378 SPENCER FULLERTON BAIRD 
following spring Kennicott died very suddenly of heart 
disease as he was about to embark on an exploration of 
the unmapped part of the upper Yukon. The work was 
carried out to the best of their ability by his companions 
and the expedition so far as its scientific results are 
concerned was a success. 
The following letter, though out of its chronological 
order, seems most appropriately placed here: 
From R. McFarlane to Miss Lucy H. Baird. 
Fort St. James, Stuart Lake, B. C., 
11th February, 1888. 
Dear Miss Barrp 
On the 8th inst. I was glad to receive your kind and interesting 
letter of 16th November last. 
The former times and Smithsonian occupations in which so many 
of the Hudson Bay Company’s officers were engaged, especially in 
the far North to which you so kindly refer, were indeed bright and 
joyful, and occasionally even exciting; while they have since fre- 
quently proved a source of pleasant reminiscences. From time to 
time, however, we who still survive have experienced no little regret 
as one after another of the “‘ Northern Band” has taken his departure 
on the inevitable journey to that land from which no traveller ever 
returns. Our first great loss was that of the jolly and warmhearted 
and zealous Kennicott in 1866. He was followed by B. R. Ross in 
1874; then Sibbeston left us in 1880; Hardisty in 1881; Taylor in 
1883; and Lockhart in 1887. 
Sincerely yours, 
R. McFar.tane. 
Just before the organization of Kennicott’s party, 
January 24th, 1865, the great fire at the Smithsonian 
building occurred. Though much that was valuable was 
destroyed, the fireproof flooring of the second story of 
