The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1895-10-05
He Became Famous in Fighting
Hydrophobia.
HE WAS A GENIUS IN SCIENCE
His Birth in a French Province, His Life
in Paris and the Honors neaped
Upon Him.

mere at D CLOCK LllS evening.
Louis Pasteur was born December
o. 1922, in the French town of Dole.
His father was an old soldier who, on
returning to France decorated with the
trophies of war, was obliged to work
hard to earn his bread. He took up
the trade of a tanner, and soon after
ward married a worthy young girl
whose heart and spirit were agitated
by thoughts above the level OF her
modest life. When little Louis came to
them, with mingled pride and tender
ness they used to say over him: I'VE
will make him an educated man In
1925 the Pasteur family removed to
Arbois, where the Pasteur senior
bought a lanyard in which Louis spent
a good part of his childhood, until he
was old enough to go as a half-pay
scholar to the communal college. The
father used to supervise his sons les
sons every evening. Young Louis was
a good deal Of a boy. He did not take
the shortest road to his school, or re-
turn directly to his home. He amused
himself with the making of portraits
of his friends, male and female, and the
accuracy of his drawings in his 18th
year was astonishing. What a pity,
recently said an old lady of Arbois.
that he should have buried himself
in chemistry. He has missed his voca-
ton, for he might by this time have
made his reputation as a painter"
PASSION FOR WORK.
Finally Louis began to realize the
sacrifices his father was making Tor
him, and the passion was aroused with
in him for the work which was to form
the foundation of his life. The prin-
cipal of the college, where he first out
stripped all his comrades, used to say:
He will go far. 1t is not for the chair
of a small college like ours that we
must prepare for him; he must become
professor in a royal college," MY lit
tie friend" he would say to Louis,
think of the great Ecole Normale.
And to the Ecole Normale in due time
he went; and when he was duly at work
there, the director confided to him the
| superintendent of the quarters of the
older pupils, who, during classtime,
were his comrades.
Chemistry was then taught in the
Ecole Normale by M. Ballard. The late
NJ. Dumas was professor of chemistry
at the Sorbonne, and Pasteur used to
BILE When he graduated he went as
assistant professor of chemistry to
Strasburg 1t was while connected with
the university Of that place that he
married Mile Marie Laurent. and the
story goes that when the wedding day
arrived he came near missing the APP
pointment, 80 absorbed was he in an
unfinished experiment in his labOra-
tory.
THEORIES ATTACKED.
In January, 1869, NJ. Pasteur heard
that certain scientists were attacking
his discoveries concerning the silk
worm disease. Accompanied by his
family and assistants he proceeded tc
the village of st. Hippoly te-duFort
where he had secured a little cottage
in which to conduct experiments. He
convinced himself that his theories
were correct, but did not satisfy his op
ponents, who were so violent in theil
attacks that the government hesitateC
about accepting the results Of his work
Napoleon III. had become personally
interested in the controversy and au
thorized Marshal valiant to propose t
Pasteur that he proceed to a villa il
Austria belonging to the prince i'm
perial. Silk worms had been bred there
1 for 10 years, but without profit, OWNS
to the ravages of disease. The who'll
business was to be turned over to Pas
tours management, and he would thu
! have an opportunity Of applying hi
theories on a large scale. The offer wa
Z accepted, although the savant was still
e so helpless from illness that he had L
r. be carried in a chair whenever it be
came necessary to change cars during
y the journey At the end of the first sea
= son under Pasteur the sale Of cocoon
=, yielded a net profit to the state Of 90
o O0Of The emperor, thus satisfied as t
{ the practical value of Pasteur's process
e rewarded him by appointing him a sen
:, ator; but before the appointment wa
g gazetted it, like so many other thing:
was swept away by the war with Gel
MANY.
7 In 1869 he was elected one Of the 8
o foreign members OF the Royal Societ
of London. In 1874 the national assem-
S bly, Of France accorded to NJ. Pasteul
,- as a reward chiefly for his investiga
# tons on fermentation, life annuity q
8 1900 francs. He was raised to tn
rank of a grand officer Of the Legion c
Honor. He was admitted to the Frenc
. Academy In 1882. His more recent Il
bors IL the prevention Of hydrophobi
a are we'll known.
h NORTHERN PAClrlC'S SELECTION