CHARLES ALEXANDRE LESUEUR. I2 Q 



tended to have only four zoloogists. The fifth was Frangois 

 Peron, a young physician, who made a place for himself after 

 the staff was complete by pointing out the desirability of add- 

 ing a medical naturalist, who should make researches upon 

 the natural history of the human race, or anthropology. Le- 

 sueur caught the prevailing fever and succeeded in joining the 

 expedition by enlisting on board Le Ge'ographe as an aide canon- 

 nier according to one authority, or a novice-timonier (helmsman's 

 apprentice) according to another. A detailed account of this 

 voyage is given by George Ord, in the memoir of Lesueur read 

 by him before the American Philosophical Society in 1849. The 

 two vessels set sail October 19, 1800, touched at the Canaries, 

 and after following around the coast of Africa reached the He 

 de France, now Mauritius, east of Madagascar, on March 15, 

 1801. Long before the ship reached this port the talent of 

 young Lesueur for drawing and painting had become known. 

 When the artists of the scientific corps saw the masterly man- 

 ner in which he had depicted some of the mollusks, and soft 

 zoophytes taken in the early part of the voyage, they declared 

 him worthy of a place in their department. The commander 

 in chief, Nicholas Baudin, accordingly released him from the 

 humble position he occupied among the crew, gave him similar 

 accommodations to those enjoyed by the other artists, and for 

 occupation set him at work illustrating the private journal 

 which the commander kept. This journal, aside from Le- 

 sueur's illustrations, was worthless. Lesueur had made the 

 acquaintance of Peron, who was only three years older than 

 he, and for the rest of the voyage these two young men worked 

 zealously together. 



The commander had by this time proved himself both in- 

 competent and dishonest. Instead of standing from the Ca- 

 naries across the ocean to near Brazil, and from there to the 

 Cape of Good Hope, thus taking advantage of the trade winds, 

 he attempted to follow down the coast, and experienced calms 

 and baffling winds, which caused much loss of time. At Mau- 

 ritius upward of eighty boxes and trunks, among whose con- 

 tents, it was alleged, were quantities of the wines, liquors, and 

 medicines belonging to the ship, were put on shore in charge 

 of the commander's secretary, who soon opened a shop for the 

 sale of these goods. Seven of the scientific corps decided to 

 go no further. These were Bissy, an astronomer ; Andre Mi- 



