436 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1818. 



passage of the canoe. Captain 

 Tuckey and his companions were 

 under the necessity of travelling 

 on foot along the banks of the 

 river ; and it was not long before 

 fatal fevers began to manifest 

 themselves. The captain, on Sep- 

 tember 9th, found himself obliged 

 to turn his back on the river. 

 Professor Smith had as yet pre- 

 served his health ; but within four 

 days he was himself attacked with 

 a fatal disease. He was taken ill 

 before they reached the vessels. 

 Becoming dangerously indis- 

 posed, he was at length carried 

 on board, but he now refused to 

 take any thing either in the form 

 of food or medicine. On Sept. 

 21st, he became delirious, and 

 died on the following day. 



John Cramh, born at Exeter 

 in 1785, was the son of poor pa- 

 rents, of whom he lost his father 

 at the age of ten. His mother, 

 unable to take upon herself the 

 care of his education, consigned 

 him to the care of an uncle, with 

 with whom he passed six years. 

 Notwithstandincf the disadvan- 

 tages of his situation, his natural 

 genius soon began to display it- 

 self; and in the little leisure which 

 was allowed him, he drew up cor- 

 rect and classical descriptions of 

 all the insects which he was able 

 to procure. He also, by his un- 

 ' aided exertions, acquired a know- 

 ledge of the Latin and French 

 languages, so that he was able to 

 imderstand the descriptions of 

 the zooloc;ical writers that were 

 written in them. Being appren- 

 ticed by his uncle to a shoemaker, 

 at its conclusion he went to Lon- 

 don, probably with the idea of 

 renouncing Iiis trade, and devot- 

 ing himself to a life of science ; he 



was, however, compelled to leave 

 the capital, and resumed his me- 

 chanical occupation in his native 

 county. Shortly after his return, 

 he married, probably to a person 

 of some property, since we are 

 informed that his domestic cir- 

 cumstances were so much im- 

 proved by this event, as to enable 

 him to consign his business en- 

 tirely to his journeymen, while 

 he devoted his own time and at- 

 tention almost exclusively to the 

 pursuit of natural history. He 

 commenced his career as an au- 

 thor about this period, by some 

 short essays in the " Weekly Ex- 

 aminer;" and he gradually ac- 

 quired a collection of subjects in 

 natural history, the reputation of 

 which extended to the metro- 

 polis. Dr. Leach, of the Bri- 

 tish Museum, in company with 

 other naturalists, visited Mr. 

 Cranch, and expressed his ad- 

 miration of his collection of 

 shells, Crustacea, insects, birds, 

 &c. all assembled by himself, and 

 disposed with the greatest accu- 

 racy ; and he found him con- 

 versing on all subjects connected 

 with natural history, with mo- 

 desty, but with that confidence 

 which is the result of know- 

 ledge. 



When the expedition to the 

 Zaire was planned, Mr. Cranch 

 was immediately thought of as 

 a person peculiarly fitted for the 

 undertaking ; and the offer being 

 made to him he immediately ac- 

 cepted it, though not without 

 " some painful struggles with his 

 feelings," probably owing to a 

 presentiment that he was not 

 likely to return. His ardour, 

 however, did not relax during 

 the short period in which he was 



enabled 



