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only check on some New York Bank. You shall have to [?} who, as they are publishers [?] H M Ravenel
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Aiken S. C. Sept 9 1880
My dear Sir
You referred to the "exact date" of publication of [Cents?] III & IV Fungi Am., I [have?] [?] [?] [?] letters to [?] [contain?] if [possible?]. [Sale?] in NW 1878 [?] [?] that he is [bringing?] the [?]. On [?] 29th he [writes?] that he has sent off my copy. [?] [Young?] it dated 1879 – So it will be safe to say that they were published in [Young?] 1879.
[?] [treasures?] [?] [?] [?] [?] to [?] it. I sent [?] [bills?] in [?].
Very truly yours H. W. R[?]
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Iowa Academy of Natural Sciences. Secretary's Office. Des Moines, Iowa, Feb. 2, 1880.
Officers for 1879-80. ——————Prest. M. W. Thomas, M. D., Vice Prest.: Anatomy, Electricity, etc. Hiram A. Reid, Rec. Sec'y: Zoology, Ethnology, and kindred sciences. Public Lecturer. J. A. Jackson, Cor. Sec'y: Educational Science. John Fraser, Tres'r: Ornithology, and Taxidermist. Wallace Bailey, Curator: Geology and Mineralogy. A. R. Fulton, Librarian: American Antiquities.
Prof. C. E. Bessey:
Dear Sir: I did not happen to see your note in the Register of [?] until today: and I want to thank you for it. "Professor" Paige [needs?] some of our members believe that he could and would do great things for our state museum project, if we would only give him a "send off" as President of our association, to help him in his proposed "scientific" (!) expedition around the world, in the interest of the Chicago Times. And enough of our members were bamboozled by this high pretentious promise of his to make a majority, and elect him to the nominal Presidency. (It is only nominal, for he has never once been present at a meeting of our society.) I opposed the scheme at the time as a sham and a fraud: I know it was a grave mistake – and I am quite sure it couldn't be played on us again.
Many of our own members who voted for Paige do not hesitate to say they consider him "a fraud;" yet, because they were induced to believe that if we gave him the refute
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of our Presidency [it?] would really help along our museum project, they voted for him.
We thus sold [?] more than "dirt cheap." I make the confession for the whole body, for I believe many others feel it so now, who did not see it so when the thing was done. Dr. Thomas and I stood almost alone in open opposition to it.
But our Academy is all right in general aim and plan and purpose. In this "Professor" Paige business only have we sinned. So don't be too hard on us. I wanted to elect Prof. [Hendricks?] of Iowa City, as our President – but the man who had made the big promises (though they were thinner than skimmed milk) carried the day.
If I could see you personally I could explain matters more fully and satisfactorily.
Yours very truly, H. A. Reid.