S26 MIC H 
fieux ; and in 1779 he took a lodging In the Jardin des 
Plantes, at Paris. He then paid a vifit to England, and, 
on his return to France, brought with him a great num¬ 
ber of trees, which he planted in the gardens of Le Mon- 
nier and the marlhal de Noailles. In 1780 he made an 
excuriion to the mountains of Auvergne, with feveral 
other botanifts ; and, traverfing the Pyrenees, palled into 
Spain, whence he brought back feeds, which were diftri- 
buted to different gardens and botanifts. 
About this time M. Roufl'eau, a native of Ifpahan, 
and nephew of the celebrated Roufl'eau of Geneva, ar¬ 
rived at Paris, having been appointed conful in Perfia ; and 
Michaux, on the recommendation of Le Monnier, was 
appointed to accompany him to that country. In 178a 
he departed with the conful, proceeding firft to Aleppo, 
and thence to Bagdad, where they arrived after a jour¬ 
ney of forty days acrofs the defert. At Bagdad, Michaux 
uitted the conful, and traverfed thofe diftridts, once fo 
ourifhing, but now entirely defolate, between the Tigris 
and the Euphrates, in his way to Bafforah, where he re¬ 
mained fome months to procure information refpedting 
the country, and to perfedl himfelf in the Perfian lan¬ 
guage, of which he afterwards compiled a dictionary. At 
this time Perfia was a prey to civil wars, and the Arabs 
were laying wafte the frontiers. Michaux endeavoured 
to enter by Bufheer, a port of the Perfian Gulf; but he 
was taken and plundered by thofe roving hordes, who 
left him nothing but his books. Stripped of all he pof- 
fefi'ed, and without refources, he was at a lofs whither to 
turn, -when he was claimed by Mr. Latouche, the Englifli 
■'conful at Bafforah, who, though peace had not been con¬ 
cluded between England and France, generoufly fur- 
nifhed him with the means of purfuing his journey. He 
now fucceeded in an attempt to gain Schiras ; and, after 
remaining there fome time, proceeded to Ifpahan. After 
" this he employed two years in traverfing Perfia, from the 
Indian to the Cafpian Sea; and, in the courfe of this ex¬ 
pedition, he found that the provinces fttuated between 
the thirty-fifth and the forty-fifth degrees of latitude, are 
the native countries of the greater part of the trees and 
plants which grow in our gardens and fields. He alfo 
acquired information on the culture of the date ; and 
eltablilhed a very curious fadt, mentioned by Ksempfer, 
namely, that the male flowers of that tree, even when 
kept a year, are ftill fit to fecundate the female. Although 
botany was his principal objedt, he did not negledl what¬ 
ever might be interefting to the other branches of fcience. 
He brought back with him a very curious monument, in 
perfedt prefervation, found at the diftance of a day’s jour¬ 
ney below Bagdad, among the ruins of a palace known 
by the name of the Garden of Semiramis, near the Tigris, 
which is now in the cabinet of antiquaries in the national 
library at Paris. 
Michaux returned to Paris in the beginning of the year 
1785, bringing with him a fine collection of plants and 
feeds. He was received with peculiar diftindlion by men 
of fcience, who thought that the fervices he had ren¬ 
dered to his country delerved a national reward; but he 
requefted only to be fent on a new journey. The chief 
objedt: of his wifhes was to return to Afia, that he might 
vifit the countries to the eaft of the Cafpian Sea, and after¬ 
wards proceed to Thibet, and the kingdom of Cafhmere, 
the produdtions of which are little known. His folicita- 
ticns, however, were fruitlefs ; but government, anxious' 
to enrich France with various trees which grow in North 
America, gave him a commiflion for that purpofe, and he 
let out on the ift of September, 1785. In the fame year he 
arrived at New York, where he fixed his principal relidence 
for nearly two years, and eftablilhed a garden in the neigh¬ 
bourhood. During this time he traverfed New Jerley, 
Pennfylvania, and Maryland ; and in the firft year fent 
home twelve parcels of feeds, five thoufand trees, and fe¬ 
veral Canadian partridges, which multiplied greatly at 
Verfailles. In September 1787 he proceeded to Carolina, 
and, having purchafied a piece of gropnd not far from 
A U X. 
