CHARLES WILKES 
221 
Passed-Midshipman James W. E. Reid. She was lost 
at an early period in the voyage, about the 1st of May, 
1839, and all on board perished. 
The tender, Flying Fish, was a similar craft, but still 
smaller, only 96 tons. She was commanded by Mr. 
Samuel R. Knox, and did not complete the cruise, having 
been sold at Singapore. 
The Relief was a store-ship which, although new, was 
an unwieldy vessel, built only for carrying cargo. She 
was commanded by Lieutenant A. K. Long and carried 
two of the civilian staff. She was sent home early in 
the cruise, having proved a drag on the other ships on 
account of her slowness. 
In command of such a squadron, with such a history, 
Captain Wilkes set out on a beautiful day with a smooth 
sea and light wind, but naturally enough a prey to dark 
forebodings. He says : 
“ It required all the hope I could muster to outweigh 
the intense feeling of responsibility that hung over me. 
I may compare it to that of one doomed to destruction.” 
On February 17th, 1839, the squadron was united in 
Orange Harbour, Nassau Bay, in the extreme south of 
Tierra del Fuego. There the Vincennes was left at 
anchor, the Relief was sent to Magellan Strait to carry out 
surveys, and the other vessels sailed for the Antarctic 
ice. Wilkes, himself, went in the Porpoise, accompanied 
by the Sea Gull, under Lieutenant Johnson, to explore 
the southeast side of Palmer Land, while the Peacock 
and Flying Fish were dispatched to the westward as far 
as the Ne Plus Ultra of Cook in 106 0 W. Both parties 
sailed on February 25th, the mind of the leader again 
greatly depressed with the thought of the difficulties be- 
fore him. 
