XXxi 
BERTHOLD SEEMANN. 

Berrnotp Seemann was born on February 28th, 1825, at Hanover. He was educated at the 
Lyceum of his native town, the head master being Grotefend, one of the earliest decipherers of 
cuneiform writing. From the son of this gentleman young Seemann received his first lessons in 
Botany, which soon became his chief study. He early acquired some aptitude in writing, his first 
article having been written at the age of seventeen. In 1844, full of a desire to travel in foreign 
countries, he came to Kew with the object of fitting himself for the work of a botanical collector, 
and worked in the garden under the then curator, Mr. John Smith. Here he gained the good 
opinion of Sir W. J. Hooker, on whose recommendation he was in 1846 appointed naturalist to 
H.M.S, Herald, then employed on a surveying expedition in the Pacific. The post had become 
yacant by the untimely death of Mr. Thomas Edmonston. Leaving Hngland in August, Seemann 
went by way of Madeira and the West Indies, and disembarking at Chagres, crossed the Isthmus 
of Panama, at that time a journey of some days. When he reached the city of Panama, in 
September, the ‘ Herald’ had not returned from Vancouver’s Island. Seemann profited by the 
delay to explore the Isthmus, and collected materials which enabled him to produce the most 
complete general description of that country ever published. He discovered not only a number 
of new plants and animals, but also some curious hieroglyphics in Veraguas. Seemann joined the 
‘Herald’ on January 17th, 1847, and remained with her until the completion of her voyage round 
the world. He thus had the opportunity of exploring nearly the whole west coast of America, 
frequently making long journeys inland. In Peru and Heuador he went from Payta through the 
Peruvian deserts, and across the Cordillera of the Andes to Loja, Cuenca, and Guayaquil. 
Subsequently, he traversed several of the western states of Mexico, starting from Mazatlan, 
erossing the Sierra Madre, and pushing on to Durango and the borders of Chihuahua, At that 
time, the Comanche and Alpache Indians were very troublesome, and Seemann narrowly escaped 
with his life. In 1848, the fate of Sir John Franklin began to excite apprehension in England, 
and the ‘Herald? was directed to proceed to the Arctic regions, by way of Behring’s Strait, to 
search for the missing voyagers. In the three voyages the ‘ Herald’ made to these regions, a new 
island was discovered between Asia and America, and the yessel attained a higher latitude than 
any other had previously accomplished on that side of America. Seemann collected materials for 
h 
