Transcribe Ward, Henry A. Letter to Dewey, Chester (1857-03-21)

Paris. March 21st. 57 Respected Sir. Accompanying this I send an account of my journey from Munich through Austria, Hungary, & Northern Italy to Genoa. The letter was written at this latter place nearly three months ago, but I had kept it with the intention of adding as much as should be requisite to describe the balance of my trip. I reached Paris nearly six weeks ago, but I have been unwell ever since & been able to do no writing or studying until this past week I will now add but a word as to my tour in Italy and Sicily for I fear that you will hardly excuse me the demand which I have made already upon your attention. I went by steamer to Leghorn which city has in its immediate

vicinity some extensive bits of Quaternary limestone lying a little above the present level of the Mediterranean and containing many fossil shells of which nearly all have their analogues at the present day although some now only inhabit tropical seas. Twelve miles west of Leghorn rise the snow topped Apennines, & at their base flows the River Arno on which is Pisa--the, to me, finest city in Italy. There I spent an hour on the famous "Leaning Tower" and the rest of my New Year's day at the University, visiting with and viewing the collection of Professor Meneghini who is unquestionably the greatest geologist in Italy. He has studied in a very through manner the geology of Tuscany & has published a large work upon its sedimentary rock and eruptive rocks. These latter are very interesting both from their number & variety as well as for the metamorphose in action which they have had on the Cretaceous and Jurassic limestone which they have traversed producing the So celebrated Italian marbles. Another fact which professor Meneghini has brought out very strongly in his work And map both of which he gave to me is the relation of age between the interruptive and the sedimentary rocks. Thus for instance throughout all Tuscany The Euritia Porphyries reach the term of the Pliocene. The serpentine dikes and with the Miocene, the Diorite And Ophite with the Eocene, the Ophiolite with the cretaceous, &c, &c. I obtained from the prof a complete and nicely trimmed and labeled suite of 54 of the principal eruptive, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks of Tuscany and also 50 species of Pliocene fossils in exchange for eight C. gigantum and some other Paris fossils he also gave me a long Itineraire and a hastily drawn map to serve me in an excursion which I made about 45 miles at sea southwest of Leghorn to "Elba." I staid upon the isle three days during which time I crossed it on horseback in several directions visiting the ancient and inexhaustible mines of Iron ore. The mineral occurs in immense dikes with serpentine and is as abundant as it is rich. The fine specular specimens the pyrites etc. Are not nearly near as abundant as I had inferred, but I succeeded in tying up on my horse two bags of them which were so heavy that after this I was obliged to go on foot and I also brought another large lot of specimens at Porta Ferrajo, the chief town of the isles.