Xxxii INSTRUCTIONS. 
by two commissioned officers, and by the parties by whom they were 
collected or prepared, you will cause them to be carefully sealed by 
the said officers, and reserved for such disposition as the Department 
may direct. 
You will adopt the most effectual measures to prepare and preserve 
all specimens of natural history that may be collected, and should 
any opportunities occur for sending home by a vessel of war of the 
United States, copies of information, or duplicates of specimens, or 
any other material you may deem it important to preserve from the 
reach of future accident, you will avail yourself of the occasion, 
forwarding as frequently as may be done with safety, details of 
your voyage and its most material events, at the same time strictly 
prohibiting all communications except to this Department, from any 
person attached to the Expedition, referring to discoveries, or any 
circumstances connected with the progress of your enterprise. 
It is believed that the officers under your command require no 
special advice or direction from this Department. Bearing in mind, 
as they no doubt will, that the undertaking which they are about 
assisting to accomplish, is one that necessarily attracts the attention 
of the civilized world, and that the honour and interests of their 
country are equally involved in its results, it is not for a moment 
doubted that in this, as on all other occasions, they will so conduct 
themselves, as to add to the reputation our navy has so justly acquired 
at home and abroad. 
With the best wishes for the success of the Expedition, and the 
safe return of yourself and your companions, 
I am, very respectfully, 
(Signed) J. K. Paulding. 
To Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, 
Commanding the Exploring and Surveying Expedition, j-c. 
P. S. The accompanying printed list of English words, drawn up 
by Mr. Gallatin, and received from the War Department since these 
instructions were prepared, are intended for Indian vocabularies, 
which can be filled up as circumstances permit, taking care that the 
same words be used in all of them. 
(Signed) J. K. Paulding. 
