New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-02-01
AMERICAN GEOGRAPHERS.

ADDRESS BY PROF. d. G. GILMAN OF YALE COL
LRGE.
The American Geographical and Statistical
Society held its annual meeting ut Cooper Institute last
evening and elected the following officers for the ensuing
year: President Charles p. DAILY; ViccPresidents,
Henry Grnne, +. A. Conkling, Joseph r. 1hompsonj
Foreign Corresponding Secretary, Townsend Harris Do
mostic CORRESPONDING secretary, w. II. II. Moore; Re-
cordng Secretary 4. r. Strazmiky; Treasurer, Henry
Clews; Librarian, IL. b. Hammond; Council, William
HANSEN, 4. Bailey Myers, W. t. Blodgett
". f. Curtis, TheO. W. Dwight, George W.
Cullen, Lewis NJ. Rutherford, and George
Cabot Ward The Treasurer's report read, showing
receipts FOR past year. s. 500 9 expenditures 1867 40
balance SOC g. There have been 1Oi9 gifts of books
pamphlets and maps and purchases 80 new members
have added during the past year. and the Society
now numbers The President then introduced Prof
d. c. Gilman OF Yale College, who delivered the annual
address on the Last Ten Years OF Geographical Work
In this Country"
PROF. GILMANS ADDRESS.
In commencing Prof Gilman said that his lecture was
an attempt to bring out in single discourse the results
accomplished by the different geographical workers In
the country illustrating his remarks by numerous exam
pies of the work of those thus engaged The chief ex-
porers have been those employed In the various depart
OF the Government and Of these especial praise
is due work OF the Engineers Department OF the
United states Army. the Coast Survey and Land Office
Important work has been accomplished ny the separate
States ana Territories their Work ana RcOloSlcai
services by the great corporations by the three IA
ee Railroads and by private enterprises like those OF
which the data of this work be obtained very
various, ana consequently the difficulty of collection Is
Coming to the different departments of investigation,
he began with the geography of geological periods and
times. He then took up the history OF the human
and showed who have been the workers in historical
geology. Referring to Henry Stevens OF Vermont, he
said that while the expert mathematcans of the Coast
Survey have been abOrinS 10 give Ms true dencation
Of
geOogists by study OF the deepSea sounnes, are en-
deayorng TO map out the hills and valleys of the
submarine bottom, man whose researches in early
American biography have discovered. procured, and
placed nnuinOrabe rare nuggets IN me private MIRA
Iies OF this country and in the public Libraries OF
England has been making series OF Fonndings into the
depths OF oDlVlo ana mas arrived ~ soe very IGAfA-
able conclusions IN respect T. American carloglaphy.
The Maine Historical Society not long ago commits
stoned the Rev Dr. MO9ds formerly fIeSIeht OF bo"Holh
College 10 seek out in Europe historical documents Illus
cumstances brought nm INFO relations WIN ,Df.
j. G.. Kohl, the welknOwn author and traveller. This
WOODS prepared LOT t"e 90 an eiapOId'o
the early voyages TO this country, Illustrating
tho latest OF which Is Mercator's of 1862
and the earliest is that OF Juan de Ia Cosa, in 1900 ON
these various facsmics Dr. Kohl, with rose colorcd
mark has indicated what he regards AZ the deneal9h
Of the coast OF Maine An elaborate diaeu SION OF the
maps and Of the Progress Ut discovery made mp tue vol
tn b the cniT,fop oT All that il knovn and recorded
Of Ibs WI sniof fpo,n Adam of Hrro,1n TO Kohl OF
Brcmen and therefore, he held 40 the present state
ofthc history OF SOrth American discovery. But how
the present becomes the past IL had long before
occurred To Mn Stevens that another method ol treating
ancient records mghtposshS throw light upon the
old geographical puzzles which have come down rom
the time OF the goatdscoyerers instead Oh ,ifeufsS
the opinions Of modern ge0gInphers ne made Dolu
effort enter into the conceptions or the orlgnal as
coyercs 90 see as they aud % read as they cld-
IA the concentrated light Of tho nineteenth cen
tury hut Ia the American dawn of the sixteenth century,
Tusr, are many curious results brought ont .
by this mode ~ research, but there Is one which
is poi ant, that II accepted IN the eours u the ~
tur IA will enite the dscOycrrr 60 rank among tho goo
graphical autluurics Columbus ranks among the
navigator. on unknown Th5 result H. "a follows;
All the old maps of tho Atlantic coast are modhc0!iors
OF the Asatc coast according 10 the very prevalent idea
that C8umbu. lad F" discovered islands IN the Indies be-
You'd tue GaugV" aud that his hume date tO0WOrs were