Early Geographers of the United States 



395 



miles of hydrographic surveys on the 

 streams and coast of Oregon, and one 

 thousand five hundred miles laid down 

 along the land and icy barrier of the 

 Antarctic Continent. Numerous islands 

 of doubtful existence were searched for, 

 shoals examined, and reefs discovered 

 and charted ; also many harbors were 

 surveyed and several for the first time 

 made known to the world. The lati- 

 tudes and longitudes of the ports visited 

 were determined with all possible pre- 

 cision, and a large number of the doubt- 

 ful points in the geography of the Pacific 

 cleared up. All this work was done 

 with the accompaniment of innumera- 

 ble dangers by land and by sea. The 

 personal adventures alone would fill a 

 volume both startling and interesting 

 in the extreme. 



The large number of charts produced 

 from the records of this cruise evince 

 alike the energy and industry of the 

 commander and all his assistants. 



There might be mentioned as a sequel 

 to the Wilkes Expedition an examina- 

 tion of the Te Pito Te Henua (Easter) 

 Island in the South Pacific Ocean, which 

 took place under Lieutenant (now Rear 

 Admiral) F. M. Symonds, U. S. N., 

 while on duty as navigator of the U. S. 

 ship Mohican in 1887. 



The expedition was mainly in the in- 

 terest of ethnology and generally pre- 

 historic data, but quite an amount of 

 geographical literature was added to our 

 store in the Navy Department and pub- 

 lished on the charts of the Hydrographic 

 Office. The Mohican brought back to 

 Panama the famous Easter Island statue, 

 and the U. S. ship Galena, which vessel 

 the lecturer had the honor to command, 

 continued its passage to the Smithsonian 

 Institution, where a study of it has 

 added data to the scientific literature of 

 that institution. 



EXPEDITION TO THE DEAD SEA 



One of the early scientific expeditions 

 fitted out by the United States was that 

 for the exploration of the Dead Sea. 



It was purely a naval expedition, and 

 the selection of this branch of the pub- 

 lic service to do the work was wise and 

 economical. By education and famil- 

 iarity with instruments of precision, 

 naval officers were well fitted to make 

 the surveys and handle the delicate 

 questions of international comity that 

 were likely to arise at that time in a 

 country as turbulent as was that of the 

 Ottoman government, with which its 

 commander was required to deal. Fur- 

 thermore, the general handiness and 

 adaptability of the sailors, as well as 

 their military training, made them sin- 

 gularly well suited for this class of 

 work. 



Lieutenant W. F. Lynch, U. S. N., 

 was given charge of the expedition, 

 and, indeed, he might be said to have 

 conceived it. He was assisted by Lieu- 

 tenant J. B. Dale and Passed Midshipman 

 Richmond Aulick, U. S. N., two most 

 efficient young officers. The U. S. ship 

 Supply was assigned to carry the party 

 to Syria, and left the United States for 

 its destination November 26, 1847. 



This novel expedition returned to 

 the United States after an absence of 

 nearly a year, its officers and men hav- 

 ing overcome almost insurmountable 

 difficulties. One of the officers, Lieu- 

 tenant Dale, unfortunately succumbed 

 to the fatigue, privation, and sickness 

 incident to the cruise and gave up his 

 life to the cause. 



Besides a report that may be consid- 

 ered classic in character, Lieutenant 

 Lynch brought back with him a large 

 number of specimens pertaining to many 

 of the sciences allied to geography. 



The volume comprising the summary 

 of the researches made by the intelli- 

 gent officers of the party may be found 

 in nearly every scientific library of the 

 country. 



EXPLORATION OF THE VALLEY OF 

 THE AMAZON 



In 1850 Lieutenant William L. Hern- 

 don, U. S. N., who had made a reputa- 



