Account of Captain Franklin's Expedition. 107 



Art, XIV. — Account of the Expedition under Captain Frank- 

 tin, and of the Vegetation of North America, in Extracts 

 of Letters from Dr Richardson, Mr Drummond, and Mr 



Douglas. 



Glasgow, Nov. 26, 1826. 

 Extracts of letters from Captain Franklin and Dr Richardson, dated at 

 their encampment at Fort Franklin, have already been laid before the 

 public. In the communications that we have had from the latter gentle- 

 man, we shall therefore confine ourselves to the relation of such matter 

 as relates to the vegetation of the country. We have the pleasure also to 

 be able to give copies of letters from Mr Drummond, and from Mr Doug- 

 las, which we think will prove equally interesting to our readers. 



W. J. Hooker. 



w Fort Franklin, Great Bear Lake, \0th Nov. 1825. 

 C( Since I wrote to you last, we prosecuted our journey with 

 little intermission, until we arrived in this quarter. Captain 

 Franklin continued his way down to the sea, and had the gra- 

 tifying view of a boundless horizon, clear of ice. This, of 

 course, has raised our hopes of success, and we look forward 

 with some impatience to the lapse of the eight months of win- 

 ter that are yet to come, that we may resume our operations. 

 The nature of our voyage down the stream permitting us to 

 land only twice a-day, unless when we had portages, has pre- 

 vented me from botanizing beyond the encamping or break- 

 fasting places. The additions to my list, therefore, since we 

 entered the district formerly traversed, have not exceeded fif- 

 ty species. Could I visit the Rocky Mountains, (which, in 

 several places, come within a day's journey of Mackenzie 

 River,) in the summer, I could doubtless obtain some novel- 

 ties ; but although I mean to make every exertion to ascend 

 some of their ridges before I return, I am afraid it must ne- 

 cessarily be at too early a season for botanizing. Drummond 

 remained on the Saskatchewan, and notwithstanding that the 

 Indians, in that quarter, have been a little turbulent this year, 

 which will oblige him to make his excursions with caution, I 

 trust that the plans adopted will enable him to ascend the 

 mountains in that latitude with safety, and hope that he will 

 reap an abundant harvest. He is my main stay in the bota- 

 nical and entomological departments, my attention being much 

 directed to other objects. Our collections, previous to reach- 

 ing Cumberland-House, being through a line of country not 



