NICOLAS THOMAS MARION DUFRESNE was an 

 officer in the French navy, and was born at St. Malo 

 in 1729. In 1771 he was commissioned at his own desire to 

 restore to the island of his birth a Tahitian who had accompanied 

 Bougainville to France. He was also charged to ascertain if 

 a continent or islands existed in the Southern Ocean whence 

 useful products might be exported to Mauritius or Reunion. 



The middle of the eighteenth century is approximately the 

 period in which the collection and classification of exotic plants 

 and animals became one of the chief objects of exploratory 

 voyages. This was also one of the aims of the expedition under 

 the command of Marion and Commerson, a botanist who had 

 accompanied De Bougainville, was to have accompanied Marion 

 also. But he was unable to go, so that no botanist and 

 also no zoologist made the voyage. Crozet, however, who was 

 second in command of the Mascarin^ has left not a few observa- 

 tions relating to the birds which he saw at sea during the voyage, 

 or in the countries which he visited. They are embodied in his 

 book Nouveau Voyage a la Mer du Sud. 



The native of Tahiti fell sick shortly after the commencement 

 of the voyage, and was put ashore in Madagascar, where he died. 

 One of the objects of the voyage thus ceased to exist. The first 

 undiscovered land which was sighted after leaving Madagascar 

 was named Terre d'Esprance, and subsequently, by Cook, Prince 