Charleftown, which he Intended as a nurfery for the feed®, 
and plants he might be able to colled!, he fet out, in 
April 1788, to examine the country near the fources of 
the Savannah-river. He then refolved to extend his ex- 
curfions to the very fummit of the Allegany Mountains | 
for which purpofe he eftabliihed a friendly intercom!© 
with the Indians, from whom he obtained new guides, 
with whom he afcended the rivers that fall into the Sa¬ 
vannah. Being arrived at the fources of the river Ten- 
naflee, on the other fide of the mountains, he difcovered 
a delightful plain, a mile in extent, covered with deli¬ 
cious llrawberries, of which he collected roots that have 
perfedtly fucceeded in France. He now returned to 
Charleftown, after having travelled three hundred leagues 
acrofs Carolina and Georgia. In the following autumn 
he formed the defign of vifiting Spanilh Florida; and, 
haying obtained pafiports from the government, pro¬ 
ceeded to St. Auguftine, where he arrived in February 
1789, attended by his fon and a negro. After an excur- 
fion of five weeks, during which he explored many of 
the creeks and rivers in a canoe, he proceeded to Savan¬ 
nah by the lakes, and returned thence by fea to Charlef- 
towm. The defire of giving a complete Flora of North 
America, from the Tropic to Hudfon’s Bay, induced him 
to pay a vifit to the Bahama Illands alfo. He arrived at 
New Providence on the 26th of February, 1790; and in 
thefe illes collected fix hundred and eighty trees and 
Ihrubs ; and prevailed on the governor to introduce into 
them the culture of the vine and the date, which, from 
the nature of the foil, he faw wouid fucceed there. 
On his return to Charleftown on the ift of May, he 
firft heard of the events which had taken place in France 5 
and, fuppofing that he Ihould foon be recalled, he deter¬ 
mined, while he had it in his power, to vifit the higheft 
mountains of Carolina. He made an excurfion, with a 
view to this objedt, of five months and a half, and re¬ 
turned by New York and Philadelphia to Charleftown. 
War being now declared between France and England, 
his correfpondence with Europe was interrupted for two 
years, which time he employed in augmenting his nurfe- 
ries, and in naturaliiing feveral trees of Afia, the feeds of 
which lie had procured from American captains trading 
to China. Having got a confiderable quantity of gin- 
feng, he taught the inhabitants in what manner and at 
what feafon this plant ought to be gathered, in order to 
preferve the qualities for which it is fo much elteemed in 
China. Michaux now wiftied to proceed northwards as 
far as Hudfon’s Bay. This journey was the longeft and 
the moft difficult he had undertaken ; but it was alfo of a 
nature to be the moft ufeful. He departed on the 18th of 
April, 1793, pafied through New York, and proceeded by 
land to Quebec, where he arrived on the 10th of June. 
After a long courfe up the country by land and water, he 
entered on the 3d of Auguft a fmall river, which leads 
into the Lake Miftalfen ; and on the 4th of September 
arrived at the lake itlelf, the borders of which he ex¬ 
plored. He then defcended a river which empties itfelf 
into Hudfon’s Bay; and on the ift of October reached 
Tadouflac, whence he returned to Philadelphia on the 
8th of December, after an ablence from Charleftown of 
about eight months. 
Soon after his return, he prefented to the Society of 
Philadelphia the plan of an expedition, the objedt of which 
w r as to explore the vaft countries to the weft of the Miffif- 
fippi, and to determine exadtly the pofition of the ridge 
of mountains that runs acrofs New Mexico. This plan 
was exceedingly well received by Mr. Jefferfon, and ar¬ 
rangements were made for its execution, when Geneft, 
minifter of the French republic, arriving at Philadelphia, 
claimed the fervices of Michaux, and charged him with 
an important million. As France was at that time at war 
with Spain, a defign was formed by the French govern¬ 
ment to feize upon Louifiana; and Michaux was fent to 
the general who was to command the troops, to concert 
with him tl}Q means of carrying this plan into execution. 
Though 
