The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1885-08-29

His full name was George Christian Leo
pold Dagobe"t Cuvier. From the time he
was old enough to run about and play, he
loved to notes the ways of animals, and to
study them in their homes and hidden places.
He was sent to school at Stuttgart 1t was
the wish OF his soul to be a STUDENT OF nat
ural history, and to give his life to search
ing into his favorite science. Great men
are always learning all their lives But
Cuvier was poor boy. He had to start
out early to work for his own living.
Many boys, perhaps most of them, would
have thrown over their life plan, when they
found they had no money with which to
carry it out But not this boy. He was
very quiet; ind rel he never made much
fuss about nything, although he was one
of the greatest of workers When he was Is
years DID, he became teacher in a private
family. He had been obliged to leave
school before completing his course,
because he was 80 poor. He was a
teacher in the same family for six
years. And all these years he spent
the tme he could spare studying his favor
ite natural history He knew the call Of
every bird, the foo print of every animal,
the nest OF every creature In the woods,
however wild or shy. Tho will creatures
loved him because he loved them.
But genius cannot remain always hidden,
however poor and humble it may be. Some
learned gentlemen IN Paris heard of the
gifted young naturalist, and urged him to
come to that city. He did so, and then his
fame began to grow. He made in time at
Paris the largest coliec ion of birds, reptiles
and animals in Europe. He placed them in
the Jar1in DIES Plants, the geological garden
of Paris. He made a classified science Of
the study Of comparative anatomy that is,
the anatomy of animals as distinguished
from man. Zoology hal never been regu-
larly arranged science before his day. He
stu lied fishes as well, wrote books full
of knowledge about them. Upon rocks and
in caves and earth-mcunds are sometimes
found footprints, imprlnts, and fossil re-
mains of unknown animals, monsters, and
other strange creatures. They lived before
tho period of history. and hence are called
prehistoric" Nobody knew much about
these before the days OF Baron Cuvier.
With his wonderful power of SO arching into
things, and finding out about them, he took
up he subject Of fossil remains of animals,
/ and soon the world knew nearly all that
has been found out about these uncouth
monsters. He advanced the doctrine that
animal life BEGAN with the simplest forms,
and from them, from age to age, were
grown animals more and more highly or
gained. There is not room here to mention
half the work he did for science.
Honors were heaped upon him by his
country. Hioh political and educational
Offices we're given to him, and grand titles
bestowed on him. And always his voice
was liftel for liberty and enlightenment
for the people. Through all his high digni-
ii his bead was never turned by vanity,
and he was never 80 pulled up in his
mind that h thought he was bstter than
oth,r persons. He remained the same sim
pl,. hard working student down to the end
Of his life. Death found him still busy with
his studies aud planS for science and for the
good Of his fellow-man. He was genius,
because he could do everything he under
took, and do it wei.
The portrait OF him here given does not
show the shape of his head fully. After his
death his brain Yves weighed and found to
be the largest am heaviest on record. He
was also said to be the most b autful man
Of his time He was SO kindly, so pure
minded and intellectual that att n a while 1t
lust showed through In his face and made
him far nobler looking than other men. lie
died suddenly of paralysis, May IL, 1882,