
          Washington City, March 12, 1848

My dear Sir,

I have received both your letters of the 8th
and 9th, and feel pleasure in making a satisfactory
reply. I have good reasons for believing that I
shall receive aid from the government in carrying
on the work, and am now making my arrangements
in that expectation. Perhaps you will be
able to give me the approximate amount which
we shall require for our botany, as I should like
to include it in the general estimate. Although
Douglas, Nuttall, & Gambel have done a great deal
yet I am persuaded that much remains to be done,
and that such an expedition as I now propose to
make would collect rich material for the work.

Perhaps we could safely base our estimate on
eighty quarto or a hundred and fifty octavo plates.
Mr. Kern of Philadelphia, a brother of the artist who
accompanied the last expedition, will go with me
on this, and from what I have seen of his work
you may anticipate beautiful drawings.

I should have been glad to have some little
conversation with Mr. Nuttall before going out.
        