|That's me (young version) on the right, Tasmania|
The Scottish explorer, David Douglas, life ended in a manner fit for a horror film. He was sent to the Pacific Northwest in 1824 where he sent back to Britain over 240 species. His most notable introduction was the popular cut Christmas tree, the Douglas fir. Others include the Sitka Spruce, Sugar Pine, Lodgepole Pine, Ponderosa Pine, Grand Fir, Noble Fir as well as several other conifers that transformed the landscape of Britain along with the timber industry. In 1834, while escaping the winter of the Pacific Northwest he traveled to Hawaii and died under suspicious circumstances. The day started with him climbing Mauna Kea, on the island of Hawaii when he apparently fell into a pit trap, set up to catch wild bulls. Unfortunately, it contained one that gourd him to death. However, he was last seen visiting the hut of an escaped convict and bull hunter prior to the fall. When his body was recovered, it was found that the money Douglas was carrying was missing. Accident or murder? We'll never know.
|Wilson's Regal Lily|
My former employer, the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, in England, was a major center for training collectors, who would be dispatched around the globe on various missions. Many great names have been tied to this famous institution and in the glory days of exploration, a Kew trained botanist was often on board one of the sailing ships. One story that I found intriguing was of David Nelson whose career was shorter, but more dangerous. His first voyage was on board Captain Cooks Resolution, where he collected specimens from the Arctic to the Tropic's. This debuting trip ended suddenly when the legendary Captain was stabbed to death by locals on the Sandwich islands following a disagreement. Unfazed, he soon signed up for his next ominous assignment, to introduce bread fruit to the Caribbean as a food source to the then slave trade of the time. He and another Kew trained horticulturist were sent to Polynesia to propagate and safely transport the young bread fruit on board the HMS Bounty, under the direction of Captain Bligh, second only to Cook in his seamanship. Most people know the story of the 'Mutiny on the Bounty', but Nelson had to endure watching his precious cargo being dumped overboard, while being cast away on a longboat. Many don't know the rest of the story, but Captain Bligh was successful in navigating the longboat, 4000 miles over 47 days, across the Pacific, with limited supplies and no loss of life. Sadly David Nelson died a few weeks later from a fever, even though he had survived three very potentially deadly events.
|Cast away from HMS Bounty|
Many explorers never gained the reputation of those who were successful, and unfortunately their names have been forgotten over time. For others, the toll of traveling and exposure to foreign ailments shorten their lifespan, possibly cut them down in the prime of their lives. It was a grueling job, separated from friends and family for what could be years, in pursuit of laying claim to a never before seen plant. We take for granted that plant that grows in our back garden with very little thought about it's story. Maybe now, after reading this post you'll look a little closer at that plant and imagine the collector running for his life, while being pursued by a mob of angry tribesmen looking for their supper.