CRINOIDS BY DOCTOR'S PRESCRIPTION

Charles Wachsmuth was an ill man. This German native immigrated to the United States to pursue a mercantile career and eventually settled in Burlington, Iowa, in an attempt to find a better climate. In his early 30s and with his health continuing to fail, his doctor prescribed fresh air and exercise. According to Keyes (1897, p. 13), the doctor suggested ‘that the collecting of fossils, which abounded in the rocks of the neighborhood, would soon provide an incentive for sufficient exercise’. Thus, this resident of Burlington began to collect fossils from country underlain by perhaps the largest accumulation of crinoidal remains anywhere in the world, the Lower Mississippian Burlington Limestone. The study of fossil crinoids became a consuming interest for Charles Wachsmuth for the next 30 years. With the encouragement of Alexander Agassiz (Harvard University), Wachsmuth's collecting zeal matured to scientific curiosity. Wachsmuth accumulated a fantastic collection of fossil crinoids, which was eventually sent to the Museum of Comparative Zoology. Soon thereafter, Wachsmuth began to develop a second collection, which became even better than the first. Most of Wachsmuth's scientific work was completed in collaboration with Frank Springer. Springer was a native Iowan who developed an interest in natural history and fossils at an early age. Springer began a law practice in Burlington, Iowa, and also began collaborative studies on crinoids with Wachsmuth. In 1873 Springer moved his practice to New Mexico and became established as one of the foremost lawyers in this developing area of the United States.