60 CorUh—John Jeffrey. 



The [)lants of this season's collecting, 1853, from tlic localities 

 nieutiouod above, were tlie last that Jeffrey sent to Edinljurgh, 

 anil liis eni[)loynient by the association jn'actically ceased at 

 this time, his- original contract being for three years' service. 

 The following 'extract from a letter received by Andrew INIurray 

 in Edinburgh from his brother, W. Murray, who was living at 

 San Francisco, gives a hint of Jeffrey's probable movements : 



"San FRANCisro, 19 May, 1854- 

 "^ P'yesterday received your letter enclosing one for Jeffrey. * * * 

 "I went again to McKinlay, Garrioch & Co., and they have deciphered 

 his address to be Fort Yuma, on the Gila River (just where it joins the 

 Colorado), where he says he will probably be until the 1st of August, and 

 directs his letters to be forwarded by Adams & Co.'s Express to the care 

 of their agent at San Diego, Mr. F. Ames. 



" I accordingly put his letter in an envelope addressed in conformity 

 with these instructions and took it to Adams & Co.'s Express. * * * 

 "They, McKinlay, Garrioch & Co., say he is a hard working, enthu- 

 siastic, very steady, and temperate man, and that just before starting for 

 Sail Diego he was some three weeks arranging the proceeds of his excur- 

 sions, and they doubt not that he despatched them. He had been for 

 some weeks sick before that, which accounts for jiart of the long stay in 

 San Francisco. * * * 



" I met the consul just now and he said he had received another letter 

 for Jeffrey. I forwarded it along with yours. The consul says that he 

 (Jeffrey) never called at the consulate ; that there had been quite a budget 

 of letters and other things there for him, which have since been forwarded 

 to him hy McKinlay, Garrioch & Co. at the same time as your previous 

 letter. * * * 



"You will possihly tliink that I ought to have been able to tin d out 

 Jeffrey while he was here, but at that time I neither knew that McKinlay, 

 Garrioch &, Co. were acquainted with him, nor that Allan, Lowe it Co. 

 were connected with tlie Hudson's Bay Co." 



Mr. John Uallender, who knew Jeifre}' at Fort Vancouver in 

 1852 and 1853, writing to Andrew Murray under date of Feb- 

 ruar}' 1, 1854, gives a brief outline of Jeffrey's movements in those 

 years, and says : 



" If this can be in any way of service to you I shall be most happy, as 

 I feel very anxious respecting the fate of poor Jeffrey, knowing well that 

 if he followed up the route hinted to me he had some dangers of no very 

 trilling nature to contend with." 



No further information about Jeffrey appears to have reached 

 Edinburgh, but to those who know tlie terrible chances taken 

 by a man attempting a trip to Yuma in tlie fifties, alone, there is 

 little doubt that he perished of thirst upon the Colorado Desert. 



