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  James 
  D 
  wight 
  Dana. 
  

  

  to 
  the 
  Exploring 
  Expedition 
  then 
  about 
  to 
  be 
  sent 
  by 
  the 
  gov- 
  

   ernment 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  to 
  the 
  Southern 
  and 
  Pacific 
  oceans 
  

   under 
  the 
  command 
  of 
  Commodore 
  Charles 
  Wilkes. 
  The 
  invi- 
  

   tation, 
  when 
  first 
  received 
  in 
  1836, 
  was 
  refused, 
  but 
  on 
  the 
  

   urgent 
  solicitation 
  of 
  Dr. 
  Asa 
  Gray, 
  then 
  expecting 
  to 
  go 
  as 
  

   Botanist, 
  the 
  decision 
  was 
  reconsidered 
  and 
  finally 
  the 
  position 
  

   accepted. 
  He 
  was 
  disappointed 
  in 
  failing 
  to 
  have 
  the 
  com- 
  

   panionship 
  promised, 
  but 
  subsequent 
  events 
  brought 
  the 
  two 
  

   men 
  closely 
  together 
  and 
  Dr. 
  Gray 
  remained 
  an 
  intimate 
  per- 
  

   sonal 
  friend 
  and 
  highly 
  valued 
  scientific 
  associate 
  until 
  his 
  

   death 
  in 
  1888. 
  

  

  The 
  expedition, 
  consisting 
  of 
  five 
  ships, 
  sailed 
  in 
  August, 
  

   1838, 
  and 
  Mr. 
  Dana 
  was 
  connected 
  with 
  it 
  until 
  June, 
  1842. 
  

   The 
  route 
  was 
  briefly 
  as 
  follows. 
  First 
  to 
  Madeira, 
  then 
  to 
  Rio 
  

   Janeiro, 
  down 
  the 
  coast 
  and 
  through 
  the 
  Straits 
  of 
  Magellan, 
  

   after 
  passing 
  which, 
  while 
  on 
  board 
  the 
  " 
  Relief 
  " 
  he 
  nearly 
  

   suffered 
  shipwreck 
  off 
  Noir 
  island, 
  the 
  ship 
  remaining 
  three 
  

   days 
  and 
  nights 
  in 
  extreme 
  peril 
  ; 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  storm 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  

   smaller 
  accompanying 
  vessels 
  was 
  lost. 
  Then 
  to 
  Chili, 
  Peru 
  

   and 
  across 
  to 
  the 
  Paumotus, 
  to 
  Tahiti 
  and 
  the 
  Navigator 
  

   islands 
  ; 
  then 
  to 
  New 
  South 
  Wales, 
  where 
  the 
  naturalists 
  re- 
  

   mained 
  while 
  Commodore 
  Wilkes 
  went 
  into 
  the 
  Antarctic 
  ; 
  then 
  

   to 
  New 
  Zealand, 
  the 
  Fiji 
  islands, 
  where 
  two 
  of 
  the 
  officers 
  were 
  

   murdered 
  by 
  the 
  natives 
  ; 
  to 
  the 
  Sandwich 
  islands, 
  the 
  Kings- 
  

   mill 
  Group, 
  the 
  Caroline 
  islands 
  and 
  thence 
  north 
  to 
  the 
  coast 
  

   of 
  Oregon. 
  Here, 
  near 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  the 
  Columbia 
  river, 
  the 
  

   "Peacock," 
  the 
  ship 
  to 
  which 
  he 
  had 
  been 
  assigned, 
  was 
  

   wrecked; 
  entailing 
  the 
  loss 
  of 
  all 
  his 
  personal 
  effects 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  

   many 
  of 
  his 
  collections. 
  He 
  was, 
  then, 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  party 
  that 
  

   crossed 
  the 
  mountains 
  near 
  Mt. 
  Shasta 
  and 
  made 
  their 
  way 
  

   down 
  the 
  Sacramento 
  river 
  to 
  San 
  Francisco. 
  In 
  his 
  report 
  of 
  

   the 
  expedition 
  he 
  states 
  that 
  the 
  geological 
  features 
  indicated 
  

   the 
  probable 
  presence 
  of 
  gold. 
  This 
  was 
  six 
  years 
  before 
  the 
  

   discovery 
  of 
  gold 
  in 
  California, 
  and 
  rich 
  mines 
  have 
  since 
  been 
  

   discovered 
  in 
  the 
  region 
  the 
  party 
  went 
  over. 
  At 
  San 
  Francisco 
  

   the 
  party 
  were 
  taken 
  aboard 
  the 
  " 
  Yincennes 
  " 
  and 
  the 
  home- 
  

   ward 
  journey 
  was 
  made 
  by 
  way 
  of 
  the 
  Sandwich 
  islands, 
  Singa- 
  

   pore, 
  the 
  Cape 
  of 
  Good 
  Hope 
  and 
  St. 
  Helena. 
  The 
  arrival 
  in 
  

   New 
  York 
  was 
  on 
  June 
  10, 
  1842. 
  

  

  