this act Professor Thompson was appointed State Naturalist.
Into the execution of this work he entered with enthusiasm,
as it afforded him the opportunity he had long eagerly desired
to complete his study of the natural history of the State. He