Mrs. Erminnie A. Smith

iMoniThe Michigan Chrlillan UcraUl : In Itie lona list oí offlcYs n the Arnwican AfSOClHtlon for the Adv.ineeinent (.1 Science, the name of Mrg. Ëjiiiialiie A. Smitli repre.-ents t lic lirst niul only lady wlio has been lionored by i Hipe la thai body. Mrs. Smitli was elècted fellow ol the afefoeistton s' mi' live yrnrs rfgo af iis '"' i iiiig ia Boston, in rrcognition "i unrelully piepatcd paperëvrnclng iisneli i eseaich in the dialccls and tVl li-loie of thé Iroquols nutions. About a yeiir rn she Wew alio made a fellow of the New Volk lemy of Science?, the lirst and for somc Iheoniy l.uly Imnoi ld by them. The New York'World al thd linie publish"il quite au extended autoolograpy of llie l.ul v frcrnj hicli we have ca thered the foHÓWrog sketeh: Mis. Smith la 't native of New Yoik, l"Uh nem Syi;,ci-e. ,-hr onjoyud tbe nn limited frecildin öt ti1 döt)i ïltè #1 trees, brooks and fena i, ter entertainment. Her youtliful recreation cotitieted tarrfly m u iih. ¦rhisj fossilj jneer Moijel.Zijnlht, willed Initleiilies ai.d Oowers. Mear lier home v,-is a lime sprinjc uliii-!i a soiuce of unceasing deligfbt; Ccmwrdcttfig littlê reterVoin sbe lilhdtliein willi Icm-, beeeh Itaves and twijts hieli liceo g enemMed, were .mens outlined in Avhile of nature's most delicate and beautiful traqeiy. Beglnnlng tbus with an unclassifiea caWnet, .Mrs. .Smitti h.is i(d,(,l to il t-;ir by year, l'olli at home and abniad, uiitil she'now' Pi' s8 ¦ o the hirgest and tinest private collections of iniiK-ralo ical specimens in the, Unitqd States. ,M r . Smitli ¦. n .jï l.t ,.. t a éotvfu of stndy al Mis. p illard's Sdiool for girls at ¦ Troy, New York'. Faunlfarizing lierself witli' l'reiieh and Soihiain In sehool. diirin vaca t ion she had lessons in Greek and Latin iVom old '¦ Eider Arthur," the latliei' of Présfïlenl Art hui-. In l.iler lü'e, Mae. .Sinitli was also exeeplionaüy in being alile to pursue her sitidies. Kamilv tures rostfd liglilly upi.n lier. Wht-n her tour 8O11S Were prepared for advarfi-il stndy Mie 8Ccompanied them to Europe, wliurc thev Btudied and t-lie studled, - the entliuskstic the mnit unwearied learned of them all. Slie reniiüncd v. itli tlicm, and thelr school ycus wc bompleted without separation from biottiér. 'l'im live Uien went to Preibprg, Saxony, there Mrs. Smitii ei terèfl the School of Aliñe, lleic he look li-s(ins in peology, mineralcujy, and in tlic ne of the blowplpe. TEe aolitary womau studeul in the Schooi of Mines was ;i wouder in tliat reglón. The Qermnn newspapers noted the faet an.i Bpoke of lier as "the Jïortli American lady, the firstatld only woman wlio lias attendid the school." l-'roni Preiberg, the Indefatigable workflr went In Mia-iiel-jr, theli to Heide-lberr. A'. Btra)bierg sbe m;.de a polalty Frenel lajiguage and literatme, tnkiog private UMn ti om prulessors in tlie Univeusity. At Heldelbjerg she studled Germán lanKUuge and literatnrc! with the tanoiu l'iiii1. Otid, cuntiiiiiiiicr also her studies In mineral. iy and cryatollegrapby. 8lie made frequent tours vlsitlug ïnuseunis in various i-.iAlá oí Kurope. At Oberstein, in Geimany, she made a special study regarding the ft((larizatio of üght. [At ihis place ni::tiiy all the secondarv genis in tlie wortel are ent The milis are very old, the indiistry daling h, ick t the Middle AgfS, Especial alienlion is friven to the ciiuiiiii of Btones fot lengea and scieutiiie purposes; Later .she made a journoy to Sfimland, on tlie BaiÜC to sludy anihei, and among her treantrers Is a rare specimen wliieli has mpii.