Nothing, surely, when I threw myself into the current of western emigration, in 1817, was farther from my thoughts than my being an instrumental cause, to much extent, in stirring up and awakening a zeal for scientific explorations and researches.

The diurnal press, however, gave this tone to the thing.

The following is an extract:--[10] [Footnote 10: A New York Statesman, Jan.

1821.] "During the last year, an expedition was authorized by the National Government, which left Detroit some time in the month of May, under the personal orders of Governor Cass, of the Michigan Territory, provided with the necessary means of making observations upon the topography, natural history, and aborigines of the country.

We have had an opportunity of conversing with one of the gentlemen who accompanied Governor Cass in the expedition, Mr.H.R.Schoolcraft, who has recently returned to this city, bringing a large collection of mineral and other substances, calculated to illustrate the natural history of the regions visited.