Natio/ial Scientific and Educational /iistitittions. 2S9 



became acquainted with John I^edyard, of Connecticut, a man of genius, 

 of some science, and of fearless courage and enterprise, who had accom- 

 ]')anied Captain Cook on his voyage to the Pacific. ' ' I suggested to him, ' ' 

 writes Jefferson, "the enterprise of exploring the western part of our con- 

 tinent b}' passing through St. Petersburg to Kamchatka, and procuring 

 a passage thence in some of the Russian vessels to Nootka Sound, whence 

 he might make his w-ay across the continent to the United States." He 

 proceeded to within 200 miles of Kamchatka, and was there obliged to 

 take up his winter quarters, and when preparing in the spring to resume 

 his journey, he was arrested by an officer of the E^mpress of Russia, and 

 carried back in a closed carriage to Poland. "Thus," says Jefferson, 

 ' ' failed the first attempt to explore the western part of our northern 

 continent." 



In a letter to Bishop Madison, dated Paris, July 19, 17SS, Jefferson 

 tells the story of Ledyard's failure, and of his departure on an expedition 

 up the Nile. "He promises me," continues Jefferson, "if he escapes 

 through his journey, he will go to Kentucky and endeavor to penetrate 

 westwardly to the South Sea." Ledyard died in Africa. 



The propo.sed expedition of Ledyard, though undertaken at the instance 

 of the American minister in Paris, can scarcely be regarded as a govern- 

 mental effort. It is of interest, however, as leading up to the second 

 attempt, which also was inspired and placed on foot b}' Jefferson. 



In 1792, [writes Jefferson,] I j^roposed to the American Philosophical Society, 

 that we should set on foot a snl)scription to engage some competent person to explore 

 those regions in the opposite direction —that is, by ascending the Missouri, crossing 

 the Stony Mountains, and descending the nearest fiver to the Pacific' 



Captain Meriwether Lewis, being then stationed at Charlottesville on the recruit- 

 ing service, warmh^ solicited me to ol)tain for him the execution of that object. I 

 told him that itw^as proposed that the person engaged should be attended by a single 

 companion only, to avoid exciting alarm among the Indians. This did not deter 

 him, but Mr. Andrd Michaux, a professed botanist, author of the Flora Boreali- 

 Americana, and of the Histoire des Chenes de I'Amerique, offering his services, 

 they wx-re accepted. He received his instructions, and when he had reached Ken- 

 tucky in the i^ro-secution of his journey he was overtaken ])y an order from the 

 minister of France, then at Philadelphia, to relincjuish the e\]K-dition and to ])ursue 

 elsewhere the botanical inquiries on which he was emploved bv the (Government, 

 and thus failed the second attempt to explore that region. ' 



'Jefferson does not mention in this connectioii the well-known fact that he himself 

 became personally responsible for raising the sum of i,ocxj guineas from private 

 .sources to secure the sending out of this expedition. 



-The late Doctor Asa Gray, in a letter written to me shortly before his death, 

 remarks: "I have reason to think that IMichaux suggested to Jefferson the expedi- 

 tion which the latter was active in sending over to the Pacific. I wonder if he put 

 off Michaux for the sake of having it in American hands." 



I lliiiik it is sufficiently evident from what has been written, that the project had 



been considered by Jeffenson long before jNIichaux came into America. A statement 



parallel to that of Jefferson is found in the brief biography of Michaux prefixed by 



Professor C. S. Sargent, to his reprint of the Journal of Andrd Michaux, publi.slied 



NAT MUS 97, PT 2 19 



