LOUIS AGASSIZ 517 



induced the legislature of Massachusetts to grant a 

 large measure of support. Legally, it might belong to 

 the Harvard Corporation, but it was in all essentials 

 a public insitution, free to those who cared to make use 

 of it. 



11. In 1848 Agassiz visited the shores of Lake Journeyto 

 Superior, and in 1850 the Florida reefs. In 1865-1866 



he went with his wife and a company of young natural- 

 ists to Brazil, to explore the waters of the Amazon and 

 other rivers, and meet in life the fishes he had de- 

 scribed so long ago at Munich. One of his assistants 

 on this expedition was William James, afterwards 

 famous as a psychologist. Thanks largely to the aid 

 of Dom Pedro, the Emperor of Brazil, the expedition 

 was extremely successful, and the collection of fishes 

 made was enormous. Agassiz thought he had about 

 1800 new fishes from the basin of the Amazon, but he 

 never found the time and strength to describe them. 

 They are still preserved at the Museum of Compara- 

 tive Zoology, and have been studied by many ichthy- 

 ologists. 



In 1871-1872 Agassiz went in the Coast Survey Hassier 

 vessel Hassier to California by way of Cape Horn. 

 It was a long voyage, and his health had been poor, 

 but he was delighted with the opportunity to see so 

 much marine life. He thought that in the deep sea 

 he would find a fauna resembling that of early geo- 

 logical epochs. In spite of his enthusiasm, however, 

 the state of his health could not be forgotten, and when 

 they finally reached San Francisco, Agassiz was brought 

 home without attempting to see the wonders of Cali- 

 fornia or the Rocky Mountains. 



12. It seemed, indeed, that he was a broken man, 

 but once more his splendid energy declared itself. He 



