RECENT MOLLUSCA OF AUGUSTUS ADDISON GOULD 9 



not known if he exercised this right but, since this author found a 

 number of his types still in the Society's collection, apparently he 

 did not. 



Couthouy busied himself in collecting at the various ports of call 

 and "made careful and suggestive notes of all the interesting species, 

 and especially of the new or doubtful species," with the intention of 

 amplifying them on his return. When the expedition left Samoa, his 

 health began to decline. Wilkes demanded that Couthouy turn over 

 all notes and drawings to him, for Wilkes was preparing a narrative 

 of the voyage (later published in five volumes). Couthouy refused, 

 claiming that his subsequent work would be crippled without them. 

 Wilkes thereupon suspended him and ordered him home "for disobe- 

 dience of orders." 



Gould (1852, p. v) says that "the numerous notes he [Couthouy] 

 had subsequently made from day to day were left in an imperfect 

 state. Still these would have been extremely valuable, especially 

 those relating to the land shells of the Society, Samoa, and Sandwich 

 Islands. But, unfortunately, repeated searches have failed to dis- 

 cover them among the masses of documents pertaining to the Ex- 

 pedition." The journal did not turn up until it was presented to the 

 Boston Society of Natural History in 1931 by Mrs. G. Wigglesworth. 

 It would be interesting indeed to know how she came by the volume, 

 which is entitled "Journal on Board the Vincennes, January 30 to 

 October 29, 1839," and is illustrated with drawings in the text by 

 Couthouy. In a pocket in the front cover there are 27 drawings, 

 mostly by Drayton, along with some miscellaneous notes. 



In the introduction to the journal Couthouy states, "I have con- 

 cluded to adopt the form of a journal which besides a sort of dupli- 

 cate of my notes shall contain a brief notice of daily events aboard 

 ship not immediately relating to my own pursuits." 



The journal reveals an almost immediate and continued dissatis- 

 faction on his part with the cooperation he received from naval per- 

 sonnel. The officers made private collections of materials and Wilkes' 

 strict discipline often interfered with Couthouy's labors. He writes, 

 "That which I anticipated as a sort of pleasure, must be performed 

 as a task of duty." We will not dwell on the small affronts to per- 

 sonal dignity as well as the lack of cooperation he suffered, as com- 

 plaints of this sort seem to have been common from those who served 

 under Wilkes. 



An interesting anecdote passed on to the present author by an offi- 

 cer of Boston's staid Athenaeum, where Couthouy's bearded portrait 

 adorns a wall, is that, while in Tahiti, Couthouy had himself tatooed 

 from neck to foot. As the old Italian saying observes, "If the story 

 is not true, at least it is well devised." If it is true, it may explain 