-ohed in its iran-luceiit (leptlis h tiny sprawling lizzard. Duritlg these yenrs Mrs. Smith wrote out tlie resulta of lier various studies and they were presenled before the Ameiiejn Association for the AdrVauceroflnt of Science. Learning of her fitne.-s and :ndetatigable Industry, the Director of the Inited States Bureau of Ethnology some years ago requested her to makeastn v of the dialeets and folk-lore ol' llie Six Iroquole nations. The position, pfjferJng opportunity lor an imnifii-e uinouul. ol hard work; afforded, hdwevér. r.nc facilities for suei-e-sfiil sludy. Mrs. Sniith entered apon her work with zcal ajid has tor some ears been steacily jnnsuIngber Inütaii Investlgatioa on "ieseiv;itions In N.-w Voik. Cunada, Wieconsin and l'ennsylvaiiia, as a recular altadle of U. S. Bureau of Ethnology, gmitbsoni ian in-iiiution. The Tüscarora trlbe In Nnv Voik fonned % strobg allaehment to the cnteiprisinit woman, and rcerulailv adopted her, Shejsknówri In t h c reservation as "BTatcitcítakw8t" - the Wlnir licar of the Tuuarents. Wlien she went :iiin.n; Ihe indlans, she abode wil li Ilicm and speWI uioiiths studying tlieir l&njruage and wtcyt inicj tamil-' iarlzlng heraelf. wJth thdr Bipentltlona and oUI-timt: hcatlicii customa. A8 a resull wiiat siic oontldend the grfeateet wolk of lier lile imw neaily cnnipleted, i dictioiiaiy of the Tuscarora languaire, willi -ynonym-. :is far as thcv can 1e liild, in the flialécts of the ollier iï vi; tribes. Mra Siuiili, agningl nmsl discouraging obstaclès, tüaètered the Tiiscarora Wëgue and lias iran-latcd tho Lord's l'niyir ainl portions 0Í Ow. Biblf into it. the lias ai pieseiit obtalned and clawifled 6,000 woi ds i a TUíbarrtFa, wlth the prinIpal partsof rcrbif O,uoö worrii in Mnlawk, 3,000 each in Oooodura aod Jenecn, and ,1,000 in Oneida, The Caygga diuleci, the most dtffleult bt all, renains y.-x tn hc stiidieü. As there is no egervftttop of this trlbe, thi'y are gcatter¦d licrc and there and Information is more dillirult to tstter, VVhen the dictionaiy to be published Ihisycar, is coniileted, it will be of great valne in ethHild;y, M throwinir lijjlit on the history, ii-lonis and Imbits of the Aborigines of bis continent. A member of numeroug sctentlfla oriranization, amóng tliern the Nunjlsmatle ind Aiitiiti;iiiaii S'ciriy t Phlladelphla md the A.nthropologtcal Socletv of Lonlon, Knland, Mrs. Smith lind.s time to lo mncli exil service : 'l'en ycais ugo sbë tounded a society in Jersey c'iiy for lie promotion of litërary and icleDtlflc ¦nltuie. At tiisi thera were oidy its yrt'S'nlnt :uid :t i.ozmi 'ung ladios'in a larlor. N mï i bere ateiOU ineaibeis, and he society hax nul .¦ : Ou-fl t hall Ihcy have ong occupied. The best literair and -cientilic talent at home and abroad" have en beard in this lecture courw, hile Mr-. Smit h heiself not ind i (uently glT8l parlor talks npun f iciiLilic and litërary ojiiis KI parior mèetntyg. Besl Of all wlth her sevcre and golid ittaluments. Mrp. Smith haa pever forotteR ibat cfciel ehártn in wonian is i modot, suiinyand iin;iil cUil iiim-aini . Sliï preserves lo a reinal kaMe degree the sincere ehild like spirit of (lic linie jiirl wlio lniiiied Bpeiimena upoq tieSvracuse "arm. Fnll of nlliusiasni. n elmrining alker, she eeema scarcely older than twenty years BgO, for activity and fcrood cbecr tmve kopt lier lieart JÖUDjf.