.KT. 25.] AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 21 



summer of 1836 I was appointed botanist to a great 

 South Pacific exploring expedition, which met with 

 all manner of delays in fitting out, changes in com- 

 manders, etc., until finally, in the spring of 1838, 

 Lieutenant Wilkes was appointed to the command, 

 the number and size of the vessels cut down, and the 

 scientific corps more or less diminished. The assis- 

 tant botanist, William Rich, an appointment of the 

 Secretary of the Navy, was to be left out. I resigned 

 in his favor, having been about that time appointed 

 professor of natural history in the newly chartered 

 University of Michigan. As I had thus far done 

 fully half the work. Dr. Torrey invited me to be joint 

 author in " Flora of North America." The first part 

 was printed and issued in July, the second in October, 

 1838, at our joint expense, my share being contributed 

 from the pay I had been receiving while waiting 

 orders as botanist of the exploring expedition. 



By this time we had come to see that we did not 

 know enough of the original sources to work up the 

 North American flora properly, and as Dr. Torrey 

 could not get away from home, I was determined 

 to get abroad and consult some of the principal 

 herbaria. On being appointed professor in the Uni- 

 versity of Michigan, which had as yet no buildings, I 

 made it understood that I must have a year abroad. 

 The trustees of the university in this view gave me, 

 in the autumn of 1838, a year's leave of absence, a 

 salary for that year of fifteen hundred dollars, and piit 

 into my hands five thousand dollars with which to lay a 

 foundation for their general library. I sailed early in 

 November, 1838, in the packet-ship Philadelphia, for 

 Liverpool ; went direct from Liverpool to Glasgow ; 

 was guest of Dr. William J. Hooker till Christmas — 



