THE BOTANISTS OF PHILADELPHIA. 105 



Dr. Marshall's correspondents appear chiefly to have 

 been Descemet, of Paris ; John Reichert, of Belvidere ; 

 Grimwood, Hudson, Barrett and Dr. Lettsom, of London; 

 Richard Barnett, of Dublin ; Thomas Russell, of Middle- 

 town, Connecticut, and Joseph Watson, of Charleston, South 

 Carolina. The last supplied him with many southern 

 plants for shipment abroad. In addition to plants, he 

 shipped other natural objects, as shells, live tortoises, frogs, 

 birds' eggs, etc. 



His letters speak of many trips of which the journal 

 has not been preserved. On one of these he went to Pitts- 

 burg, then south through Kentucky and Tennessee, then 

 over the mountains into South Carolina to Charleston. 

 From thence he proceeded into the western part of Georgia 

 and returned to Charleston, and thence by water to Phila- 

 delphia, and says : " Notwithstanding the great fatigue, 

 danger and expense in traveling, I have in contemplation 

 a second and more extensive route." 



We have seen that Humphry Marshall was interested 

 in having the country west of the Mississippi explored in 

 search of plants and other specimens of scientific interest, 

 and that he wrote to Dr. Franklin and to Sir Joseph Banks, 

 stating that his nephew was willing to undertake such a 

 trip. We also know that for at least fifteen years before the 

 Lewis and Clarke expeditions started for this purpose, that 

 Thomas Jefferson was active in endeavoring to procure a 

 suitable person to lead such an expedition, and to raise the 

 funds to defray his expenses. The following letters from 

 Dr. Caspar Wistar, of Philadelphia, are of much interest in 

 this connection. In a postscript to a letter to Humphry 

 Marshall, dated May 27. 1792, Dr. Wistar inquires: "Has 





