GARNIER (FRANCIS). Autograph letter to his parents. "BEFORE - Lot 188

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  3. GARNIER (FRANCIS). Autograph letter to his parents. "BEFORE - Lot 188
  4. Lot n° 188 
Lot n° 188
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GARNIER (FRANCIS). Autograph letter to his parents. "BEFORE - Lot 188
GARNIER (FRANCIS). Autograph letter to his parents. "BEFORE JAMES TOWN, St. Helena," June 23-25, 1859. 2 pp. 1/4 in-8. On the return from the first cruise of his career, Francis Garnier here recalls "a superb crossing" on the Eurydice from San Francisco, by way of Valparaiso, sailing at "twelve knots from Cape Horn." "23 June '59... TOMORROW, I AM GOING TO LONGWOOD, TO SEE WHAT REMAINS OF THE HOME AND STAY OF NAPOLEON I. The whole of English infamy can only be well understood by the appearance of that hideous rock, that barren granite which is called St. Helena, where two months' stay is enough to kill a garrison, and it has taken nothing less than this torrid climate, this absolute isolation from all civilization and pleasure, to undermine and kill by the contrast of its memories, this powerful organization whose genius had dominated Europe. June 25th. YESTERDAY AT 8 P.M. ONLY, WE RETURNED FROM OUR PILGRIMAGE TO LONWOOD, and in spite of the dark night, and the bad weather, the commander, who was anxious to leave this inhospitable island, put to sea, so that all those who, like myself, had only returned to James Town in the evening, were unable to send their letters to shore. You will therefore only hear from me stamped from France... "MYTHICAL FRENCH EXPLORER, MARINE OFFICER FRANCIS GARNIER (1839-1873) graduated from the Naval School: he first served in the South Seas (1857-1858), then took part in the China Expedition (1860) where, attached to Admiral Charner's staff, he distinguished himself and was appointed ensign. He accompanied the admiral on his expedition to Cochinchina (1861) and, after a brief return to France, returned at his own request to this country as inspector of native affairs (1863) and then as administrator of Cholon (1865), obtaining his appointment as lieutenant. His publications on the colonization of Indochina decided the Minister of the Navy and Napoleon III to launch a mission of exploration on the Mekong River to determine if this river could be used as a route to China. Francis Garnier left in 1866 as second-in-command to Commander Émile Doudart de Lagrée, and replaced the latter who died of illness. On his return to France, assigned to the Dépôt des cartes et plans de la Marine, he directed the publication of the famous Voyage d'exploration en Indo-Chine which gave an account of the rich results of this voyage in terms of cartography, geology, botany, zoology, ethnography and linguistics. During the 1870 war, he served with Admirals Jurien de La Gravière and then Méquet, but his protests against the surrender of the forts earned him a temporary disgrace. He then asked for a leave of absence and went back to China where he stayed in 1872 and 1873: he travelled there as a correspondent for Le Temps and set up a silk and silks trading company in Shanghai. However, knowing his opinions on the colonization of Tonkin, Admiral Dupré called him back into service and sent him to Hanoi to support the trafficker Jean Dupuis, in order to impose the French presence there: after vain diplomatic approaches to the Annamites, Francis Garnier took the Hanoi citadel in November. However, following a foolhardy action against the Black Flags, he was killed in December 1873.
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