The rest of the party have yet to prove their mettle, and of them but little can now be said.  Dr. Parker, who, with the Professor, captain and mate, occupies the cabin proper, is an ’86 man, cut out for a physician and thoroughly prepared to fulfil all the functions of a medical staff, from administering quinine to repairing broken limbs.

Cary of ’87, who is even now planning for his struggle with the difficulties on the way to the Grand Falls, has had the most experience in work of the sort the expedition hopes to do, save the Professor and Cole.  Logging and hunting in the Maine forests in the vicinity of his home in Machias, and fishing on the Georges from Cape Ann smacks, have fitted him physically, as taking the highest honors for scholarship at Bowdoin, teaching and university work in his chosen branch, have prepared him mentally, for the great task in which he leads.

Cole who accompanies him up Grand River, was Prof.  Lee’s assistant on the “Albatross,” and is well fitted by experience and by a vigorous participation in athletics at college before his graduation in ’88.

From the expedition’s actual starting place, Rockland, there are four members:  Rice, the yachtsman, Simonton, Spear and the writer, all fair specimens of college boys, and eager to get some reflection from the credit which they hope to help the expedition to win.

Portland has two representatives:  Rich, ’92, and Baxter, 93, the latter our only freshman; while Bangor sends three:  Hunt, ’90, Hunt, ’91, who has charge of the dredging, and Hastings the taxidermist.

W.R.  Smith, another salutatorian of his class, is one of the many Maine boys whom Massachusetts has called in to help train the youth of our mother Commonwealth, and has been at the head of the High School at Leicester for the past year.  He, too, is thought to equal in physical vigor his mental qualities, and has been selected to brave the hardships of the Grand River.

To complete the detail for this exploration, Young of Brunswick and of ’92, has been selected, another athlete of the college, who has had, in addition to his training at Bowdoin, a year or more of instruction in the schools and gymnasiums of Germany.

Porter, Andrews, and Newbegin, the latter, the only man not from Maine, coming from Ohio, and only to be accounted for as a member of the expedition by the fact that his initials P.C. stand for Parker Cleaveland, finish the list, with but one exception and that is Lincoln.  The merry-maker and star on deck and below—­except when the weather is too rough—­he keeps the crowd good-natured when fogs, rain, head winds and general discomfort tend to discontent:  and on shore he sees that the doctor is not too hard worked in making the botanical collections.

For two days we lazily drifted, the elements seeming to be making up for their late riot; but the weather was clear and bright, the scenery way off to our starboard was grand, and no one was troubled by the delay, except as the thoughts of the Grand River men turned to the great distance and the short time of their trip.  At last, however, the breeze came, with which I opened this letter, and which we then hoped would continue till we reached Battle Harbor.