JAMES DWIGHT DANA 237 



The last two were pilot boats. Asa Gray had been appointed Bot- 

 anist of the expedition, and it was largely through his influence that 

 Dana was induced to join the scientific staff as Mineralogist and 

 Geologist. The lifelong friendship of these two great men, which 

 was so full of inspiration to both in their long scientific careers, 

 had already begun. Various causes, however, led Gray to resign 

 his position before the departure of the expedition. The limits of 

 this article will not allow any consideration of Wilkes' memorable 

 voyage along the coast of the Antarctic continent, of the important 

 work done by the naval officers of the expedition in charting seas 

 and islands previously unknown, or even of the work of the other 

 naturalists. Only an outline can be given of the journeys, explo- 

 rations, and experiences in which Dana himself had a share. At 

 the start, Dana was assigned to the Peacock, and he shared the 

 fortunes of that vessel most of the time until the shipwreck which 

 ended her career. 



The expedition crossed the Atlantic to Madeira, where Dana 

 had an opportunity for some study of the geology of the island. 

 Then a short visit was paid to the Cape Verde Islands, after 

 which the squadron sailed to Rio Janeiro, where it remained about 

 six weeks. The long stay at Rio was for the purpose of making 

 repairs and taking additional supplies. After leaving Rio, the 

 voyagers doubled Cape Horn, 'and the ships assembled in Orange 

 Harbor on the west side of Nassau Bay. From this point some 

 of the ships sailed southward for exploration in the Antarctic 

 regions, while the Relief, to which Dana had been transferred, 

 was ordered to a cruise in the Strait of Magellan. Unfavorable 

 and violent winds baffled for many days the attempt to enter the 

 strait. The troubles of this part of the expedition culminated in 

 a terrific storm of three days' duration, in which the ship lost all 

 but one of her anchors and very narrowly escaped shipwreck. The 

 Relief then sailed to Valparaiso, and in the course of a few weeks 

 the Vincennes and the Peacock arrived at the same port. Dana 

 and the other naturalists improved the opportunity to make some 

 excursions into the Chilian Andes. From Valparaiso the squadron 

 proceeded northward to Callao, and then sailed westward across 



