272 Some Acco2tnt of the lute Mr, Douglas. 



sphere, and prepared them for sending home. On Christmas-day he reached 

 the celebrated island of Juan Fernandez, which he describes as " an enchanting 

 spot, very fertile, and delightfully wooded. I sowed a large collection of gar- 

 den seeds, and expressed a wish they might prosper, and add to the comfort of 

 a second edition of Robinson Crusoe, should one appear." He arrived at 

 Fort Vancouver, on the Columbia, on the 7th of April, 1825. Here an ex- 

 tensive field presented itself to him ; and the excellent manner in which he 

 performed his duty to the Horticultural Society cannot be better exemplified 

 than by referring to the vast collections of seeds which from time to time he 

 transmitted home, along with dried specimens, beautifully preserved, and now 

 forming part of the herbarium in the garden of the Society at Chiswick. Of 

 the genus Plnus he discovered several species, some of which attain to an 

 enormous size. The Pinus Laraberti«w«, which he named in compliment to 

 Aylmer Bourke Lambert, Esq., Vice-President of the Linngean Society, is, 

 perhaps, the largest of the whole. One of these, which had been blown 

 down, measured 215 ft. in length, and 57 ft. 9 in. in circumference, at 3 ft. 

 from the ground. The cones of it, which Mr. Douglas sent home, and which 

 we have seen, were \G in. long, and 11 in. in circumference. The kernel of 

 the seed is sweet and pleasant to the taste, and is eaten by the Indians, either 

 roasted or pounded into coarse cakes for winter store. The resin which exudes 

 from the trees when they' are partly burned, loses its usual flavour, and ac- 

 quires a sweet taste ; in which state it is used by the natives as sugar. Ano- 

 ther species, named by Mr. Sabine, Pinus Douglaszi, attains nearly the size 

 of the above. 



In the spring of 1827 Mr. Douglas traversed the country from Fort Van- 

 couver, across the Kocky Mountains to Hudson's Ba}', where he met Captain 

 (now Sir) John Franklin, Dr. Richardson, and Captain Back, returning from 

 their second overland arctic expedition. With these gentlemen he- came to 

 England in the autumn, bringing with him a variety of seeds, as well as spe- 

 cimens of plants and other objects of natural history. Through the kindness 

 of his friend and patron Mr. Sabine, he was introduced to the notice of many 

 of the leading literary and scientific characters in London ; and shortly after- 

 wards he was honoured by being elected, free of expense, a Fellow of the 

 Linnaean, Geological, and Zoological Societies ; to each of which he coEtri- 

 buted several papers, since published in theii" Transactions, evincing much re- 

 search and acuteness as a naturalist. A handsome offer v/as made to him by 

 Mr. Murray of Albemarle Street, for an account of his travels, which he 

 commenced preparing for the press, but which, we grieve to say, he never 

 completed. Some entertaining extracts from his letters to Dr. Hooker were 

 published in Breivster^s EdinburgJi Journal for Januarj', 1827; and a genus of 

 plants belonging to the natural order Primulacese was dedicated to him .by 

 Professor Lindley, and defined in Brande's Journal for January, 1828 ; but 

 it will scarcely be credited in this enlightened age, when there are so many 

 channels open for communicating information, that the interesting joui'nal of 

 his travels, which we have seen and read, has been allowed to slumber unre- 

 garded in the archives of the Horticultural Society in Regent Street. 



After being in London for two years, Mr. Douglas again sailed for Co- 

 lumbia in the autumn of 1829 ; where he has since been enjoying his favourite 

 pursuit, and adding largely to his former discoveries. We were in expectation 

 of his return by the very ship which has brought us the tidings of his horrible 

 death ; an event the more to be regretted from having been occasioned by cir- 

 cumstances which v/e shudder to contemplate — that of falling into a pit made 

 by the natives of the Sandwich Islands for catching wild bulls, one of the 

 latter being in it at the time. 



Such, we understand, has been the unfortunate destiny of our intrepid friend 

 and countryman, at the early age of thirty-six. Having known him intimately 

 from a boy, we feel a mournful pleasure in looking back to the many agree- 

 able hours we have gpent in his society, and deeply deplore his untimely fate. 

 — W.B.B. 



