1850 TO 1865 367 
In 1864, the Atlantic cable not having met expecta- 
tions, the Western Union Telegraph Company began to 
consider plans for an overland line via northwest America 
and eastern Siberia to connect with Russian lines already 
extended to the mouth of the Amur river. The diplomatic 
difficulties having been smoothed away, the Company 
was in search of a leader for the exploration of a route 
through the almost unknown regions of western Hudson 
Bay Territory and Russian America to Bering Strait. 
Through the influence of Dr. Cutting and Professor Baird 
attention was drawn to the capabilities of Robert Kenni- 
cott for the work. After some deliberation he accepted 
the offer subject to the provision of permission to take 
along a number of young scientists who, while liable to 
be called on for Telegraph work and paid a nominal 
salary, should have an outfit supplied and be afforded 
opportunity for collecting specimens of Natural History 
for the Smithsonian Institution. 
In her reminiscences, Miss Lucy Baird records the 
following notes on Kennicott: 
‘Robert Kennicott camé to Washington in December, 
1857. His correspondence with my father began in 1853, 
when Kennicott himself was a mere boy of seventeen. 
I imagine the acquaintance originally came through 
Doctor Kirtland in whose family Kennicott was intimate. 
“Robert Kennicott’s tour through the territories of 
the Hudson Bay Company, extending within the Arctic 
Circle and into what was known then as Russian America, 
opened a tremendous field for collection. Besides the 
collections which he made himself, he interested the 
officers of the Hudson Bay Company in the matter; and 
my father’s large correspondence was further augmented 
