Botanical Excursion to the Mountains of North Carolina. 9 
the close of February, crossed the Cumberland Mountains early 
in March, reached Knoxville on the 8th, Greenville on the 18th, 
_ Jonesborough on the 19th, and on the 22nd, crossed the Iron 
Mountains into North Carolina, descended Cane Creek [which 
rises in the Roan,] and spent several days in exploring the moun- 
_. tains in the vicinity, with his former guide, Davenport. In 
_ April he returned to Charleston by his usual route; and on the 
13th of August embarked for Amsterdam in the ship Ophir. This 
vessel was wrecked on the coast of Holland, on the L0th.of Oc- 
tober, and Michaux lost a part of the collections he had with 
him: on the 23rd of December, 1796, he arrived at Paris with 
the portion he had saved. ‘This notice of the travels of Michaux 
on this continent, will suffice to show with what untiring zeal 
and assiduity his laborious researches were prosecuted ; it should 
however be remarked, that greater facilities were afforded him, 
in some important respects, than any subsequent botanist has en- 
joyed ; the expenses of his journey having been entirely defrayed 
by the French eoeeaiinlen under whose auspices and direction 
they were underta 
The name of Snes so familiar in the annals of North Amer- 
ican botany, ought, perhaps, to have preceded that of Michaux in 
our brief sketch; since the elder Mr. Fraser, who had visited 
Newfoundland previous to the year 1784, commenced his re- 
searches in the Southern States as early as 1785; and Michaux, 
on his first expedition to vienna in 1787, speaks of hav- 
- travelled in his company for several days. Webelione; how- 
ever, that he did not explore the Alleghany Mount; 1789. 
Under the patronage of the Russian government, he returned to 
this country in 1799, accompanied by his eldest son, and revisit- 
ed the mountains, ascending the beautiful Roan, where, “on 
aspot which commands a tiew of five States, namely, Kentucky, 
Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina, the eye 
ranging to a distance of seventy or eighty miles when the air is 
clear, it was Mr. Fraser’s good fortune to discover and collect 
living specimens of the new and splendid Rhododendron Cataw- 
biense, from which so many beautiful. hybrid varieties have since 
wen obtained by skillful cultivators.”* The father and son re- 
: * * Biographical. Sketch of Joux Fraser, the Botanical Collector 3 in Hooker’ 's Com- 
