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Paper.md
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Paper.md
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---
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header-includes:
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- \usepackage{setspace}
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- \AtBeginEnvironment{quote}{\singlespacing}
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- \doublespacing
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title: "Norumbega: The Lives of a Myth"
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title: |
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\huge Eben Norton Horsford
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\huge and the Legend of Norumbega
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author: Jacob Signorovitch
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---
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@@ -13,23 +16,23 @@ unusual structure rises among the trees; a forty foot stone tower, complete
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with spiral staircase and ramparts, weathered and stained with time, looking
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distinctly out of place within earshot of I-95. The story of how it came to be
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there involves Vikings, a baking soda magnate, the discovery of America, and,
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at the center of it all, the mythical city of Norumbega. As one explores the
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at the center of it all, the Legend of Norumbega. As one explores the
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surrounding area, the name appears again and again: a map will tell you the
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structure's name is Norumbega Tower, and running alongside is Norumbega Road.
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Further south, one finds a Norumbega Park, and another road called Norumbega
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Court. This paper will explore how one man in the late 19th century, Eben
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Norton Horsford, combined Norse saga and a mythical New England city into a
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Court. This paper will explore how one man in the late nineteenth century, Eben
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Norton Horsford, combined Norse sagas and a New England *El Dorado* into a
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theory for the original discovery of America, what motivated him to do so, and
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the legacy he left behind.
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The myth of Norumbega originated in the sixteenth century, during the Age of
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The Legend of Norumbega originated in the sixteenth century, during the Age of
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Exploration. To European explorers, it was variously a town, city, or country,
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somewhere along the coast of New England, inhabited by amiable and civilized
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natives. First given the name *Nurumberg* by Giacomo Gastaldi in a 1548 edition
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of Ptolemy's Geography,[@KirsNor98, 34] the myth can be traced back to a
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conflation of two separate accounts. The first is that of Giovanni da
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Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer under King Francis I of
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France.[@GreeneLife37, 4-7] He was one of the first Europeans to explore the
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France. He was one of the first Europeans to explore the
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area around Narragansett Bay in 1524[@KirsNor98, 36, 39], and recounted his
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experiences in a letter to the king. He described a pleasant harbor inhabited
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by friendly and civil natives.[@KirsNor98, 39] They practiced "more systematic
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@@ -37,10 +40,10 @@ cultivation [of crops] than the other tribes," and were "very like the manner
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of the ancients [i.e., western antiquity]."[@KirsNor98, 39] In the letter,
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Verrazzano names the place *refugio*, "on account of its beauty."[@KirsNor98,
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39] Despite Narragansett Bay being quite far from where Norumbega would
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eventually be described, geographical ambiguity allowed his account to become
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eventually be described, geographical ambiguity would allow his account to become
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"at the heart of the Norumbega legend."[@KirsNor98, 39] Specifically, the
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mention of a "more civilized" tribe of natives would become a core aspect of
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the mythical city in all future renditions. The second account, which lends the
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mention of a "more civilized" tribe of natives would continue to be a core aspect of
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the legend in all future renditions. The second account, which lends the
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myth its name and location, is that of Jean Alfonce de Saintonge, a pilot on
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Jacques Cartier's exploration of the Penobscot Bay area.[@KirsNor98, 41]
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Sailing up the Penobscot River, which he called the *Norenbègue*, he described
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@@ -48,7 +51,7 @@ Sailing up the Penobscot River, which he called the *Norenbègue*, he described
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words which sound like Latin and worship the sun, and they are fair people and
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tall."[@KirsNor98, 41] These two accounts, Varrazzano's *refugio* and
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Saintonge's *Norombegue*, eventually merged into a single myth, canonized by
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the cartographer Gastaldi, of an advanced Native American city more similar to
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the cartographer Gastaldi, of an advanced Native American city which shared more in common with
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Europe than its neighbors.[@KirsNor98, 41]
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Over the centuries that followed, more accurate maps and exploration revealed Norumbega
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@@ -69,36 +72,43 @@ monument building would be repeated several times throughout Horsford's life,
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culminating in Norumbega Tower. Horsford's most famous accomplishment, and how
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he was able to fund these projects, would come in 1856 with his invention of a
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revolutionary new baking powder recipe without a fermentation
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step.[@JackHors92, 343] He founded the Rumford Chemical Works, named after the
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Rumford Professorship position he held at Harvard, which would make him a
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fortune.[@JackHors92, 343] While in Cambridge, Horsford became fascinated by
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step.[@JackHors92, 343] He founded the Rumford Chemical Works, named after a
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position he held at Harvard, which would make him a fortune.[@JackHors92, 343] While in Cambridge, Horsford became fascinated by
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the possibility of Vikings in New England. This idea had some
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precedent;[@FlemPicHist95, 1079] in 1841, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote *The
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Skeleton in Armour*, a poem about a Norse warrior whose body was discovered by
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Fall River, Massachusetts.[@LongBall41, 29-41] But it was with Horsford the
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Skeleton in Armour*, a poem interpreting a body discovered in
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Fall River, Massachusetts[^2] to be that of a Norse warrior.[@LongBall41, 29-41] But it was with Horsford the
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idea came to be most associated.[@FlemPicHist95, 1080] In 1887,[@HorsDisc87,
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10] Horsford wrote the dedication for a large bronze statue of
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Erickson,[@GuttVal18, 86] commending him for his early discovery of America. To
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the Viking Explorer Leif Erickson,[@GuttVal18, 86] commending him for his early discovery of America. On
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this point, modern scholars agree; archaeological evidence at L'Anse aux
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Meadows in Newfoundland constitutes a "pre-1492 presence of Europeans in the
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Americas."[@LedgeHorz19, 2] According to Icelandic sagas, it was here Erickson
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built the settlement of *Vinland*. Horsford, however, believed Erickson to have
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sailed far further south after making the continent, all the way down to Cape
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Cod. He explains his reasoning:
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Cod. He defended his reasoning by referring to the sagas:
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> ...if you will be kind enough to hold up to your mind's eye, now for a
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> moment, any familiar map of North America. Look at the east coast. From
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> Greenland, along the line to the southwest, you will notice three projections
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> into the sea. They are Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Cape Cod.[@HorsDisc87,
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> 9]
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> I might dwell at some length, if time would permit, upon other interesting
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> features of the relations of the Sagas:
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> 1. For example, one of very great significance is that of the extraordinary
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> height of the tide at high water [...] In the bottom of Massachusetts Bay,
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> as you know, the tides rise from ten to twelve feet, while south of Cape
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> Cod peninsula they rise but from three to five feet.
