A TOUCHING (?) AlH'EAL TO “THE POAVERS THAT BE.” 503 
their long voyages were of the most expensive charac- 
ter, — the Cape of Good Hope, Sydney, in Australia. 
IIong-Kong, and San Francisco. 
“With a reduced complement of officers, the labour of 
surveying has been performed, in addition to all the duties 
of actual service at sea, in regions of the most tem- 
pestuous character.” 
Thus it will be seen that they had been less fortunate 
even than we of the “old John,” as far as fresh provi- 
sions and recreation were concerned; for, while we had 
met with beef, milk, berries, fish, and turnips in the Bay 
of Taousk, with beef, recreation, and flour at Ayan, and 
with spinach in the shape of wild rhubarb at the Tschan- 
tar Islands, they had been forced to depend solely upon 
the Government-ration of salt beef and pork, and bend 
their constant energies to severe and dangerous labour, 
&c. They were still rubbing their hands and talking of 
the end of work and of the fine California potatoes when 
we arrived. 
And now, reader, if you are so unfortunate as to be 
a member of Congress, I take the liberty of asking you 
to think a moment over these last few pages, and see if 
,you cannot reconcile it with your ideas of equity to vote 
for a bill which is now before “your honourable l)odies” 
for the relief of the officers and men of the North Pacific 
Surveying and Exploring Expedition ; and, if you decide 
against us, I can only hope that, if you ever find yourself 
on the sea, it may be in just such an old coffin as the 
everlasting “old John.” And now’ for the little Cooper. 
With this vessel, things seerned to have gone some 
wffiat better: they found an abundance of sweet po- 
