«iii:' 



300 ] 



LIV. Xotice rv^ljccihig I he Expedition to Ktw IhlhnuU 

 vmtcitalun for fhe Purpose nf makiiii; liescanheif into 

 "Civograp/i!/ mid Xaiiirfd Il/sfori/. Bij A. L. Jussiku*. 



JNatiual history i? iiidcbtud for its most v;iluablc colluc- 

 tions ancl a,p;irt of its protjress to zealous aiul enlightened 

 travellers", \\.ho have abaiicToueJ their hgnics to traverse di- 

 stant countries,, often desert and little kiiown. We preserve 

 with liratjlucle |ixud rcspeet, in tlie history of science, the 

 iianicsof.theFren'eh uj-turalists who at ditl'ercnt epochs have 

 enrTchccl their countrv with foreign productions, cither alive 

 jHicl'now ii'aturalizcd to our soil, or forming part of the coir 

 lections made for public instruction. Some Iiave written 

 and published the fruit of their labours ; others have fallen 

 a sacrifice to the. fatigue of a long passage, the intemperance 

 ofdiffercntclimijtcs, the a.ttaeksof savage tribes whom they 

 visited. \vi;th a' frienJiv disposition, and sometimes the ob- 

 ]ee£,s ouK''cdnected by them have reached us: sometimes 

 we havTC.io^t both the travellers and their collections,' or we 

 bayc been left in uncertaintv in regard lo the fate of both. 

 TlcVerscs'pf tliiskind have been more frequent than success. 

 WJjat interest, therefore, ought to be excited by these 

 jzcalo.as mcn^, \vli^"deypt^!t^cuijscjv^s .to thc.daj^-rp o/ si^ch 



."'!ent<;qrases-r. , .',"•.!■ '^ •..•,.■■; •■ :; ' '.^ ; .' 



' A\'hcri g'.^ycrm^icnt, in the vear S, ordercd^ an expedition 

 "to T^e^r^ioIIand', under the connnaiid of captain liaudin, 

 iyr.' making .'researches in geography and natural history, 

 'a conimission of the, Institute was charged t-o select co-opc- 

 ratgrs. in this great labour, and to give them the necessary 

 in'sfruciions. . Persons well acquainted with, each depart- 

 ment, who to great knowledge united a decided ta.-te for 

 travelling, were made choice of. Every thing gave reason 

 to expect a successful result : especially when ajuong these 

 travellers there were some who had participated, under the 

 same chief, in the fatigues of a pccceding voyage to Ame- 

 rica, and who did not hesitate to embark again under his 

 ausiiicts. 



These combinations were deranged by some unforeseen 

 circumstances. Several of these navigators w ere obliged by 

 sickness to stop at the Isle of France ; fear of being in want 

 of provisions, and discontent, niade several others remain 

 behind ; and when captain Baudin left that colony he had 



* From ^r.naUi du Museum KiAitonal d'Hutoire N.itiaelk, No. r, 

 Y.ar ;. 



on 