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> [...]
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> 5. Of the grapes which the German Tyrker, who was of Leifs crew, discovered,
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> and of which, as a native of a wine country, weary of his ship's rations,
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> he doubtless over-ate, there were then, as now, a plenty on the shores of
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> Massachusetts Bay and along the St. Lawrence. Jacques Cartier speaks of
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> them as early as 1535.
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He disregards Newfoundland as an option, saying "[it] is bold, rocky,
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mountainous, of meagre vegetation, and with few beaches."[@HorsDisc87, 10] How
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Horsford was received in the moment, if those around him were surprised by this
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theory, is unclear. But when he published the dedication, titled *The Discovery
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of America by Northmen*, his theories drew the ire of contemporary historians.
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One author, Justin Winsor, found issue with Horsford's theory that Vikings had
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left a noticeable imprint on Native American language:
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Here, Horsford also mentions that he has read the accounts of Cartier; this may
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have helped him later make the connection between Vikings and Norumbega. But
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for now, he was only interested in Erickson. When he published the dedication,
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titled *The Discovery of America by Northmen*, his theories drew the ire of
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contemporary historians. Presumably, many were upset a professor of Chemistry
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thought himself more knowledgeable in their field than they were. One
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author, Justin Winsor, found issue with Horsford's theory that Vikings had left
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a noticeable imprint on Native American language:
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> Nothing could be slenderer than the alleged correspondences of languages, and
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> we can see in Horsford's *Discovery of America by Northmen* to what a
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@@ -120,13 +130,13 @@ and huts, or cots."[@HorsProb89, 14] He states they are arranged "'some nearer,
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some farther from the water,' as the sagas say,"[@HorsProb89, 14] again drawing
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on the sagas as his primary source. Outside of just Horsford, there existed a
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wider movement around the promotion of Leif Erickson in the late nineteenth
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century. Newspapers at the time rarely mention Leif without mentioning his
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century. Newspapers at the time rarely mention Erickson without mentioning his
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preceding Columbus,[^1] which may have been part of a widespread anti-Italian
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and anti-Catholic sentiment. Several other proponents of Vikings in New England
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also believed "the 'Aryan race,' in particular its 'Teutonic' [i.e., German]
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branch, was superior to all others."[@FlemPicHist95, 1078] Horsford, however,
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seems to have only been interested in Leif and never brings up racial
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superiority or a disdain for Columbus. In fact, he states that Leif's prior
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seems to have only been interested in Erickson and never brings up racial
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superiority or a disdain for Columbus. In fact, he states that Erickson's prior
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discovery of America "would dim, by the measure of the faintest Indian-summer
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haze only, the transcendent glory of the life-work of Columbus."[@HorsDisc90,
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16] So, while some of the enthusiasm around Horsford's work may have been
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@@ -189,7 +199,7 @@ reasons:
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These convictions say much about the man Horsford was. As already seen from his
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comments on Columbus, he was not motivated by dislike of the Italians; rather,
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he sought to bring "the glory" of Leif's discovery to Massachusetts, his home
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he sought to bring "the glory" of Erickson's discovery to Massachusetts, his home
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for the majority of his working life. Second, he is remarkably humble in his
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theories; this is particularly evident in his second point, and to an extent
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the third. He accepts that "the trustworthiness of my conclusions
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@@ -201,14 +211,24 @@ plaque at the base of the tower does not bear his name.
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Eben Norton Horsford would die two years after *The Discovery* was published,
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on January first, 1893.[@AdamsMemBiog08, 103] He believed himself a pioneer; at
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the cutting edge of discovery, the first breakthrough in a movement that would
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long outlive him. After his death, however, there seemed to be little interest
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around his ideas. His biographers mostly gloss over the veracity of his
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theories, focusing more on his achievements in chemistry, and his large and
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generous donations to various colleges in the area.[@JackHors92, 345] The tower
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remains. A century of wind and rain have made its words near impossible to
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read, and trees now obscure it from the river.
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long outlive him. After his death, however, there was little interest in
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furthering Horsford's ideas. His biographers mostly gloss over the veracity of
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his theories, focusing more on his considerable achievements in chemistry,
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large and generous donations to various colleges, and support for women's
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education.[@JackHors92, 345] The tower remains. Built to inspire an awe of
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history, it now draws confused second glances in the rear-view mirror. A
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century of wind and rain have washed out its words, and the trees it once
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dominated now cast it in shadow.
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[^1]: Springfield Weekly, 1893
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[^2]: Unfortunately the building the body had been stored in burned down, and
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so did not last long enough to be identified by modern
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science.[@HorsDisc87, 30]
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*.*](tower_old.jpg){width=80%}
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*.*](tower_new.jpg){width=80%}
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\pagebreak
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\singlespace
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# References
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Reference in New Issue
Block a user