ARROGANCE OF OFFICERS 27 



deed, of minds devoid of all egotistic aims and gain, may grow 

 into mighty achievements which pay interest on the outlay a 

 thousandfold. — It should be stated here that during the ten 

 years in Siberia, when every one lived as he pleased and de- 

 manded and received so much homage from the ignorant mob 

 as suited his notions, the greater number of our officers com- 

 pletely forgot themselves and, through habit, fell into the 

 delusion of being infallible or feeling insulted when anyone 

 mentioned anything of which they were ignorant. Even Captain 

 Spanberg's attitude gives a clear proof of this, as he conducted 

 himself towards the representatives of the Academy of Sciences 

 in a similar manner. ^° 



The reasons for which I long ago concluded that we had been 

 sailing close to and along the land I shall now place before every- 

 body for intelligent judgment, just as I presented them so often 

 on our trip, but in vain, to the naval officers, viz. : We saw fre- 

 quently floating from the north, and many times in large quanti- 

 ties, various seaweeds ^^ {Fuci), especially the sea oak {Quercus 



50 Instead of "in a similar manner" the MS reads "in such a manner 

 that, while it might be said he knew he was a captain, nevertheless he 

 had not yet forgotten the lowest tricks of a sailor." 



51 Dr. Marshall A. Howe, of the New York Botanical Garden, to whom 

 I submitted the list of seaweed names used by Steller, has very kindly 

 furnished me with valuable notes on their identity, from which I quote 

 the following: "I have considered the evidence presented in your letter, 

 and I think you may be quite right in believing Steller's Quercus marina 

 [the MS. has " quercum marinum glandiferam Bauhini"] to have been 

 Fucus evanescens [see, above, footnote 39]. Alga dentata Raji was probably 

 a species of Odonthalia, as you suggest." (As Odofithalia aleutica (Mart.) 

 seems to be more common than O. kamtschatica I. G. Ag., I suppose the 

 former species may have been meant.) 



By Fuci membranacei calyciformes Dr. Howe thinks Steller is most 

 likely to have meant Constaniinea Rosa-marina (S. G. Gmel.) Post, et 

 Rupr., referring to S. G. Gmelin's "Historia fucorum," St. Petersburg, 

 1768, p. 102, PI. 5, Fig. 2. 



According to him the Fucus clavae effigie was probably Nereocystis 

 Priapus (S. G. Gmel.) Saunders, and Pallas' footnote on Gmelin could 

 doubtless be completed by adding that the reference is to be found on 

 p. 231. 



Tournefort's Fucus lapathi sanguinei foliis is the Atlantic Hydro- 



