The Washington times., 1913-08-18
GEOGRAP HER FOUND
DEAD BY COLLEAGUE
Fred G. PIummer, of the Forest
Service, Believed Victim of
Acute Indigestion.

Fred Gordon Plummer, forty-nine
years old. OF 1900 Scott circle northwest
chief geographer OF the forest service
Of tho Department Of Agriculture, was
; found dead in the bathroom Of his resi-
| dence this morning by Fred D. Brad
! ford. a draughtsman. sent from his Of
| fee to find out why his chief had not
been 10 work since Friday. Coroner
hewitt. who examined the body, pro-
nornced death due to acute indigestion
which had affected the heart, and which
probably had caused PIummer TO fall
dead while he vas taking a bath.
Colleagues who work at the Forest
Service with Plummer had not seen him
since Friday. Alarm was felt over his
absence, and this morning Bradford
was sent to find out the cause When
Bradford arrived at the residence he
found the outer door locked, but a win
dow on the second floor was opened
Borrowing a ladder from a neighbor's s
home. he climbed to the second floor
and entered by the window. Finding
no one in the room which he knew to
be Plummer's, he went through the
other rooms and found Plummer lying
dead in the bath room.
Appeare In Good Spirits.
The residence which was occupied by
Plummer during the summer months
is the Cloverside School for Girls, di-
rected by Mrs. Timlow No one living
there during the summer, Mr.. Plum
mer became a lone boarder, occupying
the school while the girls and faculty
were away on their vacation. He was
an intimate friend of members of the
faculty, who asked him to live there
during the summer.
When last seen on Friday Plummer
In In Ill
spirits and apparently in good health.
D. d. Bronson, who dined with him Fri
day evening, and who is the last one
OF his friends to have seen him alive,
confirmed this.
When the news Of the death Of Plum
mer WAS received at the office OF the
Forest Service this morning, a great
shock was felt by the members Of the
division in which he Is employed.
Long In Government Service.
Fred Gordon PIummer entered the
service OF the Government in 1883.
when he was employed by the War
benartment as rodman and level
man on special work in construction
OF lovees on the lower part of the
Mississippi river.
From 1888 to 1903 he was special field
assistant OF the Geological Survey. de-
tailed to the examination of the ma
uonal forests. He passed the civil sery-
.ce examination for irrigation engineer
and photographer in ls03 and was ap-
pointed engineer in the Geological Sur
vey. He was ldter transferred as civil
engineer In the Forest Service.
Mr.. Plummer was voluminous writ
er on subjects connected with geology,
geography. and forestry, ana wrote tn.
first description Of forest conditions
in many of the national forests Of
Washington. Oregon. Arizona, New
Mexico, and California. He spent his
chief efforts in his W ork for the For
est Service as its geographer His
compilation of statistical and may data
is one of the most remarkable in this
country, If not in the world.
He was member OF several technical
societies. including the Washington
Academy Of Sciences, the Society of
American Foresters. the Geological So
ciety, and the United States Board OF
Geographic Names.
Mr. Plummer Is survived by a wife
and five children. who are now living
at the family home In Point Iona, Cal.