Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 16.djvu/283



THE PACIFIC COAST SURVEY 261

the most difficult, perhaps, which ever tried the constancy, the judgment, the resources of any hydrographer, he vanquished cir- cumstances. His reconnoissance of the western coast, from Mon- terey to Columbia river, and his preliminary survey there, were made in spite of desertion, and even mutiny; in despite of the in- adequacy of means to meet the truly extraordinary circumstances of the country. Happy that in his officers he had friends devoted to him and to their duty, especially happy in the officer next to him in the responsibilities of the work.

Prostrated by an attack of fever of a malignant type, contracted while preparing his vessel for sea, Lieutenant McArthur neverthe- less persisted in volunteering for the charge of the hydrographical party on the western coast. A subsequent relapse did not abate his determination to enter as a pioneer upon this arduous service, trying alike to his powers of mind and body. Steady in the midst of excitement, he laid his plans in the way to command success. Seizing the peculiar wants of the hydrography of that coast, he applied all his energies to supply them. The gratitude of his fellow- citizens there is already his; the praise of a new country, the re- sources of which he had aided in developing.

He has been called away just as his wishes were realized, ample means provided, and the first and worst difficulties overcome. In his letters and reports he urged strongly the necessity for enlarged appropriations, and for a steam vessel for the hydrography. His last letters from this office brought him news that both his wishes were gratified, and called him home to make the enlarged arrange- ments for continuing his work. The arrival of Mr. Cutts with instructions, as late as the beginning of October, confirmed the necessity of his return, and he took passage in the steamer Oregon, commanded by his friend, Lieutenant Patterson.

An attack of dysentery prostrated him completely, and from this, in spite of the best medical attendance, of such nursing and attend- ance as only the circumstances to which I have referred could in- sure, he rallied but for a time, and sunk to his final rest before he could be landed at Panama. His remains were consigned to a foreign soil, to be brought, let us hope, to his country, where all his affections centered.

He has not lived in vain. His name will ever be bright in the annals of our Survey, whether in the more usual labors on our Atlantic coast, or as the pioneer on the shores of the Pacific. Always advancing as life advanced the last his crowning work.

Professor Bache having concluded his remarks, Lieut. Wash- ington A. Bartlett, U. S. N., arose and said:

Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen: After the appropriate and feel-