South Sea Expedition (review) [pp. 68-72]

SOUTHERN LITERARY MESSENGER.
should be. Hle hlad been for some timle secretly a partnar of the rival association, and shortly before the arrival of the B-itish, took adsvatntag,e of iis situation as
head of the post, to barter away the property of tlhe
ccmipaniy at less tlhan o)e third of its value.
Thus failed this great enterpr'ize of Mlr. Astor. At
the peace, Asto-ia itself, by the treaty of Glient, reverted witl the adj.cent country to the United States,
on the prinlciple of stattus ante bellitl. In the winter of
1815, Contoress passed a law prohibitilng all traffic of
Biitish traders w tl-,iin our territories, and Mr. A. felt
anxious to seize this opportunity for the renewal of his
undertaking. For good reasons, howvever, he could do
notfliinl, wvithout the direct protection of the gov-erlmneit. This esinced miuch supiinehess in the milatter;
the favorable monienit was slffeed to pass unimproved;
and, in despite of the prohlibition of Congroess, thle Briitishl fillially usurped the lucrative traffie in peltries
throughout the ss hole of our vast territories in the Northw-est. A very little aid from the sources w hence lhe had
naturally a right to expect it, would have enabled lr.
Astor to direct this profitable commerce into nationil
channels, and to render N2ew York, what London has
now long been, the great Emporium for furs.
-We have already spoken of the masterly manner in
hiclh Mc. Irvin, has executed his task. It occurs to
us that wie have observedl one or two slighilt discrepancies in the narrative. There appears to be some confiusion between the names of M'Lellan, M'Lennon and
M'Lennan-or do these three appellations refer to the
sanie individual? In going tip the Missouri, Mr. Hurnt
arrives at thle Great Bend on thle first of June,-the
third day after whichl (the day onl vwhich the party is
overtaken by LisL) is said to be the third of July. Jones
and Carson join the expedition just above the Om1ala
villaoe. At page 187, vol. 1, we are told that the two
imei "' hlio had joined the company at the Maha villag,e"
(meanii., Omaha, we prestime), deserted and were pursued, but never overtaken-at paoe 199, however, Carson is recog,ized by a Idian who is holding a parley
withl the party. The Lark too, only sailed from New
York onl the sixth of March, 1813, and on the tenth, we
find her, muhelb utffetted, somewhere in thle nearvicinity of
the Sandswicli islands. These errors are of little iliportatce in thelmlselves, but nmay as well be rectified in
a future edition.
SOUTH-SEA EXPEDITION.
,qIdrdess on the stlbject of a Sirrveyilig aud Erploring
Expeditioil to the Pacific Ocanii, a,id South Seas. Delivered
ilt the Itall of Represontcatirvcs on thle Evenibig of dpril 3,
1S36. By J. V. Rey,iolds. IVith Corresplodttrece aid
Docum,nents..eic York: Plitblished by carper andt Brotheos.
In thle MIessenger for last A tgust we spoke briefly on
this head.,Vhat swe then said was enimbracedl inl the
form of a Citical Notice on the "Report (March 21,
1836,) of thle Com.mittee on N'aval Affairs to swhom was
referred \Memorials fiotni sundriy citizens of Connecticut
interested in tlhe Ahiale Fislhery, praying that an explorinlg expedition be fitted out to the Pacific Ocean and
Southl Seas." It is now well known to the community
that this expedition, the desig,n of whichl has been for
ten years in agitationi, has been authorized by Congress;
sanctioned, anld liberally provided for, bly tl-le lxecutive;
and will almost immiiecliately set sail. The publc mind
is at lengthi thoroughl.y alive on the subject, and, in
touching upon it nowss, we merely propose to give, if
possible, such an outline of the history, object, and nature of the projet, as may induce the reader to examine,
for himself, the volume swhose title forms the heading of
this article. Thereiin Mr. Reynolds has emnbodied a
precise and full account of the wshlole matter, with every
necessary document and detail.
In boe,inniirg we nmust necessarily lbegin withli Mr.
Reynolds. Hle is thle originator, thie persevering and
i-ido(iltahle advocate, the life, thle soul of the design.
~v'hatevelr, of glory at least, accrue therefore from the
expe ditionii, this gentleman, swvh)atever post he may occupy in it, or whether none, will be fairly entitled to the
lior's share, and will as certaiinly receive it. He is a
native of Ohio, vwhere his family are highly respectable,
and where lie swas educated and studied the law. He
is lrknown, by all w1ho0 know him at al1, as a man of thle
loftiest principles atnd of lilIblemnislied clharacter. " EHis
wvritings," to use thle languL age of Mr. Hamer on the
floor of the House of Representatives, "have attracted
the attention of men of letters; and literary societies
and institutions have conferred upon him some of the
highest hionors they hadl to bestow." For ourselves,
we have firequently borune testilliony to his various merits as a gentlelialn, a writer and a sciholar.
It is now many years since Mr. R's attention was
first attracted to the great national advantages derivable
fronm an exploring expedition to the Soutlh Sea and the
Pacific; time has only rendered the expediency of the
undertaking more obvious. To-day, the argument for
thle design is briefly as follows. No part of the whole
commeerce of our country is of more importance tlian
that carried on in the regionls in question. At the lowest estimate a capital of twelve millions of dollars is
actively enmployed by one branch of the whale fishery
alone; and there is involved in thle whole business, directly and collaterally, not less probably than seventy
illious of property. About one tenth of thle entire
navigation of the United States is engaged in this service-from 9 to 12,000 seamnien, and from 170 to 200,000
tons of shipping. Thle results of the fishery are in the
highest degree profitable-it being not a mere inter change of commodities, but, in a great measure, the re ation of wealth, by labor, fromi the ocean. It produces
to the United States all annual income of from five to
six miillions of dollars. It is a most valuable nursery
for our seamen, rearing utip a race of hardy and adven turoulis men, eminently fit for the purposes of the navy.
This fishery then is of importance-its range may be
extended-at all events its interests should be protected.
T[he scen0e of its operations, however, is less knoewn and
more full of peril than aiiy other portion of the globe
visited by our ships. It abounds in islands, reefs and
shoals ulinmarked upon any coiart-priidence reqtiires
tisat the location of these should be exactly defined.
The savages in tisese regions lasve fi-eqisently evinced a
murderous hsostility-they should be conciliated or inti midated. The whale, and more especially all furred
anlimals, are becoming scarce before the perpetual war fare of man-new generations will he found in the
, south, and tlse nation first to discover theml will reap
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