to the brave men who composed this ill-fated expedition, in which one-third of those who composed it died from starvation, or from the food they were compelled to resort to in their distress. Says the report:
"This, Sir, terminates the narrative of the United States Expedition to the Isthmus of Darien, an expedition without brilliancy, because without success, and whose reputation depends, in a high degree, upon the fact that it has only disproved a magnificent preconceived theory, whose rise and progress will merit an especial reference in the brief resumé which I propose to append to the narrative.
"In concluding my narrative I would most respectfully call your attention to the subordination and general good conduct of those employed upon the expedition. Greater difficulties, more intense physical suffering, and more discouraging circumstances, have seldom been encountered, and have never, I am assured, been met with greater equanimity, good-nature, and quiet endurance. Although suffering for long periods from scarcity of food, and even perishing for want of it, there was, I am happy to state, developed none of those humiliating instances of selfishness which have so frequently distinguished periods of great distress. I am also happy in being able to report to you that the officers and seamen under my command adopted, and with apparent willingness, a principle of action which was suggested to them at an early period in the journey of the expedition, and that those who survived have nothing to regret or blush for.
"In having the services of passed midshipman W. T. Truxton, 1st assistant-engineer, Lt. Maury, and midshipman H. M. Garland, I was especially fortunate, and to these officers I would respectfully direct the attention of the Department.
"Mr. Truxton, while I was present, was an able and cheerful assistant, and while I was absent he sustained nobly the responsibility which his fearful position imposed upon him. Mr. Maury owing to his physical endurance, which surpassed that of any member of the party, was enabled to render to the weak and debilitated assistance which entitles him to their and my gratitude, and I feel assured that, even in a profession where chivalry and generosity are characteristic, that few would have deserved so much the high compliment which was paid to him by Mr. Truxton, when making to me his verbal report of the events which occurred in the main body of the party during my absence.
"'Maury,' he said, 'is the only man in the whole circle of my acquaintance, who could have endured so much privation, and passed through so many trials, without displaying a single instance of selfishness.' For my own part, acquainted as I am with all the circumstances, I am at a loss which to prefer, the magnanimity of Mr. Truxton, or the deportment of Mr. Maury, who richly deserved this handsome compliment from his immediate commanding officer, whose own conduct was so deserving of eulogium.
[Probably there never was an instance in which an officer, while bestowing upon another the highest yet most richly-deserved eulogy that could be pronounced, unconsciously and unintentionally paid so high a tribute to his own character. The reader will be pleased to know that at the request of the Secretary of the Navy, the gallant Lieutenant Forsyth, mentioned at the close of the report, has been promoted to the command of a ship—a reward well merited.]
"Mr. Garland suffered exceedingly in his own person, but was at all times ready and willing to afford every assistance compatible with his own state of health, as I can testify, and as is fully set forth in the report of Mr. Truxton, which will be found in the appendix.
"You, Sir, are already aware of the assistance rendered to my party by the officers and crew of Her Britannic Majesty's steam-sloop Virago, which, pending the action of the Government, I recognized in a letter to Commander Edward Marshal, R. N., which has already been published.
"You, Sir, have already informed me that the thanks of the Navy Department have been communicated to those officers and seamen, and any additional national action which might be taken to call the attention of H. M. Majesty's Government to the generous and chivalrous conduct of Lieutenant W. C. Forsyth, Assistant-surgeon William Ross, Paymaster W. H. Hills (R. Navy), and Mr. W. C. Bennett, Civil Engineer, will be most gratefully received by my party and myself. The foregoing narrative will explain the extent of service which those, gentlemen, and certain seamen of the Virago, rendered us at no small personal risk.
"I would also respectfully call the attention of the Department to the fact that my entire party were transported on the Panama Railroad free of charge, I having crossed the Isthmus at that point three times, and that upon all occasions we received from Colonel Totten, the Superintendent, Messrs. Monroe, Green, Baldwin, and the various other employés of that Company the kindest possible attention."
