The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1860-03-23
Professor Agassiz and his Dream.
The experience" of Professor AaAss1z,

The experience" of Professor AaAss1z,
is thus related in the Spiritual Magazine
Agassiz had been deeply cogitating on
fossil which had been recently discovered,
having new and remarkable peculiarities. It
was apparently the connecting link between
vertebrate and the lower animals, as the
mudfish from Africa, exhibited in the Crys.
tai Palace, is the connecting link between
the fishes and reptiles but what was NOR
tifyiDg and pulling to him was, that the
very part of the fossil which should have
showed the most interesting part was COW
cred with the strong deposit with which it
had been embedded.
While bordering the subject in bed he fell
asleep, and in dream he was delighted to
have the whole hidden part, and all its me.
chanism and difference, clearly displayed be-
ore his eyes, and, besides, to see intuitively
the exact place which it filled in COMPARE
tive anatomy. He awoke in the morning,
with the subject fresh in his mind; but, alas,
no sooner did he try to recall it, than the
whole of what he had seen vanished from
bis memory, and all that he could remember
was that he had seen it in its most satisfac-
tory extent.
The next night, again thinking deeply of
it, be fell asleep, and the whole scene was
again presented before his mind. He deter
mined to try to remember it, and to make
an effort to awake but he still slept on,
and in the morning had again forgot all that
he had desired to remember.
He determined, if he should ever dream
of it again, that he would make the strongest
effort to awaken, and have paper by his bed
side on which to fix his information. Ac-
cordingly, on going to bed, he fixed some
paper and pencil beside him, again thinking
of his wonderful fossil, when what was his
delight during his sleep, at finding the whole
for a third time, clearly pictured before him.
Now then to awake and transfer it to the pa
per. But no-he slept on, and in the morn
| ing was distressed beyond measure to find
that the whole had entirely vanished from
| his memory.
In this discorsolate state he commenced
to dress, but he had not proceeded far when
his eyes fell on the paper and pencil at his
bed side, and, going to them, he was aston
ished to find upon the paper an accurate
d1awing of the complete fossil, with all its
parts.
1t was, in fact, picture of his vision,
and gave him again all he had seen in his
sleep. He tells this himself, and says that
he cannot account for the picture being
there-whether he got up and did it himself,
or whether it was done by other means
with which our readers vino are acquainted
with direct spirit writing are familiar.
Having secured the drawing, the Pro-
lessor compared it with the fossil, and, as
his curiosity was largely excited, he ven
tured on endeavoring to uncover that part
of it which was concealed under the stony
deposit. Applying fine chisel to the part
he was fortunate enough to remove the Gov
ering and there was displayed before his
eyes the exact counterpart of his picture
and his three dreams. If he was not q
Professor, we think he might, after such a
fact, believe in spiritual laws and energies
and in himself.