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Bombay 4th April 1804.
Sir,
By the time you receive this you will know of the unhappy termination of our expedition, which was fatal to all except Mr Brown and Mr Bauer with their servants, and Mr Evans, midshipman, who was left sick, and myself who escaped in the Bridgewater. It was a cruel fate and the more so as it came when least expected.
As this letter may probably anticipate any from the gentlemen left at Port Jackson it may be proper to inform you that it was their intention to remain at that place until such time as they (on the hoped for arrival of the Porpoise in England) should receive intimation how to proceed. I likewise think it proper to inform you of the loss sustained in the department of Natural History. All the live plants saved during the expedition, and seeds, with the mineralogical and zoological collections, and duplicates of most of the plants were put on board the Porpoise. Mr Bauer I believe sent nothing in his way.
I have taken the liberty, Sir, of sending you by the Bridgewater a scanty and very desultory botanical collection which I had intended for dissection, by way of improving in the scenic; but having
Feb 19 1805